A Letter To Ephesus
by Rob Kristoff's Writing on Monday, March 14, 2011 at 9:30pm ·
Have you ever gotten a really great letter? These days, I guess I'd
have to say a really good email, but I'm not sure that's the same
thing. Because I'm not sure you can duplicate seeing the person's
handwriting on an envelope, that nice feeling of knowing what's inside.
But have you ever gotten a really great letter? When someone has
really had an insightful line or image that stuck with you? Maybe news
from home, when you were traveling, or away at school? A really good
letter is the next best thing to having the person there with you.
We're going to look at a very powerful letter this morning, from a long
time ago. But first, let me ask you another question.
Do you have a hero? A favorite person? Someone you look up to for one reason or another, that you want to emulate? We all have different desires, different goals, different ways we wish we could be, so we all have different heroes.... in fact, some of us have multiple heroes, for different areas of their life. For example, my cycling hero is a racer named Travis Brown. But I certainly wouldn't look to him for faith advice. In that realm, I'd say my hero is more like Eugene Peterson, a pastor, professor and author. When I asked Kathy who her hero is, she told me Martin Luther King Jr. or Elizabeth Cady Stanton. But I know for a fact that Bono, the singer of the rock band U2, is who she really wishes she could be.
But what about if we think of our church here? Could we ever agree on a church hero? A few weeks ago, I talked to you about why we sometimes would like to be able to emulate the first century church. Back then, I said that it isnÕt that there were no problems in the church of that time, just like there are problems for us. But the church that had the actual disciples of Jesus as its members and pastors, those who were present at the crucifixion of Christ, who saw him after he rose from the dead, church couldn't help but have some insights for us to look up to.
In the next weeks, then, we're going to look at a sermon series, not of my own devising, but from the mind of Jesus. We're going to look at messages, letters, to these churches Jesus delivered through a vision given to the Apostle John, who was then imprisoned on the island of Patmos.
The part of the vision we'll look at is a series of messages that Jesus gives to John, to deliver to these churches. The overall message is that Jesus has been watching what they do.
Like Pastor Bob was saying about how God wouldn't break a bent reed, or snuff out a spark... Like I told our children, when we looked at the cowbell... God sees the fall of every sparrow- and we're much more important to him than sparrows.
It must have been a shock for them to receive these messages. Even though they'd been saying in their worship that it was true, that Jesus walked among them, this must have been a startling proof of that. This could be bad or good news, depending on how they really felt about Him. Does it startle us to realize that hes watching us just the same?
Jesus hasn't written one of these letters to us, specifically, but I know that we can learn from his messages, what he wanted for their churches. And by extension then, what he wants from our church.
I don't know whether any of you will remember or not, but in the short series I preached when I was first among you here in fairlee, I also spoke about the Revelation. And if you've done any reading in that book of the bible, my interest in this book may come as a surprise to you. But I guess my interest in it comes from the very fact of the book's reputation in Christian circles. As bible believing Christians, we believe that the whole book is the word of god, capable of drastically improving our lives. And yet, even when I talk to people who've been a part of the church for years, I'll bring up a passage from say, Habbakuk, or Joel, and those folks will say, What? Is that a book of the Bible? The Revelation to John is like that. The revelation- one revelation. A good sign of the fact no one ever reads it is the fact that most people call it Revelations- but yes, there's just the one. Now you know.
So, let's turn to the book, get a little bit of a feeling for the overall work and the context these messages come to us in, before we dive into specifics. One of our greatest mistakes in interpreting the Bible can come from trying to simply flip open the Bible and receive a daily nugget of truth. Certainly the whole Bible is inspired, but that doesn't mean that the things it has to say don't unfold in logical ways, step by step, that depend on one another for their meaning. In the same way, it would be a mistake to simply begin speaking to you about these verses in the book without putting them into their place in the overall work.
First of all, who wrote this book? The author identifies himself as John. According to things I read, the evidence overwhelmingly points to this being John, the son of Zebedee and one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. It was written in his later years. The same piece of scholarship suggests that most scholars put the date around 90AD- or about 60 years after Christ's resurrection.
