“I John”.
A reflection for Easter 5
You will have probably noticed that our 2nd lesson is from the book of Revelation. This tricky book is all about how things will pan out at the end of time and God will come in triumph and sort out our sorry mess. It’s written in a language that is dripping with symbolism. In fact it is so ‘out there’ that it nearly didn’t make it into our bible and it took a couple of centuries of robust theological discussion to just scrape in.
So here are some bits that I do understand and then I will tell you a true story.
Bit 1.
“And the sea was no more.”
For John’s readers and listeners the sea is a place of chaos, fear and evil. Think of the disciples on the boat while Jesus is snoring, oblivious to their plight. Think of the storm where Jesus comes walking on the sea and invites Peter to do the same.
The Sea is a place to be feared. It is unpredictable and you go out to sea at your own peril and possibly, probably, your own death.
So when John writes ‘the sea was no more’ what he is really saying is that in the new world at the end of time… chaos, fear and death are no more. All these nasty things have been conquered and obliterated in the triumph of the resurrection.
Thus, (Bit 2)
A new heaven and a new earth are established because the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Our new digs are free from the inevitable wearing out, decay and muck that goes on all around us.
And in this new way of life…
“Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”
In the new heaven and the new earth no more death, pain, tears or mourning. How come? How will this be? The clue lies in this verse
Bit 3
“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;”
This will be accomplished because all the yucky stuff cannot be in the same place as God like oil and water, darkness and light. When you are enveloped and subsumed by such an all encompassing love, everything else is banished.
God will live with us and we will live with Him. The reason the cack stuff will be gone is because we will be in the very presence of the Living Risen Christ.
Bit 4
‘And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’
We believe in a God who takes what is broken, pours his grace out upon it, and transforms it. We believe in a God who looks at his creation who has mucked it up and he sends his Son to die on a cross so that his very creation who is living in death can be made new and live a new life. We believe in a God who was crucified, was dead, and was buried. But after three days, he rose out of the tomb. The same body that was dead and buried was given new life, and this restored and renewed body still had the scars as proof of the cross.
You see, Our God doesn’t destroy things and replace them with new things. Our God takes things that are dead and transforms them into vibrant, living things. He takes people that have absolutely no hope, He embraces them passionately, and rewrites their story for them. He takes the broken vessels and breathes new life into them, making them irreplaceable instruments for work of the kingdom. And there is a tricky, subtle, but very important distinction here.
Our God doesn’t make all new things… He makes all things new.
Our God doesn’t make all new things… He makes all things new.
And so to the story.
Once upon a time, long ago and far away, I conducted the funeral of a young man called John. The circumstances of John’s death were terrible and traumatic. I don’t remember what I said in my homily, but I do remember the reading I chose for John’s funeral.
I John…
saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’
‘See, I am making all things new.. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.
He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.