We have a special place in our house.
It's the place where we store a certain type of object - I think I'm not alone, because I think most homes have a place like this. We call it the CUS; the cupboard under the stairs. And it's full. But I'm sure it's still got space for more things.
Has anyone here ever bought a sandwich toaster? A soda stream fizzy drinks maker? A piece of exercise equipment?
Well if you're like me, you don't actually buy things not intending to use them, and yet in the fullness of time, these items slowly make their way towards the cupboard under the stairs, we're not quite able to throw them away, but we just don't use them often enough to keep them on show or taking up floor space.
Today's
reading is about a church that simply isn't using the things it has.
The church is described as a lukewarm church.
Well, to be fair, lukewarm doesn't sound that bad does it? It doesn't sound like Jesus is being too critical - over the course of my life, I know I've been called much worse things! So what does Jesus feel about this lukewarm approach to faith.
Jesus
hates it. He says " I spew you out of my mouth" - how often when
we read scripture do we hear Jesus rebuking someone by saying " you make
me sick"?
Jesus is really unhappy.
He
says that he would rather that the people of the church had a cold faith or
a hot one rather than the lukewarm offering he gets.
We all know people with a hot faith - they're the people who's energy inspires
us, the people we look to as examples for how to cope in this world, they're
the sort of people we hope to meet when we come to church.
And we all know people with a cold faith - utterly dismissive, cynical and hard, completely detached from the spiritual dimension to life and the joy that it can bring us.
But
as grim as that may sound, Jesus says he prefers a cold faith to a lukewarm
one. And frankly, I'm not surprised - because at least with a cold faith -
you know where you stand.
You see some things in life are not meant to be lukewarm.
Ice
cream
A cup of tea
A cool drink on a hot summer's day
The church in Laodicea seems to have hidden its principles in the cupboard under the stairs, not able to get rid of them, but playing lip service to their ownership.
The one thing that the church in Laodicea seems to have is a very good opinion of itself. Probably out and about telling everyone how good it really is, but in practice, it's offering is as appealing as a cornetto that's been left out in the sun. I know I've met Christians like that.
Laodicea was a very well to do city, it was a banking centre and was famous for being a textile town. Its citizens were pretty well off folk, physicians, clothing manufacturers and financiers.
But this is very much at odds with the way Jesus describes them, he calls them wretched and poor, pitiable and unable to see. It's fine opinion of itself has come from it's focus on the things it can make and sell, and the wealth that this has brought them, and all the while the thing that should be inspiring them is stuck in the cupboard under the stairs because they have shinier objects to look at.
Little do they realise that the greatest treasure they could want for, they already had.
And yet in spite of surely the harshest rebukes that we hear in this series of letters - Jesus is still offering them a chance. He threatens them with total rejection, but is offering total acceptance.
He urges them to change, to start doing a new thing and to start getting excited by their faith again; to start the sparks flying in their discipleship and to welcome him into their hearts once again.
We can all get sidetracked by the noise of the world, the business of our lives, work, holidays, families and traumas, they can all distract us from our faith and our call to be the best disciples that we can be. We all know that we could all be better Christians, that we could give a little more of our time - but I don't think that this is the lukewarm state that Jesus is talking about. He's referring to a state where their faith is not informing or influencing their actions.
So
how do we avoid falling into that lukewarm state that Jesus warns us of with
the example of Laodicea?
We can avoid it by building our faith into the fabric of our lives. However
busy we are at work or in the home, we can have the time to pray - to spend
time just talking to God, and also taking the time out to listen.
Our
faith and our discipleship grow and mature the more often we use it and exercise
it, when we allow it to inform and influence our decisions.
How we behave towards other people.
When we don't build it into our daily lives, then surely it starts to edge towards the cupboard under the stairs, thinking, "well it's always there for emergencies".
The last part of the letter lays it down so simply to this wayward church - it is their choice. To anyone who welcomes Jesus in, he promise the riches that faith in him can bring.
The
heights of emotion as we accept that the people we are, in all our diversity
are the people we were created to be, and that we are loved for who we are.
We can embrace the joy that he can bring us.
We can accept God's peace, which is so desperately needed in this chaotic
world.
The world would be such a different place if the lukewarm of spirit embraced a little global warming.
Amen.
(Dan Joseph)
This sermon was first preached in the Metropolitan Community Church of Manchester. Click here for further information.