Saturday 12 April 2008

Background

The symbolism of the book of Revelation is notoriously difficultto interpret because so much of it is impenetrable to modern minds.This means many Christians avoid the book altogether, and othershave a field day in offering an incredible variety ofinterpretations.

This passage is the last in a series of seven letters that werewritten to seven different churches offering challenge andencouragement as some of them faced persecution because of theirdesire to be faithful to Jesus.

Laodicea (in modern-day Turkey) was a centre of commerce and trade,but the church that is based there is danger of cutting itself offfrom Christ because of its complacency and the way it had conformedto the prevailing culture. Christ alone is the true source ofnourishment and wealth, and the church's failure to show works thatwitness to this makes them merely lukewarm to God. The local watersupply came from hot springs but often arrived tepid. Drinking itthat way was sickening.

The message however, is not one of harsh judgement. It springs outof God's love, because judgement is always tempered with mercy. Theimage of Jesus standing at the door and knocking, made famous byHolman Hunt, reminds us of many biblical images - the bridegroom inSong of Songs (5:2), Jesus thegood shepherd (John10:1-21 and Luke 15:1-7) andthe invitation to join in the Lord's feast which is open to all (Luke 14:15-23).

To Ponder

In what ways is the Christian community beingcalled to be counter-cultural in modern society?

Jesus' invitation is to all. What practicalthings need to be done to make the church you are most familiarwith more inclusive? What can you do to help?