Rev 1:1-4, 2:1-5
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place; he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near.
John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,
‘To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands:
‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false. I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Loss of Love
“Yet I hold this against you: you have lost the love you had at first.”
Can you imagine being an Ephesian called out by God in this way? I sure can! How many of us have lost the love we “had at first” – the love for others that stems directly from God’s love for us? Perhaps it is not our love that is gone, but the actions that prove that love. Every time we are more concerned about being right than being compassionate, every time we put our own self interest before others’, every time we are less generous than we could be … Our sins needn’t be of the mortal variety to be indicators of how far we have fallen.
Since, as St. Ignatius tells us, “Love ought to find its expression in deeds more than in words,” how will you show your love today? Challenge yourself. It will make all the difference.
—Therese Fink Meyerhoff is the provincial assistant for communications for the Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province.
—Therese Fink Meyerhoff
Prayer
Dear Lord,
Help me realize how far I have fallen. Whether my sin is by omission or commission, it is a failure to love. Let my deeds reflect your love today and grant me the grace to be kind and compassionate to those I find hardest to love.
I ask this in Jesus’ name.
Amen