The Living One

John, like the prophets of the Old Covenant, receives a commission.  He is told to "write what he sees," and send the message to the seven churches suffering in Asia.  When John turns to see the messenger, he is given a vision of the glory of Christ: priestly, sagely, all-seeing, ruler of the kings of earth, holding in his hand the destiny of the churches, speaking with the Word of God, with the glory of God sourced in his own face.  A cause for terror, this vision of Christ as "the living one," the Divine Son, sends John to the ground as though dead, but in the next moment this cause for terror is converted to a cause for bravery.  Christ will be with and for his Church.