Revelation 2:8 "And to the angel of the
church in Smyrna write: These are the words of the first and the last, who was
dead and came to life: 9 "I know your affliction and your
poverty, even though you are rich. I know the slander on the part of those who
say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear
what you are about to suffer. Beware, the devil is about to throw some of you
into prison so that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have
affliction. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 Let anyone
who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Whoever
conquers will not be harmed by the second death.
Smyrna[1] - amongst
the largest of the cities in the Mediterranean – was a beautiful port city with
an estimated population approaching 200,000 people. Due to its defensible port and its good inland connections, Smyrna was became a wealthy city.
It was also the city of Bishop Polycarp. In 155 AD he
was asked to recant his faith or lose his life: “86 years have I served him”
Polycarp declared, “and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King
and my Saviour?” His subsequent execution makes the words of Revelation 2 vs 10 particularly
poignant: “be faithful until death”.
Christians do not escape hardship, or struggle,
or death. But Christ-followers can choose to escape fear through confronting
the things that frighten us through our faithful courage.
Ordinary 27 / Pentecost +20
49 Faithfulness
The Scripture passage
for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other
Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 298.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.
[1] An ancient city located at a central and
strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. It is now called Izmir.
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