Sunday 24 April, 2016
- Easter 5C, An Anzac Memorial - Rev Heather Kennedy
Isaiah 52:7-12, Psalm 76,
Ephesians 6:10-20, Luke 6:27-36
'Do unto others
'
Today's passage from the Gospel according to Luke is the reading set
for an Anzac Day observance. This passage takes us back to the Sermon
on the Mount, to the teaching Jesus gave to the disciples to equip
them for when he would no longer be with them, equipping them for
their role in establishing the Christian Church. As members of the
church, you and I are also disciples of Jesus Christ. As such we are
striving to undertake the roles of discipleship, to become like Christ!
As members of this congregation, when we meet for worship we study
the teachings of Jesus and try to put them into practice.
William Barclay, a famous author and teacher of the Bible, wrote in
one of his commentaries about an old university professor. One time,
someone said to the professor that they knew one of his students.
The professor replied that the person they knew did attend his classes
but he was not one of his students. You see, the college professor
was making a clear distinction between a person who merely sat in
on the lectures and a person who really studied and learned what the
professor was teaching. For the professor, there was an enormous difference
between being an attender of a class and a disciple, a true learner.
We are disciples of Christ, therefore we are not merely attenders
of worship; we don't just sit here and listen. Rather, we are students
of Christ. We immerse ourselves in the words and wisdom of Jesus.
We become followers of Christ, and follow his teachings.
Today we are taking a look at one of the fundamental, foundational
teachings of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount, often referred to
as the Golden Rule. Which states 'Do onto others
as you would
have them do onto you.'
Many people have no idea that this rule comes from Jesus teaching
or that it's religious in origin but just about everyone knows the
Golden Rule. So called because of the high value placed on it, as
with gold which is beautiful and durable, is very useful and practical,
and it will stand the test of time. Gold has been the most desired
and valuable metal throughout all time and there is no metal as precious
as gold. The Golden Rule likewise is practical, durable and precious.
It is the most fundamental moral principle stated in the positive
for all human beings. It's not just about refraining from hurting
others or treating them poorly. It's about doing something positive.
Jesus says: 'Do onto others
' It's about positive action!
Other religions of the world and their religious philosophers have
taught rule like this rule but in a negative form. Do not. Do not
harm. Do not cause pain. The Hindu religion teaches: "do nothing
to others which if done to you would cause you pain." Do not
do anything to cause pain to another. Don't do the negative, but Jesus
stated his moral principle positively. Do onto others. The Buddhist
religion teaches, 'Hurt not others with that which pains yourself'.
The Jewish traditions and the Talmud teach: "What is hateful
to you, do not to your fellow men." Again, do not do the negative.
Islam teaches: 'No one of you is a believer until he desires for his
brother that which he desires for himself'. Great philosophers say:
"Do not do unto others what angers you if done to you by others."
Religious teachers have taught a similar philosophy to Jesus but always
in the negative.
Not doing something bad to a person is not the same as doing something
positive for them. It's somewhat easy and expected for people to avoid
doing something bad toward another person but it is something quite
different to do something positive for that person. Doing good takes
more effort and energy than refraining from evil. There is a huge
difference between not causing someone harm and doing something positive
for that person. To help us understand this difference, the Barclay
uses the simple analogy of driving a car. That is, I can drive my
car in such as way that I do not harm people with my driving. I simply
drive on the correct side of the road and stop for all stop signs.
But it is quite another thing to drive my car and pick up someone
to take them to the doctor or drive my neighbour to the supermarket.
It is one set of attitudes and behaviours that avoids hurting people
with my car; it is another set of attitudes and actions that actually
go out of the way to help people by using my car.
The Golden Rule is closely connected to another golden rule - the
only commandment Jesus ever gave us: to 'love one another as I have
loved you' or, 'Love your neighbour as you love yourself'. The problem
here is how we, in our modern culture, understand the word "love."
For many of us, the word "love" is too wrapped up in feelings,
emotions, and attitudes. These are great things but love according
to the Bible is active. It is a verb. It has to do with what we do.
Our feelings, attitudes, and emotions are great but if they don't
lead to any positive action on our part, is that how Jesus intended
us to understand it? As followers of Christ, we are to actively do
for others. In the Sermon on the Mount, we hear Jesus use the word,
"do" many times.
So, what does this mean for us? For our life? Do onto others as you
would have them do to you. The reason why we find war, conflict and
violence so distasteful is because they are the complete opposite
of what this teaching instructs. Jesus gives us a clear moral principle
by which to live as his disciples. So, what do we want other people
to do for us? How do we want them to treat us? We want to be treated
with love, respect, kindness, forgiveness for my imperfections, patience
and honesty. We also need them to help us out when we need it. That
is what we want from other people and that is the way that God asks
us to treat all people. Doing for others means being pro-actively
positive to all people.
Many of us could give examples of times when someone has helped us
out of a difficult situation. Therefore, we need to do things like
that for others. We have lots of examples of that kind of goodness
and kindness right here at First Church! Stories of people providing
meals for those who are going through difficult times, or where people
visit each other, going out of their way. Like those who spent time
this week preparing for the Garage Sale, coming together to do something
positive in the life of the church. These are the positive actions
of followers of Christ.
Not like the example in this story,
A driver did the right thing, by stopping at the pedestrian crossing
even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through
the intersection. The woman driving right behind him went ballistic,
pounding on her horn and screaming in frustration as she missed her
chance to drive through the intersection with him. Still in mid-rant,
she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a police
officer, who ordered her to exit her car. He took her to the police
station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed
in a cell. After a couple of hours, she was escorted back to the reception
area where the arresting officer was waiting.
He said, "I'm awfully sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled
up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, ranting, raving
and swearing at the guy in front of you. I noticed the 'Choose Life'
license plate holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker and
the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the back of your."
"So, naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."
We are invited to be disciples of Christ, to follow Christ and his
example of love and doing positively for others. It is easy to slap
a bumper sticker on the back of one's car. It is another matter
to "do for others as you would have them do for you."
God's plan is that Jesus would live on in you and me and in all
the members of his body, the church. He is experienced as radical
love through our words and actions... not necessarily through great
and spectacular acts, or empty platitudes but through acts on a
par with washing people's feet...through acts of sacrificial love...through
supporting and caring and loving others in their need and distress
and pain. People need the assurance that they haven't been abandoned
by God to go it alone, and that assurance can be shared through
even our smallest acts of love and care.
"A new commandment I give you." Jesus says, to "Love
one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
Each one of us leaves marks on others lives. Do we leave the gentle,
creative positive marks of Jesus - or do we leave the scars of our
own self-centred lives? If Christ lives within us - shaping our
personalities - we will leave glorious, identifiable marks on the
lives of those we touch - not just because of our love, but because
of his. Pray then that as we hear that commandment of Jesus to love
one another that it might also be written anew on our hearts and
lived out in our lives, as we 'do unto others, what we would have
them do unto us.' Amen.
Sermon - Sunday 3 April, 2016 - Easter - Rev Heather Kennedy
Acts 5: 27-32; Psalm 150; Revelation 1:4-8; John 20:19-31.
'When in doubt talk to a believer'
Watching television these days is often a devastating experience,
as we find ourselves looking over the shoulders of rescue workers
desperately seeking signs of life after terrorist bombings or interviews
with on-lookers somewhere in the world, as with the events in Belgium
last weekend and I don't know what to make of the US Presidential
Elections. There seems to be so many areas of the world where there
is a definite lack of peace. We could be forgiven for thinking that
the world has gone mad and that evil has the upper hand.
In a newspaper article about terrorist bombing, the columnist looked
at the idea that random violence is becoming more random, more unpredictable,
and more widespread than has been acknowledged or understood. It
is believed that the various doctrines which legitimise government;
that sanction law and order, are being challenged. This is also
acknowledged with regard to the role of church and family. The trend
seems to be that what a lot of people, everywhere, want to do -
and are doing - is their own thing - for their own advancement,
to enlarge their own power base, building up their own sense of
self-importance. If this just happens to be at the expense of another
person's life or well-being then that's just too bad. So, what should
do we do about it? What can we do about it?
One of the most discouraging statements made up of just five words
would be "It won't make any difference". This could be
why we often think to ourselves, whatever I think or say or even
attempt to do won't make any difference to what is happening in
the world. We certainly feel a sense of helplessness when we see
the awful panorama of human need that exists, but can what we do
or say really make any difference?
This is why we might even question our sense of helplessness further
and wonder if the events of Easter which we have been remembering
over the last week really made any lasting difference in the world.
There was certainly a local effect at that time to a small percentage
of the population, but did the impact of Jesus' death and resurrection
go much further. Did these events impact on the Jewish and Roman
rulers at all?
I hope that we believe that they did and do - and that they help
us to create the five word statement that is the most powerful statement
we could possibly put together, that Christ himself is the difference.
If we are to believe that we can make any difference at all, then
this statement contains the five words we need to give us encouragement
to do whatever we can, in whichever small way we can to make a Christ-inspired
difference in the world.
These are the words that give people freedom to dream, to hope,
to act, to live with confidence and strength. They are the five
words which bring us here for this hour of worship today, for Christ
himself is the difference.
That is the truth that the Gospel according to John testifies to,
from the beginning to the end. John tells us that God's great love
for the world was revealed in a person, Jesus Christ and that makes
a difference to the way we live our lives. John no doubt expected
his readers to have come to that conclusion by chapter 20 of his
gospel and the passage we heard read today.
However, John takes into account our human scepticism and it's almost
as though he says, if you've read all that I've set before you and
you're still not convinced that Jesus Christ is the Son of God,
then hear this story. So he tells the story of Thomas, the disciple
who was to go down in history as the prime example of the one who
doubts the testimony of others. No amount of words from the other
disciples would make any difference to Thomas' doubts, he had to
'see and touch'. As a Jew brought up on the Hebrew Scriptures which
take the physicality of life and death very seriously, Thomas needed
the invitation to 'touch and see' to confirm his faith. Christian
faith may be spiritual, but it is based on a person who really lived
and died and rose again. Likewise, our faith is lived out in physical
observance. It is not accidental that our two 'gospel sacraments'
of Holy Communion and Baptism involve real bread, real wine and
real water, tangible and touchable elements.
Thomas' confession "my Lord and my God" was only possible
because he was convinced that the Christ of Calvary and the Christ
of Easter were one and the same.
Jesus is our Lord and God, yet still carries the awful marks of
his suffering which makes a difference to how we perceive God in
our midst? Not as distant and uncaring, but present, and with the
marks of his compassion imprinted in his human flesh.
The extent of Jesus' caring was revealed further in his first words
to his disciples gathered in that room - he didn't go on about the
awful things that had been done to him, the pain he had had to endure,
or the loneliness and the feeling of abandonment. Instead he said
"Peace be with you". His words after the resurrection,
as with the words he spoke before his death were words spoken in
compassion for others.
In Thomas' confession, when he says "My Lord and My God"
there is the very essence of Christianity. A Christian is essentially
someone who can say "I have recognised the Lord." This
does not mean that we no longer have doubts, for we all have doubts,
especially when events impact on our lives and we find life a struggle
and wonder whether we can rely on God to help us. If we have doubts
the best thing to do is to question them, talk them over with other
believers, because we all have doubts from time to time and sharing
them with others helps us each to see more clearly what we believe
and what we can know for sure. If we didn't have some doubts we
might even be fooling ourselves. It pays to question our beliefs
in order to know for sure what we can believe and what we shouldn't
believe. If we took everything we see on TV as believable and never
questioned that information we could well be quite deluded.
Having a belief in God, as a Christian does not mean we know everything
about Jesus, it means that we know Jesus. It does not mean arguing
about who Jesus was or represented, it means meeting Jesus. It means
the having certainty that Jesus is alive. That the experience of
his life in us provides a source of peace that is beyond our human
understanding. There is therefore no desire or need to "do
one's own thing" because our desires are Christ-centred rather
than self-centred.
So, if we claim to be Christian, if we claim to acknowledge the
awesome wonder of God's love for us all - embodied in the loving
sacrifice of Jesus - then we cannot keep quiet, we have to share
this with others - the difference that Jesus Christ makes to our
lives - that he is the difference for our life today. Who knows
what difference that might make to another person's life?
Sermon. 1 November 2015. Pentecost 23. All Saints Day. Reformers of
the Church. Delivered by Alan Richardson
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable
in tour sight, O Lord our strength and our redeemer.
I have been interested in the current Pope since the beginning of
his reign early in 2013. He seemed to me to be likely to bring some
sort of new look to the Papacy. Now it is true that in practical terms
he will have no direct effect on me, but a new look within an institution
as conservative as I think the papacy is, may well may well have positive
spin-offs for the rest of Christendom in various ways.
As time has gone on it has become a little clearer what might
happen, so I want to talk about the Pope, and some other church
leaders, under this heading of mine for today's address Contemporary
Reformers of the Church? I invite you to take particular note of
the final question mark. In the end it will be for you to decide
whether or not they might be reformers.
I have found information for this address in a very wide variety
of sources which I must acknowledge before I begin. They are the
website www.religionnews.com, which I recommend as a source of much
religious news (not just Christian) of which I would otherwise be
unaware; but I also read regularly my iPad apps for the ABC (American
Broadcasting Corporation) and the Guardian newspaper. I have also
copies of my own of the Pope's little book containing the text of
his encyclical published on 24 May this year, and the paper by Andrew
Norton, the current Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa
New Zealand called It's a Matter of Faith, and this other little
booklet called Justice and Action, which was published by the Presbyterian
Church in the last few weeks or so.
I have been really amazed at some of the discoveries I have made.
I have also been overall quite greatly encouraged by discovering
some of the things that are happening in the world-wide church,
though there have also been some inevitable disappointments.
I decided to begin with the Pope but I realize that there will not
have been many times when a preacher in this church will have begun
a sermon by giving praise to the Pope, but perhaps that is your
surprise for 1 November 2015.
I followed quite closely the Pope's tour of the USA. I managed to
see and hear has address to Congress and also his address to the
United Nations. Both addresses were very well worth hearing indeed.
He seemed very much at home at the rostrum and was forthright in
what he had to say, seeming to be unafraid at what anyone may think.
His favourite topics have been the environment, social justice and
world-wide poverty I have not been able yet to read all of his encyclical
which is primarily about the environment. The title of the encyclical
and this translation of it is "Laudato Si" which translates
simply as "Praise Be". It is a comprehensive coverage
from his Christian point of view.
I printed out many articles from newspapers about the Pope's speeches,
and followed with great interest the reception he received in America
and at the UN, and I noted just how very quickly the press provided
political labels for him. I mean he was labeled the Green Pope for
his views on climate change but also the Red Pope for his views
on economics, and was described as a socialist by several people
and even as a communist by a few. I have discovered that it is the
fate of the outspoken to be given a label which in my opinion is
very unfair.
But as recently as last Sunday a Synod of Bishops gathered in Rome
came to an end where discussion was held on the softening of attitudes
towards gay men and women, divorced couples and those in other relationships
not normally acceptable to the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope himself
favours a less punitive treatment of them by the Church, but the
Catholic Synod moved only a small distance on this one. It was especially
interesting to read that the speaker strongly in favour of retaining
the hard line was the Tanzanian Bishop Nkwande who said The Catholic
Church must resist any temptation to "compromise the gospel
and sacrifice the divine revelation" by seeming to approve
of what he called "strange views and new teachings" on
the part of the church.
The reason I was particularly interested in this, is that churches
in Africa were a major source of the opposition. This leads me on
to the next leader, the Archbishop of Canterbury. I read this in
the Guardian: "The Archbishop of Canterbury, the most reverend
Justin Welby, has suggested that ties between the various warring
[Anglican] churches worldwide should be loosened, so they can all
go their own way a bit more. He says it would be more like 'separate
bedrooms' than 'divorce'.
Now in brief the situation is this. The Anglican Church worldwide,
it's often called the Anglican Communion, consists of a number of
national churches with ties to the Church of England. In some cases,
such a New Zealand, the ties are already quite loose. But African
ties are tight and so are those among the national churches of many
other countries. But they have been unable for years to agree on
doctrine, mainly based on those very matters bugging the Catholic
bishops. So amazingly the Archbishop has expressed a desire to loosen
the ties so that the more liberally minded can get on with certain
reforms and not be constantly be voted out by the others. The Archbishop.,
it seems, is coming to the end of that particular road.
And so I come to New Zealand. In this case the spotlight is on
Andrew Norton, the Moderator of the General Assembly. Andrew has
been our Moderator for only about a year, but he is clearly trying
to raise the profile of the church and to motivate all members especially
on social issues. In June this year, he published on the PCANZ website,
what he called a White Paper (or a discussion paper) entitled "It's
a mater of faith". He raises in it eight issues which our national
church is facing in the hope that his paper will promote "engagement,
dialogue and action" which he sees as central to the church's
development. His paper is in two parts. The first parts is a discussion
about the issues themselves, from an "As I see it" standpoint.
The second part, he writes, is "where presbyteries, sessions
and parish councils can have their say. He asked for responses to
be sent to him, I think it was by the end of September.
Subsequently, he commissioned this study book "Justice and
Action" which has been distributed to congregations and copies
were distributed to members of our Parish Council at their last
meeting. Overall, he is concerned about falling numbers and apathy
within in the church and lack of engagement by the church with social
issues in this country at this time. He also put a page on Candour
(also on the Internet) where he wrote "This booklet is a call
to the Church to come back to the public square and speak up for
those who have no voice."
I found it significant that the two main parts of his papers were
the very things raised by the Pope and by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
With respect to the social issues, Andrew raises the questions about
child poverty, and family violence; in the case of the internal
issues within the church he raises the disunity within our church
especially with respect to homosexual and other gender issues, the
effects of individualism and congregationalism, and issues related
to ministry and to marriage.
So let me now try to pull all this together. It seems to me that
all three leaders are struggling with parts of the same issue, but
each within the context of his church. Underneath it all is concern
about apathy within the church and what I might call conservatism
in relation to sexual and marriage issues.
So I have posed the question about Contemporary reformers, and I
need now to give some pointers about where I might stand on this
one. As usual, I do not ask you to agree with me, I am just expressing
my opinion.
My first comment is to say that in my view none of the churches
is facing a need to contemplate a reformation anything like what
happened 500-odd years ago. What I would support is a thorough-going
programme of renewal.
So let me begin again with the Pope. I have a feeling that he would
like to go ahead with real change. However, at the moment he lacks
support from some of his bishops and is therefore restricted in
what he can do. Because I see much similarity between the issues
facing the Roman Catholic and the Anglican Church, I would say that
the position of the Archbishop of Canterbury is similar; though
Justin Welby looks as if he may take some definitive action. Andrew
Norton is urging us all to get out there and say and do something
about social justice issues in particular. Again, this is a renewal
programme. And frankly, I hope very much he gets it. But it will
require a groundswell of support from the people in the pews. That
is you and me. Indeed, these days, no attempted renewal is going
to happen without the support of the people. This puts us, you and
me, on centre-stage. Any Presbyterian renewal will be need to be
strongly supported by people in the pews. There will be times when
we will feel uncomfortable but personally I want to look forward
to a church is inclusive, seeks economic and social justice for
all people, is tolerant and outward-looking. Of course, I am aware
that you know my view, because I have expressed it here before.
So you may wonder why I am I repeating it today. It is because today
seems the ideal context in which to show solidarity with the Christian
church world-wide as jointly, we all, in our own contexts seek to
renew our own spiritual lives. Not only that, but it shows we in
the 21st century are doing our best to live up to the expectations
of all those who have gone before us, including the original reformers
of the church. In summary, then the next potential reformers of
the church are already sitting in pews up and down this country.
At least that is how I see it.
I want now to ask you to join in prayer with me for the leaders
of the churches worlds-wide. Our God, on this anniversary of the
day which we remember as Reformation Day, we pray for the leaders
of the Churches wide. And so we bring before you now these major
leaders:
Pope Francis the leader of the Roman Catholic churches;
Batholemew, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, the leader
of the eastern orthodox Churches
Queen Elizabeth II, the Supreme Governor of the Anglican Communion
and Justin Welby, the Abp of Canterbury, the symbolic head of the
Anglican Communion
And Jerry Pilliay, the head of the Senior Governing Body of the
World Communion of Reformed Churches and the General Secretary of
the Uniting Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa.
We remember also Phil King, the Global Mission Co-ordinator of the
Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand Global Mission group.
Lord , your church has become so fragmented that we cannot mention
individually all the leaders of other groups but we pray that whatever
they do may be done always to hour and glorify your holy name.
We thank you, God, for the work which these people have undertaken
for the Christian Churches worldwide. We ask your blessing on them
today, and we ask that each one may receive wisdom from you as they
seek to address as well as they are able the problems facing your
church in the 21st century. Grant them foresight to understand the
implications of the decisions they make on the future of the Church
on the people who worship you day by day. In the name of Jesus we
ask these things. Amen.
Sermon. 30 August 2015. Pentecost 14. Delivered by Alan Richardson
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable
in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
The OT lectionary readings have been working their way through parts
of the story of Solomon so I have chosen to talk a little abut him
this morning. However, the Gospel reading I chose was part of the
Sermon on the Mount - Jesus' words "Even Solomon in all his glory
was not arrayed like one of these." Jesus was talking about lilies,
but his words show that Solomon was well known and so was his reputation
in relation in relation to fine decoration.
The extract we heard from the Book of Kings was from the dedication
of the temple, when all the plans had been followed, the building
finally constructed, and the temple was dedicated to its purpose.
I want to avoid today going into the detail which is presented to
us by the Bible about the structure, and look instead first at the
question of why this building was so important to the Jews. It is
a given that this building was the pinnacle of Jewish yearning for
a permanent physical structure which reflected the great central
place they laid in the appropriate surroundings in which to worship
God. We read in the Book of Kings about David's hopes to build the
temple, about his drawing up of the plans and gathering most of
the building material, and also of his being denied the best part
of all which was to build the temple itself. And this task is given
to his son ans successor, Solomon.
It is another great epic story in the Bible, but maybe our view
of all this account changes to some extent when we read that the
Book of Kings was not written until something approaching 500 years
after the events they describe. It was written during the Babylonian
exile about 580BC. This means that the account we rely on was actually
written wit the benefit of hindsight and at a time of Jewish anguish
over their exile and yearning for a return of the better years of
the past.
Anyway, it seems fair to say that Solomon's temple began construction
in about 970BC and was completed about 964BC. I was destroyed by
the Babylonian invasion in 580BC. The reading today, 1 Kings 8,
is about the dedication of the Temple when finally the building
was all complete and they brought the Ark of the Covenant to its
resting place. It was a very grand ceremony. I hope you will read
all this quite lengthy chapter sometime and picture the occasion.
The prime purpose of the temple which Solomon built in Israel was
really to house the Ark of the Covenant and I spoke to the children
about that. The temple was a large building. Just how large, is
difficult to say. The actual figures provided by the Book of Kings
are 60 cubits long, 20 wide and 30 high. The trouble with this is
that no-one is very sure just how long a cubit really is. People
say that it was the length of your arm from the elbow to the fingertips,
which makes it about 18 ins or about 50 centimetres. So about we
might say about 30 metres by 10 metres by 15 metres which is not
actually as large as I have always envisaged it. The Book of Chronicles
says that the height was 120 cubits, four times the height, but
modern engineers say that this would be impossible at the time.
I suppose it was really the magnificence of the decorations -
the cedar wood paneling inside and the gold covering outside which
was the real display of Solomon's wealth. "What made the temple
such a powerful image is this intense combination of glorious idealism
constantly haunted from the very beginning by man's inability to
live up to it. " So we find that the personal story of Solomon
in the Bible after the temple dedication is a rather sorry one of
gradual decline in the face of God. The Book of Kings reports God's
increasing anger because he "followed other Gods" and
"did not observe what the Lord commanded." Nevertheless,
he did reign over Israel for another 40 years and then he was succeeded
by his son Reheboam. But Solomon ended his life in almost total
disgrace, and almost immediately after his death the two kingdoms
of Israel which had come together under David, split apart again
and the tribes of Israel recommenced fighting one another. There
followed the conquering of the northern Kingdom by the Babylonians
and then later the same thing happened to the Southern kingdom when
it was overrun by the armies of King Neuchadnezzar II of Babylon,
the temple was completely destroyed and most of the people taken
away in exile to Babylon.
It was the worst time in Israel's history and lasted 70 years.
However, many Israelities returned to Jerusalem and they set about
rebuilding the temple. A new temple was built, but destroyed again
this time by the Romans; and later King Herod renovated and added
to the temple and it was Herod's temple that was the one known to
Jesus during his ministry.
I want also to say something about the Ark of the Covenant. We
know it's importance in Jewish worship, so what happened to it.
On the destruction of the temple it to all intents and purposes
disappeared never to be found again. To us today this simply means
this is one of the most intriguing questions of history. The Ark
was not small, it was very visible covered with shining gold, and
it is really important. So its loss is a puzzling one lost in the
ravages of time.. But although officially "lost' there are
some intriguing theories. One is that it is being carefully looked
after in a church in Axum Ethiopia and it is said to have arrived
there about 3000 years ago. This theory is quite persistent, but
no-one is allowed to see the Ark itself.
Then as recently as 14 November 2014, about 9 months ago, on the
Internet at "worldnewsdailyreport.com" there was a news
item with a rather humorously ambiguous heading: "Ethiopia:
Ark of Covenant reported stolen by church authorities". There
is a photo of The Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and
a simply amazingly dramatic story of the theft involving a helicopter
full of a group of terrorists who stormed the buildings. It is also
said to be somewhere underneath the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, but
no-one is allowed down there. But honestly, the Ark dates back to
the time of Moses. Does anyone seriously believe that it could still
exist, and even worse, if anyone put it on display, who would actually
believe in its authenticity? But I need to round off my thoughts
on Solomon.
It seems to me that his main problem could be summed up as pride.
He had the power and the position to do what he did, he also had
more money than he knew what to do with, and he spent it lavishly
on the Temple, his palace, his women and his fine living.
To conclude I want to read you a paragraph from this book. It is
called "The temple of Jerusalem" and it is by Simon Goldhill
the Professor of Greek Literature at the University of Cambridge.
He writes: "The temple can never be described merely in architectural
terms. It has to be imagined - made up - in a swirl of stories.
Its description is always part of writing history. The Temple is
not just a building, but a way of expressing the hopes of religious
idealism, and of constructing a picture of humanity's relation to
the divine. From the Book of Kings onwards, writing about Solomon's
Temple means imagining a building which no longer had any physical
existence, and that is one reason why construction and destruction
have become such potent imaginative symbols for the aspirations
and failings of humanity."
I hope that my very few and very inadequate insights this morning
into this amazing building and its contents will have been of interest
to you and left you with some thoughts about the complexities of
the books in the Bible which are collectively called the Old Testament
or the Jewish scriptures. These are the words which Jesus knew so
well.
And now to the one who by the power at work within us is able to
do far more abundantly than all we can ask or imagine, to God be
glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever
and ever. Amen.
Sermon. First Church, Invercargill. 23/8/2015. Delivered by Alan Richardson
May the words that I speak and the thoughts that we all develop
in our minds be acceptable to you, O Lord, our strength and our
redeemer. Amen.
I want to say something about Pauls Letter to the Ephesians
today. We read earlier a passage close to the end of the letter
which includes that well-known image of the armour of God.
Pauls first visit to Ephesus was near the end of his second
missionary journey. He sailed there from Greece, across the Aegean
Sea to the city of Ephesus which is on the coast of present day
Turkey. Paul was on his return journey to Jerusalem so this first
visit to Ephesus was brief. He went in to the synagogue there and
had a discussion with the Jews. (Acts 18:19) They wanted
him to stay longer but he declined on that occasion, saying, I
will return to you, if God wills. (Acts 18: 21).
And Paul did return on his third and last missionary journey. He
included Ephesus near the beginning of his itinerary, leaving him
much longer to spend there. It seems that he arrived there in the
year 54 AD and this time he stayed for the best part of three years.
So he had time to get to know the city and to set up a small community
of Christians.
The ancient city of Ephesus is still there, though it now lies
in ruins. Pictures I have seen show that the ruins are extensive
and well preserved and clearly well worth a visit. We know that
one person present this morning has been there and there may be
others. There is no modern city named Ephesus but only about two
kilometers away lies the modern city of Selcuk in modern Turkey.
We know that Ephesus was a sea port in the time of Paul, but the
bay is completely silted up and the coast has receded.
Ephesus is of very ancient origin. It dates from the 10th century
BC and was first built as by Greek colonists, who had sailed across
the Aegean Sea to get there. Much later, and much closer to the
time of Pauls visits, the city became under he control of
the Roman Empire and the likely population at its height was about
50,000 which makes it very much the size of Invercargill today.
It was the third largest city in Asia Minor.
If you are into such things as the Seven Wonders of the Ancient
World, then the famous Temple of Artemis (or Diana) was located
in Ephesus. There is a suggestion that the temple of Diana was destroyed
by some invading Goths from the north, but the other persistent
claim is that St John Chrysostom and a Christian mob
(New World Encyclopedia) in 401AD were responsible. No-one knows
for certain At the time John was the Abp of Ephesus. Of course,
the temple was there for all to see during Pauls stay and
there is an interesting account in Acts 19 of Pauls encounter
with a number of people making money from the sale of souvenir statues
of the goddess Diana. That encounter was ended badly for Paul as
the crowds there began to grow in size and they took sides in the
argument and the result could best be called a riot. In fact this
problem resulted in Pauls ending his visit there and he left
to continue his journey.
This city was an influential and wealthy centre, populated first
by Greeks, but later became a part of the Roman Empire, but also
had a Jewish synagogue where Pauls ministry was first centered,
of course. Being both a multicultural city and a Greek city meant
that debate and discussion would be part of the scene.
So Paul continued on his way and some time later again passed by
the coast of Ephesus, but decided to stop, not there, but in Miletus
another port just a few miles south of Ephesus. From there, he sent
a message to the elders in Ephesus and asked them to come down to
meet him. Pauls final rather sad message to them is recorded
in Acts 20:17-35.
Following his time in Ephesus, Paul about three years later wrote
his letter to them, which is the source of our focus today. There
is general agreement that this letter was written about 60 AD, when
he was probably already in prison in Rome. The letter to the Ephesians
is primarily addressed to the Gentile Christians living in the city.
As a character in the whole Bible story, Paul interests me greatly
as the person to be so involved in spreading the gospel. He had
two great advantages for this task. He was, like Jesus, a Jew, but
he was also a Greek and a Roman citizen. So he was at home in Asia
Minor and in Greece and Rome. He was motivated to engage on three
quite extensive and rather successful missionary journeys and to
have been able to engage the interest of local people in the gospel
stories he brought to them. And finally, he churches took root quite
quickly and became quite firmly established.
So remembering that Paul was a Jew, he was one of the original
target group for Jesus message, and also one of those who
did not at first accept that message to the extent that he was present
at the stoning of Stephen and he approved of the killing. But his
conversion was sudden and direct, and after a period of time with
a group of the early Christians, he was quickly prepared to set
off on missionary activity.
The importance of that activity was that he was convinced that
the message of Jesus as he understood it was equally for Jews and
Gentiles, and I suspect that Pauls background in cosmopolitan
Greece had quite a lot to do with that. It is interesting then,
to read, in the Book of Ephesians how this all worked out in practice.
So on Pauls first brief visit the Book of Acts says
First he himself, went into the synagogue and had discussions with
the Jews. In other words, he did not ignore the Jews but went
to the first and I guess that the willingness of the Jews to discuss
with him further formed part of the reason for his later visit.
However, on his second visit it all worked out differently. Acts
19:8-10 says: He entered the synagogue and for three months
he spoke out boldly, and argued persuasively about the Kingdom of
God. When some stubbornly refused to believe and spoke evil of the
way before the congregation, he left them, taking the disciples
with him, and argued daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This
continued for two years so that all the residents of Asia, both
Jews and Greeks heard the word of the Lord. I was reminded
of Jesus saying to a congregation in Nazareth who were not listening
to him, Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophets
home town. (Luke 4: 24.)
The after his third missionary journey, on his return to Jerusalem,
Paul was arrested and ended up in prison in Rome. It was from there
that he wrote many of his letters, including this one to the Ephesians.
Overall, this letter is positive, encouraging, and forward-looking.
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life
worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and
gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every
effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace
(Eph 4: 1-3) Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,
a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Eph 5:1-2). All
very good advice for the modern world, I think.
And he ends with the extended metaphor about the whole armour
of God. It is a great word picture and a complete account
of a very adequate protection available for the spiritually prepared
Christian. I have to say that for me the image is very dated and
has lost some of its thrust, and I am also aware that the Bible
has a number of military images which have lost some of their relevance
for us today.
I thought I might end this address by adding a comment about how
I think the letters in the Bible are profitably read today. The
first point to note is that they are letters, written by specific
people and addressed to a specific group of recipients, known to
the author. In this case Paul had come to know these people in Ephesus
well over his three years of ministry there. We therefore need to
know something about the authors circumstances, and the social
and political lives of the recipients. We are also reading a piece
almost of private correspondence, intended for the Corinthians,
but not primarily for us, 2000 years later, at all. The reason that
it has relevance for us at all is that the human condition does
not change to the extent that the social surroundings have changed.
This means that we can read ourselves into positions similar to
those of the Ephesians and we can benefit from that.
On those rare occasions that we receive a letter today, we also
sit down and read it all in one sitting, and then maybe go back
and re-read bits or all of it again later. It is this overall reading
which I think is important, and I recommend you do that with this
letter sometime. It is a very good read.
Rev. Ivan Smith
BA BD Diploma in Theology JP.
I pray, Heavenly Father,
the message I present for you this morning reinforce in the minds
and hearts of these your people their abiding and eternal association
with you, with Your son Christ Jesusand with all who shared and
share stillin Hislife and work.
We use them every day and we think with them, silently, inside our
heads. They make pictures for us inside our heads. Bythem we structure
our life and our world. With them we organise our work and recreation,
with them we make and break relationships and what are they? They
are
thinking and spoken
words.
In addition, we scribble
on paper, an envelope or type on the internet and hey-presto people
close at hand and anywhere in the world can read it and understand.
Thewords we vocalise, scribble and type: SPEAK.
People in the construction and transport industry communicate with
each other by way of a radio transmitter. The telephone, similarlywe
talk and, as if by magic, we have a conversation.
Words spoken and written, then, are unique to human kind. They are
, without question, our most valuable tool. With them we have invented
every other tool. With them we are able to vocalize ideas that materialize
in our minds. With them we are able to be artistically, culturally,
mathematically and structurally creative.
Words and the activities they initiate not only hold us to every
day chores but they can also initiate new pathways in the mind that
change the way we do things, change the way we think about things.
Indeed, words and the ideas they vocalize grow the mind of human-kind
continually. Without words we could not be who we are nor could
we be what we are for in every human endeavour words give expression
to ideas; ideas that create new perspectives, renewed vision With
words we are able to foster co-operation and good-will. With words
we have been able to establish rules, time-tables, rendezvous. With
words we have been able to build in most every mind an understanding
of truth and good-will, of justice and fair-play. With words we
have developed exchange systemswith people in every country in the
world; exchange systems that
encourage co-operation and trust from which every one can benefit.
Words, then, they are the creative foundation of the world and they
are the foundation blocks of human creativity and culture.
Speak and that spoken materializes, Speak and that spoken has immediate
effect and once spoken cannot be unspoken. Fittingly, then ,it was
a word, a sound, an assimilation of elements of an explosive nature
by which our Universeand this world of our was created. God spoke
and having spoken the world materialized.
SimilarlyGod spoke and a kaleidoscope of chemical and atomic assimilationstook
place that created all the living fauna and flora that grows and
inhabits the world. And happily, we belong to this tradition that
speaks of that creativity. Happily we belong to this tradition that
speaks of that "Word" that made the world and the universe
in which this world spins. We belong to a tradition that holds sacred,
words spoken of as from God Himselfand His appointed messengers.
Words spoken by Moses, Isaiah, Jesus and Jesus'sfollowers; to name
a tiny few. Words Holy in their authorship and sacred for those
of uswho work to initiate an enlightened cultural environment that
upholds the value of life and the right to life for all the living.
And thankfully, we, in
this Judaeo/Christian tradition have a long association with the
Word in Creation. We have a long association with the movement of
the Spiritin wind and fire and the command to speak and to act doing
whatever is required to keep the world and its living breathing
fauna and flora alive to the Glory of God. And infused with this
Spirit we are required to do stuff that challenges us , frightens
us; championing the cause for people orphaned from their society,
championing the cause for justice for people unable to seek justice
for themselves as Sir Peter Williams Q.C has done all his life.
Championing the cause for life for those not yet born as Dr Norman
McLean , Father Vaughn Leslie, our very own Reverend Nyalle Paris
and a number of concerned citizens here in Invercargill are doing
and doing at the cost of being demonised by long time friends.
Remember Moses, Jeremiah
and Ezekieleach one an ordinary man; able to speak like we do between
friends and family but after their initiation by the Lord's Spiritable
to say and do things that were remarkable.
Remember Peter at the Crucifixion cowering along the walls of Golgotha
, so frightened he denied knowing his lord and then, infused with
the Spirit, spoke and in speaking gave new energy and momentum to
the task of establishing the Kingdom of heaven.
Indeed, being imbued with the Spiritspoken of in our scripture is
much more than feeling pleasure in the company of the Lord. Being
imbued with the Spiritdrives people in our tradition to speak for
the Lord and to act for the Lord as the disciples did, each losing
their lives to the lions.
Being imbued with the spirit drove the Church fathers to engage
in wonderful intellectual gymnastics to stave off each and every
crack-pot idea that surfaced relating to the life and work of our
lord.
Imbued with the spirit Luther ,cowering from demons for months in
hismonastic cell, emerged to nail a listof ideas that needed to
be discussed by the institutional Church. An act that put his very
life at riskrequiring the protection of powerful political allies.
Imbued with the Spirit Dr Martin Luther King Junior led and inspired
a wonderful movement that sought to gain political and civil rights
for hispeople in America. A fight that cost him his life.
Imbued with the Spirit Desmond Tutu and many other Bishopsin Africa
fight for political And civil rights for their people: a fight that
has cost many bishops their lives.
Our democracies, the major ones in particular, America, Britain,
Germany and France, throughout the 20th century and to the present
have consistently deployed their military might in the hope that
they can defeat Barbaric and tyrannical regimes and bring peace
to the people those regimes terrorize.
Inexplicably then, we in the Church, and in the world, we who are
governed with democratic perspectives, have been grasped by the
Holy Spirit; and by way of this Holy Spirit we have access to the
mind of that "Word" spoken of in Creation and to the mind
of Christ JesusHimself; a mind and a person who upheld all of the
injunctions spoken of by the Lord God in the Jewish scripture and
who at Pentecost filled Hisdisciples with the Holy Spirit equipping
them with the wisdom, courage and determination to continue doing
the work of His Father, working toward establishing the Kingdom
of Heaven and establishing it throughout this world of ours, and,
as the Reverend Heather emphasises in her address to you on the
24th of May, doing what we can by following her 19statements as
we speak and work in our homes, in our communities and at our work
and recreation.
And, this we are doing still, imperfectly, but we are trying. We
have embraced that "Creative Word at Creation" we have
embraced those rules of behaviour that seek to ensure peace, justice,
harmony and good-will for everyone and thankfully these Creative
words are at the heart of our democratic processes today. These
"Creative Words" are at the heart of our legal and justice
system today and those Creative Words remain stilla touch stone
for modern day democratic behavioural standards.
Happily, then, this Judea-Christian tradition in which we are embodied
was founded by an audacious claim made by the Lord God at Mt Sinai
and Peter at Pentecost that the Word at Creation is embodied in
the writings of our scripture and embodied personally in Jesus the
Nazarene and embodied severally in each and every believer both
Christian and Jewish; all of us in a covenant relationship with
this "God" this "Word" and acknowledged as His
children. His family, His disciples.
An audacious claim that the "Word" at Creation isfundamentally
essential to our humanity so much so that we in the Church make
the claim that the "Creative Word" at Creation, spoken
of in Scripture and at the heart of our democracies holds within
it the very profile of our DNA, and, furthermore, that in that "Word
spoken" is profiled the very format of survival for all life
forms including our own.
Thisword spoken throughout
our scriptural heritage, then, and modified over time to retain
its humane perspectives is sacred to us and it is sacred to us because
they have, for us and for humanity generally and for the world as
a whole, saving value; absolutely. Amen
Sunday, 7th June, 2015
1 Samuel 8:4-11, 16-20, Mark 3:20-35
Who are my brothers and sisters?
We are all members of a family. Some families are loving, some
are quirky, some are dysfunctional, some are abusive, and some are
a combination of those things. Some of our families are close and
some are distant. No matter what type of family we have, we each
have a role to play within it. Maybe we are the Peacemaker, the
Pretty One, the Black Sheep, the Smart One, the Religious One, the
Baby, and so on. But what happens when the Black Sheep starts acting
like the Smart One? Or the Peacemaker becomes the Artistic One?
The delicate system of roles is shaken and the other players are
then put in the position of trying to put the person back in their
role or adjust to the new role that is being played. It's not hard
to guess which way we usually choose to go?
Fear of the new role usually wins out, and people often try to
sabotage the fledgling before anything permanent can happen. We
think we know what is best for the other person because really,
it is what is best for us. For example, take any attempts at self-improvement
- like losing weight, quitting smoking, gaining further education,
or going to a counsellor - and there will be people who will not
be encouraging because it makes them look at the improvements they
themselves need to make and aren't. They fear change in their lives,
so why should they support the changes in yours? It takes a strong
person to take the step and become who God created us to be and
to continue to make positive changes when it puts personal relationships
in jeopardy. This is where some of our so-called family feuds come
from - with someone asserting their new-found sense of identity
and the rest of the family sticking to what they feel comfortable
with.
I found it interesting to read in the paper at the time, of a family
member, wrapped up in a family feud with one of those who had drowned
in Foveaux Strait on the Easy Rider, saying that family feuds are
a waste of time and effort, and should be resolved quickly, because
you never know when one or some of you might die. Because, then
the chance to say sorry and resolve the situation is forever lost.
When we look at Jesus coming back to his hometown where his family
lived in our reading from the Gospel according to Mark today, people
were crowding him to see if he would heal them. While some others
were talking about him, saying "He's gone mad," and "He
has Beelzebul in him. It is the chief of the demons who gives him
the power to drive them out." People feared what they did not
understand. Jesus' family tried to restrain him, but Jesus faced
the crowd. Telling them that he was called by God to preach and
teach and heal, and that was his mission. He knew his role, but
it was not necessarily the role that his family or hometown thought
he should be undertaking. God was doing a new thing in Jesus. God
was expanding the concept of what it meant to be bonded to others
the way we are in a family, and Jesus called attention to this.
God knows what is best for Jesus and for us, not the other way around.
When Jesus declared, "Whoever does what God wants them to
do is my brother, my sister and my mother." It challenged the
Jewish culture he had grown up in. Saying that you are no longer
close to God just because you were born into a Jewish household;
you no longer just take care of your own kind; instead, your family
is being extended to anyone who does the will of God. This threatened
their whole cultural and social structure. However, it certainly
broadened the margins and challenged those who took that relationship
with God for granted.
Today, it challenges us to look beyond our walls, our denominational
lines, our socio-economic status, and our faith to see who our brothers
and sisters and mothers. God calls us to expand our family in ways
that are just as shocking as it was to the Gospel of Mark's first-century
audience.
We should be prepared to expect this from God, because we know that
what we are called to do by God, is often shocking, or alarming
and something we might not of thought of before.
In today's Old Testament lesson from First Samuel, when the people
requested an earthly king to rule them rather than God, Samuel is
put in a difficult position. The essence of this request is a rebellion
against God, but the Israelites want to be "like other nations."
How often do we want the same thing? We want to be "normal,"
we want to have what other people have and we measure our worth
by earthly standards. We lose our focus and stop doing the will
of God. Brothers turn against brothers, sisters against sisters,
mothers against mothers. We get caught up in wanting approval from
others and are jealous of what they have, which can leave us empty
and seemingly worthless. We forget that we have value because God
loves us. Jesus understood this, as he kept his focus on following
God's will and was clear about it, despite what his family or the
crowds wanted from him.
It's easier said than done, of course.
Anthony de Mello tells a story that reminds us of this:
'A man traversed land and sea to check out for himself the Master's
extraordinary fame. "What miracles has your Master worked?"
he asked a disciple. Who answered, "Well, there are miracles
and miracles. In your land it is regarded as a miracle if God does
what someone prays for. In our country it is regarded as a miracle
if someone does the will of God."
We may smile at the story, but it speaks of the truth. We might
wonder nowadays why people cannot discern God's will for the world
and yet we have Jesus demonstrating God's way of love, but because
this threatened the power base of the Pharisees, they could not,
or would not, see the good being enacted in other people's lives,
they could only react out of the threat to themselves. Jesus shared
our humanity to show that God is not a distant God enshrined in
legalism but rather a God who embraces the hurts and suffering people
of the world. There is a beautiful story which I know you've probably
heard before, but it's a great story: a little girl was late home
from school and her worried parents questioned her as to why so
late? She explained that she had been with a friend who had dropped
her favourite toy and it had smashed to bits on the footpath. "Oh",
said her father "so you stopped to help her pick up the pieces?"
"No" said the child, "I stopped to help her cry."
Through Jesus, God stopped to help the world cry - to share the
pain of the world, to demonstrate that evil does not have the last
word...and Jesus says to us - whoever does the will of God is my
brother and sister and mother.
Doing the will of God often means leaving our comfort zones. As
Christians, our Baptismal Covenant demands that we lead a life that
follows God by continuing the apostles' teaching and fellowship,
in the breaking of bread, in the prayers, in resisting evil, in
repenting and returning to the Lord, in proclaiming by word and
example the Good News of God Kingdom in Christ, seeking and serving
Christ for all people, loving our neighbour as ourselves, striving
for justice and peace among all people, and respecting the dignity
of every human being. This is not an easy road to journey! Yet we
readily answer, "I will, with God's help."
We see on our TV's every night the struggle between good and evil,
the struggle of oppressed people for freedom, of starving people
crying out for food, of landless people pleading for a place to
call their own, of young girls culturally abused and tortured crying
out for justice, lonely and distressed people hoping for an act
of kindness, a word of hope. Who are my brothers, my sisters, my
mother? Jesus says these are our family.
These are the people we need to help and care for without counting
the cost, when we answer God's call. So, where are we - you and
me - in all of that? Are we open to hearing Jesus address us personally
and as a community of faith? Are we prepared to risk following where
he leads?
We know we cannot do this alone and we have Jesus' single-minded
focus on God's will as an example for us all. We need to have God's
help to us follow the call of Jesus in order to be the people we
were created to be.
As the blessing from St. Clare says; May we go forth, to "live
without fear: your Creator has made you holy, has always protected
you, and loves you as a mother. Go in peace to follow the good road,
and may God's blessing be with you always."
Sunday, 31st May, 2015 - Trinity Sunday
Isaiah 6:1-8, John 3:1-17
Born of water and the Spirit
Some of the boldest scenes of worship in scripture have to do with
people who happen upon the glory of God and can make no reasonable
response other than to participate in it. People like Isaiah in the
temple, when the overwhelming presence of God enveloped him, and those
people who unexpectedly spoke foreign words in the wake of the flaming
tongues of Pentecost.
We are reminded of this participation in the praise of God every
time we gather for communion and speak or sing the words of great
thanksgiving....in the passage that says
and so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven
we praise your name and join in their unending hymn, singing, "Holy,
holy, holy, Lord....", for three times over we declare that
God is holy.
So today, called Trinity Sunday, is the day when the church celebrates
not an event, but a doctrine which is the product of many theological
debates in the early centuries of the Christian church, debates
that resulted in the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed, the founding
doctrine of the Church. They affirm the nature of One God in three
persons, our Triune God. The debate was undertaken by the early
church because it was seen as crucial that the relationship between
God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit could be described in an understandable
way, a way that we can all understand, even today. That's what the
first half of the year in our Christian calendar has been about
- God's intervention in our human history in the person of Jesus
Christ, whose life continues and energises us with the power of
the Holy Spirit. Today then is an opportunity to pause, and to reflect
on how these events give meaning to the present and the future,
how they can give us the guidance we need through the ordinary as
well as the extraordinary experiences of our lives. Of how we too
are enabled to join in that unending hymn, when we sing "Holy,
holy, holy Lord".
It was certainly a vision of the holiness of God that Isaiah experienced
in the Temple:
..."I saw the Lord," Isaiah writes..."sitting on
a throne, high and exalted, and his robe filled the whole temple",
surrounded by multi-winged creatures which were standing around.
The sounds of the creature's voices made the whole temple shake
and the temple was filled with smoke. If we had a vision like that,
our reaction would probably have been similar to Isaiah's, maybe
of sheer terror or abject awe - also realising that God is an awesome
king, in front of whom Isaiah is ashamed, saying, "There is
no hope for me, I am doomed!" Isaiah feels small and insignificant,
crushed and lost for words as the vision continues. Surrounded by
such holiness, his unworthiness surfaces ..."Every word that
passes my lips is sinful, and I live in the midst of sinful people;
yet I have seen the King, the Lord God Almighty."
Isaiah, who sees himself as sinful, needs to be forgiven and rendered
guiltless in order to speak on behalf of God, so the picturesque
vision continues as he is purified - touched with a divine, transforming
fire - when one of the seraphim touches his lips with a live coal.
Finally God asks "Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?"
and Isaiah answered - "I will go. Send me!" His newly
forgiven and liberated state allows him to answer with confidence
to God's calling. He is now free of guilt and sin so is enabled
to serve God as a prophet to his people.
If you think about it, God is not actually described in this event,
although the strange and bizarre symbols of God's holy presence
certainly are, just as they were in the encounter Moses had with
God in the 'burning bush'. The mystery of God is preserved, if we
take Isaiah's vision as an example, because for the people of the
Hebrew Scriptures, God was indescribable.
When we turn to the reading for today from the Gospel according
to John, there are no temples or strange creatures, no flames or
smoke here, no, just the opposite - a quiet, dark evening chosen
by Nicodemus as the time to visit Jesus. For the most part we see
Jesus surrounded by ordinary people, but here, surprisingly, we
see him in contact with one of the religious aristocracy of Jerusalem.
Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel, member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme
Jewish court, comes to Jesus by night. Commentators have suggested
that we must not condemn Nicodemus for coming in the night as it
was an amazing wonder that, with his background, he came to Jesus
at all. It is a miracle of grace that Nicodemus overcame his prejudices
and his upbringing and his whole view of life to come to Jesus to
seek a better understanding of what Jesus was teaching.
It is as though John, in writing the gospel, allows us to eavesdrop
on the conversation that took place between Jesus and Nicodemus.
As Jesus teaches him, in a private lesson about the difference of
being born of water, from a mother's womb, which is how we are all
born and being reborn through the gift of the Spirit, blowing into
our lives like the wind, which is something else entirely. We may
not actually see, but we see its effect, in the trees and landscapes
of our lives. So it is with the Spirit, we may not see or feel the
wind when we are re-born but we see the effect of the Spirit in
the spiritual landscapes of our lives. We may discover that we are
enlightened, empowered or enable to see and do things we have never
done before. We too are born of water and the Spirit, it is the
way we are able to be effective and lively members of the church,
serving in a variety of ways, using the gifts and talents we have
received in order to serve a followers of Jesus Christ.
So we have heard of two very different pictures of God in action.
There shouldn't be any surprise that Isaiah experienced the vision
of God in the temple - for God was expected to be there. But for
Nicodemus to experience God outside the temple was most surprising.
So we can also find the mystery of God's awesome presence in the
temple being unpacked to reveal a human presence whose actions and
words were prompted by love and compassion.
Jesus revealed the God who wants to make humanity more human...not
the God of
Isaiah's vision who seems so distanced from our human experience.
Jesus revealed a God who wants to enter people's hearts so that
they can reflect and reveal the gift of love and compassion that
Jesus unwrapped with his life.
So, when we gather around the Lord's Table, which we will do in
two weeks time - we believe that as we celebrate this sacrament
together, that God is truly present with through Jesus Christ and
the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity. A writer has put this way
'Holy
Communion is that very special time when we receive Christ. He enters
our minds so we can think his thoughts; he floods our emotions so
we can love each other as he loved us...' To which we could add,
he empowers us with his Spirit to respond to his call to follow
him.
There are many people who ache to have the gift of love unwrapped
and revealed in the midst of their brokenness...perhaps today is
the day for each one of us to hear God's call anew to discern and
respond to these aches.
On this Trinity Sunday we hear about the God who spoke to Isaiah
- sending him away with burning lips to do God's work, to prophecy
to the coming of a new age and a Messiah who would be a suffering
servant and we have eavesdropped on Jesus speaking to Nicodemus,
hearing about the possibility of being reborn by the Spirit. Words
from both these events tell us about those who have experienced
God in three very special ways: as awesome; as compassionate, and
as empowering.
Trinity Sunday therefore is a celebration of those who have experienced
God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the process of having their
lives turned around, re-created and re-born by the power and the
effect and the work of the Spirit. God's own Spirit which bringing
new life into the world. The same Spirit that was in Jesus Christ,
now comes as God's gift to us - and with the gift, the call to be
Christ to others. To follow Jesus example, to serve others before
ourselves, in his name.
That is the challenge - are we up for it?
Sunday 24th May, 2015
Acts 2:1-21, John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15
The Spirit is poured out
On this Pentecost Sunday it is an opportune time to consider the
impact of the sending of the Holy Spirit that was poured out over
the thousands of people gathered in Jerusalem all those years ago.
We may well consider what the Holy Spirit really means to us and
in what ways does it act in our lives? What has been our experience
of the Holy Spirit, and in what ways do we see the Holy Spirit in
others?
The Holy Spirit is often called the Counsellor or the Helper.
These are helpful descriptions as they ring true with what has happened
in my experience and in the lives of many other Christians. There
is that ever present acknowledgement that in our lives there is
an unseen Helper who is from God and who is God.
Quite often talk of the Holy Spirit focuses on the unusual; the
exceptional, the wildly flamboyant and sometimes the almost unbelievable.
People tend to limit the activity of the Spirit to special, exuberant
spiritual experiences; like talking in tongues, or rapturous moments
of spiritual insight or prophecy. By doing this, we can miss the
prime importance of the normal, loving activity of the Spirit in
our lives, and through our lives to others. As a result of an over-emphasis
on the flamboyant by some, there are wonderful "salt of the
earth" Christians and faithful church folk who are inclined
to think that they have missed out on something and may even feel
guilty because they cannot recount their own extravagant spiritual
experience.
Yet the rest of us know and treasure those people who daily in
their lives share with others the beautiful fruits of the Spirit:
of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control, along with the gifts and talents they
employ. Such folk touch lives around them with the greatest fruit
of all: which is love.
In contrast, among those who claim remarkable Spiritual experiences
are sometimes found some (note: "some" not "all")
who appear to bear very little of the fruits of the Spirit. Their
lives are not a witness to a love that can be identified as the
kind of love Jesus exhibited. Indeed, among the self-proclaimed
"spirit filled" people, we have possibly met some of the
most arrogant and insensitive, egotistical yet insecure, dogmatic
and maybe frightened, characters in our faith communities.
Those who only connect the Holy Spirit with the spectacular, are
probably missing the point. The majority of the Spirit's works are
done quietly. The Spirit is our Counsellor, our Helper, our Enabler,
the one who resources our ministries. The Spirit is the one who
unobtrusively works in us and through us day by day, among the many
basic activities of life. Without the Holy Spirit present in our
lives, helping us to carry out our responsibilities and our commitments
with the church, we would be unable to do anything.
Much of the activity of the Spirit can be taken for granted though
and the fruits of the Spirit are accepted as commonplace and not
acknowledged for what they are. The appreciation of them we have
when we first receive them seems to wears off. Though a new convert
is keenly aware of this quiet work of the Spirit. The newcomer sees
it through the action of receiving the Spirit and wants to get a
part of that action. One such person, who had informally attended
worship for a few weeks, said: "It's like looking at a most
beautiful painting but being left on the outside. I want to find
out how I can get in there?"
We do take much for granted. Its like when I lived in Dunedin,
in one of the houses provided by Knox College for theology students,
I was in Grandview Crescent with a splendid view of the harbour
on one side of the house and Mt Cargill on the other side. I loved
watching marine activity in the harbour as well as the clouds rolling
over Mt Cargill and descending on the city. I used to get especially
excited when Mt Cargill was capped with snow, having moved to Dunedin
from the North Island, and to me the view was "magic".
When I arrived in this setting, I was ecstatic, and just wanted
to stand for long periods by a window and drink in the scene. But
after a while, as life rolled on, and the busy affairs of home,
activities at Knox Church and University life occupied my time I
started to take the view for granted. Some days barely glancing
at it. Only when visitors stood and exclaimed their delight, were
we reminded of the beauty to which I had become so accustomed.
So it is with the Helper, the Spirit of God. We tend to get used
to the ongoing, quiet beauty of the Holy Spirit at work in ordinary
lives around us, especially within the church. We start to take
it all for granted.
The Holy Spirit is graciously and unobtrusively busy all over
the place, even if we are note in the habit of taking notice. It
is the quiet Helper, the unpretentious Friend who makes it possible
for us to do all that we do.
For the Helper is quietly at work:
in the sincere concern of a friend for our health and wellbeing,
in those who take a stand against injustice,
in the grace of those who go the second mile,
in the inner resources we discover in times of crisis,
in those who dare to go against the tide of popular opinion,
in the sanity that enables us to admit when we are wrong,
in the resilience of people who fight for the rights of others,
in those who surrender some of their rights for the larger good,
in times when we share the Gospel in spite of our inadequacy,
in finding surprising joy in unexpected places,
in taking on responsibilities that we once thought were beyond us,
in refusing to let the greed of society take over our lives,
in giving thanks always, even in the hard times of life,
in rising above past failures and putting past hurts behind us,
in finding a central core of peace in the midst of turmoil,
in daring to laugh in situations where some would curse,
in knowing ourselves to be children of God, as brothers and sisters
in Christ,
in knowing ourselves loved, even when we have been very unlovable.
That is just touching on the edge of the Holy Spirit story. We
could go on and on, reflecting on the quiet, pervasive ministry
of the Holy Spirit in our midst; that inspiring Lover whose fruits
we tend to take for granted. It is only by the Holy Spirit that
Christian congregations are able to stay alive and to give themselves
in love to the world for which Christ died.
As far as I know, there is only one test for the gift of the Spirit:
and that is Love. It has to be the Jesus kind of love. Never forgetting,
even for one second, that the most Spirit-filled person of all time
was Jesus. Love was his supreme gift. Love is the only infallible
sign of the Spirit. For me, for you, for believers around the world,
it is either love or be damned. For without love, we are damned.
As the Scriptures proclaim, the greatest gift of all is the Spirit
of love. Where love is, quiet Pentecostal miracles happen, and occasionally
spectacular miracles occur. But the spectacular is not more important
than the subtle work of the Spirit.
On this Pentecost Sunday let us give thanks for both quiet and
spectacular, but most of all for the fruits of the Spirit and most
especially for love.
First Church, Invercargill. 10/5/2015. Sermon by Alan Richatdson.
I want today in my address to you to begin more or less where I
concluded when I last led worship here, on 22nd March. So this is
a brief reminder of the sermon I gave on that occasion. That day,
I ended as I normally like to, by leaving you with a question for
you to consider. I'm glad to say that some of you did just that,
and then spoke to me about it later. Very briefly, I concluded that
day by asking you the question "What is the Gospel that we
have to proclaim in 2015?" This question was intended to link
with that portion of the end of Mark's gospel when he wrote: (Mark
16:15) "Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to
the whole creation." These words are sometimes referred to
as the 'missionary imperative' and they were the words that have
motivated a great deal of the missionary activity of our church
over the centuries.
I also partly answered my own question by suggesting in that last
sermon that the gospel I would want to proclaim in 2015 would be
a gospel of peace and I pointed out that we have many ethnic groups
living with us in this land who look, speak and worship differently
from ourselves so living in peace here is in my view likely to get
more complex as the years go by and to require quite large degrees
of tolerance from all of us.
This time, I want to get away from war and peace between nations,
and concentrate on peace amongst religious group in particular.
Now is the time to consider what actions may be required, to in
order to promote a view of lasting peace among different religious
cultures here and in the world beyond us.
So I thought that first I should outline for us some facts and figures
about the diversity of religions now represented in New Zealand.
I began earlier, in fact, with the children and we ended up with
a group of candles here all representing some other Christian denominations
in this immediate neighbourhood and I have hoped in this graphic
way to partly illustrate my theme, 'different candles, one light".
But I want to go beyond that now into some possibly much more difficult
territory.
That territory is called 'religious diversity.' And it is dealt
with in this book, which I have borrowed from the Hewitson Library
in Dunedin. Just very vreifly, it centres on the challenges of religious
diversity in Brimingham in England where there is frequently a tense
relationship amongst the members and adherents of various religious
groups which breaks out from time to time into violence of some
kind.
So I need to turn to New Zealand to talk about religious diversity
here. I will not bore you with many figures, but I think you might
be surprised to know that at the last census there were counted
in this country approximately 3000 Baha'i, 7000 Jews, 19,000 Sikhs,
46,000 Muslims, 52,000 Buddhists, 90,000 Hindus. There are also
1.6 million people who declared themselves to have no religion,
and just 1.9 million or just under 50% of New Zealanders now call
themselves Christians. Of these, about 300,000 are Presbyterians.
Now, now it might surprise you to learn that all those religions
I have listed, include somewhere in their scriptures words which
are the same or very similar to what we call the Golden Rule which
the Bible records as the words of Jesus, though they are of much
more ancient origin. The actual words are written on this poster
which I have here which includes 13 of the major religions of the
world. The poster was published by the Golden Rule Society which
is doing its best to publicise world wide this simple fact that
if we all actually followed what our scriptures tell us, the world
might be a more peaceful place. The sentiment, then, is not the
problem, what the world lacks is the commitment to follow the words.
Just a reminder here, The Golden Rule is in Matthew 7:12 "In
everything, do to others as you would have them do to you."
Now if we want to think about peace amongst religious groups, we
need to begin with ourselves. and just remember for a moment that
denominational relations (i.e. within Christianity) have historically
followed a rather difficult path. The Christian faith generally
has shown itself prone to division, not unity at all. And so we
really must remind ourselves also of Jesus prayer as recorded in
John 17:21 "That they may all be one." And yet the first
signs of division in the church are recorded in the Bible itself.
Fortunately, recent years have seen a great deal to heal the wounds
of division in the church, but the long term track record on peace,
as far as the church is concerned is not, in my mind at least, a
very inspiring one. So today, this symbolic candle lighting which
I did with the children is our sign of goodwill here, that we recognise
that we are together in our commitment to worship and we also acknowledge
the validity for them of what they are doing in their churches this
morning. Notice that I have not said we have to agree with everything
they do or even say. The unity in my mind is a unity of purpose,
and that purpose is worship.
But I found an very useful example of what was really in my mind
on the Internet in the website of the Australian and New Zealand
Unitarian Universalist Association, and as I delved in there I went
to the site for one of their congregations, one in Adelaide, where
the minister is Rev. Rob MacPherson. And I found there the text
of an address he had given at a public gathering in his church in
Adelaide on 18 December 2014. I need also to provide the context
in which he was talking. It was immediately after the attack in
Sydney in the Lindt Café - a time then when, as he put it,
"hate, division and revenge would have been uppermost in the
minds and hearts of many people."
I read his address with growing pleasure at finding someone had
said so many things that I, too, believe, and I want to share them
with you. To cut a long story short, later that same day, I emailed
Rob to ask permission to use parts of his address for this sermon
- permission which he kindly and readily gave me - and this is how
his address began.
"Just last Sunday, a beautiful thing happened at our church
- I wish you all could have seen it. We held a service in which
Jews, Christians, Sikhs, Baha?'i?, Unitarians, and Muslims came
together to worship as one body - an interfaith service. This service
was followed by a shared meal, during which people of these different
faiths broke bread together and shared fellowship.
"Guess what happened? No one died. No one made threats or was
threatened. No one feared for their safety. No voices were raised,
except in laughter. The peaceful fellowship we enjoyed that day
was more than cordiality, more than the politeness that goes with
the religious practice of welcoming the stranger at your table.
It had more to do with really seeing that, as the poet Rumi said,
'our lamps may be different but the light is the same'. And so we
could let the diversity of our faiths just be, together knowing
that abundant plurality is how God actually expresses [himself]
in this infinite, expanding, and varied creation. And for a brief
time, we looked at the light, and we saw that it was good."
Rob continued: "What is that light known to all, the light
that shines from so many different lamps of faith? Every religious
or spiritual tradition that ever has been, has known it, though
it is refracted differently. Here is but one way of putting it:
'Love your enemies. Do good to those that hate you. Pray for those
that persecute you.' We may know it as the Golden Rule, and its
golden light shines through the lamps of every faith." (in:
Quest Autumn 2015. p.10) [www.media.wix.com]
So what I want to do now is a symbolic act. I want to light two
more candles here. I want to light one of them as we remember the
many faiths who meet and worship in this country and one for all
those 1.6 million people who are not willing to claim allegiance
to any religion, in recognition of their right to their point of
view, but also to remember that the same light we share here, is
also available for them to share with us should the need arise.
This symbol will show that they would be welcome here to share our
fellowship whoever they are, and I suspect many of them once declared
themselves to be Presbyterian.
[Alan lights the candles now]
So now we have one candle here for all the Christians we talked
about earlier, one which is for us a symbol of our recognition of
the right of all other religions to be here and to worship their
god in their way, and the third is a symbolic invitation to all
non-believers to share the light with us.
If, as seems to be the case, New Zealand wishes to be known as a
place which welcomes people of other races and cultures regardless
of their religion, then we need in our welcome to ensure that we
follow the Golden Rule ourselves by example so that is the standard
we expect from others.
John wrote in this gospel (John 1:5) "The light shines in the
darkness and the darkness does not overcome it." And "Jesus
said: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you should
also love one another" (John 15:34).
Invercargill is somewhat removed from clear signs of religious diversity
in this city, and New Zealand is clearly blessed with a generally
peaceful life in an atmosphere of tolerance. The signs are much
more obvious in Auckland where one in four people was not even born
in this country but in China. We would do well to consider a much
more diverse future and maybe seek the wisdom to adjust out thinking
and out theology to cater for the time when we are asked or maybe
even told, that we need to accommodate more obviously the needs
of others in this neighbourhood.
May God help us in this task.
First Church, Invercargill. 22/3/2015. Sermon by Alan Richardson
The Children's talk this morning was the introduction to this sermon.
I spoke briefly to the children about the ancient and once important
city of Nineveh, now in ruins, and the fact that it was well known
in the Biblical times, in relation to Jonah and Jesus in the Old
and New Testaments. I also located Nineveh for the children in a
Bible atlas.
Jonah 3: 1-3, 3: 1-5 Luke 11: 29-32
To save us a little time, I have used to Children's talk as the
introduction to this sermon this morning. I want now to expand on
it as little as far as time allows.
You do not need me to tell you that this part of the Middle East
is exactly where fighting is happening together with terrible loss
of life, of livelihood and historical artifacts. So Easter 2015
is to be celebrated at atime of war. Today it is not my intention
to allocate blame, and I hope as far as possible to keep out of
politics. Neither the journalist nor I wanted to talk about the
fighting. It is the destruction of archeological sites that have
really riled me in recent days and week. I wonder, in this context,
whether you saw and read this excellent article in the last Saturday's
Southland Times (which I have here) also on the current situation
in the area, and I hope you have read it. It was written by a journalist
with the London Times newspaper with a rather different final purpose
from mine but it is very good on facts. Regrettably destruction
like this is a common result of conflict, but the overall loss to
the history of humankind on this occasion is very serious. There
are just so many things we could say about the situation there and
about the human suffering endured especially by all the women and
children. Their cry for peace is heard more loudly every day - it
does not matter which side they are on - the suffering is the same.
And of course, the world in general must always give our priority
to attention to the human suffering
So my focus today is on the geographical area in which the current
fighting is taking place. I have said a few things to the children
about Nineveh, but Nineveh is only part of it. After all, we might
say that city has been a heap of ruins for some time already. You
hardly need me to tell you that the countries of the Middle East
are vulnerable to war and takeover. And history of the area seems
littered with stories about them. In Jonah's time in Old Testament
history Nineveh was under threat. It is not known in what year Jonah
saved Nineveh, some people guess about 760 BC. But the city avoided
destruction on that occasion. However, Nineveh was finally totally
destroyed in 612 BC and never rebuilt. This proud city of the Assyrian
Empire was overcome by an invasion as a result of the growth of
the Persian Empire.
However, all the cities down the Tigris River there are very important
to the history of the Old Testament, and they all became very early
sites for the establishment of Christian congregations following
the first Easter. The story of early Christian mission to the area
is an interesting one, but is usually ignored by us since the development
of the Western church has been due to Paul's mission to the gentiles,
at first into Asia Minor (Turkey) then Greece and Rome)
The cities of Mosul and Tikrit are of particular interest to us
at the moment. Mosul in reality became the replacement for Nineveh.
The new city was planted just on the opposite river bank from its
predecessor. Mosul is today a city probably about 600,000 and possibly
many more people. The university there used to have 30,000 students
and was Iraq's second largest academic institution. It was closed
down 6 months ago. Thousands of students have fled to Kurdistan
and the university's continued closure raises doubts about the future
of higher education there.
The city of Mosul also contained the tomb of the prophet Jonah.
This is another reason why we read a little of Jonah's story today.
This shrine of course is of ancient origin. Whether it is genuine
in the sense that it ever contained the actual body of Jonah or
not is irrelevant in today's context. What is important is that
Jonah, who tradition says saved the city of Nineveh from destruction,
was considered worthy of a memorial for his efforts. The tomb there
has been revered by both Christian and Muslim, but it was blown
up on 24 July 2014 and reduced to a heap of rubble. It was officially
dated at the 8th century BC. It is not the only religious memorial
to have had this treatment. Among others is the tomb of the Prophet
Daniel. But many places of Christian worship have been destroyed
and then there was an attack on the library in Mosul because of
the historic works held there. About 8000 historic old books and
manuscripts have been destroyed, among other things. Of course,
they are invaluable and irreplaceable.
And then of course there was the archeological museum where we saw
the contents actually being destroyed. The filmed sequence we saw
on TV about two or three weeks ago now, may well have been staged
for the media. Later reports have been that many of the portable
antiquities had already been removed and sold by Isis to finance
their war. Hence the title of this article "Glory of the profit
drives Isis vandals." In addition, many of the treasures from
there had already actually been transferred to Baghdad, but much
has nevertheless now been reduced to rubble.
And then there is Nimrud also on the banks of the Tigris River,
another archaeological site which has simply been further destroyed
rather than more carefully preserved. That city, like Nineveh was
destroyed when the Assyrian Kingdom laid waste to the whole area
in 612 BC.
The as recently as last Thursday there was the news of the European
tourists killed or wounded as they went to enter the museum in Tunis.
Now that's in North Africa and a long way from our interest today,
but we get the picture - nothing is sacred, especially not human
life, and the war is spreading.
And the motive for the current destruction? The Isil troops say
that some of the artifacts they are destroying because they claim
them to be idolatrous. We need to remember that what may be idolatrous
to one, may also be harmless to another and holy to a third. In
that respect it's like an image of the Buddha or the Prophet Mohammed.
Believing something is idolatrous does not give you a valid reason
for destroying or even defacing it. Defacing something you know
is holy to someone else is a reason for leaving it alone. It's a
complex world and feelings are running high.
So I now must turn my attention to the fact that we are approaching
Easter. Do you remember that hymn that says, "We have a Gospel
to proclaim." It goes on "good news for all throughout
the earth, the gospel of a Saviour's name. we sing his glory, tell
his worth." So the question is "What is that Gospel?"
for 2015. And the second question must be; "how and where do
we best proclaim it in 2015?" Now these are both huge questions,
and I must tell you that I have no good answer for them, but we
do need to look at them and discuss them, as our way of thinking
will in all likelihood have a bearing on the future ministry of
this congregation and of our relations with the other churches and
groups in this city. So that is the question which I actually want
to leave you with this morning. If you are spending some time in
meditation during Lent you might like to consider that as well.
I have it in my mind to try it on the Lenten study group tonight.
I will just make a few comments of my own with which, of course,
you are entitled to disagree. The gospel I would want to proclaim
is a gospel of peace and of reconciliation. In the beatitudes, Jesus
said "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called
children of God." The question then becomes "How do we
become peacemakers in the present-day world where some people want
to destroy everyone's history?" We are faced with an extraordinarily
diverse world. All of us now must face up to living with and sharing
the planet with those who worship differently from us, who think
differently, who look different, who speak different languages.
And many of them are present in this land of ours. Not only that,
but many are also fellow-citizens of this country with us. Learning
to live and worship peacefully is going to mean quite a deal of
tolerance, towards our neighbours, and towards all people who look,
think and worship differently from ourselves. And even worse, some
of them may not even like us much. We must have a gospel to proclaim,
otherwise why are we here? Is it a gospel of peace we have? Or are
there other possibilities?
In this time of meditation for Lent, what do you think, and even
more importantly, what do you think the crucified and risen Jesus
thinks?
Easter Sunday - April 5, 2015
Acts 10:34-43, Mark 16:1-8
Christ Lives!
As we hear the passage from the Gospel according to Mark's we recognize
the women who are named in his Easter narrative - being Mary Magdalene,
Mary the mother of James, and Salome. Mark had previously mentioned
them watching the death of Jesus from a distance (15:40) and they
had also seen where the body of Jesus was laid (15:47).
At Jesus' crucifixion Mark told us that from noon until three o'clock,
when he died, darkness came over the whole land (15:33). The women
got to the tomb at sunrise the day after the Sabbath, being Saturday.
We know the gospel writers aren't just interested in precise days
or time, but refer to the time of day, as when the sun had risen,
to give us a clue that the women were about to experience something
new; something they never could have imagined. For this is the beginning
of a new day.
The darkness, which had previously overshadowed all humanity, is
now being pierced by a light that only God can provide. We remember,
that during the darkness on the Friday, Jesus cried out in agony
asking his Father why he had abandoned him. Therefore the light
that breaks through at the rising of the sun, suggests that God
has entered the story and has overcome the darkness.
The women presumably set out to go to the garden in darkness. We
are no strangers to their journey, for most of us here today have
had to travel through the dark? We have all, at one time or another,
felt sadness, grief from loss and the darkness of pressing questions
left unanswered? But darkness does not have the last word; as God
comes with light, offering us a new beginning.
On their way the women wonder who will roll back the heavy stone
covering the tomb. This then is another symbol of the difficult
situation which feeble human effort cannot overcome. The women could
not roll back the stone; but God could, and does. We notice that
the women "look up" and see that the stone had been removed.
Mark suggests this is not merely a physical act of raising one's
eyes from their need of looking to the ground or of their downwards
gaze as a result of grief. For in the act of looking up they were
about to "see" the revelation of God's action. In fact,
when they look up they see an event that had already taken place.
God had already acted and they are about to hear about God's wonderful
activity.
It's the same for us. God has raised Jesus so we hear again, through
the "young man dressed in white," the announcement - the
Easter proclamation of what God and only God could do. Christ is
alive. Christ lives!
The women don't find Jesus at the tomb, just the young man, "wearing
a white robe." There is no mention of the garment the dead
Jesus was wrapped in. That was for the dead; the young man wears
a white rope signifying a new life. Is there a connection here for
us to the white robe that many of us might have been dressed in
at our baptism?
The young man tells of what God has done. Saying to the women,
do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.
He has been raised; he is not here. "Jesus of Nazareth, who
was crucified," - is a reference to what evil forces had done
to Jesus, but God's transforming power has reversed Jesus' apparent
failure; which is what God can also do for those who follow Jesus.
God takes our experience and understanding of death and transforms
it. The women are told to go and give the message that Christ was
alive to the disciples, including Peter, but the women are so distressed
they don't tell anyone of what they have witnessed. Not that their
words would have had much weight in their day, as the witness of
a women was not culturally acceptable. Maybe like these women we
are also afraid to witness to others, that Jesus is alive, even
today, and that we are able to have a living relationship with him.
People I have met in other parishes often refer though to the sense
of dying they experience in their faith communities: churches that
were once full are now barely half-full; everyone is getting older
and frailer; a whole generation of young and middle- aged adults
don't attend or even come to faith at all; teenagers have other
activities to distract them (like sports on both Saturdays and Sundays)
and church scandals and hard-line decisions have alienated former
active members. Our church, where we look for life, can feel half
dead and on the way to the tomb! We are a community of believers
who feel abandoned by God, people who feel we need God to step in
and do something! Maybe God needs to move the heavy stone; to act
in our midst on behalf of the risen Christ! We need to allow God
to shine light into the darkness and bring new life into the church
and transform our community.
On the cross Jesus asked, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken
me" (15:34). Now at the tomb Jesus' question is answered: for
God had not forsaken him. Through the obstacles Jesus met throughout
his ministry, his arrest, the abandonment by those closest to him,
his torture and execution, God had not abandoned him. Through it
all Jesus stayed obedient and faithful to God. God didn't desert
him in his agony and now we learn God has acted on his behalf, "He
has been raised; he is not here."
We have heard of the women who went to the tomb that Sunday morning,
but we might wonder what happened to the men in the story? Where
are those apostles whom Jesus called at the beginning of his ministry?
Weren't they listening to him on the road to Jerusalem? Why didn't
they take his three predictions of his suffering and death more
seriously? Mark has told us where they are: they have disappeared
from the story, symbolized perhaps by the young man who ran away
naked in the garden when Jesus was arrested (14:50-52).
Now a new community is going to be created. During his life Jesus
had promised that the gospel would be preached to the ends of the
earth. But the apostles and men disciples are not around at the
empty tomb to hear the first proclamation of the gospel by the young
man. So, he commissions the women to go to proclaim the gospel message
to the shattered disciples. After the Last Supper Jesus had promised
that they would be restored. "After I am raised up, I will
go before you into Galilee" (14:28). Now the young man tells
the women, "He is going before you to Galilee
."
So, the promised new age has already started. Mark has told us that
Jesus had led his disciples to Jerusalem, a place of endings (10:32).
The disciples are now to go to Galilee where they will encounter
the risen Lord, to be forgiven and restored to discipleship.
If we look back from this vantage point at our own life with Christ
we, like those disciples, will surely discover moments when we have
failed to take up his cross in service to others. We must acknowledge
that our discipleship has been less than spectacular. Later, when
the disciples are again sharing a meal with the risen Christ he
rebukes them for their "unbelief and hardness of heart because
they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised".
The rebuke ends there though as he then sends them to the whole
world to preach.
So it is with us, at this Easter Day when we gather to share in
Holy Communion, sitting with Christ at his table. We began our service
conscious of our shortcomings and failings as disciples. Then we
heard the gospel mandate to the women and to us, to tell the good
news to others. The women have seen the empty tomb and Christ is
present to us and the world in a new way. They are told to go to
Galilee, the place where Jesus began his mission. More than that
though as the Galileans they were a marginalised people, considered
half-pagans by "religious pure bloods" in Jerusalem. The
disciples will continue what Jesus did in his ministry, to reach
out to those on the edges, on the margins of society.
Paul reminds us when he wrote the Corinthians, that we have been
baptised into Christ's death. "We were indeed buried with him
through baptism into death...." Just as Christ was raised,
so have we been raised into "a newness of life". Mark's
gospel is ending with the disciples being sent back to Galilee to
start all over again with a new beginning - with newness of life.
We can be witnesses to the resurrection by accepting the new, resurrected
life Christ offers us, putting aside previous guilt and selfishness
and helping others experience the freedom that comes with belief
in the resurrection.
Christ Lives!
Sunday 29th March, 2015 Palm Sunday
Isaiah 50:4-9a, Mark 11:1-11
A Triumphant Entry
The image of Jesus entering Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday
is a familiar one for us as we re-read the gospel reading for today,
year after year. In Jerusalem, Jesus met with the growing hostility
of the authority of the priests and scribes whom his arrival provokes
(11:27-33). This reading relating the events of the arrival of Jesus
and his disciples and other followers in Jerusalem begins a new
section of the gospel according to Mark. The second part of the
gospel continues then with Jesus preparing his disciples for when
they will have to continue his ministry after his death.
However, we know what lies ahead for Jesus - the darkness of evil,
suffering and death. We have heard the story before, but that doesn't
make it any less significant - we know that he was prepared to challenge
the power structures of his day with a different and totally unexpected
kind of power that of leading a life of servant-hood and
humility.
Marks account of the triumphant entry into Jerusalem by Jesus,
is vivid; but somewhat restrained in its messianic claims. Yet,
we catch the messianic signs for Jesus is in control of what is
to take place. He gives detailed instructions about procuring the
colt on which he will ride to enter the city an arrangement probably
arranged with a follower. Usually pilgrims did not enter Jerusalem
mounted, they would have completed their pilgrimage to the Holy
City on foot.
The prophet Zechariah(9:9) had foreseen three key elements relevant
to the entry of the Messiah, which lists as: the one who comes will
be the King of Israel; the messianic animal on which he will ride
will be a colt, the foal of an ass and the people will be jubilant.
The crowds were indeed jubilant, waving branches and shouting Hosanna
as they would for the arrival of a King or ruler, but they were
a fickle crowd, for only five days later they are crying out Crucify
him!.
That image of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on an insignificant animal
- a donkey - to confront all that was evil not only in Jerusalem,
but the world...to give life a new direction, is somewhat reminiscent
of another image. You might remember seeing on TV a number of years
ago a Chinese man, holding onto his shopping bags, who placed himself
in the path of the tanks that were rolling into Tiananmen Square
in Beijing? The tanks - symbols of evil, violence and oppression
- overshadowed that brave soul, who eventually made them change
direction - even if only temporarily.
Likewise, Jesus, must have felt overshadowed by the power of the
religious leaders of the day - yet he moved right into their territory
- the Temple - and overturned the symbols of power and oppression
which confronted him there. The only power that should have been
present in the Temple, was the empowering presence of God. One of
the distressing aspects of this story is that in Jesus, the presence
of God was in fact, there in the Temple, but Gods presence
was not recognised by those who should have done so - the chief
priests and the teachers of the Law.
Instead, we read that the blind and the crippled came to Jesus
in the Temple and he healed them. They recognised Jesus' power even
with their limitations, which highlighted the blindness of the authorities
when they became angry over what Jesus was doing which was empowering
others.
Sometimes we feel dwarfed, overshadowed by the immensity of the
happenings taking place around us close to home and more distantly
throughout the world. We find it difficult to recognise the presence
of God in the different events that happen around us, which so often
seem to have control over our lives. The road ahead may seem cloudy
and dark, but the events of this next week proclaim that no matter
how dark the way ahead seems, God is in that darkness with us.
A number of years ago when we lived on a country road, I was driving
home from a meeting late at night, when something happened to my
car and I was suddenly driving with no lights. Without any lights
around to light up the sky the darkness seemed to take on a life
of its own. I was somewhat nonplussed and was quite disoriented.
Luckily by stopping the car for a while and then restarting, the
lights came back on. Much like re-booting the computer, when all
other attempts to solve problems fail. (But I did have to get the
cars electrics repaired.)
When we are so accustomed to light, it is easy to become disoriented
by darkness. Even when one becomes adjusted to it, what we see can
be frightening. The shapes of the night can seem odd and out of
proportion to our eyes. What was once an innocent tree looms up
like something fearful and the familiar becomes as strange as something
we have never seen before.
In a sense, this coming week is like that. We cannot go from Palm
Sunday to Easter morning unless we pass through the darkness of
Holy Week and especially the events of Maundy Thursday and Good
Friday. The Scripture readings of this coming week detail the events
leading up to Jesus death on the cross as we remember the
despair of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, the horror of his
betrayal by Judas, and his denial by Peter.
Our remembering is our way of seeing in the dark.
Just as we cannot experience the dawn unless we have known the
darkness, so we must claim the darkness and move through towards
the light, just like when we travel through a tunnel. We cannot
come to Easter unless we enter into the passion of Christ as well.
Moving into the darkness helps us to see with a different perspective.
Artists and painters know the importance of this way of seeing -
when creating a work of art, the artist does not draw the light,
the artist draws the shadows. Whereas the darkness in a painting
adds depth and dimension to the canvas, the shadows define the shapes
and forms within a work of art, in the same way darkness adds depth
to our faith.
Entering the darkness of Holy Week, helps us to `see' God in a
new way, allowing our faith to adjust to a new understanding of
God. In the darkness of Christ's death on the cross, we have to
let go of the images of the powerful God of the Old Testament, of
the triumphant God of Palm Sunday, of the victorious God of Easter
morning. In the darkness of Christ's passion we see the powerless
Christ, the victim Christ, the Christ who was betrayed, beaten,
accused, mocked and condemned to death on the cross. Then, when
we allow ourselves to see in the darkness and experience the darkness
of our faith, then our faith is richer, deeper and more alive.
Within darkness there is creation, because darkness is a place
of growth, of change, of transformation, of growing into a new thing.
Think about how a seed, planted in the dark soil, springs forth
into life, to grow and produce a harvest; or how a baby is born
into the world after nine months in the darkness of the mother's
womb. For the seed and the child, the darkness is a place of nurture,
of growth. Darkness is a place of creation. God chooses to work
in and through the darkness to bring forth life.
This is the importance of the passion story - it is the central
point on which our faith hangs - God took the darkness of death
and brought new life. God chooses to take the events of this coming
week - the betrayal, the despair of the Garden, the arrest, the
cross - to bring forth new life.
Pray then, as we enter the darkness of this week, that we may recognise
and bear witness to the creative power of God...who moves with us,
through the darkness.
Bear witness to the fact that because of the events of this coming
week, we are gifted with a power that sustains our lives in ways
more significant than any other.
Bear witness to the fact that we are loved not because of who we
are or what we do, but because of who Christ is and what he did
for us.
Sunday 15th March 2015 - Numbers 21:4-9, John 3:14-22
FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD
At the beginning of the third chapter of the gospel according to
John we are introduced to Nicodemus, a scribe from the court of
the Sanhedrin, the highest court of justice at Jerusalem in Jesus'
time. Nicodemus would have been highly respected, as a learned member
of the religious aristocracy. Jesus met with Nicodemus and spoke
with him about the need for a person to be born again by water and
the Spirit - to have one's life re-created, as it were, with the
same power that was in Jesus - therefore, to live empowered by the
same love that was in Jesus.
At the extreme other end of the Jewish social scale we find the
person to whom Jesus spoke in of John Chapter 4, the Samaritan woman
who met Jesus at the well when she came to draw water there. Jews
hated Samaritans - a Jew simply would not have spoken to her, yet
here we have Jesus offering her some living water, "a spring
of water", said Jesus," welling up to eternal life."
Again, he is offering the indwelling power of the Spirit.
John is giving us an illustration from his culture of the extent,
the breadth, the depth of God's love. It is difficult for us to
imagine two people with a greater gulf between them than Nicodemus
the Scribe and the Samaritan woman - yet Jesus made himself present
to them both, and offered to each of them new life. The living power
of the Holy Spirit, a truly radical love. The point that John is
making by arranging his material like this is that if these two
people are recipients of God's love, if the world that God loves
includes these two from either end of the spectrum then it includes
everyone in between, it includes us, you and me.
Saying and hearing that God loves the world can remain rather abstract
if we don't identify with actual people such as these two, and start
off from that point. We are real, we're not abstract. Our identity
as real persons is confirmed by God's love for us. God so loved
the world...The familiar words of John chapter 3, verse 16, are
the central focus for today. In this verse we have the affirmation
that God loves the world even if it so often appears that no one
else does. John uses his whole gospel to clarify this point, but
especially so in the verses that surround verse 16.
John 3:16 is probably the most often quoted verse in the Bible.
Many of us will have memorized this verse, but are not able to quote
any others. Most of us will have remembered the old King James version;
'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son,
that whosoever believeth in him will not perish but have everlasting
life.' So you all know it, and we heard it read in our Gospel passage
today; "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and
only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life." It is the whole gospel message of 'good news'
in a nutshell. Martin Luther called this verse "the gospel
in miniature." It is the whole story of God's saving love packed
into one little verse that is so often quoted. But, have we really
thought about what it really means - have we really understood the
magnitude of this one little verse?
This verse starts with, 'For God SO loved'. That one little word
"so" expresses intensity - the dramatic intensity of God's
feelings. The Greek word for "so" is houtos. And like
in English, the word, houtos, can be used in many different ways.
For example, "Are you going to church today? You are, that's
good, SO am I! Or 'How was the service last week?' It was so-so.
"You have learned in this verse that God loves you." "Oh,
yes, SO what - I already knew that!" SO you see how that one
little word "so" can be used in SO many different ways.
However, it is only rarely used in Greek, as the word, 'houtos',
is hardly ever used to express deep feelings. In fact, there are
only two places in John's writings where 'houtos' is used to express
deep and intense emotion. In John 3:16 as we know and the second
is found in I John 4:11, when the writer says, "Dear friends,
since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."
We sometimes use the word 'so' in a different way in order to show
intensity, as if it was written in the way we say it by adding more
O's. I might say to you, "I love my husband SOooo much. I love
my children, SOooo much." It helps to reveal the inner intensity
of feeling I have for them?
But if I said to you "I love you SOooo much." That might
make you feel a bit uncomfortable - a little uneasy. Because we
all know that we don't love each other that much.
I mean we love each other, but not that much. This one little word
SO, expresses intense feelings and emotions for someone so we don't
just use it on everyone. But, in this context God does! This is
the intensity of feeling this well-known verse conveys.
First of all, the verse says, "For God SO LOVED". It is
'agape' love - a love that is gracious, giving, free, unearned,
undeserved, abounding, enduring. The verse goes on to say "For
God SO LOVED the WORLD." Not just the church. Not just Christians.
Not just good people who stay out of trouble. Not just you and me.
But God SO LOVED the WORLD - the whole world!
That includes: People in the world who don't love God, maybe because
they see God as vengeful and judgmental, the reason for all their
sorrow or dissatisfaction with their life.
People who couldn't care less about God, leading their lives without
regard for anyone or anything, even disregarding the abundance of
God's creation, by desecrating the land and spoiling the environment.
People who reject God, for a variety of reasons, but often because
they have been hurt. People who don't have time for God, because
they are so busy striving for wealth or power.
People who say, "I don't need God", but might find later
in life that God is who they turn to.
People who say, "I don't believe in God", maybe because
they have not allowed a relationship with God to enter into their
lives. It is possible that they don't believe in God, because they
don't believe in anything, or don't know what to believe in.
The Bible teaches that God SO LOVED the WORLD, and the WORLD doesn't
love God in return.
The intensity of God's emotion is not just directed towards Christians.
That intensity of God's love is not just directed towards church
people. The intensity of God's emotion - God's love is for the WORLD.
And to be honest, we probably find it really difficult to understand
that. We can't comprehend or understand that freely given grace,
that God loves people who do not love him.
But God SO LOVED the WORLD that he GAVE his only Son. The word
"gave" suggests a gift which is unearned, free, undeserved,
unmerited and unconditional. For Jesus' death on the cross was for
the sake of the world. For God so loved the world that he gave his
only Son, that those who believe in him may not perish but may have
eternal life. You know we often think of "eternal life"
as something we can only look forward to when we die - of being
in heaven, that is being in God's presence forever. As with the
Jewish understanding of eternal life - a life without end - begins
with life right here and right now - it refers to the quality of
life we get to enjoy already AND into the future because we believe
in Jesus now. People who don't believe in Jesus now are missing
out on enjoying life with God in this life.
As we all know, especially as Christians, we know that when we don't
daily choose to follow the ways of Christ, then all other paths
that this world can lead us along will eventually lead to sin, death
and destruction. In John 3:17 our reading goes on to say, "For
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but
to save the world through him." Jesus did not come into this
world to live with us in human form in order to condemn the world
that God SO loves. God does not find fault, make us jump through
hoops or work hard. God does not keep account of all the stupid
and thoughtless things we have ever said or done, for through Christ
we are forgiven.
It is interesting that many branches of the church are forever
condemning the world and pointing out the sins, the flaws, and the
imperfections of "those other people" because that is
what is easy to do. So, instead of presenting to the world this
Jesus who has come to save the world, through the church's - through
our own words and actions, they hold up this image of Jesus as the
Judge who has come to condemn the world and everyone in it.
And what results do they get?
Instead of drawing people into a loving relationship with this God
who loves them SO much that he gave his only son for them, through
judgmental words and actions, people are created who grow afraid
of God and even come to hate God.
So, let us show the world the true picture of who God really is
- that God is the God that SO LOVED the WORLD and everyone in it
that he GAVE his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life.
This is the God whom we worship.
This is the God whom the world needs to know so that all may come
to believe in him. Amen.
Sunday 8th March, 2015
Exodus 20:1-7, John 2:13-22
Throughout the season of Epiphany and the beginning of Lent we
have heard readings from the Gospel according to Mark, but today
we begin hearing from the Gospel according to John, which we will
read for all but two of the coming twelve Sundays - through Trinity
Sunday which is the Sunday after Pentecost.
The story of Jesus clearing the Temple in John's gospel is one
of the very first acts of Jesus' ministry, coming immediately after
the calling of the disciples and Jesus' first miracle at the wedding
at Cana where he turned water into wine. In all the synoptic gospels,
that is Matthew, Mark and Luke, this event in the Temple follows
immediately after Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem at the
start of Holy Week. There it is recorded as one of Jesus' last public
acts, and is one of the actions that contribute to his arrest and
crucifixion just a couple of days later.
Obviously these writers weren't interested in chronology, of recording
events in the order they occurred, but rather that they were more
interested in the theology, the meaning of these events for us.
John puts this event early in his writing in order to set up the
rest of his narrative in which Jesus' ministry will overturn the
religious laws and drive out greed, hypocrisy and legalism in religious
practice. In today's passage John shows Jesus fulfilling the hopes
of the prophets Malachi (3:14) and Zechariah (14: 1-21), who had
anticipated the messianic age when God would come "suddenly"
into the Temple to "purify and cleanse it."
In recalling the context of John's gospel, the last of the four
gospels to be written, we are told that it was written in the midst
of conflict in local synagogues between Jewish followers of Jesus
and the rest of the Jewish community. Apparently the followers of
Jesus who ardently proclaimed Jesus as the fulfilment of messianic
prophecies became a bit too much for the leaders of the synagogues,
so they were expelled from the worshipping community. The expulsion
from the synagogues (occurring in some places) probably began in
the 80s, so this would have come after the destruction of the Jerusalem
Temple in the year 70 AD. Those who heard John's gospel at that
time would have been affected by the double loss of worship, in
the Jerusalem Temple and in local synagogues.
It is no wonder then that this story of Jesus cleansing the Temple
comes early in John, for in his telling Jesus not only cleanses
the Temple but proclaims his body as the new and holy Temple - where
God and humanity enter into a new relationship. The Jewish Christians
hearing John's gospel were seeking to create new worshiping communities
after losing their spiritual homes. They no longer had a Temple,
or synagogue, so Jesus' body became the central place of their worship.
The way to this true worship was opened up by Jesus' death and resurrection.
While the synoptic writers place the Temple cleansing story in
the context of explaining the crucifixion, John places the story
in the context of describing the new creation that began with Jesus'
resurrection. The Jesus of John's gospel knows who he is and what
he is about far more profoundly than the Jesus portrayed in the
other three gospels. For Jewish Christians who had lost so much
because of their faith, this portrayal of Jesus who knows who he
is and what he is about would have been deeply reassuring.
Just as these early Christians were starting over again, we all
have to do that too, multiple times, in our lives as individuals
and as Christian communities. Sometimes, like the people of Israel
leaving Egypt, we have been released from restrictions or challenging
circumstances and have to figure out what form our new life will
take. Other times, like John's community, we might have been side-lined
because of who we are and what we believe in, which doesn't fit
with the rest of society or the church. We may have been compelled
to leave a school, a team, a job, a neighbourhood, a church, a friendship,
or a marriage. Getting rejected hurts deeply, and in some circumstances
may threaten our very survival. We are confronted with the dilemma
of how we will live, and who we will trust after losing so much?
In both cases, trusting in God becomes so much more important once
the familiar and comfortable former patterns of life, (be they good,
bad, or indifferent) have been stripped away.
In such circumstances, we may have actively chosen to recreate
ourselves, as the Christians in Corinth did when they gathered together
from all areas, across all classes, cultures and religious lines
to become a new community of faith. When our faith draws us into
new circumstances with new people we would otherwise not associate
with, we are challenged too, to trust in God and the gathered wisdom
of the community above the individual knowledge that we bring from
our former lives. It is in God's strength that we learn new ways
of doing things, new languages, take on new initiatives and make
wise decisions about our future together. In years to come we will
be able to look back and tell others the story of how this congregation
has incorporated the Samoan PIC congregation, just as we have been
able to tell the stories of when this church was founded by the
early settlers and how they worked together to build this new building,
one hundred years ago.
We are also in the process of considering options for the ministry
needs of the parish, alongside the wisest use of our buildings and
facilities. We are on a journey that will lead to a sense of newness
similar to the early Christian community after the destruction of
the Temple.
In the season of Lent, we are called to prepare for the new creation
that Jesus becomes at Easter, and we are called to become part of
Jesus' new creation as we prepare for the feast of Pentecost. Being
part of what is becoming can be scary, exciting, bewildering, and
inspiring - sometimes all at once. Today can be a day to acknowledge
and celebrate these truths and the promise that through it all,
God is with us. Jesus as the Temple has not eliminated cult and
worship. We are a church which observes sacraments, as we do today
with Holy Communion, but we need him to cleanse our worship.
Later on in John's gospel Jesus will again be asked for a sign
and he will offer himself as living bread, the meal through which
we share in his resurrection (John 6:30ff). When we eat the bread
and drink the wine, symbols of Christ's body and blood we are aware
of our need for forgiveness and the cleansing Jesus' resurrected
body brings to us.
The risen Lord enters our lives, forgives our sins, cleansing us
so that we can give fitting worship to our God. We become a cleansed
temple. Through Jesus, who is the "temple raised up in three
days", we are given forgiveness and freedom. We don't receive
them because we have followed detailed and perfect rituals, but
through the gift we have received in Christ. Jesus doesn't just
drive out the merchants and cleanse the temple. John tells us that
it was part of the preparation for Passover. Another, more perfect
Passover sacrifice is being prepared and Jesus' death will replace
the former sacrifices offered in God's house.
Jesus' angry actions might make some of us uncomfortable, but the
Jesus depicted in today's story could be described as "Jesus
with muscles." Sometimes the gentle images of Jesus risk making
him seem too soft, but today's depiction shows us how the wild,
zealous Jesus could ruffle the religious niceties of the Temple
and cause the Romans to wonder about this brash prophet from up
north. But, what was it, besides the merchants' dishonest practices
that stirred Jesus' anger? Was he foretelling the fall of the Temple
and the end of the practice of burning sacrifices which he would
supplant with his own sacrifice on the cross?
Maybe we lack "zeal" for our own temple, our parish church,
and attend worship merely to feel good. Do we consider how we might
serve and promote the gospel through our service as ministers and
as representatives of our "temple" to the community? According
to our gifts, our goal should be to make our "house of prayer"
a cleansed and respectful place in which to worship God, which is
open and welcoming to all, as Jesus desires.
Sunday, 1 March, 2015 - Lent 2
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 Mark 8:31-38
'Jesus never promised us a rose garden'
Don't you just love the story of Abraham and Sarah - he's 100 and
she's 90 and they have just heard the news that they are going to
become parents! Can you imagine them, probably bent over with arthritis,
hard of seeing and hearing, his hair already thinning if not gone
altogether? No wonder they laughed. We might even imagine them holding
each other up as they lean on their walking frames and laugh until
the tears roll down their wrinkled faces.The passage we heard from
the book of Genesis is primarily about two things: hope and the
belief that God can take the most barren and apparent lifeless situation
and transform it into new life. It is the first instalment of a
continuing, enthralling story about God breaking into the desert
places of life with the promise of a kingdom flowing with milk and
honey. The story of Abraham and Sarah was imprinted on the Jewish
people's memory as an example of God's gracious actions towards
them, which reminds them and us of God's ability to honour their
covenantal relationship.
