Eastertide

May 23, 2019

Scripture Reading: Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5

And in the spirit, he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.

 I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. –Revelation 21:10, 22-27

I visited northern Sweden during the summer equinox and experienced a day with virtually no night. I must admit it was a little eerie. We, of course, stayed up until after midnight to witness the event. The locals went to bed and pulled down shades. Humans must have their rest. If there is no night is there no need for rest in eternity? The writer of Revelation, attributed to a man named John, is attempting to describe that which is indescribable, and he does a good job of making us think out of the box as we contemplate the possible nature of the Kingdom of God.

We have a taste of the glory of God being with us in the now as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13:12, For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.

As people called to live in the now as citizens of the Kingdom of God, we might take some clues from the scripture above which talks about what we bring into the Kingdom with us and how we live differently than we might live in the world. The language used to describe these realities is ancient and thus requires us to consider their meaning for today. My guess is that would result in much discussion and many theological perspectives. In the final analysis, my fall back is Jesus’ instruction that we are to love God, placing God first in our lives, a part of which is loving ourselves as God created us in honor of God, and  ultimately loving all of God’s other children as much as we love ourselves. Thus, we only must study the way Jesus loved and follow his model of loving.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for our ancestors in faith who were visionaries of the way your world eventually is melded successfully with the world. Help us to see you more clearly as our role model in the now of your Kingdom coming. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.