Eastertide

April 21, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Revelation 1:4-8

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, 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, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
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.

John, the writer of Revelation, opens his letters to the seven churches with an extensive description of the Lord. John does this to help his readers understand that he is well acquainted with all the manifestations of God. John is establishing his credentials for writing letters of judgment, with warnings in some, sympathy in others, to help those churches mature in faith and in the furtherance of the Kingdom of God. The letters are, indeed, a good study of how communities of faith work and don’t work. They encourage such communities to stay on top of what is right and what is wrong with their practices and to make corrections as necessary.

I seem to have a need, at some times more than others, to start my prayers with elaborate naming of the various aspects of God in my relationship with God. I sometimes quote scripture, like Psalm 63:1 O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Now, I am sure God knows all that already. I am really credentialing myself in preparation for communing with God. Being aware of our characteristics helps us better communicate as we try to get in sync with God. I remember well when I first took the Myers-Briggs personality types* survey and learned that I was an INTJ. I quickly turned to the descriptions of an INTJ and read among the negatives that they tend to take things personally. I thought, “I do not take things personally, how dare they”, and realized in that response I just did. I must accept that life is not always all about me. That is just one example but being aware of such things about ourselves helps us work, love, and further the development of the kingdom of God better.

Prayer: Lord, help us understand better who we are and how we function so that we can serve you more completely. Amen.

*For more information see https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/the-16-mbti-types.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.