Psalm 125 • 2 Kings 2:9-22 • Acts 3:17-4:4
Elijah and the fiery chariot is the inspiration for the African American Spiritual, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” Mr. Wallace Willis, an enslaved African living in the mid 1800s, receives credit for composing the Spiritual. Willis, living on the banks of the Ohio River in Hugo, OK, could see a stop on the Underground Railroad to freedom across the river in Ripley, OH. His freedom was so close he could see it and yet so far away because of the difficulty getting there. For Willis, the Ohio was the Jordan River, the Underground Railroad to freedom a fiery chariot, swinging low to carry him home.
Advent is God’s invitation to look, gaze, and wait. God chose to leave the heavenly home and dwell with humanity. Can we gaze to see Jesus in the manger and ourselves in God’s altar? How do we look through the current reality of pandemic, civil unrest, and the earth groaning and see a new possibility? One Spiritual stanza resounds, “Sometimes I’m up, and sometimes I’m down, but still my soul feels heavenly bound. (Coming for to carry me home).” That is the Advent tension: hopefully and expectantly waiting in a chaotic reality. Advent is a reminder that Jesus decided to make us his home. Will we decide to make Jesus our home?
O God, we wait and watch for you: help us recognize the visible
signs of your coming; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
The Rev. Jemonde Taylor
Rector
Saint Ambrose Episcopal Church
The Rev. Jemonde Taylor is the eleventh rector at Saint Ambrose Episcopal Church, Raleigh. Father Taylor grew up in Saint Matthias’ Episcopal Church in Louisburg, NC. Father Taylor holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in robotics and vehicle design from Stanford University. Jemonde worked as an automotive performance and design engineer for Michelin Tire Company in Greenville, SC for three years before entering seminary.
Jemonde earned his M.Div. from the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in New York City in 2009. That same year, he was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood. Prior to arriving at Saint Ambrose, Father Taylor served as a priest at Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Dallas, TX as a part of the Lily Foundation Fellowship. In addition to his responsibilities at Saint Michael, Jemonde’s ministry encompassed Jubilee Park and Saint Philip’s School.
Father Taylor is active in the diocese and larger Church by serving on the Discipline Board, Diocesan Council, co-chair for the Nominating Committee to elect the XII Bishop Diocesan, consultant and advisor for the Office of Black Ministries, a contributor to Sermons that Work, and board member for the Gathering of Leaders. Jemonde is also part of a five-person research team that received a collaborative inquiry grant from the Louisville Institute to investigate Race, Church and Theological Practices.
Jemonde is married to Kierson Leigh Taylor and enjoys studying the spirituality and history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. They are the proud parents of one darling daughter.
The Advent Meditations and Prayers are a gift to our seminary community and are made possible through gifts to our Annual Fund. Seminary of the Southwest appreciates the support of its friends, alumni, and the communities around the world that its graduates serve for the glory of God. This support ensures that Southwest, as an institution made of individuals dedicated to service to God and their fellow members of the body of Christ, can continue doing its part to build the body of Christ.
