Patmos

Last night we arrived at the island of Patmos, where St. John was exiled for 2 years at a Roman Penal Colony for preaching the Gospel.  He was arrested in Ephesus, and exiled here.  I am not going to reflect here on the structure of Revelation - just what hit my heart today, as part of my purpose in coming here is to immerse myself into the scripture itself and listen to the Lord.

I woke before the dawn and taking my bible I climbed the hill to the north of Skala - until I reached the summit.  From here I was able to watch the sun rise and begin to reflect on the Revelation of St. John - the last book of the bible.  

These words stood out to me from Revelation 1:9-11 - "I, John, your brother, who share with you the distress, the kingdom, and the endurance we have in Jesus, found myself on the island called Patmos because I proclaimed God’s word and gave testimony to Jesus.  I was caught up in spirit on the Lord’s day and heard behind me a voice as loud as a trumpet,  which said, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”  

John keeps front and center 3 things - the distress (persecution he and the rest of the Church were suffering at the hands of the Roman Emperor Domitian), the kingdom (where we are going) and the endurance (I read this as faith) we have in Jesus.  Something for us to hold onto when we have difficult days, and perhaps a Saint to ask for intercessions from when we are in a tough space.  

John goes on to say that he "found himself on the island called Patmos because he proclaimed God's word and gave testimony to Jesus"   John does not even mention why he is on Patmos or that it is a Roman Penal colony (i.e. - not a nice place) - he simply accepts that where he is God is also present and will bring about his glory through that situation.  An encouragement for me when I head into difficult times.

When my brother John got up we went into town and rented e-Bikes and spent the day exploring the north of the island.  We would stop periodically to slowly read and reflect through the Revelation of St. John which was written on this island.

Our goal is to complete Revelation today, and then visit the cave where John had the Revelation written and the Monastery of St. John tomorrow.  To take time reading Revelation we broke it into 7 sessions, reading about 3 chapters per session.  After each session we discuss, and then ride to our next location.  We read the first 3 chapters at a hillside chapel near Kampos, north of Skala the main town on Patmos.  We sat in the shade of a small tree.  

From there we went to the North Coast and then stopped at the beach at Paralia Livadi, which has a Monastery.  We also ate lunch and watched the waves and read more of the Revelation.  After that visit we rode to the other side of the island and found a great swimming beach - so we stopped there to swim in the ocean - which is incredibly clear and salty.  Taking to the road again we rode on up into the hills where we came to a chapel dedicated to St. Demetrios - a 4th century martyr from Thessaloniki, where we read the next section of Revelation. 

 
One final thing for todays reflection.  In John 3:20 Jesus says “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.  I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne..."   Christ is constantly standing at the door of our hearts and knocking for entrance.  How can I dispose myself to better receive his word and invitation?