All Things New

10:30 Mass homily

Most of us like to travel to see the beauty and majesty of our country and the world.  Many of us simply travel from Mashpee to Falmouth, then to Bourne followed by Sandwich, Barnstable, all the way to Chatham, Truro and Provincetown, and back again. We plan day trips or longer vacations to get away, relax, and perhaps meet new people. 

Today’s first reading is a travelogue of sorts. Paul and Barnabas traveled throughout southern, present-day Turkey to Lystra, Iconium, Antioch, Pisidia, Pamphylia, Perga, and Attalia. But they were not on a vacation. They were hard at work with the task of spreading the Word of God and the good news to new people and opening the doors to the faith and the way of Jesus for the Gentiles.

They were Christ’s ambassadors, as we should be.  Being an ambassador – a disciple of sorts – is a difficult, demanding role because as Luke said in the Acts of the Apostles, it’s necessary to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God especially when that means to get people – us, family, and friends – to shift from old ways of thinking and behaving to new ways. Now that’s a challenge.  Mending our old ways.  Having a change of heart – a new mindset.  

Speaking about ourselves, perhaps we shift from being close-minded to being open minded.  Perhaps we shed our prejudices and biases, and we all have them. Perhaps our hard hearts soften. Perhaps we decide to truly follow Jesus and not abandon him when it suits us – when our hardships are just too demanding – when it’s just too hard.

And that brings us to our reading from the Book of Revelation, the final book of the Bible when we read about the old giving way to the new. Revelation is about an unveiling – the removal of the veil that hides what is just beyond – the new. The veil is taken away, and something is revealed.  That which is hidden is revealed to us.  For many Jews and later Christians that something new was the Son of God and Savior - Jesus and his way.

That’s what the Book of Revelation really is about. Yes, Revelation has battles, dragons, opening of seals, blowing of trumpets, plagues, suffering, and other nightmarish scenes incorrectly and often purposely interpreted over the centuries, and even today, as the fate of the world once Jesus comes again. And that’s just plain ridiculous and has been improperly used as justification by many for vengeful and violent actions against so-called “enemies.” The flawed logic is: if God can be violent, then so can we. We must handle Revelation with care. It can be and has been terribly misused and for great profit.

Revelation is about a new creation and what that means. For example, consider a wedding and the bride’s veil that hides her face.  She comes into Church with an old way of living as a single woman.  When she is unveiled, she becomes something new – a soon-to-be married woman. The bride traditionally wears something old and something new symbolically representing her unveiling to become a new creation.  She also wears something blue standing for love, purity, and fidelity – preferred qualities of a new creation – or a wife.

By the way, the man – the groom – doesn’t wear anything with that kind of symbolism.  All we are required to wear is a big smile.  Seems so unfair don’t you think ladies? At least the men swear an oath.  Men promise to be true to you in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and honor you all the days of their lives, until death do you part.  The bottom line is the bride and bridegroom both become something new. They shed an old way of thinking. And that’s a revelation.

The Book of Revelation was written by someone called John on the Island of Patmos off Turkey.  It was a penal colony where Romans sent troublesome dissidents such as followers of Jesus Christ and those who would not sacrifice to the Roman gods, and Caesar. Under those circumstances the author of Revelation provided a contrast between the forces of good and the forces of evil.  Think of the Stars Wars movies with their battles between the evil empire of Darth Vader and the forces of light symbolized by Luke Skywalker and his light saber.  

Revelation is about the conflict between the lordship of Christ and the lordship of Caesar: good versus evil. John envisioned a stormy, earthquake-like transition from a world of Roman violence, oppression, and cruelty to a new world born from Jesus’ resurrection from the dead with a focus on love, compassion, and peace. Sometimes we wonder if this transition will ever be completed. Think of the Russia’s continued destruction of Ukraine and its people as an example of an incomplete transition.

Nevertheless, let’s listen to what John said about the new world: “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people and God himself will always be with them as their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away.” 

The One who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” So, what do the words of the One who sat on the throne mean for us today?  We are supposed to become new creations – seeing evil for what it is; giving up bad and destructive habits; not being divisive or hypocritical; being truthful; being right and just.  It’s up to each of us to wipe every tear from the eyes of those suffering in pain.

We also become “new” when we glorify God.  Our Gospel according to another John tells us how. Jesus said: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

At the end of Mass, I will say: “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your lives” with a simple meaning “Love one another, and you will have peace.”

Deacon David Pierce