Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
This familiar passage from the Revelation to Saint John the Divine is often read at funeral services. It is used to offer hope to the bereaved, to give a vision of a life beyond the grief and despair. We hear of a loving God who dwells among us - caring and compassionate.
See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.
It would be a mistake to limit our understanding of this passage to funerals and memorial services when it has so much to say about the nature of God and God’s presence in our lives.
Consider the context in which the Book of Revelation was written.
Christians were living under the persecution of the Roman Empire. They lived on the margins of society as an oppressed minority - at times fearing for their lives. In this context, the promise of a “new heaven and a new earth”, a new Jerusalem, and a God whose home is among the people gave hope to a struggling Church. God serves as an agent of healing through change - through transformation. God’s grace, God’s love and compassion is witnessed to in the process of transformation:
"See, I am making all things new."
God’s action throughout human history has consistently brought with it change.
If we turn to today’s passage from the Acts of the Apostles we find Peter making a report to the church at Jerusalem. He is criticized for going to minister to the Gentiles, the “unclean”. How could he share a table with the uncircumcised? He shares a vision in which God commands him to eat what he considers unclean. Central to the vision is God’s message:
'What God has made clean, you must not call profane.'
Peter receives this vision as not simply a new teaching on dietary laws but an extension of God’s love , God’s grace is extended to all people.
The passage continues with an account of the baptism of a Gentile household. In defence of his of his action Peter states:
The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us........ If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?
Once again God is the initiator of change welcoming the outsider, including the rejected. The early Church is transformed by God’s radical message of inclusion. God is making all things new.
Today is a significant day in the history of the Diocese of Montreal. 31 years ago, in this cathedral, Lettie James, the first woman to be ordained priest in this diocese, was ordained to the diaconate. At the time, those who opposed the ordination of women, forecasted the demise of the Church.
The Spirit of God would not be stopped. She blew through the church breathing new life into the Body of Christ. God’s presence, God’s action. God’s love was once again revealed through change.
In June Anglicans from across Canada will gather in Winnipeg for General Synod. The theme for Synod is “Draw the Circle Wide” (418,
Common Praise) The theme is taken from a contemporary hymn by Bishop Gordon Light. The hymn speaks of God’s eternal embrace of all of creation. It speaks of a boundless love that encompasses every person, and allows us to dream extravagantly. All this is accomplished by drawing the circle wider to include all.What a wonderful theme for a Synod where God is calling us to be transformed. The Church is being asked to address the blessing of same sex unions and we must respond. Some will say, “we are not ready” or “this will mean the end of the Anglican Church”. The same things were said during the debate over the ordination of women. Some people were not ready to accept that God was calling women to serve in the priesthood, they could not accept that women were equal in the eyes of God (or their eyes for that matter) . But the Spirit of God broke through the fear, the prejudice, and the misogyny. 31 years later we worship together in the same place where Lettie was ordained. God’s justice endures.
General Synod 2004 recognized the integrity and sanctity of committed same -sex unions. At General Synod 2007 we will have the opportunity to draw the circle wide - to include in a concrete way gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgendered Anglicans. The Queer community will be a small minority within the members of General Synod. The power to make change lies within the heterosexual delegates. Just as men were instrumental in the realization of the ordination of women our gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered brothers and sisters are relying on others to be their voice on the floor of Synod.
It all sounds like a risky proposition. Who wants to place their hopes on the chance of a benevolent majority? But let’s not forget that God has throughout the history of humanity revealed God’s-self in the winds of change. God has consistently broken through the margins , drawing the circle wider still. We become agents of God’s change when we put aside our doubts and fears and choose to love through action.
In today’s reading from John’s gospel Jesus is spending a final evening with his disciples. The next day he will be crucified. He gives them a “new commandment”:
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
As disciples of Christ we are be commanded to live and be Christ’s love in the world. I must admit that this particular Gospel passage has a personal connection for me. As part of my process in my Master of Divinity programme I was required to write a paper on my theology of ministry. I chose this passage as a sort of thesis statement because I felt then , as I do now that the imperative to love is at the very centre of all ministry. and indeed the Christian life.
I pray that we at Christ Church will continue to be open to new things that God is doing in the Church, in the world. I ask your prayers for all the members of General Synod that they will be motivated by God’s radical love in all their deliberations.
Draw the circle wide. Draw it wider still. Let this be our song, no one stands alone, standing side by side, draw the circle wide.
The Rev Joyce Sanchez, Associate Priest, Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal