Rev. Jared Buss
Pittsburgh New Church; May 26, 2024
Readings: John 13:3-17 (children’s talk); Revelation 3:7-13; Apocalypse Revealed §§178, 191
Today’s sermon is about the strength that we receive from living the Lord’s truth. The connection between the sermon and the children’s talk is the idea that when we live His truth—when we live as He teaches—we minister not only to our neighbors’ worldly needs, but to their spiritual needs as well. The strength that He creates in us is able to strengthen our neighbors. One way to put it is that if you’ve been choosing to stand for the Lord, the difference that you’ve been making in other people’s lives is probably greater than you know.
For the last several weeks we’ve been studying the seven churches from the book of Revelation. These seven churches were historical Christian communities, but if you read what the book of Revelation says about them, it’s clear that they stand for something more. They stand for qualities or mentalities that exist throughout Christianity as a whole. In the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Church we’re told that they symbolize, “all states of reception of the Lord and His church” (AR §41). What this means is that all Christians belong to one or more of these churches; odds are that all of us belong to one or more of these seven churches. All of the seven churches have strengths and weaknesses, and the Lord makes promises to all of them. Today we’ll be focusing on the Lord’s letter to the church of Philadelphia, which seems to be the strongest of the seven churches. This church was located in an ancient city in Turkey called Philadelphia, not in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Here is the Lord’s letter: [read Rev. 3:7-13].
If you were to simply read through all seven letters to the churches, odds are that you’d come away thinking, “Okay, Philadelphia is the good church. This is the one that the Lord wants me to belong to.” Earlier I said that all of the seven churches have strengths and weaknesses—but Philadelphia actually breaks that rule, in that it doesn’t seem to have any weaknesses. The Lord doesn’t rebuke this church for anything; all of His words to it are words of praise. That really stands out when you compare this letter with the letters to the other churches.
The Heavenly Doctrine affirms this idea that Philadelphia is the good church. In the Heavenly Doctrine we’re told that Philadelphia symbolizes “people who are in truths from good from the Lord” (AR §172). These are people who live the Lord’s truth because they are motivated by goodness that they receive from the Lord. Again, that sounds like the kind of person that we’re supposed to be.
Certainly, the people who are symbolized by the church of Philadelphia are people who have got something right. But something we should remember is that the Lord offers heaven to all seven churches. His promises to all seven churches are printed on the back of the worship handout. No matter which of them we belong to, if we overcome—if we rise above the falsities and the evils that we incline to—the Lord will give us the blessings of heaven. This is important to know, because not everyone looks like they belong to the church of Philadelphia, and not everyone feels like they belong to the church of Philadelphia. Sometimes we do have spiritual strength to share with others, other times we can barely stand on our own feet. But the Lord works with all of our states. And He isn’t trying to funnel everybody into one way of thinking, either. He isn’t trying to make us all into copies of whichever human being happens to be the goodest. He’s trying to raise everybody from where they are to their own place in heaven. So we don’t need to look like “those perfect people:” we need to follow the Lord.
That said, the strength of the church of Philadelphia is something to aspire to. The people symbolized by this church are those who live the Lord’s truth because of the love that they receive from Him. They’re people who keep His commandments with integrity, and, at the same time, are moved by His compassion and His love. That’s a good way to live. When we live this way, the Lord is able to bless us with freedom and power. That’s why, in His letter to Philadelphia, He says, “See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it” (Rev. 3:8). It’s pretty clear that this door is a door that leads to heaven (see AR §176). When we do what the Lord says, heaven is opened to us. That’s no surprise. The part of this statement that stands out is the second part: “and no one can shut it.”
When we live in the Lord, no one can take heaven from us. Take a moment to think about the doorway in your own mind, or in your own spirit. What lies on this side of the doorway—the worldly side? And what lies on the other side? What impressions of heaven has the Lord given to you? What tastes of peace and innocence? And what things are hiding in the shadows on this side of the doorway? What tricks do the hells use to try to get you to slam that door shut? What do they wrap their fingers around in order to pull you away from the door?
