An intriguing picture is given us in The Revelation of Saint John, the final book in our Bible. It is a time of trouble and tribulation, and John is a prisoner on the Isle of Patmos. But he writes, "I heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet talking ... and I turned to see the voice that spoke with me, and, being turned, I saw ..."

What John saw gave him hope and courage and new heart; it gave him the assurance that at last all battles will be won by the Lord, that ultimately the victory is on the side of truth and right, of beauty and love.

It would be a good thing, I suspect, if most of us - perhaps all of us - could hear the kind of voice John heard, a trumpet voice which calls us to turn.

There are things none of us will ever see unless we turn. Usually we see only fragments of the picture in which we are cast, like looking at a reflection in a broken mirror. Our impaired vision is the cause of much confusion and discouragement.

Every once in a while, we ought to turn and look the other way. Well, worship is an occasion for doing this. Maybe today, if we listen, we also can hear a voice as of a trumpet talking - to us. And, hearing, let us be sure that we turn - from whatever has been consuming our attention. Let us turn and look the other way. Then perhaps we can say, as John said, "I turned, and, being turned, I saw ..."

And, seeing, perhaps we too can have a higher hope, a nobler courage, and new heart for going on.