May 19, 2019
Revelation 21:1-6, John 13:31-35
So, who here likes to create? I know there must be some creative people among you here.
You can create out of anything! The construction of a house is creation. Making greeting cards is definitely creation. Planting your garden and caring for your flowers is an act of creating and caring for creation. We create on a daily basis and some of us may not even be aware of it.
One of my first memories of creating was playing with Lego bricks. I had quite the collection of Lego sets when I was younger, and I would spend hours putting them together and playing with them. The real creation would start when I left the instructions behind and just used my own creativity to create something new out of the various bricks that I had in my inventory. I would make buildings, cars, spaceships, and anything that came to my mind as I locked the pieces together. I had thought that it would be cool to be a Lego Master Builder. Imagine, building with Legos all day long and getting paid for it!
Everything that we are surrounded by, or pick up, or even our own bodies had to be created in one way or another. There is also the creation that is yet to come.
This season of Easter our second readings have came from Revelation. It is important to remember that Revelation is a piece of apocalyptic writing based on a vision of the author John. The message of Revelation takes two forms. First, the terrifying visions are warnings to those that are falling away from the faith. Second, the glorious visions of triumph offer encouragement to those who are oppressed, persecuted, or feeling powerless in a hostile world. [1]
The message this morning comes to us in the form of hope for the kingdom to come. God promises that all things will be made new and in this promise we are welcomed into a creation that is unfolding before our eyes.
We must remember that we are already living in a glorious creation! Looking back at Genesis, when God creates everything, it is regarded as good! From the seas to the land. From the animals to the birds of the air. From plants to the very creation of humanity itself. It is all very good!
However, we know that over time humanity has taken dominion over the earth in ways that are not beneficial and has eventually led to death and destruction. We look at this destruction and become numb to it. An apathy sets in and we turn inwards and just worry about our immediate surroundings. We forget about our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world that are dying from hunger. We forget about wars happening around the world if they do not immediately affect us. We lose sight of what it means to care for creation as it has been given to us. As we worry about things falling apart, we turn even more inward and close off the outside world instead of trying to create change.
In our gospel lesson this morning, the disciple’s world is starting to fall apart around them as well. We enter the reading just after Judas receives the piece of bread from Jesus and he exits the supper to betray Jesus. While the disciples may not know exactly what Judas is up to, Jesus has already been predicting his death. There is a sense in the room that things may be headed in a different direction than what they would prefer they had.
Judas’ betrayal is part of that same brokenness that is reflected among us in the very care of creation. Judas is taking things into his own hands; however, it is unavoidable. It is part of the procession that we have become familiar with during the passion. It points to the ways that we too will betray Jesus in our sinning. Jesus is present in the very creation that we have turned our back on, yet in our own brokenness, we must come to realize that Jesus is standing there feeding us the bread of life.
That bread of life comes to us is a new creation. The new heaven and the new earth that John writes about in Revelation is a hope that comes to us through Jesus Christ in the present time, but also in the time to come as we encounter a new kingdom. The heavens and the earth as we know them today will pass away. That does not mean that the earth as we know it today is disposable. We still have the call from God at the beginning of Genesis to care for creation and not to take advantage of it. Every time that we exploit the earth and any part of creation, we are sinning and revealing our own brokenness to those around us.
Not only will the old pass away, the sea will be no more. Now, this does not mean that the oceans will evaporate or completely disappear. The image of the sea in the Hebrew scriptures is a reference to the chaos of the world and the brokenness and the sin that lies within it. In the coming of a new heaven and a new earth, that means that chaos as we know it will vanish.
In the meantime, Jesus has risen, Alleluia! In this very action, God has already shown us the wonderful and mysterious that can be done in creation. The new heaven and new earth are already on their way as we move ever closer to the kingdom of God. In the midst of it, we too, can help in the very creation.
Patrick Carolan wrote in a newsletter this past week, “What if the purpose of the Incarnation and Resurrection was not so we could go somewhere else, but rather so we, with God, could create a new earth.”[2]
Imagine what that would look like. The chaos would be gone. And even more importantly, we would be fully living into the teachings of Jesus. In the gospel lesson he instructs his disciples to “love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
What if we were to begin creating a new earth today and approached everyone with love. Not judgement or scorn. But pure, simple love. The love that Jesus showed to us by his death on a cross. The love that he wants each and everyone of us to experience through the grace of God. It is a love that knows no end and a love that pulls us into the very being of God.
Let us pray. Creator God, you give us the opportunity to reach
out in love to our neighbors and be a part of the breaking in of your kingdom
into this world. May we walk with creation in love and care as we are guided
along our path by your son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
[1] Lutheran Study Bible, Augsburg Fortress
[2] Patrick Carolan, Franciscan Action Network newsletter, May 13, 2019.
a mysterious way 