Eastertide

May 12, 2022

Scripture Reading: Revelation 21:1-6

Then I 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.’

And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

I must confess, that tidying my house is not my priority. I understand the need to maintain cleanliness, but putting litter in its place is lower on my list until I get so much paper stacked around me, that I must deal with it. I have tried to practice putting paper in its place after I have reviewed it, but that rarely lasts for long. Breaking down boxes for the recycle bin is even more challenging. I have grown to appreciate all things electronically stored.

So, when I read the ending of Revelation, I consider the idea that God would live among us in the end times and might be our next-door neighbor. Are we as individuals as open to God as we think we are? Would he be on the list of people we would allow in our personhood and see how we really live? What about our society? Is the way we treat one another, all one another’s, the same way we would treat God if God were our next-door neighbor? I think God wants to move into our space of being after we have figured out what the Kingdom of God is all about and done our very best to institute it in our society. I wonder how much litter I need to clean out of my soul. That is the place to start.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we take you for granted. We know you know our thoughts and ways of representing you to the world. Help us to see ourselves as you see us and correct our actions as your disciples in this world today. 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.