The verses we are going to look at both today and in the immediate future, occur fairly early in the book. They are the first of many Sevens in the book. Letters to the seven churches, followed by the opening of seven seals, the blowing of seven trumpets, and the pouring of seven bowls.
The reason this may sound strange to you, indeed, the reason the Revelation has always been viewed as somewhat strange, revolves around the fact that it is a type of literature called Apocalyptic. Apocalypse can also mean unveiling. This form of writing is not literal, but in fact is highly symbolic.. or veiled. It's a little bit like algebra. X is not the letter itself, or algebra would be a mixing of letters and math. No, the X stands for a concept, for a number to be determined, and has to be conceived that way. The Revelation to John is the same way.
The book begins: The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw That is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
So it is a revealing, unveiled by Jesus, given to Him by God the Father. He made it known by sending an angel to John, his disciple.
John says quite plainly the circumstances into which this revelation came a little later, in verse 9: I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was o n the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lamp stands, and among the lamp stands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
The book is in the first person, which is odd to begin with, and John tells us that he was on the island of Patmos, because of the word and the testimony. He was in fact imprisoned on the island, which was a Roman prison. This island is about 50 miles off the coast of what is now Turkey. John was eventually released from Patmos, around 96AD. These verses are important not only because of the context they give us, explaining what John is doing on the island, but also because they introduce the major themes of the whole book: The suffering Christians undergo, the coming kingdom of God, and the rewards that patient endurance in the faith will bring.
Secondly, from these verses we're given the list of the churches to whom this revelation will be sent. These places are all about fifty miles apart and occur in a clockwise circle starting with Ephesus. All of this takes place in what is called Asia in the book and would now be called Western Turkey.
And then John's revelation begins. He has told us that it was the Lords day, and he was in the spirit. He is worshiping God on the sabbath, and the fact that he is In the spirit tells us that this was a vision he had, not a dream that he had during normal sleep. He heard a voice speaking, turned around, and saw an angel, walking among seven lamp stands. These lamp stands represent the churches he is writing this for.
Well, this book is simply dense with things to explain, and if you're like me, you live for unraveling the symbols, but we'd be here all month looking at them all. Suffice to say, it is not simply an angel that comes to him, but the risen Christ himself. He tells John the interpretation of what hes seen so far. These lamp stands are churches, which he oversees, via seven angels which guard them. And he has a message for each of them.
It is these messages which we'll be looking at, this week, and in the coming weeks. Today, we begin with the message to the church in Ephesus. Yes, the same Ephesus, to whom Paul wrote the letter that is known to us as simply Ephesians-- one of the books of the Bible.
Ephesus, one of the great cities of the ancient world. By far the largest city mentioned in these seven letters. Ephesus was known as the Temple Warden, a reference to the large temple to the goddess Artemis, also known as Diana. You'll remember that in the letter of Paul, he was nearly killed in a riot, when the silversmiths of Ephesus thought he was ruining their trade. A huge mob shouted Great is Artemis of the Ephesians in the 19th chapter of Acts. The center of this Temple of Artemis was something known as the Tree of Artemis. We don't need to get too worried about what this tree stood for in their religion, but as we'll see at the end of the passage, Jesus was well aware of the tree.
Here again, then, is what Jesus has to say to them: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lamp stands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place.
But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
The first thing we notice is the introduction, the way Jesus prefaces what he is about to say. He describes himself as the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, and walks among the seven gold lamp stands. The stars represent the angels leading the seven churches. The lamp stands represent the churches themselves. Scholars are divided as to whether these Angels are actual angels who watch over the churches, whether this is just a way of describing the earthly leaders, the pastors, of the churches, or whether these Angels are simply a personification of the prevailing spirit of each church. Going on the assumption of the first two, then, what hes doing is reminding them that HE in fact, holds the leaders of the churches close to him. As well as reminding them that he is walking amongst their seven churches. As I said earlier, a reminder that he is indeed intimately acquainted with the church, both theirs and ours.
