Gott spricht: Siehe, ich mache alles neu!

Offenbarung 21:5

On the third Sunday of Advent, a small stone hit the windscreen of my car on the motorway. The impact was so strong that it cracked. Fortunately, the repair is covered by insurance, but of course it had to be organised. So it was time to make phone calls and get things sorted – just before the upcoming festivities. Then, the day before Christmas Eve, our washing machine broke down. The plumber we called said the best thing to do would be to buy a new one straight away. But with the help of one of our sons, we were able to repair it ourselves, as it was only an internal hose connection that had come loose. After two hours, the problem was fixed.

Then, just after Christmas, the heating in the rectory broke down and couldn’t be repaired immediately. We helped ourselves with candles and, on New Year’s Eve, with a bonfire in the courtyard. Fortunately, the rectory in Bristol is well insulated and generally quite warm. Being economical with the hot water still in the tank didn’t hurt us either. However, as I am writing this sermon on the new motto for the year, my computer suddenly stops working after five years of loyal service. ‘Come on,’ I think to myself. Somehow, there seems to be a bug in the technology at the moment. Or is it just signs of ageing? On the other hand, the new biblical motto for the year immediately comes to mind: ‘God says: Behold, I make all things new!’ That fits perfectly. Yes, please! Everything new! Windscreen, washing machine, heating, computer… Who wouldn’t want that in such a situation: please restore everything to working order?

At the same time, I have to smile to myself. Of course, the slogan resonates with me in view of the worldly problems I face. Although I don’t generally turn to God when I have technical problems. I can ask Him spiritually for patience and wisdom. For washing machines and heating systems, there are worldly craftsmen and technicians (who sometimes seem just as unreachable as God ;-). Nevertheless, it is certainly understandable that we think of our everyday problems when we hear the words from the Book of Revelation. We need a point of reference for the biblical message. After all, it also wants to speak into our everyday lives in the new year.

But what does ‘everything new’ mean? Is it about fulfilling our ideas and desires? Restoring a state that we miss and long for? Was that the situation in which the seer John communicated his divine vision to the church in Asia Minor: ‘God says: Behold, I make all things new!’ This is where I become thoughtful. The Christians addressed two thousand years ago were probably not longing for a supposedly ideal situation in the past. In the current period of persecution at the end of the first century in the Roman Empire, they did not long for everything to return to the way it was before, because they were persecuted then as well. What difference does it make whether one suffers under Emperor Nero or Emperor Domitian? Probably very little! ‘I am making everything new’ would not make sense in this context. Certainly no one wanted the past back then. Things were not good before that either. So ‘everything new’ must mean something else.

Now, a closer look at the original Greek text helps. The Greek word used here aids our understanding. Although καινoϛ can simply be translated as ‘new,’ it means “new” in the sense of ‘unheard of, never seen before, unprecedented.’ In John’s vision, God says that he will create something completely new, and not just restore the old state of affairs.

In retrospect, John’s vision seems to have been fulfilled historically. However, his listeners and readers at the time did not live to see it happen. Towards the end of the first century, no one could have imagined that 300 years later, the Christian faith would become the state religion of the Roman Empire. That Jesus’ words could move and influence people over the next 2000 years to such an extent that something completely new would emerge that would change our human circumstances.

2000 years later, I can see further examples of how something unheard of can emerge from the spirit of Jesus. For five years now, as a German pastor, I have been able to witness this time and again in Coventry. Violence and destruction have given rise to a work of reconciliation, the Community of the Cross of Nails. This is not simply a return to the way things were before, nor is it restoration or repair. This is already evident from the outside: the ruins of the old cathedral are still there, but now connected to a new cathedral right next to it. The violent past is still visible, but something new has emerged from it that seeks to overcome violence and hatred. Unheard of! The Book of Revelation is, at its core, a book of comfort and hope. The words ‘God says: Behold, I make all things new!’ are found in its penultimate chapter and thus at the end of the entire Bible. They can give us hope that, with God’s help, we as human beings will overcome the darkness in our world. A hope that may carry us through this new year 2026. Amen.