A koan to ponder

Thus says the LORD:

Lo, I am about to create new heavens

and a new earth;

The things of the past shall not be remembered

or come to mind.

Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness

in what I create;

For I create Jerusalem to be a joy

and its people to be a delight;

I will rejoice in Jerusalem

and exult in my people.

No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,

or the sound of crying;

No longer shall there be in it

an infant who lives but a few days,

or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime;

He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years,

and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed.

They shall live in the houses they build,

and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant. (Is 65:17-21)

21 1 Then I saw a new [a]sky (heaven) and a new earth, for the former [b]sky and the former earth had passed away (vanished), and there no longer existed any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, all arrayed like a bride beautified and adorned for her husband; 3 Then I heard a mighty voice from the throne and I perceived its distinct words, saying, See! The abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among them; and they shall be His people, and God shall personally be with them and be their God. 4 God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away. 5 And He Who is seated on the throne said, See! I make all things new. Also He said, Record this, for these sayings are faithful (accurate, incorruptible, and trustworthy) and true (genuine). 6 And He [further] said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I [Myself] will give water without price from the fountain (springs) of the water of Life. 7 He who is victorious shall inherit all these things, and I will be God to him and he shall be My son. (Rev 21, Amplified Bible)

It is hard to improve on wither Isaiah or Revelation. These scriptures say it all. God is with us. We are moving toward the Omega Point where the Risen Cosmic Christ will be revealed in his fullness and all things shall be made new in Him. God will give us life without cost, pure grace, pure gift, pure Love. Happiness, peace and full joy will flow throughout the Kin-dom. Meditate on these passages. Reap the harvest of the promises contained in them.

In these dire times when the Chicken Little sky always seems to be falling, we await the completion of what Christ began—a re-newed, re-vitalized, re-created universe where “all is well and all shall be well.” When we reach the Omega Point, the fullness of the Cosmic Christ, there will be no disparities between those with abundance and those with nothing. There will be no wars. Violence will be a distant memory. There will be no homelessness, poverty, or hunger. All will be well.

In the meantime, we live in faith and hope. Like the royal official who is afraid his son is going to die, we come to the Risen Christ and ask for healing. We ask for happiness, shalom, peace, well-being, wholeness. Through prayer of supplication and of meditation, we maintain our equanimity even when all around us spells disaster. We trust in the promise that all things will be made new. The making new is already in process but not yet complete. We have responsibility for bringing about the new heaven and earth. We live in this tension through faith. In the meantime, “Rejoice in God always!!!”

We are the Body of the Risen Cosmic Christ. We are making all things new.