The New Jerusalem
Revelation 21:9-11, 22-26 (New Revised Standard Version)
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, and I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It has the glory of God and a radiance like a rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal… 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.
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"[And] 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." This reading from Revelation is one I could probably preach multiple times because there are so many ways in which we can apply this passage to our lives. The light of God, shining throughout the city, the nations that walk into it bringing their gifts and praise, and the people who come into it adding their own unique selves to this brightly shining multi-faceted gem.
The New Jerusalem, the city that came down from heaven, is something that we strive for as a church and as individuals. The challenging part of this New Jerusalem is that the light of God touches everything that exists within the city, and that means that no matter how hard we try we will have to come face to face with the things that we refuse to surrender to God. It could be hurt, a sense of loss, it could be anger, it could be sorrow, it could be a wide array of things, but we find that when we are not able to turn them over to God, it becomes hard to join a community that has done just that.
I've been doing a lot of thinking lately… And I've been thinking that I've often talked about what it means to be a spiritually led church, a church that exists beyond its walls, a church that goes out into the community, but I haven't spent much time addressing what lies at the heart of the church… Of course, I'm talking about you, me, and the heart, the spirit, that provides us nourishment as we traverse roads that don't resemble the clear and healing paths that lead us to the gates of the New Jerusalem. It might be hard to think about a "New Jerusalem" dwelling inside of us, but it begs the fundamental question of, "What are the things, or what aren't the things, that we are willing to set down at the throne of God?"
I've found that even if we know that this New Jerusalem exists not only externally, in the world around us, but internally, in our hearts, as well, there are still places that we refuse to expose to the light that flows forth from God. There are hurts, pains… I'm talking about the things that we cling onto so tightly that we are the only ones who know what those things are. The quarantined corners of our lives that are shut off to the outside world, but are only accessible to you and God… And sometimes those places are so personal that we even try to keep them away from God for whatever reasons we might have…
Almost two months ago now… I realized that there were things in my life that I was clinging onto and not willing to expose to the light of God… Everything seemed fine until one day I realized that I was not myself… I give myself credit for recognizing that something in me had changed, but they say that by the time you notice something is wrong; it's probably already reached a point that is unhealthy. For me, that point was waking up one morning and thinking, "What's the point? Why bother getting up? It would just be better if I didn't get out of bed this morning…" Everything seemed dull, nothing seemed to bring me joy, the world seemed to have one giant rain cloud floating over its head.
Now I know we all have days where we are tempted to stay in bed lazily, but this was different… It didn't come from a place of sloth, but a place of pain that had not been given a voice for so long it had no choice, but to manifest itself in a physical form. It was a horrible feeling, and as someone who is reserved the thought of not having control over these feeling scared me… It scared me, but it also set me on a path of spiritual and physical healing. It set me on a path that allowed me to re-discover that I didn't have to be anxious about every little detail… That thing would be okay, even if the way I planned something didn't go as expected, the world would continue to turn. I learned with the help of my therapist that I needed to set realistic expectations, that failure was okay, and that sometimes things just don't work out the way we would have hoped they would.
I'm someone who believes very strongly in therapy, I want to make that clear… But I take a holistic approach, I still pray, and I still read my Bible, but I realize that there are things in this life that I can't get through alone, and there are some times in this life where I need someone else walking alongside me offering words of counsel, compassion, and empathy. I was reminded that to walk in the light of God, and to be who I was created to be, a child of God, I needed to be willing to do the hard work of discipleship that asks us to take a hard look at what lies deep inside our souls. For me and for many other this means seeing a therapist, for others it might be a hobby or spending time in nature, but whatever it is I sincerely encourage you to make more time for whatever it is that feeds your soul… That you make more time for the things that allow you to lend a voice to the many facets of what makes you, you, even if that seems like a daunting or impossible task.
I mention my own experience this morning because I realize that it's a part of who I am… And if I'm going to ask you to do the hard work, then I wanna show that I've been doing the hard work as well… As the saying goes, "You gotta talk the talk, and walk the walk." And just briefly, I wanna mention that I share this because I believe in the best of all of us, but I also know that rumors and gossip are juicy, they make for good stories, but often times they are just very distorted versions of the truth… Without digressing too much perhaps it's also fitting than how in the passage for this morning we remember the light of God, the truth of God, touches everything in the New Jerusalem… This light elevates the best of humanity and asks that we cast away the things that tear down instead of lifting up.
So what will we bring into the New Jerusalem that dwells inside our hearts? What are the things that we offer free and what the things that we still refuse to let go of? It's not an easy process, and it's something that I still wrestle with to this day… There are moments when it is easy to let go, and there are moments where I've changed my mind, and I'm sure that we all have experienced that feeling or something like it as well. As I've mentioned before in a previous sermon, the heaven building work of God asks us to give with both hands open… The heaven building work that God asks of us is not made whole if we only offer with one hand open and one hand that is clasped shut behind our backs. How can we better ourselves, and therefore better our communities, if we are not willing to shed off the things that we know weigh us down.
The New Jerusalem is made to shine like a rare jewel. It is made to shine like a bright jewel only because all those who come into it add what they have to glorify God. On this Christ the King Sunday, what will your first step into the New Jerusalem look like? You as an individual who has been beautifully and wonderfully made, what is your first step into the New Jerusalem going to be like? When you make it to the gates and are greeted by Christ with open arms, how will you respond? I guess it all depends really… It depends on whether the work that we have been doing in our hearts has been focused on what makes us feel pleasant or the challenging task that God calls us to do.
So I'll ask again, "What will we bring into the New Jerusalem that dwells inside our hearts?" I'll give us a moment, and I want you to think silently, contemplatively about what those things might be… They can joys, concerns, things that you are thankful for, and things that you know need work… They can be celebrations for good health, but they can also be laments and grief, but take a moment now, a sacred moment, to start or continue on in that heaven building journey of the soul that leads to the New Jerusalem…
[Moment of Silence]
"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." May we walk in the light of the glory of God together… Together may we look within ourselves and look out towards others, those whom God calls us to love and serve. And if we do that, then we may not only make the New Jerusalem a reality within our hearts but a reality in the world around us as well. Amen.