Fifth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary: 54

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."

It was not so long ago that the sky seemed like a high, distant place. Mountain climbers could ascend to dizzy heights and gaze on villages nestled in the valleys. Belfries offered the next highest vistas, and watch towers. Boys, young men, and Zacchaeus might climb trees to get a better look. Some buildings had second and third floors but skyscrapers never appeared until the 1880's. Before the appearance of aeroplanes and hot air balloons with gondolas, high places were inaccessible. 

The world changed with the airplane. The view from up there of people, buildings, highways and rivers below was no longer astonishing. First there were photos and films, now there are videos taken from drones. Live, airborne cameras chase footballs through stadiums and horses around a racetrack!

It was long understood that God's place is in the heavens, far beyond the reach of even the great and powerful. The Bible describes visions of God's throne when the sky rolled up like a scroll -- or a flapping window shade -- to reveal astonishing, incomprehensible glory. In those rare instances earthlings had seen how high the Lord is, but no one could go up there. The fools of Babel had attempted it only to be struck with incomprehensible confusion. Instead of the prestige they sought with their tower, they won the world's mockery.

However, from ancient times, this understanding of God's high place in heaven -- so obvious to anyone who saw the glory of God in a sunrise or sunset -- was challenged by other biblical traditions, especially the Book of Revelation. If mortals want the Divine to stay in a distant, inaccessible heaven, God prefers to dwell with the human race. First, he traveled with the Ark of the Covenant; the Hebrews carried this box-like throne across the Sinai Peninsula; and later stationed it at Shiloh. Then King David brought the Ark to his capital city of Jerusalem and Solomon installed it in his world class temple. When the Ark disappeared into the sky, the Lord himself visited his people as he walked the dusty roads  of Israel in the person of Jesus:

He will dwell with them and they will be his people

and God himself will always be with them as their God.

We should understand passages like this and take them to heart. God prefers to be with us -- as a husband with his wife, a wife with her husband, a friend with a friend. If there are times of absence they are a felt absence, which is a kind of presence.

Deists of the Enlightenment developed the doctrine of deus otiosus, the missing God; but that notion is alien to our belief. There is nothing about us that is not fascinating and desirable to our Father. He cannot keep himself away.

Julian of Norwich saw in her visions that the Lord sustains us in continual love. Should the Lord turn away from us, even for an instant, we would cease to be; we would never have been. Our very existence is a sign of God's continual gaze.

Catholics never forget the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The holiness of this bread, once consecrated, does not grow stale. We store it in the tabernacle for our sick and for our continual veneration. Before the nation was overrun with addicts who try every lock in their search for ready cash, we kept our parish churches open and available for anyone who might want to pray at any time. Someday, when this epidemic of zombies has passed, we will reopen them. in the meanwhile we pray for deliverance.

We should also understand that God's presence in our world is you and me, the Church. If someone asks, "Where is God?" we can answer, "Here we are!" By our prayers, generosity, courtesy, and kindness we present the Lord to our neighbors, friends, and enemies. Sometimes we might announce a good word to them; often we listen with compassion; mostly we are here in the same predicaments.

Jesus has sent us to be a sacred presence in this world below the sky. Even when our neighbors might wish we would rapture somewhere, anywhere else, we belong here.