Friday, December 12, 2008

The foundations of the wall of the city were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the econd sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carmelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth green quartz, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls; each gate was made of a single peral. The main street of the city was made of pure gold, as transparent as glass. Rev. 21:19-21.

For me the most unforgettable moment of 1984 occurred during a prdsidential debate. The race for the nomination of the Democratic Party was chiefly between Walter Mondale and Gary Hart. Gary Hart would later become infamous for hsi dalliances with women other than his wife. But at the time of this debate he was actually the leading candiate for the nomination. No one could have anticipated that the entire nomination would turn on a sigle phrase.

In the course of the debate, Gary Hart talked about his vision for improving the country. Walter Mondale responded that his opponent had a lot of things to say, but the really decisive issue was "Where's the beef?" Was the phrase a ply to acauire the agriculture vote? No, his comment was not really about food, although it did recall a hamberger as on TV.

In the ad a "little old lady" sat at the table of a rival hamburger chiain. Someone placed a hamburger in front of her. The bun was generous in its proportions, but inside it held only a tiny peice of meat, abolut  the size of a quarter. In stunned surprise she said with the quavering voice of the aged, "Where's the beef?" The campaign was a smash success. All over the country people began quoting the line. The little old woman became a star overnight at the age of 85.

The message of the advertisement was that claims don't matter when it comes to hamburgers. What counts is the meal that one actually receives. By invoking the phrase from the burger commercial, Mondale called his opponent's credibility into question. With a simple phrase he succeeded in turning his opponent into a national laughingstock even before his marital indiscretions became public knowledge and forever ruined his political career. Such is the power of allusion to the past.

Our text is largely a recitation of various staones in the foundation of the New Jerusalem. But they point to something deeper. The stones of the city's foundation are the same as those on the breastplate of Israel's high priest. Here, as to often in this book, the vision ties together the whole of God's revelation. In the Apocalypse of John all the books of the Bible meet and end. It is like the finale of the biblical symphony.

Lord, I want to go deeper and deeper into Your Word every day.

"In the secret place of prayer, where no eye but God's can see, no ear but His can hear, we may pour out our most hidden desires and longings to the Father of infinite pity, and in the hush and silence of the soul that voice which never fails to answer the cry of human need will speak to our hearts(TFMB 84).