09.09.2025
Saint Francis
The Gift of New Beginnings Revelation Series Part 6
Sermon for August 24, 2025
11th Sunday after Pentecost – Pr. Bea Chun, St. Francis Lutheran Church
Beloved in Christ,
close your eyes for a moment
and imagine the world remade.
Imagine breathing air that is lighter,
sky that is wider,
earth that is steadier.
Imagine a creation where sorrow has no weight,
where death has no claim,
where God is nearer than your own heartbeat.
This is the vision John of Patmos saw —
a vision so radiant and strange
that words can barely hold it.
A new heaven, a new earth —
not far away,
but here,
God’s home among us.
Grace to you and peace
from the one who is,
and the one who was,
and the one who is to come.
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.
Wait a minute!
Wait a minute, I want to say.
What do you mean,
“I saw a new heaven and a new earth”?
I want to interrupt John of Patmos
with all kinds of questions here.
For the past Sundays we have
been making our way through
the Book of Revelation,
and in the beginning of that book
John gives us a vision of heaven —
a long, beautiful, powerful vision
that goes on for several chapters.
There is the Throne of God at the center of it all,
and radiance and shimmering beauty like jewels,
and light and color and brilliance.
There are the elders surrounding the throne,
with their white robes and their golden crowns,
and the beautiful torches,
and the sea of glass, calm and clear as crystal.
There are the four living creatures,
and many, many angels,
and the Lamb who was slain, yet standing.
And then a great multitude that no one can count,
from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages —
all of them engaged in endless worship.
And now you are telling me this is all gone?
All has disappeared and is no more?
And now there is a new heaven?
What does this new heaven look like?
Is there still such astonishing beauty,
and such multitudes, and endless worship?
And there is now a new earth?
And the old earth is gone?
And does this new earth still have
mountains and rivers,
forests and meadows,
people and animals,
rain and snow,
clouds drifting across the sky,
the smell of spring blossoms,
the sound of children playing,
the rhythm of the seasons,
the sparkle of stars at night?
I so wish that John had
given us more hints!
But he did give us something,
and what he did give us was this:
“I saw the Holy City,
the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her spouse…”
And “a loud voice from the throne” —
so we know there is still a throne —
and this voice says:
"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."
God coming down from heaven
to make a home among the people —
this is so different from the impression
that a lot of people have
about the Book of Revelation,
which is sometimes portrayed as a story
where people are snatched up to heaven,
or “raptured” away from the earth.
But clearly this is NOT a story about
leaving earth behind and going up to heaven.
It is about heaven coming down to earth,
and God making a dwelling among humanity.
And in this way,
heaven and earth become as one.
All the beauty of heaven is now filling the earth.
All the worship of heaven is now filling the earth.
All the peace and order of heaven is now filling the earth.
And “the sea is no more” —
that doesn’t necessarily mean no literal oceans,
but the things that were represented by the sea:
all the chaos and evil and threats,
all of those are gone.
Finally creation is free of every destructive force!
And a little bit later
this new city, the new Holy Jerusalem,
is described in more detail:
a place of extraordinary beauty —
precious stones, gates of pearl,
streets of gold.
All the beauty which was until then
only found in heaven
has now come to earth.
And heaven and earth are one:
a beautiful place of order,
peace, and abundance,
with the throne of God
in the midst of it all.
There is no more separation
between God and the people.
Heaven and earth are one.
No more tears.
No more death.
No more crying.
No more pain.
Just life — abundant,
full, rich, overflowing.
This is the new heaven-earth,
the new earth-heaven,
the new creation.
Which means that actually
the entire book of Revelation
is a creation story!
Which means there are three creation stories in the Bible!
The first one is this:
found in the opening verses of Genesis.
God creates through word, through speech.
God speaks the world into being:
God said, “Let there be light,”
and there was light.
In the first creation story
everything was created through
God’s powerful word.
And then our Bible contains a second creation story,
retained from an older, more archaic layer of tradition.
In this other creation story
God creates with hands
and with holy breath.
With God’s hands
a garden is planted, Eden,
and all the creatures are formed —
first animals,
and then humans, Adam and Eve,
with the breath of life.
And now we have a third creation story.
In this third story
God does not create with word,
and not with hands and breath,
but in another way.
This other way is not spelled out,
so I am using my imagination:
In this final creation story
God is creating with God’s womb.
God is giving birth!
Does God have a womb?
Oh yes.
The Hebrew word for mercy and compassion, raham (רַחַם),
is the same root as the word for womb.
This beautiful word even has a cousin in Islam,
where we find Al-Rahman, Al-Rahim (ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ) —
two incredibly important and frequently mentioned names for Allah.
They mean the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
So, if we think of
God giving birth to a new creation,
then all the terrible middle chapters
of the Book of Revelation
acquire a new meaning.
These middle chapters
are truly frightening and terrifying,
with all those beasts,
and the dragon,
and the catastrophes.
It is as if the book is suddenly screaming.
And several of you have told me
that you don’t even like to open
the Book of Revelation
because it scares you.
But what if this middle part
that is screaming at us
is the sound of birth pains,
as the new world is being born?
Hearing a woman give birth
can be a terrifying experience.
If you walk down the hallway
outside of a labor room,
all those terrible sounds of agony
sound like torture —
unbearable torture.
But if you step inside that room,
if you stand beside the mother who is giving birth,
if you hold her hand,
it is a different story.
Yes, the pain is still terrible pain.
But there is something else:
a huge life-force welling up,
a force that has everyone in its grip —
the mother,
and also all those who support her in her labor.
A force so powerful you cannot fight it.
It envelops all your senses,
even your sense of time.
It can go on for hours,
and yet time itself seems to float.
And for transparency I must say,
I myself have never given birth.
But I have been trained as a childbirth doula,
and I have supported women and their partners
during birth.
I sense this same life-force
in the Book of Revelation —
doing battle with all the evil in the world,
and even with death itself.
This same life-force
was at work when Jesus
hung on the cross
to do battle with death,
to overcome death and the grave.
And from the Book of Revelation,
I get the sense that what was begun on the cross
is now being brought to completion.
No more death.
No more crying.
No more wars.
No more cancer and heart attacks and strokes.
No more wildfires,
no more floods and earthquakes.
All of this — finished.
They may make one last desperate surge,
but then once and for all,
they are done.
Finally, creation is finished and perfected.
The presence of God fills all things.
Justice fills the earth.
Joy is never again interrupted.
And God and humanity
dwell together in love.
Everything is whole.
We are home.
Beloved,
this is the promise:
a world made new,
a creation healed,
a home where God is with us,
and we are with God.
So lift up your heads.
Take heart in the labor pains.
The birth is coming.
The new world is already pressing in.
And the One seated on the throne says,
“See, I am making all things new.”
Amen.
The text: Revelation 21:1-6
The New Heaven and the New Jerusalem
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, the 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.”
