A letter from “The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the
origin of God’s creation.”
Laodicia was…
In Colossians Paul says that he is praying for the people of
Laodicea because he wants them to live in unity with the Holy Spirit. His mention of them in this letter speaks to
us of a few possibilities about this city/church. Laodicea was near Colossae
in the area of Phyriga or Asia or modern day Turkey . Paul did not actually plant these churches,
but equipped the pastors that did. So
Paul has chosen to personally write to these churches about their character of
faith in the midst of hostile climates.
The church at Laodicea could have been around since as early as 50 AD and we
think the Revelation letters were written between 80 and 90 AD, making the
church community about 30 or 40 years old as they read their letter.
According to Strabo, the ancient Greek geographer, Laodicea was a
wealthy and proud community known for its textile industry and its manufacture
of a medication for ophthalmic disorders.
Laodicea was inland and had a series of aqueducts that brought
water to the community. Some led from a hot springs source while
others brought cold water from the mountains.
In either case, the distance the water traveled made it tepid regardless
of the temperature of its source. The
tepid water was distasteful, as you can imagine.
Laodicea boasted of her wealth, even refusing the financial
assistance of Rome
when an earthquake nearly destroyed the town in 60 AD.
The textiles were known “world-wide”, but the most famous
was its pure black wool. Likewise,
history records the healing power of the Phrygian Powder, which may very well
have been manufactured in Laodicea.
So, when the Revelation says: You are neither hot nor cold.
You say you are rich and need nothing. But you are wretched, poor, naked, and
blind. You need to buy gold, white
robes, and medicine for your eyes” it is
speaking directly to Laodicea’s dependence on herself against her dependence on God.
Diagnosis: you are a lukewarm people, neither on fire for
the Kingdom of God Laodicea had pressed the easy button. Now, maybe to the outside world, they were
the “poster child” for pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps. They were self made, reliant, entrepreneurs,
smart, and industrious people. They
didn’t help; they were the helpers.
Sounds commendable. Except they
forgot about the one who provided all of their abundant resources. They were not self-made. No one is self-made. We are all made by God.
Consequence: this is “distasteful” to God, and so God is
going to “spit them out.” Gross. And in actuality, the reference is even more
graphic. More than tepid, the water that flowed from the hot springs was full of minerals and in
concentrated form (which it was by the time it reached Laodicea) it caused stomach upset. What Jesus actually says to the church at Laodicea
is “you make me want to throw up.”
That’s not nice at all. And no,
Jesus isn’t being nice. He’s being
honest. And he is speaking truth and he
is wielding justice and he is telling this self-made, self-righteous church
that they had better get over themselves, or they were going to miss a visit
from Jesus himself: I am standing at the door and knocking. Can you hear me? Open the door so I can come in and be in
fellowship with you again.
OR….
Prescription: Repent.
Come back to the Lord for your needs.
Answer the door, that is, allow God’s Spirit to resume leadership in
this place. So many times we hear this
verse preached and imagine Jesus standing at the door of our heart, making his
appeal to become the Lord of our life.
This is a beautiful image of our personal relationship with Jesus to
make him Lord of our life. But Jesus is
presenting a bigger picture. He is
reflecting on the stories he told while on earth about servants who are
supposed to wait for the master to come home…stay awake, watch for the sign of
his coming, prepare the home, set the table, stand at the gate. Jesus is saying, I’m here. I’m ready to come to you. My Spirit longs to abide with you now and
very soon I will physically return to you.
Are you listening? Are you
watching? Are you ready? Are you just bored?
Maybe the better image is “baseball ready” So many kids get bored in the outfield. They still wear the uniform, stand in the
outfield, count as a player. But they’ve
stopped playing the game. A coach or a
parent will yell “Pay attention!
Baseball ready!” Pay attention
because a ball may come your way. Pay
attention because this may be your shot.
Pay attention because the crack of the ball leaving the bat will not
give you time to duck if it’s a line drive between your eyes! So church, pay attention, because we wouldn’t
want to be found sitting in our pew, going through the motions, bored out of
our skulls and no longer “playing the game” or participating in the life of
faith. The crack of the sky when Jesus
parts it at his return will not be enough warning.
Outcome: God will
re-enter and dine with us. That’s a far
cry from spitting us out.
So he says, I’m here.
I’m knocking. Let my spirit share
space with you now, so that on that day you will find yourself dining at my
table.
Here’s the other key.
We may want to believe that this image is of our inviting Jesus into our
home. Again, a beautiful and necessary
metaphor, just not accurate for this verse.
Rather, Jesus is knocking at the door of his own home. It’s God’s house, this is God’s church. Laodicea
may think she is strong and rich and wise and gifted, but without God she is
nothing. Let me come in, says the
Lord. Let me dress you, strengthen you,
heal you, fill you. You don’t have to be
a church that does it all on your own.
As a matter of fact, God wants you to be a church that does nothing
without God.
