Then he showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There shall no more be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall worship him; they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. And night shall be no more; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and ever. Revelation 22:1–5 (RSV)
'And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations': O how we long for these words to be accomplished! So much is twisted, distorted, and broken in this world that one death or a million hardly register in our minds. Yes, if it comes close to us, the loss and pain are dreadfully real, but they are numbers beyond our circle.
In the time it has taken you to read these words, a child has died of starvation. The number of children whose lives are damaged by hunger is unknown. At Christmas time, we are made more aware, but the awareness fades as the decorations are put away.
We could go on listing the sorrows people face in this world. We choose not, for we could not bear up under the weight. These crushing burdens must be put out of mind if we are to function at all.
Yet, within each person whose soul has not died is the longing for the words of St. John's Revelation to come to pass: 'and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.' We cannot celebrate our Lord Jesus's birth without the longing for all things to be healed.
Jesus is the healing of the nations. The salvation that comes through Him is the healing of all things. We may linger in the dying shadows of the last long day, but the dawn of salvation will soon break in the eastern sky. The last vestiges of the old world will finally be gone, and only the new, redeemed and healed creation will have come to be.
O Lord, let this hour come! Let the darkness fade and the light of heaven rise over us, now and unto the ages of ages. Amen.