These Bible meditations are meant as a way of seeking God in silence and prayer in the midst of our daily life. During the course of a day, take a moment to read the Bible passage with the short commentary and to reflect on the questions which follow. Afterwards, a small group of 3 to 10 people can meet to share what they have discovered and perhaps for a time of prayer.
March 2013
Revelation 21:1-6: A City Beautiful Like No Other
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. I saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 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. 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.” 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.” 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. (Revelation 21:1-6)
At the end of the Book of Revelation, the very last book of the Bible, the author, John, describes a most extraordinary sight: first, a new heaven and a new earth appear to him, then a city descending from heaven. The vision, however startling, is not meant to horrify or impress. This is vision in a different sense. It is fresh perception, a new realization about God, about life and why we are here.
At various points in our lives, all of us can find ourselves asking the question “why?”. Why is the world the way it is? Why has this or that happened? At such moments we try to see better, so as to orient ourselves and grasp what we can of the purpose of things. As believers we try to “see” not with our senses or mind alone. We try to see also with the special help which faith in God gives. So what is it that we see with John? What do we perceive with the eyes of faith? Something so uniquely beautiful that several metaphors are necessary to describe it—a new creation, a heavenly city, a bride adorned in anticipation for her husband-to-be. We see a city fresh and beautiful because love itself makes it shine.
Cities are not just places where people live, but where different kinds of people live together. Interestingly, John sees not several cities but one heavenly city: God envisions human beings living together as one. The city which in the Bible symbolizes God’s promise to his people, Jerusalem, is to become the city of all. The vision would have us perceive a new potentiality within human existence: life becomes truly beautiful, even breathtakingly so, whenever and wherever human beings overcome what divides them and live together as one.
If the harshness of opposition and conflict could make such a vision seem more like fleeting dream than potential reality, we would do well to notice in the vision the downward movement of the city. It does not float off into the heavens. For all its singularity, the city is not otherworldly. Rather it comes down to earth. The heavenly city is an invitation then not to turn our gaze elsewhere but to keep it fixed here. This world, our city, is to be made new. For it to be transformed, we need to look again at those around us. What could possibly inspire us for this? “Look,” John hears a voice saying in verse 3, “God has come to live with humans.”
In taking on our humanity in Jesus Christ, God has wed his life to ours, joined himself totally and irrevocably to our existence. As we search how to respond daily to life in this world, we ask Christ to help us look at others around us and to see our city as God’s city. Each of its inhabitants is worthy of being considered and served, because God, as the voice in the vision tells us, will wipe away every tear. If we should ask, “how can this be”, the words John then hears come in reply: “I am the beginning and the end.” It is not our understanding but God’s good intention which embraces creation. And God gives water for the journey not to the satiated but to the thirsty.
How would I describe the heavenly city of Revelation 21? Can this vision change the way we see the world? What do the words which John hears suggest to me? How do they affect me?
While Jesus was teaching in the temple, the Scribes and Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught committing adultery. They said to Jesus, “In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” (Jn 8:5).
They wanted to set a trap for him with this question. If Jesus had shown himself to be against the stoning, they could have accused him of going against the law. According to the law, the actual witnesses were to begin throwing stones at the one who had sinned, and then the people were to follow in turn. If, instead, Jesus had confirmed the sentence of death, they would have succeeded in making him contradict his own teaching about God’s mercy toward sinners.
But Jesus, who was bent down writing on the ground with his finger, remained unperturbed and finally straightened up and said:
“Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
When they heard this, “the accusers went away one by one, beginning with the elders.” Jesus then turned to the woman and asked, “Where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she replied. “Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore” (Jn 8:10–11).
“Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
With these words, Jesus certainly does not wish to appear permissive with regard to wrongdoing, such as adultery. His words, “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore,” clearly express God’s commandment.
Instead Jesus wishes to unmask the hypocrisy of those who set themselves up as judges of their fellow human beings who have sinned, without recognizing that they themselves are sinners. His words here underline the well-known command: “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged” (Mt 7:1–2).
Speaking in this way, Jesus also addresses himself to those who, in the name of the law, ignore the person involved and do not take into account the repentance that sinners may feel in their hearts. This clearly shows what Jesus’ attitude is toward one who has done wrong: he is merciful. As St. Augustineput it, when the accusers of the adulteress had gone away, “two persons remained: one in need of mercy and the other Mercy itself”(Homilies on the Gospel of Saint John 33:5).
“Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
How can we put this word of life into practice?
In all our dealings with others, let us remember that we too are sinners. All of us have sinned. Even if we think that we ourselves have not fallen into serious sin, we must bear in mind that we do not know just how strongly circumstances have influenced others, causing them to fall and to stray far from God. We do not know how we would have acted had we been in their place.
In any case, we too have broken the bond of love that was meant to unite us to God. We too have been unfaithful to him.
If Jesus, who was certainly without sin, did not throw the first stone at the adulteress, neither can we condemn others.
We should have compassion toward everyone, resisting those impulses that drive us to condemn others without mercy. We must learn how to forgive and forget. We should not harbor traces of judgment or resentment in our hearts, since these can easily give rise to anger and hatred that alienate us from others. We should see every person as “new” in every moment.
If our hearts are filled with love and compassion toward all, rather than judgment and condemnation, we will help others to begin new lives, to find the courage to start anew.
Chiara Lubich
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