July 24 2022
Revelation 2:1-7
One of the good things about social media is that there is perhaps more accountability for goods and services. I mean, we just take it for granted that anything you might want to buy has ratings and reviews on Amazon. If a manufacturer tries to sell an inferior product, it’s a pretty safe bet that they will be found out by customers all too willing to tell others of their bad experience. Jennifer and I host an AirBnB site in our basement and we too are reviewed by the people who stay with us. So far, our ratings have been good enough that we have achieved the status of Superhost. Of course, we also get to rate the people who stay with us so that other AirBnb sites can know something about the people wanting to stay at their place. We also have the option of deciding one time with some guests was more than enough and we have a couple of times made it clear that certain guests don’t need to come back. So, this accountability that we now have is a really great thing because now if we want to buy something we can have some idea of what we are getting and if we have something to sell the good word of people who have used what we sell is out there as well.
I was thinking about this idea of accountability because, in a way, this is what is happening as John writes down what Jesus has to say about the seven different churches that he is addressing. What you find then is that this book of Revelation is really a letter that has within it seven separate letters which makes it rather odd. What this means then, is that just like the same way the whole world can see a review on Amazon, all of the churches could see how Jesus reviewed these seven different churches. Yet, this isn’t quite as bad as it seems because what must be kept in mind is that the number seven is a number in the Bible that conveys the idea of wholeness or completeness. So, Jesus isn’t just speaking about these specific churches but rather he is addressing the whole church. We also know that Jesus is not just addressing what is going on in these churches as if to point out that this is what a bad church looks like and this church over here is doing what a good church is supposed to do, but rather what Jesus is addressing is particular mindsets which need to be changed and other mindsets which need to take their place. We know this to be true because with the five different churches that are missing the mark with the way they are acting, Jesus again and again calls these churches to repent. The Greek word translated here as being “repent”, actually means to have one’s thinking transformed after being confronted about one’s behavior. While Jesus does point out many different wrong actions that these various churches are doing, his call for repentance lets us know that what first needs to be changed is the mindset behind those actions. If a church just decided to start doing different actions without first addressing just why they thought the wrong actions seemed like a good idea at the time then sooner or later these churches were going to end right back where they started. Jesus then, through these seven churches, is really getting at wrong ways of thinking about the situations that all churches find themselves in.
One more thing that we have to understand before we dive into these seven reviews of the seven churches is that the basis for having a right or wrong mindset is tied directly to our being now thought of as a kingdom of priests. I think too often, we, as the church, just rush by this statement of who we are as if it’s a trivial matter however only as we rightly think about who we are can we rightly think about just what it is that we are to do as the church. So, what does it mean for us to think about ourselves as being a kingdom of priests? I think if you read about who we as humanity were created to be in places like the eighth Psalm, what you find is that we were created to be mediators between God and his creation. God called the people of Israel, who he also had called to be his priests, to bear his name out into his creation so that through his people the world might know that the God who created this world is a God whose unchanging character is steadfast love and faithfulness. They as priests were also called to love God with all that God has given to them, the abundance they enjoyed, even their very life, all of this was to be a means to serve and worship God. It begins to be clear then, how being a priest affects how we think about just what it is that we are supposed to do and say.
Keeping our being priests to God front and center then, we begin to look at just what Jesus has to say to us about the mindset that had gripped ahold of the church at Ephesus. In all of these addresses to the various churches, there is a consistent form as to how they are set up. Every address begins with John being commissioned to write not to the church itself but to the angel of each specific church. After the commission of John to write down what Jesus is saying to him, we then have a title of the glorified Christ which is one aspect of the vision of John recorded in the first chapter. After this description of the glorified Christ, we hear Christ speak positive words to the church he is addressing. This is why these letters to the various churches remind me of reviews because most all of them are doing something right. Yet, for most of the churches, Christ cannot give them a five star rating and he gives his reasons why but unlike the reviews we find on Amazon, Christ gives a solution to the problem which each church is facing beginning with a call to have a change of mind. If the churches think that they can simply ignore what Christ is telling them, then he in no uncertain terms states that he will be making a visit. Wrong behavior is not something to be taken lightly. Lastly, Christ finishes up with a call for each church to remember that they are more than conquerors through him, this is who they are and will be if they but listen to his voice speaking to them through the Holy Spirit.
