Daily Devotional • November 18
A Reading from Revelation 21:1-8
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them and be their God;
4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”
5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 Then 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 as a gift from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the sexually immoral, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Meditation
This is one of the most beautiful, best-known passages in the Revelation to John, a reading often used in the BCP burial service: Behold, I make all things new!
The story of God’s people that began in Genesis with the creation of heaven and earth is consummated by the creation of a new heaven and a new earth — the first things have passed away. And out of heaven comes a city, the New Jerusalem. We are not transported up to heaven, heaven comes down to us from God.
In this new creation, God dwells with God’s people. There is no more sin, no death, no mourning, no crying, no pain. Can you imagine? God’s people living in God’s presence, the ultimate Eden! God brings forth what God intended from the beginning.
As a hospital chaplain, I am daily surrounded by sickness and pain and yes, even death. It’s an inescapable part of being human. We often consider that without tears and sadness we could not comprehend joy; that the pain of loss is one of the costs of love. Still, it’s worth pondering and trying to imagine what this new creation will be like, when all things are made new. As it is written in Isaiah, “the former things will not be remembered or come to mind” (65:17).
And then God says, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end!” God has once again made his home among mortals. O come, Emmanuel, God with us!
The Very Rev. Sherry Black is a second-career Episcopal priest, and has been a full-time hospital chaplain for over ten years. She also serves a small mission church as priest-in-charge, and is dean of her deanery.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
Galilee Church, Virginia Beach
The Diocese of Rejaf – Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan
