Next Sunday, Advent begins a time of preparation for the birth of Jesus. In 2006, I brought the tradition of writing a daily Advent meditation book to Christ Episcopal Church. As editor, I assigned various members of the congregation a day with set of lessons based on Episcopal tradition.
This year, the cover depicts our
nativity stained glass window which inspired the title The Light Is Coming
Into The World
. The books are free at the church office or at the website
below. What follows is the December 14th meditation and has been reprinted
with permission from Christ Episcopal Church.
In Matthew 24:22, Jesus talks
about the Great Tribulation being shortened because of the elect
. The
elect
are clearly a part of the solution rather than the problem but just who
are they? One answer can be found in Revelation 3:7-13 in the letter to Philadelphia.
Philadelphia was a young town when Revelation was written. The Greeks settled it for the expressed purpose of spreading their culture and language. The soil was fertile and the main crop was grapes. Otherwise, Philadelphia was just another small . Today, Philadelphia is called Alasehir.
Still, Philadelphia is unique
among the seven churches. Jesus only had good things to say to this perfect
church. Only the original City of Brotherly Love
had no faults.
I believe an individual, family, small group, parish, diocese, or denomination has the characteristics of one of the seven Revelation churches at any given point in time. On the rare occasions when this entity is in transition will it have the characteristics of two churches for a short time. I have watched these transitions in absolute awe.
I have witnessed the spirit of Philadelphia on several occasions. In high school, my youth group dealt with the brutal murder of our vicar. This horrible event bonded us together in faith.
The most amazing example was St. Mary's. The whole mission was alive with the spirit of Philadelphia. You really wanted to be there. You were missed when you were not there. My adult Bible class had numerous prayers answered with miraculous results.
I taught 5th graders on
Sunday morning. These kids had questions and I gave them answers. One parent
told me his daughter cracked the whip
so she would not be late. Others told
me how much they had learned from their children.
Are you part of the elect
from Philadelphia?
Grace and peace in the power of the Holy Spirit.
(J. Wesley McComb is a published author and a member of Christ Episcopal Church, 1534 7th St, Slidell, 643-4531.)
© by The Slidell Independent newspaper; originally published on July 23, 2009. Used by permission of publisher and author.