Fr. Frank Majka, SJ – The Bridge

From Garden to City

Aristotle said that human beings are, by nature, “political” animals. The term comes from the Greek word “polis,” which means “city,” so he was really saying that we human beings are city-makers and city-dwellers, who spontaneously come together to share our lives with each other, living not as isolated individuals or members of tiny kinship groups, but in communities that go beyond the individual and the family.

In the Bible, the story of the human race begins with a single individual, then two, then their offspring. But though Genesis locates the start of our history in a garden (Eden), the Book of Revelation says it will end in a city (the new Jerusalem). It will descend from Heaven already prepared for us, a city of massive proportions and perfect symmetry, built on twelve foundation stones and having twelve gates. In that place, God will live with us and we with him and with each other for all time. God himself will be the light of the city; it will not depend on the sun or moon for light, for God will be the source of never-ending day in this city of perfect beauty.

And though it will not be a city we can claim to have built by ourselves, we may presume that our good desires, our love for others and for God, our sacrifices and our deeds of justice and mercy will provide material out of which God can build and adorn that new Jerusalem.

In our time, when there is so much division, mistrust, hatred, and demonizing of others, it’s heartening to remember that we have a city waiting for us where our deep, God-given desires to be connected with others will, finally, come to full reality. We and God will live together there forever, and the love we have shown and the good we have done will enrich and beautify it.