"Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come." (Rev. 4:8).

Our reading from Revelation today gives us an insight into the nature of the God that we worship on this Trinity Sunday. Here we find a vision very similar to the one in Isaiah (our first reading), with its image of the seraphim worshipping God in the Temple, crying "Holy, holy, holy" (Is. 6:3); yet a vision with some differences. John’s vision involves "four living creatures" (Rev. 4:7) , and "twenty-four elders" (Rev. 4:4) who are joined in worship in a celestial or heavenly Temple. God is still worshipped with the three-fold repetition of "holy", but now is described as the one "who was and is and is to come".

Versions of this same phrase recur in the Revelation of John, and reveal something of the transcendent and particular character of God, not bound by time or space, yet involved in our world and our reality. This truth, however, was not a new one, as it had already been made known to Moses at the time of the Exodus. When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, he told him, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Ex. 3:6); in other words, the God that had been encountered by the People in the past. When Moses asks God to be a bit more specific, and to tell him his name, God replies enigmatically, "I am who I am" (Ex. 3:14); words that can also be read as "I am what I am" or even "I will be what I will be". In other words, the God who is present to Moses now, ready to act powerfully to save his People; also the God who is not constrained but who will in the future reveal his purpose, his plan, and the fulness of who he is.

This is the God of the Revelation to John, the God "who was and is and is to come". The God we worship along with angels and archangels is not only particular to a People and a place, to a time and to a space, but also transcendent and unconstrained. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; a God involved in our lives in their totality and on every level, yet a God "who is what he is" without any advice from us.

The future is firmly in God’s grasp. It is his nature to declare it and to create it. This is happening all the time, of course; yet there are times in which our consciousness of this is heightened. I think now is such a time in the life of Christ Church, Covington. We have seen significant changes in the life of our parish over the past couple of years. God has been good to us. We have also spent a good deal of time thinking about the future of our parish in the "Re-vision" process, and reporting back to you in a very recent Illuminare what you told us in that process. It’s a sign of hope and planning, and reflection on the future that God is creating at Christ Church.

Later this month there will be three focus groups that will meet, at each of which you will have a chance to hear a draft case statement for a future capital campaign at Christ Church. The focus groups follow on the "Revision" process, and arise from it. Through that process we have confirmed that we have needs at Christ Church that are best met by a capital campaign, one which will expand our ability to respond to the mission we have here in West St. Tammany Parish. We also have a need to expand our annual budget, and also a need to participate in the Diocesan Capital Campaign about which you will be hearing more.

This is an exciting time at Christ Church, Covington, because we are intentionally reflecting on the future that God is creating around us as we speak. Remember, he is the God "who was and is and is to come", and now he is showing us that future that he is creating. All times and seasons are in his hand; and now he will declare the future and show it to us.

The Rev’d John Bauerschmidt is Rector of Christ Church, Covington.