Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 32:1-20; Revelation 4:1-11

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. So which is it?  Was, Is, or Is to come?  It’s the 16th of December 2022, a Friday, one more day of School before the weekend, perhaps you have a date tonight, or tomorrow?  Perhaps there are preparations you’re making for the upcoming Christmas break. We’re a NOW kind of people, TikTok and YouTube keep us up to speed about what’s happening NOW and that’s about all that really matters; you’re teenagers, youth; in the prime of your lives. Just what is St. John up to citing the old-timey Prophet Isaiah with words about what was, is, and is to come?  

This citation St. John uses from the book of Revelation covers two parts of the was, is, and is to come Phrase.  Isaiah the prophet spoke and wrote in a time that he’d have called contemporary If TikTok had existed He’d have written the same thing. Isaiah wrote about what was to be, Immanuel, the King, the Savior, the one born of a virgin would be born and die. Isaiah wasn’t a future teller, he was just a guy that the Almighty chose to write down what was going to happen. St. John then, somewhere in around the year 90 AD, wrote that the one Isaiah wrote about was now enthroned in heaven, glorified and reigning as the Lord of the heavens and the earth, reigning as the one who said definitively before He died “It is finished.”  St. John sees a day that not even we have seen yet.  So that covers the Was and Will be part, so what about the Is part?  

That’s today, Friday the 16th of December. The Holy One that Isaiah was told would come; has come; It’s finished; salvation is accomplished, delivered to you and me by water and the Word. The Holy One who John saw enthroned is surrounded by the saints, the elders, and so on; not angels, but real people. John saw Jesus but He also saw you, you who’ll head out for school and work today, who’ll head into this weekend guarded and protected by the Holy One who goes before you, who fights for you, who’ll feed you with His own word and body and blood in the Divine Service soon, very soon.  He who was with His people, He who’s sitting enthroned already in the heavens is the Holy One who’s with you today, tomorrow, and forever.  Jesus who was, Is here now and will be forever.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Make ye straight what long was crooked; make the rougher places plain.  Let your hearts be true and humble, as befits His Holy reign.  For the glory of the Lord now o’er earth is shed abroad, and all flesh shall see the token that His word is never broken. (LSB 347: Comfort, Comfort Ye My People: St. 4)

-Pastor Adam DeGroot is Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Harrison Goodman.

Study Christ’s words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.