Our final example of ‘elencho’ is a beautiful illustration of this truth. The last of the seven letters to the churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 is addressed to the church at Laodicea. These letters are, as it were, Jesus’ inspection report on the spiritual state of each church; any one who has in any way been involved in an OFSTED school inspection will understand the impact which such a report can have. Or we might compare these letters to the feedback after a health check-up; it is as though each church has been subjected to the all-seeing eye of a CAT-scan, and each letter records the findings. Laodicea is clearly a failing church, and an ailing church: verses 13-18 of chapter 3 use a string of adjectives which makes this clear. They are ‘lukewarm’ in their discipleship; they think that they are rich and need nothing, but in fact are “wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked”. Is this devastating rebuke delivered in order to condemn them? No! In verse 19 Jesus continues: “All those I love, I rebuke ('elencho') and discipline. So stir yourselves up out of your complacency (literally, ‘be zealous’) and repent”. It is worth noting that as well as this seventh letter, the first, third and fifth letters also contain this challenge to ‘repent’ – 'metanoeson', the aorist imperative, indicating that a decisive change of attitude is needed (2.5, Ephesus; 2.16, Pergamum; and 3.3, Sardis). Failing schools, as I read in today’s newspaper (GCSE results day!) are liable to be “put under new management”; presumably they will have no choice in the matter. The church at Laodicea, and the other three, do have a choice: they are called on to ‘repent’. And to the Laodiceans Jesus issues not a threat but a wonderfully gracious offer, expressed in verse 20, one of the best known and best loved verses in the bible. Collectively, they have shut Jesus out of their church, and carried on without him; and individually they have shut him out of their lives. Now, he knocks at the door, asking to be let in again – or for the first time. At first, with amazing humility, he offers to come in as a guest: “I will come in and have dinner with him”, but in time he wants to be the master of the house: “he will have dinner with me”, so that each one individually who hears his voice and opens the door will be ‘under new management’, and Jesus will in reality, and not just in words, be ‘Head of the Church’.
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
[Parakletos] 'elencho' g: Laodicea
Our final example of ‘elencho’ is a beautiful illustration of this truth. The last of the seven letters to the churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 is addressed to the church at Laodicea. These letters are, as it were, Jesus’ inspection report on the spiritual state of each church; any one who has in any way been involved in an OFSTED school inspection will understand the impact which such a report can have. Or we might compare these letters to the feedback after a health check-up; it is as though each church has been subjected to the all-seeing eye of a CAT-scan, and each letter records the findings. Laodicea is clearly a failing church, and an ailing church: verses 13-18 of chapter 3 use a string of adjectives which makes this clear. They are ‘lukewarm’ in their discipleship; they think that they are rich and need nothing, but in fact are “wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked”. Is this devastating rebuke delivered in order to condemn them? No! In verse 19 Jesus continues: “All those I love, I rebuke ('elencho') and discipline. So stir yourselves up out of your complacency (literally, ‘be zealous’) and repent”. It is worth noting that as well as this seventh letter, the first, third and fifth letters also contain this challenge to ‘repent’ – 'metanoeson', the aorist imperative, indicating that a decisive change of attitude is needed (2.5, Ephesus; 2.16, Pergamum; and 3.3, Sardis). Failing schools, as I read in today’s newspaper (GCSE results day!) are liable to be “put under new management”; presumably they will have no choice in the matter. The church at Laodicea, and the other three, do have a choice: they are called on to ‘repent’. And to the Laodiceans Jesus issues not a threat but a wonderfully gracious offer, expressed in verse 20, one of the best known and best loved verses in the bible. Collectively, they have shut Jesus out of their church, and carried on without him; and individually they have shut him out of their lives. Now, he knocks at the door, asking to be let in again – or for the first time. At first, with amazing humility, he offers to come in as a guest: “I will come in and have dinner with him”, but in time he wants to be the master of the house: “he will have dinner with me”, so that each one individually who hears his voice and opens the door will be ‘under new management’, and Jesus will in reality, and not just in words, be ‘Head of the Church’.
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