1
Year C, 2016
Fr. Robert D. Arnold
Easter 5
Rev. 21:1-6; St. John 13:31-35
In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jesus tells His disciples that where He is going they cannot come. But
that does not mean they are cut off and consigned to the fate of “lost.” It means they are left behind, like all of us. Jesus quickly reassures them that He will come again and take them to be where He is.
The Revelation to John was the last “book” to be included in the New Testament canon and officially recognized as an inspired writing. But that was tenuous. In fact, as late as the 16th century Reformation there were some reformers who questioned its legitimacy and thought that, for the good
of Christian order, it ought to be consigned to the dustbin of history. It is, after all, unlike any other New Testament writing. Much of its language and
many of its images are, let’s face it, bizarre, even grotesque … and to its discredit, it’s been used over the centuries to scare the pants off of unsuspecting Christians. Even with a learned guide, it is by far the most strange and confusing book to read. And yet, if it were excluded from the canon, we would be the poorer for it. It is the only glimpse we have into that
place to where, for now, we cannot come.
The Revelation is not a cleverly coded description of the end of the world. It is cleverly coded—filled with all sorts of symbols and cryptic images taken from the Old Testament. But that is how it had to be. If John had said what he intended to say plainly, he would have been not simply put in exile, but executed. The Empire didn’t have a lot of tolerance for critics who wrote so graphically about its downfall—and that is exactly what John was doing. John was writing to encourage Christians who were being persecuted and were constantly in danger of even more severe persecutions and perhaps even martyrdom, to remain faithful. The Empire (here called Babylon so as not to increase the ire of his real intention, Rome) may appear
to have the upper hand now, but its end is certain. John’s revelation, you see, is not about the end of the world but about the end of Empire. That’s where its real inspiration and power lie. In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells His disciples that there are many rooms in His Father’s house and that He was going to prepare a place for 2
them so that where He will be, they might be also. That’s the image most of
us have for the after life—when we die we go to live with Jesus in the Father’s House. A place has been prepared for us. That’s one image that helps us grasp, if only slightly, what God has prepared for us, and it has served to reassure and comfort many a Christian, including me. But God’s plan does not stop there. In the end, according to John’s vision of what is to come, it is not that we’re going to live with God but that God is coming to live with us! He will destroy all the powers that have usurped His rule, all the evil that opposes Him, all the sin and sadness, even death. God will reclaim all that is His—all power, all rule, all the hoarded wealth of the nations. Then heaven will descend to earth and God will live among us here. Our task on earth is not to get ourselves ready for heaven, but to get our place here ready for the coming of God! Heaven is not about escape—
pie in the sky, by and by—but about re­creation, restoration, and renewal. “Thy kingdom come,” Jesus taught us to pray, “on earth as it is in heaven.” The Empire will fall and the New Jerusalem will replace Babylon, or any other system that opposes God and oppresses God’s people.
This past Friday was Earth Day. I’ve always believed every day is Earth Day. This is the only earth we have. Astronomers think they have found another planet in a distant solar system that has all the characteristics and conditions as Earth. That’s exciting. But as far as we know, this is the only habitable place in the whole universe. What are we doing to make it a place fit for the dwelling of God? I’m not thinking of a global empire, or even a Christian empire, but a global community where the dream of God can be realized. I’m thinking about the hope that all Christians have for the culmination of God’s plan of salvation … about letting the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, God’s Son Jesus Christ. That is why God did not stop with Good Friday. Easter Day was the first day of God’s new creation.
Maybe you have heard the story of the person who was given a tour of
heaven and hell. In hell he was shown a room filled with people seated at a table. There was a large bowl of nourishing soup in the middle of the table and spoons were supplied. The problem was that the spoons were longer 3
than anyone’s arm. The people at the table looked emaciated and hungry since no one could bring the spoon to his or her mouth. In heaven this person was shown a similar room where people were nourished and joyous. They had learned, you see, how to use the spoons to feed each other.
The question is how can we make our world a place where God would
make a dwelling among people who have finally learned how to feed each other?