As the book of Revelation opens, the apostle John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, is in exile on the Island of Patmos - sent there because of "the word of God and the testimony of Jesus." Isolated because he was a Christian, serving Jesus, telling others the gospel story. Cut-off and acutely alone.
Our social isolation is for a good reason - to keep others, as well as ourselves, safe. But maybe within the isolation you also know another sense of exile - rejected by your family, perhaps because you take Jesus seriously; struggling with anxiety or temptation, your mind splintered into a thousand shards; or locked into the most painful memories or loss that the emptiness of these days only serves to heighten.
John was alone, suffering the corrupt and abusive power of human empire that sought to breed fear in all whom it victimised. And in that very place of isolation and exile, he is met by the most astonishing vision of his risen and glorified Lord. A vision not just for himself but a word to the Lord's people, then and now. A vision that beggars language to fully convey.
It is the embodied message of Easter that confronts him. The same risen Lord Jesus who suddenly appeared in a locked room appears to John in his ocean of isolation. He comes the broken heart to heal, to give strength and fresh resolve.
John falls at Jesus' feet, "as though dead", because real power belongs not to a corrupt empire but to a majesty and an authority that is clean and pure, shot through with all the holiness of God. But, in what CS Lewis calls "the heavy, golden voice of Aslan", John is told "Do not be afraid."
How many times he had heard those same words from the lips of Jesus, to so many people, in all the anguished scenes of human life. And those tones now fall on John's ears again: don't be afraid. Despite living in a world of human corruption and cosmic evil, the presence of uncreated, original goodness means fear is misplaced. And the one whose face "was like the sun shining in all its brilliance" speaks on:
I am the First and the Last : The beginning and the end. No one before him; none after. All else is consequential and penultimate; but not Jesus. His being enfolds John's life and the whole of history.
I am the Living One : Yes, he was dead, once, slaughtered on a Roman cross, but he rose again in triumph, emptying the tomb of its sinister shadows. And not just alive for a season: I am alive for ever and ever. He has consigned death to the wastelands of history.
I hold the keys of death and Hades : The authority over the final enemy is held in the safe hands, the nail-pierced hands, of Jesus. He is Lord, over all of John's life and destiny and over our lives and futures. No other power comes close. And no-one and nothing can or will ever be able to pluck you from his hands.
The vision given to John is passed on to us, not to make us envious, but as John's brothers and sisters who are "companions in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus". The words of Jesus enter our isolation, our exile, our lonely days, with power to tame our fears and strength for our fainting hearts.
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Thou whose Name is callèd Jesus,
Risen Lord of life and power,
O it is is so sweet to trust Thee
Every day and every hour!
Of Thy wondrous grace I sing,
Saviour, Counsellor, and King.
Thou canst keep my feet from falling,
Even my poor wayward feet -
Thou who dost present me faultless,
In Thy righteousness complete;
Jesus, Lord, in knowing Thee,
O what strength and victory!
All the sin in me, my Saviour,
Thou canst conquer and subdue;
With Thy sanctifying power
Permeate my spirit through;
Let thy government increase,
Risen, crownèd, Prince of Peace.
Thou canst keep me upward looking,
Ever upward in Thy face;
Thou canst make me stand, upholden
By the greatness of Thy grace;
Every promise of Thy Word
Now I claim from Thee, dear Lord.
O, what joy to trust Thee, Jesus,
Mighty Victor o’er the grave,
And to learn amid earth’s shadows
Thine unceasing power to save!
Only those who prove Thee know
What the grace Thou dost bestow.
Make my life a bright outshining
Of Thy life, that all may see
Thine own resurrection power
Mightily put forth in me;
Ever let my heart become
Yet more consciously Thy home
Jean Sophia Pigott (1845-82)