It is with that reminder, then, that he transitions to the message he has for them: I know your deeds, your hard work, your perseverance. He begins by noticing positives, and we can learn from even that. He mentions their intolerance of false teachers, and commends that as well. But this message isn't what we used to call in college a ÔSunshine NoteÕ. He isn't just writing to tell them this, but to correct their errors. I hold this against you, he says, ÔYou have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.Õ They don't pursue their faith in the way they did at first. Is this love their love for one another? For the church? For him? We aren't told, but we can assume that the Ephesians know what he meant! These things that they did in the earlier days of the church were a Height, from which they've now fallen.
I think I can understand what Jesus is telling them. And IÕd like to share that thought with you: As I look around at many traditional churches, I see the church used more like an attic than like a holy place. I see traditions that aren't being passed down, so that in some churches they don't even know what some of the parts of the church are for. I've told you before, my feelings about tradition: I think rituals-- and by that I simply mean things that we do each week- are a wonderful thing, provided they are alive and vibrant.
Some churches have a building like ours and history like ours, and just wish that they could trade it in. They wish they could just meet in a brand new building- and maybe for them, that works.
But I think a better option, I think the option Jesus calls us to here in Fairlee, is for us to strive to revitalize those traditional ways of doing things that have fallen into disuse. To strive to make them our own. Some of them got dusty because they didnÕt work, and weÕll just have to thank them for their service and leave them to the sands of time. But other traditions simply became forgotten because of circumstances, and those we should dust off, and enjoy.
IÕve noticed in talking to various people since I arrived here in Fairlee, even before, in fact, that there were a lot of things this church did in the past. Whether this meant dinners we once had, or plants that once grew at the church, they said something like Ò Òwe used to do that, but lately....Ó and they sort of became lost in thought.
What they mean by that nonverbal communication, of course, is that they donÕt understand why that has happened. Why the church doesn't do these things anymore. And why should they? It shouldnÕt have happened!
But hindsight is 20/20, they say. And of course, there ARE reasons why these things have fallen into dis-use.
But as in JesusÕ message to the Ephesians, I say that this year, we make it our goal to remember our first love, the things we did at first. To not be an attic of old times, of what they used to do. Instead, letÕs each live this year to proudly carry on being the church those people once envisioned. The church they worked to carry into the future.
So that next year, we donÕt look back on times ten, twenty, or fifty years ago, but on 2005, as the year when big things happened here, as the year when the biggest events in our churchÕs history unfolded.
Now, we canÕt do that right away, I donÕt think. But we can make it a goal. To not be Ògood for nowÓ or Ògood under the circumstancesÓ, but GOOD.
So thatÕs my description of what Jesus is saying here. My description of what many churches might call REVIVAL. And isnÕt that what God is in the business of doing? Of giving second chances, of restoring fresh spring where there once was the finality of winter?
LetÕs return, though, back to JohnÕs time. Back to this message that Jesus is giving the Ephesians: He has prefaced his remarks, he has told them what good he has seen, and he has told them the bad. But lest they only remember the bad, he continues: ÒBut you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.Ó Whoa. The nico-what? who is that?
The Nicolatians are a sect of the early church which was found to be heretical. They had worked out a compromise with pagan society. They taught that spiritual liberty gave them enough wiggle room to practice idolatry and immorality. These then, mightÕve been those that Paul referred to when he wrote the famous question to the Roman church, ÒShould we go on sinning that grace may increase?Ó
The people of Ephesus seem to have had no problem condemning false teachers and sects. Their problem wasnÕt that, but the fact that theyÕd lost their first love. They may have become more interested in judging others than in examining their own souls. More excited to find fault than to find the freedom Christ gave from their own sin. This seems to be the reason for the words commanding them to Ôdo the things they did at firstÕ. Christian acts neccesarily relate to people, usually. Certainly the lesson is clear to us: condemn what Jesus condemns. But leave the judging to him, and instead, spend your energy on your own relationship with Him!
