“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin[a] of God’s creation: “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches." Revelation 4:1-22.”
Do you remember…the first time you fell in love?
Do you remember…what it felt like?
Of course, I mean, when you first fell in love with Jesus.
I do. It’s a story I’ve shared with you before, and will likely share again. (We do that with love stories, don’t we?) I’ve long credited my freshman year roommate, Lissy. From the first time I met her there was a spark, or something. I can’t really describe it. But it was there. Even when she was sad. She was just different. She went – every day – to go pray and read the Bible (by herself!). Together, we became volunteers with a youth group for 50-60 5th and 6th graders every week. She joined a Bible study and encouraged me to do the same. And then it happened, just after Christmas of my freshman year. I realized I no longer just believed in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I had fallen in love.
Which was really hard for me, to be honest. Just as I’m sure there are some of you out there this morning who are a little uncomfortable with this.
Presbyterians, you see, have long had the nickname “the frozen chosen,” some say because our theology makes us more reserved when it comes to sharing the gospel; some say because our worship is very “decent and in order.” My experience has more to do with my approach to living as a “head” person not a “heart” person. Being now pretty far removed from the reformation and all of it’s theological nuances and excitement, I’m pretty sure we’ve moved now into what many are calling “post-denominationalism” – which only means to say that denominations like Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian don’t matter quite as much as, say, what the church believes and how it lives it out. (I’m not saying this is a bad thing.)
I’m about to make a few statements based on some statistics provided by the Pew Forum. Did you know that Presbyterians in America are: mostly white (88%); mostly at least third generation Americans (87%); mostly educated – 73% have college degrees or higher? So my theory is that most of you, if we mirror these statistics, understand what I mean when I say I had a strong faith, but it was a head faith. What I’m talking about today is a heart faith. When did you first love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength?
It’s tricky, isn’t it?
Of course, I would argue today that the Holy Spirit came to me when I needed those glasses to see God in the world, just as John Calvin described in his Institutes of the Christian Religion.
But – and here’s where all of this is going – I think there’s a difference in how we live our lives before we fall in love with Jesus, and after. And the kind of church we are is fully and wholeheartedly dependent on the spiritual lives of each and every one of us.
Take, for instance, the churches in our passage today. There’s just three of them, but two of them are some of the harshest of the four letters in Revelation 3 and 4. The churches in Sardis and Laodecia aren’t rating so good with Christ.
They are asleep. Like Dead. Lukewarm. Ugh.
Some more statistics. Get ready, it’s a roller coaster.
Good news – according to the pew forum, 96% of us (PC(USA))believe in God; 63% of us pray daily, another 22% weekly; 26% of us participate in a Bible study weekly; 41% meditate once a week or more; 38% read the Bible weekly. But – here’s the flip side…52% attend worship twice a month or less; 49% of us don’t ever participate in Bible study or “faith peer groups”; 46% of us seldom/never meditate; 36% of us seldom/never read the Bible at all. Those are some tough statistics to hear.
Friends, I don’t want to be a lukewarm Christian. Or a lukewarm church. But – here’s the real-world danger – it takes work to love Jesus. Just as much work as it takes to have a healthy marriage, or a healthy friendship, or a healthy family. In his book, Mere Christianity, CS Lewis writes, “Love as distinct from “being in love” is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by the grace you receive from God. You can have this love for each other even when you do not like each other. ‘Being in love’ first moved you to promise fidelity: this quieter love enables you to keep the promise.’” Yes, he’s writing it about marital love, but his thesis is that a marriage is based on the relationship with Christ and the church, a divine love. And I think it’s important for us today to know that love is not only a matter of the heart, it’s also a matter of our soul and our strength. Love is not a feeling, or a desire. It is a matter of where we are grounded.
So how healthy is our church? A few years ago, our session decided to live into our mission and our passions. And we’ve spent some of the last months sharing these with you. It’s led us to become a Hunger Action congregation, to partner with the our family in the Maker Village in South Sudan; talk about how we’re raising our families; open our space for a daycare for our community, for Aging Partners, for scouting groups, and PEO; we’ve also focused on addiction and recovery as a part of our faith journey, with Faith Partners, AA and Al-Anon; the
Eastridge Hospice singers provide a ministry of comfort for the dying. Friends, these are our passions. This is our heart.
But I want to push a little today. Because I hear it a lot. We talked about it at Session on Thursday night. And, I said then, I’ll say now, I don’t have any answers.
We need you. (I know there’s a lot of other good things we’re doing in the community, and that we compete for time and money.) Here’s the statistic that I think is the most eye opening…71% of American Presbyterians do not have children under the age of 18 in their homes. 71%.
We need you. I don’t know how else to say it. I may come off as begging, but friends, I think it’s sort of a desperate situation. The truth is – the church today doesn’t look like the church of my youth, or the church of yours. I personally have grieved this, and am over it most days. The reality is that if we want this church to be healthy, to thrive, and grow in faith, we have to ground ourselves in Christ, not the world. We have to use different measurements, or we’ll become asleep, like dead, lukewarm. The area of the church I am most concerned about is our spiritual life, and our investment in the spiritual lives of others. I think that trickles through every relationship. Maybe your relationships are most strong with your peer groups. Maybe they’re stronger with those who see you as a teacher, mentor. Maybe you have a strong mentor. Whatever it is, find one. Get in a group, find a friend. Come to GiFT! Meet new people! Don’t just hand out food – pray for those you hand it out to. And, yes, I’m begging, share your faith with those who are 18 and under. They are thirsty little sponges. And they need YOU to share your faith. Or, maybe you’d like to share your faith with kids a little bit older, our beloved teenagers in the house. Those kids show up, every week, even though they have homework and sports and parents and friends, and 100 other things to do, because they have included being part of the body of Christ as something that’s important to them. They’re also smart, not sponges, but questioners, looking for mentors…..
We have visions and dreams for this area. College ministries, “worship workshops” for our younger wiggly friends…and the 29% needs the 71%. I can’t be any clearer. We need you.
In between these two harsh letters, with very little hope or encouragement, to Sardis and Laodecia, is the most affirming, kindest, love letter, to the saints in Philadelphia. These saints have known some adversity, they have been tested, they are smaller than they used to be, but they are mightier. These saints know why they are a part of the church – because they love God, and they love their community. They are commended not because they are perfect, but because they are led by their love for Jesus Christ, and their continual commitment to live that out, in community, with each other. Dear friends, let us hold up this vision as a church as the kind of church we want to be. Let us be known for our passion for following Jesus Christ in this place, in the community, and in the world. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Melodie Jones Pointon
