The Lord God shall give them light. (Revelation 22:5) Many of us take pictures to help us remember a really good moment—a holiday or a gorgeous sunset or something cute one of our kids has done. We want to hold onto all that goodness after the moment has ended. Heaven: the best moment we will ever have, and the one that will never end. There will be no need for cameras, no need to look back, trying to remember and trying to “hold onto” a good time that we once had. Today, on this the last day of the liturgical year, the Book of Revelation depicts what heaven will be like. The reading paints a picture—not a literal but a figurative one. It describes a river of life-giving water, the tree of life, the throne of God, and a heavenly multitude who will worship God day and night. What beautiful images to depict the glorious inheritance that awaits us! As bright as our future is, God wants us to experience foretastes of heaven now—every day, in fact. Retreats, Mass, personal prayer times, or acts of service; all of these blessings give us little glimpses of heaven that sustain us, as springs in a desert refresh a weary traveler or like the manna that sustained the Israelites throughout their journey to the promised land. But these glimpses of heaven aren’t just pleasant little gifts from God to delight our hearts. We need them so that we can find the strength to press on in the face of opposition, both from our own fallen nature and from the temptations in the world. Without a sense of heaven, we would quickly lose our joy and gratitude—and that would turn our service to the Lord into drudgery. Today, as another liturgical year ends, let’s remember our final destination and call to mind all the promises we’ve heard about it. Let’s also ask the Holy Spirit for the foretastes of it that will sustain us on our journey. May he continue to inspire us with images like those in the Book of Revelation! “Jesus, help me to believe in your promises so that I can taste heaven every day. Lord, I can’t wait to be with you forever!” Todays readings: Revelation 22:1-7 Psalm 95:1-7 Luke 21:34-36
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 13:42:23 +0000
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