I told you that Jesus prefaced this message. In fact, he will go on to preface each message, with an introduction appropriate to that church. He will also end in a similar formula. LetÕs look at it: ÒHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.Ó In each of these messages, he will repeat that first sentence, and change what he offers to be appropriate to each church. In this case, He offers the right to eat from the tree of life. The tree of Artemis, the symbol of Ephesus, is referred to in JesusÕ words here. If they continue to choose Jehovah God over Artemis and all she represents about secular society, then they will be privy to an even greater tree-- the tree of life in heaven.
So thatÕs the first of these 7 letters. I think we can learn quite a bit from each of them, about Bible times, about the beginnings of the Chris ÿtian church, and then, the most important thing, how those first two can change our life here and now.
From ChristÕs message to the Ephesians, we learn that we all have things we must endure. Because of our fallenness, we all must overcome the world around us. Life is not easy when we try to be more like Christ. He had to carry a cross, and he tells us that we will, as well. Probably not physically, but in spirit.
For the Ephesians, that meant loving others, in spite of their sin. It meant that they needed to be less concerned with how others did or didnÕt follow God, less concerned with judging, and more concerned with their own walk with Christ... more concerned with loving.
What does this message mean to us? Are we like the people Jesus is talki ~ng to here? More interested in how weÕre different from unchurched people we know, than how weÕre similar? Do we find ourselves impatient with their spiritual life? If so, Jesus has a message for us: return to your first love, to the things you did before. When weÕd just come to faith ourselves. When we were anxious to share what weÕd found. When we considered ourselves just like them, except for this one thing weÕd discovered.
If weÕll do this, if weÕll overcome, as Christ says, weÕll have our life, but more abundantly than we ever imagined. For the Ephesians, he phrased it that theyÕd have a holy tree all right- the tree of life, in Heaven. What would he say to us? What is our choice?
I pray that each of us, in his or her quiet time today, will be able to consider that question for themselves. Am I judging them? Or loving them and leaving the judging to God? Am I Üchoosing the Tree of Artemis, or the tree of life?
Because, when you sit down and think about it, maybe the choice is that simple. Pray with me.....
Lord God, show us which we choose, the tree of artemis, or the tree of life.
Show us whether we go along with societyÕs whims, or choose to take up our cross- the overcoming, enduring way which means following you.
Help us to choose rightly, Lord.
Like the father in MarkÕs Gospel, we declare Lord, that we do believe, as much as we can, but we ask you to help us to always be shrinking our Unbelief.
We desire to be yours, Lord. Help us.
modern ancient ruins in Ephesus...
Do you have a hero? A favorite person? Someone you look up to for one reason or another, that you want to emulate? We all have different desires, different goals, different ways we wish we could be, so we all have different heroes.... in fact, some of us have multiple heroes, for different areas of their life. For example, my cycling hero is a racer named Travis Brown. But I certainly wouldn't look to him for faith advice. In that realm, I'd say my hero is more like Eugene Peterson, a pastor, professor and author. When I asked Kathy who her hero is, she told me Martin Luther King Jr. or Elizabeth Cady Stanton. But I know for a fact that Bono, the singer of the rock band U2, is who she really wishes she could be.
But what about if we think of our church here? Could we ever agree on a church hero? A few weeks ago, I talked to you about why we sometimes would like to be able to emulate the first century church. Back then, I said that it isnÕt that there were no problems in the church of that time, just like there are problems for us. But the church that had the actual disciples of Jesus as its members and pastors, those who were present at the crucifixion of Christ, who saw him after he rose from the dead, church couldn't help but have some insights for us to look up to.
In the next weeks, then, we're going to look at a sermon series, not of my own devising, but from the mind of Jesus. We're going to look at messages, letters, to these churches Jesus delivered through a vision given to the Apostle John, who was then imprisoned on the island of Patmos.
The part of the vision we'll look at is a series of messages that Jesus gives to John, to deliver to these churches. The overall message is that Jesus has been watching what they do.
Like Pastor Bob was saying about how God wouldn't break a bent reed, or snuff out a spark... Like I told our children, when we looked at the cowbell... God sees the fall of every sparrow- and we're much more important to him than sparrows.
