Revelation 21: 1-6 (New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition)
John 13: 31-35 (Common English Bible)
In John chapter 13, Jesus is teaching his disciples about humility, acceptance and love. This particular passage occurs after Jesus has washed the disciples’ feet and after Judas’ departure to betray Jesus. Judas’ action began the process by which Jesus would be glorified by God. Jesus knew the action of Judas would result in his victory over death, but the disciples didn’t realize that yet.
Jesus was their source of comfort and strength, but he knew they would have to learn to support one another after he returned to that dimension called heaven. That is one reason why Jesus issued the commandment to love one another. It was also the new commandment that we, as modern disciples are to follow.
Jesus told his disciples his death and resurrection would open the door of salvation for everyone. Before anyone can experience that, one has to obey God’s commandments including the new one Jesus introduces as his farewell speech, to love one another. Even the Israelites were told by God in Leviticus 19:18, to love their neighbors. In Leviticus 19:34 the Israelites were also told to love foreign people in their land.
This commandment from Jesus is new for several reasons. Jesus was the ultimate model of the love he requires, and he demonstrated that by washing his disciples’ feet. Has anyone here ever experienced foot washing during a religious ceremony? Well, I have and it was at a Episcopalian Church which surprised me because I thought only Pentecostal type churches did that. But it was a good spiritual experience. I washed the feet of a missionary from Rwanda and he did likewise for me. There is no end to the requirement of loving one another. Even if we cannot feel love for someone, we can still help them, and when we do, we show Christ’s love.
In the book, “Through the Valley of the Kwai” by Ernest Gordon, who was a prisoner of the Japanese during WW II, he wrote about his brutal experience as a prisoner of war. But something touched his heart along with other British prisoners with him. They saw Japanese soldiers who were suffering from the wounds of war. They were laid out in the open areas of the prison camp to die. To the Japanese camp commander, they were useless now. They were covered with mud and blood and their wounds were infected. The British prisoners of war took pity on them, bathed their wounds and gave them food to eat. God broke down their hatred and replaced it with love.
It is hard to love others who are different. The Jews hated Gentiles and called them “dogs.” In Acts 11:18, God showed Peter that God loves the Gentiles, just as much as God loves the Jews. When we find it difficult to love those who are different, we all have to remember what Jesus did for us.
The passage from Revelation 21: 1-6 is one that is often read at funerals. It offers comfort for the family and friends of the deceased person. But it also offers hope for the future and for the living and the dead.
The Apostle John, who is credited as the writer of Revelation, was forced to live on a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea. John knew he would die in the near future because of his age. This was the very moment in time when God chose to give John a vision of Jesus the Christ. This vision included a brief scene of heaven, where one day God will exist with God’s people forever. John was told to write down what he saw in the vision. This vision was not only for his personal hope, but also for all people down through the thousands of years of human existence.
Because of modern communication, our world has become a global community. But even with all the shared knowledge, true peace is no closer than it was 2,000 years ago. Without the Prince of Peace, there is no real peace. Peace will always evade us as long as we put our trust in fallible human beings. I believe it was President Woodrow Wilson who supported World War One, and said this war will end all wars. How did that turn out? Just 20 years later the most horrific war in human history happened, WW II. One day, the Christ will return, whether today or thousands of years to come, and bring real and lasting peace. But until that day arrives, there will still be suffering and wars.
Revelation chapter 21 describes the condition of humankind after Christ’s return. It is a time when conflicts have stopped and Christ has ended all evil. A new heaven and a new earth has been created and all tears have been wiped away. There will be no more death, sorrow or pain.
The oceans and seas mentioned in Revelation were always foreboding to the ancient Jewish people. There were prayers to God to calm the seas. In Revelation, the seas were often regarded as an abyss from which the Beast in Revelation is mentioned. The “Beast” was a symbol of the Roman Empire. Rome loved the seas because they had a large navy that could conquer land from northern Africa up to Britain. The Jews also viewed the sea as the chaos that existed before creation, when the earth was formless and empty with darkness was over the surface of the sea. But when John wrote there would be no more seas in the new earth, it was symbolism the writer was using to convey a message, there will be no evil and nothing to cause harm or fear in the new earth. Anyway, I think it would be rather boring not to have seas and oceans. And what about the fish?
The Alpha and Omega is an expression indicating God’s sovereignty over everything. As the beginning and the end, God is the Beginning of the beginning, and the Ender of the end. God stands at the beginning of creation and now at the beginning of a new creation. God’s New Jerusalem is a place where life and its essentials are given as a free gift.
We are challenged to be a part of wiping away every tear and ending needless pain. We are challenged to seek a world where pain and death are no more. If that isn't possible in the present, we are challenged to reduce the evil with what resources we now have. This perfect idyllic world doesn’t exist now, but we can begin to act as if it’s coming today. We are encouraged to make our lives holy, just as we recite every Sunday, “On earth as it is in heaven.”
Death, sorrow and pain continue because they are part of the old things that have not yet passed away. In spite of this, God is with us now. We can find God in people we least expect. The person in jail, the woman who is homeless and even people of a different religion. If we look for God, we can find God loving places that too often are ignored. But with a Christ Consciousness we can do something to change that. AMEN
