We began the week with the story of the Chicago nightclub fire in which 21 people were killed as they rushed to the exit. The club had already been cited for overcrowding and other safety violations - like not enough doors and windows. What happened was that a bouncer used
pepper spray to break up a fight, and people panicked, thinking it was a chemical weapons attack, and fled down a narrow stairway. And then as if that weren’t enough, we’re still reeling from last Thursday‘s fire in a Rhode Island nightclub which saw over 96 people killed and more than 50 others injured as they desperately tried to escape a fire started when the band set off
pyrotechnics as part of their act. News reports say that in addition to burn injuries many people
were badly cut from smashing out windows in a frantic attempt to get out of the building. Another
witness said that people trampled on each other as they tried to squeeze through the club's front
door. One minute everybody was dancing and drinking and having a good time, the next minute
they were screaming in terror in a mindless attempt to escape. But even if someone had warned
them, no one would have believed that such a thing would happen. There was a news crew there
that night filming the club as an example of a safe venue, one in which a tragedy like the Chicago
stampede could never have taken place. No one ever really believes that such a disaster might
happen to them - until it does. We’re like that, we humans, aren’t we? taking our lives for granted
until something turns our world upside down. Our eyes skip right over the danger signs; we don’t
even hear the sirens. It can’t be for us... The bell is tolling for someone else.
“...so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as the days of Noah were, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage ... they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.” [Mt 24:37-39]
Just as in the days of Noah, of course, God has generously provided an exit strategy for the present as well. Jesus told his followers all about it. But he was realistic about how many
people would take the time to familiarize themselves with the emergency procedures. And in any
case, just knowing about the emergency exits doesn’t mean you’ll have the time to get there
before the disaster strikes. Most people, though, either don’t believe that anything bad could
possibly happen, and those who do are sure they can figure out on their own how to get to safety.
Never mind the advice of the experts, the instructions from the authorities, or the architect’s
blueprints.
The reason for that is, of course, that staying close to the door Jesus opens doesn’t give you quite as good a view of the entertainment, or quite as comfortable a seat, or quite the same level of service. I mean, when you’re in Jesus’ corner you have to bus your own dishes! So a lot of people will opt to risk their futures in order to maximize the present. Luke tells us that in his
gospel. “Someone asked [Jesus], "Lord, will only a few be saved?" He said to them, "Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.” Luke 13:23-24 Matthew tells us why. "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the
road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Mt 7:13-14
People are not trampling over one another in order to get to Jesus. Half of the ones ignoring him think they can get to safety via an alternate route, while the other half don’t believe in God’s judgment at all. The book of Revelation makes it clear, though, that this world is not only not all there is, it’s not even the most important part of our lives. John’s Revelation tells us over and over again that all of these catastrophic events that shake up our lives - earthquakes, famines, wars, and fires - are intended in God’s mercy to point us in the direction of eternity. And this letter underlines the point that there is only one door into sanctuary, and that Jesus is it. Mind you, the door is well marked. It’s lit. And it is open. But too many people are ignoring it, because it’s out of the way, a little hard to get to, and besides - it’s not fashionable. It’s not the cool thing to do. Instead, even in the absence of an emergency, people push one another aside, shoving at doors that lead nowhere, smashing windows and getting cut to find themselves in just another dead end. And one of the saddest things of all is that they aren’t don’t even have the excuse of panic; they’re just fleeing from the inescapable knowledge that the drinks and entertainment that they’ve spent so much on are leaving them hungrier than before.
And that’s true in every age. Most people who live in the shadow of death continue to cling to its cozy familiarity rather than step out into the scary exposure of light. The decadence of the present is no worse and not much different from the decadence of the 1st century Mediterranean.
They had everything we have except the internet... Everything from corrupt businessmen and
government officials to rampant abortion, promiscuity, prostitution and pornography; bizarre
religious cults and revolutionary movements provided instant solutions to peoples’ problems. This
young Christian church had challenges on every side, from divisions and disobedience within the
church to active persecution from both official and unofficial sources. The pressures to compromise or give in were almost overwhelming.
