Memorial of Saint Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
John tells the Church in two more cities what he heard from the Lord, both of which are judged as needing greater self-knowledge. Sardis seems to have been fooled by the flattery of others: “you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” (Revelation 3:1) Laodicea seems to have been fooled by their own material comforts: “For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything.’ and yet you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” (Revelation 3:17) Stern rebukes, to be sure. However, the Lord does not rebuke them to belittle or condemn the Church in these cities, but rather to call them to truly live, to become truly rich. He gives the image of waiting right beside them, longing to be welcomed into their hearts: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)
How are we to welcome this wake-up call from the Lord? We can take our cue from Zacchaeus. Though as chief tax collector in Jericho he had probably cheated many of his poor neighbors, his repentance at the coming of Jesus led him to receive Jesus with great joy and to desire to make amends very concretely with others. He did not let his material comfort blind him from seeing his need to change his ways and give back to others. He did not let the condemnation of the crowd shame him from welcoming Jesus into his home. Rather, Zacchaeus let the light of the Lord’s judgement show him what he needed to ask forgiveness for and the goodness within him that Jesus saw and loved. Let us not be fooled by others and let us not fool ourselves. Rather, let us welcome the Lord’s purifying light and presence into our lives, seeing our needs and Jesus who stands before us waiting to help.