Abraham and Sarah's story is one of faith, in the ability to believe
in the impossible becoming possible, that is, to dream the impossible
dream. They believed that by the grace and power of God, this dream
would become a reality. There is something here in this story which
challenges and uplifts us all. So many magnificent dreams and visions
and plans are knocked on the head, without them even getting off
the ground by the decision that it can't be done! We spend a lot
of time and energy putting limitations on the power of God. Faith
therefore is the ability to lay hold of the strength which is made
perfect in our weakness. When we believe that grace - God's power
and love - is sufficient for all things in such a way, then, the
humanly impossible becomes divinely possible.
Likewise in the reading from the gospel according to Mark on suffering
and discipleship, which raises many challenges for those who profess
to follow Christ? Mark's message is simply put, in saying that disciples,
including us, must be at God's disposal in the same way as Jesus
was. We might well consider Peter's reaction in today's gospel story.
At first, his boldness is shocking - We might wonder how he had
the audacity to take Jesus aside and answer him back? But when we
think about ourselves, we might realise that sometimes we have also
wanted to take Jesus aside and debate with him.
Peter acts this way because he doesn't like what Jesus is saying.
How often have we felt that way too? How often have we wanted to
explain the realities of a harsh world to a Jesus who seems naïve
and unrealistic in what he expects of us? Especially, when we might
wonder what he means by telling us to sell everything we have and
give it to the poor, in order to follow him? How can Jesus expect
us to "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect"?
It's certainly is not realistic to "give to everyone who asks
for a handout from you."
One of the most difficult aspects of Jesus words is the challenge
to change the pattern of thinking we usually use and the ways that
we do thing, which we may have built up on the basis of other values.
We all have ways by which we protect ourselves. They may involve
some attachment to material possessions or to our relationships
with other people. In other words, the person who desires above
all to keep everything under his or her control, who seeks to dominate
every situation, is protecting a self that will ultimately be lost.
Jesus is inviting us to share in a covenant of life with him - but
it is by following a very different path than we would expect. Jesus
promises us life if we have the courage to face death. Jesus promises
that if we give our lives wholeheartedly to him by to serving our
neighbors, we will have rich and abundant life flowing through us,
building up to ensure eternal life.
It is an enticing invitation - but a scary one. To know that Jesus
is entering death willingly and expects us to do the same would
usually cause anyone pause and think twice. While we know that one
day we will all confront literal, physical death, there are many
other deaths awaiting us. We will face the death of our pride, the
death of our comfortable ideas about what God is calling us to do
and be, perhaps even the death of our financial security and the
death of our ambition and our striving for success. The covenant
to which we are invited has very high stakes, and the urge to take
Jesus aside and question him as Peter did starts to make more and
more sense.
It seems impossible, doesn't it? It seems as far-fetched to imagine
ourselves brave enough to follow Jesus into death, to lose our lives
to save them, as he says, as it did for Abraham and Sarah to have
children in their old age. This covenant to which we are invited,
this covenant that takes this strange and frightening path of cross-carrying
and death, is only possible under one condition. We cannot make
it by relying on hard work or determination or power or strength.
Some of us, including many of our Christian brothers and sisters
around the world, may pay that cost of discipleship with their literal,
physical lives. But most of us will not go out in a blaze of martyred
glory. Most of us will carry the cross one small step at a time,
one spiritual discipline or devoted service at a time, or one act
of generosity or sacrifice or love at a time. However we carry the
cross, the giving of our lives willingly to follow Jesus will be
manifest in one perhaps unexpected cost: the risk of being changed.
When Abram and Sarai committed to God's covenant with them, they
were changed at such a fundamental level that they could no longer
be known by their former names. The man and woman who were God's
covenant partners had to be known as Abraham and Sarah, names that
echoed their former selves but were profoundly transformed, just
like their lives and their souls.
This is the risk we take when we sign on to Jesus' covenant of
life, the journey with and through the cross and its transforming
power, the road through death to resurrection. We will emerge on
the other side with the building blocks of our souls familiar to
us, but the place of grace into which they have been built will
be strange, new and glorious. We can finally let go of our urge
to challenge Jesus, to remake him to be like we think he should
be, like ourselves, because we know through faith that he will remake
us to be like him. That's a covenantal promise worthy of our very
lives.
Jesus never promised us a rose garden, never promised us that faithfulness
and success go together. Jesus promises us that in our frantic desire
to save our lives, we will lose them. He promises that, if we will
dare to throw away our lives with him, we shall find the true source
of our life. When we do that, who can then say that the impossible
cannot become possible?
Sunday 22nd February, 2015
Out in the Wilderness - Then what?
Genesis 9:8-17, Mark 1:9-15
In short densely packed phrases Mark writes of how Jesus embarked
on his public ministry. The way is prepared by his cousin John whose
call to repentance and baptism signals that the time has come when
God will enable a new Israel to emerge. In his baptism Jesus identifies
with his people and the judgment they face. His commitment is answered
by God in the vision of the opening of the heavens, the descent
of the Holy Spirit and the declaration by the voice of his Father.
In this moment a very local and time-specific event takes on universal
and eternal significance. This is underlined in an unexpected way
when immediately after God's affirmation which marked his baptism,
Jesus is driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. The action
of the Holy Spirit shows concern not only with human reality but
also with divine initiative.
The forty days of temptation recalls Moses's stay on Mount Sinai
and Elijah's wandering through the wilderness to Mount Horeb, which
also models the forty days of Lent, where we are urged to avoid
temptation. The adversity Jesus met in this concentrated period
points to the confrontation which will mark his entire ministry
and lead finally to its climax on the cross. Being with the wild
beasts speaks of being far removed from the inhabited and cultivated
land that the Bible associates with God's blessing. Despite the
hostile environment, however, Jesus is sustained by angels representing
the presence of God.
When it refers to time, the Bible is concerned less with 'chronos'
- the passing of hours, days or years - and more with 'kairos' -
moments of opportunity. Here we arrive at a point where time is
fulfilled - the moment has arrived for something decisive to happen.
Picking up the message first declared by John the Baptist, Jesus
begins his ministry with a real sense of urgency. What he is bringing
about is nothing less than the reign of God - now present in Jesus,
in order to bring a radical challenge to human alienation and rebellion.
The message brings an imperative - 'repent and believe in the gospel'.
Which is asking us how we will respond to this summons?
People who have had to make significant changes in their lives
- to break a habit or an addiction, adopt new ways of living, or
move to another occupation or location - know that such big transformations
don't happen easily. They require interior fortitude and determination,
courage, persistence and more - an interior change of heart and
mind. A new mind-set that does away with whatever has gone before.
Today Jesus asks for such significant changes from those who have
heard him preach. In the desert he underwent temptations, was tested
by adversaries and with support by the Holy Spirit emerged strong
and determined. Jesus then announces the coming of the reign of
God and he invites others who hear him to commit their lives fully
to God and God's ways. He preaches 'metanoia' - that is, repentance
- which requires a change of mind and heart. He doesn't want some
superficial or cosmetic change, or just a few minutes, hours, weeks,
or months of our time after which we then return to our previous
ways of living. Repentance isn't just for a part of the year, it
is a full-time, on-going commitment to change. Metanoia asks us
to turn away from whatever distracts us from God and to turn to
the embrace of the One who is infinite love.
Such total change can easily be postponed till later, to a more
'convenient time'. We say we will start a more serious pursuit of
God later on - after we finish school, when we have a family, after
retirement, 'When I'll have more time to give to prayer and good
works'. But Jesus is speaking in the present, not future tense.
'The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent now and believe in the gospel'.
Now is a 'kairos' moment. Now is a time of grace, in which we will
receive the help we need to respond, to make that turn around in
our lives towards God. That doesn't mean big changes are easy or
accomplished in a short period of time. Metanoia means we will have
to dedicate our lives to transformation. It will never be a completed
process, but if we listen to Jesus today, we need to start, or start
again, being followers of Christ.
There are powerful influences in the world that would discourage
us and prevent us from responding wholeheartedly to Jesus Christ
and his way. Whether you call these forces satanic, or the allure
of possessions, power, fame, indifference, domination, sensual satisfaction,
or whatever you call them they are hard forces to resist. However,
we are not alone in this process, as we once again undertake a Lenten
journey. Through our baptism God's Spirit is with us and enables
us to live according to God's ways - to accept the kingdom Jesus
proclaims.
As we once again hear Jesus' call to repentance we realise it isn't
a call just about us and our individual lives. We ask ourselves
what in our homes, at work, local, and parish communities needs
to be changed. In those places we are called to repent the in ways
we treat others, consume and waste, set ourselves apart and above
others and remain indifferent to the well-being of our sisters and
brothers? Mark has already indicated how we can make the changes
we must undertake. He begins his account of Jesus' ministry with
the positive imprint of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit that accompanied
Jesus through his 40-day trial is also given to us at our baptism.
The Noah story from the book of Genesis reveals God's graciousness
towards Noah, his family and all creatures by making a covenant
with them. The rainbow is a sign that God will remember this covenant.
Jesus then comes as the covenant-in-the-flesh and he invites us
to turn to our loving God, to change our lives and believe the good
news. The message of God's grace ties our readings together today
- all the readings are linked by grace - but then again, aren't
they always?
Mark's gospel is scant on details and he rushes to tell and describe
the good news Jesus has brought to us. Still, in his rush, Mark
tells us that Jesus needed to take time out before beginning his
ministry, with 40 days of solitude and prayer in the desert. We
get the point from Mark that Jesus needed time in solitude and prayer
in order to deal with the difficult options he had to make in order
to confront the forces of evil. We may not have time to spend 40
days in the desert or even one day's retreat, but still, we also
need to figure out how to spend time alone listening to God. This
time will be particularly important for this congregation as we
listen to each other and discuss options for the future of the ministry
in this parish. During a time with a ministry vacancy we may think
we are in the wilderness, even to be tempted by easy 'quick fix'
options. If we follow Jesus' example we need this grace period in
the life of this parish for contemplation, to be supported by the
Holy Spirit, to pray together and listen to God, in order to be
fully prepared for whatever ministry may follow on from the last
nine years. We need to think clearly and constructively and pray,
in order to discern what might come next.
What we might discover in such prayer is that there will be challenging
and testing times and also hopefully, rewarding times. We may be
driven by the Holy Spirit, as Jesus was, prompting us to think of
new ways of doing things, or not. We may be asked to step up and
offer ourselves in service, to fill the gaps and assist those who
are in leadership. We may be prompted to go out of our comfort zone
and stretch ourselves.
Just as Jesus did not choose to go in the wilderness, but was driven
there by the Holy Spirit, that is, he had no choice, we too have
to allow ourselves to be driven by the Holy Spirit into 'a wilderness'
time, where we will be challenged, confronted with difficult choices
and decisions to be made in order to be prepared for the outcomes
of a Ministry Settlement process. A process that takes time, discernment
and deliberation, to clearly articulate the Parish Profile, the
Ministry needs of the Parish and how best to fulfil those needs.
We will need patience and wisdom, through the grace of God.
Last Service Rev Richard
2 Kings 2:1-12 Mark 9:2-9
Built to the glory of God!
Today, in fact this weekend, has been a momentous occasion in the
life of First Church. What a wonderful celebration combining the
occasion of 100 years of worship in this magnificent building, the
coming together of two congregations in a formal agreement to ensure
that what we value about our faith is honoured and maintained, along
with the closure of one ministry, opening the way for a fresh expression
of who we are as God's people in this place. Our forebears had vision
and inspiration to provide subsequent generations with a stunning
place to honour our God and I hope we have the same vision and foresight
to walk into the future trusting God as they did as we build the
church of tomorrow. The readings could not be more apt as we hear
the story of Elijah and Elisha. Elisha did not want to see Elijah
go, but in the end he faced the inevitable, and the story of God's
people continued as God raised up that new leader to work amongst
God's people in a new way.
We all know that at the end of the day, the church is about the
people that gather, it is about the community the comes together
to honour God in word and action, in song and prayer, in lives lived
and changed so that God's glory might be seen.
It was the faith of our forebears that came 155 years ago, stepping
out into the great unknown, trusting their God and ours, that he
would protect them and subsequent generations. That passionate faith
is the same faith that drives us today as each day opens a new page,
begins a new chapter, dictates a new volume in the life of God's
people here in First Church Invercargill.
We often see people hanker after what once was, or cling desperately
for their life to what we have now, or sadly even walk away because
it isn't like it used to be. Fortunately the reality is that life
and the church never are any of the above. God is constantly leading
us down refreshing paths of life that are constantly changing and
adapting to the world in which we live. This doesn't mean we have
to change for the sake of change, but it does mean that we should
always be looking for fresh expressions of God's Spirit at work
in our world, in our church and in our own lives both as a community
and as individuals.
We are all facing change, and we can be like Elisha was in this
story, burying his head in the sand and not want to face change,
or we can embrace it with courage and see the exciting possibilities
that lie ahead for the next hundred years in the life of this community.
Even in the story of the transfiguration we see that reluctance
for change.
The disciples experiencing this wonderfully mystic encounter with
God, along with Elijah, Moses and Jesus, unsure of how to respond
in the midst of all this excitement, suggest that they might erect
three tents. Why would they want to do this? Perhaps to preserve
this experience. They wanted it to last just as it was then, at
that moment in history.
In the midst of that experience they wanted to hold on to God staying
right where they were.
But this in reality is not what life is about is it?
Life is a journey. It takes us to new places, to different spaces,
to new heights and sometimes to new lows. Life unfold before us,
sometimes with monotonous predictability, and at other times with
surprisingly refreshing excitement.
And although we can sometimes capture that moment in word, as a
story of our time, or as image, in a picture or painting, we cannot
stand still at that point and retain the essence of human life.
We are breathing, living, dynamic beings that react and interact
with the world in which we live.
It is interesting in this story that Jesus ordered the disciples
not to share this experience with anyone else at that moment, not
until after the resurrection, and the gospel writer tells us they
obeyed this word from Jesus, but among themselves they tried to
unpack what all this had meant for them.
It had been one of those life time encounters that changed them,
but probably only as time went on and as they looked back in hindsight
would they see the full impact that this experience had had on them.
It was a little like this for Elisha as well, as in asking for his
one request he asked Elijah for the share of his power that would
enable him to carry on Elijah's work, Elisha was told that he would
only receive it if he saw Elijah being taken away.
There was that sense of having to look, to seek, to be aware of
the change that was going on around him so that he would recognise
the hand of God at work in his midst.
If we are all the time fighting change, looking back to the glory
days of the past, wanting to stay where we are, we miss what God
is doing now.
So we need to be open to God's work at the present time and we need
to be able to look back in time and recognise the way that God has
walk with us.
For us today, this is a timely reminder as we look back over nine
years and even one hundred years. We need to give thanks to God
for where he has led us. We need to recognise those times when God
has seemed so close that we have wanted to hold on to him, but we
also need to acknowledge that we have walked down from those mountaintop
experiences and that God has walked with us as we have come off
those high planes and down into the valleys of life. We need to
acknowledge that we cannot hold God in a box or freeze God in time.
And today as we begin new relationships with our brothers and sisters
in Christ we need to look forward in anticipation to the places
that we will be going in the months and years ahead. We need to
trust God in this journey, and learn to trust one another. We need
to listen to each other, we need to be bold in speaking about the
joys and sorrows, about the expectations and the fears, we need
to share our hopes and aspirations so that we together can follow
Christ in this place and bear witness to him and his love in this
city.
Like Elisha, keep your eyes open to where God is leading so that
you can help to lead the people in this church, the people of this
city and in the process bring glory to God who walks with us.
The church is not the building, but is always the people. We are
the church, the people of God, and we want to continue to build
his church in this place and beyond, and to build it to the glory
of God. This building has captured an image of God's activity in
the history of this place, but its life did not finish there. It's
life has not finished here today. In fact its life is taking a new
turn, an exciting change is beginning, and we must continue to look
for what the Spirit is saying to us and doing among us as we move
forward.
Don't cling to the past, don't rake over the dying embers of by
gone issues and arguments, but rather move forward fanning the flames
of the Spirit as God leads you all on to a new day with great hope
and never ending expectation.
And to God be the glory, now and forever more. Amen.
Christmas Service
Isaiah 62:6-12 Titus 3:4-7 Luke 2:8-2
Christmas Cheer.-
Walking down the road the other day, looking in the shop windows,
I noticed a display set out with a table laid for Christmas dinner.
The centre piece on the table was a bottle labelled 'Christmas Cheer.'
That got me thinking that although we might often find some cheer
in a bottle, it is not where we find the Christmas Cheer.
Our Christmas cheer came in cradle, rough and ready, awaiting the
animals that might be coming to shelter from the northern winter
weather. In this cradle lay that baby, that brought hope and light
to a world that needed to see and know the transforming love of
God.
Isaiah looked forward to that time that God would come announcing
to all the earth that the Lord is coming to save you, bringing with
him the people he has rescued. This calling together of God's people
at God's initiative indicates a new era, a new beginning for a people
that God has saved.
This was no longer to be seen as a salvation that was to come, but
this would be seen as a completed work. Where is this good cheer
found? In the true meaning of the Christmas story!
Luke tells of the angel's announcement,
"Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will
bring great joy to all the people. This very day in David's town
your Saviour was born - Christ the Lord!"
From Isaiah's announcement that the Lord is coming to save his people,
we move from this to the angels proclamation that, "Your Saviour
was born."
In the birth of Christ we see the coming of the Lord. We call this
the incarnation, the Word made flesh, God come among us.
What a wonderful story to tell, and surely this is where the cheer
of Christmas is to be found as each year we are reminded of this
event in history. Each year we are taken back to that point that
changed the world from that point on and for ever.
People in that day were invited to come and worship. Shepherds and
angels, wise men and kings. Some came, and many didn't.
There would have been those convinced of what they saw and experienced
and those who were sceptical of the whole thing. And for many this
event would have just passed them bye.
Today the invitation is always there to remember the cheer of Christmas
in this simple, and yet profound story. However the simplicity continues
to get blocked out, shouted down, clouded and diluted by the tills,
and the parades, by the bottles of so called Christmas cheer and
the glitter of tinsel and the general social pressure to spend,
by the lure of supermarkets promoting special foods, and the demands
of family and friends calling for all their perceived needs to be
met.
Christmas at the end of the day is what we choose to make it.
But in that choice let us be struck with awe by the that simple
message;
God has come among us. God continues to come among us. God stands
with us, God walks with us. God poured out his love on us and continues
to do so.
Paul writing to the young Gentile convert, Titus,
reminds him, "But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour
was revealed, he saved us."
When was this? On that first Christmas morn.
What is our Christmas Cheer?
It is the message that, "today in David's town your Saviour
was Born!"
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 23rd November 2014
Ezekiel 34:11-16,20-24 and Matthew 25:31-46
Welcome!
There is in Ezekiel's picture a remarkable painting that draws
together in our minds the present and the future, it looks at the
reality of what is now, along with the hope of what is to come.
He uses imagery common to the understanding of a rural, pastoral,
nomadic people whose economic base is grounded in that rudimentary
farming lifestyle.
How often we see this imagery used in the biblical literature. We
know the 23rd Psalm, we know the story of Moses out tending the
flock when God came to him in the burning bush, we know Jesus painted
similar pictures in his parables of the lost sheep or the Good Shepherd.
It was an image that was understood in the setting in which it was
told. It was understood in the reality of the world of that time
with the dangers that faced both shepherd and livestock, it was
understood in the context of wandering around trying to find pasture
and water in the harsh conditions of the Middle Eastern setting.
And here Ezekiel sees the chaos and the disorder of a flock of sheep
without a shepherd. They were scattered, having wandered off where
ever they liked to eke out food for their survival. There was no
care, there was no protection. They were dicing with death as danger
would face them on every side from predators and other dangers of
local terrain and unknown traps waiting to take them by surprise.
This is a picture of chaos and turmoil, but I am sure we can also
see it as a picture of so much of our human existence in every generation
where there lacks common purpose and common identity. It is a world
of greed and a world where everyone is out for their own gain and
benefit.
We don't have to look far to see this aspect of human life in our
own day and age. We like to think we have come a long way in our
journey of human civilisation, but too often we only need to scratch
that thin veneer of civilisation or touch a raw nerve of human pride
and all hell can so easily break loose.
We see it in communities, and we see it in the lives of individual
people.
We also see it, sadly, in the church. We see where judgement and
criticism lead to people being excluded, we see where people are
made to feel unwanted, unneeded or inferior for some reason or other.
All of this is that sign of our human desire for us to push forward,
to succeed, to dominate even at the expense of other people.
It was into a world like this that all those years ago the people
of God welcomed the infant King.
Angels, shepherds, foreign kings, and no doubt everyday village
people brought their messages of welcome to the Christ-child, born
to be King.
There was a recognition from many that they were like those sheep
that Ezekiel spoke of, scattered throughout the rugged world, desperately
in need of one who would lead them, one who would bring them to
the mountain pastures and streams.
So as we celebrate this Sunday, Christ's Reign as King, we remember
that coming, we remember his presence today as Risen Lord, we celebrate
that he is Immanuel, God with us.
And the question for us must be that question of how do we welcome
Christ among us today?
How is Christ's reign as King made real in our world and in our
church and in our lives today?
For unless we can begin to articulate that for ourselves as individuals
and ourselves as church, we are merely remembering an event in history
with no connection to our lives, and no connection with the living
presence of God in our midst today.
Friends, we need to remember that as people of faith, we are called
together, we are a gathered people. And the basis of our gathering
is not about us, but about God who calls us.
This needs to be our starting point. God gathers us to bring us
together into the fellowship of God's community.
We are called to be a people of God, a people under the reign of
Christ the King. This gives us the common focus of our gathering.
This is where the heart of worship lies, in that we come to offer
worth to God, who comes to us as Lord of lords and King of kings.
Our gathering is at the behest of the Shepherd who Ezekiel said
would, "..look for those that are lost,"
that he would "....bring back those that wander off, bandage
those that are hurt, and heal those that are sick."
Jesus seemed to have a very clearly picture of this in his mind
when he spoke of God's coming as King and how his people would be
recognised. Sometimes if you were to see pictures of Middle Eastern
sheep and Middle Eastern goats, you would have extreme difficulty
in telling them apart. Many a westerner would be unable to distinguish
between them as goats can look so like sheep, and sheep so like
goats in this part of the world. Jesus is saying to the people here
that they may think they have a clear picture of who the righteous
are and who are not, but their perception is quite likely wrong.
Jesus take the distinguishing feature back to that picture of Ezekiel
and talks of those that model themselves on the image of the Shepherd.
God's people are to be a welcoming people; a people who go out and
draw others in, a people who see needs among their own and attend
to those needs.
Such is the picture of God's kingdom.
It is interesting that the ones who Jesus welcome are those who
feel least worthy. They cannot see when they have done anything
that would warrant acknowledgement from God.
Jesus turns to them and says,
"..whenever you did this for one of the least important of
these brothers of mine, you did it for me.."
We are often so quick to acknowledge the efforts of those who attend
to the rich and famous, to the ones who are viewed as important
in society or even in the church, and this was certainly the case
in Jesus' day, but here Jesus turns society's perception on its
head again, and says it is when we do it for the unloved, the troublesome
ones, the underprivileged, the down and outers, those who struggle,
that we do it for Jesus.
And this is not an organised and recognised operation Jesus speaks
of, it is the spontaneous, the everyday acts of kindness that come
from the heart of who we are that God is interested in.
It is actions like this that reflect who we are as people, that
demonstrate the underlying motivation from the depths of our being
and so in such acts we see the love of God reflected; we see the
motivation for such actions being underpinned by our acknowledgement
of God's love for us. We love, because God first loved us.
It is not that we feel we are out to earn that love, for our understanding
is that God's love is a gift. God welcomes us as we are, as the
hymn writer put it,
Just as I am without one plea
but that your blood was shed for me,
and that you call us, 'Come to me',
O Lamb of God, I come.
He goes on in the fourth verse,
"Just as I am - your love unknown
has broken every barrier down -
now to be yours, and yours alone,
O Lamb of God, I come.
It is the Shepherd who calls us, the Shepherd who gathers us, the
Shepherd who welcomes us into the fold where we can find protection,
safety, and love that exceeds all our expectations. This love is
given freely and without strings attached, and it becomes the love
that motivates us to go out of that fold focused on the Shepherd
to share his love with all around us.
It is God who welcomes us with those words,
"Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess
the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation
of the world."
This is a common call that Christ reiterated time and time again.
"Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will
give you rest."
Let us heed his call as we listen to his voice.
To God be the glory, now and forever more. AMEN.
Sunday 14th September 2014
Exodus 14:19-31 Matthew 18:21-35
Follow the Leader
The exodus story reaches the real climax in this weeks reading as
we see almost the point of no return for the people. Their journey
that began in Egypt has now reached the banks of the Red Sea with
the Egyptian army pushing up behind them.
The whole account is a story of mystery and a story of power, it
is a story of intrigue, but above all it continues to be that story
of God's continued presence as a active power in the midst of these
people's tumultuous lives.
This story is one of many in the scriptures that sees God's power
working in and with the natural world, often in ways that begg belief,
but in so doing also challenge our assumptions about what God is
able to do and what God is not able to do.
To focus too much on the small detail of a story like this can sometimes
cause us to loose the beauty and the thrust of what the story is
about, and yet to throw it away as mere myth is to diminish the
truth and the power of the story to help shape us and transform
us into the people that God wants us to be.
At this point in the Exodus, there is a clear call for the people
to be committed. They are to commit
themselves to moving forward or if they choose to stay they would
face sure defeat. I suppose it boils down to Hobson's choice. This
term orginates from Thomas Hobson who from his stable, in order
to rotate his horses, offered travellers the horse by the door or
no horse at all.
In effect there was no choice.
But with the people of Israel, although their choice was stark,
and very real, we see that theme of God never leaving them. It was
a choice of life or death.
God's continue protection is portrayed as the Angel of the Lord,
who had been in front of the army leading them, now moving to the
rear along with the pillar of cloud.
There is a shift in the picture here from one of God's leading to
one of God's prompting, of God's protection. The path is clear and
straight ahead, there was no way for them to move to the right or
to the left, and as the Angel of the Lord positions himself at the
rear to protect them from their pursuing attackers. The cloud is
put there to blur the vision of those following and to create that
sense of confusion and chaos as the Egyptians get themselves bogged
down and slowed up in an unknown and frightening environment.
It is interesting that at this point even the Egyptians acknowledge
the Israelites God as working against them and for his own people.
And although at this point in the story the road to freedom seems
clear and uninhibited, we know as we continue to read this account
the people do no always find it so clear cut. Time and again they
will turn their backs on God. Time and again they will forget to
look back to the bondage they once knew and acknowledge the blessing
that God has brought them thus far. Of course, at times, they struggle
to see ahead with eyes of hope and trust in where God might indeed
lead them, having brought them safe thus far.
This is after all part of the fickle nature of our humanity. And
that lies at the heart of this story. It is a story of human life,
it is a real story that gives expression to our humanity. I am sure
that we can all find examples in our own experience of how our faith
has waxed and waned or has been blown about by the winds of change
and circumstance.
This same theme is highlighted in Jesus teaching in Matthew's Gospel
as Jesus tells the story of the unforgiving servant. I think for
any of us this must be one of the most challenging passages of Scripture.
Which one of us could stand up and say we have truly lived our lives
with this tremendous attitude of forgiveness for our brothers and
sisters.
The parable illustrates a servant begging the mercy of his King
to whom he owed a tremendous amount of money. The sums were huge
for that day. The King in his mercy released this man of his debt
in its entirety. However this servant then goes on to extract from
a fellow servant of his some money owed to him, and he offers no
mercy at all, and throws him in jail until the debt was paid.
The magnitude of the debt and the willingness of the king to forego
that debt in its entirety is an illustration of God's abundant mercy
and enormous capacity to forgive.
We so often see this story from the point of view of the unforgiving
servant and are shocked by his actions, and so we should be. But
if we look at it from the point of view of the actions of the king,
then we can stand amazed at the magnitude and willingness of this
powerful man to humble himself even to take notice of lowly servant.
Looking at the story from this perspective also illustrates that
in relationships with others our prime concern is not what they
do to harm or offend us or what benefit we might receive from such
a relationship, but rather it is rooted in a deep pastoral concern
for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Jesus has only just told us that sometimes strong actions have to
taken to wake people up to their wrong doing. He suggested in v
17 that we read last week that if people wouldn't listen they may
need to be treated as though they were 'pagans or tax collectors.'
His audience would have understood what that was like to be treated
in such a way, but here he follows that up to make sure that we
understand that forgiveness is in fact the key.
And that in offering forgiveness there is no counting of the cost,
nor the frequency for which such action is required, unlike Jewish
law that recommended not more than three times. Three strikes and
you were out. Now that has a familiar ring to it doesn't it. Peter's
suggestion of seven times, was therefore exceedingly generous. And
indeed this sets the context for the King in the story, whose forgiveness
of the debt, which in the Greek used the value of their highest
imaginable coin, probably in today's standard one commentator has
suggest might relate to a billion dollars, rather that the Good
New's Bibles million, give us that sense of the unimaginable, unobtainable
amount that was wiped off this man's debt.
The mercy and grace of the King was immense and should have motivated
this man to act in a like manner to his debtors.
Thus the plea is that we recognise the same mercy and grace that
God has offered us so that we too might offer that to others who
we feel may be beholden to us.
And of course nowhere more starkly can we see this and be reminded
of this than as we come to the table of our Lord.
Here we see, and yet so easily take for granted, the great sacrifice
of love that was given for us.
The cross is not a symbol of peace or love unless it is taken in
the context of the one who offered his life for us.
The cross was a symbol of cruel pain; a means of extracting what
was owed to society in retribution for wrong doing. And Christ took
that and turned it into the symbol of forgiving love. In it we see
the outstretched arms of Christ saying, "Come to me, all you
who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
In the cross we see Christ who leads us, just as Yahweh led his
people to the Red Sea, and then we see him position himself between
us and the world, to protect us, to encompass us in his love opening
up that pathway through God's forgiving love, just as he open the
path for his people to enter the promised land.
It is the cross that leads us to God's saving grace and abundant
mercy. And we come, not because we are good; not because we have
managed to stay true to the cause; not because we are strong and
faithful, but rather because we recognise that we are weak and need
his strength, we are fickle and need what only God can offer. The
way, the truth and the life.
Our motivation to love, our motivation to forgive, our motivation
for life, is because of what God has offered to us. Let us see that
offering through new eyes as we gather together at his table that
he has prepared for us.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 31st August 2014
Exodus 3:1-15 Matthew 16:21-28
No. Not me!
I want this morning to begin from where we left off last week. Remember
that conversation about who Jesus was, and then the direct question
Jesus put to his disciples, "But who do you say that I am?"
I wonder have you pondered that over the last week? Peter's impetuous
response, which of course expressed the truth was, "You are
the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
What an affirmation! What a concise expression of the truth in answering
this question.
But we need to hold that answer in our minds as we read today Jesus,
expansion on this truth and what that will mean, and then see Peter's
response to Jesus' definition as he unfolds the implication of what
this may mean, not only for himself but also for those who make
that choice to follow him.
The choice to follow God's path in our lives is never promised as
the easy option. And we have two stories today that illustrate this
fact. We have Moses out in the wilderness doing what he knows best,
being confronted in a life changing way that leaves him wondering
what the future might hold, just as indeed Peter and the disciples
experienced. Neither of these stories in one sense are any more
special than what faces each and every one of us throughout our
lives. They can be seen as challenges that fit our own experiences
many times over.
The detail and the telling of the story certainly may vary, but
in essence they represent those encounters that confront us in many
and varied places and times in our lives that cause us to think
of the direction that our lives are taking.
They can be seen as encounters with God, for God is not confined
to time and space, and in the old Hebraic tradition God is worshipped
at any place where he appears. They would build markers acknowledging
those encounters and move on.
God is in no way confined, not by the walls of any building, nor
by the experiences or imaginations of people.
So it is often in the unexpected places and circumstances that God
comes to us, or that we experience God.
For Moses it was in the fire in that bush out in the desert. The
fire was there but the bush was not being consumed.
Fire representing God's presence is seen more than once in the scriptures.
It is a powerful force that brings about change, sometimes expressed
in that cleansing mode that purifies. And of course we see the Spirit
descend on the people in that Pentecost experience as being like
tongues of fire.
It is an image of power that confronts us, that arrests us where
we are and draws our attention ever closer. We only need to watch
the people that are drawn to a fire if it occurs in one of our streets
as the emergency services are called to deal with it. Here in this
Exodus story Moses' attention is caught by the presence of fire
in the bush and Alan Cole in his commentary on Exodus reminds us
that, "the true revelation, however, was not the burning thorn
bush, but God's word that came to Moses there."
And I think this is an important distinction. Too often we are caught
up in the event in which we experience God, we get carried away
by the emotion of the moment, rather that the word that comes to
us or the truth that hits us in that moment of revelation. Worship
can be like that if we are not careful. Rather than coming to hear
what God is saying to us in the whole event of worship, we judge
the moment by the experience we have, by the emotion that it evokes
or by what happens within that period of time. But the question
I suppose we should all ask ourselves is, "what has God said
to me in this time?" In what way has God challenged my being,
my understanding. It is interesting with Peter who had just affirmed
Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, who now is disturbed
greatly as Jesus agrees with him and unpacks the implications of
what that might mean. Jesus begins a new section here which Matthew
notes with the phrase, "From that time on..." and he goes
on to talk about his death and resurrection.
Peter does not like what he is hearing even though it comes directly
out of the confession he has just made. The unexpected nature of
Messiah-ship had not struck Peter and he was shocked with what he
was hearing. God's word does not always bring those smooth paths
or easy roads for us to walk down. Sometimes difficult choices have
to be made and challenges have to be faced as we hear that voice
of God, but we know that in following such a way, that God is with
us.
For both Moses and Peter this was the case. They did not like what
they heard, but they knew in their heart of hearts that this was
God's word for them.
Then in each of these stories we are exposed to their very human
traits as they both have that great sense of inadequacy. Neither
feel they are up to the task that God is asking of them. For Moses
he sees himself as a nobody. He was a wanted man in Egypt, how could
he go back to bring his people out of that God-forsaken land? Who
would listen to him? For Peter he could not imagine life without
Jesus there, and so he just did not want to hear. His inadequacy
was in accepting what he had in fact said about Jesus. And he did
not want to hear God's word to him at that point because he didn't
like what he was hearing. Life without Jesus was unimaginable for
him as he felt he would not survive. His people needed his presence
and so talk of Jesus' death, for Peter was counter productive.
Both of these reactions are perfectly normal human responses that
see us retreating to what we feel safe and secure with.
And Alan Cole tells us that, "Self distrust is good, but only
if it leads to trust in God." That's an interesting thought
in a world today that constantly tells us we must believe in ourselves
and have confidence in what we can do.
And it is a delicate balance. It is not that we should have a sense
of false modesty by all the time seeing our shortcomings, but it
is that point that our self doubt leads us to trust in God who equips
us, who strengthens us, who gives us the ability to do things that
are often beyond what we can imagine ourselves doing.
Self doubt must not destroy us, but rather lead us to lean more
heavily on God as the source of our being, as the one whose desire
it is that we become more fully ourselves as we offer God the glory
for who we are and what we can do.
And finally in both of these stories we can see the very raw human
emotion transformed over time as God equips them for the tasks that
face them both. There is a transformation, a "metanoia"
experience, as God's Spirit brings about change in them. It is not
instant, there is learning along the way, there is success and failure
for them in the process, but God walks with them and equips them
both with the skills.
Many of these skills are ones that were part of who they were that
God develops further in them.
Moses would have had the benefit of Egyptian education, he would
have had leadership skills as he grew up in the royal household.
These skills would be honed as he went back to bring his people
to freedom. There would have been skills of diplomacy, organisational
skills, and people skills. For Peter he had that strong personality
that became more refined, he too seemed to be able to manage and
enthuse people. God takes who ever we are and is able to use whatever
skills we have and helps us to develop those for the good of the
Kingdom of God. They become the fruit that the Spirit of God develops
within us and they are skills that we are all called to use, not
just for our own personal gain, but for the benefit of the whole
people of God. God's gifts to us are for the benefit of the gathered
people of God and to be used in that context so that the Kingdom
of God is extended in our world, in our day and age.
We are the servants not the strategists as we follow the one who
leads us. We are called to take up the cross and follow him, not
so that we can gain the world but so that the God's reign might
be made more real here today and in the days ahead. We are not to
look for gain and reward in this life, our motive is always to bring
God the glory.
May we continue in our own lives and in our lives together to draw
from God's strength as we go out to do His will, equipped and encouraged
by the knowledge of his living presence with us.
And to God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 24th August 2014
Exodus 1:8-2:10 Psalm 124 Romans 12:1-8 Matthew 16:13-20
Today's readings help us to get a handle on what it is to be church.
When we speak of church we don't mean the building, but rather the
people. The church is an interesting organism, a dynamic living
gathering of people. It is not just a club where people come to
meet, to get inspired or to share common interests. If it were this
we would fail abysmally. I don't think the church in its truest
sense is even an institution set up by people to promote the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
Church in it essence is a gathering together of the people of God.
It therefore draws together a scattered people, a diverse people,
and unites them together with the common thread, namely their belief
in God as expressed and seen in the person of Jesus Christ. And
we gather to worship - or to give honour or worth to our God.
Now that probably sounds somewhat erudite but it is the concept
of church, which comes from the Greek word ecclesia, meaning 'the
gathered people of God', who come together with God at the heart
and purpose of their being.
Out of that purpose and reason for being flows many and varied aims.
One of those being to draw others in so that they too may benefit
from this relationship centred on God, where we believe we find
the truest sense of what it means to be human. This focuses our
mission as church.
In this way also, it helps to stop us from retreating into this
exclusive club mentality that would have us believing that we hold
the keys to all truth, for truth is not found in us, but rather
in the One on whom we focus our faith.
And so it is in our coming together, in our gathering from all the
scattered and diverse areas of life that we offer ourselves in worship
to the God we acknowledge as greater than us, beyond us, totally
other than ourselves, the Holy one.
It is this response to the Holiness of God that lies at the heart
of what it is to be church.
And so as church we are shaped by God rather than us shaping the
God we worship.
The Exodus story gives a good illustration of this. Here were a
people who were exiled in the land of Egypt. They had been taken
under the wing of this people in time of great need. And generations
had passed and rather than still being integrated into the society,
they became separated out as slaves to the Egyptian people. And
we are told, "The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks
on the Israelites, and made their lives bitter with hard service
in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labour. They were
ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them."
The freedom that coming to Egypt had brought them in Joseph's time,
had turned into a burden of slavery and oppression in the time of
Moses. Where once they had found grace and salvation, they now were
experiencing bondage and slavery.
When the Egyptians were willing to be shaped by the God of the Israelites,
freedom flowed, the burden of suspicion and hatred of difference
gave way to acceptance and grace. It was a relationship rooted in
love and mutual respect.
But as the focus moved and the Egyptians retreated into individualism
and sectarianism, overbearing rules and work were forced on the
Israelites because they were the foreigners, they were different.
The Egyptians became ruthless.
And so for the church and our own society for that matter, when
we loose sight of the love and grace of God, when we forget that
it is God who shapes us, God who draws us, God who makes us the
people we are, we too easily slip into binding people with rules
and expectations.
You must do this or that, or think in this way or that way, if you
are to be a true, or good Christian. So quickly party factions form
that only want to exist to push their particular interest and quickly
become intolerant of seeing things, issues, or even events from
the perspective of any other.
In doing this we subtly begin to shape God in our image and grace
goes out the door, and God's love gives way to our judgement.
Pride of our achievements and our power subsume the holiness and
awesome nature of the God who shapes us, and our God focus is somewhere
lost within the institution that we have built up around us.
This is the whole tenor of the Psalmist who reminds the people of
all that God had done for them.
It was God who was with them when they were under siege, it was
God who was with them in the flood, it was God who saved them throughout
their history and all that they lived through, therefore their song
that focused them, the cry that kept them on the track was,
"Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth."
Does that not sum up the essence of who we are?
How similar that is to the cry of the early church, whose first
creed was, "Jesus is Lord."
Jesus, the Christ, the anointed one, is the Lord, who made heaven
and earth.
Is this not the answer that was offered as Christ questioned his
disciples as to who he was, and who the world saw him to be?
Who do the people say that I am? Who do you say that I am?
The cry of the disciples was, you are the Christ, the Son of the
living God.
The world around had all sorts of other answers but the Peter was
clear in his affirmation.
And so for the church today, the question remains,
Who do you say that I am?
But I fear we spend too much time on the former question, Who do
people say that I am? And we allow their answers to shape the church,
and therefore to shape our image of God. In our cries to be relevant,
in our attempts to connect with the world, we loose the power and
the majesty and the awe of the God who shapes us.
Thus Paul cries out, that we not be conformed to this world. Let
the world not shape us, but rather let us be transformed by the
renewing of our minds to see God as the Lord who made heaven an
earth.
Then the God who is totally other than us, and yet who came as one
of us, is able to touch us, speak to us, shape us and continue to
create us into the people he wants us to be.
Let us not become bogged down, or ruthless in imposing burdens on
one another, but let us find the freedom and peace of God which
passes all understanding in our lives together as the gathered people
of God, as we continue to journey through the wilderness of life
with our eyes fixed on Christ, as we seek to reach the promised
land in its fullest sense, and as we continue to proclaim Jesus
as Lord, and his reign here in our own day and age. Let us be open
to the strangers who come into our midst, to those whose needs are
great and whose strength is waning. Let us like Christ, stretch
our arms wide to encompass those whom society shun, those who struggle,
those who can find no rest or peace in this world, to welcome them
as part of God's community. As difficult as this is, surely this
is what it means to be church.
To God be the glory, now and forever more AMEN.
Sunday 29th June 2014
Genesis 22:1-14 andMatthew 10:40-42
Welcome to all!
I think as we read the story of Abraham and Isaac this morning
there would be many reactions to such a story.
There would be that reaction of horror as we contemplate the demand
of God for Abraham to perform such a sacrifice and also the willingness
of a father to even consider such an act for his only beloved son.
We may read the story and remember back to our Sunday School days
and see it just as one of the stories that fascinated us in our
youth.
Yet, I think we do need to take this story seriously. It is is part
of our faith history. It is part of our understanding of God, and
God's interaction with his people, but as we scratch the surface
I think we can see it in a much broader perspective as a reflection
of our humanity and our faith coupled with God's mercy and grace.
Sometimes were are conditioned to the likes of this story because
we know it so well and it looses its impact.
Imagine for a moment that this is the first time you have read this
story of Isaac. I wonder what the response would be? It would be
sad if there were not some sense of shock and even dismay.
Here is a father willing on what appears some whim to offer up his
only son's life as a sacrifice. If we fail to be shocked at this,
we loose so much of the meaning behind the story.
We are coloured by our modern obsession with self-esteem and success
being so important that we are truly challenged by any suggestion
that God might test us in some way. Reno in his commentary on Genesis
suggests, "We worry about the perils of competition. Encouraging
self-esteem becomes the great preoccupation. Everybody is a winner,
and prizes and ribbons are on hand for all the participants. True
love nurtures, we imagine; it does not challenge and demand, try
and judge."
I think there is a lot of truth in this statement that makes such
a story as this uncomfortable for many in our modern age.
And yet the reality of life is so different. Life is not an even
playing field with no bumps or bruises along the way. Quite the
opposite for many and often with totally inexplicable reasons for
why certain experiences colour some peoples lives and not others.
So here Abraham is called to take Isaac out to make a sacrifice,
offering him to God.
And as this story unfolds, the hearers are surely getting closer
and closer to the edges of their seats. The detail of Abraham's
preparation and the way in which with seemingly unquestioning faith
Yahweh's instructions are carried out on the surface seem somewhat
surprising. And yet I am sure we can imaging the agony that must
be tearing Abraham apart. Isaac is described as his "only son,
whom you love so much." Even at this early stage in this story,
do we not see the parallel in the story of Christ, God's beloved
son in whom he was so pleased. God's beloved son who out of love
for the world, God willingly gave him up so that the world might
be saved from the power of sin and death.
In both of these parallel stories we see actions that were not offered
for personal gain, as gain could not be seen from our perspective,
but they were offered for the benefit of humanity that showed God's
openness to love and to provide for us even in the face of danger
and tragedy.
Abraham had an unswerving faith that God would provide. As he took
each step toward that altar, as he followed through each stage of
preparation right to the end, he believed that Yahweh would provide.
One can almost hear the exacerbating cry where at the end as he
draws the knife, he hears that voice "Abraham, Abraham! Don't
hurt the boy or do anything to him." and as he looks round
and sees the ram caught in the bush, there for him to take as a
substitute for Isaac. At this point Abraham's actions are vindicated
and his faith rewarded. God is indeed his provider.
The relief for Abraham must have been huge.
God is faithful in this story in providing for his obedient servant
who on the surface seemed to be following down a alley of blind
obedience, and yet at the heart of it was agonising with himself
and with God.
Contrast this with God who willingly gave up his Son in the person
of Jesus Christ. Because of the familiarity of this story, and because
the main character in the story is God, do we loose sight of the
agony, the cost, the utter despair that God must have felt. As this
story unfolds where is the faith of God's people in the midst of
this drama? Is it in Peter who ends up in denial? Is it in Judas
and his betrayal? Is it in any of the others who after the experience
in the upper room or the Garden of Gethsemane disappear out of the
story until after the crucifixion?
You see, life is full of those moments that call us to ask ourselves,
where is my faith at this point?
What does God mean to me in this moment of my being?
And if faith never were to challenge us like this would it be of
any use to us? For Abraham, it was in this moment of his life that
he came to that realisation that God provides. It wasn't that God
grabbed his hand and physically held him back from lowering that
knife. It wasn't that God came and struck Abraham with a bolt of
lightning taking him out of the picture. It was as Abraham listened,
as Abraham looked up, it was as Abraham was willing to exercise
trust in God, that he saw and recognised in the ram God's provision
for him.
And even in this moment of the story do we not see God who declared
Jesus as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In
him we have God's provision. We have the one who came for us, the
one who stands with us.
Reno says on this, "In the New Testament, Jesus stands in the
place of Israel. He is both the substituted lamb of sacrifice and
the beloved son of the promise."
You see Abraham trusted God's promise that he would be the father
of many nations, and the only way that that could be fulfilled was
through Isaac.
He knew in his heart of hearts that God would provide.
He knew that God's plans and purposes are lived out in the lives
of God's people and that his faith had to be grounded in the reality
of the world in which he lived. Our faith is no different. Our faith
is not just experienced in the warm fussy good things that happen
to us, but is grounded in our day to day experience as we face life
and death, as we seek to influence the world in which we live, as
we have impact in our communities and in our world.
Thus Jesus says, "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me; and whoever
welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me."
Our faith is a lived out faith. Our trust in God is expressed not
only in the words that we say, but in the actions that follow.
It is James who challenges us by saying, "My brothers and sisters,
what good is it for someone to say that he has faith if his actions
do not prove it?
..."What good is there in your saying
to them, "God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!" - if
you don't give them the necessities of life?"
So I suppose the question becomes for us,
"What difference does our faith make?"
How is it that our life would be different if faith were not a part
of it?
That's quite a challenging thought. It may not make us any different
from our neighbour. It may well not make us any better a person.
But does our faith help us to see life in a much bigger picture?
Does faith give us a perspective on life that allows us to see life's
challenges from a broader perspective? Does our faith open up that
knowledge for us that God does provide, whether that provision comes
at the hand of our neighbour or a total stranger or in the event
that seems to come out of the blue.
Remember Jesus' words, "You can be sure that whoever gives
even a drink of cold water to one of the least of these my followers
because he is my follower, will certainly receive a reward."
After all as the Psalmist, perhaps as he reflected on stories like
that of Abraham and Isaac, put it, "Our help comes in the name
of the Lord, maker of heaven and earth."
To God be the glory, now and for ever. AMEN
Sunday 18th May 2014
Acts 7:55-60 John 14:1-14
Life is an interesting journey for most. No two people live the
same experiences. No two journeys are ever the same. And today the
reading from Acts almost gives us a context for the reading from
John.
In Acts, very early in the life of the developing Christian church
we see this tragic story. Stephen is arrested and hauled before
the High Priest and Council to give an account of himself and his
faith. He gives a masterful sermon that covers the entire history
of the people of Israel, and then accuses the Council of being deaf
and stubborn and this riles them leading to his stoning to death.
Some have questioned why this story is given such prominence in
Acts and what its purpose is.
I Howard Marshall comments on this offering three purposes for the
inclusion of this account in the book of Acts.
1. It is a defence to the charges brought against Stephen. He denies
he has spoken against the law of Moses and in outlining his argument
he portrays himself as a defender of the law.
2. It is an attack on the Jews for their failure to recognise the
love of God expressed in the Old Testament and revealed through
Christ the Messiah in the New.
3. This story forms part of the picture of the rejection of the
Gospel by the Jews to whom it was first preached and thus paves
way for the church to break away from Jerusalem and the temple.
The journey of Stephen's life ends with this tragic stoning, but
the author gives it that triumphant tone as he portrays Stephen
as seeing this vision of Jesus standing at the right hand side of
God.
He is not seated, but standing. He is receiving his faithful servant
into the presence of the Almighty. This is rubbing salt into the
wounds of those who are in the process of condemning him. And then
there is the picture of them with their hands over their ears refusing
to listen. And again in that Christ-like manner Stephen pleads for
those who are persecuting him that they may be forgiven.
Put this picture against the words of Jesus in John's Gospel and
we get a view of life and the influence that faith can have on it
that I believe can be very helpful.
"Do not be worried or upset," Jesus told them. "Believe
in God and believe also in me."
These are very well known words, but don't they strike you as rather
strange just taken out of context. Why focus on worry and upset?
Why not build faith on all the positive aspects of humanity and
life?
Jesus has just been predicting his betrayal and denial. He has given
his disciples the commandment to love one another, and now he says
to them, do not worry and do not be upset.
There is recognition that along the journey of life there will be
those times when events and occurrences have the potential to disturb
us greatly. That is the reality of life.
Jesus here is offering an invitation to walk that journey of life
with him, trusting and believing in him. This offers an anchor outside
of ourselves. It offers a point beyond our own predicament where
we can get a grip on the reality of life beyond the turmoil or troubles
that are in immediate focus.
