Daily Readings: Luke 1:46-55; Isaiah 33:17-22; Revelation 22:6-7, 18-20

The angel said to me, “These are dependable and accurate words, every one. The God and Master of the spirits of the prophets sent his Angel to show his servants what must take place, and soon. And tell them, ‘Yes, I’m on my way!’ Blessed be the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

I give fair warning to all who hear the words of the prophecy of this book: If you add to the words of this prophecy, God will add to your life the disasters written in this book; if you subtract from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will subtract your part from the Tree of Life and the Holy City that are written in this book.

He who testifies to all these things says it again: “I’m on my way! I’ll be there soon!”

Yes! Come, Master Jesus! Revelation 22:6-7, 18-20, The Message

War zones. Concentration camps. Death row. Places where most of us do not live, but where too many of us are in residence. Places where nothing an individual can do will make a difference, where no help is going to arrive in time. Hell on earth…

Psychiatric hospitals, where the hell is internal but just as devastating and real to the ones trapped within…

These hellscapes are where Revelation is truly a word of hope. The graphic images of utter chaos and punishment aren’t some glimpse of a future event, but a window into what already is. When no earthly force is able to bring relief, Revelation brings hope. When the world is going to hell, God will have the last word and act.

If I’m not in one of these extreme conditions, I don’t have the right to claim this as my truth or as the blueprint for a future event to scare others. If the violence and imagery of Revelation makes me uncomfortable, I don’t have the right to remove even a single word that brings hope to those for whom it is a lifeline.

Perhaps these words at the end of the last book of the Bible are included in the Advent readings to remind me that Mary’s baby soon-to-be-born is the Word and the Hope of the World in all circumstances – even and most especially in extremity.

[Revelation is an apocalyptic writing – a prophetic book of hope for those in oppressive and hellish circumstances that cannot be changed. It is about the eschaton – the end times. Its images were never meant to be taken literally or as a map of future events.]