It shines even now—
Though some will not see it—
That holy City,
That dwelling place of God—
Its radiance like the rarest jewel.
It is that Mount Zion of which
The former was but a shadow—
That new Jerusalem of which
The former was but a promise.
It is the city of the living God,
The place of the innumerable angels in festal gathering,
And of the spirits of the righteous mortals, now completed—
Of those having been made like the angels
With their heavenly bodies.
They bring their glory into it—
That heavenly kingdom, not of this world—
Uninheritable by those still in the body—
Still in flesh and blood.
It is that second world of two—
The one made not for the sake of the many
But for the sake of the few.
It is the very goal of their earthly faith—
Their hope—
Their expectation—
Their journey.
It is their complete and unending reward.
It is the eternal world for which even
The Sun and the Moon in all their brilliance
Were early symbols—
Despite their daily work—
Melchizedek, a living forerunner.
In deference, they darkened themselves at the approach
Of the Ancient of Days.
God is that City’s light.
Jesus its lamp.
And the new kings of the earth—
Unlike the old–
Have brought their glory into it—
Those sons of Adam who had shined like stars
Against the blackness—
Against that raging, outer darkness—
Their exploits still lighting the way—
The glory of their faithful sojourn
Through a country not their own
Still gleaming from the ancient books.
This is the Light that the
Darkness could never overcome in the whole of its age.
It is the Light that judged the Waters—
Who took the good ones home and left the rest to rage.
It is the Light who, when the time for Darkness was over,
Put that Sea away forever.
And to this day,
That Light still shines on this Earth.
Some run into it,
And some from it.
And some, afraid to do either,
Just stand there,
Secretly wishing
For some other choice
To come along.
But this is what they have been given.
And so with us all.
