Letters of Recommendation
May 25, 2014 | Patrick Preheim
Pause with me for a short prayer. “Lord, you are constantly bringing new people into our lives. Help us practice both hospitality and discernment as we receive them”.
Rather than a cohesive exegesis on 3rd John, this morning I will share several lessons I have taken from my time with the book.
Vignette One: Elders are good for us
At various times in my life I have felt in the place of Gaius. At some point most of us do. We are doing the best we can; we love God and are trying to love our neighbour; we may even be respected among some in the faith community. And then a “Diotrephes” appears on the scene. He or she comes to us in the guise of cranky relative, an arrogant supervisor, an unjust system, a division causing colleague, an adversarial employee. In these moments a word from “the elder” is of great benefit. Sure, the elder is sometimes a fellow pilgrim on this earthly journey, but more times than not “the elder” is Jesus or the Spirit or some form of the entity we call God. And so this 3rd letter of John pushed me to considerations of God and Jesus as “elder”.
3rd John is the only New Testament letter addressed to a person—Gaius (Luke-Acts is addressed to Theophilus, but this “God lover” is a literary devise). There is something deeply personal about our relationship with the Elder. Jesus is a good shepherd who cares about each of us, giving particular consideration to the lost sheep, so I have no doubt that the Son of God pauses in the busy work of salvation to send us letters. Jesus has the power to speak to our hearts but we are not always on talking terms with God. Even if Jesus would text, e-mail, or pen an old fashioned note sometimes our filters are set in such a way that consigns the letters of God Almighty to junk rather than the in-box. Life has its rough patches and 3rd John is an invitation to us to keep open lines of communication with Jesus and other manifestations of elder wisdom. Jesus, and the compassionate elders of our lives, seek to affirm those serving God and their neighbour. To continue being strengthened for good work and worship it is incumbent that we make time to listen for that personal letter of recommendation which God has for each of us.
Vignette Two: Some Days we are the Elder
Sometimes we serve the role of “elder” for others. A number of years ago a MEDA affinity group was meeting once a month for breakfast. The agenda that season had individuals sharing about their work. I was particularly taken with the presentation of Grant Unrau. Grant is the son of Phyllis and Gordon. This is impressive in itself, but Grant’s further claim to fame is that in the 90’s he built one of the largest privately-held design firms in the US. Not bad for a Saskatchewan boy. One of his secrets of success, he told us, was a form of hospitality. Grant treated his employees with respect and affection. Grant gave them magazine subscriptions, negotiated time off, sometimes co-signed loans, wrote them letters of commendation and recommendation. The good employees stayed and gave the company their best on the clock and sometimes off the clock. The company flourished, in part, on account of the positive tone set by “the elder” of the company. Young as he was, Grant demonstrated elder like qualities as he wrote notes of encouragement. Maybe 3rd John is inviting us to consider those in our lives who need a letter of recommendation in these days. A supportive word or note is sometimes worthy of canonization.
Vignette Three: Hospitality is not Clear Cut
Hospitality was crucial in the mission work of the early Church. “Those who spread the gospel depended on the support of those who provided lodging and food” (“Intro to John III in The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible (NRSV), 469 of N.T. ). Scripture passages attesting to this role of hospitality abound. Luke 8.3 highlights three women who supported the ministry of Jesus out of their means. Jesus sent disciples out with the expectation that they would be hosted by people in the various towns in they would travel (Lk 10.5. Mk 6.10, Mt10:11). Chapter 12 of the early church catechism known as the Didache gives hospitality protocol to congregations. Hospitality was essential for the early church to survive and succeed in its mission of sharing Jesus. And so was discernment.
Both 2nd and 3rd John raise the issue of discernment in receiving guests to the faith community. Anita cited 2nd John v.10-11 last week and I will do so again: “If any one comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into the house or give him any greeting”. 3rd John affirms Gaius for offering hospitality to the “friends / brethren” who were strangers while lambasting Diotrephes for his rejection of the “friends” and excommunication of those who offered hospitality to them. John found himself in an awkward situation. He wanted Gaius and other congregations to be hospitable, but not too hospitable. I dare say this is a challenge for the contemporary church as well. I am both learning to be hospitable and discerning.
