Revelation 1:4-8

“Grace and peace to you from the one who is and was and is coming…and from Jesus Christ – the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” Rev. 1:4-5, CEB)

There is a section of the United Methodist hymnal called Assurance. Assurance is a part of our UM doctrine that isn’t discussed much but is assumed and implied in most churches. It’s the idea that Christians have an “inner witness”; an assurance that our faith is secure. St Paul wrote, “With this [Holy] Spirit, we cry, “Abba, Father.” The same Spirit agrees with our spirit that we are Gods children.” (Romans 8:15b-16, CEB) The Methodist movement began because of such an experience, when John Wesley’s “heart was strangely warmed.”

In this section of the hymnal is a hymn that is often listed as a favorite for most people of a certain age (which includes me) that have been raised in the traditional church. It is number 377, It is Well with My Soul. Horatio Spafford wrote this song in remembrance of his 4 daughters who died in a tragic accident at sea. The story goes that as he was crossing from America to England, he had the captain stop the ship at the approximate location of the tragedy in order to say good bye. It was here, in the midst of his grief and pain, that he could say, “it is well, with my soul.”

This passage from Revelation has inspired a similar reaction. It begins a whole book filled with hope for tomorrow that provides peace for today and the last verse of the hymn may well reflect it.

And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

the clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

even so, it is well with my soul

This weekend begins Holy Week, Palm Sunday through Easter. It’s the narrative of our faith filled with powerful and painful images, yet they evoke something in us, something primal and necessary. These stories, or more appropriately The Story, while about Jesus, it is really about us; about how God sees us, as valuable and beloved. It is The Story that gives us hope for an eternal future and an infinite peace in the everyday stuff of life, so that we can say,

“It is well, it is well, with my soul.”