To the Angel of Ephesus

Who is the angel at Trinity? Is it a man or a woman or a being that transcends gender? Does the angel have a pair of wings, or six wings, or multiple arms and legs? Does the angel speak quietly or loudly? Has the angel been there since 1953, or has Trinity had multiple angels? Do they really get their wings every time a bell rings?

Read Psalm 115 and Revelation 2:1-7.

The angel to the church in Ephesus has a mixed message for the church. On one hand, there are a lot of things they are doing right. The angel praises their commitment, endurance and hard work. On the other hand, the angel has a serious problem: where is the love? According to the angel, this is now a loveless church.

Seems a bit paradoxical, as we can think of all the love that we have experienced at church, and all the work our church does to let others outside the church feel the love. In fact the very basis of the church is love – check out this article Tom Ehrich wrote this week. 

But this message to Ephesus reminds us that angels aren’t just sent to give us good news of great joy – the angel of Trinity is there to challenge us, to keep us on our toes, to guide us to follow the path of Christ. The angel of Trinity is not only here to affirm our discipleship but also to let us know that we aren’t done yet.

So how do you recapture the first love? How do you return to what was good at the start of Trinity without regressing on the progress we have made? How do we not only have commitment to the Gospel at Trinity but also to the messy love we find in grace?

I think part of the answer lies in who is our angel at Trinity. I think our angel at Trinity encourages and emphasizes community and relationships – that from the very beginning, Trinity has been family, raising kids together, going through loss together, celebrating together, having fun together. How can we continue to show that love to new friends at Trinity and throughout the community? How can we reorient our commitment and attitude back to the love we first knew through baptism as God claimed us as God’s own?

During this time of transition, let’s take a moment to reflect on the love we had at first – when we were first baptized, or confirmed, or became a Christian, or became a member at Trinity. Let’s find ways to reignite the passion and remember the bigger picture of who Trinity is as the body of Christ. Thank you for your hard work and your patient endurance – don’t forget to love!

Grace and peace,
Pastor Kate