Church as Chosen Lady #3 of 7:

To the Chosen Lady

(Second John)

There’s a chance “the chosen lady” is not a metaphor for the church, but simply an individual woman who opens her home for church gatherings. Like “Nympha in Laodicea and the church that meets in her house” (Col 4:15). Or, “Apphia in Colossae and the church that meets in her house” (Philm vs 2). Or, Priscilla who, in whatever city she finds herself, opens her home to the church (Ro 16:5 & 1Cor 16:19). Maybe by calling her a “special lady”, John is simply honoring her care for the church that meets in her house.

Maybe… but I’ll stick with the traditional understanding of the chosen lady and her children as a metaphor for the church. It’s hard to think that this individual house church lady happens to have a sister who sends her greeting along with John’s letter (vs 13). Also, the mention of her children best suits as a metaphor of us—us members of the congregation that make up “the Body of Christ”; or, in this case, “the chosen lady.” 

Nevertheless, we need not dismiss one in order to affirm the other. A good metaphor, like a good parable, requires the real earthly thing—like a farmer planting seed or a woman searching for her lost coin; otherwise, the analogy won’t work. When Shakespeare allegorizes romantic love by writing:

                        My love is a rose,

                        Pretty but prickly;

he assumes we know something about roses. In order to get allegory of love, one has to know something about the beauty of a rose budding from its thorny steam. See how Shakespeare’s allegory of love honors the thing allegorized. Now that I have Shakespeare’s allegory of love in my head, I can never look at a rose and its prickly steam quite the same way again. The allegory causes me to think more of the thing allegorized, not less.

Maybe that’s how “the chosen lady” allegorizes that special lady who, like Nympha or Apphia or Priscilla, opens her home to those who gather for worship. There really are such special ladies, otherwise the allegory won’t work. Once I have “the chosen lady” in my head, I can’t help but look with greater wonder at every woman who cares for the church.