First Presbyterian Church
What's a Presbyterian to do with Revelation? Part 3
Sermon for August 3, 2003
by Pastor Susan Barnes

In the first and second centuries ce, religion and state were not separate but closely connected; if you were Roman, you worshiped Roman gods. If you were Egyptian, you worshiped Egyptian gods. You can see how this would get Jews into trouble. In the late first century, Jews had permission from the Roman government to skip emperor worship. Remember that Jesus was a Jew, and spoke in the synagogues, as did Paul. In some cases, Christians were just another sort of Jew.

Late in the first century, Jews and Christians began differentiating. Some Jews informed on some Christians to the Romans, saying that the Christians weren't true Jews. And so the Romans cracked down on Christians, and Christians were punished if they did not conform to Roman pagan worship.

John takes the churches to task over this, using the phrasing of Roman magistrates and judges. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Revelation 3:1-6.

To the angel of the church in Sardis write: Thus says the one who has the seven spirits of God, namely the seven stars: "I know your conduct, that you have a reputation for being alive, but you are actually dead!” 2 Be vigilant, and strengthen those who remain but are on the point of death, for I have found your conduct far from perfect in the sight of my God. 3 Remember therefore what you received and heard; obey that, and repent. If therefore, you do not watch, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what moment I will come to you.4 But you have a few individuals in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; they will walk with me in white, because they are worthy.5 The one who conquers thus will be clothed with a white garment, and I will certainly not erase [that one's] name from the Book of Life; and I will acknowledge [that one's] name before my Father and before the holy angels. 6 The one who has ear, let that one hear what the Spirit declares to the churches. (1)

Sardis was the capitol of the kingdom of Lydia . It was wealthy from the gold in the river Pactolus. There were temples of Zeus and Artemis there. There was also a large synagogue. Memorial markers indicate that several of the Jews were wealthy citizens and held city office. The Jews were free to collect money and send it to Jerusalem without interference from the local government. Evidently they had found a way to cooperate with the local officials. Perhaps the Christians in Sardis did too; instead of calling it cooperation, or even collaboration, John calls them far from perfect. Their political compromises with local officials impacted their religious life.

The clothes are symbolic of their spiritual condition. In the old testament, Joshua wore filthy clothes in front of an angel, and the angel took them off, and put on clean clothes and a clean turban, as a sign that his guilt was taken away. (Zechariah 3:3-5). White clothes are a sign of divinity, purity, salvation, or immortality. It's an all-purpose color. Those who stay faithful are clothed in white, and keep their names in the book of life.

The Book of Life, sometimes just called ‘the book,' is described differently by different biblical authors. Other ancient near east traditions have a book of life, some have a book of the dead. In the Bible, the book is a list of the faithful ones, a book of judgment, a roll of citizens in heaven or a registry of tribes.

The Christians in Philadelphia have not made those kinds of compromises, and are not in power. They do not sit on councils, nor are revered as pillars of the community. So the holy and true one brings them a key; a key is a symbol of authority, power and access. I'm not sure if the holy and true divine one lets them out or lets them in. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Revelation 3:7-13.

7 "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: Thus says the Holy One, the True One, who has the key of David, who opens so that no one can shut, who shuts that no one can open: 8 "I know your conduct. Behold, I have placed before you an open door, which no one is able to shut, because you have limited strength. Yet you have obeyed my command and did not deny my name. 9 Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan who call themselves Jews (but are not, but are lying), Behold, I will force them to come and grovel at your feet so that they will know that I have loved you.

10 Because you have obeyed my command to endure, so I will preserve you from the time of affliction which will come on the whole earth to afflict the inhabitants of the earth. 11 I am coming soon; keep what you have, so that no one takes away your wreath. 12 As for the one who conquers, I will make that one a pillar in the temple of my God; and that one will never leave it. Moreover, I will inscribe upon that one the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which descends from heaven from my God, and my new name. 13 The one with an ear, let him hear what the Spirit declares to the churches.

As I said last week, Revelation is not anti-Semitic; John calls the Jews in Philadelphia a synagogue of Satan, rather than of God. True Jews are faithful and just, and would not do what these Jews are doing. They are not behaving as true Jews. Probably these Jews are persecuting the Christians, and turning them into the Roman authorities. That's why John speaks of them groveling before the church; they will finally know.

The wreath John speaks of the Philadelphians' keeping was given to winning athletes. It was like a trophy in recognition of the honor they won.