It really grabs at the heart of what faith is all about. It has
both those elements of belief and trust. Faith is frame work of
belief. It is a belief in the One who is beyond us, and in Jesus
Christ we are able to ground that in the One who was with us also,
but it has to have that element of active trust. It is not just
intellectual ascent to a set of rules. This is where Jesus was attacking
the religious leadership of his day. No, it involves that willingness
to take that set of principles and then apply that in our daily
living so that our belief makes a difference to how we view the
world.
And here Jesus is saying, "do not be worried and upset."
What an invitation. Imagine life without those two aspects to it.
Why do we not need to worry and be upset? Because life's journey
is seen here in the context of God's overall journey with us and
we can walk that journey with God, trusting in him.
Jesus, talks about his Father's house having many rooms. This is
often translated many resting places. It sees the journey of life,
not as a constant source of worry and upset, suggesting that as
we walk that journey trusting in God, we find resting places, places
of peace along the way. Maybe it is in those times of trouble that
we learn to step aside and rest in the love that God has revealed
to us in Jesus Christ. And this journey is pictured, not as an endless
and aimless walk in the wilderness, but as a journey of purpose
so that eventually we will come to be where he is. Jesus' invitation
is to follow him and he will lead the way. He will come back and
take us to be where he is.
That gives us that sense of final victory, of lasting peace, of
overall purpose. And therefore this purpose helps to shape our lives
in the present so that we continue to follow on the path that we
are being lead down.
Thomas asks that very practical question that I am sure we all ponder,
"Lord, we do not know the where you are going; so how can we
know the way to get there?"
Those uncertainties, those doubts that plague us are part of our
humanity that sees us all the time wanting to know, wanting to take
control, wanting to steer the direction of our lives because we
feel far more secure when we are in the drivers seat with our hands
on the wheel and our foot on the brake.
And I think we can all relate to what Thomas was saying here and
yet in our minds we know there are those times when life is totally
out of our hands, when the world seems to swirl around us in confusion
and disarray.
And as his disciples listened to these words, this is precisely
how their world seemed. On the one hand, hope seemed so high with
Jesus feeding them such wonderful teaching and offering them such
positive direction, and yet on the other hand, he was speaking of
death, betrayal and denial.
But into this mix he feeds those words that have rung down the years,
central to the Christian Church's understanding of our faith;
"I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes for the
Father except by me."
To the religious leaders of the day, this was absolute blasphemy.
This became the point of difference, the point beyond which there
was no return.
And for many in our day an age, this continues to be the sticking
point. It seems too narrow, too exclusive, too pointed.
And yet it is open. It is there for anyone to accept or reject.
There is no compulsion, Jesus just put it out there for the people
of his time and for people of every generation.
And it is in this context that Jesus really lays on the line his
own ministry, his own place within the Godhead. His disciples engage
in debate with him, which he welcomes. It gives him that opportunity
to show them that unique relationship he has with the Father.
"Believe me," he says, "When I say that I am in the
Father and the Father is in me."
This is was the real turning point. The religious leaders became
entrenched in their opposition to Jesus for they saw this as a threat
to all that they had understood about God, and Jesus' followers
continued with hope, not fully understanding all that Jesus said
at this point, had to cope with the increasing tension and aggravation
of the world around them. Only in the light of the death and resurrection
of Jesus did this come to make sense.
We still live with that tension in the world as we try to proclaim
the concepts of faith in Jesus to an increasingly rationalistic
and self centred world. They cannot offer the comfort of peace even
in the face of worry and anxiety. They cannot see beyond the years
lived on this earth. They cannot give hope when humanity is turning
in on itself in greed, anger hatred and even bigotry. But Jesus
does offer us hope when he says, "Believe in God and believe
also in me."
Let us live with this hope as we continue to put our faith and trust
in him.
To God be the glory, now and forever more. AMEN.
Sunday 4th May 2014
Acts 2:14a, 36-41 Luke 24:13-35
Eternal Love
This is a gospel story I have really come to appreciate. It is
one of the faith stories that holds all the elements that it should.
It resonates with simplicity, with emotion, with the ability to
connect, and above all with that element of mystery.
I am sure that any one of us can relate to being out for a walk
with some one, intensely involved in discussion and debate and not
only the time passing by, but also that sense that everything else
around is inconsequential. It is quite different from a walk to
enjoy the surroundings of nature where one is absorbed by the beauty.
This walk was probably just one of going from point A to point B.
Perhaps a road walked many times before as part of daily life so
the intensity is in the company and in the topic of conversation.
And so wrapped up in this conversation are they, that the identity
of another person on the road who willingly joins in the conversation
is not even noticed.
We do not know the exact identity of these followers of Jesus. We
know one to be called Cleopas, but that is all. This is not one
of the twelve, and so how loose a term a 'follower of Jesus' is
here we do not really know. They had obviously heard him and knew
of him. They may have been members of one of the crowds that gathered
to listen to him during his public ministry and who had obviously
come to identify themselves with him during this time. But so engrossed
in conversation and eager to hear what he had to contribute to the
conversation, they did not recognise Jesus for who he was.
These followers of Jesus had had their world torn apart. They assumed
everybody in the community knew of the events of the last few days,
and they assumed perhaps that most were moved with some emotion
at least at this seemingly unjust execution. They were able to sum
up these events with a relatively brief resume putting this assumed
stranger into the picture. And in that resume one gets a sense of
their anguish and their dashed hopes. All that they had seen and
believed had been ripped away from them and they were verbalising
where they were at in this conversation. It isn't that they were
suddenly switching to disbelief but they were processing their thoughts
as they struggled to understand how all this could have happened
and what it meant.
I think this is partly why I relate to this story so closely. It
is how I tend to operate. One can see the workings of the mind as
the dialogue unfolds.
Gently but directly Jesus challenges these two people. He almost
chides them for their persistence in only looking at part of the
story. They recalled the things that Jesus had taught that gave
them hope for their future, but they seemed to ignore the parts
that explained the events they had just lived through.
Jesus had spoken many times of his imminent death and resurrection,
but they seemed to have not heard that, or perhaps had not understood
it and so pushed it back into the recesses of their mind. In the
confusion of these first few days they were unable to make the links
or join the dots with what they had been told would happen with
what actually had happened.
This is one of the things that makes this story so authentic. How
often we are like this? We know what we have been taught. We know
what we experience. We know the reality of the world in which we
live, but we struggle to connect it all together. Perhaps we become
so engrossed in one or other of the aspects of life, what we have
been taught, our experience or the reality of the world around us
that we cannot see beyond that which is uppermost in our minds.
We become consumed by that which occupies the space immediately
in front of us.
In this story, it was so much so, that they did not recognise Jesus
walking with them.
And sadly that often forms part of our experience of life, does
it not! We fail to see Jesus whose presence is promised and who
journeys with us through life. His love is not just with us in the
moments of elation, nor just in the moments of strife, but his loving
presence as illustrated in this story is eternal, he walks with
us in life and through death to undying life, even through his own
death.
These two people failed to see that presence with them at that moment.
But again, the beauty in this story is that Jesus does not abandon
them at this point, he does not hold their shortcomings against
them, but walks with them and talks with them as they journey on.
He sets their experience into the context of of the whole picture,
into the context of their faith and reminds them ever so gently
of the things that he had taught them during his public ministry.
And as they listen they become absorbed in what he is saying. You
can see the seeds of recognition beginning to dawn as they hunger
for the comfort of what they knew in Jesus.
Jesus as he walked with them reignited that flame in them and that
passion of faith begins to burn again, so much so, that they invite
Jesus to stay. We begin to see this budding fervour translate into
response. They want more. They want to continue along this path
of further discovery for it is beginning to make sense to them.
You can see the scales slipping from their eyes.
And then the lovely twist, or rather the crowning moment of recognition
is in the most simplest of acts. Jesus breaks the bread.
Whether this is written in the Gospel writers eyes as one of those
Eucharistic moments or not, one cannot help but make the link. Here
as the bread was broken, we see the one who said,
This is my body which is broken for you, and at that moment the
picture is completed. Here is the the risen Christ.
And it is interesting in this story, that it is not usual that the
guest of the house should break the bread. In this very normal and
simple act we see the host stand aside from his responsibility to
allow Christ to do this task. And it is in this moment that scales
fall from their eyes and they see this man for who he is. It is
Christ.
When ever we celebrate that Eucharistic meal it is Christ who is
the host at the table. We receive from the risen Christ the elements
of bread and wine. Together we share with Christ as the host.
In this very simple act the penny drops, it dawns on them who this
man is that they have invited into their lives.
It is this mystery and this moment that reflects the reality of
who Jesus is and helps make this faith story real for us, for how
many times in those simple moments do we discover Christ with us.
We do not need to look for him in the spectacular miracles or only
in the deepest moments of need in our lives. We do not need to fossick
around trying to discover God in all the out of the way and unusual
places; It is not in our attempts to be super spiritual people that
God will be most real to us, rather it is in the very simple acts
of living, it is in the moments of everyday life that the risen
Christ walks with us and is there with us.
And every now and then we have those moments of clarity where that
presence is so close, and often like in this story it is only momentary,
for in this story as Jesus is revealed for who he is, that sense
of closeness is gone. However, that sense of presence still burns
within.
This is yet another illustration of God's grace that comes to us.
Grace is not about our searching and our endeavours to endear ourselves
to God.
Grace is seen in this story as God draws near to us and opens our
eyes to the wonder of his glory.
Grace invites us to come, it invites us to follow, it invites us
to respond in belief and trust in the risen Christ. It is in this
grace that we experience and know that eternal love of God that
never leaves us nor forsakes us.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 6th April 2014
Exodus 37:1-14 John 11:1-45
Overcoming Love
Love that overcomes is love that conquers even the seemingly impossible,
and our reading this morning tells of such love in the lead up to
the greatest of all stories of God's overcoming love. Just prior to
the events that lead to Jesus' final arrest, trial and crucifixion,
we are given a glimpse into the hope that lies in the face of all
this negativity.
It is a story that I am sure we call all relate too in terms of Mary
and Martha's aspect. Here two sisters grieve the death of their brother
Lazarus.
And this story leaves us in no doubt that Lazarus was dead. Several
days had passed before Jesus' appearance on the scene. Lazarus had
been buried, probably within 24 hours, as was the custom and obvious
signs of decay were present. This in itself separates this story from
other similar stories in the other gospels where the timing of Jesus'
intervention was much closer to the death. In Mark's Gospel Jiairus'
daughter died while he was on his way to see this ailing girl. When
he arrived he found people in those early stages of grief, and he
announced she was only asleep. Luke tells us of a widows son who had
died and they were already on the way to bury him. Here again Jesus
addresses the dead person and he sat up and engaged in conversation
with him.
In these other two cases there is always the possibility of a mistaken
diagnosis of death which was not that uncommon. We have even heard
of similar type incidents in our own day and age where signs of life
have been spotted sometime after death was thought to have occurred.
Also in both of these cases they happened reasonably early on in Jesus
ministry that raised the curiosity of the religious authorities of
that time and had them watch Jesus more closely.
John on the other hand leaves us in no doubt that Lazarus is dead.
Four days before his arrival he had been buried and the expectation
was that when the grave stone was rolled away the smell would be over
bearing. This time delay is necessary if we are truly see the power
of God at work. Had Jesus acted purely out of his compassion for Mary
and Martha he would have responded quickly to the news of Lazarus'
illness and impending death.
This event is also placed at the end of Jesus' ministry just prior
to his entry into Jerusalem. Here we see this event in the eyes of
the religious leaders as almost the straw that breaks the camel back.
The pressure was on Jesus at this time and he was being watched like
a hawk. With the annual Passover approaching and many people visiting
Jerusalem, the authorities did not want any disruption. Clearly Jesus
and his followers felt they were not that welcome for they feared
for their safety. But Jesus was compelled to go to his friends in
their time of need. In a very real way he wanted to offer them comfort
and life in the face of death.
In this story we begin to see a picture of what faith in Jesus Christ
looks like. We see it from the compassion of Christ in his desire
to put the needs of his friends before his own personal circumstances.
We see it in the fact that his love would overcome the grief and the
anguish of those around him taking away their fear and giving them
peace even in the face of death itself.
We see it in the deep sense of need that those around Jesus felt as
they looked to him in their times of trial. Several times Mary and
Martha said to Jesus through their tears of grief, "If you had
been here, Lord our brother would not have died."
They both had that sense that Jesus would and could overcome whatever
adversity they faced. Here in Jesus was the one who could help them
in every circumstance that life may throw at them.
As a precursor to the greatest act of God, we see this event illustrate
God's power over life and death. Here is God's power which he has
laid on Jesus, the Christ, the anointed one, the Messiah demonstrated
for all to see.
And Martha in direct response to Jesus' questioning of her faith in
him responds,
"Yes Lord! I do believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of
God, who was to come into the world."
At this moment we see the declaration of truth that opens the path
leading directly to the cross.
Had Jesus said, "No, No, Martha you have this all wrong,"
the religious leaders would have walked away happy men. But he did
not.
Her statement came in response to his words claiming that He was the
resurrection and the life and that in fact belief in him would result
in life for any who accepted that.
Here is the turning point, for this claim of power over life and death,
that only God could offer was, in effect a declaration that here was
the long awaited Messiah that the people of Israel had been waiting
for. And in this event of Lazarus being raised, unmistakably from
death, the world could see the truth in this claim.
The path was now cleared to walk to Jerusalem and to face the authorities
head on and not only the authorities but life itself.
Through the agony that lay ahead, Jesus had a clear vision which is
shared with us, that resurrection will overcome even death itself.
God's love for the world will not be compromised even by the best
and most experienced plotters. The power of life and death is not
in the hands of any man or woman, but in the hands of God alone.
This call of Jesus to believe in him as the giver of life, as the
resurrection, was clearly read as blasphemy and for the religious
leaders this could only be dealt with by the most severe of punishments,
death itself.
And the irony is, that only through such death would the truth ultimately
be demonstrated, for out of that death would come life; out of that
death would come resurrection to eternal life.
We see just how desperate these people were, for they even contemplated
killing Lazarus to take the heat out of the situation. They were so
trapped in their own little world, feeling the pressure of loosing
control that they had held with such fragile balance, they considered
extreme measures were needed to get back to the comfort of what they
had built around themselves.
And how often we feel this in an ever-changing world. The comfort
of what we once knew, where we felt safe and secure, always seems
to be the place we think we should be, and yet God is often leading
us forward down those rocky roads testing us to see that our faith
is where it should be, allowing us to experience God's real love where
we need and appreciate it most.
In this story we see the compassion of God poured out. Even as Mary
came to Jesus and declared her faith, Jesus is moved by this and weeps.
This is by no means a cold and detached demonstration of power. It
is a picture of emotion and a deeply felt sense of raw humanity reaching
out to the needs around. We read again in the lead up to Jesus calling
Lazarus out from the grave, "Deeply moved once more...."
Jesus does not act out of anything other than his love for humanity.
He is moved by our emotion, he reacts to our faith and to our grief,
he is motivated by God's love for humanity and by our sense of need
and our small steps of expressing our faith. Any one who has experienced
grief will know these emotions and the comfort that can be brought,
just by the presence of another. It does not require words or even
action, but just that presence. And this is the presence that the
risen Christ brings in our lives day by day. This became, in the face
of Christ's own death and resurrection, the reality of our faith in
Him. Here in this story is the hope of our faith, that in the face
of death, love overcomes, in the face of death, life is promised,
in the face of death, resurrection is experienced.
May God's compassion and grace for each of us be experienced and felt
as we live our lives in Him and for Him.
And to God be the glory, now and forever more. AMEN.
Sunday 23rd March 2014
Exodus 17:1-7 John 4:5-42
Stretching Love
Right from the opening verses of our Gospel reading the scene is portrayed
in such a way that we can sense the potential tension that is set
in this story. To understand these tensions and the dynamics going
on in this story we need to consider the three angles from which this
scene can be viewed; there is the Samaritan woman, there is of course
Jesus, and there is the Gospel writer who conveys the story to us.
John works hard at painting the picture with all the nuances that
that would have been in the air as this scene unfolded.
For a start, Jesus did not go this way through Samaria with the intention
of preaching the Gospel to these people. He had come to the notice
of the Pharisees who had heard that Jesus was collecting larger crowds
and followers than John the Baptist, and so this was a concern to
them. In their eyes the fragile balance of peace with the Roman occupiers
of this region could so easily be tipped that they want to put a stop
to his activities. In short they were after him. Jesus was trying
to fly under the radar, and so a shortcut through Samaria, a region
the Pharisees would not go, was the quickest and easiest route.
But while on his way through this region he took the opportunity to
open up conversation with this Samaritan woman who was drawing water
from the well.
It was only back in chapter three that Jesus spoke of the Spirit blowing
where it would, and here we see the work of the Spirit opening up
opportunities in the least likely of places amongst the unexpected
of people.
Jesus did not allow the preconceptions of his upbringing, nor the
social expectations of his day, to stop him from taking every opportunity
to present the love of God to people, stretching those boundaries
in every way possible to make sure that everyone knew of that love.
Here was a troubled woman, why would Jesus not offer that love? It
is also of course that picture of grace. Once again it is a picture
of God who comes to us. God who initiates that love given so freely
to us. And is this not a picture of our role as disciples of Christ
to present that love that stretches to all people everywhere. It after
all forms the basis of the great commission that Christ set his disciples
when he said,
"But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled
with power and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all Judaea
and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Christ set the pattern and the example on his jaunt through this region,
despised by his own people and yet open and willing to hear God's
message accepting that love offered to them.
Jesus allowed the Spirit to lead him into places where the society
of his day would not go. He was willing to push the boundaries of
prejudice because in his eyes, God did not recognise such limits.
Jesus recognised where people were thirsting and offered water that
would bring lasting satisfaction and then he sent them out to tell
others.
Yes, we celebrate the harvest once a year. We come to acknowledge
that all we have, even the most basic of our needs, food, comes from
God. But Jesus recognised the harvest around him was ripe for the
picking all year round. There were always people hungering and thirsting
after righteousness, always wanting to find peace with God, and it
is our task as disciples of Christ to tell them and help them discover
that food that will satisfy their needs.
So, what of the woman in this story. Here she was just going about
one of her daily task of drawing water from the well, and this Galilean
man asks her for a drink.
Her immediate response is to reinforce the centuries of prejudice
by pointing out the difference between them, "You are a Jew,
and I am a Samaritan - so how can you ask me for a drink."
It is interesting that the reason for the divide between Jew and Samaritan
is not really known. What is known, is that for whatever reason, the
Jews did not consider the Samaritans to be children of Israel. They
were not part of God's chosen people and therefore were treated as
Gentiles. So for Jesus to ask for a drink from this woman would have
meant he was making himself ritually unclean, he was defiling himself
under the Jewish law. She recognised this and commented on it. This
encounter opened up a life changing exchange for her as we know. But
this change came because she did engage. This became a two way encounter,
a true conversation as questions and answers were passed back and
forth.
In this exchange understanding was opened up. Jesus did not condemn
her, as her life was laid bare, but rather he encouraged her in process
of change. He encouraged her to walk a journey of discovery with him.
"The time is coming and is already here, when by the power of
God's Spirit people will worship the Father as he really is, offering
him true worship that he wants."
This journey of discovery is an encounter that we are all invited
to join. This conversation with the Samaritan woman is a conversation
open to us all in our daily walk with God. But it is a conversation
that can either help us to become entrenched in what we have always
done and thought or it can open up for us knew possibilities and discoveries.
Both parties, the Jews and the Samaritans it would seem were happier
just to live with the barriers that time and tradition had erected
around them, reinforcing prejudice and even hatred from both sides.
Is this not what we still see on our screens each night from that
generalpart of the world, Israel and Syria still at each others throats,
still blocking one from the other. But we can also see those barriers
in our own communities and in our own lives as we keep God at a distance,
as we refuse to allow our prejudices and social attitudes to be challenged
and changed when confronted by God's love that continues to stretch
us. Sometimes such refusal we see as motivated by God's word, sometimes
it is motivated by our fear of where it might lead and what effects
such changes might have on society and at other times it is just because
we ourselves are entrenched in our own ways unwilling to engage in
that two way conversation with God.
For the Samaritan woman this was a life changing encounter. We hear
nothing of her after this story is told but we can assume by her response
that she had begun a new chapter in her life.
"The woman left her water jar, went back to the town, and said
to the people there. "come and see the man who told me everything
I have ever done. Could he be the Messiah?" So they left the
town and went to Jesus."
This encounter did not drive her into isolation and introspection,
but rather it sent her out to share her experience and to seek a response
from her community. Faith is to be shared, and like the harvest it
is not just for ourselves but for the community, for the sustenance
of all.
So, why does John tell this story, a story unique to his gospel?
It is a story that speaks of the gospel crossing those cultural and
religious boundaries. It is a story that expresses the freedom of
the Spirit to move where the Spirit wishes, it is a story that sets
that pattern of discipleship that sees us take what God has offered
as he stretches his love for us and all people, and we take that and
offer that same love to the community in which we live as we too seek
to see peoples lives changed.
It is a story that challenges us in our own living as we recognise
God who sees all and knows all and who wants always to engage us in
that two way encounter. So our relationship with God is enhanced as
we question and converse, as we challenge and are challenged in our
thinking, in our speaking and in our actions in the world in which
we live.
May we continue in our relationship with the God who loves us and
embraces us and stretches us in our understanding of what it is to
be loved, and what it means to love others as God has loved us.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 16th March 2014
Divine Love
Genesis 12:1-4a John 3:1-17
The very first verse of Psalm 121 perhaps sums up both of today's
readings when it begins with a question. It is interesting that the
KJV of the scriptures does not translate this verse as a question,
but it is universally recognised today that this is what it is, and
this contemporary approach to the translation of this verse makes
a significant difference to the meaning of what we read.
The question is posed in a rhetorical form.
"I look to the mountains, where shall my help come from?"
Many of us will remember it, if not learnt it by heart as,
"I will lift up mine eyes to the hills from whence cometh my
help."
The inference in the later is that our help comes from the mountains
to which we look. The former poses the question of when we look to
the mountains, great as they are, where in fact does our help come
from.
Of course the Psalmist goes on to state, "My help will come from
the Lord who made heaven and earth."
There is recognition that the mountains upon which he is gazing, are
part of the created order, part of what the Lord has made, the same
Lord who will comes to our aid; the same Lord who will not let us
stumble or fall, and who will in fact protect us.
Here, Divine Love is shown to encompass all of creation as it is intertwined,
engaging in the world and with its people.
As we look at the world, the perception of where our help comes from
is coloured by our understanding of that world.
If we see the limits of our world contained in the horizons to which
we look, the mountains and all that is around us, we will look for
our help from within these confines. We will be limited to that which
we know, that which we can touch, that which we can control. The love
which we seek will also come from this contained source.
Such a confined pool forces us only to look inward and pictures ourselves
at the centre of all that is around us.
On the other hand if we look beyond the mountains to the Maker of
heaven and earth, then we need to look with eyes of faith trusting
the One who is beyond, the One who as Nicodemus so rightly observed,
when he said to Jesus, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher
sent by God. No one could perform the miracles you are doing unless
God were with him."
Nicodemus' world view was tinkering on the edge of faith.
He was seeking answers that lay beyond what he could see or touch
or even comprehend.
It is at this point that Jesus explains his problem,
"I am telling you the truth: no one can see the Kingdom of God
unless he is born again."
Now this is a term that in more recent history has had some rather
unfortunate connotations attached to it. People have spoken of "Born
again Christians" implying that there are some other forms of
Christians around, the former being superior in some way or other.
This certainly is not the intention of this text. If Jesus were saying
this today, he might suggest that if we were to understand the Kingdom
of God in any real way, we might need to be reprogrammed. In other
words, like Jesus' analogy, we might want to see the world in a different
way and experience the world in a way that is open to God's interaction
and sovereign way with us.
Rather than looking for the extraordinary things in life to see where
God is all the time, we might begin to view the world with our starting
point being God. Let us see the world as God's world. Let us experience
the world as part of God's creation. This God is free to move and
do what is his Divine right, and we are part and parcel of that Divine
world in which He has swept us up in his love.
Such a view of the world is quite radical and the implications far
reaching. So John describes this Divine presence in terms of Spirit.
This word comes from the same word as Breath, God breathed. Thus the
Spirit is like the wind that blows where it wishes. We cannot catch
it, we do not know from where it comes nor where its final destination
might be. Thus, this world view does not have us as the controlling
influence, but rather God. God who is both mysterious, the unknown
and the unknowable, and yet the God who has come to us in Jesus Christ,
making himself known to all humanity.
In this way, God has lifted his presence up before us so that the
whole world might see and know the love that God has for us. The old
hymn puts it, "Love came down at Christmas."
This is God's Divine love made real for us.
So this whole conversation with Nicodemus sets the scene for that
most wonderful gospel truth expressed in v 16.
"God love the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life."
God's love is the primary factor and motivating force of this Divine
action. This love motivated creation in the beginning, and brought
about the remedial action of the cross through Jesus Christ. This
love was not just about words, it was not just emotion expressed,
but this love came in action, and came in a form that we could relate
too, namely Jesus Christ.
His life, death and resurrection was to shine out as that love was
personified, and demonstrated so that we might have a very clear picture
of exactly how much God loves us and what the implications of that
love would be.
We see in this self giving love an offering for all humanity that
offers the promise of eternal life.
That universal search of humanity for the answer to our life and death
questions is revealed in this conversation. Eternal life is promise
for those who put their trust in Jesus Christ as the one who brings
God's love into the world.
And with that image of Moses lifting the bronze snake on a pole, God
answered the cries of the people of Israel as they perished in the
Sinai Desert, offering them healing if they looked at snake. In the
same way Jesus answers Nicodemus' question concerning humanities eternal
destiny. Just as the snake was lifted up, so when Jesus is lifted
up on the cross, our focus on him will be the key to our faith. As
we gaze at him and acknowledge the great love of God for the world
and for us as individuals and as communities of God's people, we will
find love and acceptance not condemnation.
For the people of Israel, the snake on the pole was a focal point
to remind them of God's presence and power in their midst.
Is this not what draws us back to God's Divine love for us as we remember
again in this Lenten season the cross, and Christ's path to it.
It is the cross that holds for us both the symbol of God's suffering
love, and the hope of resurrection to eternal life.
It is here that we see that Divine Love grounded in our world, in
the realities of human life, in suffering and pain as well as in joy
and triumph.
It is a love that does not lift us out of the world in which we live,
but rather equips us to live with and to sometime endure the reality
of our humanity.
It is a love that walks with us, rather than standing afar and directing
us. It is a love that suffers with us and endures the path of life
right to the end. It is a love walks with us even through death to
undying life with God.
Such is the hope of our faith. This is the message that we have to
offer to a world that searches in so many different directions for
the assurance of such love. In the cross of Christ we find it, we
see it, we experience that Divine Love.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 9th March 2014
Genesis 2:15-17;3:1-7 Matthew 4:1-11
Testing Love.
As we move into the season of Lent we begin that journey with Christ
toward the cross. This was for Christ, a journey of committed love,
but also a journey of testing love. It was a journey that saw that
relationship between Christ as his heavenly Father tested. This
testing pushed him probably even to breaking point.
And while we can stand at a distance and look at this relationship
from afar, it is a relationship that we are all called to, as to
be a follower of Jesus we too are invited to take up our cross and
follow him.
Thus this journey becomes a path of obedience and a path of endurance.
This concept of perseverance is an interesting one, and this week
I was reading Bonhoeffer, and he describe it in the following way;
"Perseverance, translated literally, means: remaining underneath,
not throwing off the load, but bearing it." He goes on to say,
"We know much too little in the church today about the peculiar
blessing of bearing. Bearing not shaking off; bearing, but not collapsing
either; bearing as Christ bore the cross remaining underneath, and
there beneath it - to find Christ."
It is this picture that lies at the heart of our readings today.
The first being set in the Garden of Eden. We begin reading of that
setting where Adam and Eve were, with the only boundary being set
was that they were not to eat of the one tree in the Garden, the
tree of knowledge.
With that one restriction they were set free to enjoy and to cultivate
the garden.
We then see the relationship develop between them and the Tempter.
Here they are confronted with a challenge seems to great for them
to bear and they are unable to persevere. The other story is of
Christ's encounter with the same Tempter, but he perseveres.
Both are stories of that testing love that faces any of us in our
relationships, not only with one another, but also in our relationship
with God.
What do these stories teach us about our relationships and that
perseverance that is so essential if relationships are to be lasting
and fulfilling?
From the story of Adam and Eve we see where relationships falter,
and with Christ we see the essence of what built that strong and
persevering relationship.
Looking at the Genesis story we see four key points that eroded
that relationship that Adam and Eve had with God.
Firstly, doubt was raised. They had been given one, and only one,
simple instruction. "Do not eat of the tree of Knowledge."
It is here that the tempter begins and we see it in v2. "Did
God really say that." It is so simple, such a basic technique.
Doubt eats away at us and we are left wondering is that really the
case. Is that really what was said? Is that really what I believe?
And as soon as doubt enters the equation we begin down a path of
not only self doubt but doubting others. And doubt can be so corrosive,
because we then begin to wonder whether the issue at hand is that
important in the whole scheme of things, and it looses its edge.
Giving away important truths or understandings needs to be done
with great caution and a lot of thought. The key in the Gospel story,
was that Jesus continually confronted the Tempter with the words,
"It is written." He was able to confront doubts raise
with reasoned and logical answers based on what he knew to be truth.
The Second area that we see in the break down of relationships leads
on from doubt to deceit.
In verse 4 the Tempter comes back at Adam and Eve and says, "That's
not true; you will not die."
The seed of doubt having been sown is now confronted with contradiction
as they are deceived with a total fabrication of the truth.
No longer do they believe what they were once told by God, but they
have chosen to follow the lead of the Tempter.
Truth is not always easy to pin point. We know in our own lives
and society how things have change with the passing of time and
a shifting of social attitudes. Sometimes those changes have been
for the better, and sometimes when we look back in hind sight we
wonder whether wisdom has in fact prevail with such change.
Sometimes the church has been at the forefront of change and at
other times it has lagged behind or stood in opposition to social
change. That is surely part and parcel of the role of the Church
in society as we seek collectively to determine the mind of God.
We must not oppose change merely for the sake of our unease with
change, but we can act as a conscience and as a sounding board for
such change. This is part of the Divine gift our humanity, that
ability to think, to articulate and to reason, that we have been
given so that we can engage with God and with one another through
such change.
Thirdly in this story we see after doubt having been raise, deceit
committed, we see delusion occur.
The writer says in v6, "The woman saw how beautiful the tree
was and how good its fruit would be to eat, and she thought how
wonderful it would be to become wise. So she took some of the fruit
and ate it."
The attraction of what we once knew to be wrong when we have allowed
our minds to be changed seems to take on a beauty of its own. The
excitement and challenge of contradicting our own standards can
sometimes lead us further and further down that pathway of delusion.
For Jesus, he continued to stand firm with that response, "it
is written." The promise of personal gain, the temptation of
power and control, did not sway him in his willingness to follow
the truth and hold on to what he knew to be right, even when the
personal cost would be great. Bonhoeffer gives some further insight
here when he says,
"For remaining steadfast, remaining strong is meant here too;
not weak acquiescence or surrender, not masochism, but growing stronger
under load, as under God's grace, in a composed manner preserving
the peace of God. God's peace is found with those who persevere."
For relationships to succeed sometimes they require that strength
of character, that steadfast resolve, that determination that we
hear at every wedding we attend that commits unreservedly to each
other with the simple words, 'I do.' Such commitment cannot be put
more plainly, it cannot be expressed more clearly, and yet it can
take steely resolve to make it work. This is where Adam and Eve
got it so wrong, and where on the other hand, Christ got it so right.
One resulted in a break down in the relationship with God and the
other in cementing the path ahead, as rough as that would be.
The fourth and final aspect of this story that results in the erosion
of relationships is that disappointment that is brought to the fore.
It is often a disappointment in oneself, as witnessed in Adam. When
confronted by God in the Garden, Adam's response is "I was
afraid and hid from you, because I was naked."
The awareness of his nakedness was something new. This disobedience
to the Divine command did not bring the promised knowledge, but
rather the shame and embarrassment of his human state before God.
He was both literally and figuratively stripped bare. There was
nothing hidden, and he was ashamed. The truth of his disobedience
had been exposed and it certainly did not bring him peace of mind
or useful and constructive knowledge. Quite the opposite. His disappointment
in himself and his partner in life broke that relationship asunder.
It is Christ, whose obedience and steadfast love all the way to
the cross, who restored that relationship of trust. He walked that
path knowing the temptations we suffer, knowing the painful cost
that was required, and yet in love he did this for us. It is his
body that was broken for us, and his blood shed. Sometimes there
is a cost to expressing love if we are to find true peace with God,
and the true measure of that peace is often seen in how we face
the sufferings that life brings to us. Do we take the seemingly
easy way out like Adam and Eve and in the process find that true
peace has escaped us, or do we like Christ find that through our
suffering for his sake, we ironically discover a peace that passes
all understanding? Are we able like the scriptures suggest in a
funny sort of way, to "rejoice in our sufferings", knowing
that Christ has gone before us, and that Christ stands with us?
To God be the glory, now and forever more. AMEN.
26th January 2014
Isaiah 9:1-4 Matthew 4:12-23
Where is the light?
Last week we had John's view of the launch of Jesus' public ministry,
this week we get Matthew's version. Matthew places the calling of
his disciples immediately following the baptism of Jesus and that
40 day period in the wilderness. This time of solitude brought focus
to Jesus ministry as he reflected on his role. It is a practise that
has been engaged in some parts of the church, where prior to ordination
some time for personal reflection is encouraged.
Matthew then sets the stage for Jesus' entry into public ministry.
He does this based around the geographical area of Galilee and its
immediate environment. From here in Chapter 4 through to Chapter 16
we have the bulk of Jesus' public life described. Matthew does this,
not necessarily in strict chronological order but more often than
not he groups events around a thematic approach. We see this in areas
like the Sermon on the mount, his teaching on discipleship, chapters
on miracles, the mission of the disciples and then collections of
parables. In this way Matthew paints for us a many-faceted picture
of the character of Jesus' public ministry.
Historically this area of Galilee had become a predominantly Gentile
population until a deliberate Judaizing policy had been adopted giving
the effect of a very mixed population. It is interesting that this
should the context in which the Jewish Messiah should come, and this
in Matthew's eyes needed to be justified. For him this was easy and
it came from the Prophet Isaiah. Here was a disgraced nation who was
to see the new light come among them. They have lived in the shadows
but now the light had come upon them.
For Matthew there was no surprise that in this part of his world the
Messiah might come. And as he puts pen to parchment some years later,
he can see with even more clarity, as he does not see the coming of
the Messiah as only for the people of Israel, but has a much greater
vision of God's kingdom. God's coming was to be for all people, for
Jew's and Gentile's. Matthew has a place in God's kingdom for the
outsiders and the least expected of society. He has a role in God's
Kingdom for the Magi, the foreign kings, he has an exalted place for
women, which his society struggled to recognise, as did the church
for nearly a couple of thousand years.
Matthew's Gospel shines the light of God's hope on all people, and
thus Galilee, the understated area of Israel, is the place for this
movement to begin. Here is where God will reveal his purposes for
the whole world for all time to come.
"The people who live in darkness will see a great light. On those
who live in the dark land of death the light will shine."
This is the context of hope. The context of a community of Jew and
Gentile, the context of occupied land, the context of an oppressed
people, and yet here the sovereign God enters to offer hope to all.
Out of this setting a new beginning is set. Here Matthew described
the calling of those first disciples from the shores of that lake.
And Matthew is quite clever in his image of the invitation offered:
"Come with me, and I will teach you to catch men."
He portrays this in imagery that is familiar to them. They are after
all fishermen. That is their stock and trade. But like the image Gospel
writers used of the Shepherd, so too this image of fishing for men
has strong Old Testament links. It was probably well known to them
that Jeremiah and Amos both used this language.
In Jeremiah 16:16 we read, "The Lord says, 'I am sending for
many fishermen to come and catch these people....'"
And Amos says in 4:2, "As the Sovereign Lord is holy, he has
promised, 'The days will come when they will drag you away with hooks;
every one of you will be like a fish on a hook."
Such would be the familiarity of this language to those first disciples,
but as with so much of Jesus' teaching and practice there was a twist
to it.
In these Old Testament prophets these fishermen were there to bring
people in for God's judgement, but Christ was calling his disciples
to go out and to offer God's salvation, saving people from God's wrath
and judgement.
Sometimes our understanding is clouded by the preconceived notions
we have grown up with or that we have formed in our own minds. And
this twist of understanding may have taken the disciples a long time
to get their heads around.
They were bringing people in so that they might receive the mercy
and grace of God that is freely given, not so that judgement might
be dished out.
They were not selectively fishing for one particular group, but were
casting the nets wide to offer this grace and mercy to anyone who
would receive it.
Often we see this contrast between the Old Testament understanding
of God's judgement contrasted with the New Testament idea of Grace.
Think of the woman caught in adultery. She was brought to Jesus by
the religious leaders so that he would be forced to condemn her, because
this is what the law said. Yet with a few carefully chosen words Jesus
rips their argument from under them. "Let he who has not sinned,
throw the first stone." Grace prevailed.
And we get a further sense of this if we are to look at Paul's words
in the Corinthians reading for today where Paul talks of division
in the early church, mainly through groups following different people
rather than focusing on Christ and his teaching. It seems that so
quickly the early church turned back to this legalism which Jesus
brushed aside. It seems that as human beings we are so quick to want
to fit everyone into our way of thinking and doing things, as if that
is the only way. And our defence mechanism is to make judgements,
often harsh judgements that put people down, rather than helping to
build them up.
Paul talked of the foolish wisdom of the Gospel offering God's love
and grace rather than our judgement and condemnation.
In an argument in Corinth over baptism, Paul says,
"Christ did not send me to baptize. He sent me to tell the Good
news, and to tell it without using the language of human wisdom, in
order to make sure that Christ's death on the cross is not robbed
of its power."
The selective fishermen of the Old Testament prophet's image, was
replaced with the broad net approach in Christ's image to demonstrate
that God's love was not just for the particular people of Israel,
but was for the whole world. It was to draw all people.
And surely that is the approach of the church for today as in every
day. We are not to be selective in our offering of God's love and
grace, for that would be to rob the cross of its power. We are to
go out into the whole world, as the great commission says, and make
them disciples of Jesus Christ.
People of all ages, people of all status, people of every conceivable
background need to hear the good news that God loves them and that
he came into the world for them, and that he died and rose again for
them.
If we begin to focus on one group or another, if we begin to exclude
some in favour of another we are denying the power of the cross.
We are to follow Christ, just as he approached the world, to love
the unloved, to go where others will not go, to accept sometimes when
the world will only condemn.
"The people who live in darkness will see a great light. On those
who live in the dark land of death the light will shine."
It is God's light that we are to portray to the world. His light that
offers hope, his light that shines even when everything else seems
to be so gloomy. His light that welcomes with open arms people who
are searching, people who are struggling, people who feel that their
faith is lacking or inadequate.
And it only takes a tiny amount of light for the darkness to be pushed
away.
Jesus' disciples followed him, they learnt from him, they absorbed
his teaching and his example. We too are called to be his disciples
as we grow day by day in the grace offered and the love experienced.
Let us too follow him.
To God be the glory, now and forever more.
AMEN.
CHRISTMAS DAY 2013
Isaiah 52:7-10 Psalm 98 John 1:1-14
Today we come to celebrate the birth of Christ. It is a birth that
has turned the world upside down and has been remembered for over
2000 years. I wonder what it is that makes this birth so special.
I mean we all love to see a baby. We love that concept of new life!
We all love the sweet scenes that are painted portraying that angelic
family surrounded by the harmony of humanity and nature, and often
including the supernatural aspects as well. We even love the animals
that are portrayed as gathering around. But I suspect those pictures
we are presented with are far from the truth of that day. They were
in a stable because there was no better accommodation available.
All the hotels and motels were full. The best they could find was
the area of the house out the back, down in the lower part, where
the animals were housed at night. Now lets not get too romantic
about this! I am sure that most of you will have spent at least
some time in a farm yard. You can imagine the sorts of things that
would be happening around you, the smells the disturbances, the
noises of animals huffing and puffing. The family on a sort of mezzanine
floor above this animal pit.
Really conducive to giving birth, especially when you probably don't
know any of the people who dwell in this house and that the only
thing they could find to rest the baby in was the manger, the long
feeding trough used for the animals. You can just imagine how relaxed
they all were, taking it in their stride. Yeah Right!
But this is the basis of the story that we celebrate today and every
year.
And I want us to consider three things this morning about this story
that I have been pondering.
I want to look at the ridiculous nature of the story,
The Risky nature of the story, and the Redemptive nature of it.
Firstly, because of some of the things that I have already spoken
of, and the idea that Jesus came as God incarnate, on the surface
may seem absolutely ridiculous. God's coming into the world in human
form, not as a king, not as some important person born into the
aristocracy, but rather a baby, born in a stable, to a poor peasant
girl, when far away from home.
Have you ever thought about that concept of a baby?
What are a baby's characteristics.
Well lets think about it!
What are some of the obvious things that we notice about a baby?
(helpless, dependent, lacks independent thinking and rationalizing
skills etc)
They need training and nurturing, don't they. Babies are not just
little adults, which they did use to be thought of and which they
are often portrayed as, in early art work.
But no, a baby is very dependent. And this is how God chose to present
himself to humanity! A helpless infant dependant on his mother and
father for nurture and learning, for growing and developing. I am
sure his crying and his eating, his laughing and his sleeping were
just like any other baby, toddler and infant.
And this is the concept that can seem so ridiculous, and yet it
lies at the heart of the Christmas message. God, come as one of
us, they called him Emmanuel, God is with us! Or as John put it,
"the Word became flesh, full of grace and truth, and lived
among us."
Inherent in this must surely be the risk that was involved in this
move on God's part.
Who was to know that this child would follow the path chosen for
him? Who was to know that he wouldn't turn out to be a little horror?
We all know how unpredictable the life of any person can be. And
what about the parent's commitment to following what had been presented
to them? How could God be sure that this Mary and Joseph would follow
God's will at this time. Nevertheless, this risky event is bathed
in God's trust of humanity. The time was right for the Messiah to
appear.
Ultimately we need to remember this coming of God in Jesus Christ,
mysterious as it is, is about the redemptive work of God.
Here was God's way of expressing his love for the world in a real
and tangible way; in a way that would have God experience what it
is to be human. In this way that would bring that relationship between
God and humanity back together. Paul expresses it in terms of the
first Adam having broken that relationship at the fall, and the
second Adam, namely Christ, having restored that relationship, that
union, between God and us.
This is the whole point of the incarnation, to restore the peace
and joy and love that there is in that relationship between God
and humanity. It is only in such a relationship that true peace
can be found. A peace that passes all understanding, a peace that
defies all that is happening around, and enables us to see God even
in the midst of turmoil.
A joy that is not just froth and bubble that floats on the surface,
but a sense of contentment that emanates from deep within, that
flows out from the peace that passes all understanding. This is
a love whose example we see in the concept of the incarnation where
God has poured out his love for the world in coming, not as a king,
but as a baby, the Word made flesh, come to dwell among us, not
in power but in dependence and humility.
May we continue to celebrate Christmas for what it really is, the
birth of Christ, the coming of God, the seemingly ridiculous, risky
but great act of redemption.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Christmas Eve 2013 (Midnight)
Isaiah 9:2-7 Matthew 1:18-24 Matthew 2:1-12 John 1:1-14
Grace and truth among us!
The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived
among us."
John uses these words at the beginning of his Gospel to tell us
of Christ's coming into the world.
It is a strange birth narrative, and yet it is descriptive of God's
act of Divine Love coming to us in this child who was born over
2000 years ago. And it is around this theme that the hymn writer
wrote when she penned the words, "Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love Divine; Love was born at Christmas, Star and
angels gave the sign."
John's words offer the purpose of God's coming in Christ to reveal
to us grace and truth.
This is the place it is to be found, and in the other Gospels, and
particularly in Matthew we read in great detail the events surrounding
this wonderful birth. It would seem that in these stories everyone
was on a journey of some sort or other.
There were Joseph and Mary, they were off to the place of Joseph's
birth, Bethlehem, and soon to be the birth of their son. There were
the wise men from the East who came looking for the one born to
be King. And if we take into account the other Gospels, we have
the shepherds, the angels, and we have to wonder about the villagers.
It is a picture of life in all it busyness, people moving from one
place to another, and so often in search of truth and grace. But
in all of these examples, Mary and Joseph, and the Wise men, and
those from the other Gospel accounts, they took time to stop. They
found the places they needed to be and they paused from the busyness
to take in what lay before them.
It is a picture of Christian life and worship, where we take time
out of the busyness of life to contemplate Christ and to worship
the one who came among us all those years ago.
In the frantic rush, that Christmas has become, the danger is that
we forget the one who lies at the centre of it all and bypass the
manger. It is too easy to focus on the family, the occasions the
food, the gatherings and we forget that one, born in a quiet back
street stable, described to us as the one called "Jesus, -
because he will save his people from their sins."
The time taken enabled these people to reassess
their lives. It enabled them to look beyond their own worlds and
predicaments to take in a much greater picture of the world and
the meaning that was there for them. As the wise men reflected on
what they saw and experienced they reassessed their journey and
went home by another road. Their encounter with Christ opened their
eyes to Herod's evil ways. They saw the grace and truth that lay
before them in that manger as they worshipped the one born to be
king.
They presented him with their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh,
symbols fit for a king; costly symbols that demonstrated their commitment
and their desire to worship this one who had come among them.
So the question becomes for us, as again we come to this Christmas
season, 'what do we do with the one born to be King?'
What difference does the birth of Christ make for us in our lives
as we celebrate once again this festive season?
Is it merely an annual event that brings the stresses and strains
of life to head once a year and then we pack it away with all the
decorations for another year to come?
Or is it like the Magi on their journey? Life changing, giving new
direction and new focus as we recognise in this one on whom we focus,
Jesus, the saviour of the world."
Here is the message of Christmas that must not be confused with
the rampant commercialism, calling us to give what we cannot afford,
merely to boost the sales and rack up the profits.
Let us not confuse the ringing of the tills with the bells that
call us to worship, nor even perhaps the call to family over and
above the call to the one born in that stable.
It is Christ mass after all! The call is to Christ, to come and
offer worth to him who came among us so that we might have our relationship
with God,the Creator restored. It is only through Christ, the one
whose birth we celebrate tonight, in whom we can find peace with
God and who can lead us to live at peace with one another.
Let us continue in our worship of him. Let us have our celebrations
centred and focused on him as we enjoy the company and fever of
this day.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 22 December 2013
Isaiah 7:10-16 Matthew 1:18-25
He will save his people
Children have always played a special place in the plans of God.
Children are perhaps a symbol of hope. They are a graphic illustration
of the continued creativity of God's presence in our midst, as we
see another generation begin and life continue on that journey that
our humanity takes us on. The growth and the development of a children
takes us back to our own formative years and reminds us that generation
after generation rise up taking the place of earlier ones.
It is fitting that we remember this and celebrate it in the baptism
of Elijah as Christmas comes upon us. For the whole Christmas message
is about God's coming to us as that baby born in Bethlehem.
This was longed for by God and promised by the likes of Isaiah when
he told Ahaz, King of Judah that,
"the Lord himself will give you a sign: a young woman who is
pregnant will have a son and will name him 'Immanuel.'"
We know that the gospel writers and those whose stories they were
telling, picked up on this theme as they retold and recorded the
birth of Jesus. They did this in the light of the prophet's words
to confirm that in Jesus, something special was about to happen.
In Jesus we were to see this one who would be known as Immanuel,
meaning God is with us.
RT France tells us that, "These verses do not relate the birth
of Jesus, but explain his origin (the virgin conception) and his
name in relation to a specific Old Testament prophecy."
And this certainly follows Matthew's pattern of grounding the Gospel
in that Jewish heritage and tradition so that it may be seen as
a fulfilment of the Old Testament.
Interestingly, this story focuses on Joseph rather than Mary where
as most other writers have very little of this aspect of the nativity.
The source material that Matthew uses may have been different from
the other Gospel writers, but it would also tie in with the need,
in Matthews mind, to ground Jesus' legal lineage through Joseph.
And if we were to look back to v17 we see this confirmed as Matthew
speaks of the fourteen generations from Abraham to David, and fourteen
from David to the exile in Babylon, and fourteen from then to the
birth of Messiah. Matthews careful analysis grounds these events
surrounding the birth of Jesus in the context of the history of
this people.
Throughout this story, Matthew also understands the concept that
Jesus was conceived by a virgin mother without the agency of Joseph,
again confirming that Old Testament fulfilment. However, this does
not leave Joseph on the side line. It in fact outlines some of the
dilemmas that faced him, in the situation he found himself.
Jewish betrothal was a different concept to what we know today.
It was a binding contract, which lasted about a year and could only
really be terminated by death, and if that happened the betrothed
would have the status of a widow, or it could be terminated by a
divorce, which would have to go through the same process as for
a full marriage.
During the betrothal the woman would remain in her father's house.
The marriage was completed when the husband took the betrothed to
his home in a public ceremony and thus they came together and commence
normal marital relations.
Thus the dilemma for Joseph in this case was great. His own honour
was a stake. He could well have divorced her, and by this time death
by stoning had given way to public trial and public divorce proceeding.
Matthew records this dilemma for Joseph because it was only through
Joseph taking Mary in marriage that Jesus was established in that
legal lineage as 'son of David'.
Joseph, like Mary was willing to listen to God in this process and
he too was willing to be obedient in his response to God's calling.
Often we leave Joseph on the Christmas story, or we certainly forget
him soon after as he seems to disappear off the scene quite quickly.
But his obedience was as important as anyone else's in this story.
And I think we forget that point so easily in our daily live.
It is important at what ever point we find ourselves in life, that
we are open to the prompting and leading of God. It is important
that we are willing to listen to what God says in his word and work
at applying that in our living so that we too can seek to be obedient
servants of God.
As we bring our children for baptism, we are bringing them into
the life of the church. We are claiming the promise God has made
to us all, that he will be our God and that we will be his children,
and that his promise is for us and for all generations to come.
We here are acting in obedience to the call of God to declare our
faith in him and to claim that faith for our children. We then live
our lives, trusting God to be there for us and for our children.
And this story today reiterates the reason for our trust. It tells
us the reason that we continually come back to this Christmas story
and to the child that lies at its heart.
