ADVENT 2002
From the Editor...
A Glimpse of Heaven
Does Advent in your parish serve as a season of anticipation
for the second coming of Christ? It is to focus on preparing
us for both comings, the first in Bethlehem and the second in
glory, but Christmas preparation has gained huge precedence in
the last century.
It wasn't always thus. Advent was once a time for
hearing about the last four things, death, judgment, heaven and
hell. A word about heaven is apt here.
The Scriptures teach that we were made by the God of heaven,
in Jesus Christ heaven begins now on earth, and we are ultimately
destined for the fullness of that heaven. And what is heaven?
A place of rejoicing in and seeing God's glory reflected
in creation, a place of family reunion, of ultimate worship, of
the final homecoming, and of the joyful face to face encounter with God
himself who loves us more than we could ever imagine.
Why focus on our ultimate destiny? Because one of
the most profound ways in which to think of the church is as a
little glimpse of heaven on earth. So who are we called
to be? A place where people are stewards over and delighters in
God's creation, a place of rich fellowship, where the stranger is welcomed
and given refuge, a place of deep worship, where God is encountered
in his full glory, a place of real homecoming, where people are
safe to love and be loved and to develop their gifts for ministry
in a context where they are free to
fail, and, finally, a place where God's face is truly seen. Wow.
There is a vision for every church in the twenty-first
century. I pray that God might grant us the grace to embrace
this vision and to move forward into it together as the new millennium
begins.
The Rev. Canon Dr. Kendall S. Harmon
Contact Dr Harmon by e-mail at ksharmon@mindspring.com
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