Coming Home to the Holy City

Readings: ​Revelation 21:1-6, 10-14, 21-27, 22:1-5, 12-14, 17, Secrets of Heaven #5608[9]
(see below)
See also on Youtube
Photo by KS KYUNG on Unsplash

Welcome, friends, to our final installment in our series on the Book of Revelation. Today we have reached the end of the book, and not only that, but the end of the entire Bible. The culmination of the sacred text of our tradition of Christianity is the image of the New Jerusalem. It is a richly detailed and inspiring image that bookends a motley collection of narratives from different periods of history, that pulls together the strands of all these stories of human spirituality into one image that is, in the words of my colleague Rev. Sage Cole, a “symbol of a renewed individual and collective life.”

The bible has the story of humanity metaphorically begin in the Garden of Eden. We exist there, at first, in innocence, deeply connected with God, with nature, and with life itself. But then, there is the famous story of The Fall, where the first humans eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. They are no longer automatically innocent and connected, and must leave the garden to discover the trajectory of their own life. The rest of the bible is the necessary stories of our human spiritual development, showcasing all the different kinds of obstacles and triumphs we will encounter on our journey. Indeed, the Book of Revelation takes its part in that parade, revealing to us in particular the kinds of challenges humanity has regarding tools of domination, structures of power, and how we wish to wield them against each other. 

And yet, at the end of it, here in the Holy City, what do we find? We find the Tree of Life, once again, just as in the Garden of Eden. We have taken a journey and it has brought us back around to where we were at the beginning. But are we the same people that we were at the beginning? No, we are not. If we have taken the journey of life with intention, curiousity, and commitment, we find that we are transformed, we are spiritually regenerated. We can enter the Holy City, leaving behind what we no longer need and what no longer serves.

One way that Swedenborg describes this journey is using the idea of innocence, which we might think of as an innate sense of trust. We are all born into our own state of Eden, which Swedenborg describes as the “innocence of ignorance.” Which sounds a little bit like shade, but it is really not. For what *are* we ignorant of in those days, as tiny infants? We are ignorant of the whole notion of separation, of domination. We are ignorant of boredom, self-doubt, ? We are ignorant of all the intricate structures that human beings erect, in our hearts and minds and literally in the world, to try to prove we are better than others, that we are more deserving, that we are more worthy.

And what do we innately *know* in those days? We know that we are loved, cherished, and fed. We sleep when we need to. We cry when we are sad. And while we love our parent’s faces especially, every face is a new and compelling adventure. Our connection with our caregivers, and through them, the world, is unquestioned and automatic. Swedenborg tells us that infants and very young children are deeply connected to and surrounded by the highest angels, which is why I suspect our souls are deeply quieted in the presence of a newborn.

And yet, this was never to be our end point. As we grow, we are cast out of that state of innocence. We begin to understand we are separate from everyone else, and that we have our own personal identity. Connection with others is often no longer assumed, we must chose it, we must do the work that creates it, we must nurture it, we must be accountable to it. We start to experience questions around who we are, who others are, why this has all come into being. We are tempted to believe we can and must control, or dominate, or manipulate what is outside of us, to create peace inside of us. If we allow it, we are guided towards compassion, understanding, and growth. And thus, we are on our individual journey towards the Holy City, one that will eventually bring us *back* to connection, belonging, and wholeness but in a way that has allowed us to intentionally choose it and make it a part of ourselves. Swedenborg calls this state the “innocence of wisdom.” We return to a state of trust in God, trust in our connection with each other, but we do so because we have learned that it is what we want in our hearts, and we have learned ways to foster and nurture it. We step into the fulfilment of it (pictured by the Holy City), we take our place in this transformed reality that we have worked to bring into being, for ourselves and for each beloved child of God.

And as we observe the image of the Holy City in our text today, what does it tell us about what this transformed reality might look like?

We are first told that this city will be God’s dwelling place with the people, and crucially, that there will be no temple in the city. The tabernacle and then the temple are both incredibly important in the biblical narrative. They were both ways that God’s presence was made available to the Children, and then nation, of Israel. It was a part of the way that the one true steadfast God showed up for the people with whom God had made a covenant. God promised “this is where you can always always find me.” This was a very big deal, and an incredible act of love on the part of God. But it also, over time, became a way that God’s presence was withheld or at least mediated by those in power, a very human tendency in any tradition. So God chose a radical new vessel of presence: Jesus. The gospel of John even uses a very particular word in his prologue to describe this. He says essentially that in Jesus, God was “tabernacling” with humanity. God was pitching God’s tent with God’s people but in a new way: in the body of human being.