So, to the church at Ephesus what we find is that John is told to write to the angel in Ephesus. The word ‘angel” means a heavenly messenger and it perhaps points us to the new reality that Christ has brought about, one where heaven and earth are at last one. John is told that the words he records are those of the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and the one who walks among the seven lamp stands. What does this tell us about Christ? Well, it tells us that Christ holds the entire cosmos, symbolized by the seven stars, in his right hand, the hand of power. Without a doubt we are to know that Christ is the all powerful one. Christ also walks among the seven lamp stands, lamp stands which represent the seven churches. Christ then is not only all powerful but he is present in the everyday life of the churches. This is the one who is speaking to the church at Ephesus and he did have some good words to pass along to them. Christ knew of their hard work, how they were weary yet they were hanging tough through it all. This was a church that would not bear with those who are evil and they were smart enough to know how to tell false apostles from the real thing. This patient endurance that the church at Ephesus had, their willingness to bear under the weight of constant evil, this was all because they were a church that was willing to bear the name of Christ. When we hear this phrase, “bearing the name”, this should make our ears perk up, because this meant that they were at least attempting to be the priests that Christ expected them to be. They were living out the unchanging character of Jesus in their everyday life and they paid the price for doing so. It is hard for us to imagine that Christ would find fault with such a church but, something was wrong. Their problem is that they had got up and left behind something that they used to have in the beginning of their relationship with Christ. This something is love. Now, once we figure out that what has been left behind is love what we cannot do is to think that what was lost was some emotional fire in their heart. No, what Christ tells them is that, yes, they had abandoned their first love but what they needed to do is to get back to doing the works that they had done at first. Let’s not forget that to love is to work. This word, “work”, actually helps us figure out the root of the problem with this church at Ephesus. Christ tells them that if they don’t get back to work then he was going to remove them from the lamp stand. So, this tells us that there is a connection between the work that they used to do and their being able to be a light. It isn’t hard to hear the words of Jesus who taught his disciples in his Sermon on the Mount. As we find it in the fifth chapter of Matthew, Jesus teaches that “we are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light an oil lamp and then put a basket over it. No, when they light a lamp they set it on a stand so that it gives light to all of the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they might see your good works and give God glory who is in heaven.” This teaching then does tell us that it is those who make up Christ’s church are the very light of the world. In this light the world will see our good works and the those in the world who live in darkness will end up testifying to the victory of God. Of course, we are left wondering just what is it that the world will see demonstrated by us when we are living as the light of the world? A good place to start to figure this out is at the end of the eighth chapter of Romans where Paul writes that “God works all things for good with those who love God, those who are called to his purpose.” What Paul is telling us here is that God is the one who is working all things for good and those whom he calls, those who love him, God invites them to join him in working out his goodness in the world. Now, there is one more thing that we have to understand and this is something Paul writes in the twelfth chapter of Romans where he instructs us that “if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing so you will heap burning coals upon their heads. Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil by good.” Here at last, I think, it is becoming clearer just what the problem is with the church at Ephesus. Yes, they were bearing the name of Christ out to the world and they paid the price for doing so. When they proclaimed that Christ and not Caesar was the ruler over all the universe, over all rulers, over all kingdoms, those who worshipped Caesar as a god made sure that the Christians at Ephesus paid dearly for their outrageous beliefs. So, they withdrew from the world and hunkered down but in doing so they left behind God who is at work in the world. They considered themselves to be those who loved God and if so this meant that they were to be working with him as he worked at bringing his goodness about in the world. To love God with all that he had given to them meant that they were to take the abundance God has given to them and do the good which overcame the evil in the world. Where evil caused one to be hungry, they were to feed them. If the evil in the world left someone without a place to live they were to share their home with them. If evil had left one alone and vulnerable they were to come along side of them and encourage them. This doing of good, as Paul said, is to be done even to the one who might oppose us in bringing good about in the world, doing good to those who do evil just so it is not forgotten that good always overcomes evil. You see, it is these good works, good works done even to those who oppose the good, this is what brings those who witness such good works to glorify God. What this means is this: the people who bear the brunt of evil day in and day out, those who see no end to the misery and injustice that is all around them, they are wondering is there an answer to the rampant evil in the world? When we who love God join him in doing good, those who live in a dark world will see a light, a difference, they will see the truth that evil will not have the last word but is in fact something that can be overcome by good. This is when they will praise a good God for his victory over evil.
