Eastertide

May 24, 2019

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

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there anymore. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign for ever and ever. –Revelation 22:1-5

I must confess, I have thought the Kingdom of God would be actualized when Christ’s followers had finally spread God’s love to the ends of the earth. The phrase in the above scripture and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations leads me to believe that there will be more work to do even after Christ is pitching his tent with us. When I think of leaves healing, I think of tea. Now for me tea primarily has two dimensions. One is sipping a good cup of tea, I particularly like Rooibos, in comfy clothing with great music playing in the background after a hard day of productive work just enjoying the peace and the rest. The other dimension is sitting in a small tea shop or other restaurant that serves tea and catching up with a friend. For me God is often a welcomed guest in both instances.

There is a lot of healing needed among the nations today. When I visited Turkey a few years ago the tour I was on arranged a lunch for all on the tour in a small town with a few of us going to various homes. Turkey is a great place for tea. Shared hospitality is healing. We could use a lot more of these type experiences.

Prayer: Lord, be present with us as we search for ways to heal the nations and to heal our nation from within. 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.