In the days following the Superbowl, I saw a surprising amount
of people wearing Broncos apparel. I laughed a little to myself and wondered if
they watched the Superbowl – weren’t they embarrassed to identify as a Broncos
fan? Weren’t they embarrassed by their team’s performance at the big game, on
the national stage? I imagine that’s exactly why they continued to show their
support though – they are loyal fans, faithful to their team no matter what
happens.
The angel to the church in Philadelphia commends the
faithful church for being like a post-Superbowl Broncos fan – continuing to
stand up for God’s name in the midst of adversity, to continue to be faithful.
If Ephesus was the loveless church and Pergamum the compromising church, Philadelphia
is known as the faithful church. As with the other churches, the angel’s
message commends their work, makes promises, and leaves them with a challenge
or two.
Have you ever thought of Trinity as a faithful church? What
does it mean to be a faithful church – that we pray a lot, that we take care of
each other, that we take care of strangers, that we believe in and trust in
Jesus Christ? What does it mean in your own life to be faithful – faithful to
the church, faithful to your friends and family, faithful to your job or school
or football team? Are you a bandwagon fan, faithful when things are going
right, or are you a diehard fan, faithful even when things are tough?
It’s hard to think that faithfulness is not something we can
earn – I mean if we memorize everything about the Broncos, go to all the games,
we are faithful fans right? If we learn the Bible, show up to church, enjoy our
fellowship together, pray for each other, serve the least of these, we are faithful
Christians, right?
At the end of the day, we are still sinners. At the end of
the day, our tendency is still towards ourselves instead of others; toward worshiping
football instead of God; toward ignoring the angel’s challenge instead of
stepping out in faith. We are not always faithful. We try, with the little
power that we have.
The Good News in both the angel’s message to Philadelphia
and the Psalmist’s writings is that we have
a faithful God. Regardless of how many times we stray, God is still
faithful. Regardless of what we forget to do, God still provides. Regardless of
how many promises we break, God keeps God’s promises. God continues to show up,
God continues to send angels, God continues to send the Holy Spirit to push and
pull us into remembering the promises of God. God continues to supply our
strength, to guide us in God’s way, and to grant us faith as well as
opportunities to be faithful.
Praise be to the God who sends us the gift of faith. Praise
be to the God who loves us enough to send angels. May our ears be open.
Grace and peace,
Kate
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