The evil spirits are evil. They do not want you to be happy. They want to board up the door that the Lord has set in your mind, so that the light of heaven cannot flow in to reveal that the “joys” they offer you are miserable. It’s easy to slip under their thumb. But when we walk with the Lord, He shows us a door that leads to happiness, and hell cannot shut that door. The world may not do what we want it to do, our lives may not be what we want them to be, but hell cannot take the Lord’s joy away from us. If we are walking with the Lord, then no matter what sort of shadowland we’re walking in, that open door is somewhere up ahead—and if we look up, we can see what’s on the other side.
In the next part of the letter to Philadelphia, the Lord explains why He’s been able to set an open door before this church. He says, “for you have little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name” (Rev. 3:8). It’s obviously good to keep His word, and to not deny His name. Why is it good that the people called Philadelphia have “little” strength? And if the Lord says that they have “little” strength, then why have I been going on about how strong Philadelphia is? The answer is simple: when we know that our own strength is “little,” then we stop trying to do everything ourselves. We get ourselves out of the way, and let the Lord act through us—and His strength is real strength. This is explained in the first of our readings from the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Church, which is printed in the worship handout. We read: [AR §178].
The next statement in the letter to Philadelphia is a little harder to understand, if we’re looking simply at the letter of the Word. The Lord says, “Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you” (Rev. 3:9). Part of what makes this confusing is that good people don’t want anyone to come and worship at their feet. But in its spiritual sense, this statement isn’t about people worshipping other people: it’s about the impact that good people can have on the lives of those around them. A life that is lived in the Lord is powerful, because the Lord is able to shine through that life into other people’s lives. The strange, terrible, wonderful reality of being human is that our choices affect other people. It has to be that way—if our choices had no impact on anything outside of our own heads, they would be meaningless. Our freedom of choice would be a mockery. The Lord has given us the ability to make choices that actually matter. This means that if we choose evil, we hurt more than just ourselves. But the reverse must also be true: if we choose good, we strengthen more than just ourselves.
When the Lord speaks of “those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not,” He’s referring to the church of Smyrna. He uses almost exactly the same words to describe the Smyrnans in His letter to that church (Rev. 2:9). In the Heavenly Doctrine we’re told that the Smyrnans symbolize people who want to be good, but whose doctrine is false (AR §§91, 97). The Lord says that people like that will worship at the feet of the Philadelphians, and will know that He has loved them (3:9). What this means is that those who walk with the Lord will help other people see what the Lord teaches, and what He really loves (AR §§186, 187). This is partly because people who walk with the Lord are people who will find the courage to teach His truth, and testify to His truth, when that is what’s called for. But it isn’t all about verbal teaching: people who walk with the Lord are people who show the world compassion and integrity. And compassion and integrity are arrows that point to God. Of course the Smyrnans aren’t actually meant to worship the Philadelphians: the idea is that the Smyrnans will worship the Lord when they recognize His truth (AR §186).
The next thing the Lord says in His letter is that He can make the people of the church of Philadelphia into pillars in the temple of His God (Rev. 3:12). We know what it means when someone is called a pillar of the church: a pillar of the church is someone who dedicates their life to the service of the church. Someone who consistently shows up, consistently contributes, consistently supports the uses of the church. Churches on earth depend on people who are willing to serve that way, just like this building depends on its pillars. But when we walk with the Lord, our choices uphold more than just our local congregation. Good people on earth are pillars of the kingdom of heaven. We turn, now, to our final reading, which is also printed in the worship handout [AR §191].
The last bit of that reading says that what sustains the church is the Divine truth in the Word—so it isn’t people who do that. It’s obvious that the Lord’s kingdom can’t possibly depend on us as individuals. That’s too much weight for us to bear. We can’t put the church on our backs. We can’t save anybody’s soul. Our strength is little. But the first part of the reading said that what sustains the church is the truth from good from the Lord that abides with people. Really it’s the Lord who does the heavy lifting. But when we live His truth, we give Him something He can build on. We give Him a resting place for His power. So His light is able to shine through us; His love is able to move through us. And that column of light and love connects heaven and earth. That’s what it means to be a pillar in the temple of God.
Every time we choose to do what the Lord says, because we know that He is good, we bring heaven and earth a little closer together. We draw a little nearer to the Lord—we take a step towards that open door. And He draws a little nearer to us, and through us He does more good than we realize. In Matthew He says:
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (5:16)
And in John He says:
By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (13:35)
Amen.