It must have been a shock for them to receive these messages. Even though they'd been saying in their worship that it was true, that Jesus walked among them, this must have been a startling proof of that. This could be bad or good news, depending on how they really felt about Him. Does it startle us to realize that hes watching us just the same?
Jesus hasn't written one of these letters to us, specifically, but I know that we can learn from his messages, what he wanted for their churches. And by extension then, what he wants from our church.
I don't know whether any of you will remember or not, but in the short series I preached when I was first among you here in fairlee, I also spoke about the Revelation. And if you've done any reading in that book of the bible, my interest in this book may come as a surprise to you. But I guess my interest in it comes from the very fact of the book's reputation in Christian circles. As bible believing Christians, we believe that the whole book is the word of god, capable of drastically improving our lives. And yet, even when I talk to people who've been a part of the church for years, I'll bring up a passage from say, Habbakuk, or Joel, and those folks will say, What? Is that a book of the Bible? The Revelation to John is like that. The revelation- one revelation. A good sign of the fact no one ever reads it is the fact that most people call it Revelations- but yes, there's just the one. Now you know.
So, let's turn to the book, get a little bit of a feeling for the overall work and the context these messages come to us in, before we dive into specifics. One of our greatest mistakes in interpreting the Bible can come from trying to simply flip open the Bible and receive a daily nugget of truth. Certainly the whole Bible is inspired, but that doesn't mean that the things it has to say don't unfold in logical ways, step by step, that depend on one another for their meaning. In the same way, it would be a mistake to simply begin speaking to you about these verses in the book without putting them into their place in the overall work.
First of all, who wrote this book? The author identifies himself as John. According to things I read, the evidence overwhelmingly points to this being John, the son of Zebedee and one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. It was written in his later years. The same piece of scholarship suggests that most scholars put the date around 90AD- or about 60 years after Christ's resurrection.
The verses we are going to look at both today and in the immediate future, occur fairly early in the book. They are the first of many Sevens in the book. Letters to the seven churches, followed by the opening of seven seals, the blowing of seven trumpets, and the pouring of seven bowls.
The reason this may sound strange to you, indeed, the reason the Revelation has always been viewed as somewhat strange, revolves around the fact that it is a type of literature called Apocalyptic. Apocalypse can also mean unveiling. This form of writing is not literal, but in fact is highly symbolic.. or veiled. It's a little bit like algebra. X is not the letter itself, or algebra would be a mixing of letters and math. No, the X stands for a concept, for a number to be determined, and has to be conceived that way. The Revelation to John is the same way.
The book begins: The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw That is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
So it is a revealing, unveiled by Jesus, given to Him by God the Father. He made it known by sending an angel to John, his disciple.
John says quite plainly the circumstances into which this revelation came a little later, in verse 9: I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was o n the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lamp stands, and among the lamp stands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.
The book is in the first person, which is odd to begin with, and John tells us that he was on the island of Patmos, because of the word and the testimony. He was in fact imprisoned on the island, which was a Roman prison. This island is about 50 miles off the coast of what is now Turkey. John was eventually released from Patmos, around 96AD. These verses are important not only because of the context they give us, explaining what John is doing on the island, but also because they introduce the major themes of the whole book: The suffering Christians undergo, the coming kingdom of God, and the rewards that patient endurance in the faith will bring.
Secondly, from these verses we're given the list of the churches to whom this revelation will be sent. These places are all about fifty miles apart and occur in a clockwise circle starting with Ephesus. All of this takes place in what is called Asia in the book and would now be called Western Turkey.
And then John's revelation begins. He has told us that it was the Lords day, and he was in the spirit. He is worshiping God on the sabbath, and the fact that he is In the spirit tells us that this was a vision he had, not a dream that he had during normal sleep. He heard a voice speaking, turned around, and saw an angel, walking among seven lamp stands. These lamp stands represent the churches he is writing this for.
Well, this book is simply dense with things to explain, and if you're like me, you live for unraveling the symbols, but we'd be here all month looking at them all. Suffice to say, it is not simply an angel that comes to him, but the risen Christ himself. He tells John the interpretation of what hes seen so far. These lamp stands are churches, which he oversees, via seven angels which guard them. And he has a message for each of them.
