Wake up and listen!
by Sue Westhorp
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Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is at the point of death. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches (Revelation 3:2a,6).
‘Wake up! You’re going to be late!’
‘Wake up to yourself!’
‘That was the wake-up call I needed!’
Do any of these phrases sound familiar to you? They do to me! Particularly the struggle to get up and get to work in the morning or the admonishment I’ve heard about my attitude or behaviour. And then there are the lessons I’ve learned just in the nick of time, saving me from some catastrophe or drama. These examples assume that we have been asleep or complacent in some way and need to become alert and attentive. We need to pay attention so something can change.
Today’s reading from the Book of Revelation calls for the church in Sardis to ‘wake up’. Scholars posit that perhaps this church and its members, in a city of great wealth, had not experienced the same testing and persecution as some of the other churches and so had become complacent in their faith.
I’m writing this reflection on 31 October – Reformation Day – a day when we celebrate the church ‘waking up’ to the good news of the gifts of grace and freedom. Like we hear in Ephesians 2:8,9, ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God not the result of works, so that no-one may boast’. And this was not just a once-off back in 1517. The Spirit continues to speak into our understanding of God, his word and his church, reawakening our faith when we have been asleep. What is God’s invitation you are ‘waking up’ to today? How will you listen for the Spirit’s voice in your life, community and church?
Loving God, where I have become complacent, reawaken my faith. Send your Spirit to speak into our lives today. Amen.
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