You see, Christ knew that the church at Ephesus had faced persecution. They could not bear those who were evil but what Christ also knew is that the church is called to do more than be against evil, it is, in fact, to be those who overcome evil with good. If the church does not witness to the fact that good does indeed overcome evil, then what answer is there for all those living in an evil world? We must be people who live to tell the story that, yes, there is evil in the world but no matter the depths of the evil that we see, God’s goodness is greater. This is the message of the cross where the evil that was wielded by the most perfect form of government, the Romans, joined with the evil wielded by the perfect religion, the people of Israel and came against the one who was God’s goodness in the flesh, whose name was Jesus. They did their very worst, causing him to suffer and die at their hands allowing them to falsely believe that their evil was the greatest power. Three days later, the power of the goodness of God was revealed when Jesus walked out of the tomb, the evil of death defeated forever. This is what we believe to be true, and this is what our hope rests upon. When we remember how God overcame the evil of this world through the goodness of his grace, and not just the evil of the world but the evil in us, how God overcame our evil through his goodness, then perhaps this gives us a clue as to what is meant in this warning to the church at Ephesus when they are told to “remember the love they had at first”. There is a lot of speculation about this phrase, whether it means that the church should begin again to love God or others as they had done in times past but what if, instead, the real meaning is that the church at Ephesus is to remember that they love only because God first loved them. Before they were even aware that there was a salvation to believe in, God loved them. God did not just love them in some emotional way but he loved them and the whole world and he demonstrated that love by giving the most precious gift of his Son. God gave his Son Jesus to not overcome just the evil of the world but Jesus has overcome our evil, the evil that we could not overcome on our own. God set us free from the slavery of sin which held us and he did so through the goodness of his love and grace. Perhaps this is the love which we had at the first that Christ calls us to remember. You see, what compels us to go out and join God in doing the good works which overcome the evil of this world is this extravagant, overwhelming love which we had never known before we had met Jesus. Perhaps it is this love, this love of God, the love with which we were first loved like never before, perhaps, it is this love that we are called to remember, to remember how God did not merely bear with the evil of this world but instead God sent his Son into the world because only in that way could the goodness of heaven come and conquer the evil of earth. Christ tells the church at Ephesus that those who once again respond to the love God has for them by loving him in return, loving God not with sheer emotion but with action, joining God in doing good, these are the ones Christ calls, “Conquerors!”. Yet that is not all, Christ also says to those who conquer that they will be granted to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. This mysterious blessing points us back to the garden of Eden, back to the disobedience of our first parents who were chased out of paradise, an angel of heaven guarding the entrance to paradise with a flaming sword lest Adam and Eve attempt to reach the tree of life and live forever. Yet now, Christ is saying that the angel and his fiery sword are gone, the way has been opened but only for those willing to join God in his work of overcoming evil with good. You see, by joining God we now claim that we at last know that God alone is good, and because of his first love for us, we, in response to God’s good love for us, we, unlike our fore parents, listen and obey God, using all that he has given us in overcoming the evil of our world. This is what Christ tells the church at Ephesus; only you can say just what Christ is telling you! May you be among those he calls, conquerors! Amen!
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