It is these messages which we'll be looking at, this week, and in the coming weeks. Today, we begin with the message to the church in Ephesus. Yes, the same Ephesus, to whom Paul wrote the letter that is known to us as simply Ephesians-- one of the books of the Bible.
Ephesus, one of the great cities of the ancient world. By far the largest city mentioned in these seven letters. Ephesus was known as the Temple Warden, a reference to the large temple to the goddess Artemis, also known as Diana. You'll remember that in the letter of Paul, he was nearly killed in a riot, when the silversmiths of Ephesus thought he was ruining their trade. A huge mob shouted Great is Artemis of the Ephesians in the 19th chapter of Acts. The center of this Temple of Artemis was something known as the Tree of Artemis. We don't need to get too worried about what this tree stood for in their religion, but as we'll see at the end of the passage, Jesus was well aware of the tree.
Here again, then, is what Jesus has to say to them: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lamp stands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place.
But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
The first thing we notice is the introduction, the way Jesus prefaces what he is about to say. He describes himself as the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, and walks among the seven gold lamp stands. The stars represent the angels leading the seven churches. The lamp stands represent the churches themselves. Scholars are divided as to whether these Angels are actual angels who watch over the churches, whether this is just a way of describing the earthly leaders, the pastors, of the churches, or whether these Angels are simply a personification of the prevailing spirit of each church. Going on the assumption of the first two, then, what hes doing is reminding them that HE in fact, holds the leaders of the churches close to him. As well as reminding them that he is walking amongst their seven churches. As I said earlier, a reminder that he is indeed intimately acquainted with the church, both theirs and ours.
It is with that reminder, then, that he transitions to the message he has for them: I know your deeds, your hard work, your perseverance. He begins by noticing positives, and we can learn from even that. He mentions their intolerance of false teachers, and commends that as well. But this message isn't what we used to call in college a ÔSunshine NoteÕ. He isn't just writing to tell them this, but to correct their errors. I hold this against you, he says, ÔYou have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.Õ They don't pursue their faith in the way they did at first. Is this love their love for one another? For the church? For him? We aren't told, but we can assume that the Ephesians know what he meant! These things that they did in the earlier days of the church were a Height, from which they've now fallen.
I think I can understand what Jesus is telling them. And IÕd like to share that thought with you: As I look around at many traditional churches, I see the church used more like an attic than like a holy place. I see traditions that aren't being passed down, so that in some churches they don't even know what some of the parts of the church are for. I've told you before, my feelings about tradition: I think rituals-- and by that I simply mean things that we do each week- are a wonderful thing, provided they are alive and vibrant.
Some churches have a building like ours and history like ours, and just wish that they could trade it in. They wish they could just meet in a brand new building- and maybe for them, that works.
But I think a better option, I think the option Jesus calls us to here in Fairlee, is for us to strive to revitalize those traditional ways of doing things that have fallen into disuse. To strive to make them our own. Some of them got dusty because they didnÕt work, and weÕll just have to thank them for their service and leave them to the sands of time. But other traditions simply became forgotten because of circumstances, and those we should dust off, and enjoy.
IÕve noticed in talking to various people since I arrived here in Fairlee, even before, in fact, that there were a lot of things this church did in the past. Whether this meant dinners we once had, or plants that once grew at the church, they said something like Ò Òwe used to do that, but lately....Ó and they sort of became lost in thought.
What they mean by that nonverbal communication, of course, is that they donÕt understand why that has happened. Why the church doesn't do these things anymore. And why should they? It shouldnÕt have happened!
But hindsight is 20/20, they say. And of course, there ARE reasons why these things have fallen into dis-use.
But as in JesusÕ message to the Ephesians, I say that this year, we make it our goal to remember our first love, the things we did at first. To not be an attic of old times, of what they used to do. Instead, letÕs each live this year to proudly carry on being the church those people once envisioned. The church they worked to carry into the future.
So that next year, we donÕt look back on times ten, twenty, or fifty years ago, but on 2005, as the year when big things happened here, as the year when the biggest events in our churchÕs history unfolded.
