L is for Laodicea
This is the sermon I preached on August 5 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Revelation 3:15-16.
Today's reading from Revelation leaves out a lot, such as which church Jesus is talking to. It is the church of Laodicea, which in that time meant not one group of believers that gathered, but all of them in the area. A letter such as this would go to one church, then the next, and so on until all the churches had an opportunity to read it.
In Revelation, Jesus has messages for seven churches. Only one of the seven, the church in Philadelphia, has no negative remarks made to it. The others are all a mix, except for Laodicea. Jesus addresses the last of the churches, and there is nothing positive to be said about them.
Jesus' words to his church in Laodicea sound harsh, and they are. But we need a bit of explanation about the matter of being lukewarm, not hot or cold.
We tend to think of these words in terms of one’s enthusiasm for Christ and the gospel. However, in Laodicea, it had very different associations. The city had a serious water problem, including a lack of drinking water. An aqueduct was built to pump water from nearby towns to correct the issue. Hot mineral springs came through one set of pipes, while cold mountain springs came through another. By the time it made its way to Laodicea, the water was lukewarm and calcified. “It wasn’t refreshing to drink or even fit to drink, and certainly not restorative,” as Anna Carter Florence writes (A is for Alabaster). This water made you want to gag. It would be like reaching for a mug of hot coffee only to find, after the first sip, that it’s been sitting out for hours. It’s now at room temperature and beside that it has a strange aftertaste of…chalk. Theologian Gerhard Krodel explains it this way, “They are complacent, 'wishy-washy' Christians, as insipid as their water supply, and Jesus will have none of it” (Revelation).
In the verses immediately following our text, we find out what the Laodiceans thought of themselves “You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless” (v. 17). Their evaluation of themselves and Jesus’ appraisal were at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Have you ever experienced that? Maybe when you were in school, you submitted a paper to your teacher in which you had poured your heart and soul into. You were sure you nailed it, only to get it returned with lots of red ink and a giant F on it. You saw this work one way, yet your teacher saw it quite another way.
But Jesus doesn’t just leave them as they are. He didn’t give up on them. Jesus told them what needed to happen. They are to seek God for their needs. He summarizes it this way, “Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God!” (V. 19).
What is the temperature of our faith at St. Timothy, in the churches in our area? Personally, I’d say mine fluctuates. I am not always white-hot in my faith. I am well aware of when I have fallen short and sense God’s displeasure. Furthermore, I think that’s true of all of us. However, I believe we have here a cautionary tale that, individually and as a church, we want to be pleasing to our Lord and pursue God.
After all, why are we a church and not a country club or coffee shop? They are places to gather for friendship and fellowship. People don’t need church for that. They find excitement at other places, like ball games with their great crowds of fans.
What can we do about it? How do we stem the decline in our churches? It starts with us. I’d like to share just a bit from Casting Crown’s song, “Start Right Here.” All of it is powerful, but here’s just a peek.
We want our blessings in our pockets
We keep our missions overseas
But for the hurting in our cities
Would we even cross the street?
But we wanna see the heart set free and the tyrants kneel
The walls fall down and our land be healed
But church if we want to see a change in the world out there
It's got to start right here
It's got to start right now
Lord, I'm starting right here
Lord, I'm starting right now
We're the people who are called by His name
If we'll surrender all our pride and turn from our ways
He will hear from Heaven and forgive our sin
He will heal our land but it starts right here
(Bernie Herms, Matthew West, Seth Mosley, John Hall)
Why should we care about what’s going on around us, and what difference does it make? The homeless encampments in Jamestown and elsewhere are a nuisance! What’s wrong with these people who are dirtying our waters?
Our selfishness and inwardness is literally destroying the world around us. We have no time for God or others. What can we do? A few verses later we have Jesus’ invitation to us, to all, ‘“Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you… ‘Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the … Spirit blowing through the churches.’” Then, by the power of God’s Spirit, we can act.
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