Daily Devotional • December 29
A Reading from Revelation 1:1-8
1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place, and he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
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 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 all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.
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.
Meditation
Many approach the Revelation to St. John with a mix of fascination and fear. We’re captivated by its vivid imagery: a white-robed army of martyrs, the four horsemen of the apocalypse, and heaven descending to earth. Countless efforts to decode these symbols have only added to the mystery, often leading to more questions, uncertainty, and fear about the unknown future.
Yet the purpose of Revelation is not to perplex us or leave us in fear. Instead, it proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ for all creation. As St. John writes, our Savior “loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom of priests” (Rev. 1:5-6). And later, he assures us that Jesus is coming again to reconcile all things to himself and make all things new (Rev. 21:5).
At its heart, Revelation is a story of hope rooted in Jesus’ sure victory over the powers of sin and death. Yet it is not only a future story. It is a story we are invited to live into now. It proclaims the reality of hope and redemption that is already true for us today.
No matter what trials we are facing today, may we hold fast to this present hope that is an anchor for our souls: that one day, the risen Jesus will welcome us home, wipe every tear from our eyes, and deliver us from all our pain. May we read revelation through the lens of such victory, hope, and longing. Come soon, Lord Jesus.
Steven McCain serves at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church and School in Raleigh, North Carolina. He lives in the Raleigh area with his wife, Elizabeth, and three sons, Benjamin, James, and Micah.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
All Saints’ Episcopal Church, San Diego, California
The Episcopal Church
