Old or New Jerusalem - which do you prefer?

Old or New Jerusalem – which do you prefer?

Sermon for 5 May 2002, 6.30pm Evensong, St Mary Magdalen, Sheet, published on www.trikeshed.com

Bible readings: Zechariah 8:1-13, Revelation 21:22-22:5

The readings we heard tonight are two great ones. There are wonderful parallels between them. Can you remember them?

The Old Testament reading was from Zechariah, a message from a prophet
The New Testament reading was from Revelation, a vision from an angel

And the prophet and the angel were both sent by God.

The first reading is from end of the Old Testament
The second reading is from the end of the New Testament

Both are about Jerusalem

Zechariah was talking about a recognizable Jerusalem of bricks and mortar
John in Revelation was describing an incredible new Jerusalem made of gold and precious stones

Both have a vision of a street

the prophet sees men and women of ripe old age sitting there and of boys and girls playing there
John sees a great street with the river of life, clear as crystal

Both talk about going to Jerusalem

for Zechariah, the people are coming back after the displacement of the exile to live there
for John, the glory and honour and splendour of the nations are brought into the city

And there’s a temple – well, sort of:

the prophet wants to see it rebuilt
Revelation says there is no temple (even with all the gold and riches)

Both talk about plants – a vision of plenty

the seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops and the heavens will drop their dew
And in the new Jerusalem, the trees by the river of life bear fruit every month and leaves for the healing of the nations

I think you could probably divide people into two types according to which of these two visions they prefer. This isn’t a value judgement, it’s just different. Which do you prefer, the tranquil streets, bricks and mortar, seeds and vine vision of the old Jerusalem, or the gold, crystal and pearls vision of the new Jerusalem?

I have to say that I’m a "Type O". Zechariah seems full of positive thinking and hope. The gentle picture of stability and peace, a covenant with the people. A rooted, earthy piece of prose, with its images of rebuilding and craftsmanship, of crops and gardening. And through this honest labour, curses are turned into blessings. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong. I like that.

I’m not a "Type N". The Revelation image seems to be a stark one, full of Noes. No temple, no sun, no moon, no night, no lamp. And it’s so fanciful. People’s names in the book of life, God’s name on their foreheads, a river clear as crystal, a city of gold and precious stones, and it’s 1400 miles long! Thrones and servants and people reigning. A glittering, glistening, shining vision, hard and harsh and uncompromising and dramatic and apocalyptic. I can sort of understand why some will prefer this vision, but it’s not for me!

Well of course you can guess what I might say. Let’s budge up, as it were, and make room for both. And this is how we might look at it. Suppose I had my way and we just had Zechariah. Where would that vision lead on its own? This noble desire to create a city, and a temple, in which a jealous God is jealously guarded? It is of course a vision from God but it’s only part of the story. If you stop there and make that your defining vision – where does it lead? Does it lead to heaven on earth? Or might it lead to the Jerusalem and the Bethlehem and the Jenin and the Hebron of today? Maybe that’s an unfair thing to say. But not completely. If your vision ends with an earthly city and the supremacy of a certain place, whether you are Christian, Jewish or Moslem, and you combine that vision with religious zeal, you can see what happens. Extreme nationalism, the phenomenon of Le Pen, the rise of anti-Semitism, yes even in Britain [recent desecrations of Jewish cemeteries], all these ugly developments can come out of keeping your horizons narrow.

So we do need to look further. Perhaps we need to look again at that unreal, apocalyptic vision. The Bible began in a garden, but we have to leave that garden and be led into the great city where the story ends. And as we go from the garden to the city, let’s look around us at the scenery – the context of these two readings. Zechariah was writing in a climate of political hope and optimism. The remnant were returning, rebuilding and achieving. While John was actually writing in a very different climate. The grip of persecution was tightening from totalitarian Roman rule. Visions of impossible splendour mean more in those times, as they did to the slaves in America, think of the language of the Negro spirituals. And we actually need both. Revelation brings a message of freedom from the shackles of time and place. There really is no need for a temple of strong bricks. And the light of the Sun, the incredibly powerful light, is not sufficient and not necessary. The fruit is not bound by seasons but is fresh twelve months of the year (Even better than Waitrose. And Tesco’s! [supermarket in Petersfield, one newly opened]) The sheer quantity and size of everything is beyond our normal understanding. It is a vision of heaven. But it too can be a dangerous vision if it’s not connected with our real lives and this real world.

Well, thank God there is a connection – a bridge between these two sides. Jesus is that bridge. God became man, heaven came to earth and earth to heaven. If you stand on that bridge and look at the two sides, they are in a strange kind of way the same. The wide street of gold is the street of human hearts, where old men and women sit and children play. The leaves that strengthen the vine are those leaves that grow for the healing of the nations. And, paraphrased in a song that was a ‘70s favourite in the charismatic movement "See there is no temple to go and worship in. The Lamb and the Almighty fill every living thing." The Lamb and the Almighty. What a strange idea but what a wonderful joining up between these two very different ways of looking at heaven and earth. In the end it doesn’t matter which vision you prefer or feel more comfortable with. Between them they encompass the truth that leads to abundant life, which is for us here in this glorious Easter season.

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