A New Dwelling

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

Today our reading comes from the Book of Revelation. The end times be such a controversial topic amongst believers and the world. There some would will do anything to fill in the blanks to know every exact detail of what it is going to be like. There are people who spend so much time trying to “find” every clue that they thing is left for them to discover in the book of Revelation. Revelation is a part of the Bible where we aren’t given every answer, where we aren’t told every detail - but we are told things we need to know - and we are called to trust in the Lord that He will take care of the rest.

But in our text today - we hear from one of the final chapters in the Book of Revelation and in our text we hear about the great city of Jersualem. And listen again to these details of that great, glorious city. In our text today, we hear that there will be no temple in the city - because the Lord God will be its sanctuary. We hear more in our text, it says that this great city will need no sun or moon to light it - because the light will come from God and from the Lamb. Revelation also gives us this picture of victory. It states that the city gates will never be shut, because there is no night, there is no darkness. What a beautiful scene. But the text also tells us that there will be people who are not there. No one unclean, no one who lies, or does what is false will be able to dwell there. This place is only reserved for people whose name is written in the Book of Life! So what gives you entrance? How do we know that our names are written there?

A common view of people in our world is whatever you have, whatever you gain - you have to earn. There is thought that if you work hard enough - that you can attain anything you desire. This motivational thought many times gets carried over into our spiritual lives. There are people who would say in my life with God - if I do enough good things to outweigh the bad - then I’m a good enough person. The try and find comfort in the things that do in hopes that just like the joke goes - that St. Peter will let them in. There is study done by pew research center where it polled by in America. And about 4 in 10 Americans said that you can get to heaven without belief in God. Many people in our world, have this great idea of what eternal life is going to be like, but the path on how to get there is often cloudy. People want to experience the joys of heaven - but there are many who are missing the only thing required for admittance - Jesus, the Lamb in the center of the new city.

Revelation 21, is all about God dwelling with His people! Revelation isn’t just about the beauty of the city, the pearls and the crystals and the streets of gold. It isn’t even just about all the angels, and the bowls. This great city of Revelation - the new Jersualem isn’t even solely about the foundation of city named after the 12 apostles of the Lord or the different gates names after the tribes of Israel, but it is all about the Lamb coming to dwell with His People! The sun and the moon - great things of creation are no longer needed, the temple or sanctuary where people come and gather to be near the presence of God is no longer needed. The gates of city no longer need to be closed, because the Lamb will dwell HIs people in victory. It’s throughout Faith in Jesus that your name is written in the Book of Life! It’s through His death and resurrection that He has won for you life! You have been made His people; Jesus will dwell with you! You have been made clean through your Baptism and the forgiveness of sins won for you! Jesus, in this new city, is coming to dwell not just with everyone, but those people who look to Jesus in faith - the ones who through Jesus have life.

Just a few short weeks ago, Bethany Lutheran School put on the performance for their drama, musical - they did their version of the Wizard of Oz! This is a classic, this is one of my favorite movies ever. And if you haven’t seen the movie, spoiler alert. Dorothy this girl from Kansas is scooped up by a tornado, and see finds herself in the wonderful land of Oz. And despite this place being magical, and filled with wonder - she begins this journey to go and find the Wizard the one who can take her home to Kansas. For Dorothy in her travels through the wonderful land of Oz she learns a valuable lesson - that “There is no place like home”. And if fact throughout her journey - she begins to long far and desire to go back to the simple farm, to see all the farm hands, and even to she that unpleasant neighbor, Dorothy time and time again re-affirms this desire to get home, to be home, because “there truly is no place like home.” And maybe for some of us today, we feel reflect on our situations here in this world, and we hear this reading from Revelation and we say to ourselves - Lord - I just want that! There is no place like home. Or we sing to ourselves the familiar hymn - “I’m but a stranger here, heaven is my home!”. We maybe like Dorothy long for another place, than the one that we currently find ourselves in. We find ourselves so focused on the eternal home that Jesus has prepared and Jesus describes in Revelation 21.

Now don’t here me wrong, there truly is nothing like our heavenly home. There should be some recognition, some focus on the home that we are waiting for. But, this eternal life of God dwelling with His people isn’t just something for the future. It isn’t just something that you experience why in the future, but this life in fellowship with the Lamb is a life that you experience today! Jesus through your baptism has given you the gift of the Holy Spirit - which as Scripture says, now dwells in you! You are a dwelling place for God - even in this broken world. And He gives us this promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Jesus has come to make you His own! He has come to claim, to call you, to pour out His Spirit that you may be His!

This great city in Revelation describes, nations and peoples walking by it’s light, living according to its light. In other words, letting the light of the Lord direct and lead them. As we live still in this broken world, as we long for the day when we will be able to see and dwell with our God face to face, may we today continue to live by the Light of our Lord today. May we continue to be led be His Spirit - proclaiming the Lamb of God who was slain in hopes that more and more people may hear of this life found only in Lamb, that others may too enjoy this fellowship found with the Lord. May we continue to life out this fellowship with Jesus. There truly is home place like home, and your Lord invites you to dwell and find shelter in His promises today!

Now may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, may it guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.