December 18, 2024

Today's Reading: Revelation 6:1-17

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 34:1-2, 8-35:10; Micah 1:1-7:20; Revelation 6:1-17

Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” (Revelation 6:1)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

The four horsemen of the apocalypse. 450 words. Cool. Books have been written speculating what each horseman symbolizes. Because there’s so much wrong here that it’s hard to pick out just one thing that it could be. And that speaks volumes to the idea that what’s coming might be even worse. But it was the Lamb who opened the seal to them. And that’s even more concerning. After the sixth seal, everyone, slave and free, hides in caves, begging mountains to fall on them to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb. The daily lectionary doesn’t quite line up with “Silent Night.”

The might behind the angel chorus that sang to shepherds attests to the power of the God made man who will be born on Christmas. That power, that glory, that urgency for justice is found in the Christ child, too. When we pray for God to advent, we prefer the weakness of baby Jesus to the wrathful Lamb sending horsemen of death and destruction. Repent. Both pictures are the same Jesus. 

We live in the end times and pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.” Spare us from more tribulation. Rescue us from ourselves and the power of the foe. But the tribulation is God’s tribulation. The devil is God’s devil. All creation serves His will because creation has already been won back from the devil. Christ has died and risen to claim the victory. Evil is still evil, but God commands it now that it would do more than just sow tears. The evil points us to a need for salvation, and the cross not only answers the need but paints a picture of a God amidst the fray, wearing a crown of thorns, conquering death itself to save you.  

Now even death and destruction simply point to the cross where the God made man, the Lamb who sits on the throne, was slain for you and for all. The catastrophes of the Revelator pull us from the fantasy that we can conquer God and His horsemen even as they drive us to the hope that the Lamb has conquered to save us. And the presence of God marks a silent night, peace on earth, not by measure of the earth, but by measure of God’s Advent to save us from it. 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Glory to the Father sing, Glory to the Son, our king, Glory to the Spirit be Now and through eternity. (LSB 332:8)

-Rev. Harrison Goodman, content executive for Higher Things.

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

What makes a church "good?" Come join the fictional family as they test out eight different churches in their brand-new town and answer this question along the way. Will the Real Church Please Stand Up? by Matthew Richard, now available from Concordia Publishing House.