In his letter to the Christians of Laodicea, John refers to specific issues and local events unfamiliar to most of us. Here's a little bit of history that may make this letter seem less odd. We know Laodicea was on a prominent trade route with terrible tasting hard water brought from a hot spring to the city by aqueduct. By the time it reached the city, it was lukewarm.

Judging by the size of the excavated synagogue, a large Jewish community lived in Laodicea . The community sent much gold to Jerusalem . The city of Laodicea was so rich, that when an earthquake leveled it, it refused imperial rebuilding assistance, but did it on its own. There was a school of medicine there, with a famous eye doctor. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Revelation 3:14-22.

14 "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: Thus says the Master Workman, the faithful and true witness, the origin of the creation of God: 15 "I know your conduct, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. 16 So, because you are tepid, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you from my mouth. 17 Because you say, 'I am wealthy and I have become rich and need nothing,' but you do not know that you are the one who is miserable and pitiful and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from me gold purified by fire that you might be rich, then white garments that you might be clothed that the shame of your nakedness might not be manifest, and then medication to apply to your eyes that you might regain your sight. 19Those whom I love I chastise and discipline; therefore, be earnest and repent. 20 Behold! I stand before the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to visit [that one] and I will share a meal with [that one] and [that one] with me.

In the Song of Solomon (5), opening the door and eating together was a sign of love. In Roman tradition, eating with a god was a sign that the god was on your side.

21 As for the one who conquers I will allow [that one] to sit with me on my throne, just as I also conquered and sat with my Father on his throne. 22 Let the one who has an ear hear what the Spirit declares to the churches."

This ends our reading of God's word.

I hope you found my explanations of Revelation helpful. I hope this series makes the book of Revelation more approachable.

John uses political language to describe Jesus: the throne of God, the conquering son of Man. If Jesus is all-powerful, then the emperor isn't. If the local officials are preventing you from conducting business, getting a job, or having food, know that you are clean and faithful and will be rich in heaven.

It is easy for us to get politics and religion mixed up. Teacher Mark Slouka said “some years ago, at the university of California San Diego , a young woman raised her hand in the middle of a seminar I was then teaching on the first century of Rome and the dawn of the Christian era. She seemed genuinely disturbed by something. ‘I know you're all going to think this is crazy,' she said, ‘but I always thought Jesus was an American.'…. Slouka said, “a lovely moment. What she had articulated…was the spirit behind three and a half centuries of American history; America as an elect nation, the world redeeming ark of Christ, chosen, above all the nations of the world, for a special dispensation.” (2) According to a survey, 1 percent of Americans believe Jesus Christ is ‘the greatest American of all time”. (3)

We sometimes confuse being a Christian with being an American. That's why it's important to recognize that Jesus was a Palestinian Jew, living under Roman occupation. The culture in the Bible is Middle Eastern.

Ever since I became a pastor, I have been praying for the Middle East , and it is not getting better. I feel pretty powerless and dismayed. I am discouraged. I appreciate John's visions of keys and doors and white clothes and enough starlight to go around on the lampstands of the church. But I want some signs of hope that we on earth are getting a clue what heaven is about. I found these stories, and I share them with you.

In April, Christian Peacemaker Teams has had a delegation in Baghdad , visiting hospitals and bombsites and documenting Iraqi suffering [before the war began]. When part of the Baghdad team was expelled from the country, the members took three cars, with Iraqi drivers, across the desert to Amman , Jordan . They drove at a high speed, trying to avoid the bombing. The last car in the convoy had a tire blow out and landed in a ten-foot ditch, injuring several of the CPT members. An Iraqi stopped to help and took them to small clinic in a nearby town that had been bombed by coalition forces three days earlier, destroying a children's hospital, among other things. The doctor apologized for a lack of medicine, due to the embargo against Iraq , but he did what he could to help, and then refused to accept payment. “We treat everyone in our clinic, Muslim, Christian, Iraqi, or American. We all are part of the same family, you know,” the doctor said.” (4)

Jewish magazine editor, Michael Lerner of Tikkun said a year ago that he “wants Israel to be secure. But I know that Israel 's policies are self-destructive, irrational, and makes Israel less secure.' He calls for his fellow Jews ‘to transcend the pain of the past—we must not act out in this generation what was done to us in past generations.' He calls on the Palestinian people to reject the tactics of terror and Israel to end its occupation, and says that the situation can never be solved if the violence continues. Then he said, “As a Jew, I want that process to start with us.” He calls on Israel to draw on the highest ideals of Judaism. These ideals start with the categorical imperative in Torah: Thou shalt love the stranger. Thou shalt love the Other.” (5)

