The next step

"Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." John 13.17

Today in church we reach the conclusion of our adventure in Revelation. What a journey! It has impressed upon me the imminence of Jesus' return, the exhortation to keep the faith - whatever the cost, the searing relevance of John's words after 2000 years. And it has provided a perspective on current events which transforms everything, in a way that confirms what I have just expressed.

That leaves us with the question: so what? How shall this revelation change the way we live and the people we are becoming? And should we expect that to have an impact on those around us and on the course of events?

The crisis in Ukraine and in Afghanistan and in Ethiopia and in so many other places, along with the crisis in so many individuals' and communities' lives come to a head and are resolved in the crisis of the cross, which we remember on Good Friday. Yet we do more than remember: we reflect, even celebrate - because we know Jesus' sacrifice defeated death and paved the way for Easter. So there is hope because here is hope!