Tuesday of Week 33 of Ordinary Time – First Reading

Commentary on Revelation 3:1-6,14-22

Today we read two more of the seven letters to the churches in the Roman province of Asia. These letters are addressed to the churches at Sardis and Laodicea.

Sardis
The first is to the Christian community in Sardis. Nowadays called Sart, Sardis was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, and at that time a city famous for its wealth. Its acropolis, which rose 500 metres above the valley below, was a natural fortress on the northern slopes of Mount Tmolus.

This letter is far more critical than the one we read yesterday to the Ephesians. Quite bluntly, the church in Sardis, which seems to be alive, is in fact spiritually dead. The people there are urged to rouse themselves before they die out completely (sadly, dying churches are by no means a new phenomenon—the problem goes back to the earliest days).

The letter comes from:

…him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars…

The seven “spirits” are the seven archangels which stand before God.

John can find nothing in their present way of living that could be commended, and reminds them of their enthusiasm at the time of their first conversion. They should go back to that and sincerely repent of the situation they have let themselves get into. Otherwise, the Lord will come on them like a thief, and that could mean some unpleasant experiences. This warning is not about the Final Coming as mentioned in the Gospels, but of something likely to happen sooner.

In spite of that, some have remained faithful. These:

…have not soiled their clothes; they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy [to go with the Lord].

Elsewhere in the book the faithful are also described as dressed in white. Their names will remain recorded in the “book of life”. In the Old Testament this referred to a register of all citizens in the kingdom community. To have one’s name removed from this book would indicate loss of citizenship in the kingdom.

Could we say that the letter to the Christians of Sardis in any way describes the church community to which we belong? Even though there are some external signs of church activity (e.g. going to church), how alive are we in reality? The answer will vary greatly from community to community.

The life the Letter speaks of is there for the asking—Jesus said:

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
(John 10:10)

But it is up to us both individually and collectively to take the steps needed to experience that life.

Laodicea
The second letter today is addressed to the church at Laodicea. It contains some of the most striking and lovely phrases from the whole book and is totally relevant to modern readers.

Now known as Pamukkale (in southwestern Turkey), Laodicea was, in Roman times, the wealthiest city in Phrygia. We are told it was especially known for its banking, its medical school, and its textile industry. Its major lack was that of an adequate water supply. These characteristics are all touched on in the passage that follows.

Again, the message comes through John from “the Amen”, meaning God, who is described as:

…the faithful and true witness, the origin of God’s creation…

Isaiah speaks of the “God of Amen”, usually translated “God of truth” or “God of fidelity”. God’s fidelity is clearly contrasted here with the behaviour of the Laodiceans. He is the “first” (arche) of all creation—either in the sense of being the ultimate source of God’s creation, or the first in rank above all creation.

John’s principal complaint against this church is its tepidity:

…you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot…

“Hot” could be a reference to the hot spring in nearby Hierapolis. The church in Laodicea neither afforded the healing power of heat for the spiritually sick, nor the cool refreshment for the spiritually weary. And like a drink, which should be either piping hot or refreshingly cool, but is neither—God says:

…I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

The problem is that the Laodiceans are blinded by material wealth which conceals their spiritual poverty from them. They are both spiritually blind and naked. To remedy this situation they are urged:

…to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich…

These are the spiritual riches that have been thoroughly tested in time of trial. Then, they really will be rich.

In addition to that, they should fit themselves out with:

…white robes [of virtue] to clothe yourself and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

Each of these three items in material form—their financial wealth (gold), their extensive textile industry (clothes) and a famous eye salve—were things of which the Laodiceans were particularly proud and renowned for.

Whatever sufferings come their way should not be a matter of concern for them. God tells them:

I reprove and discipline those whom I love.

This is a phrase taken from the Book of Proverbs:

My child, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
for the Lord reproves the one he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights. (Prov 3:11-12)

The Letter to the Hebrews also uses this text and enlarges on it (see Heb 12:5-11). As well, Paul tells the Corinthians:

But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
(1 Cor 11:32)

It seems at first to be contradictory, and yet it is only when we are tested that our love can grow and mature. That is just as true of our relations with our parents as it is with God. The totally undisciplined child becomes ‘spoilt’ and sometimes flawed for life. And the trials we experience are often calls and reminders from God to redirect our lives more in his direction, in other words, to repent, to reform, to convert.

So the Lord tells the Laodiceans:

Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you, and you with me.

This is one of the most beautiful images in the New Testament and it has been extended to encompass the desire that Jesus has to come into and be part of all our lives. But his coming in depends entirely on us.

One of the most famous representations of the scene is by the English artist, Holman Hunt. It shows Jesus, wearing the crown of a King and holding a lamp in his hand standing outside the door of a house waiting to be admitted. The picture is entitled, The Light of the World. What has often been pointed out is that the door has no handle on the outside. It can only be opened from the inside. Jesus will not force his way in; he will only enter at our invitation. He is there right now and will be there all during this day and every day. Are we going to invite him in or not?

