Reading 1
Zec 2:5-9, 14-15a
I, Zechariah, raised my eyes and looked:
there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.
I asked, “Where are you going?”
He answered, “To measure Jerusalem,
to see how great is its width and how great its length.”
Then the angel who spoke with me advanced,
and another angel came out to meet him and said to him,
“Run, tell this to that young man:
People will live in Jerusalem as though in open country,
because of the multitude of men and beasts in her midst.
But I will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the LORD,
and I will be the glory in her midst.”
Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion!
See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD.
Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day,
and they shall be his people and he will dwell among you.
Gospel
Lk 9:43b-45
While they were all amazed at his every deed,
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Pay attention to what I am telling you.
The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.”
But they did not understand this saying;
its meaning was hidden from them
so that they should not understand it,
and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
Meditation: Zechariah 2:5-9,14-15
When we want a description of heaven, we usually turn to the Book of Revelation, but the Old Testament prophets also have many striking descriptions of the city they call the new Jerusalem.
Isaiah 54 talks about a pavement and foundations made of precious stones. Ezekiel 47 describes the life-giving stream flowing out of the restored Temple.
Today’s passage is just as descriptive. It tells us that this restored city will need no walls, for the Lord himself will be an encircling wall of fire. God’s glory in the midst of the city will be all the light it needs.
Heaven indeed! Or is it?
While we can certainly picture heaven in these terms, the prophet Zechariah lived at a time when not many Jews were sure there was even much to look forward to after death. His words had a much more immediate purpose. He lived in a ruined Jerusalem among the returned exiles, who faced the formidable task of rebuilding their city and their Temple. He challenged them to build a sanctuary where God could live among them, receiving their worship and directing their work. Even though this Temple was little more than a hope or a misty memory, Zechariah called them to rejoice and celebrate the real presence of God among them.
We who live in the Christian era have so much more cause to celebrate! In Jesus, God has come to make his permanent dwelling among us here on this earth. We can easily find him in Scripture, in the Blessed Sacrament, and in our hearts. What’s more, we belong to a church where God has indeed gathered people from every tongue and nation to be united in him.
While we can certainly find comfort in the prospect of heaven, God’s coming to dwell among us isn’t just a future event. Even though the world isn’t yet all God wants it to be, he is here, and he invites us to work with him to make his presence more manifest. He is already on the move: gathering, ransoming, blessing. May we all respond by dancing—and by getting to work!
”Jesus, you are here! I rejoice in your presence. I want to live with you and with your people in such a way that I will feel right at home when you finally open heaven to me.”
(Psalm) Jeremiah 31:10-13; Luke 9:43-45
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