Matthew says, "She will have a son, and you will name him Jesus
- because he will save his people from their sins."
The full recognition of this did not come at that moment in history,
but rather was part of the unfolding truth of Jesus' life, death
and resurrection. And for us the full recognition of the that aspect
of Jesus' purpose comes throughout our lives in our own journey
of faith. That journey of faith does not begin at a moment of decision
on the individuals part, but rather comes as a result of nurturing,
of growing, of learning, of developing, of trusting. It can include
failures and triumphs, it can hold both times of sorrow and joy,
of anguish and celebration, but through it all we learn that process
of trust, and develop that sense of faith.
God's part in the process begins long before we know it and long
before we acknowledge it but that does not render God inactive.
You see, the whole lead up to the Christmas story is about God's
activity in the lives these key characters bringing the world to
this point of saying, here is the Christ, here is the Saviour of
the world. And an integral part of this process were those who were
willing in obedience to say, "yes, here am I, a servant of
the Lord, may it be as you have said."
As we focus once again on this Christmas story, may we focus our
thoughts and our minds on our own response to the call of God.
Whether it be to declare our own faith in God and what that means
for us; whether it be to bring our children in faith, trusting God
to walk with them and lead them in their life's journey, or whether
it be for us to say again, here I am, use me as you will, let us
be challenged once again by this story.
Having experienced this great series of events, it did not radically
change this families life. It certainly gave it focus, but they
went from Bethlehem to live as any other family. They were not whisked
off to some monastery to be isolated from the world in which they
lived, they were not placed in some palace and exalted above their
peers, they went out to live in the world in which this child was
born. Christ went out so that he might understand the world which
he came to save.
He went out to understand us, not so that he could be our judge,
but so that he might be our Saviour.
Let us acknowledge him as such, and trust him in the role he came
to fulfil.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 10th November 2013
Haggai 1:15b-2:9 Luke 20:27-38
He is the God of the Living!
The writer of Ecclesiastes says, "There is nothing new under
the sun."
Or in the Good News version looking at the entire verse, "What
has happened before will happen again. What has been done before
will be done again. There is nothing new in the whole world."
I am sure that we could agree with the sentiment being expressed
here as we contemplate many examples, even of modern day living.
And certainly as we look at today's Gospel reading and contemplate
the group know as the Sadducee's, we can reflect on religious life
and see how true this saying is in the life of the church.
The Sadducee's were a conservative group within Judaism who existed
from around the 2nd century BC through until just after the destruction
of the Temple in 70AD. They were a priestly group who tended to
come from the upper social class of Jewish Society and fulfilled
various political, social and religious roles, including a great
emphasis on maintaining the Temple and overseeing many formal affairs
of state. They would be keen not to see the delicate balance between
their own people and the Roman authorities tampered with too much.
In terms of their beliefs, for the Sadducee's there is no fate.
Things just don't happen by chance, so God is interactive in the
world. God does not commit evil, man has a free will so is able
to choose between good or evil. The soul is not immortal, so there
is no resurrection of the dead or a concept of an afterlife and
therefore they see no concept of reward or penalties after death.
They also did not hold to oral law, but gave great attention to
the Torah, the written law. Pharisees of course had created laws
to enforce laws and so tied themselves up in knots with a very legalistic
system of belief.
The Sadducee's particularly differed from the Pharisees in that
concept of a resurrection of the dead and this is the question that
they are raising with Jesus in this dialogue.
They take an example of the law from the Torah, and draw it out
in an extreme manner to try and trap Jesus.
We read in Deuteronomy 25:5, "If two brothers live on the same
property and one of them dies, leaving no son, then his widow is
not to be married to someone outside the family: it is the duty
of the dead man's brother to marry her."
So here in questioning Jesus, they are trying to point out the problems
with a belief in an afterlife and to see what Jesus thinks on this
matter, they pose the problem of the man who dies and leaves his
widow childless, so his brother marries her, and this happens seven
time with no children, and when the woman dies, if there is a rising
from the dead which of the seven brothers would be her husband in
heaven?
It is interesting that there are very few recorded instance of this
type of marriage arrangement actually happening and by New Testament
times this custom seems to have fallen into disuse, so the question
they raise is largely an academic one.
They clearly thought that a definite answer to this question was
impossible and that the impossibility of an answer showed the impossibility
of a resurrection.
So the really interesting point here is Jesus' affirmation of the
concept of a life to come. He did not side with them on their disbelief
in the immortality of the soul. But he did go on to offer a picture
of the difference in this life and what we might expect in the life
to come and then some scriptural backing for the concept of a resurrection
from the dead, as our God is a God of the living, not the dead.
Here he says, in this world men and women of this age marry. Relationships
and commitment in those relationships are an important aspect of
this life. This is part of the plan and purpose of creation that
brings fulfilment to our humanity. Relating to one another and relating
to God was part and parcel of our human make up that helps us to
express who we are as individuals and as a society.
This is what it is to be human.
And so in contrast to this life Jesus answers these Sadducee's by
saying that in the life to come social order will be different.
It will not be a matter of belonging to one another, but together
in relationship with God we will find filfulment.
Joy Cowley tries to express this in her poem on grief, when she
says, "Death is an experience for those left behind, not for
those who are moving from one stage of living to another."
I think that is quiet a nice way of expressing it.
That word, 'stage,' denotes a development, a movement, and yet allows
for change.
We find it hard to comprehend life in any other way than what we
know or experience, but clearly Jesus had some expectation that
there would be some form of life following death.
And like I said at the beginning in quoting the writer of Ecclesiastes,
'there is nothing new under the sun.' We have continued to have
this debate throughout the history of the Christian church and obviously
before that.
Jesus goes on to point out to the Sadducee's, who were so careful
to stick to the Torah, the written Law, that in fact all those references
to the likes of the story of Moses, to the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac and the God of Jacob, were not merely references to figures
in their ancient history, but were reminders that the God who appeared
before Moses in the burning bush was the God of the living. He was
still the God of these patriarchs just as he had been when they
roamed the earth.
Perhaps this puts the story of the transfiguration into a different
light. That again is a picture for us of Jesus engaging with the
living, and in Joy Cowley's idea, they are in a different stage
of living.
You see the idea of resurrection was not new when Jesus came along,
but in his death and resurrection we were given the clearest of
all pictures of God's concept of life, life that transcends time
and space, life that moves beyond what we know and experience now.
And this became one of the core beliefs in the emerging Christian
Church precisely because it focused us on that climax of Jesus'
ministry.
His ministry did not finish at the cross in defeat, but rather it
came to its height in triumph at the resurrection.
And although there remains mystery in it, the resurrection is the
key to our understanding of life with God. It is the hope that is
held out for us, it is key to understanding the purpose and intent
of Jesus' coming among us, as Emmanuel, God with us.
And this thought carried on from the Gospels into the other writings
of the New Testament both in the affirmation of the Resurrection
and in the concept of our rising to be with him.
Paul in 1 Corinthians is adamant when it comes to Christ's rising
from the dead.
He poses the question, "Now, since our message is that Christ
has been raised from death, how can some of you say that the dead
will not be raised to life?" He goes on...."If Christ
has not been raised, then your faith is a delusion and you are still
lost in your sin." This points out the centrality of the resurrection
for the early church and why it has remained a core teaching throughout
the churches history.
God is still the God of the living, and not just the living that
we see around us, but the living in a much fuller sense of that
word and our understanding of it.
And then in the letter to the Thessalonians, the writer holds out
this same hope when he says, "Concerning the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to be with him:
I beg you not to be so easily confused in your thinking or or upset
by the claim that the Day of the Lord has come."
Clearly there was some argument going on here, but Paul draws them
back to that idea that we will one day gather with the Risen Christ.
This is our hope. It does not take us out of the reality of this
life, but it gives us focus for what is to come as the mystery of
our being unfolds.
Let us be certain of one thing; God's enduring love for us. This
love endures in life and in death, in what we know and in what we
do not know, in what we experience and in what we hope for, for
God is the God of the living!
To God be the glory, now and for ever. AMEN.
Sunday 3rd November 2013
Habakkuk 1:1-4,2:1-4 Psalm 119:137-144
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4,11-12 Luke 19:1-10
If ever we are going to see a picture of the relationship between
God and humanity we will see it in this wonderful story of Zacchaeus.
This is not just a story of a rather short man despised by society,
shunned by his own people, held in suspicion probably by the authorities.
It is a story of the Divine's interaction in seeking out humanity.
I suspect that Zacchaeus was probably feeling rather lonely as one
who lived on the fringes of society for the reasons just mention.
His shady tax dealings, his creaming off profits for himself, his
willingness to work for the Roman authorities, all of these reasons
would hardly endear him to the Religious authorities of his day.
And so Zacchaeus slips around the back of the crowd and climbs the
tree to see the man that the crowd were waiting for. He had heard
of this Jesus fellow and was interested to see him for himself.
Jesus was coming to town, and rumours had been circulating about
this character, so people were lining the streets to see him coming.
Today we can see the crowd of people as a picture of society. Society
who shuns people by its actions and reactions. Society who so often
casts people out who don't fit the mould of "Normal".
Society who judges people by standards that they themselves would
not want to live up to. And in making judgements on others, we block
people from seeing clearly for themselves a whole picture of the
world.
The crowd is like many in society who flock to see the spectacular,
who turn out in crowds to see the dramatic, and to look for those
rumoured to be great for any number of reasons.
They stand on the side lines and look in, no doubt offering criticism,
or comment, usually negative in nature, but not necessarily engaging
in what is actually happening.
And then we have this picture of Jesus. Jesus comes to the village
and comes right up to Zacchaeus, hidden in the tree and calls out
to him. But not only does he call out, he also invites himself to
come and stay with Zacchaeus.
There is that piercing directness that cuts right to the heart.
But more than that, we have here a picture of the grace of God at
work.
Grace is a word that is small, simple and crisp. It is a word that
is profound in its meaning and application. And here in the story
of Zacchaeus, we see the Grace of God.
Here is God, in Christ, come, pushed through the crowd of the respectable,
the ones sure of their own goodness, the ones comfortable in life's
ways, and Christ goes up to Zacchaeus, the one struggling with himself
and with society, hiding out of sight.
Christ comes to Zacchaeus, the poor, pathetic man and engages with
him.
It is in this interaction that we see the wonderful illustration
of the Grace of God at work. Here is God seeking out the lost to
save them from the pressures and prejudices of society that force
people to the margins.
Here we see the unconditional and accepting love of God that embraces
those whom society want to ignore and calls them out from the shadows
of hiding, calls them down from the out of the way places. He calls
Zacchaeus out of the tree to place his feet on solid ground, and
restores him to his rightful place within society.
That after all is what Grace is about.
It is similar in the story of Habakkuk who cries out in desperation
for his nation, who looks out and sees all the strife and evil that
is around and calls out to God
But the promise comes through the fact that God in God's time will
act and when that time comes it will be right.
"Look at the proud!," says Habakkuk, "Their spirit
is not right in them but the righteous live by their faith."
The spirit of the people who gathered to see Jesus that day, did
not come with hearts that were ready to welcome God into their presence.
They came to see, came to taste, came to look. But Zacchaeus came
in need and with a heart crying out to God.
He came ready to put his trust in Christ. Not because he felt good
about himself, but quite the opposite. He came because he recognised
a need with in his life that he was unable to do anything about.
He came because he believed Jesus could help. There seemed to be
that hope that Jesus might have something. He came not expecting
Jesus to come up to him, and yet believing that his was his only
chance. He came with an openness and willingness to engage with
Jesus.
"The spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by
their faith."
Zacchaeus' faith was in his recognition of his own inability to
do anything for himself or for God.
And this of course was the cry of Luther, who challenged the church
of his day, by nailing his 95 Thesis to the door of the church in
Wittenberg on October 31st 1517, thus challenging the church of
the day to stand up and argue with him. His argument was along these
lines, that our righteousness came by faith alone, only in our willingness
to trust in the work that Christ had done on the cross for us, would
we find peace with God. So salvation was by faith alone. It was
by Grace alone. Grace is what I have been speaking of, God's coming
to us, God's approach to us for we are the one who are lost in life,
lost in our sin, lost in inability to see beyond ourselves. Only
through God coming to us to change our perspective in the world,
can we find trust in God. And finally Luther said it was through
the word alone, both the Living and the written word, for both speak
of Christ. Both point us to God's overall plan and speak of that
movement of God's love for humanity spilling over with the coming
of Christ.
By grace alone, by faith alone, through the word alone.
Luther's movement transformed the world then and has continued to
shape the church and Christian thought throughout the ages.
Christ came to seek the lost. When we get lost we do not find ourselves,
but more often than not, some one else finds us. We are the lost
ones in the gospel picture, and it is God who comes to us in Jesus
Christ.
That is Grace!
The God who seeks us out,
To dwell with us, to stay with us.
To live with us. This is the grace of God; that the world might
see God's love at work in our lives, drawing others to himself as
we bear witness to that love and grace.
God's grace is open and free to all.
It is there for us to accept as we see our need of God.
Zacchaeus showed us God's coming to us. He showed us the faith he
had by climbing the tree, and by coming down to meet with Jesus
as Jesus beckoned him to come. Let us continue to walk in faith,
knowing that God, in Christ has achieved much much more than we
could ever imagine.
And we know that God had a plan for Zacchaeus and has plans for
us all, so that by God's grace operating within us, our eyes are
opened to faith as he invites us to come and join him in life's
journey.
To God be the glory, now and forever more. AMEN
Sunday 20th October 2013
Jeremiah 31:27-34 Luke 18:1-8
You will know God.
We need to remember at this point in our study of Jeremiah that
at the core of this message Jeremiah is bringing to his people through
out this book, issues pertaining to their own life and faith. They
were a people who had wandered from the faith that they once knew.
They were not following the ways of God and had out grown the whole
concept of faith. And for a long time Jeremiah had warned them of
the looming consequences of their sin and rejection of Yahweh.
And what is interesting into today's reading is firstly the apparent
feeling of injustice felt by the exiled people and then transferring
of blame that they engaged in, and following that the strong sense
of hope that Yahweh offers these people as he encourages them to
take responsibility for their own relationship with God, challenging
them as to their faithfulness to God.
In the midst of this passage of hope and promise where God is promising
that there is a future for these people in exile, he points to that
day when they will no longer say, "The parents ate the sour
grapes, but the children got the sour taste."
This intriguing little saying suggest that these people felt they
were suffering for the sins of their forebears. Their forebears
had tasted the sour grapes, they had been the ones who had sinned
against God, and now the present generation were suffering the consequences
of that sin.
The subsequent generations were suffering as a result.
This is quite contrary to the whole message of Jeremiah who had
constantly been pointing out to these people that it was their own
unfaithfulness that was the problem, and rather than shifting the
blame back on to their forebears they needed to examine their own
lives and take responsibility for their lack of faith and for their
refusal to take God seriously.
They may well have gone through the motions of faith, they may well
have followed the form of their religion but there was no substance
to it. It was not that personal encounter or engagement with God
that faith calls us too.
Such a faith is one where there is a two way engagement. It is not
merely seeing God as the one who dishes out blessings or curses
depending on good or bad behaviour from some distant and remote
part of the universe. The parable that Luke conveys has Jesus teaching
the people that they should engage with God constantly. He encourages
us to persist in prayer and never to let life get on top of us.
This widow kept coming and putting her case to the judge in her
town until finally he listened. She wasn't going to be fobbed off.
It was her persistence in pleading to this man that got her justice.
This parable basically says, if this is how the judge in this story
reacted, what will God do for those who keep coming to him for help.
"Will he be slow to help them?"
It is that faithfulness even in our pleading, that persistence in
engaging with God, not out of mere ritual or formality, but out
of the deep longing of our hearts that God honours. Faithfulness
in engaging with God brings a reality to that relationship that
does not sit back and blame others for our predicament but accepts
personal responsibility and seeks change within ones self.
Thus the promise comes that there will be a new covenant, a new
agreement when the law will be written on their hearts.
In other words it will not be an external sense of obey this law
or that law and all will be well. Judaism by the time of Christ
had almost tied itself in knots with laws. There were laws to define
other laws to ensure compliance was understood and met. I am convinced
that this is almost a human reaction that we cannot help as we feel
the need to control one another and force people to conform.
But God's desire is that we act as if that law was part and parcel
of our make up; that our natural reactions is to seek the best for
ourselves and for others based on our understanding of God's love
for us.
The basis of law seems to be a concept of guilt. If we have a law,
then we know if we have transgressed, and then we can be punished.
And in the process this leaves us carrying that burden of guilt.
Guilt is appeased by the punishment dish out.
Jeremiah points to that time when our desire will be to live our
lives in trust of God and with that desire to express that trust
in our relationships with those around us.
Is this not what Jesus taught us when he was challenged as to what
the most important commandment was? His response was to, "love
God, with all your heart and soul and mind and strength and then
to love your neighbour as you love yourself."
But hand in hand with this teaching came the action of God that
saw his love cemented for us in the coming of Christ and in his
life and death and resurrection. This was a love lived out, a love
expressed, not just in word, but in action and it was a love that
transformed the world.
God's love could now be known through Jesus Christ. His love had
been lived out in the context of our world and in a way that we
could see and also emulate.
And not longer was guilt to be the controlling factor in our understanding
of God, for the promise from God that Jeremiah put to the people
was,
"I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their
wrong."
Such an understanding of God's relating to humanity must surely
open up for us that pathway for us to come to God, just as the widow
did in Jesus' story. She could persist in her approaching the judge
confident that he should hear her.
We too can be confident in our approach to God, for God is not there
to condemn, but to embrace. God is not there to judge, but to offer
love and compassion. God is not remote and distant from us, but
he has come to us in Jesus, the Christ, and God continues to come
to us in the power of the Holy Spirit who is at work in us and through
us.
Is this not what Peter explained to the people on that day of Pentecost
when they were bewildered at what they were seeing.
He quoted the prophet Joel saying to them,
"This is what I will do in the last days, God says:
I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will
proclaim my message; your young men will see visions, and your old
men will have dreams..." And he goes on quoting Joel and concludes,
"And then, whoever calls out to the Lord for help will be saved."
There was this new emphasis that seemed to be consistent throughout
the prophets of the Old Testament, that there was that need for
that personal encounter with God. It was not just to be about the
message of the Prophets, but it was to be about the individuals
encounter and engagement with God.
This could only be made possible by God dealing with that sense
of guilt that lies at the heart of our separation from God, for
we feel unworthy, we sense that we are not good enough to approach
God let alone be loved by him. And so God dealt with that by offering
forgiveness through our trusting and believing in what Christ has
done for us.
Thus because of Christ, we can claim with confidence that God has
forgiven us, that our sins are forgiven. Then we are freed to engaged
with God and to live out his love in our lives and in our encounters
with one another.
In Christ we see the new covenant borne out. In Christ we find the
assurance of our forgiveness, the certainty of God's love for his
people, and example after example of life lived in relationship
with God that so often challenges our understanding of what it is
to be human; that challenges our understanding of what it is to
be part of a community; that challenges our perceptions of how we
should love one another with that same self-giving, accepting love
that God offers to us.
Let us live with that understanding of God in our hearts as we trust
God, and live together as his Church offering that same challenge
to the society in which we live.
To God be the glory now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 13th October 2013 - White Sunday
Jeremiah 29:1,4-9 Luke 17:11-19
Grace and Gratitude
We see in Jeremiah's writings that Jerusalem has fallen and that
many of the people were taken away by King Nebuchadnezzar back to
Babylon. In fact according to chap 52:28, 3,023 people had been
carried captive back to Babylon in 597BC. This included King Jehoiachin,
his household, and some of the priests and prophets.
So the question comes, "What does one do as a people in exile?"
What is the response? Does one fight to be released or returned
back home, or does one merely join the people in the new land and
take what has been dealt to you?"
These were the questions running through the minds of the people
Many were saying their stay would be short lived holding out that
hope, as false as it was, that all would be well and that they would
soon be on their way back to Jerusalem.
It would also seem from what we know that these people living in
exile were being treated reasonably well. There did not seem to
be any sense of abuse and harsh treatment being dished out by the
oppressors.
So Jeremiah writes to these people and King Nebuchadnezzar allows
this correspondence to reach them. He offers advice about settling
in this land in an attempt to face them with the reality of their
situation.
It also sets their situation in context that they are not outside
the care and protection of Yahweh, their God. He phrases this in
addressing them as the people whom the Lord Almighty allowed Nebuchadnezzar
to take away as prisoners from Jerusalem.
Often in such situations in life we feel that sense of God having
abandoned us, but here Jeremiah is careful to assure them that God
is still with them and they are still under God's loving care.
Exile, while a physical separation from their fellow country folk,
was not synonymous with being separated from God, and Jeremiah was
keen to hammer this point home.
So his advice to them was to settle, to become part of the community,
and to live full and satisfying lives even though they were in a
foreign land.
They were to have children and multiply. The picture is one of being
settle for a while. This was not a short term stay for they would
be here for some time to come.
The other warning that Jeremiah put to them was not to let themselves
be deceived by the prophets who live among them. They were not to
be taken in by the beliefs of the locals, but were to remain faithful
to Yahweh just as he was remaining faithful to them.
Is this situation not like that which face us all as followers of
Jesus? What is our attitude to the world in which we live to be,
as we live in the world but we so often hold values and beliefs
that vary from that of the world.
Jesus in his great high priestly prayer prayed, "I gave them
your message, and the world hated them, because they do not belong
to the world. I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but
I do ask you to keep them safe from the Evil One. Just as I do not
belong to the world, they do not belong to the world." (John
17:14)
There is that whole tension that as followers of Jesus our place
is in the world, to bear witness to the love and grace of God, but
also that acknowledgement that we belong to God as children of God.
Paul puts it in Romans, "Do not conform yourselves to the standards
of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete
change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God
what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect."
This tension of being in the world but not of the world seems to
be a thread running through the history of God's people, and at
different times in that history there have been different reactions.
Sometimes people or the church have withdrawn from the world. There
has been that tendency to isolate the church and its activities
from what is going on in the world. The church becomes so wrapped
up in it own life and activities that it almost fails to connect
with the world in which it is placed. It may see itself a holy and
set apart, and in so doing, fails to connect. It seems to me that
Jeremiah was saying to his people that this was not the way to proceed.
Settled down and be part of the community but don't be consumed
by its ways and taken in by its beliefs. And it is always hard to
know, isn't it, at what point that might be happening.
And the other reaction that sometimes we follow rather than cutting
ourselves off from the the world is that we accommodate the world
to such a degree, that there is not distinction at all in what the
church stands for. It becomes a club among many that people either
choose to join or not but with no clearly distinctive set of beliefs
or values. In this way the church does not come into conflict with
the world in which we live but rather blends in. Perhaps this is
where Jeremiah was saying to his people not be deceived by the prophets
who live among you. There was still to remain something distinctive
about these people living in exile.
Either way for the church, whether we separate out from the world
or blend in we become ineffectual in terms of making any difference
or having any voice for change in the world.
This is where the church should seek to remain prophetic in its
voice and in its life within the world.
It is part of our role to see that justice is done, to ensure that
society does not implode in on itself, to see that the poor are
taken notice of and the hungry are fed. None of this can be done
by separating out from society nor from merely blending in.
Today I think the church has largely lost its voice of challenge
to society. Whether we have been sidelined because we have failed
to speak out, or whether we have divided ourselves off having become
too inward looking, I am not sure. But when was the church last
noted for speaking out on any social issue of any consequence?
On the other hand, as individuals within the church we can still
play our part, for as we are involved in our communities, as we
are settled in this world, we can still stand up for the things
that matter, and still have our voice to challenge assumptions and
practices within today's world.
We can play our part in the social, political and institutional
areas of our world bringing the flavour of the Christian Gospel
through our lives and our attitudes and through our involvement.
The challenge to us then is to ask where we see our home. Is it
with this world, or is it in our relationship with God? Is it in
finding comfort and security in the things we build up and in the
people around us, or is in our understanding that we are pilgrims
on a journey and that our fulfilment lies beyond the comforts and
securities of this world.
Like the Samaritan in the Gospel story, the foreigner, in terms
of the Jewish people, was the only one who came back and offered
thanks to God. He was the one who realised where the grace he received
came from and he came back with gratitude. As we live out our lives
in this world, we want to acknowledge with gratitude that the source
of our being comes from God, the Lord and giver of life. Whether
young or old, from what ever part of the world we come from, no
matter our cultural background, what sets us apart is the love we
have from God and our willingness to let that love shine in our
lives as we live in this world.
That becomes the distinguishing feature that we can carry with us
in what ever we do or where ever we go.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 8th October 2013
Lamentations 1:1-6 Luke 17:5-10
God's love even in sorrow
The book of Lamentations is one of those that we don't tend to take
much notice of, and yet the sentiments expressed in this highly skilled
piece of writing can give us much to think about.
I understand that each of the five chapters form a separate poem or
lament written after the fall of Jerusalem. And although they cannot
be directly attributed to Jeremiah's pen, they certainly fit with
the themes that flow from him. The first four of the five chapters
are acrostics - the first word of each verse begins with the next
letter in the Hebrew alphabet (so I understand). This gives a sense
of thoroughness as every aspect of grief is rehearsed: bewilderment
and loss, hot anger and attempted blame-shifting, demanding questions
and resigned despair. This gives the people a sense of ordered grief
and enables the author to express real anger and doubt, yet within
a fixed frame work or understanding of his ultimate faith in God.
I think with this understanding it makes this a very useful writing
for any individual or group of people who may face such issues in
their own lives.
Whether we face natural disaster, or personal tragedy, sometimes the
world just seems to fall apart around us, and in those times without
a framework of faith, without a structure of belief, what is it that
we can cling too? Is there in fact anything in our own make up that
can ever equip us for all the possibilities that life may throw our
way.
Lamentations goes some way to give expression to that but keeps at
the heart of this discourse that theme that holds things together
expressed in those well known words from Chapter 3:22-24,
"The Lord's unfailing love and mercy still continue, Fresh as
the morning, as sure as the sunrise. The Lord is all I have and so
I put my hope in him."
This theme is repeated in the gospel where it is suggested that faith
as small as a mustard seed gives effect to great things. It is not
the quantity of faith that is the issue, it is the basis or the quality
of that faith, the source of that faith that gives substance to our
faith. And the writer of this lament sees the God of Israel, the God
of the Sinai Covenant as being that source.
This is the God who declared, "I will be your God and you will
be my people."
So the lament is written in the raw realisation that they are in exile,
they as a nation have been defeated, and they are wondering where
is God in all of this.
The opening verses paint the picture for us, don't they, drawing the
comparison of a person widowed. That monumental gap that is left that
leaves a hole that in the raw moment one feels life will never be
the same again.
"How lonely lies Jerusalem, once so full of people! Once honoured
by the world, she is now like a widow....."
I am sure that one needs to have experienced this feeling to fully
appreciated what the author is saying. And for the people of Jerusalem
that hollowness would leave them feeling abandoned by God.
Where is God?
Was this the feeling that Christ expressed in the Garden of Gethsemane
when he cried out quoting the Psalmist, "My God, my God, why
have you forsaken me."
It is comforting to know that such raw human emotion is very normal,
very natural, and something that we should not be afraid of, particularly
if we can remember that we feel this in the context of God who never
leaves us nor forsakes us. For our human emotions do not always lead
us down the right paths, but knowing that does not necessarily make
them any less real.
Here, the people of Jerusalem faced enslavement to a foreign nation.
That in itself would be reminder enough of the situation in which
they found themselves. In the same way in life for many and varied
reason we find ourselves facing such emotional turmoil. And it is
then that we need to remember that, "the steadfast love of the
Lord never cease, his mercy never comes to an end, they are new every
morning, great is God's faithfulness."
And is this not the picture we face, as we celebrate World Communion
Sunday. We come to the table of our Lord, not strong, and self-sufficient
in ourselves, but we come, burdened and heavy ladened, looking for
God to give us rest.
We come, not because we are worthy, but because Christ who gave himself
for us, has made us whole.
So in the knowledge of such grace given freely, like the writer of
Lamentations we too can come with confidence, not in ourselves or
anyone around us, but in the confidence of Christ, who died and rose
again for us and for our salvation.
Joy Cowley wrote a lovely poem entitled Grief, where she expresses
something of how it feels for us as we experience it, and in the closing
stanza ties it in to what we are celebrating here today, the death
and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
She says, "So while grief goes on, the tears, the hurting, I
know in the truth of Jesus Christ that the hollowness I feel at the
departure of loved ones, is in reality, the hollowness of the empty
tomb."
As we gather at the table, we are reminded not only of the sacrifice,
but also of the triumph in the face of apparent disaster for those
who experienced it first hand. We come to the table in the knowledge
of God's truimph. We come knowing that God has demonstrated his unfailing
love for us in this act, and so we have that framework on which to
build our lives so that in sorrow we might have hope, so that in pain
and rejection we might find grace and mercy.
This is the message of the gospel. The book of Lamentations does not
leave us in despair, but points us to the steadfast love of the Lord
that never comes to an end.
May we experience that grace in every moment of our lives, for we
know that God lives and that God's love never ceases.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 22nd September 2013
Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 Luke 16:1-13
God's suffering love
Poor old Jeremiah hits a real low ebb in his ministry here where
all around he sees the despair of his people as they continue to
fail to listen to Yahweh, their God. He can only see the gloom of
winter, and cannot see the approaching spring in the lives of his
people.
The season seems to be rolling on with no hope of brightness ahead.
And in and through the people's refusal to listen to Yahweh, they
then begin to grumble about about their plight, and moan to Jeremiah
asking, "where is God in all of this?"
Then in this conversation God comes back and says "Why have
you made me angry by worshipping your idols and bowing down to your
useless foreign gods?"
Jeremiah is feeling trapped between these two postions.
Jeremiah feels crushed as, while on the one hand he can see where
God is coming from, but he also feels the pain of his people.
RK Harrison says, "His out poured grief issued from the conflict
between his love for the homeland and his unswerving fidelity to
the commands of God."
I think this is a common place that we can find ourselves as we
always live out our lives in the context of our world, and yet have
that sense that it is indeed God's world. Is this where Jesus found
himself as he stood and wept over Jerusalem?
There is almost a sense of doubting, even in Jeremiah's voice, when
he wonders if there is medicine for the people, or doctors to offer
a cure. And yet this doubt never really takes hold.
But such is the depth of his compassion as he feels that pain for
his people, and feels the pain that God is suffering. There would
never be enough tears for Jeremiah to adequately express this grief.
This dilemma that catches us between our love for God and our love
for the world in which we live, is something of the suffering love
that Jesus Christ experienced as he gave his life for us and for
our salvation. But I wonder too, if it is something of what Jesus
was speaking about when he told this parable of the shrewd manager.
This is a notoriously hard parable in terms of interpretation, for
it is never that clear how we deal with Jesus' praise of this slightly
dodgy manager.
Here is a man of responsibility who has got himself into a fix between
his employer and the clients he has been dealing with.
The master is going to sack him for he has been informed that there
has been some skulduggery going on.
It is thought that perhaps the manager has been adding sum to each
account that enables him to cream off some profit on every deal.
And while one might get away with adding small amounts to each account,
maybe this manager had been tacking larger amounts on, maybe even
doubling the amount to give himself a much bigger slice of the cake.
What ever he was doing, he knew he was in deep trouble and so had
to come up with a solution to the problem.
As he contemplates his fate, he has a flash of brilliance.
He calls each of the debtors in one at a time. The secrecy in this
means that none of the others knows what he is doing. And he asks
them to rewrite the bill, taking off the amount that he would be
taking for himself. This way the master will get what is owed to
him, and he will be forgoing his share of the profit. The master
would not suffer, his debtors would think they were being given
a good deal, the account would be rewritten so that the owner would
not see the transaction that had taken place as the original promissory
note would be destroyed.
The only dilemma that the master faces is that if he punishes the
manager for getting rid of the usurious contracts, he could be implicating
himself in this action and he could be seen an irreligious and oppressive
owner.
It is a really tricky parable as it seems on the surface that the
master is praising the shrewdness, which may be he is, but that
does not mean he supports the managers intentions or his actions.
Leon Morris says, "Well-intentioned as the children of this
world are, they often lack the wisdom to use what they have as wisely
as the worldly use their possession for their very different ends."
Maybe this is a challenge to us all to look at the resources we
have and to see how wisely we use them and for whose gain.
And like the people of Jeremiah's time who continually refused to
acknowledge God and constantly turned their attention to all sorts
of idols of their day, maybe Jesus is challenging his disciples
to think carefully about what they want to do with their lives.
Who is it that is to benefit?
Does the short term benefit come at a cost of the long term gain?
And as we celebrate the beauty of spring, do we think more widely
to the gift of God's creation and wonder at the ways in which we
exploit creation for our own benefit and gain and give very little
thought to our children's and future generations who want to enjoy
the beauty that we experience.
How can we be faithful to God, if we are not faithful to those people
and things around us that give us the rich heritage that we possess
today? That rich heritage is grounded in God, Creator, Sustainer
and Giver of life. We have been given that task of caring for the
resources that are before us.
And what of God's gift of salvation? Is that there for us to take
for granted, there for us to exploit for our benefit, or is it there
so that we can share the benefits with our neighbours and friends
as we marvel at the wonderful gift given to us.
Perhaps the wonder of the parable was that the manager was prepared,
even though under pressure, to offer back the benefits he had received
through exploiting the master, sharing those benefits with the debtors.
He befriended those who may well have grown to hate him.
As disciples of Christ, maybe we are not stand in judgement of the
world around us, but rather to accept our own shortcomings, and
to share the benefits we have received from God with all.
Isn't the Pope making some interesting statements at the moment!
He declared in a candid interview,
"This is the most accurate definition," he said, when
asked what sort of a man he was. "It is not a figure of speech,
a literary genre. I am a sinner."
There is nothing hidden in this comment, it is a statement of honesty
from one who wants to share the benefits that he has found in a
life of faith.
It is easy to be consumed by the negativity in the world around
us, but as we tally up the benefits and the rich grace that God
has given to us, let us share that with the world in which we live.
Let us take the beauty of spring, the hope that it offers as new
life burst forth, and share that hope with a world that too often
feels oppressed and condemned.
The manager in this story was at the mercy of his master, and his
master was keen to see how he dealt with those around him.
Did he exhibit the same grace that was being offer to him, or did
he just seek to save his own skin.
The solution seemed to be one that honoured the master and put the
needs of the debtors before himself.
Sure he was also taking care of himself in the process. But maybe
that is where the wisdom of this man lay. He sought a win win solution.
The master's honour was not compromised, the manager was sacrificial
in his response and remained faithful to his master offering he
same self-giving love that he had received. .
May the season of spring continue to remind us of the richness of
God's love for us, a love that embraces us even in the face of suffering,
a love that embraces the whole world, and a love that calls us to
offer up all that we are and all that we have in the service of
him.
To God be the glory, now and for ever. Amen.
Sunday 15th September 2013
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 Luke 15:1-10
How long suffering is God?
Perhaps in reading Jeremiah we can see where the term, "act
of God," comes from in reference to natural disasters. Such
is the nature of today's reading where Jeremiah seeks the repentance
and spiritual renewal of God's people in the Southern Kingdom and
it is not forth coming. And here Jeremiah uses the scorching desert
winds as a metaphor of destruction. As this wind sweeps in and withers
all vegetation making human habitation unbearable, we are given
an insight into life under an invading army.
The blowing wind is too strong to be the gentle help required by
the winnower at harvest time. No doubt it would scorch the seedlings
and new shoots of spring that would begin to show in that season
also.
So Jeremiah paints a picture of God's displeasure at his people's
continued refusal to acknowledge his presence among them as their
God.
He chastises his people for their stupidity in refusing to acknowledge
him saying, "they do not know me."
This is mirrored in the words of the Psalmist who proclaims, "Fools
say to themselves, 'There is no God.'"
Compare this with the words in an article in Friday's paper where
Lloyd Geering is quoted as saying, "I agree with a great deal
that Dawkins and Hitches say but I believe that they do protest
too much...They do not appreciate the important role the idea of
God has played up to the present and are becoming atheistic fundamentalists....."
Jeremiah's concept of knowing God is not the same as humanities
'idea of God', but is much more about a relationship with the living
God, a relationship with the God who is and remains intimately involved
in creation and who longs for his people to draw near to him in
their trust and reliance on him.
This is the God, that although Jeremiah paints to a dire picture
of the world that continues to ignore or reject God, this God never
gives up. The picture is one of a world in ruin, of creation in
chaos in the pre-creation state. And yet we know that hope is never
lost in this prophets mind, for any glimpse of repentance, any hope
of humanities willingness to recognise his shortcomings, the slightest
inkling of any response to the Divine presence will be met with
mercy and grace.
This is the underlying nature of God who continues to work in and
with creation to bring about his purposes.
And so we see in Luke's Gospel as series of parables that speak
about the lost: the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son.
Each of these parables are addressing the same issue, Jesus' willingness
and continue persistence in talking too and mixing with the religious
outcasts of his day; tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, the blind
and the lame, and other such people including all gentiles.
In the eyes of the Religious Leaders this made Jesus unclean and
unfit for religious service. In fact they had a rule that, 'One
must not associate with an ungodly man.' They took this so seriously
that the rabbis would not associate with such people even to teach
them the Law. We see this in Acts where Peter visits Cornelius and
is taken into his house where many people were gathered and he says
to them, "You yourselves know very well that a Jew is not allowed
by his religion to visit or associate with Gentiles."
So the accusation against Jesus was, "This man welcomes outcasts
and even eats with them!" His association with them, in their
eyes, lowered his position in society to being treated as one such
person.
So in telling these stories, and particularly we look this morning
at the one of the Lost Sheep, Jesus gives us an insight into God's
long suffering nature that Jeremiah urged his people to look in
hope toward. We see the joy of God when people respond to the love
offered by God, and in this parable we see that God does not wait
passively for people to come to him, but actively seeks them out
in his passion to see sinners come to repentance.
The picture is a rural scene of a shepherd with his flock. It is
quite a large flock for a person of that day, and so we see a relatively
wealthy man here with his hundred sheep.
There are two key characteristics in this short parable that tell
us something of the long-suffering and merciful nature of our God.
The first is that God is a seeking God.
In this story the shepherd does not sit passively and wait for the
return of lost sheep, hoping that by chance and good luck it will
return unscathed.
No, in this picture the shepherd goes out and actively looks for
the one sheep that is missing.
I suspect in modern farming terms this intimate knowledge of his
flock is possibly something that has gone by the board just due
to vast numbers.
But in other stories with similar themes in the Gospels it talks
of the shepherd knowing his sheep by name. The usually small number
of sheep would make this far more possible. However, as I have said,
this is a large flock and still we get that sense of intimacy between
the shepherd and his sheep. One would of thought that one sheep
going missing out of a hundred would not be worth the effort. In
fact he leaves the ninety nine and goes looking for the one. Such
is his concern for the individual sheep. And this is the point we
are to take. God's concern and love comes down to the one. Jeremiah's
picture of gloom and destruction of the nation offers the power
and possibilities of Divine wrath, but in the end power and strength
gives way to mercy and grace for the sake of minority, even just
one. And in this story God does not just sit back and wait for that
person to appear but goes out seeking, calling, urging. It is God
who takes the initiative. And this is no token search. Jesus suggests
that the shepherd wants this one sheep, and he looks and searches
until he finds it.
God is not a passive possibility in the in the mind of man but rather
we are precious progeny in the heart of the Creator.
God will not sit back and let humanity self destruct, but God will
search out his people and gather them to himself, seeking until
he finds them.
This in Jesus' time was a radical view of God and stripped the religious
leaders of their power and control over people, for who were they
to say who was worthy and who was not? Was their role, like ours,
not to go out into the world to seek out those who were lost and
to help them respond to the call of God?
The second major theme in this story is that of joy.
This was a joyful experience for the shepherd. We are not told that
the sheep experienced any particular emotion, but certainly the
shepherd was so overjoyed that he picks the sheep up and carries
it on his shoulders. There is no grumbling about carrying this sheep,
there is not even a hint that the sheep was in fact injured, but
just out of sheer joy, the shepherd carries this sheep home.
What a wonderful image of God's loving and merciful nature; there
to carry us in our times of need, there to rejoice over our having
been found, there to strengthen and encourage us when we are feeling
weak and vulnerable.
And as the shepherd carries this sheep back, the joy does not stop
there, but in fact he calls his friends and neighbours and celebrates
with them.
The joy is not only God's joy, but the joy of the whole people of
God.
There was a Jewish saying, "There is joy before God when those
who provoke Him perish from the world." "But Jesus offered
a very different view of God," says Leon Morris in his commentary
on this passage, "He rejoices over the returning penitent more
than over many safely in the fold."
Jeremiah's picture is one of God provoking his people, urging them
to turn from their sinful ways. Like the Gospel story it is God
engaging in seeking response from his people so that he might bring
them back to a meaningful and fruitful relationship with himself.
It is God holding out his hand of mercy even in the face of antagonism
and rejection. God's mercy is great, and the joy God desires is
to see his people find fulfilment and joy in his presence among
them.
As we remember the season of spring, may we remember the love and
grace that continues to come to us in Jesus, the Christ, who lived,
who died and whose risen presence continues to seek us out and draw
us into the fellowship of his presence.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 8th September 2013
Jeremiah 18:1-11 Luke 14:25-33
In the potter's hand
Jesus loved object lessons as a method of teaching and it would appear
that Jeremiah had used a similar technique some 6-700 years earlier.
This involves looking around you and choosing some thing or event
and then building a story around it to illustrate the point that you
are trying to get across.
Such illustrations need to be taken as a broad brush picture, not
a picture where every little detail can be coloured and shaded into
a elaborate work of art.
In the case of Jeremiah he takes his readers into the house of the
potter and observes the activity going on with this craftsman.
The careful shaping and moulding of a lump of clay is worked on the
wheel. This is two circular stones on central pivot that the potter
spins the lower stone with his feet leaving his hands free to shape
the spinning lump of clay.
I don't know how many of you have tried this craft, but I remember
at Teacher's College having a go at potting. It is one of those crafts
that the experts make it look so easy, but in fact it is quite difficult.
Centring the clay on the wheel is the first hurdle that needs to be
overcome so that the clay does not wobble all over the place, and
then drawing the wet clay up into the require shape without it getting
too thin or collapsing on you requires patience and real control.
It is so often a case of if at first you don't succeed, try, try and
try again. Jeremiah would have observed the potter when this happens,
punching the clay down into a single lump and then beginning the whole
process again. He was taken with the control that the potter had to
form and to shape. Here was a creation in progress.
It is a very simple analogy but an incredibly powerful one. And so
he poses the question from Yahweh who says, "Haven't I the right
to do with you people of Israel what the the potter did with the clay?"
There really can only be one answer to such a question if we are to
take the concept of God seriously. Of course God has the power. It
is the power of choice and the power to build up and break down.
And this is an interesting question for it in no way says that this
is what God will do, but merely that if God is God, then that power
belongs to him.
The sovereign nature of God has stood at the heart of the Judeo-Christian
tradition for a long time.
Our own Westminster Confession of Faith declares in addressing God's
providence,
"God the great Creator of all things, doth uphold, direct, dispose,
and govern all creatures, actions, and things from the greatest even
to the least, by his most wise and holy providence, according to his
infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of his
own will, to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice,
goodness, and mercy."
In other words, although God has this power he does not use it willy
nilly, but uses it bringing into account those characteristics of
wisdom, power, justice, goodness and mercy. Those aspects of God's
own nature are used to draw his people to himself.
And so as we see this picture of the power and majesty of God, we
then see the God who works his plans out in conjunction with his people.
When a nation engages with God, God listens and God responds accordingly.
This whole merciful nature of God is a powerful one that seems to
come to the fore. It is not a vengeful search for justice that shows
itself in the modern catch cry, 'do the crime, do the time,' but rather
if any inkling of repentance is shown, mercy is there to match.
Jeremiah does not see humanity as an amorphous lump of clay, but rather
humanity is the crown of creation that God engages with and invites
to participate in the on going nature of creation itself.
Thus the invitation for all humanity is always present. "Come
follow me and I will make you fishers of men," were the words
Jesus used to draw together a group of followers that would set the
Christian church on its feet.
And what both Jeremiah and Christ point to in this engagement with
the Divine is that it is a real choice that we must make. It is a
choice with consequences, it is a choice with demands.
"Whoever comes to me cannot be my disciple unless he loves me
more than he loves his father and his mother, his wife and his children,
his brothers and his sisters, and himself as well. Whoever does not
carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple."
Of course these words would only be fully understood in the light
of the crucifixion and resurrection, but they illustrate the cost
of being a disciple. It is not merely answering yes to a question,
but it is a commitment to a lifestyle that reflects the faith that
we profess.
It is a willingness to grapple with some hard decisions that will
affect the way we live our lives, the standards we set for ourselves,
and the interaction we have with the world around us.
It may mean standing up for the underprivileged, it may mean working
to principles that others don't see as being relevant or important.
It may mean saying no when the rest of the world says yes. But this
is surely the nature of engagement itself, and this is the engagement
that God engages us in in our relationship with himself.
And this is where it is so vitally important that Christian people
are involved in the community, and the world in which we live, for
being a disciple involves bearing witness, it involves standing up
for what we believe, and involves seeking change in the world in which
we live.
This is the heart of discipleship. It is not about belonging to a
club and merely adhering to a set of rules and expectations of others.
Yes God has the power of the potter, but God chooses to gently and
sometimes firmly mould and shape us. However, God also invites us
to participate in his divine activity in the world as we take on being
his disciples, his followers, bringing his presence into the world
today.
And as we focus on that presence today, we gather at his invitation
to remember, to participate, to engage with God through the power
of the Spirit in the bread and wine offered for us.
Here is the risen Christ hosting us at this feast saying, here I am,
come eat with me." It is here that we acknowledge that risen
presence and participate in that presences as we look to the cross
and remember that he died for us and that he rose again to life and
reigns in our presence.
The invitation is always there,
"come you who are weak and carrying heavy loads, for I will give
you rest."
The invitation is not for the good of this world, but rather for the
needy. It is for those who recognise their need of God's saving grace,
it is for those who struggle and are afraid, for we are the ones who
need God's grace, and God's mercy and grace is here.
The question always remains, do we want to follow him? Do we want
to be shaped and moulded by the potter to become useful vessels for
him?
And the ultimate challenge that Jesus put before the people was,
"none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up everything
he has." Christ gave up everything to face the cross. We come
to the table in thanksgiving of that gift for us and to offer ourselves
in his service.
To God be the glory, now and forever more. AMEN.
Sunday 1st September 2013
Jeremiah 2:4-13 Luke 4:1,7-14
Where is fulfilment found?
Jeremiah is one of the great prophets of the Old Testament, a major
prophet because of the length of his work. Jeremiah lived during
the latter part of the seventh century and into the first part of
the 6th century BC. His ministry involved warning his people of
the catastrophe that would fall on the nation because the people
persistence in idolatry and sin. He lived to see the fulfilment
of this with the destruction of the city and the Temple and the
exile to Babylonia of Judah's king and many of the people of that
nation.. He did also tell of the eventual return of the people from
exile and the their restoration to a nation in their own right.
With the happenings in the world over the last few weeks in the
Middle East we may well ask, "what has changed?" But this
is also a much broader pattern of human existence as we see a cycle
almost of dependence and trust in God give way to a self-sufficiency
as people grow to rely on their own knowledge and wealth and see
no need for God. This often seems to be followed by a break down
in society and again the cycle begins. There is never a simplistic
answer to why, but Jeremiah points directly to peoples attitude
to, and lack of dependence upon, God.
So this book is divided in four parts, the first being messages
from God to the nation of Judah and its rulers during the reigns
of Josiah, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. Secondly there are
the memoires of Baruch, Jeremiah's secretary, which include prophecies
and important events in the life of Jeremiah. Thirdly there are
messages from the Lord about foreign nations and then finally an
historic appendix, giving an account of the fall of Jerusalem, and
the exile to Babylon.
Jeremiah was a sensitive man who did not enjoy bringing the message
that he did, but he felt compelled too even though it brought him
no comfort. His call was so strong that the word of the Lord was
like a fire in his heart.... he was unable to keep it back.
The initial chapter tells of his call, and like so many others,
we hear the excuses of age and inability to speak. And out of this
we see God's willingness to equip his servants for the tasks that
he calls them too.
Then there is a sort of test as to what Jeremiah sees, almost as
if God is training him for his coming ministry.
Then as we come out of that Jeremiah comes to the people of Jerusalem
to speak God's message to them.
He has often been referred to as a prophet of doom, and one would
have no trouble seeing why, having listened to this mornings reading.
It is set almost as a court scene where the people of Israel are
on trial.
They are addressed according to their status as descendants of Jacob.
This reminds them of their heritage and encourages them to judge
themselves looking back on the history of their people. This lies
at the heart of this case. The people have abandoned the faith of
their forebears, just as they did in the past also. It is that call
to look and learn from the past so that we don't fall into the same
mistakes as those who have gone before us.
The Lord reminds them of the exodus as they were lead out of Egypt.
This was a story that had continued to be told as it lay at the
heart of their faith, just as we continue to tell the story of Jesus
and his death and resurrection. Like the Passover, we remember in
the Lord's Supper, the sacrifice made on our behalf and we will
remember this next week in our worship.
Such events in the life of the community are to designed to draw
us back to the heart of our common faith.
Jeremiah speaking for the Lord takes them through the exodus story
and how it brought life to this nation and established them in a
fertile land. There prosperity was a gift from God and they were
not to forget this. The harvest they enjoyed was not so much the
result of their hard work but rather the result of God's gift to
them.
There was no room for false pride, a pride that left the prime giver,
Yahweh, out of the picture.
He then lays into the religious leaders asking them, "Where
is the Lord?"
And this puts onus on the leadership of the community. As the people
have been wandering off, not merely abandoning their faith, but
in a sense even worse, they have changed their religion.
Thus as they are encouraged to look back to their forbears, as they
are reminded of the Exodus, they are asked, "was this not good
enough for you?" What Yahweh had done in the past seemed to
have lost relevance for today and so they went looking elsewhere.
As the case is laid out, the accuser draws in the examples to back
up his argument. He says go off and look at other places, look at
Cyprus in the west and Kedar in the east. What you people of Israel
have done, has not been done elsewhere.