Now, we canÕt do that right away, I donÕt think. But we can make it a goal. To not be Ògood for nowÓ or Ògood under the circumstancesÓ, but GOOD.
So thatÕs my description of what Jesus is saying here. My description of what many churches might call REVIVAL. And isnÕt that what God is in the business of doing? Of giving second chances, of restoring fresh spring where there once was the finality of winter?
LetÕs return, though, back to JohnÕs time. Back to this message that Jesus is giving the Ephesians: He has prefaced his remarks, he has told them what good he has seen, and he has told them the bad. But lest they only remember the bad, he continues: ÒBut you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.Ó Whoa. The nico-what? who is that?
The Nicolatians are a sect of the early church which was found to be heretical. They had worked out a compromise with pagan society. They taught that spiritual liberty gave them enough wiggle room to practice idolatry and immorality. These then, mightÕve been those that Paul referred to when he wrote the famous question to the Roman church, ÒShould we go on sinning that grace may increase?Ó
The people of Ephesus seem to have had no problem condemning false teachers and sects. Their problem wasnÕt that, but the fact that theyÕd lost their first love. They may have become more interested in judging others than in examining their own souls. More excited to find fault than to find the freedom Christ gave from their own sin. This seems to be the reason for the words commanding them to Ôdo the things they did at firstÕ. Christian acts neccesarily relate to people, usually. Certainly the lesson is clear to us: condemn what Jesus condemns. But leave the judging to him, and instead, spend your energy on your own relationship with Him!
I told you that Jesus prefaced this message. In fact, he will go on to preface each message, with an introduction appropriate to that church. He will also end in a similar formula. LetÕs look at it: ÒHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.Ó In each of these messages, he will repeat that first sentence, and change what he offers to be appropriate to each church. In this case, He offers the right to eat from the tree of life. The tree of Artemis, the symbol of Ephesus, is referred to in JesusÕ words here. If they continue to choose Jehovah God over Artemis and all she represents about secular society, then they will be privy to an even greater tree-- the tree of life in heaven.
So thatÕs the first of these 7 letters. I think we can learn quite a bit from each of them, about Bible times, about the beginnings of the Chris ÿtian church, and then, the most important thing, how those first two can change our life here and now.
From ChristÕs message to the Ephesians, we learn that we all have things we must endure. Because of our fallenness, we all must overcome the world around us. Life is not easy when we try to be more like Christ. He had to carry a cross, and he tells us that we will, as well. Probably not physically, but in spirit.
For the Ephesians, that meant loving others, in spite of their sin. It meant that they needed to be less concerned with how others did or didnÕt follow God, less concerned with judging, and more concerned with their own walk with Christ... more concerned with loving.
What does this message mean to us? Are we like the people Jesus is talki ~ng to here? More interested in how weÕre different from unchurched people we know, than how weÕre similar? Do we find ourselves impatient with their spiritual life? If so, Jesus has a message for us: return to your first love, to the things you did before. When weÕd just come to faith ourselves. When we were anxious to share what weÕd found. When we considered ourselves just like them, except for this one thing weÕd discovered.
If weÕll do this, if weÕll overcome, as Christ says, weÕll have our life, but more abundantly than we ever imagined. For the Ephesians, he phrased it that theyÕd have a holy tree all right- the tree of life, in Heaven. What would he say to us? What is our choice?
I pray that each of us, in his or her quiet time today, will be able to consider that question for themselves. Am I judging them? Or loving them and leaving the judging to God? Am I Üchoosing the Tree of Artemis, or the tree of life?
Because, when you sit down and think about it, maybe the choice is that simple. Pray with me.....
Lord God, show us which we choose, the tree of artemis, or the tree of life.
Show us whether we go along with societyÕs whims, or choose to take up our cross- the overcoming, enduring way which means following you.
Help us to choose rightly, Lord.
Like the father in MarkÕs Gospel, we declare Lord, that we do believe, as much as we can, but we ask you to help us to always be shrinking our Unbelief.
We desire to be yours, Lord. Help us.
modern ancient ruins in Ephesus...
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