Every Sunday, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Click HERE for the readings.
We see much injustice in our world. We see many things that we know are wrong. We experience the unfairness of life — no one is exempt. People flee their homeland for better work; they live through extreme natural disasters; they experience the pain of loss. We can look at our own lives and remember the times when we were misunderstood, misjudged, and mistreated — when life was difficult.
Yet, despite the crosses we bear — and St. Paul tells us to face our hardships with a persevering faith — we have hope for a world in which truth prevails, justice is done, and love presides.
John the Evangelist saw it in his vision which he records in The Book of Revelation (21:1-5a):
“Then I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
"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.’”
We long for that better place. We long for God’s Kingdom. And we are on our way. We follow Jesus who takes us there. We are his disciples.
But as we journey there, and in order to avoid as many scrapes caused by human frailty and folly as possible, Jesus gives us this new commandment: “Love one another.” He commands us that in everything we do, in every word we speak, and in every decision we make, we must do it for the good of the other person, the good of our community, and for the salvation of every soul. We are commanded to bring a bit of Heaven’s vision to the earth on which we all live together now. Now is the time to practice holiness, the time to practice being saints.
Someday, we will not only be good at loving, we will also be perfect at it. That is when we will know that we have entered into the vision that John saw. Then the old order will have passed away, and all things will be made new.
Have a blessed week everyone.