The letter concludes with a promise that the victorious, that is, those who have successfully committed themselves to following Christ and living the Gospel, will sit with Jesus Christ just as Jesus himself sits with his Father. As we read in the Second Letter to Timothy:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he will also deny us… (2 Tim 2:11-12)

Echoing the words of Jesus, the letter’s final words are:

Let anyone with ears listen! (Matt 11:15)

Let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

This letter is probably the most powerful of the seven, and the one which speaks most eloquently to our day. It warns us of the tepidity, the ‘I-am-a-good-enough-Catholic’ syndrome that can take hold of our lives and lead us to lead lives of spiritual complacency and even smugness. It reminds us of our basic poverty, even if—indeed especially if—we are doing extremely well on the material level. Furthermore, sufferings, failures and disappointments in our lives should not be seen as punishments from God. On the contrary, God is with us through these experiences and uses them to show his unwavering love for us. It needs a special insight to be able to see this.

Jesus our King is standing outside the door of our inner home and asking to be admitted. He wants to come in and share himself with us, but it is up to us to open that door.

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Tuesday of Week 33 of Ordinary Time – Gospel

Commentary on Luke 19:1-10

Today we have one of the most delightful stories of Luke and indeed of the whole Gospel. It follows immediately—and not by accident—after the healing of a blind man as Jesus enters the city of Jericho, to the northeast of Jerusalem.

The central figure is Zacchaeus, who, Luke tells us, was a “chief tax collector” and a rich man. This is the only reference in Scripture to a ‘chief tax collector’. It probably means he was responsible for a district or region with other tax collectors answerable to him. The region at this time was prosperous, so more tax collectors were needed.

Knowing he was a chief tax collector, it was hardly necessary to mention that he was wealthy. Tax collectors were studiously avoided and despised by their fellow-Jews. They made contracts with the Roman authorities to collect taxes and made sure that they got from the public what today we might call generous ‘commissions’. After all, it was a business and they had to make a living. And if an ordinary tax collector could do well, it is easy to imagine how much a chief tax collector might earn.

Apart from forcing people to part with their hard-earned money, tax collectors were seen as traitors to their own people by taking their money and giving it to the pagan Roman colonialists occupying their country. One can see how Jesus could cause great offence to the religious-minded by sitting down and eating with such a despised person.

Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was in town and he was very curious to see what Jesus was like. Already we have here an echo of yesterday’s story, because Zacchaeus too wants to “see”. However, at this stage, it seems to be only a kind of curiosity. He just wanted to get a glimpse of a person of whom he undoubtedly heard people talk. Maybe he had even heard that Jesus had a name for mixing with people like himself.

Because he was a small man (in more ways than one?), he could not see over the large crowd of people surrounding Jesus. So he ran on ahead and climbed into the branches of a sycamore tree to get a better look. A sycamore tree can grow to a height of 10 to 15 metres, with a short trunk and spreading branches and hence easy to climb and easily capable of carrying a grown man.

Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, but he did not expect that Jesus would see him. He must have practically fallen out of the tree from surprise when he heard Jesus look in his direction and say:

Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.

What beautiful words! And yet it is a self-invitation that Jesus constantly extends to us:

Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with you, and you with me. (Rev 3:20)

Is my house ready? Is my door open to let him in?

Zacchaeus could hardly believe his ears. He rushed down and delightedly welcomed Jesus into his house. Immediately, those around began to grumble:

He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.

Of all the people in Jericho, Jesus picks the house of the one person in the town who was regarded as a social and religious outcast.

But as usual, Jesus sees beyond the public image to the real person. Zacchaeus may be a chief tax collector, but he is ready to give half of his property to the poor and, if he has cheated anyone, he promises to pay them back four times what they lost. Fourfold restitution was demanded by Jewish law, but in one case only, for the theft of a sheep (Ex 22:1). Roman law demanded such restitution from all convicted thieves. Zacchaeus, however, promises to pay in any case of injustice for which he has been responsible.

Some commentators read the passage as saying that Zacchaeus has already been making these forms of restitution and sharing his wealth with the poor. If this is the case, it shows that Jesus is able to see beyond the stereotype that makes Zacchaeus the tax collector an outcast. He was not going to the house of an unrepentant sinner, but to that of a good man. Jesus always sees the real person and goes beyond the label. Can we claim to do the same?

Whatever the interpretation, we can see that, though Zacchaeus may have belonged to a discredited profession, his heart was in the right place, in the place of compassion and justice.

And so Jesus tells Zacchaeus that “salvation”, wholeness and integrity has come to his house. In spite of his despised profession, he is “a son of Abraham” because his behaviour is totally in harmony with the requirements of the Law, and in fact goes well beyond it. For Jesus, too, no social status closes the door to salvation. For this is what it means to be a “son of Abraham”, namely, to be a loving, caring person full of compassion, with a sense of justice, and not just a keeper of ritualistic observances.

Zacchaeus, who had originally just wanted to have an external glimpse of Jesus, has now come to ‘see’ Jesus in a much deeper sense. This ‘seeing’ changed his whole life as it did that of the beggar in yesterday’s story.

Further, in answer to the accusation that he has entered the house of a sinner, Jesus says:

…the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.

As Jesus said on another occasion:

Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick; I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. (Luke 5:31-32)

Jesus is the Good Shepherd leaving behind the well-behaved ninety-nine and going in search of the single one that has gone astray.

As we read this story, there are a number of things we could reflect on. We too want to see Jesus in the deepest possible sense. Only then can we truly become his disciples. We need to hear him saying to us: “I want to stay in your house today.” Let us open the door and welcome him in.

And we need to be careful in judging people from their appearance, or their social position, or their occupation. As a Church, we could spend a lot more time looking for those who are lost instead of concentrating on serving the already converted. In fact, Christ himself invites us to be active evangelisers, both through our actions and through our words.

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