Sardis

Revelation 3

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars:

“I know your works; you have a name of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard; obey it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. Yet you have still a few persons in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. If you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white robes, and I will not erase your name from the book of life; I will confess your name before my Father and before his angels.  Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” (Revelation 3)

Needless to say, these words were not well received in our church. No, not at all. When they were read aloud to our congregation, I watched to see how our members would react. I knew that it would be interesting and let me tell you, it definitely was.

The Angels Standing Guard to the Seven Churches of Asia

St. Marks Basilica

Who am I? Well, you should know that I am the “angel of the church in Sardis.” In your time, you will call such people “pastors” or even “priests.” In any event, I am the spiritual leader of the Sardis church.

You might think that the harsh words in John’s letter would be taken very personally by me. You might think that the criticism, so direct in its nature, would rest on my shoulders and mine alone. You might even think that I, upon hearing these words, should resign in favor of someone better suited to lead.

But that’s getting a bit ahead of what I want to share with you. I will come back to that.

First, let me give you some background on our church. To begin with, you must know that Sardis is an ancient city. In the past, it served as either a provincial capital or prominent city of various empires, including the Lydians, Persians, Greeks, and now, the Romans. Sardis is large and prosperous, and is home to many religions. But in our time, Sardis is best known for its devotion to the Roman emperor, and has received three neocorate honors from the Roman senate. The city‘s elite populace is both educated and proud.

But like many cities of our day, Sardis has a very rigid class structure. It ranges from an upper class, mostly Roman citizens, educated and wealthy, down to a merchant class and eventually a class of laborers and even slaves at the bottom. Most of these are immigrants, persons who don’t speak our language and who have arrived in Sardis, either looking for work, which is plentiful, or else running away to escape persecution elsewhere.

All of these classes can be found in our church. And as you might imagine, these divisions have spilled over into our congregation. I am sorry to admit it and I must be held responsible, at least in part. My attempts to erase the lines that separate us have not been successful.

We meet in worship and we share what you will call the Eucharist, the meal that our Lord commanded in remembrance of him. I can truthfully tell you that we also read scripture, we pray, we teach, and we give to the poor. We are well organized, with elders in charge of the various activities of the church.

But even before receiving John’s damning letter, I knew that there was something missing. Yes, it felt as if we were just going through the motions of our faith, almost as if we were sleepwalking. The energy and vitality of the Holy Spirit were lacking, except in a few individuals.

So, the words of the Risen Christ are true: we have a name of being alive, but we are truly dead.

It was my job to read the letter from John. Of course, when I read it, I already knew what it said. So, just to give some added emphasis, I also read from the letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth. Some of his charges to them apply to us as well:

Now in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, to begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. Indeed, there have to be factions among you, for only so will it become clear who among you are genuine. When you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord’s supper. For when the time comes to eat, each of you proceeds to eat your own supper, and one goes hungry and another becomes drunk. What! Do you not have households to eat and drink in? Or do you show contempt for the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? (1 Corinthians 11)

None of this had any noticeable effect. The pride of the elite class in our church has been a problem almost from our beginning. They often act as if our less fortunate members are invisible or worse, unworthy. And frankly, I don’t know what to do about it. It’s almost as if we are simply checking off the duties of Christians without actually living the abundant life that Jesus called us to live.

I am reminded of these words of Jesus:

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot.” (Matthew 5)

It’s hard to admit, but these words fit for our church. Our salt has definitely “lost its taste.” But how can we restore it?

As a result of all this, we are not growing. Very little energy is expended in reaching out beyond our membership, to invite others to know the joy and peace of the Risen Christ. In fact, some of the wealthier members feel more comfortable with our pagan civic leaders than with our own, more humble folks.

And what’s more, in their opinion, it’s important for us to appear respectable to the larger, pagan population, and especially to the members of the emperor cult. For example, many of them showered congratulations on their pagan friends for the neocorate honors that, in their opinion, have served to benefit the entire city.

Now, back, to the question of our reaction to John’s letter. As you might imagine, the response was varied. It’s a shame, but as you might expect, the most negative reactions came from those who should have felt convicted by the letter. Feeling unjustly accused, they objected, claiming that the message was both ill-timed and off base. It might have applied long ago, they asserted, but surely not today. And besides, they said, the church was not given credit for our efficient organization and for our charity to the poor, which I consider to be both miserly and half-hearted.

As you also might imagine, our more humble members simply sat in silence as I read the words of John’s letter. Secretly, I was more in tune with them. But to my discredit, I did not speak openly about my personal reaction. I mean, don’t I need to be impartial? Don’t I need to be a pastor to everyone in our church and not just to those I agree with? If I took a side, how would that be received?

But now, looking back, I realize that I should have done so. You see, the words of Christ in John’s letter have been ignored by many in the church. We know who we are, they say, and we need to maintain our identity of respect in the wider community.

I’m not so sure of that. I mean, I ask myself: was Jesus respected by the wider population? Were his closest apostles? Was Paul? And now, I have to even ask if John, the author of the letter, is he respected? Even now, some of our members are seeking to discredit John.

And back to my personal dilemma. Should I resign? Surely, I must bear much of the blame for the state of our church and for the words of criticism in John’s letter. I am convinced of the truth of his words and I consider myself to be a follower of John. I am sure that he can be trusted beyond any claim of bias or error.

So, what should I do? I am praying about that. And I have wondered what would you advise? Actually, after some soul-searching prayer on my part, I now think I know.

Because though it may seem obvious to you, it has only recently occurred to me. And what I have only just realized is actually the most important thing. I am embarrassed to admit this, but I now see that what has been missing from our church is love. Yes, love, especially love between our members, a love that crosses all divides and which erases all lines of separation. A love that brings people together and which puts the desire for respect in its proper place.

So, that’s what I am praying about, and what I ask you to pray for our church. We need only a small spark to rekindle the love that once defined our church. Just a small spark. If you will pray for that spark in our divided church, I promise to pray, across the centuries, for yours.