A number of years back I made a mistake. It has not been by my only error of judgement in the last 20 years and, regrettably, it won’t be the last. Given the urban context of my ministry at the time there were lots of Mennonites from the land (aus dem Land) who had fled their Mennonite community to the city, and yet some felt drawn toward their religious roots. I received an e-mail from a young Mennonite exile asking about officiating at her wedding. I must have been reading from 2nd John that day, because I replied to her e-mail asking about past experiences in congregations and any current connections with a pastor she might have. I was, in effect, asking for some recommendation. Was this the right tact to take? I do not know. What I do know is that this young woman who grew up Mennonite and was maybe was trying to make her way back severed contact, and I do not like the way this makes me feel (even now). I suspect my inquiries smacked of the judgmental world she had tried to leave behind. Even if they were the correct questions I am certain they could have been asked differently.
These days, when the un-churched and de-churched ask me about officiating at their wedding, I proceed differently. In the spirit of 2nd John I try to be discerning. And in the spirit of 3rd John I try to be hospitable. It is not always an easy rope to walk. Discernment is hard work and that takes me to another section.
Vignette Four: What to do with Diotrephes?
Diotrephes—he is like the combative tenured faculty member causing a university president great headaches, and we know how such things can go for the president (Ilene Busch-Vishniac was dismissed by the U of S board). He is like the dysfunctional worker who has enough family or friends in the organization to make firing a tricky task. He is like that bullying member of the non-profit board who tears down group cohesion and derails mission. What to do with Diotrephes?
3rd John names unacceptable behaviour, and maybe we should too. In his commentary on 3rd John C. Clifton Black (“Third Letter of John” in The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary (volume XII), p. 464) outlines the five complaints the elder makes about Diotrephes which begin in v.9.
- He likes calling all the shots.
- Diotrephes will not meet with the opposition leader or his staff. Literally, he does not “welcome” or “receive” the elder and his sympathizers. The NRSV in our bulletins translates this as “acknowledge our authority”, but that is a stretch of the Greek.
- Diotrephes misrepresents the elder, probably to strengthen his own argument.
- He will not meet with ambassadors sent to him from the elder.
- And finally, Diotrephes had the audacity to excommunicate those of the church who had shown hospitality to the elder and his ambassadors.
Showing hospitality to individuals who demonstrate this kind of arrogance and misuse of power will lead to all sorts of problems for an individual and organization. Tolerating this kind of behaviour, in fact, has disastrous consequences for any group. Relating this to the previous vignette, if a couple seeking marriage displays these attributes I tend shy from getting too involved in their ceremony. And if I do get involved, I usually regret it. Avoiding situations in which we are forced to work with the Diotrephes of the world is sound council. And yet it will happen.
I am not so naive to think that the church, other non-profit organizations, company boards, or our families will ever be free from this burden. Perhaps this is the way in which the sharp Diotrephes like corners we carry can be filed down. Perhaps these encounters contribute toward the rehabilitation of Diotrephes in some way. That might be some consolation if a person in languishing in a working arrangement where egos have gotten in the way.
What to do with Diotrephes. It is of some comfort to me that 3rd John leaves room for the “the elder” to sort things out personally when he arrives. We are back to the beginning again seeing the elder as God, as Jesus, as some form of that divine mystery we call God. We must not forget that it is God’s church, God’s non-profit, ultimately God’s project of bringing lost sheep and wolf alike into the New Jerusalem.
Conclusion
We don’t know how the story of 3rd John ended. I am inclined to think the hospitality of Giaus eventually carried the day over the arrogance of Diotrehpes. I say this because the church of the next decades was more hospitable than arrogant. Sure there were differences of opinion but the wide spread excommunications, the church sponsored executions, the holy wars didn’t take hold for another century or two. According to sociologist Rodney Stark it was the kindler, gentler, hospitable Christianity of people like Gauis which fueled the rise of Christianity (see his book The Rise of Christianity). And this might be an important word for us. The Spirit of God will bless the church practicing discerning hospitality. Welcome the stranger and allow no space for the arrogance, excommunication or exclusiveness of Diotrephes. This is easier said than done, but the Spirit will guide us because the Spirit wants us to succeed. And for the Spirit’s guiding impulses we can truly give thanks. Amen.