And then I heard about Bob Alper and Ahmed Ahmed. Ahmed is a Muslim who grew up in Southern California . Bob is a Reform Rabbi from Vermont . They are both stand up comedians, and have an act called “One Jew, One Arab, One Stage.” They started working together after 9-11, when Bob asked Ahmed if he would do a show together, at a synagogue. Ahmed took some convincing. Bob said “we were nervous, but what I predicted happened; the synagogue loved Ahmed. I want Jewish people to understand not to hate and judge, but understand the humanity of all backgrounds.”

Ahmed says most of his Hollywood roles were as Arab terrorists. He had a big bushy beard, because that's what the casting people wanted. "All of the lines were the same," he notes. "They wanted me to kill somebody in the name of Allah." I played 7-11 owners, sleazy Arab princes, and terrorists. Ahmed says he decided to become a comedian in order to avoid perpetuating stereotypes and to offer a different kind of Muslim voice.

In his comedy routine now, he says things like, “on my way here, they profiled me at the airport. My name matched a terrorist. They said, ‘we're sorry, we have to do a background check.' I said, ‘That's why I got here a month and a half early.' I went to check my bags in. They said ‘Are these your bags? Did you pack them yourself?' Then they arrested me.”

The rabbi talks of what Jews and Muslims have in common. “We don't eat pork, we don't celebrate Christmas, we both say khhh a lot, and we're both hairy creatures of God.” When he speaks before non-Jewish audiences, he has flashcards for those who are Judaically challenged. He has one that says Passover on one side, and no bread on the other. During Passover, Jews do not eat leavened bread, just flat unleavened bread. When he flies during Passover, and asks for a kosher meal, invariably they give him a bagel. He flashed the ‘no bread' sign, and the audience gets the joke.

“We know what people are thinking. They've been laughing together all night, but things are still a little tense," said [Rabbi]Alper… "So we talk to them in very serious tones for few minutes. We say that we know terrible, tragic issues divide our people. We say that we're not politicians or social psychologists. We don't have the answers. But there is hope. We have found one thing that can bring us together. With all the problems in the world between Jews and Arabs, and Arabs and Jews, one thing we can do to stop all the hatred, all the misconceptions, is if all of us can learn ... The room falls silent. Then the Celtic ‘Riverdance' music blasts out of the sound system. And he says "Irish dancing." The gray-haired Reform rabbi from Vermont and the [large] Arab funnyman from Hollywood start trying to dance, Celtic style. The result is kind of Irish, kind of Arab, kind of Jewish and totally goofy. (6)

These are all little glimmers of peace. Kindness, holiness, and goofiness.

And in Revelation 2 and 3, there's plenty of evidence that the churches were not getting it; they didn't understand what Christ was about, nor how to live out their faith. They were goofing up two thousand years ago. But we Christians are still here. The Spirit is at work in the church.

Sometimes we need the solace of 3: 10 : “Because you have obeyed my command to endure, so I will preserve you from the time of affliction which will come on the whole earth.” When do we listen to the warning in 19 “Those whom I love I chastise and discipline; therefore, be earnest and repent”?

How do we know? When we start to get too comfortable with the powers that be, and say, 'I am wealthy and I have become rich and need nothing.' What keeps us from deluding ourselves that we are not like that church in Laodicea ? Prayers full of gratitude and confession. Reading the Bible. Talking about what matters with people you trust. Opening ourselves to the work of the Spirit, and the one who brings seven stars, enough to light all our lamps.

Amen.

(1) Translation from Word Biblical Commentary Revelation 1-5, David Aune, p. 215, 228, 246.

(2) Harper's, Sept. 2002, quoted in Context, Nov. 15, 2002 , p. 6.

(3) Chicago Sun-times, Jan 14, quoted in Christian Century, Feb. 8, 2003 , p. 7.

(4) www.prairienet.org/cpt , quoted in Christian Century, April 19, 2003 , p. 6.

(5) Christian Century June 19-26, 2002 , p. 4.

(6) Mattingly, Terry, “Arabs! Jews! Lighten Up! Scripps Howard News service, 4/17/03 . Jewish News of Greater Phoenix January 31, 2003/Shevat 28 5763, Vol. 55, No. 23 BARRY COHEN, Comedy bridges conflict Rabbi, Muslim bond through laughter