Past, Present, and Future

Revelation 1:4b-8

4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: 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, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen. 8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Reflection

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.  Those are pretty strong words.  Maybe it's strong because you've heard it so many times.  Maybe it's strong because of who is supposedly saying it.  Maybe it's strong because of the sheer thought of some being who is eternal.  Maybe it's strong because, somehow, you believe it. 

This passage gives the reader lots to imagine: seven spirits, freedom from sins by blood, a kingdom and priests, glory, clouds, sight, wailing.  With all that excitement, the bearer of these words begins with a greeting of something stronger than any of that: grace and peace.  And, not just the kind of "grace" we say at the dinner table or the "peace" we claim outside of wartime.  No, this is grace and peace from God who is and who was and who is to come.  This is grace and peace from the seven spirits (the number seven represents wholeness...one could go on forever about the number seven and the seven spirits and what it could mean).  But, what I find most profound today is: This is grace and peace from Jesus Christ who is not only raised from the dead, but plays a major role in the current world--the ruler of the kings of the earth.  

God isn't only eternal.  If we think about God as trinitarian--that is the Father, Son, and Spirit, then God is more than eternal.  God is other-worldly and very much here, ruler of heaven and ruler of the kings of the earth.  God's grace and peace is so much more than a promise for the future, it's for here and now.  John uses this greeting, not like some mindless phrase, but like something awesome and real.

I know, you're probably thinking that things don't seem graceful and peaceful (well, I thought about that).  And, if you thought that, you're probably right.  We live in a world where--even when we want to be perfect mini-Christ's doing good for all humankind--we mess up.  We live in a world where when we want peace, our lives are upturned by joblessness, by disasters, by deaths, and by so much more.  Even-so, we live in a world where we get glimpses of this peace and grace.  

A glimpse of grace: A couple of weeks ago, I was rolling silverware at my restaurant job.  I saw a guy with one leg, scraggly hair, and a big bag, rolling uphill to our door.  I opened the door and he rolled up to the counter and asked for the manager.  As I went on to my work, I heard him ask the manager if she could give him any food.  Her answer was, "I'm sorry, my budget for meals is gone for the month."  A woman who was waiting with her toddler for a to-go order, witnessed the situation and offered to pay for the man's meal.  As she reached for her wallet, my manager said, "Wait, you know what, you can have my meal for today."  She called me to the register, I rang up the man's meal and gave him a fountain pop.  And, I witnessed God's grace pass from a customer, to the heart of my manager, and to the hungry, one-legged, scraggly old man.

A glimpse of peace: Today, I woke up feverish and with a massive sinus headache.  My alarm went off three times--which irritates the heck out of my husband.  But, my husband tucked me back into bed after giving me some ibuprofen and he even put an extra blanket on the bed so our 80 pound mutt, Loo, could curl up next to me to keep me warm.  He went to play guitar for worship and I went back to sleep.  When I awoke a couple hours later, there was a very quiet dog laying on the pillow next to me, looking right at my face.  I got up and took the dog out.  Down the way, I saw a HUGE malamute.  Knowing that Loo is usually only feisty and protective when my husband is gone, I was a little worried.  So, we stood back a bit off the sidewalk as the other dog approached and passed.  Loo didn't raise a hair.  In fact, he and the other dog just wagged their tails as they watched each other.  The other dog walker stopped and inquired about Loo, all the while the animals were quite at peace with one another.  Now, it wasn't a peace between nations or between political parties in one nation.  But, there was peace in my husbands understanding and care, and there was peace between two enormous dogs.

Sometimes, it's hard to see that the eternal God of grace and peace does rule on this earth.  But, I have hope that we will see grace and peace, Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen.  Look! (You might just believe it!)