Revelation 21.10,22 - 22.5, John 14.23-29
Whitegate, Little Budworth, Trinity 6, 5/5/2013
Have you noticed how the story of God and humankind begins in a garden and ends in a city? Eden is our Paradise Lost - and the start of our separation from God; the new Jerusalem, the holy city coming down out of heaven, completes our reunion with God, it is the location of our everlasting union, in a place which is endlessly fruitful, endlessly generous, full of light, a place of blessing for each of its inhabitants.
And inbetween the broken promise of Eden and the light of the new Jerusalem - we journey each day in places which carry elements of both; places of promises made and promises broken, places of light and darkness, places we love and places we hate, places where we feel safe and secure and places where we feel vulnerable. As followers of Jesus Christ we believe that we are moving in the overall direction of the new Jerusalem, drawn by its light. But in everyday life we sometimes struggle to make our way.
It has always been so for the people of God. We can identify ourselves, our churches, our communities and families, alongside the people whose stories we know through scripture.
- At times we are like the people of Moses, squabbling with each other on the road to the Promised Land.
- At times we are like the disciples of Jesus, jostling for position in the rankings as their Lord set his face towards Jerusalem.
- At times we might be like the people led by Nehemiah, a team of builders, craftsmen and women, artists, making a new start together, rebuilding a previously-broken place. Or even like those led by Joshua, marching around the walls of Jericho, determined to overcome a common enemy by coming together on a journey of protest and persistence.
- Often perhaps we feel more like the two who walked the Emmaus Road, struggling with questions about their life and faith, wondering where life’s journey would lead them next.
Notice that each of these people were on a journey. It is heartening to know that in today’s very mobile world, where everything is networked and endlessly on the move, the people of God have been there before.
And also notice that each of these people had a starting-point and a destination. It is worth reflecting that though our networked world is defined by movement, movement relies for meaning on fixed points - on a journey from A to B, that journey only makes sense because of A and B; though our rapidly-moving world of mobile phonecalls and Facebook newsfeeds seems a world of constant change, in reality we are not simply spinning through space; we are placed. And places are deeply important to us.
Many, perhaps most, of the conversations I’ve had with people here since my arrival, introducing yourselves to me, telling me a little about your lives, have included references to places, and what these places mean to you - where you were born and raised, educated, where you live now. I have heard about places special to you because they carry memories. Homes where so much joy and pain have been shared between loved ones; places of intersection and change like railway stations, airports - where you have waved goodbye to special people, or have welcomed new folk into your lives; sports stadia where you have witnessed great events, or theatres or cathedrals where you remember performances which have enriched you, even transformed you - places which hold great memories. And places which have lifted your spirit, like [this] church. And places which you have put body and soul into, like [this farm], like your workplace, like your garden. [1]
As Christians, let us understand ourselves as people who are placed. Our relationship with places, with the land on which we move and work, is a major theme in scripture: from the garden to the city people are called to tend the land and attend to each other in love and grace, under the direction and guidance of a generous, giving God.
And as followers of Christ today let us understand ourselves as people on a journey, a journey between two very specific places - from Eden to the new Jerusalem. Like the early followers of Jesus who were known as People of the Way as they moved from Jerusalem, site of the crucifixion and resurrection appearances, out into the world to share their Saviour’s story. Like them our lives play out in very specific places, which enrich us. Or at times we find ourselves in difficult places, which challenge or oppress us. [2]
As the service ends here with the words of dismissal: ‘Go in peace to love and serve the Lord’, let us think about where we will place ourselves this week - and what that will mean for our journey with God. As we leave here let us determine to make decisions to help draw us closer to the people God wants us to be - decisions like, today I will move out of this house and visit a lonely neighbour, today I will take my gardening tools to a piece of land which needs tending, for the good of all who see it and use it.
And if the place we find ourself in is a hard place - a difficult workplace, maybe, a troubled family home, a farm struglling in these hard economic times, then let us draw closer in prayer to the God who offered so much at Eden and promises so much in the new Jerusalem, who longs for us to know that he stands in that hard place with us, longs to bring us hope and healing, longs indeed to be our light, now and forever.
Notes
[1] This paragraph reworks material I first used in Healing Places: 1. Knowing your place, material used on a retreat at Bishop's House, Iona, April 2005, to which this entire sermon relates.
[2] See Walter Brueggemann, The Land - Place as Gift, Promise, and Challenge in Biblical Faith.
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