There was a pool in Jerusalem named Beth-zatha, the pool of mercy, which was fed by a natural spring. The spring bubbled up on occasion causing the surface to ripple. The locals said that an angel’s wings were brushing the water and that the first person into the pool would be blessed by the angel and healed.
Consequently in the surrounding porch there were many ill, blind, lame and paralyzed people waiting for their chance to enter the waters and be healed. They waited and they hoped, for a better life, a new life, a miracle.
They weren’t alone, in ancient times there was a huge gap between the rich and the poor…between the lives of citizens and non citizens, between the haves and those whose lives were so bad they had nothing left to them but hope. Just Imagine …
A crowded city, surrounded by walls and gated, narrow streets of dirt which ran with mud when it rained and were befouled by animals and the contents of hundreds of chamber pots. The streets literally ran with filth and disease.
People mostly lived in apartments up to 6 stories high, but poorly built…susceptible to collapse and prone to fires. When a fire did occur the upper stories had little means of escape and the streets provided little access for the fire fighters.
The city was terribly crowded and the press and noise was intense, and the lack of health care meant many were sick, plague often ran through the city. Children were died frequently and some were abandoned in the street when there were too many children in a family to care for. Left to be picked up and sold as slaves or simply left to die.
At night the city gates were locked, windows shuttered and the streets emptied, as criminals and disreputable sorts prowled the darkness looking for victims. This is some of the ways that Rome was described in the 1st century. Unfortunately, it could still be describing certain parts of the world. Even here, though much, much better we able to relate, we may not be ancient Rome, but we still need hope. An angel to stir the waters, a vision and a promise that the world could be a better place.
So now imagine how Paul’s vision of the New Jerusalem would have been received, both for those who first heard it and for those who currently live in situations where reality is untenable.
Imagine this… A city so large it is said in earlier verses to be 1,500 miles squared…larger than the country of India…larger than anyone in Paul’s time could imagine. So, there would never be any worrying of over crowding. The New Jerusalem’s gates would never be shut, because there was nothing to fear. The light of the Lord would shine on the people always, there will be no night, no fear and nothing evil.
Then there was the city itself; rather than being dirty or in ruin, it is described as having the brilliance of a jewel, clear as crystal and the foundations of the city covered with precious stones. Stable, safe, healthy and with room for all. Truly a heavenly vision, a vision of hope and promise for a desolate people.
In Paul’s time a walled city was a safe city, the gates kept the bad people out and the good people in…at least that was the idea. In the heavenly city there is safety represented by walls, but also an openness and inclusivity, as the gates in the walls will never be shut, even at night.
In fact, we are told in Paul’s vision that in the heavenly city there is no night, nor moon nor sun, but that the Lord is the lamp by which all is enlightened and by God’s own light we will live our lives. Night in ancient times was full of fear and terrors, whether it was because of criminals in the city or wild animals in the fields…take away the night and you take away the fear. God’s city is a city without anything to fear… a city where terrorists do not strike, where shootings never occur and where women do no need to walk with keys between their knuckles their fingers on speed dial.
We live in a world of night, a world in desperate need of God’s hope and God’s light. And Paul vision shows us one version of that hope…a city with no darkness, no fear, simply the light of God’s presence shining on all of us. In the new Jerusalem, there is space enough for all of us.
Did you that in some parts of Asia, overcrowding is such a problem there are living spaces called micro apartments that rent for hundreds of dollars and give a total of 25sq ft. Some have nicknamed these apartments ‘coffin homes’.
Imagine the hope God’s city brings, the New Jerusalem bigger than anyone can imagine…big enough that everyone can dwell in it in safety and security. Not in crowded apartments riddled with bed bugs, or refugee camps or reservations, but in safety, comfort and security. That, for many would be heaven indeed.
In fact, in God’s own city everyone is housed, except God himself. Paul says ‘I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city and (we) will see his face,”
If you recall, in ancient Jerusalem the Lord was believed to be housed in the Holy of Holies in the center of the temple and no one could enter except one priest, once a year.
In God’s own city there is longer any need for church buildings or even priests, I’d say because God dwells with us in the heavenly city with us and we can meet God face to face, no anxiety, no guilt, no ritual, no intermediary…just you and God, together. Because God isn’t in some heaven far away, or in a special place set apart for only the holiest people, but Paul envisions God dwelling with us, here on earth. The very Earth that God created and we reside on, but made whole, restored and healed.
In the midst of the God’s city there is a river of life flowing from God’s throne…and on either side of the river is the tree of life with 12 kinds of fruit, producing fruit each month and the leaves are for the healing of the nations.
This may be one of the most beautiful images of Paul’s vision. Clean fresh water straight from God for all to drink their fill. Fresh, healthy, wholesome fruits in every season so that none will ever go hungry and the leaves, leaves for healing of the nations. Healing everything we suffer from, healing of the brokenness of our relationships, healing within ourselves and healing of the nations of the earth…justice, truth, equity.
Beyond that I also believe the healing will be for the earth as well, because in our brokenness humanity has damaged God’s creation and creatures in ways that Paul could never have imagined. Paul has envisioned new heaven and new earth, in which the new Jerusalem takes center stage, and will be the center of reconciliation and renewal for all aspects of creation. No abuse, no exploitation...just harmonious co-existence…the lion and lamb curled up together.
Peace and wholeness. Something we all hope for in this troubled and broken world. We don’t live in ancient Rome, or Jerusalem. But the world we live in is broken enough, and it is just as in need of God now, as it was then. We are just as much in need of a vision of hope and an understanding of a God who cares. A God of relationship, a God who goes to extreme lengths to heal and restore relationships with all of God’s creation.
This is a vision of hope for all of us, an angel stirring the waters of healing. Paul’s vision is a vision that we need, a hope that is ever before us and a truth that we will know in God’s own time. At times it is easy to give up hope, to think that no one will ever be there to help us into the waters of the healing pool. That we should resign ourselves to the way things are. Paul’s vision reminds us, that this is not what God intends for the world, his world. There is more!
How we live now is not the way it ought to be and although we may have been waiting for 38 years, or more, like the man at the pool…a lifetime…generations. Paul gives a glimpse of what will be. The hope of a better world, more then hope; A promise that God will make all things well, in God’s own time.
And I pray that as we wait and hope…we act to make this world, the world God intends to restore once more. amen
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