December 13, 2023 

Today's Reading: Revelations 1:1-20

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 29:15-30:14; Revelations 1:1-20

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. (Revelation 1:4)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The more exciting you try to make the book of Revelation, the more boring you make the church.  The more boring you allow Revelation to continue to be, the more glorious church appears.  We go looking in the book of revelation for wild stuff we don’t see.  Like sword-mouth-Jesus.  Sword-mouth-Jesus is definitely less boring than your pastor.  Except they preach the same thing.  Jesus died and rose again. He holds the keys to death.  

But John saw a vision from heaven. With trumpets.  Visions from heaven with trumpets are definitely less boring than the Bible reading in church that goes on just a little too long.  Except the vision directed John to share it with the churches in a book. Like a Bible.  That is trustworthy and speaks of Jesus for sinners. 

The gift of Revelation is that the more boring you allow it to be, the grander church appears because for all the incredible language describing heavenly visions; all that stuff shows up in your church.  The letter of Revelation was written to fledgling churches struggling with doubt and despair, false doctrine and gross sin.  Jesus is there in Word and Sacrament to forgive, to comfort, to save those who don’t deserve it.  He calls us out of foolishness and into eternal life. You receive those very gifts every Sunday. Your pastor preaches to you. He gives you the body and blood of Jesus. He ties you to the alpha and the omega in a way that transcends space and time as you are united with the marriage feast of the lamb in His kingdom which has no end.  When Revelation needs to be more than that, it always makes church feel like less, and worse, you can never actually find it no matter how many signs you see in the news.  When Revelation is a book pointing to Jesus, going to church where Jesus is just gets even more impressive.  I imagine sword-mouth-Jesus looks cool, but the body and blood on your altar aren’t just something to imagine.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

A mighty fortress is our God, A trusty shield and weapon; He helps us free from ev'ry need That hath us now o'ertaken. The old evil foe Now means deadly woe; Deep guile and great might Are his dread arms in fight; On earth is not his equal. (LSB 656:1)

-Pastor Harrison Goodman is content executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.