I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God

Revelation 1:4-18

Second Sunday of Easter

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen.  The sermon text for the second Sunday of Easter is our epistle reading Revelation 1.  I also will be making several references to our reading from Acts.  Jesus Christ, our resurrected Lord, reigns over heaven and earth. That is the message that we see in our readings for today.  Our epistle reading from Revelation shows us Christ’s reign in heavenly glory.  Our first reading from the book of Acts shows us Christ’s rule on earth as he works through the apostles to bring life and salvation to all people. In Lent we focused our attention on the death of Jesus and rightfully so.  It is through the cross of Christ that we have received forgiveness and salvation.  We remember our Lord’s sacrifice for us today and the remaining years of our life because in Jesus’ sacrifice we see God’s love. But know we are in the Easter season so our focus turns to the resurrection of Jesus.  We celebrate the fact that Jesus, our resurrected Lord, reigns over heaven and earth.

We see our Lord’s reign in heaven as we look at our reading from Revelation.  John, the apostle, received a revelation from the Lord on the island of Patmos.  John wrote down what he saw and heard.  Let me read to you a portion of the text.  “Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.  The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow.  His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.  In His right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.  But he laid his right hand on me saying, fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one.  I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades”.      

In our reading from Revelation we see Jesus our Lord in full divine glory.  His eyes were like a flame of fire and His voice was like the roar of many waters.  We see Jesus with all power and might ruling over the heavenly kingdom.  The glory of Jesus was so powerful and so intense that John fell to the ground as if dead.  Yet this Jesus who was filled with great power is the same Jesus who reached out to John and told him to “Fear not”.  Jesus who preached the word of God, healed people, blessed the children, and sacrificed Himself on the cross in order to save us now reigns in the heavenly Kingdom as our resurrected Lord.  It is a comfort for all of us to know that Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.  It is a comfort to know that Jesus rules over the heavenly kingdom in great power and in great might.

But it is also a comfort to know that our Lord’s reign extends to the earth.  Remember what was said about Jesus in our text.  “And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth”.  Not only does Jesus reign in heaven but His reign also extents to the earth.  We see that in our reading from the book of Acts.  We see Jesus working through His apostle’s to bring salvation to the people. Our Lord’s reign extends to the world. In the Name of Christ the apostle’s performed miracles and boldly proclaimed the Gospel.

Living here on earth they did face many troubles.  We are told in Acts that the religious leaders, known as the Sadducees, were filled with such jealousy that they arrested the apostles and put them in prison. The apostles faced things like that all the time.  They were often beaten and imprisoned for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet our Lord Jesus was with them every step of the way.  Our Lord sent an angel to release them from their prison cell so that they could return to the people and continue to preach the Good News about Jesus.  Our Lord was there for them to give them strength to continue to minister to people.  Even when they died the Lord was there to bring them to the heavenly Kingdom to live with Him forever.  Jesus, our resurrected Lord, reigns over heaven and His reign extends over the earth. We see that in our reading from Acts and we see it today.

Jesus reigns over the heavenly kingdom and His reign extends to the earth and to all of us.  It is the Lord that works through His church.  It is our resurrected Lord who brought us to faith through His all-powerful word and through the waters of Baptism.  It is our resurrected Lord who keeps us steadfast in our faith by the Word of God and Holy Communion.  It is Jesus Christ our Lord who has brought us into the eternal kingdom of God.  Jesus reigns over the earth and that reign extends to all of us.

Our Lord has given to us eternal salvation through His death and resurrection and He works through us to serve others.  It is our resurrected Lord who works through us as we bring our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews to church, Sunday school and Confirmation classes. It is our Lord working through us as we raise our children in the faith by talking to them about God, praying with them, and setting a Christian example for them.  It is our Lord working through us as we place the needs of our spouse above our own, work at our jobs with honesty and integrity and when we serve our neighbor.  It is the Lord working through us as we tell others about Jesus Christ and the salvation He has won for all of us.  It is the Lord that works through us to be a light in the word in the small things we do to the very large. 

Of course, like the apostles we will have troubles.  Wars and natural disasters will still happen.  We will still face difficulty in our life from health concerns to loneliness.  We will face problems at work and at home. We will still face temptation and sometimes we will experience grief.  It is also possible that we will experience persecution as well.   But like the apostles, the Lord will stand with us also. His reign extends to the earth and to all of us.  It is Jesus who stands with us and in us.  It is our Lord who hears our prayers and answers them.  It is Jesus Christ our Lord who will work all things for the good. We have no reason to fear anything because the Lord Jesus is in control.  When the time is right Jesus will visibly return to bring us to heaven to live a perfect life with Him for all eternity.

We do live in a fallen world. We are tempted by Satan, we feel the effects of sin and we have doubt creep into our minds.  But the Lord comes to us this day and reminds us that He is still in control.  He has defeated sin, death and Satan and given to us the victory over them.  He stands with us here and now and through all eternity.  As we gather together this day we are reminded of something very important. Jesus Christ, our resurrected Lord, reigns over heaven and earth.  Amen.