An Empty Marker

And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: “The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:1-6 ESV).

While driving through Cades Cove in The Smoky Mountain National Park this summer, Mary and I decided to stop at the churches in the cove. Each of them have been restored and maintained to allow visitors to get a feel for the life of the period when the cove was still a thriving community. Today they are little more than empty markers of a time long past. They are a testament to the real nature of the church. Our reading today is a stern warning against the temptation to assume that a building can describe the life of the community of faith. The church at Sardis was described as being “dead.” It appeared to be alive; it had a reputation of being alive and looked spiritually vibrant on the outside, but was spiritually lifeless. Sardis was Christian in name only. This recalls Christ’s scathing rebuke of the Pharisees who “look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean” (cf. Matthew 23:27). G.R. Beasley-Murray wrote: “The appearance [of the Sardis church] is that of a beautifully adorned corpse in a funeral parlor, and the Lord is not deceived.” In our day we have as many different kinds of churches as ever in the history of the church. Each one has a place in the plan of God for the mission of the gospel; however, we all should take great care in what we consider essential. The music, whatever genre is preferred, is not essential. The teaching, however interesting and current in content, is not necessarily essential. The furnishings, whether Spartan or elegantly ornate, are not essential. Jesus urges the Sardis church to “Remember, then, what you received and heard.” He is talking about the Gospel. A Christian church without the Gospel spoken clearly is little more than an empty marker. That is not the responsibility of the leadership alone. We all share in that mission. Make that your mission.