"...behold I make all things new..." Rev. 21:5
...behold I make all things new...
This is the promise of the ultimate consummation of all things to glory in Christ, whose resurrection assures us that indeed the world can and will change because the one whom God brought upon this earth has dared to challenge its sinful status quo to the point of costing his life has triumph over the greatest potency of sin –death.
...behold I make all things new...
The empty grave of Jesus, tells us that indeed all things are becoming new and that death doesn’t have the final say in the struggle for a better world. It tells us that Christ’s resurrection has turned the tide against the power of sin and death.
...behold I make all things new...
The passage reminds us that, God will triumph over evil. Death will be overcome and new life will become reality. God’s promise will be fulfilled. A new heaven and a new earth waits. God frees us from the fetters that bind the present to the future.1
...behold I make all things new...
This statement challenges us to open our eyes of faith, to be able to see that indeed God is making all things new. It challenges our perception of how we see and understand the world. It teaches us that the reversal of human destiny is at hand in the uninhabited tomb of Jesus. It reminds us that we are people of the resurrection, living our lives with a great vision that transforms us as we are living it . 2
...behold I make all things new...
Is a call to solidarity with the victims of evil to affirm our common discontent with the way things are while at the same time proclaiming our message that the world must change, that it can change and that it will change because the God of creation wills it, because Jesus has already turned the tide of the destructive forces by his human response to our situation.3
...behold I make all things new...
In this passage we are challenged to participate in God’s work of making things new by exhibiting his character that is grounded in justice and righteousness. Hence, it is a call to do justice and live righteously in the presence of the God who is making all things new.
...behold I make all things new...
This is the nagging call to bear witness: to preach the good news that God is making all things new in spirit and in truth; to make our actions speak louder than our words. To be co-workers in the work to make all things new in Christ, who has shown us that triumph over the forces of evil is the only recourse of history as we live our lives of faith proclaiming “come Jesus, come.” (Rev. 22:20)
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Notes
- Matheny, Paul. On the genealogies and geographies of philosophical and theological thinking: an introductory text (Quezon City, Philippines: New Day Publishers, 2006) pp.119-120
- Nouwen, Henri. Our Second Birth: Christian Reflections on Death and New Life (New York, NY: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1998) p.151
- Hellwig, Monika. Understanding Catholicism. (Georgetown, DC: Divine Word, 1987) p. 171
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