John Receives the Call to Prophesy

Text: Revelation 1:9-16

Reflection and Question: Echoing earlier prophets who described their call from God to speak, like Samuel (1 Samuel 3:1-21) and Isaiah (6:1-13), John establishes his authority at the beginning of Revelation. Like Isaiah, John is in worship on the Lord’s day when he hears a voice charging him to write to seven churches and sees a fantastic vision of Jesus with all the symbols of power claimed by the Roman emperor. John captures this moment by saying he “was caught up by the Spirit.” Have you ever felt “caught up by the Spirit” — and what happened then, the same or different from John?

Prayer: Beloved Spirit, You are always present, always loving us. Sometimes, You bless us, as You did John, by catching us up into Your mighty power. It can happen to any one of us at any time. Give us the grace to respond like John on that day. Amen.

This meditation is based on the Daily Lectionary Year 2 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).