They have not changed their gods.
The heart of the case lies with the people's unfaithfulness. And
this of course flies in the face of the commandments that were given
on the Exodus journey to help keep them faithful to their God. The
very first commandment, the basis on which all the others are laid,
states, "Worship no god but me." It could not be put more
clearly. And as if that were not clear enough the second, commandment
as an expansion of that says,
"Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or
on earth or in the water under the earth." And they go on reiterating
this idea that we need to be careful that our trust is in the God
who walks with us, the God who has lead us this far and the God
that will lead us throughout our life's journey. And what is it
that brings us back to that realisation time and time again, our
faithfulness in worship. Worship reminds us that our life begins
at this point and ends with this point. The Christian tradition
puts its holy day for worship at the first day of the week because
this was the day of resurrection. This was the day that as we enter
the new week we are reminded that God is first and foremost in our
lives and from Him all else follows.
The people of Jeremiah's time had forgotten this fundamental point.
And like our own day, we live in a generation, sometimes called
post-modern, where anything goes. What is right for me, may not
be right for you, but I cannot tell you that you are wrong. As long
as I feel that what I am doing and where I am going is okay for
me, then no one is able to challenge that.
We live in a day an age where people are searching in all sorts
of places for fulfilment and satisfaction in life, and if they don't
find it in one place they move on to something else. We seem to
do this with a sense of almost arrogance expecting that our search
should be recognised and accepted by all. And maybe this is what
Jesus was hinting at in his story about guests expecting to sit
at the place of honour at the wedding feast. We just assume that
God will applaud us for our desire to search and that really he
doesn't mind where we look. And we can get the sense from reading
Jeremiah that there really is nothing new in any of this. This has
been part of our human nature for a long time.
And it has been the long standing place of our tradition to sometimes
stand up and challenge such trends and assumptions, and to ask the
hard questions as to whether people are really finding what they
are looking for or have they forgotten what they once knew and what
they once had.
He sums up this court session outlining the two charges:
they have turned way from me, the spring of fresh water.
And they have dug cisterns, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
The people had abandoned their faith, and not only that, they had
looked for fulfilment else where. They had ceased to worship Yahweh
and they had gone off and built idols for themselves and expected
to be satisfied.
When do we ever learn? We have a society that has turned from God,
and we build all sorts of things and look in all sorts of places
and expect that life will be fulfilling even when we have forgotten
the most basic principle. God is the Lord and giver of life.
This is the challenge for every generation and we all do well to
examine our own lives to see the areas where such accusations can
so easily apply, to re assess and re prioritise as we commit our
lives to God afresh, recognising that only he, through Jesus Christ,
can bring to us the springs of living water.
"Now none but Christ can satisfy, none other name for me!
There's love, and life and lasting joy, Lord Jesus, found in Thee."
-James McGranahan 1840-1907
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 25th August, 2013
Luke 13:10-17
'Keeping the Sabbath!'
Of all the issues facing the church over the years one that has been
in the forefront has been the observance of the Sabbath. One statement
issued in 1888 by the Anglican Church states that;
"The principle of the religious observation of one day in seven
is of Divine and primeval obligation, and was afterwards embodied
in the Fourth Commandment. The observance of the Lord's Day as a day
of rest, of worship, and of religious teaching has been a priceless
blessing in all Christian lands in which it has been maintained. The
growing license in its observance threatens a grave change in its
sacred and beneficent character. The increasing practice on the part
of some of the wealthy and leisurely classes of making the day a day
of secular amusement is most strongly to be deprecated. The most careful
regard should be had to the danger of any encroachment upon the rest
which on this day is the right of servants as well as their masters
and of the working classes as well as their employers."
The language and reference to a class structure is a bit dated, but
we can clearly see the concerns that have grown in the past 130 years
or so over the Sabbath becoming a day of amusement for those with
means, sport and recreation for some, and concerns that people who
have to work for a living are not getting a day of rest.
Although the Sabbath may not be at the forefront of concerns as we
head toward the future, it is still worth addressing? What might church
leaders have to say now, in today's fast-paced, technological, consumer-driven
society, about the subject of Sunday observance? What might we say
about the keeping of any day of the week as a day set aside for rest,
worship, and religious teaching? This issue might be more pressing
in the lives of some Christians than others, and we may wonder if
we should even be bothered about it?
In today's gospel lesson, Jesus argues with his opponents who criticize
him for healing a crippled woman; seen as working on Sabbath day.
Jesus counters with the reasoned argument; that in healing the woman,
he is actually setting her free from bondage, just as anyone would
untie an animal to show it compassion. How much more appropriate
is it then, to loosen someone from the pressures that work against
human health, wholeness, and freedom? Well, I'm sure we would all
agree with that. As showing compassion and working for the dignity
of every human being is appropriate on every day of the week. We
probably agree with Jesus' opposition to the legal Jewish view of
the Sabbath, with its strict and rigid interpretation. We applaud
him, and then we turn away, thankful that we're not weighed down
by faulty and outdated interpretations of scripture that may prevent
us from doing the things we really feel are important to do. Perhaps
this is where we run into trouble. Are we too quick to place a tick
by this story, thinking, "I'm so glad we don't have to worry
about this subject"? Do we then fail to engage seriously the
gift that God intends for us, in his commanding - that is, commanding,
not suggesting - that we have a Sabbath? In Jesus, we are set free
from a legal observance of Sabbath, but what are we set free for?
Are we simply free to add ten more hours to our working week? To
work every day so that those who work for us never have a day during
which we have not added something to their list of things to do?
Are we free to simply participate every day in our consumer culture,
every day making purchases, acquiring, accumulating? I know that
I have often been grateful for the opportunity to shop on a Sunday,
when I have the time free to do so. Are we free so that our children
and grandchildren's lives can be structured every day, fully scheduled,
so they never miss a chance to compete, excel, keep up, or add an
activity to their list of achievements? Of course, work; the ability
to acquire the things we need, to provide for our children's activities
and wellbeing are all good things in and of themselves. But is there
a price we pay in never designating one day in seven, any day, as
a day of Sabbath?
Apparently, people of God have long struggled with how to keep this
commandment appropriately. In an alternative reading for today,
the prophet Isaiah pronounces these words from God: "If you
treat the Sabbath as sacred, and do not pursue your own interests
on that day; if you value my holy day and honour it; by not travelling,
working or talking idly on that day, then you will find the joy
that comes from serving me. I will make you honoured all over the
world and you will enjoy the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.
I, the Lord, have spoken." Perhaps this ancient reading still
shines a light on our path? The problem for Isaiah's audience was
that people were pursuing their own interests, not God's; honouring
their own purposes, not God's. It's no accident that the prophet
connects their faulty observance of Sabbath with issues of justice,
such as feeding the hungry and meeting the needs of the afflicted.
Sabbath, it seems, is also a justice issue. If we ignore God's purposes
for Sabbath, in the same way as we ignore the needs of others, such
as the poor and hungry, then all will not be right in our world.
So what does God intend for the Sabbath? If we're free from the
law, what are we free for? We are free for rest. We need it. We
all need it: adults and children, executives, bus drivers, students,
teachers, nurses, homemakers. All of us. We are mortals, and resting
reminds us that we are creatures with a real bodily need to stop,
replenish, and rest. This rest is a justice issue because we need
an economy in which people can make a living wage, so that no one
needs to work every day of the week in order to make ends meet and
provide for the needs of their households. We are free to remember
our dependency on God. Sabbath reminds us that God is God and we
can stop trying to be God. We can rest, worship God, and learn about
God. We are free to worship, to immerse ourselves in God's eternity:
in a place and time set aside; in an activity in which we produce
nothing but praise; where we are valued, not because of what we
make, do, earn, deserve, know, contribute, or achieve, but because
we are created by God and loved by God and we can rest in God's
presence, at all times. If, as the reading from Hebrews for today
states, our God is a consuming fire, then worship gives us a place
in which all that seems so needful during the rest of the week can
be burned away, and we can rest, simply and wholly, in the presence
of God.
The woman cured by Jesus on that Sabbath day must have experienced
all of this as a gift from God, as the undergirding of gaining her
freedom. She experienced rest from the physical stress of her deformity.
She experienced reliance on God in the reminder that God alone has
the power to bring healing, and she experienced true worship, in
praise that issued forth from her lips for what God had done through
Jesus Christ, not what she had accomplished for herself. So, what
about us? How shall we keep a Sabbath in our own day? One of the
tutors at Otago University, Rev. Dr. Lynne Baab, has written extensively
on the possibilities for observing a Sabbath day. For us there is
the opportunity to tailor the day to fit our lifestyle, to have
an intentional rest on any day of the week, to fully experience
God in whichever way we choose. Maybe, we can read Scripture, maybe
walk in the outdoors, marvelling at creation, maybe we can sing,
play with children or just sit with a loved one. To choose a day
in which we do as little work as possible, to allow whatever to
occur and experience a closeness with God, that we otherwise miss
out on when we are busy rushing around, filling our days with so
much to do, so that we end the day exhausted and distracted; not
aware of God in our lives at all.
I encourage you to consider factoring in a Sabbath day in your
week, to allow yourself the freedom to rest, relax and re-create
in God's abiding presence. You may well be surprised at what benefits
and gifts you gain as a result. For then we too, like the healed
women can respond in thankful praise of God.
Sunday 11th August 2013
Isaiah 1:1,10-20 Luke 12:32-40
What does God really want?
Isaiah is a fascinating book. It is named after a great prophet
who lived in that latter half of the eight century BC. Often the
prophetic writing of the OT are divided into the major and minor
prophets. This division is nothing to do with their level of importance
but purely to do with the length of their works. Thus Isaiah with
its 66 chapters is definitely one of the major prophets. There is
wide spread debate as to how much of this book he actually wrote
himself, as it has often been separated into three parts. Chapters
1-39 come from a time when Judah, the southern kingdom was threatened
by its powerful neighbour, Assyria.
Chapters 40-55 tell us about the time when many of the people of
Judah were in exile in Babylon, crushed and without hope.
And then Chapters 56-66 addresses the people who were back in Jerusalem.
They needed hope that God would fulfil his promise to them and restore
them as a nation. Much of this section we would recognise with that
Messianic hope.
The Sovereign Lord has filled me with his spirit. He has chosen
me and sent me to bring good news to the poor to heal the broken-hearted,
to announce release to captives and freedom to those in prison.
And so we return to the passage read today where we see a nation
in strife. Not only do we read of that threat from neighbouring
Assyria, but we also see God's disappointment in a people who seem
to have lost the plot.
We see this in the opening verses that we did not read, v4ff says,
You are doomed, you sinful nation, you corrupt and evil people!
Your sins drag you down! You have rejected the Lord, the holy God
of Israel, and have turned your backs on him? Why do you keep rebelling?....
And in verse 10 he parallels this when he says, Jerusalem,
your rulers and your people are like those of Sodom and Gomorrah
There is no let up in the mind of the people. They may see their
threat as coming from their neighbours, Assyria, but in fact their
biggest threat is not taking Yahweh seriously. They have abandoned
their faith and turned their backs on God.
It is always easier to see such threats as coming from a distance,
from somewhere else, for we can put the blame for our woes beyond
our own scope and offload them onto someone else. In fact, however,
often the blame lies well within our own grasp. Sodom and Gomorrah
were well known for their self-destruction and so despite the way
in which the proud rulers of Jerusalem saw themselves, here they
were being shown up for their sinful ways and the prophet suggest
that they deserve the judgement and punishment of that ancient city.
From pointing this out he moves on to the specifics of where they
should look in relation to this internal problem. If it is not so
much the threat that the should be worrying about, what is it then?
And the prophet goes straight to the heart of the matter pointing
them to listen to Yahweh, their God.
Do you think I want all these sacrifice you keep offering
to me?
He hits at the heart of probably what the leaders of Jerusalem think
that they do best of all.
Their worship. It is probably what they prided themselves on most
of all, and here they are challenged.
There is a sharp rejection by Isaiah of the idea that the simple
formal observance of ritual and cultic duty is sufficient to maintain
God's blessing and favour.
And he lists specifics in this with the offering of animal sacrifice,
that religious gatherings, Sabbath and new moon festivals and other
holy days. Basically it tears at the heart of what they think they
do so well and yet they seem to miss the mark horribly.
Is it the pride they hold in themselves thinking that they can earn
God's favour by what they do? Is it because they see their actions
as earning the grace that God has constantly tried to offer them
by stating that he is their God and they are his people? They seem
come to worship out of a sense to duty and fear rather than gratitude
and response for all that God has done for them. They do not come
in reliance of God, but rather with an attitude of trying to appease
him so that he will protect them from that external enemy, Assyria.
The challenge with such a passage as this is that we can so easily
see parallels within our own existence as a community of faith.
How much pride do we put in the way we do things? Do we see our
worship in some way as superior to the way others engage with God?
Are we so rigidly stuck to our form that the content of our worship
somehow takes a back seat? So long as we do it right, that's all
that matters.
And then we blame society for the failings of the church. Numbers
are down because of all those external threats; Sunday sport, a
Godless attitude and indifference to religion, the threat from other
religions moving in on our patch.
It is far easier to find the blame for our present woes in areas
outside our own four walls.
It is always tempting to point the one finger at someone else rather
than examining for three fingers pointing back at ourselves.
So it is only fair to ask, what does God require from us then?
Wash yourselves clean he tells these people. The worshippers hands
were covered in blood from their sacrifices and the prophet paints
this picture. They must not just wash their hands they must change
their whole way of life. It is similar to what Jesus is saying to
the wealthy leaders of Jerusalem a few centuries later. sell
all your belongings and give the money to the poor. Challenging
stuff! Clean up your own act. Look to where you really focus your
lives and think about where you really put your trust.
Stop doing evil and learn to do what is right. That's
pretty direct.
See that justice is done. There is a sense in which he is saying
look after those around you. Treat one another as people loved by
God. Rather than attacking and blaming those around us embrace them
as God's children. We are to recognise the grace with which God
treats us and apply that same grace to those around us. We have
the ability, the power to do that.
Then the prophet tells us what God will do, and it is only what
God can do.
You are stained red with sin, but I will wash you as clean
as snow.
This points us to God's redemptive act. We can deal with our actions
and attitudes, and only God can deal with our standing before him.
We can try all sorts of things to buy God's favour, and the irony
is, that the harder we try, the more we put in to trying to appease
God, the further we seem to drift from him.
Our efforts should not be in appeasing God but in serving one another
as brothers and sisters in Christ.
This is not to say that worship is not important. Of course it is,
it is vital, for it focuses us on our dependence on God's grace.
It draws us into that sense of both cooperate and individual trust
that we must have in the one who has redeemed us by paying the price
of our sin. And so worship keeps that focus; that our actions to
do good in the world are not to buy favour with God or humanity
for that matter, but are our response to our understanding that
God loves us, and that God has put us right with himself.
Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as
snow.
God provides the way out, just as he provided the sacrifice for
Abram when we was about to slaughter his son, so in Jesus we see
God's provision. Jehovah Jirah, meaning my provider.
God has provided for us in Jesus Christ the one who has washed our
sins and though they be as scarlet they will be as white as snow.
This is not because we deserve it, but because of God's abundant
love for us.
Nevertheless the challenge remains for us to live our lives for
him and honour him in all that we do.
May God give us the strength and the grace to look honestly at our
own lives and to live in gratitude for all that God has done for
us.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 28th July 2013
Hosea 1:2-10 Colossians 2:6-15
Build a strong faith
Having outlined who Jesus Christ is, Paul comes to the heart of
this letter in outlining the appropriate response of one who believes.
If you can accept and believe what he has outlined in the first
chapter, then you live in union with him.
Christ has united us with God, therefore we should keep our roots
deep in him and build our lives on him.
In the Greek language the tense to keep our roots deep in him has
the sense of a once and for all action. We have been planted in
him, that has happened, where as the tense used for build your lives
on him, has the sense of that on going action that although it has
begun we must keep on this path.
So we see our faith as a growing and developing aspect of our life's
journey. For Paul it is not an adjunct to life, but lies at the
core of who we are and how we live if we are to remain true to ourselves
and to God.
Thus, this part of Paul's letter, grounded in what he has already
said about Christ moves to looking at our faithfulness to God. He
has already expressed the details of God's faithfulness to us in
Jesus Christ, so it is only logical that in discussing faith in
terms of a relationship, that he should look at our part in that.
It is interesting that those who have developed the Lectionary,
the combination of weekly readings, that they pair this reading
with the beginning verses of Hosea, where Hosea is concerned with
the idolatry of the people and their faithlessness toward God. He
boldly pictures this using his own failed marriage to an unfaithful
woman as an analogy to the way that God's people have deserted their
faith in God.
And despite their faithlessness God still holds hope that one day
he will be able to say, You are the children of the living
God!
This illustrates for us the nature of our relationship with God
in that God always holds open his arms of love even as our faith
ebbs and flows. There is never a turning his back on us that closes
his love completely even if we, fickle as we are, wander away from
his love.
Thus Paul's strong plea, that having our roots deep in him that
we keep on building our lives on him making our faith stronger all
the time.
Here he slips in a little phrase that probably acts, almost as a
key to achieving this faithfulness in our journey, when he says,
And be filled with thankfulness.
Thankfulness keeps us focused, it keeps us looking to Christ. It
reminds us of all that God has done for us and because we are thankful
to God it prevents us from becoming self absorbed or from relegating
our faith to a pocket of our life that has little impact on any
other part of our day to day living. Thankfulness is a somewhat
underrated and undervalued quality. It demands we look beyond ourselves
and our own abilities. It forces us to give credit to someone else
where the world desperately tries to tell us to stand on our own
feet, to be self-assured, self-confident, self-possessed.
Paul calls this sort of attitude, the worthless deceit of
human wisdom. And rather than leading us to God it draws us
away, it draws us inward, and encourages us to look to our own strength.
Our relationship with Christ encourages thankfulness for what God
has done. Thankfulness lies at the heart of what it is to be a worshipping
community because we focus on the One for whom we are thankful.
And as we look to Christ we hear the words that Hosea promised would
be said, You are the children of the living God. This
is our place, not only in our community, but in our very humanity.
This is where we belong, and this is where we find fullness of life.
Paul goes on to talk to both the Jewish and Gentile communities
and draws them back to the foundations of their faith as he draws
on circumcision and baptism, the outward and physical signs and
response to God's activity and reminds them that what is more important
is God's activity that underlines these rituals.
Both circumcision and baptism were offered as the human response
to the love of God.
They were given as signs of the covenant love that God declared
for his people when he said, I will be your God and you will
be my people.
Circumcision offered in Abraham's time particularly for the Jewish
people and for Gentile converts, was a sign of this covenant love
and baptism emerged out of growing Christian movement expressing
that same love. But for Paul, the argument was not one or the other,
or both, but was that thankfulness for what God had done. To argue
over ones rightness on such matters was to deny the thankfulness
and the gratitude we should have for the grace that God had already
given.
Such arguments do nothing for the building up of either ones personal
faith, nor for the community of faith and certainly does nothing
for the witness to the world around us.
Paul emphasis this line of argument by outlining the hard, cold
facts of the gospel.
We were at one time spiritually dead.
We have been brought to life with Christ.
God has forgiven our sins, cancelled the unfavourable record of
our debts by nailing them to the cross.
And from that cross Christ freed himself and us from the power of
sin and death.
In a nut shell, this is what we have to be thankful for. It is not
about us, it is about Christ. It is about the foundation upon which
our faith is built. Without this as the foundation of our faith
our eyes drift from the heart of our faith, and we loose the real
meaning of it. We end up arguing over the trivia, eroding the foundation
of all that we believe.
So one has to wonder is faithfulness so much about what we do or
is it much more about who we are and being true to the faith that
we profess? Is faithfulness about being true to the One in whom
we trust and on whom we build our faith?
The warning is definitely not to be distracted by those things that
divide or deny Christ. What we eat or what we drink, which day we
meet, or how we go about our worship in the church is not what is
important, but our thankfulness to Christ, our loyalty to him, and
our witness of all that he has done is what is important.
And it is only in Christ that we find the full expression of God's
love for the world offered.
People's experiences, visions or claims of superior knowledge or
status do nothing to add to the work of Christ. Our love for God
and our willingness to offer that same love to the world around
us in gratitude for all that God has done for us is what we are
called to do.
We are called to be God's children, called to be a faithful people,
a people of love and compassion, a people of justice and truth offering
to the world that same love that God has given to us.
Paul finishes this section drawing on that analogy of the body with
its many different parts, its joints and its ligaments, growing
from infancy to maturity, with Christ as the head.
From the head we get the control, we get the reasoning, we get the
functioning of the whole body.
Like the rugs we see displayed around us in all their different
colours and sizes and textures and designs, so too the people of
God, with all their differences, with their abilities, with their
personalities, with their talents, contribute to the witness of
God's love in our world today. But in doing this we must keep our
focus on the one who is the Head, Jesus Christ our Lord. For he
is the source and the substance of our all that we are and will
be. It is as we remain rooted in him, that we must keep on building
our lives as we become stronger and stronger in our faith.
To Him be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday, 14th July 2012
Colossians 1:1-14
'What is the real thing!'
In 1970 Coca-Cola came up with the slogan, "It's the real
thing." With this slogan, they accomplished the advertising
equivalent of striking gold. In January of 1971 the seventh-billionth
gallon of Coca-Cola syrup was manufactured and the billion gallon
marks started coming so quickly they stopped counting. But - "is"
Coca Cola really the real thing? A human tooth placed in a vessel
containing Coca Cola for an period of time eventually disintegrates;
it completely disappears! Place a lot of sugar in water, put in
a special secret mixture of chemicals and, you have - the "real
thing!" But the world has bought this slogan, as well as cans
and bottles by the billions. Which makes you wonder how did the
Coca Cola company manage to convince the world that their product
is the "real thing?"
In an article on this topic, one critic says that Coca Cola is not
the real thing at all. It is God that is the real thing. Our epistle
reading for today from Paul's letter to the church in Colossae says
that faith in Jesus Christ is the real thing and love for one another
in the church is evidence of the real thing.
The reading from Colossians gives us a wonderful inside view of
the apostle's heart for the people of the local church through his
prayer. This prayer gives insight that is essential for the life
of the church today and in particular into the priorities those
in leadership in the local church should have. The things that bring
joy to the apostle's heart and the things he most prays for the
people of the church, represent the church's critical agenda. Paul
tells the Colossians that he is always giving thanks for them in
his prayers because, "...we have heard of your faith in Christ
and of the love that you have for all God's people."
All churches have reputations. Which I am sure you're all aware
of. You can go to any neighbourhood in the city and ask anyone there,
"What do you know about First Presbyterian Church?" There
will be a variety of responses. Such as "Oh, that's the big
brick building with a tower." Or "is that the one across
the road from Countdown?' or some might say something like, "First
Church? Isn't that's where a lot of old people go." Or perhaps
even, "Yes - that's the church that has a big garage sale twice
a year."
Wouldn't it be wonderful if the reputation of a church resulted
in someone saying, "First Church? That's the place where people
really care about each other and they are known for their faith."
It is critical for those of us who love the church of Jesus Christ
to know that news travels. Indeed, adverse or un-complimentary news
travels the fastest!
One of the essential tasks of the leadership of a church is to have
an understanding of the church's reputation. What are we known for?
This can be a difficult question to ask and even more difficult
for us to hear the answer. One way to approach the question is to
ask, "How many people... besides the members of this church...
would care if for some reason or other, we had to close our doors?"
If a church was known for its faith and for the love the members
of the church had for each other, regardless of their station in
life, their past, or their financial status -- then such a church
would be sorely missed. What would you say if we asked. "Would
anybody out there miss us?" Indeed, did any of you notice the
Presbyterian Church notices were missing from yesterday's paper,
do you think anyone missed them?
One of the absolute priorities for leadership in a local church
is to attend to the question, "What is our reputation? It is
not just for ourselves that we ask the question. We need to understand
that it is not just our reputation as a church - or as an organization
in our community -- that is at stake here. If you read the epistle
carefully, it becomes clear that it is the reputation of Jesus Christ
that is on the line!
Paul says "You are known for your faith in Christ and love
for each other!" What a great thing to say about a church.
All of us know very well that far too many churches are more known
for bitter squabbles and petty politics than they are for authentic
mutual love. Clearly, the priorities of the Church in our time need
to be evaluated in light of the fact that the world around us sees
Jesus Christ through the window of our reputation in the community.
Paul's prayer points to what takes place when the church attends
to its God-given priorities. Namely, "...that you may lead
lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him as you bear fruit
in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God."
[v.10]
As we live our lives with faith in Christ and keep the commandment
of Christ to love each other, something wonderful happens. The Spirit
of God works in our lives in such a way that our lives are more
fruitful and we grow in our knowledge of God and in our relationship
with God.
All of this comes together in the epistle reading where there are
three aspects to Paul's prayer that stand out. They are the Apostle's
joy, the Apostle's request, and the people's thanksgiving. These
fourteen verses are filled with meaning and could provide a source
of study and reflection for weeks, but we can at least gain a glimpse
of the heart of these verses which begin this letter.
There is a most significant phrase in this text which says "In
our prayers for you...". A key ingredient of effective spiritual
leadership is that the leader prays for the people he or she is
called to care for. As one of your ministers, I can reassure you
that I pray for you regularly. I am always grateful to hear your
concerns, so that I can pray for you, but it is important that we
all pray for each other. During our 'Prayers for Ourselves and Others'
we need to remember to pray for each other, especially for those
in leadership in this parish.
But it is not just that the apostle Paul is praying for the people
of the church. He does not simply pray for the people - he says
"In our prayers for you we always thank God..." What great
encouragement that must have been for a place where a leader can
say, "We always thank God for you!" Certainly it is no
accident that a healthy congregation has the strongest prayer support
of its leaders.
There is much organisational work that has to be done in a church
and we want leaders who pay attention to organisation with planning
and committee work and we are grateful for leaders in our church
who work on committees and give time to planning. However, there
is one area of leadership ministry that frequently gets short-changed
and that is the work of praying for the church. An increase in this
would likely bring about an increase of the Apostle's joy.
As well as giving thanks for the people of the Colossian Church,
Paul has very specific requests for them. "We have not ceased
praying for you," he says, "And asking that..." And
there are four specific things he named:
· To be filled with the knowledge, wisdom and understanding
of God
· To live lives worthy of the Lord, living as the Lord wants,
doing what pleases God
· To bear fruit and produce all kinds of good deeds
· To continue growing in the knowledge of God, in strength,
to endure everything with patience.
When we understand our faith, it becomes apparent that Christian
faith is a "life-long learning" commitment. Growing in
knowledge of God through reading of the scriptures and meeting together
to share in our spiritual journey will have a dramatic impact on
our living. We will have a growing sense of fruitfulness in our
inner lives.
There is good instruction here for the health of congregations.
As we pray continually for a congregation where all are growing
in our relationship with God, then we will see a new kind of fruitfulness
in the life of the church.
The result of a leadership committed to a ministry of prayer for
the congregation results in a church where all can, "...joyfully
give thanks to God..." The people's thanksgiving therefore
is for:
· To participate in the destiny of God's people
· Being rescued from the power of darkness and set free
· And our sins are forgiven
Our relationship with God and each other in the community of faith
will never fade or be taken away. The power of sin which has broken
our world has been defeated by the redemptive plan of God and our
sins are freely forgiven.
The critic was right. Coca Cola is not the real thing. Faith in
Jesus Christ is the real thing and love for one another in the church
is evidence of the real thing.
May God give us the joy of knowing the real thing and of living
lives that are worthy of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sunday, 7th July 2012
2 Kings 5:1-14 Galatians 6:7-18
Endure with the truth
Simplicity is Paul's key to the Gospel and we need to keep on reminding
ourselves of this concept. It seems that every generation, every
group of people want to add conditions, add requirements to the
Gospel usually shaping it to make it more palatable, more comfortable
for a target audience of the day, rather than allowing the Gospel
to challenge contemporary society in every generation.
In the story from 2 Kings where the Syrian King sent the commander
of his army off to the King of Israel to find their prophet who
may be able to cure Naaman's illness, there is suspicion and mistrust.
Firstly the King of Israel thinks it is a political trap, and secondly
Naaman, when asked by the prophet to bath in the River Jordan, felt
if that was all it involved, he could have bathed in a much nicer
river in his own country. The answer to his problem seemed too simple.
The demand placed on him did not seem enough.
How could it be so simple that all he had to do was to go and wash
in the Jordan? After advice from one of his servants he went and
carried out the simple instructions of the prophet, and he was cured.
How insightful was his servant who challenged Naaman by suggesting
that if he had been asked to do something difficult, then he would
have been happy to do it, but because of the apparent simplicity
of the instructions, he felt he wasn't having to do enough and that
he was merely being taken for a ride.
And in many ways this probably sums up Paul's letter to the Galatians
as we draw toward the end. Paul has argued vigorously against people
adding requirements to the Gospel. Perhaps it was the simplicity
of the Gospel message that appealed to the Gentiles, whereas for
the Jewish Christians the simplicity became a stumbling block. It
seemed too easy. They didn't have to do anything.
Paul begins chapter six by encouraging us to look out for one another.
We are to be concerned for our brothers and sisters in Christ and
if there are issues, then lets deal with them sensitively, not in
an attitude of judgement, but more in a manner of helpfulness. As
soon as we make judgements on others we begin to see ourselves as
better than or more worthy than. Where as Paul's attitude was that
we do not enter the kingdom of heaven in degrees of worthiness,
but by God's grace alone.
Therefore we have no right to pass judgement on others.
So this chapter proves to be the practical living out of all that
has gone before. It is the call to endure, putting into practice
the gospel message in our lives.
If God, in Jesus Christ has procured for us our salvation, then
surely that must be worked at in the day to day living of our lives.
The outworking of the gospel is not an automatic given, but is that
growing in the grace that is given to us.
Paul draws on that analogy, that we will reap what we sow. If we
choose to continue drawing our strength from the world around us
and the prevailing thought of self gain and self centredness we
will get what we deserve, where as if we find fulfilment in the
fruits that God has given by his Spirit, which he laid out at the
end of the last chapter, then we will find satisfaction and reward
in our daily living.
So the suggestion that we should never tire of doing good. This
good is as acts of service to others, not for any self gain we might
receive out of it, but so that others might truly benefit. Our doing
good becomes a witness to God's goodness, not to our own. It offers
a reflection of God's goodness given to us, therefore we offer it
to others. This goodness is not just offered within the community
of the church, but is offered to everyone. If we only offered such
goodness within the community of faith we create an exclusive club,
whereas the church must always have doors open to the world, open
to the community beyond our walls so that anyone may come in and
be welcomed by God's grace.
That has to continue to be the distinguishing mark of the church.
Christ after all came to die for the world, so that all who come
might enter the kingdom of God. We are not the gate keepers to that
Kingdom, so therefore should not pretend to be nor offer judgement
that might suggest we are.
Paul is so passionate about his message, that as he concludes this
letter that he has been dictating to his professional scribe, he
takes the pen himself, to add a very personal touch to the concluding
words.
And the readers know this because the handwriting changes, and the
big letters that he forms, being unaccustomed to writing himself,
suddenly stand out on the page.
And he reiterates his central message: Those who try to force external
signs and ceremonies on you as a necessary condition of the gospel
and those who boast of their own ways of doing things as being right
are in fact destroying the efficacy of the cross in favour of their
own righteousness.
For Paul, there is only one thing to boast of and that is the cross
of Christ. That is the only message that we proclaim. That is why
throughout the history of the church it has become the one symbol
that unites us. It is the message, it is the key, it is the path
that we must follow. Nothing else matters but the cross.
John Bowring captured this thought in his hymn:
"In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o'er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
gathers round its head sublime."
The cross of Christ brings to us and to every generation, to every
nation, to every political faction, to every tragedy, to every joy,
the picture and the reality of God's love for the world.
The cross of Christ is where heaven meets earth, where God intersected
with humanity at its deepest and most vulnerable point. And so any
thing, or any one who distracts us or draws us away from that point,
is in Paul's opening words of this letter, proclaiming another gospel.
It would seem that Paul could not care one way or the other, whether
one was circumcised or not. For him it no longer bore any relevance
to God's love or acceptance of that person. What mattered more than
anything was that persons faith, borne out by what Christ had done
and achieved on the cross, once and for all. And then to see that
faith lived out in the lives of those who proclaim such faith. It
was important to see that faith, empowered by the Spirit of God,
transforming the lives of Christ's followers so that God's love
might be made know to all, and so that we might live in harmony
with one another.
Christ came to unite God's people, not to divide. He came to draw
people together in a common love offered by God, not earned by us
nor regulated by the demands of any individual or institution.
One gets the impression from Paul's closing remarks that such arguments
are distracting him and others from the real concerns of the church.
This seems a timeless problem, as we need to constantly remind ourselves
and others of the true message of the church. The scars that we
bear should be scars that point to the cross if that is what it
takes to convince people of the simplicity of the Gospel message.
Let us not make it difficult, let us not complicate the nature of
faith in Jesus Christ that calls us to believe, to believe in Jesus
Christ who died, and rose again that we might have life, life in
abundance, life everlasting.
And what Paul wishes on the people of Galatia?
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The gift of Christ's love. That
is all they needed, and that is all we need. God's grace in Jesus
Christ is all we need.
To Him be the glory, now and forever more.
AMEN.
Sunday, 30th June, 2013 - Pentecost 6
2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14, Luke 9:51-62, Galatians 5:1, 13-25
'Clothed in the Spirit'
There are both contrasts and similarities between the readings
from the Hebrew Scriptures, the Gospel and the Epistles we have
heard today. In the 2 Kings and Luke readings they open with the
news that the central character is about to leave.
According to the Old Testament, God was about to take Elijah up
to heaven by a whirlwind, and in the New Testament - Luke tells
us that "When the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up,
he set his face towards Jerusalem
" We get the feeling
that we are moving towards a climax - something important is about
to happen.
Three times, Jesus gives a challenge to would-be disciples and
we are left with the impression that they fail the test. The commitment
of following Jesus seems just too much to contemplate. They were
unable to leave behind their family commitments and their home comforts,
to follow where Jesus was going.
On the other hand, the prophet Elijah's disciple, Elisha, declares
three times his utter commitment to following Elijah and continuing
his work.
So - what was the difference? Perhaps it was that Elisha fully
understood that his commitment was only possible through the gift
of God's Spirit. He had seen the results of God's power working
through Elijah and knew that he could only take up the role as God's
prophet when he had received that Spirit also. So, at the centre
of this reading, when the prophet asked his disciple what he could
do for him Elisha could have asked for many gifts, but instead he
asks for a double share of the Spirit that so obviously empowered
Elijah in order that he might take up the prophets mantle when he
left.
God's Spirit is not given simply to intensify one's own happiness
and wellbeing, although these are welcome experiences, when they
do happen. God's Spirit is given so that the recipient can reveal
God's image, God's characteristics of love, joy, peace, goodness,
justice,
righteousness, etc., more clearly in the world. The symbol of God's
Spirit for Elijah was his cloak, his mantle. It was the sign of
his authority as God's prophet. A mantle is a garment that "covers,
envelops or conceals." Though we now use that word in a less
literal way by referring to the responsibilities of a role, usually
in leadership.
In our reading from Galatians last week, Paul said that in our
baptism we are "clothed with Christ", in another of his
letters, he writes about "putting on Christ", so it is
reasonable to think of being "clothed with Christ" as
putting on the mantle of Christ - the Holy Spirit. According to
Paul, we can be either clothed with the flesh or clothed with the
Spirit. Clothed with the mantle of flesh for Paul means being clad
with a whole range of immoral attitudes including hatred, jealousy,
envy, quarrelling and physical desires that are a lot worse. Paul
really goes to town to make that contrast with being clothed with
the Spirit which brings forth the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, self-control and especially
love for ones neighbour and ourselves . These gifts of the spirit
are what we should be clothed in; this is the mantle that builds
people up rather than dragging them down.
The gospel reading from Luke describes the cost of wearing the
mantle of discipleship - the cost of following Jesus. This passage
could be titled - 'excuses, excuses, excuses', as these would-be
disciples list those things which have taken priority over and above
the priority of following Jesus. Would we be so very different?
Just as in the reading, the more we are clothed with the mantle
of flesh, the more excuses we are likely to find in order to put
our priorities first. So - how do we cover our weaknesses - our
mantle of flesh and become clothed with Christ - how do we become
fruitful disciples?
When we consider what it means to be clothed with Christ, we can
recognise that even the way we dress can serve to protect or conceal.
Maybe we dress to protect our bodies from heat or cold or to conceal
the parts we don't want others to see! We also "use our clothing
to reveal what we consider most important about ourselves. When
people put on wedding garments or military uniforms, they are signalling
the adoption of new values and commitments. In a similar way this
is why Priests and some Minister's put on robes for worship, to
signify the values and commitment they have made, covering what
we wearing underneath. In even more profound and encompassing ways,
this is the significance of Paul's imagery of being clothed with
Christ. It expresses the radical changes that come with embarking
on the Christian way. So - being clothed with Christ, in the Spirit,
does not just cover our humanity but transforms it.
Today's readings are therefore about challenge. Are we game enough
to step up to the mark, to be clothed with Christ and to be ready
for any challenges that may bring - or not? Do we really want to
be fruitful disciples of Christ or not? Some words written a long
time ago are some of the most beautiful words about the fruits of
the Spirit. Words describing how love is the key to making the fruits
of the Spirit visible in our lives:
Joy is love singing;
peace is love resting;
patience is love enduring;
kindness is the loving touch;
goodness is love's character;
faithfulness is love's habit;
gentleness is love's forgetting of oneself;
self-control is love holding the reins.
If being clothed with Christ means bearing such Spirit-filled fruit
- wouldn't we want to be more like Elisha and ask for a double portion,
rather than be like the reluctant followers of Jesus who seem to
have been clothed with other priorities. May God help us all to
re-order our priorities and visibly display our Spiritual clothing.
Sunday 23rd June 2013
Psalm 42&43 Galatians 3:21-29
United in Service
Over the last few weeks we have been looking at Paul's letter to
the Church of Galatia. In it we have seen an argument being had
between a group of Jewish Christians who firmly believed that for
non Jews, - (Gentiles, that is,) for them to become Christian they
must first become Jewish. They must undergo the processes that the
Jewish law would require for them to be good Jews before they could
become followers of Christ.
Paul argues strongly against this on the grounds that by merely
following certain rules and regulations, one did not find favour
with God. Paul argues that our favour with God is a gift given to
us through Jesus Christ. He argues that through Christ, because
of the grace given as God's gift to us, faith is all that is necessary
for our ability to engage with God.
It is an age old argument between works or law and grace that has
continued down the centuries that sees the church, time and again
needing to return to that point of understanding that it is not
what I do, but what Christ has already done, that is important in
that relationship with God. How often do we hear it today that so
and so is a good Christian because of the works that they do. Or
that someone else is a good person, as good as any who go to church,
as if ones attendance at church is a measure of ones goodness.
And what we have seen so far in this letter that Paul wrote to the
Galatians is Paul's arguing that living by the law, by rules and
regulations does not prove how good we are, rather it reminds us
that none of us are good enough, no one is any better than anyone
else. We only need the law because without it we may not even recognise
the wrongs we do.
Perhaps we can put it that the law highlights the problem, it does
not offer a solution.
Thus Christ came to take on himself the sin of the world so that
that problem would be fixed for us.
The Psalmist recognised this tendency for humanity to stray from
God, to forget where our hope really lies, in that refrain that
is repeated several times in the Psalms read today,
"Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled? I will put my hope
in God,and once again I will praise him, my saviour and my God."
We forget, we strive, we struggle for ourselves to find happiness
and peace, and then there is that realisation that what we need
to do it to put our hope in God.
Paul recognised this pattern in his life as he had spent so much
of his life striving to live by the law thinking that by doing so
he was pleasing God, and then God came to him on that Damascus Road
and his eyes were opened as he realised that his striving got him
no where, but that his trust in God as shown to him in Jesus Christ
gave him hope.
In this great act of God in coming to us, what the Psalmist said
had come true, "O God, declare me innocent, and defend my cause
against the ungodly; deliver me ..."
What does Paul say, "And so the Law was in charge of us until
Christ came, in order that we might then be put right with God through
faith."
We keep being brought back to this central truth which is the Gospel
message. God has put us right with himself, restored us, through
Jesus Christ.
And one might ask, "So what?"
Well this is where Paul starts to bring out the implication in his
argument with these Jewish Christians. If this is the case, if this
is what Christ has done, he has not done it on the basis of any
pre condition, nor on the basis of effort that we have offered,
then the implication is plain; we are all one. Because of what Christ
has done, washed us clean if we take that phrase, "baptised
into union with Christ Jesus," then we all stand together as
we are. There is a level playing field.
We are here together because of faith, Jew and Gentile, male and
female, master and slave. God does not recognise the differences,
but embraces all humanity as His children. We are able to come to
God because he has made it possible, not by demanding we live by
the law to measure up, but rather by coming to us as Jesus Christ
and in so doing, fulfilling the demands of the law for us.
In this way Paul explains to these Jewish Christians, all people
are able to become descendants of Abraham. This would have hammered
it home to them and put clearly to them the whole purpose of Christ's
coming.
And so, for Paul, whether Jew or Gentile, no matter what our differences
are, like the Psalmist put it when he said, "As a deer longs
for a stream of cool water, so I long for you, O God," the
human cry for God's saving grace to come among us is universal,
and the answer to that human cry is there for us all. It is there
in Jesus Christ.
And it was here that some of these new followers of Jesus were having
problems comprehending the implications of Christ's coming among
them.
But the main implication is that all are united in their service
for Christ. And this has probably been the greatest challenge that
has continued to plague the Christian church throughout its history.
It would seem that more often than not our faith has continued to
divide us, even though we proclaim the one Gospel.
And it is too easy to let dogma divide rather than focusing on the
unity we have. We often find that unity best lived out in the service
we give to others. This is where an organisation like St John, whose
roots are very firmly grounded in the Christian faith in offering
service to humanity in the name of Christ, can so easily cross the
boundaries that the church seems to find so easy to put up. We focus
on the needs before us and look for ways to make the lives of people
better in the service we offer. We draw people from all walks of
life who have that desire to serve their brothers and sisters.
The danger of course in such a group, is that we loose sight of
the faith that drove people to set up such an organisation. The
Orders aims are still expressed in two very simple Latin phrases.
Pro Fide, meaning for the faith, and Pro Ultilitate Hominum, meaning
for the service of mankind.
Faith and action was close to heart of Paul, and he will go on in
this letter to express how faith should be seen in the lives of
Jesus' followers. It should be seen in our attitudes and in our
actions toward others. It should be seen in the motivation we find
to live our lives not just for ourselves but for God and for humanity.
Deitrich Bonhoeffer put it, "Actions must follow what one believed,
else one could not claim to believe it."
So for Paul while our actions do not buy us merit with God, our
actions do reflect the heart out of which we operate. Our actions
should reflect the faith that we profess and we should strive to
do that. Paul in other letters talks about that as working out our
salvation. Salvation has been given, but our actions are an expression
of that.
And yeap, we all falter and fail at times, but that does not condemn
us as we continue on that path of faith.
May God give us grace as we serve one another. May God give us strength
to engage in service so that we may give expression to our faith
and to the work of Jesus Christ for all humanity.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 9th June 2013
1 Kings 17:8-16 Gal 1:11-24
God in Grace Chooses
Over the next few weeks I want us to look at the letter that Paul
wrote to the Galatians. Galatia is a region that boardered Tarsus
where Paul came from so it was probably a region not unknown to
him. It is believed that this may be one of the very early pieces
of the New Testament and so deals with issues that the emerging
Christian community faced as people from different cultures and
backgrounds took up this faith and came to it through eyes that
did not understand the Jewish faith out of which it was developing.
This caused tension as the non-Jewish people were being told by
some believers from the Jewish background that they must come to
Christianity through a path of Judaism. In other words there were
particular rites and observances that they should follow if they
were to be 'good' Christians.
To be more specific issues surrounding food laws and circumcision
were raised. The Galatian Gentile Christians were being told that
they would need to be circumcised if they were to be proper Christians
Division and bitter arguments as we well know are nothing new to
these parts of the world. We only need to watch our news at night
to see long standing bitterness being played out on the streets
in some of these countries. The thin veneer of civilisation is quite
fragile even in places like Turkey. Take that and think of this
new emerging religion that is driving a wedge between itself and
Judaism and you quickly get a picture of the passion that people
may well have been harbouring in such an argument.
And for our own day we may find it hard to imagine people having
such passion over issues of faith, and yet we can find plenty of
people and groups who are only too willing to tell us what is right
and what is wrong, and what makes a 'good' Christian and what makes
a 'bad' Christian.
Last weeks Galatians reading would have had Paul introducing this
letter and the fact that Christ gave himself for our salvation.
He stressed that there is only one Gospel and that anyone that tells
us anything different is in fact preaching a different gospel or
is leading us away from the truth.
And in today's reading Paul establishes among this group of people
his credentials. If this is such an early part of the New Testament,
Paul's place in the scheme of things is probably fairly recent.
Although we do need to be careful here, for sometimes the accounts
of Paul's conversion leads one to think that the time frame from
the Damascus Road experience to active ministry was fairly quick.
He gives a bit of time scale in this letter suggesting it was at
least three years plus, before he went to Jerusalem to meet with
Peter. Those demanding believers become Jews first may well have
tried to use Paul as an example for their argument as news of his
conversion swept around the communities of this time. This Paul
who was once a very important Jew and persecutor of Christians came
to faith following this path of having been a Jew, where as the
Gentile converts to Judaism may well have seen him as having left
behind all that he had once valued and taken on this new faith.
So Paul is quick to lay out his credentials to the community that
he is writing to. His authority does not come from once having been
a Jew. His credentials are not given to him by his recent associations
with Peter and any of the other apostles. As far as he is concerned
he stands before them because God in his grace chose him and called
him and gave him the task of taking the Gospel message to the Gentiles.
He goes to great lengths to show these people that God's choice
was not based on any inherent goodness that he may have had. In
fact if anything, his attitude and actions toward the early Christian
community should have ruled him out.
And it is this very reason that many of the Christian communities
took some convincing that Paul was indeed genuine.
And it is this process of convincing the Galatians that we are reading
about today.
And as he does this, looking back over his life, he sees the hand
of God at work from the beginning. Although he is not proud of his
past, he sees God's working with him as he was led to the experience
on the Damascus Road. Here was the turning point where life suddenly
made sense to him. Why? Because God came to him.
And it is this point that Paul would go on to emphasise as the basis
of all his theological thought.
It is only as God comes to us, which he did in Jesus Christ, that
we can see God.
This has so often been the point that theologians down the centuries
have brought the church back to time and time again. It was the
basis of the Reformation. The Church, tradition nor any other human
generated experience does not lead us to God, it is only through
Jesus Christ who came as God incarnate to reveal God's love for
humanity, that we can know God. Thus the table that we gather at
today is that opportunity to meet and engage with the Host, Jesus
Christ. He invites us to partake as we remember his life, death
and resurrection.
It is this same point that the great 20th century theologian, Karl
Barth also brought the church back to. He said that in order to
know anything at all about God, one had to rely on revelation from
God. In other words, God could speak into this world, but man could
not reach out of this world to examine God. It was a one-way street.
This of course looked straight back to the Reformation and indeed
back to the Pauline experience.
And this does lie at the heart of the Christian Churches life and
practice, for we do not come to the table today because we are good,
because we have achieved perfection, because we are worthy to stand
before God. No, we come because he invites us, just as he invited
Zacchaeus, just as he engaged with the Samaritan woman at the well,
just as he announced to the thief on the cross, 'today you will
be in paradise with me.'
God's choice is not about goodness, it is about Grace. Amazing Grace,
abundant Grace, free Grace.
It is a grace that calls us to follow as it invites response. The
table is set, the invitation is given, and the response is awaited.
I suppose the proof is in the pudding, and part of the proof is
the decision that we make, but also in what the world sees.
Paul could have refused to see what God was doing in his life and
walked away, blinded to the truth. But he didn't.
He listen to God and acted in obedience.
And it was borne out in the community.
Paul tells, "At that time the members of the churches in Judaea
did not know me personally. They knew only what others were saying:
"The man who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith
that he once tried to destroy!" And so they praised God because
of me."
Paul's calling is no different to any one of us, we are called to
live out our faith in the communities in which we live. We are all
to be disciples of Christ, not because we are good, but because
this is what God calls us too.
Paul's experience on the one had was a unique one. There is no set
pattern for coming to that knowledge of God's love for us. But on
the other hand his experience is universal in that it is only as
God reaches down to us, that we can begin to know God. And this
is the essence of the Christian Gospel. God came to us in Jesus
Christ. God revealed God's self that we might know God and this
was done out of love for all humanity.
Let us respond to God's call as we gather at the table He as set
for us, and remember afresh the cost of that love for us.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 2nd June 2013
1 Kings 18:20-21,30-39 Luke 7:1-10
Stories of faith
The scriptures contain stories of faith from beginning to end. They
speak of God's relationship with his people down the ages and show
people have engaged with God from the beginning of time. It is often
a repeated theme of a people who have once worshipped God, who over
time have drifted away and then there has been something that has
brought them back to that faith that they once knew.
At other times it is stories of people for whom faith in God is
a new experience, perhaps coming from a foreign place which often
challenges the cultural and other religious assumptions of those
involved and the hearers of the stories.
Often faith can come in quite unexpected ways and through unexpected
events but perhaps this is a reflection of the nature of God. God
who lies behind all that we see in creation, normally working within
those laws nature, but every now and then steps outside that order.
As John puts it when talking to Nicodemus about the need to be born
of the Spirit, the need to have our eyes opened to recognise the
work of God in our lives, he says,
"The wind blows wherever it wishes; you hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It
is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
And so we read today of two different stories where we see the Spirit
of God blowing in the unexpected directions. We see Elijah taking
up a challenge with the prophets of Baal, and we see a Roman Officer
seeking the help of Jesus and displaying faith in a way that caused
Jesus to comment, "that he had never found faith like this."
What seems a throw away comment would certainly have been felt by
the religious community who saw themselves as God's chosen people
and others as being outside the faith.
So what do we see in these stories of faith?
Firstly we see people making choices or being challenged to make
a choice.
In the story of Elijah, the people had made a choice to follow the
prophets of Baal and they were being challenged to reconsider that
decision.