But the Philadelphia church had gotten it right. As with the Smyrna church, Jesus has nothing negative to say about them. Let’s start first with a look at Jesus’ self-introduction as: “the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.” [v. 7] Remember, this introduction is a clue... Jesus is the one who guards the palace gate for the King. He is the most trusted official, has the highest authority, and no-one can second-guess his decisions. And the ones who can get through this door are the ones who recognize and respond to the holiness of God, to the truth of God. Because Jesus is holy and true, the way you can tell who belongs to him are the ones who love holiness and truth and are drawn to it, even though the door he opens is narrow and the way to it is often full of potholes and booby-trapped with glare ice.
Some scholars think that Jesus’ reference to keys, to opening and closing, is to assure the Philadelphian Christians that being kicked out of the synagogue doesn’t mean being kept out of
the city of David, losing out on the eternal Kingdom. You see, it was right about this time that the
Jewish community had added on to their daily prayers an anathema, a curse, against the followers of Christ. So some of the local Christians might have been wondering why, if Jesus was
the true Messiah, so many Jews were hostile, why more hadn’t joined them. So Jesus reminds
them that it’s not the local rabbi who has the authority to control access to God; that far from
being God’s representatives, as they claimed, the Jews who hadn’t recognized Jesus for who he
is were instead serving the evil one. As Paul had said some years earlier, “a person is not a
Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart-- it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God.” [Rom 2:28 -29] The Philadelphia Christians probably needed to be reminded of that.
“I know...” Jesus goes on. I can imagine what the Philadelphians might be expecting would come next. They weren’t very strong. “I know... you have but little power.” [v. 8] It was probably a little church, with not much of an economic base, no members who were rich or famous or who had an in with the authorities. They probably hadn’t made as many converts as, for instance, the mega-churches in Ephesus or Rome. They clearly had a poor relationship with the local synagogue. Some in the church might have wondered why it was that more of the Jews hadn’t joined them. Had they done a bad job of explaining? Had they done something to alienate the ones who should have been their allies? And so the Philadelphia church may very well have felt that Jesus would be disappointed in them.
But he is not. All Jesus has are words of encouragement and approval. “You have kept my word and have not denied my name.” [v. 8] Again he says, “you have kept my word of patient endurance.” [v. 9] And because of that one central fact, that they haven’t changed the gospel, or watered it down, or compromised it, he is pleased with them. Everything else that they might wish for, God will provide. God is the one, Jesus is the one who will prove to the local synagogue that the Christians are in the right of the theological divide. After all the insults, all the put-downs, all the petty - or sometimes not-so-petty - harassment that the Christians have probably endured, they will be vindicated. “I will make them come and bow down before your feet,” Jesus tells them, “and they will learn that I have loved you.” [v. 9] They will be vindicated. Furthermore, they will be protected. “I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.” [vv10] They will be vindicated, they will protected.
What a sigh of relief. Do you ever wonder if, because we’re small, because we’re not rich or powerful or growing by leaps and bounds, that maybe Jesus isn’t pleased with us? I confess
that sometimes I wonder... And it’s right for us to always be on our guard that we’ve slipped into
complacency, forgotten our first love, compromised with the culture, or fallen asleep like the other
churches we’ve looked at. But Jesus tells us here that the most important thing is to keep his
word, as the Philadelphians had done. Even in the face of ostracism and attacks and ridicule and
accusations of heresy. May we remember that. Being a conservative church is not always easy. My colleagues on the theological left complain about how rigid and judgmental and even unChrist-like the Christian right is; I have heard them call people who believe as I do about sexual morality “members of the Taliban wing of the Christian right.” But in my experience they are equally rigid and judgmental, if not more so...
