December 26, 2018

The Revelation of St. John the Divine begins with a spectacular description of Jesus Christ, our risen Lord, who walks among the seven churches of Asia Minor, representative of all congregations everywhere. Each is described with details pertaining to their respective local situations, commended or condemned for faithfulness or failures. The churches run the gamut from one that receives no condemnation at all, to one that hears almost nothing but. 

What strikes me about this scene is Jesus’ refusal to disown even the worst of the churches. In spite of his condemnation, he continues to walk among them, holding their leaders in his hand. We tend to put people and organizations on a continuum, setting boundaries beyond which we write people off as apostate, irredeemable. Even when condemning untoward behaviors and beliefs, he continues to walk among the churches.

No matter how bad a given church may be, Jesus still walks amongst us, claiming us all, refusing to reject even the most dissolute, heretical ones. Judgment is coming, but in the meantime, Jesus still strides alongside his people. I am grateful tonight for his refusal to write us off. He continues to walk among his churches, good and bad alike, which means there is still hope for even the worst of us. It began with a baby whose birth we celebrated yesterday, but the story isn’t over yet. We get to live in hope!