The mandate of social distancing has put a new spin on our Sunday routines. Church, brunch, getting a manicure or going shopping - all have become taboo destinations. So, if milling at the mall is out, how about mulling over some revealing thoughts from the original text book. The voice is that of a man so radically banished from normal life in circa A.D. 95, that it might choke the grumble in our throat and slip the humble into our spirit - exactly on this, our day.
“I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like the sound of a trumpet" (Rev. 1:9-10)..
What if the text just now surprisingly whispered a secret in our ears? John’s viciously appointed isolation caused God to give him “the Revelation of Jesus Christ,” woven triumphantly into the history of His redemptive presence and work, beginning with the foundational Book of Genesis and now culminating in the Book of Revelation.
What if John’s testimony said two basic “revealing” truths to you and me? Jesus Christ changed the fisherman with a notorious temper – the “son of thunder” – into the “beloved disciple.” Are we balking at our present circumstances to the exclusion of choosing to intentionally bask in our Lord’s all-encompassing, personal love? Do we crave the media’s relentless revelations of grim Covid-19 statistics, or would we be willing to quietly desire a deepening relationship with the Prince of Peace, who made the isolation of desolate Patmos count to that glorious, ultimate end?
Vreni Schiess
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