Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” vss. 4b-5
Revelation 1:4b-6
There is a line in the hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty,” that is particularly fun for children to sing. Even adults love the sounds of the archaic phrase, “which wert and art and evermore shalt be.” It flows freely from our mouths, even when we’re not quite sure what it means. Of course, sooner or later we realize that the writer is quoting from the book of Revelation. This is a description of God, the one “who is and who was and who is to come,” and even now it pretty much sums up all we know about the Divine Mystery. Then in his greeting to the seven churches of Asia John goes on to describe Jesus Christ, the incarnation of the Mystery, as the ruler of the kings of the earth. Sometimes we don’t quite know what to do about the book of Revelation–its images and symbols have such varied interpretations–but the description of Jesus Christ is something we can hang on to. If kings are to look to him as ruler, then we too should certainly see him as the director of our lives. He is to be our Lord! We don’t worship despots or dictators, presidents or governors–no politician is worthy of our allegiance! It’s only Jesus and his commandment to love!
Thought for the Day: How does Jesus direct my life?
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