I’m currently in an e-mail discussion over the upcoming war with Iraq with a liberal colleague; he told me quite frankly that he doesn’t see how any Christian can support the administration on this issue. The conversation which led to the passage of our denomination’s resolution against the war with Iraq made me feel that my views were considered unChristian by far too many of my colleagues, rather than being an issue over which Christians could, in good conscience, disagree. I hear things like, “Jesus was a pacifist.“ And “We can’t use words like “good” and “evil” because that’s too polarizing. “ My goodness! Was Jesus acting as a pacifist when he said "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's foes will be members of one's own household. [Mt 10:34-36] And the one who called the Pharisees “snakes and vipers” [Mt 23:33] would surely not hesitate to call Saddam Hussain and his works evil.
Well, this is not a sermon about war and peace. But it’s a good illustration of how conflicts between believers can be the most bitter and divisive and hurtful ones of all. It’s also a good
illustration of how easy it is to let ourselves be discouraged by disapproval - even if it is from
people whom we might naturally expect to be our allies. No, the rabbis didn’t hold the keys to
heaven and hell, and neither do I, and neither do our denominational officials. We can never look
to people for our final approval. It’s too easy for us to get it wrong. That is why God has given
us, each one of us, his word to learn from and cling to. The reason that Paul praised the believers of the church at Berea was because they “examined the scriptures every day to see
whether these things were so.” [Acts 17:11] Although we must also seek counsel from the wise,
we cannot abdicate our moral judgments to others. In the end, all of our decisions, judgments,
words, and actions must be based on the word of God - all of it - not just the bits that affirm our
wishes and prejudices. “Such a person receives praise not from others but from God.” [Rom
2:29]
And that is what the Philadelphia church has done. They have held fast to the word, the living and written word of God.
But this small church has one more thing they have to do. They have to keep on keeping on. Because it’s not over, as Yogi Berra said, until its over. “Hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. If you conquer, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God.” [v. 11-12] They haven’t conquered yet. They still have to hold fast. They aren’t finished hanging on. But notice - Jesus doesn’t stay stand still. He doesn’t say keep your head down, don’t make waves, don’t take risks. No, he says “Hang on.” Hang on through the hour of trial, when everything is turned upside down and people are screaming and pushing and running around in circles. Hang on to what we know is true.
Because that keeps us near the open door, where Jesus is standing with the key. Although the most important door of all is the door into eternal salvation, it is not the only door to which Jesus holds the key. God opens doors for us whenever and wherever we turn away from the world’s distractions and towards his holiness and truth. And furthermore, not only does Jesus hold the keys to the door, he is the door itself. John tells us that Jesus said “I am the gate.Whoever enters by me will be saved. [Jn 10:9]
The problem is that in the chaos and turbulence of the time of trial it’s too easy to get disoriented, to lose sight of the door. Or to miss the opportunity to go through it. Think of some doors that God has opened for you in the past. When did you see it? When did you understand that Jesus had just been waiting for you to slow down and see him waiting in the wings? My guess is that when you look back and consider, those doors opened right in the middle of your most trying times, right in the middle of a situation that would have someone who didn’t know Jesus crying out in panic, desperately groping for some way to make sense of things, some way out, some trust in the future. Did you remember that "No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it." [1 Cor 10:13]
This certainty can keep you from panic or despair.
It takes remembering, didn’t it. It takes focusing on who Jesus is, what he has promised and
what he has asked of us. It takes knowing the word of God, and holding fast to it, even when you
didn’t understand, and can’t see more than half a step ahead.
This letter gives us encouragement, and assurance. It doesn’t matter that we’re small. God is big. It doesn’t matter that not everybody loves us, because Jesus does. All we have to do to conquer, both as individuals and as a church, is to hold fast to the word of God, keep our eyes
open and our minds clear, and to walk confidently through the doors Jesus opens for us. Everything else is provided: vindication, protection, opportunity, and rescue. “Let anyone who
has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”
