|
Morning Meditation
October 27, 2025
Reading: Revelation 1:7-11, 17-20
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.
‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
I, John, your brother who shared with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, ‘Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.’
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive for ever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Meditation by Jeremy O’Neill
This year we’ve read a lot in Luke’s Gospel, which I consider to be the most domestic and relatable. Jesus often comes to people in unassuming ways and tells parables that involve real-world situations: the Unjust Judge, the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son. All of these are stories we might be able to relate to, or they at least come across as plausible if we take them at face value.
Johannine literature, the name given to works traditionally attributed to the John, contains the Gospel of John (which immediately follows Luke in modern Bibles) the Three Epistles of John (1st, 2nd, and 3rd) and the Revelation to John, the final book which contains today’s passage. As a whole, Johannine literature emphasizes Jesus as a creature who is pre-existent and eternal, almost outside of time and space. This passage from Revelation in particular is a very different depiction of Jesus’s arrival than what we might get in Luke’s Gospel. Jesus comes with fanfare out of the clouds, rather than an itinerant preacher walking along a road. A read of Revelation must always consider numerology as well, with the number of choice here being seven.
Beyond the unique tone and perspective, Revelation contains some beautiful lines highlighting the visions of the Divine that John encounters. I especially love the phrase “Every eye shall see him, even those who pierced him.”
One of the remarkable things about the Christ Event is that it shows us humanity's capacity for evil, but also shows us God’s capacity for forgiveness. We shall all see God one day, regardless of what we have done or left undone in this world. In that is an incredible freedom to love and live generously. If we are able to let go of the desire to control our destiny in the eyes of God, we are more able to be responsible for our neighbor and for creation. When Christ comes, whether it be on the side of the road or in a grand vision, we will be with him to experience God’s forgiveness and love.
Prayer
Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.
| 