"If the Lord is God, worship him; but if Baal is God, worship
him."
In other words make up you mind.
In faith there is always that conscious choice that demands a decision
from us one way or the other.
In other parts of the Old Testament we have that same theme, "Choose
you this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my household,
we will serve the Lord."
Choice to express faith in daily life is something that we all experience.
Our faith can influence all sorts of decisions that we make that
reflect where our trust really lies. The activities that we pursue,
the priorities that we make for ourselves, the mindset through which
we view the world all reflect something of the faith that we have,
for faith is never just an intellectual ascent to a list of beliefs,
but faith is much more about the trust and expression of such beliefs
in day to day living.
But I will come back to that.
So the choice is important. Today Stella has made that choice and
her parents have supported her in that. Baptism is a declaration
of faith and in several of the New Testament accounts of people
being baptised, their choice had implications for the whole family.
Lydia came to faith and she and her whole household were baptised.
The decisions of one person can so often have far reaching implications
on others. The Roman Soldier in our gospel story made a choice to
ask Jesus to come and visit his dying servant. This was a courageous
choice for a Roman to make as it would have been totally counter
to his cultural background. And yet through hearing about Jesus
and what he had been up to in these parts this man decided to honour
the faith of his servant and call this Jesus to help.
As well as making a choice, the focus of that choice was honoured.
"Will you worship Baal or God?"
It wasn't a matter of will you believe, but rather will you honour
that belief. Faith so often calls us to change the direction of
our living so that our actions reflect our words. For it is not
faith in some general idea that we are talking of here, but faith
in God. Faith in God as revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
This gives context to faith and takes it out of the realm of the
intellectual idea and focuses it in the One who is greater than
we are, but also on the one who came to us as Jesus the Christ and
who continues to come to us in and through the power of the Holy
Spirit who draws us to faith. This specific context draws us into
a relationship with God who engages with us.
And it is God who recognises that faith in us and honours that faith.
We see this in the New Testament story. The Roman soldier out of
respect for his servant calls upon Jesus, and recognises that Jesus
does not actually need to come personally, but merely say the word
and healing will take place.
For this Soldier, seeing was not necessary for belief. He recognised
authority when he saw it, and was able to put his trust in Jesus'
word. His word would be his action. This is the faith that Jesus
in return honoured.
God honours that faith in us even if it is as small as a mustard
seed. God does not demand perfection from us, but honours the focus
that we give to our faith as we day by day put our trust in him,
leaving our lives in his hands.
William Freeman Lloyd penned these thoughts in his hymn:
"My times are in Thy hand: My God, I wish them there, My life,
my friends, my soul I leave entirely to Thy care.
My times are in Thy hand. Why should I doubt or fear? My Father's
hand will never cause His child a needless tear."
The question for us all, is how do we honour God in our own lives.
What difference does our faith make to the way we view life?
And this leads us on from the choices we make, from the way we honour
that choice, to the trust that we exercise.
The people of Elijah's time having watched the altar being built
and the water drenching that altar and then the fire being sent
down from God, threw themselves on the ground and exclaimed,
"The Lord is God; the Lord alone is God."
This brought for them a change that saw their trust in God exercised.
No longer did they follow the ways of the prophets of Baal, but
they turned and followed the faith of their forebears.
The lure of the world around them no longer held the value that
it once had.
There are many things that hold out hope for us in this world that
we are constantly being told will give us satisfaction and fulfilment.
We are encouraged to put our trust in ourselves, in wealth, in things
that bring us pleasure. But in the end we have to consider for ourselves
where our ultimate trust will lie. This is the dilemma that the
Psalmist faced as he posed that question, "I to the hills will
lift my eyes, but where will my help come from?"
In other words, as I look around at the world, at the grandeur,
at the power and majesty that lies around us where am I going to
get my true help from?
And he answers, "My help comes from the Lord who made heaven
and earth!"
That timeless dilemma lies at the heart of what faith is all about.
It is not a question about science or knowledge or politics, or
any of those other disciplines that engage our minds, answer our
questions, or opens up even more of the unknown, it is about faith,
it is about where we will put our trust, it is about where our lives
will be focused, it is about the choice we make to honour God who
lies behind all that we see and all that we know, and in whom we
are constantly invited to put our trust.
May God continue to journey with us through all our experiences
of life enriching our understanding of what it is to be human, of
what it is to be loved and what means to have faith.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 26th May 2012
Proverbs 8:1-4,22-31 John 16:12-15
The ultimate Committee
We always need to remember that to speak of God, we are constantly
limited by our language and in many ways our experience. How does
one put into words the inexpressible.
Walter Chalmers Smith struggled with that as he penned the hymn that
we began our service with today. I encourage you to look at the language
he uses there.
"Immortal, invisible, God only wise, in light inaccessible hid
from our eyes, most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, almighty,
victorious, thy great name we praise."
Each of those words or phrases are packed with anticipation looking
beyond what we can know and feel and touch. They take us beyond ourselves
into the heart of the mystery of God.
But they do not contain an image that limits, but opens our minds
to great expansive possibilities.
This is the very reason that the ten commandments forbade the making
of graven images. For as soon as one fashions any physical image it
limits what we can see and know and ever imagine.
And when it comes to the Trinity, this becomes so important because
although we may have a picture in our mind, it is always limited by
how we perceive and express this concept.
The scriptures never mention the word Trinity and in fact it took
until nearly the end of the 2 Century AD for the word to begin to
be used. But the essence of this concept is clearly portrayed throughout
the scriptures, holding both the closeness of God and the mystery
of God in tension.
Donald Guthrie comments on this when he says,
"Undoubtedly there are deep mysteries in the New Testament conception
of God, but what must strike the thoughtful reader is the complete
absence of any attempt to explain the mysteries. Christian convictions
were strong enough to maintain the divine nature of both Jesus Christ
and the Spirit without falling into the trap of postulating three
gods."
And yet as the distance of time formed between those who knew Jesus
and those who looked back on the the stories told, questions were
raise about the nature of Jesus. Was he man? Or was he God? And how
could these concepts be held in tension?
How could the Word become flesh? And today of course we too engage
in this debate with a scientific world view, asking for proof, or
detailed explanation of how this might work, how three individual
persona's might become one in substance.
And yet when we over analyse this we so easily fall into that danger
of confining the God of all creation to what 'I' can understand and
we loose that tension of the human and the divine, we loose the beautiful
mystery of God who came and who comes among us in ways that in one
sense can never be proved.
Thus the concept of Trinity becomes crucial to our understanding of
God. It is what makes Christianity uniquely Christian. And while it
does not draw on any one particular text from the scriptures, it does
draw on the whole body of scripture to build that picture opening
up the mystery to some degree. But we must be careful to see it in
that light, that limited light, that gives us an insight into the
magnitude, into the glory and majesty, of God.
So if we turn our attention to the passages read today we see something
of the breadth of the language used to express this inexpressible
nature of God.
Let begin with Proverbs. And here we see God being expressed as both
Wisdom and Reason. It is Wisdom that calls us. Wisdom calls from the
hilltops, from the cross roads, from the entrance to the city. From
where ever people gather Wisdom calls. Now one of the intriguing things
of this language is that it presents God in a feminine light. Sophia
is certainly the Greek word for wisdom, and we recognise that as a
name used even in our society.
And the writer here says, "At the entrance to the city, beside
the gates, she calls.
Derek Kinder, comments that this concept was probably used to counter
the Phoenician concept of a goddess and her cult prostitutes.
So this figure of Wisdom is offered to contrast that love-goddess,
"offering love not lust; truth, not flattery; and life instead
of disillusion and death."
And then as we move into that latter part of Chapter 8, the writer
of Proverbs uses language to describe this figure in ways that reflect
what we can read of Christ in some of the Pauline literature.
V22-23, the writer says, "The Lord created me first of all, the
first of his works, long ago. I was made in the very beginning, at
the first, before the world began.
Compare that with Colossians 1:15-17,
"Christ is visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the first-born
Son superior to all create things. For through him God crated everything
in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things....
Christ existed before all things, and in union with him all things
have their proper place."
And so in essence we see in the scriptures a concept of God as a relational
being. There is a relationship within and a relationship that spills
over and relates to creation.
The relationship within is expressed as Father, Son and Spirit, or
sometimes in terms of functions, as Creator, Redeemer and Giver of
life. It is in this concept of relationship that we see Christ, praying
to the Father, it is where see in Genesis God saying in the plural,
"and now we will make human being and they will be like us."
There is that collective unity that although speaking in the plural,
clearly does not imply three separate beings.
And then we see that self contained relationship spill out into the
created order, engaging with humanity as the Word becomes flesh and
dwelt among us full of grace and truth.
That presence of God, limiting God's self in human form continues
with the Pentecost even as the Spirit is poured out on all God's people.
This lies at the heart of what John is saying in his gospel concerning
God's continued presence and activity in the world. Here is how God
brings and reveals truth to us. It is by that same Spirit that brought
the world into being, it is by the same Spirit that inspired the prophets
of old, it is by the same Spirit that was poured out at Pentecost.
Here is God who remains active in the world in the lives of his people
inspiring and invigorating the church motivating it to action so that
God's presence can be known not only be those who believe, but as
we bear witness to our faith, the whole world comes to experience
the love of God.
One of the intriguing aspects of this passage in John is that the
Spirit does not speak alone, "He will not speak on his own authority,
but he will speak of what he hears, and will tell you of things to
come."
The Spirit in coming to us, remains as part of the Godhead. Thus we
do not get the Spirit telling us things that contradict what Christ
taught. The Scriptures remain our prime tool to interpret what the
Spirit is saying to the church, for God will not contradict God's
self.
The Trinity is not an easy concept, but then if we were able to comprehend
God in God's fullness God would cease to be God. There must always
remain mystery. There must always be that otherness to God's being,
while on the other hand there needs to be an awareness of God's closeness
through the indwelling of his Spirit in the hearts and minds of his
people.
May we and the church continue to hold these aspects of God's being
in tension so that we can honour more fully our God. May we never
be fooled into thinking that we know God so well that there is nothing
more to know. For then we will have confined God in our minds to a
box and our eyes will be dimmed to the possibilities of all that God
can and will continue to do in our lives and in our world.
To God be the glory, now and forever more. AMEN.
Sunday 5th May 2013
Easter 6
Acts 16:9-15 John 14:23-29
A vision of God's love.
Love is a concept that is always hard to put into words and is much
better when it is illustrated in the lives of people. And God's
love for the world and for individuals is no different. That love
is expressed in many and varied ways and the scriptures tell stories
of such love.
There is a common thread in this story of love. God's love is initiated
and sustain by God. However, God's love invites response, it awaits
response, it even pursues response. This whole focus takes us back
to the concept of covenant, where God's declaration is that he will
be our God and we will be his people. However this does not negate
our human emotion, nor our human will to respond by accepting or
rejecting that love offered.
It is also noted that this love through the eyes of Christ is expanded
greatly on what had previously been expressed through the formality
and institutionalisation of the Jewish religion.
In Acts we see a systematic expansion of this love in the lives
of the early followers of Jesus. Last week we had the Gentiles coming
to faith and Peter raising all sorts of religious and cultural questions
for the Jewish followers of Christ. This week we see the role of
women opened up in the early church pushing once again people's
comfort zones and perceptions that had been shaped by centuries
of tradition. Where Jewish tradition had kept men and women apart
in worship, and had kept woman away from leadership and prominence
in the functions of religious life, the early church began to open
doors and take seriously the faith experience of women.
Today's reading tells of one of these stories.
Philippi was a predominantly Roman town, and Paul and his followers
suffer persecution from the authorities and were forced to leave
earlier than they might have wished. And yet through their engagement
with the Jewish women of this town they planted the seeds of a fruitful
church that Paul enjoyed an ongoing relationship with for many years
as it grew and developed in influence throughout that part of the
world. Paul and his associates would normally begin their missionary
campaign by seeking out the synagogue as the place to proclaim the
coming of the Messiah and this would normally begin on the Sabbath.
The suggestion here is that in this predominantly Roman town, where
religious persecution seemed to have been practised, there may well
have only been a handful of dedicated women, one of whom was a convert.
Thus it may have taken some time, with vague information from locals
to find out where exactly this group of people met.
But here again, we see the early apostles listening to the stories
of peoples faith and all the while being challenged by their preconceptions
and having to discern God's Spirit at work in places and in ways
that they previously would not have seen as being possible.
So here was Lydia from Thyatira, a dealer in purple cloth. What
an intriguing description of this woman, and what does it tell us
about her?
She in fact came Thyatira a region in Asia Minor and from a place
called Lydia. So she was named after that place. This part of Asia
Minor was famous for its selling of goods made with purple dye.
There was a Jewish community in this region, and so there or somewhere
else this woman Lydia became an adherent of the Jewish religion,
a God-fearer, or as the Good News Bible puts it, "She was a
woman who worshipped God.
Lydia would have come to hear what Paul had to say through Gentile
eyes but with a grounding in the Jewish faith, and we are told that
"the Lord opened her mind to pay attention to what Paul was
saying."
Just as the Lord open the eyes of Paul, here he opens the mind of
Lydia. This is a common phrase in coming to an understanding of
faith, and it puts the emphasis on God's work in calling us to faith.
Without that openness of heart or mind we so easily close ourselves
off to the truth that is in front of us. There is an arrogance in
a closed mind that assumes a self containment, a self possession
and that there is no need for any outside input or knowledge.
And yet here Lydia in particular, and perhaps those other women
who had gathered, warmed to the message that Paul, Timothy and Silas
had brought to them. And remember, they came because God gave Paul
that vision to go to these parts. Luke is careful in his telling
of the story that all the way along, it is God's initiative, God's
leading, God's calling.
Our work as followers of Christ comes at his leading as opportunities
open, as paths are crossed, as situations unfold. Sometimes this
seems clear and at other times we may feel uncertain. In the end
it is God's work and we leave it in God's hands to complete offering
what we can in his service.
The beginning of this work of Paul and his friends in Philippi resulted
in the establishment of quite a thriving Christian settlement that
he continued to have warm relations with. They continued to support
Paul, even later when he was imprisoned for his faith, and the letter
he penned to them from prison was marked with joy and confidence,
unity and a perseverance in the Christian faith.
This seemed to be a particularly solid group of believers that despite
persecution continued to grow and remained faithful to Christ.
All this from that conversation with a group of women who must have
set about sharing what they had heard and experienced on that day.
As an expression of the faith that had come to her that day, Lydia
and her household were baptised. She had understood God's love for
her and wanted to acknowledge that. Baptism had become the outward
expression of that inward change that had taken place for her, and
because she had experienced this the effect and ramifications were
applied to the whole household.
This is that expression of God's covenant love grounded way back
in Abram's time when God declared, "I will be your God and
you will be my people." The sign of this covenant was to apply
to the whole family as God's love is an encompassing love. Too often
we want to narrow this love and confine it to what we can understand.
And yet here in this story we see it, as I have said, pushing those
boundaries of acceptability. Here in Philippi, these women became
the conveyors of the Gospel, just as it was the women who brought
the news of the resurrection that first Easter morning. It took
the church two thousand years to fully comprehend this truth, and
yet despite the slowness of the institution we know that history
is littered with examples of women whose lives were given in the
service of Christ.
You see throughout the Gospel's, the stories told of Jesus' life
and ministry, were that he often came to the marginalised in society,
those whom others rejected, Jesus welcomed.
John tells, "Whoever loves me will obey my teaching. My Father
will love him, and my Father and I will come to him and live with
him."
The 'whoever', is an all encompassing term, not one that marginalises.
It is not one that puts up barriers of gender or race or creed.
And so not surprisingly right at the beginning of the early church
we see these accounts of the establishment of communities of faith
coming out of the more unexpected places. Gentiles taking a lead,
women taking a lead.
God is seen to be doing a new thing that challenges not only the
established religious community of the day, but also the secular
society. And as we will see as we continue this journey of the early
church, the reaction was often swift and cruel, but that did not
put the followers of Jesus off.
The peace that the Risen Christ brought them sustain them even in
the face of persecution. Christ peace is not about an easy life,
but about a contentment to live with courage even in the face of
upheaval and even danger.
Let me conclude with those words of comfort that Christ offered
as he promised a continue presence with his people in and through
the Holy Spirit when he said,
"Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I
give you, I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried
and upset; do not be afraid."
To God be the glory now and forever. AMEN.
24th March 2013 Palm Sunday
Isaiah 43:16-21 John 12:1-8
Giving Love.
Isaiah quotes the Lord as saying,
"Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened
long ago. Watch for the new thing I am going to do."
Those words are always hard ones to take in as they immediately
put us on edge. They give us a certain unease as we are comfortable
with what we have, and we don't want the boat rocked. The status
quo is always much easier to cope with, why would we want to do
anything any differently.
I was struck this week by the Catholic community around the world
and how with the election of a new Pope, the whole community expect
and embrace the possibility of change. It was not a sense that they
had tired of the old, but just that a new face taking up that office
in the church would inevitably bring about change. This of course
is a generalisation, and there will no doubt be those who don't
hold such a view.
But contrast this general attitude with our gospel reading today,
as I think Jesus was struggling to bring his disciples on board
with the idea that God's lavish, unconditional and self giving love
was being expressed to the world in a new and vibrant way. He knew
that even if they weren't struggling with that concept now, the
events that were about to happen would soon leave them floundering.
What do I mean? Well picture for a moment the scene.
Here in the lead up to the Passover, the annual festival that reminded
them of God's salvation in bringing his people out of the land of
Egypt, out of oppression and slavery into the freedom of the promised
land, Jesus brings his disciples to the home of his friends Lazarus,
Mary and Martha.
This was no ordinary home at this stage, for only a few day before
Jesus had performed one of his greatest miracles, he had raised
Lazarus from the dead. Four days in the tomb and Jesus brought him
back to life. This was no ordinary event, this was no ordinary expression
of love for this family, and yet God in Jesus the Christ, brought
life from death. Here was a demonstration of power of God over life
and death, and yet we know that this was only a foretaste of an
even greater miracle with the cross looming high on the horizon.
Remember Isaiah's words,
"Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened
long ago. Watch for the new thing I am going to do."
Don't we take for granted the power of God in creation. We only
need to look at the God's creativity and God's gifts in the harvest
that we see before us. Is this not in itself a miracle of grace?
God's creation out of nothing.
Jesus was beginning to reveal a new expression of God's love for
the world which would ultimately be expressed in his own life, death
and resurrection.
But there was more involved than just an intellectual ascent to
the idea that God's love was being demonstrated in new ways, there
was a call to follow. There was a call to participate in this love,
and Lazarus' rising was a taste of this.
And this story read today is a picture of the response that that
community made to God's grace that had been seen so dramatically
in their brothers rising from the dead.
They had experienced God's love first hand and so they hosted a
dinner for Jesus and his friends.
And we are, in one sense, pulled quickly back into the real world
with this story, and yet also given a glimpse of what this love
of God can do in our lives.
The devotion and thankfulness offered by this family to Jesus seems
so natural, and yet it was lavish. A meal and hospitality for Jesus
and his friends, and then Mary comes with her jar of incredibly
expensive perfume.
As a picture of real servitude, Mary pours this perfume on Jesus'
feet and wipes them with her hair. She has recognised the love of
God poured out in Jesus and sees that nothing she can offer is too
much. Her devotion is from the heart, and is forward looking.
Some commentators see this as an anointing in preparation for his
coming death, as in his response and commendation of her actions,
Jesus suggest that any that is left might be kept for his burial.
Mary's act of devotion is a picture of true Christian worship, that
in realising the love of God, she acknowledges it in giving all
that she had.
There was no holding back and her great act of love permeated the
gathered community challenging them all in their own love and motives.
And this is where Judas Iscariot offers the response that we so
often see and probably even feel within ourselves, "Why wasn't
this perfume sold for three hundred silver coins and the money given
to the poor?"
A silver coin was equivalent to the daily wage of the average rural
worker of the day. So this one jar of perfume was equivalent to
almost a years wages. That really puts Judas' question into perspective
and which of us would have the same response. And yet can we measure
love and devotion in such terms.
God's love for the world cannot be measured in such a quantitative
way, for that would give it a finite quality. We could suggest that
God's love was about to run out, it had been used up. However we
know that that is not the nature of God's love for it has no end,
it cannot be exhausted. And Mary's expression of her understanding
of that love, was that nothing that she had or owned was held back
when offering gratitude to God for his freely given love.
It is an acknowledgement that all she is, and all she has, comes
from the gracious hand of God and therefore rightly belongs to him
and should be offered back to him.
Jesus' rather harsh sounding retort to Judas, that
"You will always have poor people with you, but you will not
always have me," is a reference to that fact that his time
on earth was drawing to an end. Riches alone will not solve the
social problems of the world, but the real issue lies with the hearts
of men and women, who like Judas focus on self interest, on self
preservation, and on personal gain. Mary on the other hand saw that
God's self giving love in Jesus Christ, brought life, even out of
death. A heart transformed to look beyond ones self to the source
of all love would bring life to this world.
In Jesus, she saw God's love in a new way. She became open to the
new thing that God was doing right in her midst and so she offered
all that she had, and was willing to humble herself at the feet
of Jesus.
This is surely the call of Christ down the ages as many of his words
echo in our ears.
"Come to me all who labour and are heavy laden and I will give
you rest."
"Follow me and I will make you fishers of men."
Mary as a true disciple of Christ took up her cross that day to
follow him as her eyes were opened to giving love of God who poured
out all that he had for the world.
"God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so
that all who believe in him may not perish but have everlasting
life."
We come to follow Christ, not because God will gain from our devotion,
not because of what we might get out of it, but because we are called,
because we are enveloped in the love of God that he gave freely
for us and for our salvation. This does not demand payment, or works,
or bind us to any obligation, but rather it invites us to a way
of life that begins with offering all that we are and all that we
have to acknowledge the glory and the wonder and power of God who
is at work in us.
Jesus accepted the praise that Mary offered for it came from deep
within her heart and was a response to the realisation that God
loved her with an everlasting love. There was a recognition that
in Christ, God was doing a new thing; that God had come among them,
and had brought life out of death, he had offer hope in the face
of despair.
Let us continue this Lenten journey, exploring in our own mind as
individuals and as a community of faith the height and depth, the
breadth and length of God's love for us.
And to God be the glory, now and forever more. AMEN.
Sunday 6 January 2013
Isaiah 60:1-6 Matthew 2:1-12
The coming of the Magi is definitely one of those stories that centuries
of biblical scholarship and numerous theologians have struggled with
over the years. Theories abound amongst such people and the scientific
community as to what it could be all about, if indeed it actually
happened. So the disciplines within both science and religion have
traded ideas back and forth over the years.
There are those who merely want to say that it was a story framed
around an Old Testament extract and inserted into Matthew's birth
narratives. But we would want to ask why?
The only historically improbable aspect of the story is the Star,
and that is certainly debatable as to what this phenomena was and
how in that time it was read.
A similar story told of a visit to Nero in AD66 vouches for the likelihood
of this story having some substance to it.
The Star is certainly an interesting aspect of this story, and to
start with one would wonder why an early church writer would include
a story about astrology to confirm the birth of the Messiah when in
fact the church came into struggle with this primitive science.
There are three possibilities concerning this astrological appearance.
1. That it was a planatry conjunction, where there is an alignment
between the Sun, the Earth, Jupiter and Saturn. This is a rare occurrence
but would certainly give a spectacular display.
2. The second option would be that of a very bright comet. Haley's
comet appeared around 12/11 BC and so is too early, but there are
records of a bright comet appearing in the constellation of Capricorn
in 5BC which would tie in with the time around the birth of Christ,
taking into the account the inaccuracies of our modern calendar. The
snag with the comet theory is that they are quite common and that
traditionally they have been associated with the 'four D's' - doom,
death, disease and disaster,.
3. The third option is that of a Nova, (the birth of a new star).
This starts off with an explosion resulting in a period of extreme
brightness in the night sky. This level of brightness is temporary
in nature.
So it appears that it is not impossible, and perhaps highly likely
that there could have been some astrological event that caught the
eye of these Magi, who were observers of such happenings. But why
include such a story in the Gospel account?
Is it perhaps to tell the readers that the impact of the coming of
Christ was not just for the people of Israel, but for the whole world?
The coming of the Messiah was to draw all people together as the Spirit
of God unites both Jews and Gentiles, males and females, slave and
free, all are one in Christ.
The Magi, with perhaps a limited knowledge of Judaism recognised in
this birth, one who was born to be a ruler. By what ever means they
gained that understanding, the truth led them to that stable, via
Herod, as they sought to acknowledge this child, born to be King.
They did, what in their cultural terms was appropriate, as they brought
gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. These were gifts fit for a
King.
They were gifts that honoured, not the son of a peasant couple, on
a backpacking tour of Judea, but they honoured one who would, in their
eyes rise to great prominance in his life.
Contrast this with Herod's attitude, where we see suspicion and jealousy
as he becomes paranoid about this own place in society. He was not
popular among his own people and held is position as an appointment
from Rome. So naturally as the years went on he was plagued with fear
of rivals who might come along with an eye to toppling him.
He would have wanted to keep the peace so he could secure his favour
with Rome. Any suggestion of a take-over or rebellion might result
in Rome loosing confidence in Herod's ability to do his job. Herod
therefore set out to squash any such possibility. This can be a tendency
that we all need to keep a check on, that we don't trade truth for
security. It is too easy to stick rigidly to the familiar, and to
block the truth that may be staring us in the face.
Even if Herod had kept an open mind to the possibility that the one
whom these men were looking for may have been the one born to be King,
truth could have prevailed without the dire consequences that Herod
invoked. He sought the advice of the Chief Priests and teacher of
the Law, and even when their knowledge married together with that
of these Gentile soothsayers, he still tried to secure his own power
and position.
His means to try and find the Christ child by piggybacking off the
pure motives and actions of these honourable gentiles was despicable
and had dire consequence for innocent people.
Again we see something of the beginning of the broadening of God's
activity in the world through this story. One would have expected
the truth of Christ's coming to be brought through the establish channels
of their religious world, particularly those who had been looking
for this event throughout the history of their people, but no, God
used other means to confirm this event in history, thus beginning
the mission to the Gentile people. The Gospel writer saw this as important
in transmitting this story to his hearers. Let us not forget that
God can speak to us in many and varied ways, but all those ways point
us to Christ. He is the one who has revealed God's love for us and
for the world, and our role is to point others to that same source
of truth.
The opening verses of the Letter to the Hebrew's reminds us of this
also when he says,
"In the past, God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many
ways through the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to
us through his Son. He is the one through whom God created the universe,
the one whom God has chosen to possess all things at the end. He reflects
the brightness of God's glory and is the exact likeness of God's own
being, sustaining the universe with his powerful word. After achieving
forgiveness for the sins of mankind, he sat down in heaven at the
right-hand side of God, the Supreme Power."
The Gospel stories also have this image of pointing to Christ, and
we will see this in the story of Jesus' baptism by John, where John
clearly sees Christ as the focus, the one to whom all honour and glory
should go to.
Such is the continued mission of the church. Herod's mistake was drawing
attention to himself rather than being willing to point to the one
whom God had placed in his midst, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
This story fits well into the whole picture and meaning of Christ's
coming into the world. And far from being some spurious addition to
titivate the birth narratives, it can be seen as that opening up and
offering of the free grace of God that transcends traditions, races
and creeds. It crosses the bounds bringing that free trade of knowledge
and culture and resources to acknowledge God's supremacy in our world
as both Creator and Redeemer.
Whether Jew or Gentile, whether rich or poor, whether free or enslaved,
God's love reaches us because of Christ who was born in Bethlehem.
And like the wise men who encountered this baby, we too must consider
our response. Like them, will we bow down and worship, awe struck
by the presence of Christ in our midst?
Will we bring with us the gifts that we can as we offer ourselves,
our lives, our very being to the one to whom every knee will bow and
every tongue confess, Jesus Christ our Lord?
This is what we are all called to do if we are to be followers of
Christ acknowledging God's loving presence in our midst.
To God be the glory, now and forever more. AMEN.
Sunday 23 December 2012
Micah 5:2-5a Luke 1:39-45
Joy in Obedience!
How excited we can get at the prospect of meeting someone important.
Whether it be a sportsman, or an important political figure, or member
of the Royal family. I am sure who ever the person or what ever the
circumstances, we have known that sense of anticipation and excitement.
And as our minds and imaginations race, all sorts of responses are
triggered.
We don't know in this gospel story what Elizabeth had already heard
about her cousin Mary before she came to visit. We do know it was
when Elizabeth was in the sixth month of her pregnancy and we know
that Mary stayed for about three months, and the sequence would suggest
that she left possibly just before the birth of John the Baptist.
During this time, I dare say they would have explored many issues
and had many interesting discussions.
There are some very interesting links with our Old Testament reading
that speak directly of Bethlehem as the birth place of one who will,
"come from the Lord and with the majesty of the Lord God himself."
I have no doubt that Elizabeth, and possibly even Mary, would both
have been well versed in the writings of the Prophets. Elizabeth's
husband, Zechariah was himself a priest. So the connections were made.
Out of his small and humble beginning was the potential for great
things. And this is recognised through the movement of the baby within
her. While there is nothing unusual in the movement of a baby within
the womb, it would appear that maybe in this case it was something
a little out of the ordinary, stronger, more definite, and the timing
reinforced the sense of occasion.
But it is the Gospel writers words he records, as Elizabeth greets
Mary; "Why should this great thing happen to me, that my Lord's
mother comes to visit me?"
In this Elizabeth is acknowledging the special nature of this child
who is to be born. Here we get a glimpse of mortal child in the womb
of Mary who at the same time is the eternal God.
John Calvin expresses it, "The title of Lord really belongs to
the Son of God revealed in the flesh, to whom all power is given by
the Father, and who is appointed highest Governor of heaven and of
earth, by whose hand God directs all things."
These two women express faith in a way that we can all learn from.
There is an acceptance of what is happening and an acknowledgement
that this is all beyond their control. All that can be done is to
trust God and to accept the role that has been given. There is no
hint of jealousy, that one may have been favoured more highly than
another, but rather there is mutual support and a willing obedience
to carry out the task that God has called Mary too.
In this she finds joy; that deep seated peace, that where she is being
led, God is with her.
And we may well see that as no hard task, but in that day, the embarrassment,
and in fact the danger she faced was real and could have been life
threatening.
To bear a child out-of-wedlock, could have resulted in public humiliation
and even death which may be why she went away for those three months,
but during this time came to recognise the honour which had been bestowed
on her.
Obedience is not always the easiest of paths, but often calls for
courageous action.
Obedience does not always allow one to go with the majority, or to
follow the crowd, but more often than not calls us to stand against
the tide of public opinion, to stand counter to the culture of our
day, to bring the light of truth out into the open.
Mary and Elizabeth never allowed that sense of call, that sense of
obedience to bring the focus to them, but always pointed to God, the
one incarnate, the one to be born into our world as Saviour.
Mary had already uttered those words in her conversation with the
angel who had brought the news to her, "I am the Lord's servant,
may it happen to me as you have said."
And while her sense of call to this awesome task was becoming clearer
by the day, those around Mary, family, friends and the community in
general would have taken much longer to recognise the meaning of what
was going on, and there would always be those who would never recognise,
let alone acknowledge such understanding.
As well as joy and courage in obedience these two women also exhibit
humility in their obedience.
There is no sense of pride shown in their attitude, but rather a humble
acceptance, why should this happen to me?
Elizabeth's shows restraint as she considers God's goodness to Mary
in choosing her to bear the Saviour of the world and yet offers her
the honour that is her due without drawing our attention away from
God, to whom the honour and praise is due.
It is easy in life to forget this delicate balance. John Calvin says
on this, "Some are so excessively pleased with themselves that
in order to shine alone they despise God's gifts in their brothers,
while others exalt men with such a degree of superstition that they
make idols of them for themselves; which has resulted in Christ being
shoved down the bench, so to say, while Mary is given the place of
honour."
I think this is a trap that we can all fall into in what ever sphere
of life we find ourselves called to. It is one of the dangers of our
materialist and egocentric generations that we find ourselves in.
We measure our success by the things we have achieved. And in our
self sufficiency we fail to acknowledge the place God has played in
bringing us to where we are.
In fact our 'shoving of Christ down the bench,' as Calvin puts it,
results in either a sense of total irrelevance or a total denial of
the existence or need of God.
And yet we cling to the trappings for a while, the ritual or the language
that brings us comfort, or we redefine the festivals so that we can
enjoy them without acknowledging the real meaning that lies behind
them. We only need to look at Christmas and Easter to see how over
time society has so totally redefined these events that Christ is
taken right out of them.
Now we unashamedly, in some settings, insist that this is the case,
so that people are not embarrassed or offended by the religious aspect
of Christmas or Easter.
And even in the church there is a tendency to organise such events
around family and whatever else is going on in our lives.
We need to be very clear that Christmas is about this child that was
born as Saviour of the world.
We must, like Mary and Elizabeth, have the humility to put ourselves
and our needs and desires secondary to the focus of Christ, who came
among us, as one of us, to bear the sin of the world.
Paul reminded the early Church of this when he said in 1 Cor 8:5,
"Even if there are so-called 'gods' and 'lords,' yet there is
for us only one God, the Father, who is the Creator all things and
for whom we live; and there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through
whom all things were created and through whom we live."
Humility keeps that focus on Christ and away from claiming the glory
and the power and the honour for ourselves. It keeps us focused on
the one who is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
There is joy in obedience and we see this in Mary and we can find
it in our own lives as we engage with God, as we listen to him, as
we read his word, as we follow his ways. Mary could have followed
another path, and that would not have prevented God fulfilling His
purposes. But she is called 'blessed', for by faith she received the
blessings offered to her. Let us also seek, in following Christ, to
receive and acknowledge the goodness and the blessing of God in our
lives as we live with him and for him.
To God be the glory, now and forever more. AMEN.
Sunday 25 November 2012
2 Samuel 23:1-7 John 18:33-37
Language can be very interesting and particularly when we have a collection
of writings that come from different sources and appear in different
genre. In reading such literature we need to take into account the
style and purpose of the writing, before we can unpack more of what
it is saying.
And today between our Old Testament reading and our Gospel, this is
particularly the case.
Towards the end of 2 Samuel we have what is recorded as David's last
words. The writer gives us a picture of the David, the speaker of
these words, and then conveys a message that is clearly prophetic
in nature. Not prophetic in the sense of fore telling the future,
but prophetic in the sense of conveying or proclaiming or forth telling
God's word to us. We are told something of David's history and his
sense of call. He is the son of Jesse, and man whom God made great.
We know in and of himself he was anything but great. He was small
in stature when called to this role. He was a shepherd boy. Later
we know also that he had his weaknesses. Clearly as his life and ministry
draws to an end he attributes anything that he has achieved to the
power of Yahweh who has made him the person he is. His life is described
in terms of his relationship to God. This separated him out from the
kings of Egypt who considered themselves divine. And therefore provides
and interesting contrast with Christ and his conversation with Pilate.
But David also sees himself as anointed by God. This of course has
also been confirmed by the wider community, who acknowledged and revered
that calling. Thus David feels confident to express to the people
the mind of God in these prophetic words.
David is King by virtue of his Divine appointment.
He sees himself as the voice by which God speaks to his people, and
the community on the whole respect the position David holds.
His message points to the King who rules in obedience to God. It is
a King who does not necessarily command popular acclaim, but whose
rule is based on Godly obedience, on truth, on justice.
If we are to compare and contrast this with Jesus' concept of his
reign as King, there are some interesting points to note.
Jesus' claim to Kingship does not depend on the popular backing of
the people. The one who came into this world, incarnate from God,
who had an understanding of his calling, and the who spoke on numerous
occasion to his small band of followers about his death, does not
enjoy the popular support of his own people. Had this been the case,
the Pilate would have been far more wary of him. A threat to the political
peace of the empire would have been jumped on, quickly and with force.
Pilate is bemused by all the fuss over Jesus, as he can see no harm,
nor any wrong in him. So in asking that question in
v33, "Are you the King of the Jews? He is saying, "Can you,
poor creature that you are, really be a king?"
There is that note of disbelief not only that he might see himself
as a king, but that his own people could believe that it was possible.
He is almost bewildered by the fuss and seeks ways to quell the growing
excitement.
What perhaps he doesn't understand is the anger over the claims Jesus
has made about himself in terms of his relationship with God. This
is a relationship that is distinct from that which David claimed.
David saw himself as a servant of God, where as Jesus' claims were
to an equality with God. It is this point that really irked the Jews.
This was blasphemous, and in their eyes punishable by death, usually
carried out by stoning. But under Roman law they were unable to exercise
that level of justice and so needed the Roman Procurator to authorise
Jesus' death, in effect to help them out of their bind.
There is also a difference here in the understanding of the term Kingdom.
When Pilate asks Jesus if he is King of the Jews, his concept of a
kingdom is of a geographical area and a prescribed group of people,
probably distinguished by their birth. How ever Jesus' concept obviously
varies as his reply eventually in v36 states, "My kingdom does
not belong to this world; if my kingdom belonged to this world, my
followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish
authorities. No, my kingdom does not belong here!"
Kingship for Jesus was a much greater concept that was far more encompassing,
and it was the culmination of his ministry. Where those who plotted
his death saw an end, Jesus was seeing a fulfilment and dawning reality
of Kingdom of God on earth, as it was in heaven.
Tom Wright in his book, "How God became King," states, "The
cross constitutes Golgotha as the new holy mountain. This is where
the nations will now come to pay homage to the world's true Lord.
The one enthroned there, with 'King of the Jews' above his head, is
to have the nations as his inheritance, the uttermost parts of the
earth as his possession. His victory over them will not be the victory
of swords and guns and bombs, but the victory of his people and of
their derivative suffering and testimony."
This is a Kingdom not displaying power and authority and domination
over it subjects, but rather is a Kingdom that invites people to serve,
it invites people to follow and it is not focused on one nation but
is drawn from all the earth.
I am sure Pilate was utterly bewildered not only by Christ's concept
of kingdom, but also by his unwillingness to make any attempt to save
himself. Jesus understood that his death was a necessary part of the
coming of this Kingdom. The sacrifice of his life was a sacrifice
for the whole world. It is interesting that the Jewish authorities
took no part in this private interview with Pilate. This was because
they were preparing themselves for the Passover. Were they to enter
the house of Pilate, they would have made themselves ritually unclean
for the pending Passover. The Passover was a reminder to the people
of God's forgiving love, and was the sacrifice that demonstrated the
all sufficient provision of God's forgiveness for his people. And
yet Jesus was there facing this interrogation and staring crucifixion
in the face. This was a death only for those who were cursed. And
yet it was this death that became the once and for all sacrifice as
God provided the Passover Lamb in Christ, the Lamb of God who takes
away the sins of the world.
Jesus declares his only motive and only purpose is to speak about
the truth.
His mission was to bring the truth of God into the world, to cement
the Kingdom of God in the truth of God's love for all people.
Even in the face of rejection and persecution, even in the face of
death, Jesus remained steadfast to his purpose. He did not waver,
he did not look for the way out that people expected he might take.
That which he had spoken of to his disciple's, he steadfastly stuck
too, so that God's will might be done.
And has it changed today? No! The world still has not clear idea of
God's Kingdom, sometimes the church looses sight of it, but in Christ
it was established. In Christ, God's reign was opened up for all to
see. In Christ we still find God's love made real, we find a tangible
ground for our hope and we can view the world, not in terms of physical
boundaries and earthly rulers, but as God's world, with a reign that
is supreme.
And like King David, there are still those who are placed in authority,
and they are there for the good of society and for general rule of
order.
Above all, we are all part of God's Kingdom and his rule.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 4th November 2012
Ruth 1:1-18 Mark 12:28-34
How far from the Kingdom are we?
The Gospel reading this morning gives a wonderful glimpse of the
age old divide between law and grace. It is the argument of what
must I do, what does it require to ensure that we become part of
the Kingdom of God? It is a trick question because we know that
our faith teaches us on the one hand that we can do nothing to earn
that place, but on the other hand the church and society down the
centuries have placed requirement upon requirement on to the lives
of people giving us the sense that we deserve, or don't deserve
such a place.
Jesus engages with a teacher of the Law in a discourse that almost
skirts around the edges of this debate and yet it lies at the heart
of it.
It is a little like nervous sparing in a boxing bout, where each
tries to land a hit, but never quite openly makes it.
Or like "Beyond the dark lands" programme I watched the
other night with Nigel Latter speaking to victims of violent crime.
The in-depth interviews drew on peoples experience, emotions, and
ways in which they dealt with the events and the aftermath for years
later. One of the victims spoke of it being a life changing experience
that made him look at the world in a whole different light, so that
when his home was destroyed by the Christchurch Earthquake, he could
only see it as bricks and mortar and it wasn't really that important
in his life. But there was a real reluctance to question people,
or even mention, how faith may have helped them or what impact spirituality
had on them.
So here Jesus is asked, skirting around the heart of the question,
"Which is the most important commandment?" It appears
to be an attempt to find out what the one thing is that one must
do if one is going to lead a good and wholesome life, and it also
seems to be an attempt to polarise the views of the Sadducee's verses
what Jesus had been teaching, thus forming the basis to be able
to condemn Jesus' point of view.
However, Jesus in his wisdom draws this teacher of the law from
a point of law and opens up the heart of grace. And I really wonder
if this is a pivotal point of what it means for us to live in this
world but to live with a life giving and freeing attitude to all
that life brings to us? What do I mean?
In the question asked about the priority of the commandments, there
is a desire to rank, a desire to set a measure from which an external
judgement can be made; a judgement of worthy or not, of success
or failure, of being able to look at others with a critical eye
rather than focusing on self. In other words we would be able to
measure whether one was fulfilling this commandment or not, and
seeing that it is the most important, if we fail here, we fail everywhere!
However the response is far different, as Jesus offers both an outward
and an inward view of the question.
Yeap! No doubt at all, "Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your mind with all your soul, and with all your
strength."
That's straight forward, obvious almost. No one could dispute that
putting God first is the fundamental position we must take if we
are to claim to have faith, because it grounds our faith in the
context of God. However, this love for God is grounded, not in our
emotions but rather in the concept that God has loved us: "we
love, because God first loved us." Here is a switch from works
to grace. If love is generated from within ourselves and directed
toward God then it is our effort. On the other hand, when we recognise
that our love is generated from God, then it becomes part and parcel
of our response to God, the source of all love. Our response is
a response to the Grace given freely to us and to the whole world.
And then Jesus masterfully adds the second commandment, which is
in essence an extension of the first and illustrates what I have
just explained. "Love your neighbour as yourself."
Love for God is not purely an individual and isolated experience
or emotion. In fact this sort of love may have emotion, again as
a result, but it is much more about commitment. It is a state of
being that brings with it an external application. If we are going
to claim to love God, then we must as a result or consequence of
that love, love our neighbour. And this is where the story of Ruth
and Naomi is so relevant. Here is a family torn apart by grief as
a result of the death of, firstly a husband and then two sons. Naomi
tells here daughter in laws to go back home to their families where
they can start their lives over and they would at least have the
opportunity to have both happiness and the means to survive, rather
than being consigned to a life of poverty.
Ruth, out of love for her mother in law, and her husband resolved
to stay with Naomi. This was not necessarily a choice of logic.
It certainly wasn't a choice that would give her an easy life. No,
out of love and in response the love she had received from this
family she resolve to commit herself to Naomi, and to go where she
would go.
This is a lovely illustration of the commandment that Jesus is speaking
about. The story of Naomi and Ruth could have had a vastly different
ending had the characters acted out of self interest and in ways
that would have been best for them as individuals. Naomi would have
been left alone, destitute and vulnerable and unable to support
herself in that society.
This is a story of faithfulness and that steadfastness that commits
not only to each other, but to God. Again we get that principle
of love God and love your neighbour, both in response to the grace
given to us by God.
And this is where Jesus was able to comment to the teacher of the
Law when he had got the point and seen that these two positive reactions
of loving God and neighbour was far more important than all the
other religious sacrifices that were demanded of them in their day.
He said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God."
Why was he not far? Because the Kingdom of God begins here and now
with our daily living out of these two commandments as Jesus put
them. "Love God and love your neighbour as you love yourself."
This stands in stark contrast to a world that almost demands that
we focus on self first before worrying, if at all, about anyone
else.
Being part of God's kingdom demands that we engage in response to
the King of kings in living out these commands.
Tom Wright in a recent book, How God became King" links the
coming of the Kingdom with Cross. One of the key purposes of Christ's
coming and his dying was to inaugurate God's kingdom here on earth.
Thus this teacher of the law was not far form it, it was almost
upon them. We live in God's kingdom and we subject ourselves to
his rule and in response we are called to love God first and foremost
and to love one another in the same way. John reminds us in his
Gospel, it is by this love that the world will know we are his followers.
That is a universal call to all who will take up the cross; to all
who will follow Christ. It remains for us all, I am sure, the constant
challenge in living this out. It is the challenge for the church
as a community of God's people, where ever we gather, that we live
together with that single focus of Christ, the King and Head of
the Church, as we focus our lives on the faith that we profess.
May God continue to equip and strengthen us as we live our lives
for him.
To God be the glory now and forever more. AMEN.
Sunday 4th October 2012
Ruth 1:1-18 Mark 12:28-34
How far from the Kingdom are we?
The Gospel reading this morning gives a wonderful glimpse of the
age old divide between law and grace. It is the argument of what
must I do, what does it require to ensure that we become part of
the Kingdom of God? It is a trick question because we know that
our faith teaches us on the one hand that we can do nothing to earn
that place, but on the other hand the church and society down the
centuries have placed requirement upon requirement on to the lives
of people giving us the sense that we deserve, or don't deserve
such a place.
Jesus engages with a teacher of the Law in a discourse that almost
skirts around the edges of this debate and yet it lies at the heart
of it.
It is a little like nervous sparing in a boxing bout, where each
tries to land a hit, but never quite openly makes it.
Or like "Beyond the dark lands" programme I watched the
other night with Nigel Latter speaking to victims of violent crime.
The in-depth interviews drew on peoples experience, emotions, and
ways in which they dealt with the events and the aftermath for years
later. One of the victims spoke of it being a life changing experience
that made him look at the world in a whole different light, so that
when his home was destroyed by the Christchurch Earthquake, he could
only see it as bricks and mortar and it wasn't really that important
in his life. But there was a real reluctance to question people,
or even mention, how faith may have helped them or what impact spirituality
had on them.
So here Jesus is asked, skirting around the heart of the question,
"Which is the most important commandment?" It appears
to be an attempt to find out what the one thing is that one must
do if one is going to lead a good and wholesome life, and it also
seems to be an attempt to polarise the views of the Sadducee's verses
what Jesus had been teaching, thus forming the basis to be able
to condemn Jesus' point of view.
However, Jesus in his wisdom draws this teacher of the law from
a point of law and opens up the heart of grace. And I really wonder
if this is a pivotal point of what it means for us to live in this
world but to live with a life giving and freeing attitude to all
that life brings to us? What do I mean?
In the question asked about the priority of the commandments, there
is a desire to rank, a desire to set a measure from which an external
judgement can be made; a judgement of worthy or not, of success
or failure, of being able to look at others with a critical eye
rather than focusing on self. In other words we would be able to
measure whether one was fulfilling this commandment or not, and
seeing that it is the most important, if we fail here, we fail everywhere!
However the response is far different, as Jesus offers both an outward
and an inward view of the question.
Yeap! No doubt at all, "Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your mind with all your soul, and with all your
strength."
That's straight forward, obvious almost. No one could dispute that
putting God first is the fundamental position we must take if we
are to claim to have faith, because it grounds our faith in the
context of God. However, this love for God is grounded, not in our
emotions but rather in the concept that God has loved us: "we
love, because God first loved us." Here is a switch from works
to grace. If love is generated from within ourselves and directed
toward God then it is our effort. On the other hand, when we recognise
that our love is generated from God, then it becomes part and parcel
of our response to God, the source of all love. Our response is
a response to the Grace given freely to us and to the whole world.
And then Jesus masterfully adds the second commandment, which is
in essence an extension of the first and illustrates what I have
just explained. "Love your neighbour as yourself."
Love for God is not purely an individual and isolated experience
or emotion. In fact this sort of love may have emotion, again as
a result, but it is much more about commitment. It is a state of
being that brings with it an external application. If we are going
to claim to love God, then we must as a result or consequence of
that love, love our neighbour. And this is where the story of Ruth
and Naomi is so relevant. Here is a family torn apart by grief as
a result of the death of, firstly a husband and then two sons. Naomi
tells here daughter in laws to go back home to their families where
they can start their lives over and they would at least have the
opportunity to have both happiness and the means to survive, rather
than being consigned to a life of poverty.
Ruth, out of love for her mother in law, and her husband resolved
to stay with Naomi. This was not necessarily a choice of logic.
It certainly wasn't a choice that would give her an easy life. No,
out of love and in response the love she had received from this
family she resolve to commit herself to Naomi, and to go where she
would go.
This is a lovely illustration of the commandment that Jesus is speaking
about. The story of Naomi and Ruth could have had a vastly different
ending had the characters acted out of self interest and in ways
that would have been best for them as individuals. Naomi would have
been left alone, destitute and vulnerable and unable to support
herself in that society.
This is a story of faithfulness and that steadfastness that commits
not only to each other, but to God. Again we get that principle
of love God and love your neighbour, both in response to the grace
given to us by God.
And this is where Jesus was able to comment to the teacher of the
Law when he had got the point and seen that these two positive reactions
of loving God and neighbour was far more important than all the
other religious sacrifices that were demanded of them in their day.
He said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God."
Why was he not far? Because the Kingdom of God begins here and now
with our daily living out of these two commandments as Jesus put
them. "Love God and love your neighbour as you love yourself."
This stands in stark contrast to a world that almost demands that
we focus on self first before worrying, if at all, about anyone
else.
Being part of God's kingdom demands that we engage in response to
the King of kings in living out these commands.
Tom Wright in a recent book, How God became King" links the
coming of the Kingdom with Cross. One of the key purposes of Christ's
coming and his dying was to inaugurate God's kingdom here on earth.
Thus this teacher of the law was not far form it, it was almost
upon them. We live in God's kingdom and we subject ourselves to
his rule and in response we are called to love God first and foremost
and to love one another in the same way. John reminds us in his
Gospel, it is by this love that the world will know we are his followers.