But Jesus could not stay with us indefinitely. So now, the “vessel” of God’s presence with us will be the Holy City New Jerusalem, and it must be built by us in partnership with God. The vessel of God’s presence with us is our transformed hearts and minds. The vessel of God’s presence with us is our transformed world. God everywhere and with everyone who makes space for the divine.

What else will this look like? 

The city has twelve gates, which tells us there are multiple ways to enter. And yet, there are also walls, boundaries to remind us that while all people are welcome, not all behaviors are welcome. The text tells us that Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful (21:27). We should be careful here, for this observation should not prompt the question: what shall we guard against, all us pure and perfect people inside the city. No. It should prompt the question, what do I need to let go of to enter the city? What is no longer serving me? What is preventing me from loving others in the way that they need? What is causing me to harm others or myself and how can I stop? What idol has felt necessary to my psychological survival that is now ready to fall way? The walls are not for the purposes of gate-keeping but rather they a gift to us, an invitation to let go of what has been holding us back.

We are told the nations will enter, that “the glory and honor of the nations will be brought into [the city]” Individuality, uniqueness, diversity will be maintained, and not only tolerated but celebrated. Pluralism is a non-negotiable part of the Holy City, and a perspective of supremacy must be left at the gate, it cannot come in.

The streets are gold —valuable, durable, beautiful—but they are also somehow transparent. This seems to communicate that their value will not and cannot be co-opted to serve selfish interests, all such desire will be seen for what it is. The river of life flows through the city, life-giving water available to all, and more specifically, life-giving truth, clarity, and insight that refreshes and cleanses. Our transformed reality must be open to the flow of honesty and accountability, for when it is, it is open to growth.

And finally, we return to the Tree of Life, originally seen the the Garden of Eden, now in pride of place in the Holy City. This miracle tree bears fruit every month, an image of dedication to mutual love and service, the life-blood of a thriving and connected existence. The leaves of the tree, the insights grown within us from the flow of the river of life, they will heal us. Our transformed reality does not excise pieces of ourselves so that we might enter the city; instead our wounds, our misunderstandings, our mistakes, they will be healed, and we will be made whole.

These are just a few of the details we could dive into; there really is so much more to explore. But perhaps this all sounds too fantastical? What chance is there, truly, that this transformed reality might become real in our hearts and minds, and in our world? I don’t really know that answer to that. I cannot give you odds or a percentage likely for success.

What I do know, is that we can choose what we strive for. We have been given many images of harmony and transformation in the Bible, in other sacred texts, in literature, in media. We can draw something good from them all. I particularly like this one, and you may prefer another. This is okay. What matters is the spirit of what we are all striving for. What matters is that, for those of us who we believe in God, it is the kind of God who wants this vision for us, and crucially, wants it for everybody. For if we desire them, we will also find many images, many detailed visions, of exclusion, superiority, violence, and domination. The book of Revelation reveals them to us, as do our newsfeeds. But we do not need to choose them. We do not need to give them any of our precious energy, attention, or life. We can build something better. And we will. So my friends, let us begin, or rather, let us continue. Let us continue to build the holy city stone by stone, adding to each stone laid by those steadfast souls who have come before.

Amen.

Readings:

Revelation 21: 1-6, 10-14, 22:1-5, 12-14, 17

1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
6 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 without cost from the spring of the water of life.


10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.
13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west.
14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.


21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.
25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.
26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.
27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.


22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.
4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light…


12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.


17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

Secrets of Heaven #5608[9]
As regards the innocence present in young children, this is solely external, not internal; and because it is not internal it cannot be linked to any wisdom and exist together with it. But the innocence in angels, especially in those of the third heaven, is internal, and so exists joined to wisdom. Furthermore the human being has been created in such a way that when he grows old and becomes like a young child, the innocence of wisdom links itself to the innocence of ignorance that had been his when he was a young child, and in this condition, as a true young child, he passes over into the next life.