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(Acts 14:21-27;\xa0\xa0 Ps.145:1,8-13;\xa0\xa0 Rv.21:1-5a;\xa0\xa0 Jn.13:31-33a,34-35) \u201cBehold, God\u2019s dwelling is with the human race.\u201d This is the promise on which we set our hearts, this vision of John.\xa0 This is the word which encourages us to look forward to the coming of our God in the fullness of His presence amongst us.\xa0 How we long to be His bride in heaven! John indeed sees the \u201cnew Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,\u201d His holy bride.\xa0 And his ears hear the promise that \u201cHe will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes.\u201d\xa0 No more shall there be \u201cdeath or mourning,\u201d no more \u201cwailing or pain\u201d \u2013 these things which beset us here shall all pass away.\xa0 On this glory we must set our sights, for as long as we toil upon this earth there will be tests and trials that can only be overcome with this vision of God. In our first reading we hear that Paul and Barnabas have accomplished the rounds of their mission journey and \u201cmade a considerable number of disciples.\u201d\xa0 We witness how God \u201copened the door of faith to the Gentiles\u201d and so to the world at large.\xa0 All men of all times are now called into the kingdom of God.\xa0 And here is cause for great rejoicing.\xa0 Yet the message of these apostles, borne out by their own experience, is that we must \u201cundergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,\u201d for though the Spirit of the Lord fall on Christ\u2019s disciples, still these disciples are in this world, where the coming of the kingdom has yet to be fulfilled, and weeping at the darkness remains part of our condition. In this world there shall be persecution, no doubt.\xa0 Though God\u2019s \u201ckingdom is a kingdom for all ages, and [His] dominion endures through all generations,\u201d though Jesus has come and lived and died among us and sent His Spirit for rebirth, though indeed His presence is very much in our midst \u2013 yet the evil one enters in; yet he lurks in hiding.\xa0 And we must be prepared to conquer him, and even to find our salvation by enduring the suffering he devises. In Jesus we see well the way in which God is with us here and how we come to Him in heaven.\xa0 The Lord says as His hour of death approaches: \u201cNow is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.\u201d\xa0 Even as Judas leaves to fetch the instruments of His death, Jesus sees His glory come.\xa0 In His crucifixion He shall destroy the devil and come completely to the Father \u2013 and even on the cross, God is with Him. Here we must endure, brothers and sisters, knowing God is with us; and soon we shall come to the fullness of His presence, to \u201cthe glorious splendor of [His] kingdom.\u201d\xa0 Soon the Lord will \u201cmake all things new,\u201d as new as our spirits have already become. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "In Your Eyes" from Loving Spirit, third album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, let us see your kingdom descend into our midst through the love of your only Son. YHWH, let the glorious splendor of your kingdom be upon us; let us dwell in the New Jerusalem with Jesus your Son and with all His disciples.\xa0 From the ends of the earth gather your Church into your holy presence, that forever we might sing your praise. Though we must endure many hardships to enter your kingdom, it matters little to those who know the glory that comes through the Cross; in fact, it is cause for us to rejoice.\xa0 For so long as the Cross is with us on this dark earth, O LORD, Jesus is with us bringing His comfort and peace \u2013 and so we know the mourning and weeping will soon pass away\u2026 so we see how He makes all things new. O let us discourse of the glory of your reign!\xa0 Let us set our hearts on serving your will by bringing others into your gates.\xa0 Help us, O LORD, to love one another even as your Son.