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Sermon For 2025-Aug-31

Texts: Virtual Holy Communion Service
Revelation 21:1-8
Revelation 21:9-27
Revelation 22:1-5
Revelation 22:6-21
Click for closing hymn!

In our scripture readings for this final sermon on the book of Revelation, we are given a vision of heaven and earth post-resurrection. And we are shown in great detail, the resurrected city of Jerusalem in all of its glory. But the most amazing fact of life in the resurrection is that God himself will live among us. And even with all of the descriptions of wonder and awe in our readings today, the most challenging fact for us to believe, is that God himself with live among us....


To the extent you can trust the free market to figure these things out, there is a tie for the most desirable place to spend time on earth – because there is a tie for the most expensive place. If you wish to spend time on the private island of Banwa near the Philippines, or in the Mansion suite of Atlantis the Royal in Dubai, it will cost you $100k...per night! The views are stunning, the service is impeccable, the fixtures are plated with gold, the personal swimming pools are at just the right temperature, and yet...according to John, that will be slumming it compared to life in the new Jerusalem!


“And the one who was seated on the throne said, 'See, I am making all things new.'” A new cosmos, that won't need a sun or a moon to give us light and heat. A new planet, that won't need large bodies of water to sustain us. And, a new metropolis, the holy city of Jerusalem, that won't need to follow the rules of cities we are accustomed to. For one thing, the scale of the city will be beyond our imagining – foursquare at 1500 miles to a side, that's 4% of the entire land surface area of our current earth, ten times the size of Alberta. The opulence of the city will be beyond our imagining – foundations with precious gems, streets of solid gold, gates made out of massive pearls. And the prestige of the city will be beyond our imagining – no tent cities, no seedy underbelly, no dangerous neighbourhoods, nobody there that isn't supposed to be there. It's a beautiful picture, and for the original, persecuted audience of the book of Revelation, it's a beautiful reward for their faithfulness.


And for us, it's difficult to get our heads around, and even harder to value. Much of the world isn't even accustomed to “liveable,” can we take “opulent” seriously? Much of the world lives under the rules of the jungle, in constant fear of theft and murder. Can we even grasp the sense of safety provided by walls 144 cubits high, and gates that never need to be shut? Much of the world lives on the border of starvation, wondering when they can get their next food bank hamper. Can we relate to the superabundance of looking forward to next month's designer fruit from the tree of life?


And when we think about who comes closest to the new Jerusalem lifestyle here and now, the partakers of places like Banwa island, we think about the exceptional – the captains of industry, sports, and entertainment. Paradise is for heroes – for the rest of us schlubs, there's the other place. We don't deserve opulence. And if you have listened to enough jealous Christian socialists, you might have the tendency to consider opulence itself as evil. Who would WANT to live in opulence if it meant unequal distribution of wealth? ALL of this works against our ability to VALUE the gift of eternal life as described by John.


Maybe you CAN imagine a new Jerusalem 10 times the size of Alberta. Try this next: “God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes.” What is it going to be like to look into the face of the creator and resurrector of the universe? What is it going to be like to be in the physical presence of omnipotent love, the one who loves you far more than your earthly parents, the one who determined your genetics and guided your experiences? What is it going to be like to have conversation with the intellect behind the cosmic plan for salvation? I'm glad that John describes the simple, compassionate service of dabbing our wet faces with a tissue, because otherwise, when it comes to picturing God himself being with us, I've got nothing....



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