“And to the angel of the church of Laodicea, write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, who is the beginning of the creation of God: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest: ‘I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing:’ and knowest not, that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold fire tried, that thou mayest be made rich; and mayest be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear; and anoint thy eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise. Be zealous therefore, and do penance. Behold, I stand at the gate, and knock. If any man shall hear my voice, and open to me the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that shall overcome, I will give to sit with me in my throne: as I also have overcome, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.”
Laodicea was an incredibly wealthy city with banking establishments, a medical academy, and many exported products. Jesus introduces Himself to the church there by calling Himself “The Amen,” which means “so be it,” or an affirmation of truth: “In which he that is blessed upon the earth, shall be blessed in God, amen: and he that sweareth in the earth, shall swear by God, amen” (Isaias 65:16), because His words are all true, and He is always faithful and reliable, and is thus the faithful and true witness, and having overseen all of human history and loving them all throughout: “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto the end” (John 13:1). Thus He properly describes Himself as the beginning of creation, which can mean origin, or First Principle to use a philosophical term, meaning that all creation comes forth from His abundance of love, and thus He is the proper authority on how it should be seen and treated: “I was with him forming all things: and was delighted every day, playing before him at all times; playing in the world: and my delights were to be with the children of men” (Proverbs 8:30-31). The Laodiceans had become so tepid and complacent, so flavorless in their love, like a couple at dinner that speak only about the food they are eating, that they are nauseating. Jesus threatens to vomit them out of His mouth, like food that is not enriching the body but is merely occupying space and even sickening it, for their stale love. They are stale because they are self-satisfied, thinking themselves to be grand and thereby sitting still, rather than acting with love’s spriteliness: “My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart” (Canticle 2:9), and this could come from material prosperity, which can easily cool devotion: “Take heed, and beware lest at any time thou forget the Lord thy God, and neglect his commandments and judgments and ceremonies, which I command thee this day: Lest after thou hast eaten and art filled, hast built goodly houses, and dwelt in them, and shalt have herds of oxen and flocks of sheep, and plenty of sheep, and plenty of gold and of silver, and of all things, thy heart be lifted up, and thou remember not the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 8:11-14), a faith community that, though strong, made no waves but kept to themselves: “Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel” (Matthew 5:15); was growing in number but not in affection: “Follow after love” (1 Corinthians 14:1); or thought themselves to be perfected in love and therefore needed not to labor anymore: “Cease not, O my son, to hear instruction, and be not ignorant of the words of knowledge” (Proverbs 19:27). In any of these, they are sorely mistaken, for the Lord calls them wretched, poor, blind, miserable, and naked, for their love and spirituality is stale white bread, and not glimmering, spiced, and fragrant as it should be: “Cypress with spikenard. Spikenard and saffron, sweet cane and cinnamon, with all the trees of Libanus, myrrh and aloes with all the chief perfumes” (Canticle 4:14). The call to divine eros should be more grand, enjoyable, romantic, and lovely than any human relationship: “As the tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons” (Canticle 2:3), but in the words of Jesus, this community was lacking this entirely, but thought they were doing well. Christ then invites them to renew their love, reinvigorate their affection, and buy from Him by prayer spiritual things which Laodicea had in abundance materially: Gold refined by fire, which indicates faith, refined by adversity: “That the trial of your faith (much more precious than gold which is tried by the fire) may be found unto praise and glory and honour at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7); white garments of beautiful, pure conduct: “And immediately as he smelled the fragrant smell of his garments, blessing him, he said: ‘Behold the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field, which the Lord hath blessed’” (Genesis 27:27); and the eye salve of the Holy Spirit, to attain discernment and prudence: “The beginning of wisdom, get wisdom, and with all thy possession purchase prudence” (Proverbs 4:7), to know what is true love and what is not: “As his unction teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie. And as it hath taught you, abide in him” (1 John 2:27). Now, Jesus’ words have been hard, but this comes from an abundance of love, for “Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8), and He would protect those He loves from the hatred and ugliness of the world, the flesh, and the devil, instead calling His people into the most beautiful of love stories: “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is full of dew, and my locks of the drops of the nights” (Canticle 5:2), and as a parent reproves their child that they may be more well-off and presentable, Jesus corrects His beloved that you may walk in greater elegance and grace: “For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth: and as a father in the son he pleaseth himself” (Proverbs 3:12). He then calls His people to be inflamed with love, leaving behind the worthless cloak of ugly deeds, and exchanging them for a life of freedom and love: “And they call the blind man, saying to him: ‘Be of better comfort: arise, he calleth thee.’ Who casting off his garment leaped up, and came to him” (Mak 10:50). What follows is something wondrous, that Jesus perpetually knocks at the door of all those in the world, desiring to invite them to a covenantal relationship; a divine wedding: “And I will establish my covenant with thee: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord” (Ezechiel 16:62), but the door of your heart has no handle or latch on the outside, it is you that must open it: “I opened the bolt of my door to my beloved” (Canticle 5:6), but He promises to enter when someone gives Him the chance. He will then share in the most familiar of settings, a meal, which takes its own significance when shared between friends, family, or lovers: “And they saw God, and they did eat and drink” (Exodus 24:11). It is a call to familiarity and intimacy, that you may entertain God Himself in your heart with what you have at hand: “And he said: ‘Lord, if I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away from thy servant: but I will fetch a little water, and wash ye your feet, and rest ye under the tree. And I will set a morsel of bread, and strengthen ye your heart, afterwards you shall pass on: for therefore are you come aside to your servant” (Genesis 18:3-5). While this is reward enough, Jesus also promises the gift to sit with Him on His throne, which is a place of incredible glory: “And above the firmament that was over their heads, was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of the sapphire stone, and upon the likeness of the throne, was a likeness of the appearance of a man above upon it” (Ezechiel 1:26); “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated: and his train filled the temple” (Isaias 6:1). It is a promise to reign, to shine in glory as a radiant star, and in hearing what He exhorts through the first couple of chapters, one is armed with the weapons to face what is to come, which He unveils in the coming chapters.