Homily: Tuesday - 33rd Week in OT 2016 - I stand at the door and knock

As we mentioned yesterday, the Book of Revelation begins with a vision of Christ walking among seven lampstands—which stand for the seven churches of Asia Minor. After that inaugural vision, each of those seven churches are addressed individually. Yesterday’s reading ended, actually, with a message to the Christians at Ephesus, the place where John to the Blessed Mother to live with her before her Assumption into heaven.

Today we heard the messages to the Church in Sardis and the Church in Laodicea, the fifth and seventh churches to be addressed. The messages share many similarities, the primary one being that Jesus Christ is aware of the situation in their communities, and that he offers them words both of comfort and challenge.

As we heard, the situation in Sardis was pitiful. The Christians were on the verge of losing their faith entirely. Jesus said, “I know your works, you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” There couldn’t be a stronger rebuke. Could you image? Jesus himself says to our parish of St. Clare, “You claim to be Christian, you claim to be faithful, but your faith is dead because your works are incomplete in my sight.”

Jesus speaks here to all the Catholics-in-name-only, here. He says, fan into flame what little faith you actually have, or else you will be caught unaware on the day of judgment. Each of us has a responsibility to help those Catholics-in-name-only members of our community. Jesus is saying here, you don’t want to be a Catholic-in-name-only on the day of judgment. A challenge to all of us, to ensure our actions, our choices, are fitting of the name Christian.

Jesus’ message to Laodicea is nearly just as correctional: he says, the Christians there are neither hot nor cold for the faith, simply lukewarm, and it makes him want to spit them out of his mouth. The Christians had become complacent, and had begun to place more trust in money and politics than in the teaching of the Church.

Jesus then exhorts them to repentance and greater zeal for the Gospel, and concludes his message with one of the most beautiful images in the entire book. Jesus stands at the door and knocks. Jesus stands at the door of the hearts of all people. He knocks, calling out to us to open our hearts to him.

Often the doors of our hearts are closed to Jesus out of fear and pride: fear of what Jesus might be calling us to, fear of what worldly behaviors and attitudes he is calling us to give up, and pride because we think we know better than God.

But when we open the door to him, he enters our homes and dines with us, we get to experience the joy of an intimate friendship with Him.

May we respond generously to the Lord’s correction of our faults and our lack of trust, so that we may come to experience more deeply the joy of his friendship for the glory of God and salvation of souls.