Thirtyninth Page: Lend Me Your Ears, Ye Laodiceans!!

 

The problem with the church in Laodicea is that it was middle of the road. Cat on the wall. Playing its cards close to its chest. Can go this way or that with equal ease, alacrity and, agility (but perhaps with no real conviction). 50 – 50. கொஞ்சம் புளிப்பு கொஞ்சம் துவர்ப்பு . Options wide open. Broad minded. Seeing reason in opposing points of view. எம்மதமும் சம்மதம். All roads lead to Rome. All rivers run to the ocean. Middling along. Non-committal. Why even prevaricating and tantalizingly oscillating (depending upon the prevailing dominant sentiment)!  Not wanting to be regarded as bigoted, opinionated. What were the exact words of the Spirit?

“thou art neither cold nor hot“Rev.3:15

Tepid, lukewarm. Unable to make up its mind. Take a stand. வழ வழ கொழ கொழ. Good for nothing but to be thrown out, trashed.

“I will spue thee out of my mouth” Rev.3:16

That’s interesting – “canned religion”!

Regular to church. Dressed in Sunday best. Suave, svelte. Handsome, pretty. The very picture of piety. Mouthing all the responses with the practised ease of a caged parrot. Hymns – by heart. Prayers tumble out. Sevenfold Amen beautifully sustained.

“Nice sermon” Pastor. Saying a hearty “hello” to equally beautiful people.  Shaking hands with congenial company. Hail fellow well met! Back slap (never mind if some coffee is spilt).  Driving away in a Daimler – Benz, not skipping to drop coins to stretched out arms at the gateway.

Pretty good -eh?

“I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing” Rev. 3:17

That may be how you see yourself and even how others perceive you. But what are you below the skin?

Many years ago, I had the “privilege” of visiting Pol Pot’s killing fields in Cambodia. You can see one of the horrors pictured above. These skulls once belonged to teachers, artists, intellectuals, businessmen, bureaucrats. The cream of Cambodian society – now reduced to nothing more than horrible shells with frightening holes.

While it is good to keep the thought within that all of us look miserably alike when we are long dead, that is not my point. What are you basically, shorn of your Sunday performance?

“For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart” 1 Sam. 16:7.

Jesus waxes eloquent on the subject when faced with hypocrisy (this might sound a little harsh but…but….maybe it’s true about you and me).

“Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries  wide and the tassels on their garments long;6they love the place of honour at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them `Rabbi.’ Matthew 23: 5-7

And again,

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First, clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside, you appear to people as righteous but on the inside, you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness“.Matthew 23: 25-28

Belshazzar the last king of the Neo-Babylonian empire made a great feast for a thousand of his lords …… no doubt entertaining  Rev. 3:17-like ideas of himself…….Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them………They drank wine and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone. Dan. 5: 1-4

As we know God didn’t take kindly to his acts of arrogance and pride. And one of the words He wrote on the wall was:

Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.Dan.5:27

Emperor………found wanting.

knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked? Rev.3:17 (latter part)

Okay, now you know. So better do something about it.

I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. Rev. 3:18

This brings to our mind the story of the Prodigal Son when he gets back to his father’s house looking like something the cat brought home.

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate”. Luke 15: 22-23

Sometimes the path to repentance and return may be paved with pain. But it is good to keep in mind that it is the love of God which is in action and not despair. அடிக்கிற கை தான் அணைக்கும்

.As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Rev.3:19

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice……………..Rev. 3:20

Whoever has ears, let them hear …..Rev.3:22

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