That is a universal call to all who will take up the cross; to all
who will follow Christ. It remains for us all, I am sure, the constant
challenge in living this out. It is the challenge for the church
as a community of God's people, where ever we gather, that we live
together with that single focus of Christ, the King and Head of
the Church, as we focus our lives on the faith that we profess.
May God continue to equip and strengthen us as we live our lives
for him.
To God be the glory now and forever more. AMEN.
Sunday 26th August 2012
1 Kings 8:(1,6,10-11) John 6:56-69
Where else is there to go?
At the end of this discourse on bread, which began with the story
of the feeding of the five thousand and then led into the great,
"I am" statement, Jesus lays down a challenge for his
disciples, and a challenge for us all who read these words. The
crowds had followed and then dispersed. Some remained interested
and struck by what they had seen and heard, and others found it
too difficult so left, and probably plenty of others just followed
the crowd disinterested in any further engagement with Jesus.
It is a picture of life, it is the story of the churches on going
challenge, as we seek to engage with people today. It is a mirrorred
response of every generation that has heard the words of the gospel
and experienced something of God's wonderous and mysterious presence.
And we too must allow such stories to challenge us in our faith,
in our response to God and in our engagement with the world.
John, as he looked back on some 70 years of Christ's influence through
his life death and resurrection, could see a mixed response. He
could see people struggling with the realities of Christ's humanity.
Had he really come among us as one of us, or had he merely put on
an illusion of humanity? This is where the people were struggling
and where John ties Christ's life, death and resurrection into the
everyday happenings of Jesus earthly life.
You see, John does not give an account of the last Supper, but rather
integrates it into the picnic on the hillside as five thousand people
were fed.
He uses this occasion to tell us that the mystery of God's coming
among us is not just for the special religious events, especially
those carried out behind the closed doors in an upper room among
the faithful, but his coming among us is every time we meet, every
time we gather to eat, every time we open ourselves to his presence
that is with us no matter where that might be.
Christ, as the Word made flesh, full of grace and truth, who dwelt
among us, is with us throughout our daily lives.
It is this daily, intimate relationship that Christ opened up, or
demonstrated, or even reignited in the people of his day, and then
invites them to partake in this life giving relationship through
the Spirit of God who dwells in us.
And I say reignited in us, for is this not the picture that we get
from our reading in Kings, where God who had been present among
his wandering people in the tent and the covenant box, and who is
brought to the new temple and made the focal point in this permanent
dwelling. Here is the God of Israel who was seen in the cloud shining
with the dazzling light of the Lord's presence."
Here was the God who was described as, "there being no god
like you in heaven above or on earth below."
You see this God had faithfully wandered with them throughout their
experiences in the wilderness, he had been with them in the exile
of Egypt. He would continue to be with them in exiles to come. Why?
Because although they were placing the symbol of his presence in
a perminant dwelling, is actual presence remained with the people.
Although the people wanted to house God in the Temple this in no
way contfined the presence nor the power of God.
And how often has this been the response of the people of God, and
of the church down the centuries. We have wanted to box God into
the confines of our imaginations rather than allowing the reality
of his glorious presence and power to be seen and experienced among
us.
This is the pattern of our human ways and this is where Jesus was
breaking centuries of tradition and institutionalisation that had
people seeing God contifined to the Temple and only accessable by
the appropriate people, the Priests.
But as John interprets Christ's mission, he sees the presence of
God in Christ dwelling among the people, eating with them on the
hillsides, meeting the everyday people, the sinners and socially
unclean people where they are and restoring them to the communities
who have excluded them.
Many were not comfortable with this concept of God being among them,
for this brought their understanding of that transcendent God who
dwelt out there at a distance, into their presence.
And one would think that this was something that people would grasp
with both hands.
Here is God who is so remote and totally other than us, coming among
us as one of us. What could possibly be so disturbing for us about
such a concept that would cause people to turn and walk away? Jesus
in fact offered his disciples this opportunity. If they did not
wish to stick with him, they too could follow the crowd and walk
away. Such is the nature of God's call on us all. But why do people
not take that which is on offer, that presence and power of God
to be with us.
Barclay suggests, "And to day many a man's refusal of chirst
come, not because Christ puzzles and baffles his intellect, but
because Christ challenges and condemns his life."
As we live before God whose presence we recognise in Jesus the Christ,
we see ourselves in contrast to the wonder and awe of God, and sometimes
rather than dealing with what we see, it is easier and more comfortable
to walk away. It is easier to push aside the things that in the
light of Christ's presence we would rather not see in our lives.
It is much better, one feels, to leave them in the shadows and not
expose them to the light of Christ's scrutiny.
And yet this is the sad part where so often people fail to see the
true message of the Gospel which John had already proclaimed a few
chapters earlier, "For God did not send his Son into the world
to be its judge, but to be its saviour."
Where do we find Christ condeming people? It is not when they come
burdened and broken, but rather when they fail to see in themselves
their own shortcomings. It is when they are only to willing to point
to others failures when they are blinded to their own inadequacies,
or when they are consumed by self condemnation.
Christ's presence as we feed on him, exposes us to the realities
that lie within. It bring to us the reality of God, who was, and
is and is to come.
No wonder the cry of the people of God throughout the ages and down
into the Christian era has and will continue to be,
"Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might, Heaven and
earth are full of your glory, Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is
the one who comes in the name of the Lord"
God's presence can bring to us the assurance of God's love even
in the face of sin, even in the face of our own shortcomings and
inadequacies, or it can bring self condemnation as we refuse to
recognise or deal with our own humanity in the face of that Divine
and yet human presence, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Where else is there to go? Peter recognised this in his answer to
Christ, "Lord to whom would we go? You have the words that
give eternal life. And now we believe and know that your are the
Holy One who has come from God."
I wonder what our response is as we come face to face with Christ
every time we gather, as we walk from here hand and hand with the
one whose love cost him the cross?
He is the Bread of Life, the One who satisfies our every need.
To God be the Glory, now and forever more. AMEN.
Sunday 19th August 2012
1 Kings 2:10-12,3:3-14 John 6:51-58
Mana from Heaven
We continue on John's drawn out theme of the Bread of life, being
left in no doubt as to the claim that Jesus was making concerning
his own being. However that perhaps is about all that is clear in
this passage, for the language and the line that John takes in his
blending of the story of the feeding of the five thousand, the death
of Jesus on the cross and the teaching relevant to the Christian
rite around Holy Communion is anything but simple.
We do need to remember that this Gospel was probably the last one
to be written, and that it is framed much more around theological
themes than it is around the chonological order of Jesus life. Thus
he is able to draw these stories together, as well as the teaching
that the early church may have been struggling with, to frame this
section of his gospel.
It seems that it deals with the fundamental aspects of the emerging
Christian faith as it breaks away from its old Jewish roots, and
yet remains connected in the sense that it is still the same God
who has fulfilled what was promised for so long.
It is the same God who has fed his people down the ages, it is the
same God who continues to sustain them in the present, and who in
fact we cannot do with out if we are to know what it is to be fully
human, fully satisfied in ourselves and our humanity.
Jesus unashamedly asserts his divine nature and orgin by describing
himself as the "living bread that came down from heaven".
Every Jewish reader would understand this as relating back to the
wilderness experience and know the implications of such a claim.
This is a persistent theme relating his own being to the Divine.
And then he so quickly ties it into the sacrifical concept that
his body would be the bread for the people, was a notion that they
would have understood much better than we do.
Barclay sets this in context when he says,
"The ideas in this section would be quite normal and usual
to anyone who had been brought up in ancient sacrifice." He
goes on...."the animal was very seldom burned entirely. Usually
only a token part was burned on the altar although the whole animal
was offered to the god. Part of the flesh was given to the priests
as their perquisite (share); and part of the flesh was given to
the worshipper wherewith to make a feast for himself and his friends
within the temple precincts."
With that understanding, don't we get a much clearer picture of
Jesus' words here, as we see ourselves whenever we gather at the
Table of our Lord.
Here in these words he offers himself as that sacrifice so that
we may share with him and with at the same time with the God of
all eternity. There is a clear invitation to engage with God in
a way that had not be understood before.
Here is Jesus, declaring himself as the Christ, the annointed one
of God, who offers himself not as some great earthly ruler, but
as one who would be slaughtered as an offering for the sins of the
people.
And just as the people would partake in that ritual sacrifice, so
too with Christ, the invitation was there.
It is no wonder that this narrative caused anger among those who
first heard it, and confusion in the early church as rumours of
cannibalism circulated. They related this story at so many levels
to Jesus' claim of Divine Status. The living bread that came down
from heaven, was what brought life and sustainance to Moses and
the people in the wilderness. The hearers of the Gospel wondered
how they could eat his flesh, but as so often is the case, they
tried to take his words at face value and missed the mark of what
he was actually getting at.
Tasker comments on his teaching here in relating this to the early
church's teaching on Holy Communion,
"So, in the Holy Communion, there is no magical participation
by the believer in the physical flesh of Jeus, but an ever fresh
appropriation of the spiritual benefits of his passion."
John sees Jesus as offering the people a real sense of his own mission.
He is preparing them to see the greater picture of Christ's presence
among them and how that will continue even in the absence of his
physical humanity.
Christ becomes the key to our understanding of God and his life
with us and our life with him.
And without that union with Christ, that union with the one who
was fully and completely human, and yet that gift of God himself,
we ourselves will fail to know what it is to be fully human as children
of God.
Christ is drawing us in to that relationship with himself and that
oneness that he enjoyed with God, and it is only as we understand
Christ in this light that we understand God's complete love for
us.
John later, in his letters expresses this unique relationship when
he encourages his hearers to be discerning and says, "This
is how you will be able to know whether it is God's Spirit: anyone
who acknowledges that Jesus Christ came as a human being has the
Spirit who comes from God. But anyone who denies this about Jesus
does not have the Spirit from God."
Barclay points out about the hearers of Jesus words and of those
who are willing to follow him, "They would know something of
that effable experience of union, closer than any earthly union,
of which these words speak. This is language that the ancient world
could understand - and so can we."
This whole passage is that call to union, that invitation to draw
near to Christ, that plea to take up the gift that God has given
so freely, to engage with God in our lives and to live according
to his ways. It is a call to follow Christ acknowledging the gift
that has been given to us and to draw from the benefits of that
gift so that we might understand life and our humanity and ourselves
in the light of God's love.
"The living Father sent me, and because of him I live also.
In the same way whoever eats me will live because of me."
Our ability to understand God and to understand ourselves is found
in Christ who bridges that gap between heaven and earth, between
God and humanity. And the invitation stands to engage in that life
that was and is given for us.
Our strength, our sustainance, our being as men and women, as children
and young people, is found in Christ whose life and whose death
and resurrection was, and is, for us.
May we therefore continue to feed on him, continue to draw strength
from Christ whose life inspires us and whose example leads us and
whose sacrifice enables us to know and to experience God's love
in our world today.
With this experience may we go out into the world to love as Christ
loved, to live as Christ lived, to serve one another as Christ served
us. May our prayer be like that of Solomon, that God would give
us the wisdom we need to live with justise and to know the difference
between good and evil. As we live in union with Christ, as we live
following Christ, may we learn those skills that Solomon sought,
and Christ taught.
To God be the glory, now and forever more. AMEN.
Sunday 5th August 2012
2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a John 6:24-35
What does God want?
This whole story that we have read in the Gospel this morning is
a continuation of the account of the feeding of the five thousand
people. One thing in particular that strikes me as I read this story
is the persistance with which this crowd follows Jesus and the lengths
they go to in order to doing that. We are told they got into boats,
as the previous day there had only been one boat which Jesus and
his disciples had gone off in, so when these other boats arrived
near where the crowd had been they got into these and went looking
for Jesus. They were keen to find him.
When they asked him, "when he had got there,"
Jesus did not even respond, but rather challenged them as to their
motives for coming and following him. Were they really there for
the right reasons; to understand his teaching or merely for seeing
more miracles or getting more food?
One would think that Jesus would be bouyed by such an enthusiastic
response to his presence and teaching, but in fact he is quite weary,
or at least very realistic about what is going on. He is not about
to be carried along by the emotion that such behaviour whips up,
as so often crowds draw crowds. He is not into the numbers game
but rather is questioning the motives of these people.
It strikes me that there is a real picture here of society in general:
people searching for the things that will satify them the most;
people looking for what they can get out of life that will improve
their well being and give them perhaps that sense of excitement
along the way. I suspect that this has been part of human life from
the beginning of time. It is part of our make up, part of our DNA.
These people had experienced something extra ordinary, they had
seen something that offered them a sense of promise and hope, and
they wanted to follow that up. It is interesting that obviously
the whole crowd did not fully understand what Jesus was on about,
there is certainly no suggestion that all those who witnessed this
event became devoted followers of Jesus. The curiosity of people
does not automatically follow with dedicated commitment. We see
a range of responses to Jesus in the gospels from the disciples
who were called, gave up all they were doing and followed, to those
who were antagonised by his message, to those like Nicodemus who
continued to enquire with perhaps an open mind. Such, again is the
nature of people; we enquire, we analyse, and we make choices.
But the underlying question perhaps that comes out of this whole
story is, "What does God want?"
What is it that God wants or requires, or invites from us?"
God is looking for our trust and faith. In verse 29 Jesus says,
"What God wants you to do is to believe in the one he sent."
Faith and trust, or belief are concepts that come from the one greek
word, and they invite us to believe in God just as God believes
in us. God has come among us in Jesus, the Annointed One to bring
us the good news of God's love for all humanity and the only requirement
from us is an acceptance of that love as we live out our lives.
God in Jesus Christ is able to provide us with all that is essential
for our lives.
This he illustrated in the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand.
As is usually the case, Jesus' miracles were illustrating particular
truths or concepts that he was trying to get across to his followers.
They were not deemed as an answer or solution for particular problems
for all time to come, otherwise surely we would seek to cure the
hunger of the world, with loaves and fishes that Jesus would multiply,
or the health system would be replaced by the miracles of Jesus.
No he usually had a point to make, and here is no exception.
God's provision for all of mankinds hungering after the meaning
of life is to be found in Jesus.
"I am the bread of life" is one of the six great "I
am" statements that John records Jesus as making. And he is
careful to point out that this is what he is getting at, as he takes
them back to the days of Moses. The mana in the desert was to feed
the hungry people. They were in a desperate situation and facing
physical starvation and the mana was offered as food for the stomach.
But here Jesus tells us, "For the bread that God gives is he
who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
Jesus never saw himself as that miracle worker but rather as the
one who would open the way for us to see and know and experience
God's eternal love.
Thus later on Jesus says in perhaps the ultimate 'I am" statement,
"I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the
Father except by me."
So it would seem that there is an open way offered to understand
the fullness of life that God offers to us, and that can only be
found in Jesus Christ. And why is that? It is surely because this
is God's gift of love to humanity.
He is the bread that comes from heaven. He is the one who will satisfy
the needs of all who look to him.
Thus all that can be done by us is to accept that offer. It is not
a matter of trying to do one thing or another. It is not a matter
of trying to please God by the works that we do. It is not a matter
of striving to live up to certain expectations or standards so as
to proove our worthiness. No! What Jesus is offering here in the
miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, and on which Jesus
continues to expand this idea, is that God with what little resources
are avaliable, even though they seem totally inadequate and unfit
for the task, is able to achieve all that is needed for his purposes.
God is willing to take the raw material of humankind and create
a more than sufficient people who will honour and express faith
and trust in him.
So when all our striving ceases we can learn to trust him for our
salvation, or as that song put it, we can learn to, "put our
hand in the hand of the man from Gallilee."
In this simple relationship of faith and trust, Jesus becomes for
us the bread of life. He becomes the one who will supply our every
need.
Paul in his letter to the Philippian's picks up this same thread
when he concludes his letter with these words,
"And with all his abundant wealth through Christ Jesus, my
God will supply all your needs."
This teneant of the Christian Gospel was built on the Hebrew understand
of Jehovah Jirah, a name given by Abraham to Yahweh when and angel
of the Lord appeared to him and not only arrested the sacrifice
of Isaac, but provided a ram in his place.
Thus in Christ, if you like, an angel of the Lord was given to provide
for the sins of the world.
Again and again, we see God who supplies all we need despite who
we are, despite our human limitations, despite our sinful ways.
And what does God require? Our willingness to trust him, to believe
that this is what he has done and achieved for us, turning from
our old ways, as David did, and to follow him in that faith and
trust.
May God give us eyes to see, and ears to hear and hearts to follow.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 1st July 2012
2 Samuel 6:1-5,12-19 Mark 6:14-29
When power goes to the head!
I don't know about you, but having read the readings for this morning,
I can't say they were ones I might have chosen to have preached
on if they had not come up in the lectionary. (That is the usefulness
of a lectionary, it gives you passages that one might otherwise
choose to avoid). Nevertheless, we have here a part of the gospel
story that illustrates for us the world in which God chose to enter
in the person of Jesus the Christ. This was not a world, receptive
and open to the message of the Gospel, in fact is was a world openly
antigonistic to such a message.
It was a world where people were put to death for their faith, and
where governments ruled by oppression and the sword.
There was anx and division even within the religious community.
It would seem that nothing really changes. All that I have mentioned
can be found as part of our modern world. Thus a story like that
of John the Baptist reminds us that our world continues to see events
of corruption, discention, power play, and struggle where ever humanity
gathers. And this is the world that God continues to enter through
his risen presence, and his Spirit, dwelling in the lives of his
people.
It points us to the unflattering nature of humanity that Christ
stood against in his earthly life, as he spoke of how God was able
to transform our view of the world if we would but follow his lead.
It is in such an episode as this, that we can see clearly those
traits that so often besiege us as human beings, as we clamour for
power, or glory, or prominence within our nations, communities or
even families.
Why is that? Is it because basically as human beings we prefer to
focus on self, on our own achievements, our own glory, our own success.
This seems to be the way we are programmed.
History is littered with episodes of ego centric, megalamaniacs
grasping for power to build up their own empires and not considering
the cost for everyday people. But we don't only need to look to
such major figures in history, we can see such traits around us
and even in the mirror if we are prepared to be honest with ourselves.
Often that line between self confidence and self grandisement is
a fine one.
It is also this very basic aspect of our human nature that Christ
came to challenge, which upset both the religious and secular leaders
of Jesus day. As is so often the case, the Gospel turns such concepts
on their heads.
The gospel does not speak of self, but of God and others.
The call of the gosepl is so clear, Love God, and love your neighbour
as your self.
The story of Herod and his rash promises in order to impress and
to buy favour ends in nothing but anguish, cruelty, deceipt and
terror.
John's message of turning from sin to follow God, his pointing to
Christ as the annoint one of God, brought him no favours, but illustrates
the task of the church today.
Our role is not to build ourselves up in granduer and glory, but
rather, always to point people to Christ just as John did. Remember
when we first meet John in the Gospel when he says, "The man
who will come after me is much greater than I am. I am not good
enough even to bend down and untie his sandals." . The best
way for us to point others to Christ is in the way we express ourselves
to one another. We don't do it by always being out for personal
gain, but rather in offering ourselves in service to others. This
is living the gospel and this seems to be a bit of a theme running
through Mark, for later he says, "For even the Son of Man did
not come to be served; he came to serve and to give his life to
redeem many people."
The gospel turns many popular conventions, perceptions and customs
on their head, often setting us against the prevail cultural thought
of the day. This is what electrified the situation for Jesus.
Herod was interested in maintaining his power and control politically
and in the family he wanted to be loved and looked up too.
John had already challenged him over his marriage to his brothers
wife, and although Herod had a quiet respect for him, he allowed
himself to be compromised by promising Herodias' daughter anything
she liked. Conspiring with her mother, she asked for the head of
John the Baptist. She probably thought that by being rid of John
the Baptist, Herod's conscience would settle down and they could
just get on with living.
Power gained by deceit and manipulation is bound to lead to compromise
and an openness to being played at the same game.
And having been caught once, Herod was now weary of Jesus. His conscience
was not at peace, but in fact heightened and rekindled by anyone
who challlenged him. Guilt would continue to plague him. Thus his
immediate reaction was, is this John come back to haunt him.
Herod recognised in Jesus, the same qualities he had seen in John,
and it concerned him. It is interesting how unsettling truth can
be to those are not used to living by such ideals. The concscience
works in overdrive and we have the choice to respond to our conscience
or to let it go wild.
Is this a way that we listen to the voice of God?
Is this how we hear that still voice that prompts us? If it is,
there is still a choice we have to deal with. We have to ask ourselves
whether the choices we make are for the good of all or merely for
self gain? Will they benefit others, or merely ourselves?
Will our choices result in others being enriched in their living
or in a denial of their basic rights and what it means to be human?
I think we need to allow ourselves to be constantly challenged by
those words of Jesus,
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served; he came
to serve and to give his life to redeem many people."
If this were Christ's mission surely it forms the basis of our being
as Christians, and as a community of God's people, the church, so
that as a collective in the world today we can also turn the values
of our world upside down.
Today society plays lip service to this concept of serving. Unlike
Christ, there is usually a cost involved. Have you ever tried to
do something for someone with the insistence there be no recompense.
Again, people feel very uncomfortable with that concept. It is counter
to our culture, and counter to our very humanity.
And yet this concept of gift is the very basis of our Christian
existence.
That gift, we call grace. That gift of grace is what God holds out
to us all, saying I have done it, I have paid the price, your sins
are forgiven, now live life as a redeemed people.
And as we unwrap that gift in our own lives, as we come to understand
what God has done for us, we offer ourselves in service to the world
around us.
It sound easy, and in a sense it is, as it is living being true
to our faith. But sometimes it is what has been coined costly grace.
For John the Baptist there was certainly a cost. He had a clear
conscience and a clear vision of faith and of God's love for him,
but some in the world in which he lived continued to be antagonistic
toward him. Sometimes we have to be prepared to take the hard road
if our faith is not to loose it's cutting edge, otherwise we cheapen
the grace that is costly to God who offers it freely to us.
May we keep that focus to our faith in the world that wants to continually
draw us away. May we hold onto that faith drawing strength as we
offer our lives in service to God.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN
Sunday 1st July 2012
2 Samuel 5:1-5,9-10 Mark 6:1-13
I wonder do we ever ponder why home is so important to us as human
beings. As a concept it brings great comfort and security. It is
the place from where we have been nurtured. It is often a place
where we can relax and unwind.
And yet it can also be a place of great vulnerability. It can be
the place where others feel most able to question and challenge
us.
For Jesus, Nazareth was always considered his home. And in that
place the synagogue lay at the heart of his life. The synagogue
was the gathering point, the place of worship, the center of teaching.
It was where people were shaped and challenged, where the life of
the Jewish community centred itself. As such, as Jesus entered his
public ministry, it was only natural that when he was back in those
parts he would go to the synagogue. There he would be known.
And we are told that people were amazed at his wisdom and at the
things he was doing. Part of that amazement consisted of the fact
that they knew him and his heritage. He was the boy, the son of
Mary, the carpenter, the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon,
and even his sisters rank a mention here. You can just hear it can't
you! Who does he think he is? So in the comfort of this being his
home, comes the challenge of him being able to express himself and
grow and offer something back even if that is beyond what people
might expect as possible.
Alan Cole in his commentry makes an interesting point here when
he says,
"In this they were not unlike our modern scientific age, which
is much more concerned with the mechanical question "how"
than the theological "why". How often we ask the wrong
questions and are side tracked from the real answers.
The religious leaders started on the right course but didn't take
the obvious answers. They did ask, "Where did he get all this,
What wisdom is this that has been given?" But it's then that
they box him in to his background and who he belongs to, rather
than expanding the original thoughts of the source of his wisdom
and power.
God is the source of wisdom. Proverbs reminds us, "It is the
Lord who gives wisdom; from him come knowledge and understanding."
Surely the religious leaders of Jesus' day would have know this
and should have started, as Cole puts it, from that theological
point pursued this line of thought.
And as we come today and celebrate the baptism of Damian, we to
begin from that theological point. Too often in our day we have
that argument about when one should be baptised. Should baptism
happen when the person is old enough to make up their own mind,
or should parents take that step for the child?
Again, the wrong starting point. We start with God, we start at
the source of love, God who first loved, so that we might love.
We start with the God who declared his grace for us in that he would
be our God and we would be his children. We start with God who came
in Jesus chrsit and died for the sin of the world.
At this starting point it is only natural that we present our children
to God acknowledging that love already given. Acknowledging and
claiming the cleansing power of Christ for those we love most dearly.
We do this with the hope that they too will one day declare for
themselves their love for God.
We declare this love in the context of our own faith, in the faith
of our immediate family and the faith of the gathered community.
In this way it becomes both an expression of our own faith and the
faith of everyone gathered as we commend Damien to God and welcome
him into the life of the church.
In this we recognise Damien as one who is loved by God so that in
this act God introduces himself to us and to this child, so that
unlike Christ in his home town, Damien may never be rejected, but
always recognised as a child of God.
Jesus was only too well aware of such rejection,
"A prophet is repected everywhere except in his own home town
and by his relatives and his family."
That is often the way with those who are close to us; we do not
recognise the gifts that they have that others outside the immediate
community see in them. We need to firstly recognise that those in
our midst are gifts from God and that God in his wisdom and grace
gives gifts to each and everyone of us to use to help build up the
community of God's people.
This is God's power and desire to commission us as his disciples.
As Jesus went about teaching he called people to follow him, and
then he sent them out two by two to take that love that God offers
into the world around.
Thus the love of God was shown in helping those in need, in offering
healing and help where they could. This was in direct response to
the wholeness they had found in what God had offered them through
Jesus of Nazareth.
We too go out into our communities to offer that same love, using
the gifts and talents that Christ has given us. Recognising that
we love God, because we have first been loved by him.
Jesus' disciples, like Christ himself, did this even in the face
of opposition. Just as Christ was despised and rejected, that same
response was often dished out to his followers.
We too, know that reaction to the Gospel message in our own day
and age. Gone is the age where we would expect people to at least
listen, even if they were to ignore the gospel. Today they will
oppose it and actively try to shut the message out. Nevertheless
our task remains to continue to stand up for what we believe. It
is our responsibility to tell our children and to encourage them
in the faith, so that one day they can make that choice for themselves,
based, not on ignorance, but rather on the foundation of their experience
and knowledge of that love that God holds out for them.
May we never give up that vision of what Christ calls us all to:
that commission that empowers us to go out into the world in which
we live with the motive bringing others to the knowledge and experience
of God's love for them.
When we loose that sense of our own commission to which Christ has
called us, we loose the cutting edge of what it is to be church,
a community of God's people, loved and accepted by God, made whole
in our understanding of who God is and who we are in relation to
him.
Ainoama and Brian, continue to teach Damian about God's love for
him, which we have acknowledged today. May he grow up, held in that
love, assured of that love, nurtured in that love and able to express
that love for himself with a willingness to share it with others.
May God give us all such focus and confidence and a willingness
to follow his ways as he commissions us all to be his disciples
in the world today, active in going out and helping people in their
needs and sharing God's love with them in word and in action.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Sunday 1st July 2012
Mark 5:21-43
Stretch out your hand
The Gospel according to Mark is the shortest of the gospel writings
and Mark's narratives are usually short and sharp, and have a sense
of urgency. Jesus is in a hurry to accomplish his task of announcing
the good news; while it seems as if his disciples lag along behind,
often depicted by Mark as slow on the uptake. Today's story though
is one of Mark's longer narratives. The story is characteristic
of his style of "sandwiching" two stories into one. One
story begins and is interrupted by another; which is then completed,
before Mark returns to the original.
Today's "sandwich" technique links two diverse characters
in one narrative and it naturally highlights comparisons between
the two. We can begin looking at this passage by comparing the two
characters in the story, their similarities and differences. Both
the woman and Jairus' daughter were not able to be helped by those
in authority, and mostly by their doctors. The woman hadn't been
helped over twelve years by her many doctors and Jairus' religious
colleagues couldn't help him. So what do they do? They take the
initiative and go to Jesus, but each in their own different ways.
Jairus is a desperate parent and, although he was a synagogue official,
he threw off all sense of propriety, rushed to Jesus, fell at his
feet and "pleaded earnestly with him", reaching out to
him in desperation. That act would have certainly damaged Jairus'
reputation with his friends and other important synagogue leaders!
It would have been unheard of for a religious dignitary to humble
himself before an itinerant preacher and healer. But, then he has
to wait, and don't we all hate to wait? We all hate being put on
hold on the phone; or in long queues at the supermarket or to get
a ticket at the movies; for an extra long red light; for water to
boil when you're in a hurry for a cuppa; or for a prescription to
be filled at the chemist. But those are only minor inconveniences,
aren't they? Even though they may add stress to a busy day.
There is also another kind of waiting fraught with tension, anxiety,
fear and helplessness. When we wait while a loved one undergoes
surgery; for the results of a scan; for a long overdue child to
return home late at night; for exam results to arrive or for the
outcome of a job interview. These, and others like them, are forms
of waiting that are high-pitched, extremely intense and stressful.
We usually like to attack difficult situations and problems to solve
them or bring them to a satisfactory solution, but these stressful
forms of waiting are completely different, because we can't do anything
about them, they are out of our control, so we have no choice but
to wait and pray for a happy outcome.
Mark is a wonderful storyteller as he inserts one story into another.
He builds anticipation and drama and we wait to discover the outcome.
But Jairus wasn't there to appreciate a good story and he was being
put on hold as Jesus addressed the woman. Jairus had to wait. We
can probably imagine what he must have been going through. He had
rushed to Jesus in desperate need. He describes it matter-of-factly,
"My daughter is at the point of death." There's nothing
he or any other of his influential friends can do and he sees Jesus
as his last hope. He makes a direct request, "Please come and
lay your hands on her that she may get well and live." When
we are in need, our prayers don't have to be fancy. Jesus responds
immediately, "He went off with him and a large crowd followed
him and pressed upon him."
Jairus was in a hurry and it must've seemed to him that Jesus was
not, because he stops to talk to the woman with haemorrhaging who
had reached out her hand and touched him and was instantly healed.
Her flow of blood had made her ritually unclean for twelve years.
To her suffering was added the horror of being ostracised from her
family, friends and the support of a praying community.
That Jesus stopped to address the woman shows he considered her
and her need as important and as pressing as that of the prominent
religious leader Jairus. Once again Jesus shows that the marginalised
have an important place in his ministry and his invitation to the
Kingdom of God. The place where this story takes place suggests
the same message. Jesus has just returned from the "other side"
of Lake Galilee, Gentile country, where he had expelled the evil
spirits from the man from Gerasa who was possessed by demons. Now
he is back on the western, Jewish shore. This geographic detail
tells us that Jesus is healing on both "coasts." His blessing
shows no partiality between Jew and Gentile, between those far off
and his own people. Both those acceptable to the religious establishment
and those considered "outsiders" fall under Jesus' healing
and grace-filled touch.
The story returns then to Jairus who is still waiting and, in crisis
situations, waiting for God to act can be a severe test of our faith.
While we wait, as in the case of Jairus' daughter, things can go
from bad to worse. When that happens the cracks in our faith can
show. We wonder if God loves us and cares for us at all; we question
our own worthiness; whether we are using the "proper prayers";
if we are worthy of God's attention, or if our faith is being tested.
Jairus must have had some of those feelings, as well as frustration,
fear, desperation and maybe even a little anger as well.
Jesus invited Jairus to have faith in his power to heal. The voices
of doom are powerful in our world - those of poverty, addictions,
war, racism and death itself. Neither we, nor even the church, can
face them on our own. When we are confronted by one or more of these
devastating situations we need to hear what Jesus says to us today,
"Do not be afraid, have faith." Then we do what Jairus
and the other disciples did, we follow Jesus, even to the place
of death itself and we do so because we "have faith."
The crowd who heard Jesus say, "The child is not dead but asleep,"
ridiculed him. Maybe some of his disciples were part of that ridiculing
crowd? Even in the face of the impossible, Jesus urges us not to
listen to the voices of cynics and pessimists. Instead, he encourages
us to not be afraid. Jesus has the power to heal.
Let's not forget the woman who stretched out her hand to touch Jesus
clothes. She must have had some wealth at one time and a higher
status. But she has "spent all she had." On this particular
day she is out in public by herself, something rare in the culture
of the day. She was an unprotected and vulnerable female in a crowd.
There is no male relative present to protect her. And, to make matters
worse, she is ritually unclean. Because of her condition, if anyone
had touched her they would have become contaminated and made as
ritually unclean as she was, but she is desperate, so maybe that's
why she risks so much. Or, perhaps, it is her faith in God which
makes her take such a bold step.
There were two deaths in this story and they are linked by the number
twelve. For twelve years the woman was socially dead, an outcast
of the community and any family she had. Jairus' daughter was twelve
years old and had just died. Jesus was able to bring them both back
to life and reincorporate them into their community of family and
faith. The woman's healing takes place as a result of her own initiative.
Jesus plays no active part in it, which underlines what he tells
her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you." Lots of people
must have been bumping into Jesus and brushing up against him. But
this woman's presence and touch were different; she had faith and
she acted on it and Jesus knew it.
Jesus' words to the woman after her healing must have been reassuring,
for he calls her, "Daughter." Not only has her healing
made her acceptable to reputable society, but she's also included
as a member of Jesus' family. He was gathering a new family to himself,
not based on blood, but on having faith and doing God's will. We
don't know if the woman had any male relatives, but now she is under
the protection of a new "father," Jesus - who calls her
"Daughter." We too are his sons and daughters when we
trust him enough "to not be afraid." All we need to do
is 'stretch out our hand' in faith to receive wholeness and a place
in community through Jesus Christ, who is our Lord and Saviour.
Rev Heather Kennedy
17th June 2012
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 Mark 4:26-34
Growth, a gift from God
Peter, in addressing a wide circle of Christians in the early church
ends his letter with these words,
"But continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ."
Growth is a concept that never stands still, and it never looks
back. The parables that we read today are a continuation and reinforcement
of that well know parable of the sower. Jesus continues to hammer
home the point that Christ's reign in our hearts and lives is an
act of Divine grace.
As such, growth is initiate and driven by the power of God at work
in us. And in our ignorance of what is happening, whether through
lack of knowledge or our inability to know and understand, or even
our blindness, God continues that work of grace; God continues to
bring about growth.
Such is the nature of his work in creation and in the lives of His
people. This, if you like draws the back drop to our existence as
human beings, and as people of God, but on to the canvas is painted
our reponse to that back drop as our lives are lived out in faith
and as that faith develops in us.
There is a sense given of the certainty of God's presence and God's
power to work within us. While this is the given, nevertheless it
can and does remain mystery to us. For as much as we try, we can
never fully understand the why's and the wherefores of such activity.
There is often no apparent rythmn nor reason for that activity of
God and yet in mystery God continues to move and shape our lives
and continues to call for us to engage with him and with the world
in which we live so as to acknowledge and promote that understanding
and acceptance of God. Throughout the story of our faith, there
has existed such mystery. The ways of God have often confounded
the minds of his people. Take for instance our story in 1 Samuel.
Everybody assumed that the eldest son of Jesse would be annointed
as the next King, even Samuel. This was the logical and "right"
person for the job. But God had other ideas. And as so often is
the case, it was the least expected choice that God ran with. David,
the runt of the litter, the youngest, the weakest, the least likely,
was the one that God built up to be the most powerful.
We see this so often in life. In our own time we only need to look
at such figures as Desmond Tutu or Nelson Mandella, Deitrich Bonhoeffer.
God can use the most humble, the least likely, the lowliest in society
to bring about his plans and purposes. Such is the power of God
to bring about growth.
Jesus' own ministry was not spent among the religious leaders and
most educated and hopeful members of society, but among the poor,
the needy and the marginalised.
Sometimes it is where growth is least expected that the most hope
arises, it was after all from the cross that the hope of the gospel
found its power and strength.
This, of course is the theme of the second parable that takes the
illustration of the small seed, that, given time and the right conditions
flourishes into the tree, or bush where birds can rest, and nest
and find their shelter.
It is from small beginnings that great things can grow.
So what does this say of faith? What does this say of our response
to God whose grace is there for us in the beginning?
Are we to live only with what is possible and achievable in our
sights? Are we to confine ourselves to what we know we can do and
do well? Or are we to step out in faith trusting that God will take
the very smallest thing we can offer and use that to do great things?
We naturally seem to want to track quietly along comforting ourselves
with what we know, and what we can perceive as possible. We naturally
seem to fight against change and challenge which might throw us
into uncertainty, even though we know that in the past, we have
come through such periods with God's help and strength and supporting
us. But still we seem too afraid to step out in faith, too afraid
to walk that path of faith in simple trust and obedience.
Another factor that inhibits us along the way is perhaps fear of
failure. None of us like failing at anything. It hurts our pride,
we feel it damages our reputation, or our chances to move on. Fear
is always crippling and can so easily take hold of us. It heightens
our senses to the negative influences leaving us often unable to
look forward with any sense of hope.
This can so easily become the framework by which we view all of
life and faith disappears.
This is not the way Jesus nor any of the New Testament writers thought
that we should look at life.
The writer to the Hebrews in Chapter 11 gives us a wonderfully positive
view of life through the eyes of faith when he begins the chapter
with that wonderful definition.
"To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to
be certain of the things we cannot see.
.It is by faith that
we understand that the universe was created by God's word, so that
what can be seen was made out of what cannot be seen." (Hebrews
11:1,3)
There is an openness, a hope, a confidence, a trust that oozes out
of these words, that would do us all well to ponder on. And these
words come out of the context of a world of turmoil and trouble,
out of a world where opposition to the gospel was rife. People's
lives were on the line for their belief.
Today we suffer in a different way. We suffer a world that largely
ignores the Gospel, and a church that suffers from apathy and a
lack of vision; one that has lost sight of God's love for them and
for all people and the cost to God of that love.
We tend to be consumed by the worlds power to bring us down, rather
than transformed by God's power to bring life out of death, and
hope out of despair.
We continue to live in a world that God loves, a world where from
those small seeds of hope, God can bring life and vitality and growth,
even if we are still asleep, for it is God who bring such growth.
I wonder where see we ourselves on that canvas of the world that
God loves? Are we part of the picture that brings hope and life
and vitality to the world as we allow God to inspire us? Or are
we in danger of expiring under the pressure of the world squeezing
that Spirit of God out of us, blinding us to the truth of the Gospel
and to ongoing creative power of God in the world today?
Jesus was rounding off his talk to his disciples about the seed
and the ground in which it was planted. He was hammering home that
point that we picked up on last week, that it is God's work that
Jesus was doing and that we are called to do, for God's work can
only bring about good and good can only come from God, and those
who do what God wants are his true followers.
May God's Spirit continue to inspire us all as we seek to follow
him and to do his work in the world today.
To God be the glory, now and forever. AMEN.
Rev Richard Gray
3rd June 2012
Trinity Sunday
Isaiah 6:1-8 John 3:1-17
In the art world images are presented to us in a range of ways.
We can have the detailed photographic type painting that shows us
what the artist sees as it might be captured by a camera. Detail
is transferred to the canvas as close as possible to the way the
scene or image is viewed. At the other end of the spectrum we have
more abstract art where the artist interprets what he see telling
a story to the ones who views his work. In this case the observer
of the art work cannot merely look at the work and say isn't that
a wonderful likeness. One has to ask what the artist is trying to
tell us.
In many ways we have two representations of the Divine in our readings
today that present to us images of God in such contrasting ways.
Isaiah paints a picture that expresses something of the majesty,
and the 'otherness' of God. We have a very abstract image that leaves
us in no doubt that Isaiah saw the greatness and the majesty of
God in a way that left him spell bound and gasping at the wonder
of it all.
His careful language honours his tradition that forbids the
the making of graven images that will limit ones picture of God.
He describe the robe filling the whole temple and surrounding him,
flaming creatures.
So holy and awe inspiring is this image that even these creatures
do not look directly at the figure for their eyes are covered with
two of their six wings.
And we also see Isaiah accentuation this further, as he contrasts
himself with this vision.
"There is no hope for me! I am doomed because every word that
passes my lips is sinful, and I live among a people whose every
word is sinful."
His awareness of the greatness of God gives him a sense of his own
inadequacy and his inability to save himself. The contrast between
humanity and the Divine is great and needs to be acknowledged for
failure to acknowledge that difference leaves us in danger of striving
for, or usurping the place of God in our lives. In other words it
leads to a lessening of our understanding of God's power and place
or in fact ultimately to a denial of the very existence of God.
As we diminish the power of God we begin to paint God into a box
that we can understand and contain.
Isaiah's vision of God leave's leave us with a sense of the almighty,
of power, and of mystery.
Compare and contrast that with John's account of a conversation
with Nicodemus, a religious leader in Jesus' day. He was searching
for some understanding of God, He seemed to be seeing glimpses of
the power and majesty of God in Jesus, but was struggling to understand.
Jesus' invitation to a rebirth, to be born again, is really an offer
to see the world from a completely different perspective. There
is that need for one to come back and view the world through different
eyes, to forget our preconceived notions, or the platform from which
we have built our understandings of all that we have seen around
us.
We need to come back according to Jesus, with the eyes of God to
see the world from that perspective. He speaks of the need, "to
be born of the water and the spirit."
Is this a reference to baptism? It could be! May be it is a reference
to creation and the, "Raging ocean that covered everything,
engulfed in total darkness, and the power of God was moving over
the water." Genesis 1:2.
John certainly drew on that whole creation imagery in his prologue
and may have continued it through, to link Jesus directly to this
creation event.
Again there is this abstract nature to John's picture of God at
work in the world. And yet he moves from this to the more photographic
image as he presents Christ to us in that direct link to God.
"God so loved the world that he sent his son." Here we
are given that image of Christ as God incarnate. God has come among
us as one of us with the sole purpose of saving the world.
Our inability to believe is acknowledged, and we see ourselves in
the struggling figure of Nicodemus.
"You are a great teacher in Israel, and you don't know this.....You
do not believe me when I tell you about the things of this world;
how will you ever believe me, then, when I tell you about the things
of heaven." says Jesus.
How can we ever put into words, or understand in our minds God's
love for the world. Why would God ever bother, let alone offer us
love?
The only way is through Jesus, the Christ. Here is the one who is
the visible likeness of the invisible God. Here is our picture of
God who loves us and understands us for he has come among us offering
to the world the definitive picture of God's love.
When in Moses' time the people failed to see God's hand at work
they were offered the image of the snake on a pole. This gave them
a reminder of God's healing love for them. It reminded them that
his power was in their midst.
John draws for us the same picture with Christ, and points to the
one who will be lifted up; the one whose death on the cross will
become a symbol of our salvation.
Thus the call continues to be for us to put our trust in Christ
for he is the one who leads us and guides us and who brings us to
the full understanding of who God is.
"For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge,
but to be its saviour."
So often when we see an image of God presented to us we want to
see that judgment and anger that we imagine is a dominant part of
God's nature, and yet John says 'no' to this, for God's nature is
first and foremost love.
How do we know this? Because of Jesus Christ who came into the world
to cement that relationship of love.
He came to show us the way to understand God's love for the world.
He came to lead us to experience that love in our own lives and
in the world in which we live.
In doing that we are given the opportunity to offer that same love
to the world around us. His example offers us the chance to live
for him and with him, it gives us the role model to follow so that
we might become more and more like him.
And like Isaiah, we too feel that complete sense of inadequacy as
we attempt to follow him and to live by his example, but we are
given the assurance that we stand in hope, not in judgement. We
stand support by God who came among us in Jesus, and we stand support
by God who is among us as risen Lord, and who remains with us in
His Spirit to strengthen and encourage.
We are not called to faith in some unknown quantity or abstract
quality, but we are called to faith in the one who is with us and
stands with us.
We are called to express that faith in our actions and attitudes
always looking to him for help and guidance.
We are called to faith in the one who said,
"I am the way, the truth and the life," and who reminds
us that, "no one comes to the Father except by me."
May we walk every step of life putting our faith and trust in God
who offered us that concrete image of his love for us, by coming
among us as one of us.
To God be the glory, now and forever more. AMEN.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
I AM the Good Shepherd
Acts 4:5-12; Psalm 23; 1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18
As is often the case, Biblical passages that are not included in our
readings for today may also be of importance in helping us to understand
what is going on in the readings we have heard from the Book of the
Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel according to John.
For instance, in Acts a lame man has been healed, and Peter and John
have been hauled before some sort of ecclesiastical court to explain
why the lame man is not still lame. Also, our gospel narrative begins
in Chapter 8 where Jesus is accused of being possessed by a demon,
and in Chapter 9 when he heals the blind man by the Pool of Siloam.
Then just before our reading Jesus uses an 'I am' statement to help
the disciples understand who he was, by saying 'I am the gate for
the sheep, through which is the way to salvation'. These readings
all support our understanding of Jesus as one who is able to heal
and save us.
Then when Jesus says 'I AM the Good Shepherd' he is reflecting God's
words from Exodus 3:14 where God speaks to Moses from the burning
bush, saying 'I AM who I AM'. In Hebrew this is written with letters
of their alphabet, YHWH, which becomes the name used for God, Yahweh.
Jesus uses other I AM statements elsewhere in the gospel writings
but probably one of the most well-known is today's statement "I
am the good shepherd," and the response to this claim which ends:
"There was again a great division among them because of these
words. Many of them said, 'He has a demon and is mad; why listen to
him?' While others said, 'These are not the saying of one who has
a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?'"
In these responses we hear what is perhaps the central question of
faith; 'Why listen to Jesus; by what authority should we take any
note of what he has to say?" Indeed, we may well wonder why we
should listen to Jesus? In fact, why do we listen to Jesus' teaching
at all? After all, there are so many other voices competing for our
attention. Take, for instance, the appliance in the corner of our
lounges, and possibly other rooms in our homes, constantly providing
us with news broadcasts, reality shows, singing, dance and cooking
competitions, a plethora of crime and legal programmes , even on three
channels simultaneously, not to mention the commercial advertising
that makes all this television possible in the first place! They also
seem to speak with authority!
Then there are the politicians of all stripes: the members of parliament
and spokespeople of the various political parties, issuing "important
announcements" and speeches almost daily, not to mention those
on the local scene; mayors and councillors, activists and campaigners,
all demanding we listen to them, while their opponents are crying,
"Don't listen to them, listen to us!" Then there's corporate
interests such as big coal and big oil conglomerates insisting that
the environment is just fine and would actually be improved if we
could find a way to use more fossil fuels; and as well as all that
there are the investments schemes, weight reductions schemes, this-can-only-be-purchased-on-TV
schemes, all the way down to schemes designed to take more money out
of our already empty pockets. It's no wonder we're confused!
There are also family members unhappy with others in the family, neighbours
unhappy with the neighbourhood, immigrants seeking just some shred
of dignity, talk-show hosts who know it all, and of course every lay
person, minister and leader trying to convince us that they know what
is best for the church! Just like those at the end of the gospel passage,
and those in the Acts of the Apostles, who are offended by what Jesus
says and does? There are all these competing interests and voices
trying to get us to turn away from Jesus and turn our lives over to
them instead.
Jesus the Good Shepherd has spread a table before us in the presence
of those who trouble us! We know he wants us to listen to him! If
we are listening to Jesus for just one minute, just for one second,
then we might be able to shut out all the competing voices, interests,
merchants, politicians, and commentators for just a few moments of
silence? Then Jesus can still the waters, make us lie down in green
pastures, comfort us, touch us, protect us, and heal us with his rod
and staff? He gives us the time, the place, and the space to listen
to him! When we look and listen to the many voices that surround us
on all sides every day, we begin to know and understand the situation
of the one who wrote the Twenty-Third Psalm. If we are paying attention
at all, we will stop, and listen for the Good Shepherd - the Son of
God. We will stop and listen for Jesus. What we will hear if we are
listening closely is just those two important words: "I am."
For people of faith, for people of the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
and Jesus, those are the only two words we need to hear: "I am."
Jesus says, 'I am.' The people of God have heard these words before.
Standing barefoot, in front of a bush that burns and is not consumed,
which is the image we have on the logo of the Presbyterian Church
of Aotearoa New Zealand and we will hear a voice say the same words
as spoken to Moses when we ask, 'Who are you?' The answer comes back,
'I am who I am.
I am what I will be.
Just tell them
I AM sent you.'
The one who says 'I am the Good Shepherd' also says, 'I know my own,
and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.
And I lay down my life for my sheep.'
So, let us pause for just a moment and understand what is being said
here. We are known and loved by God. We all want nothing more than
to be known and loved. We spend a lifetime looking for relationships,
reflecting on experiences, searching for someone who knows and loves
us, or even more fundamentally, we are searching to know ourselves.
There is no doubt, the most fundamental human condition is a desire
to know who we are, where we fit into the larger scheme of things,
and to be known and loved for who we are. All those other voices competing
for our attention do not really want to know us. They can't possibly
know us, but there is one who does. The one who says, 'I am,' wants
to know us. In fact, the one who says, 'I am the Good Shepherd,' already
knows us just as the God, the Father knows him.
God knows us and in that knowledge, we know God. If we really let
ourselves hear what Jesus is saying, we can come to know God. Not
a lot of theories about God, not information about God, but we can
experience the reality that is God. This is naturally quite a frightening
realisation, but such fear is not mere sentiment, but rather it is
the manifestation of a way of life, as the First Letter of John speaks
about it - a way of life that shows we respect the majesty and power
of the God who says, 'I am.' A life that ought to be prepared to 'lay
down its life for another'.
How could God's love abide in anyone who has all the world's goods
and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Children
of God, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us love, not in word or
speech, but in truth and action. Not just in what we do, but in who
we are.
For all those who listen to Jesus - the shepherd who becomes the Paschal
lamb slain on the feast of the Passover to save us from our sins-
we are the sheep of his pasture. We are poor sheep like those he tends
and leads beside still waters. We become his people, his body and
blood for the world. We are sheep turned to shepherds through the
mystery of the breaking of the bread. The one hope is that as folk
come to know us, they find not the sheep turned to shepherds, but
in truth, the hope is that they will find the Shepherd, the Good Shepherd,
the Son of the God, the I AM. It will be so if we abide in him and
he in us. It will be so if we let him set our hearts on fire with
the breath of his Holy Spirit. It will be so as he opens our hearts
to the Word of God. The lame will walk, the blind will see, captives
will go free, if when he calls us by name we will listen.
There are many competing voices. But only one voice calls each of
us by name. Only one voice knows us by name. Only one voice speaks
the great, "I am." That voice is Jesus Christ. To God be
the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Peace be with you
John 20:19-31
We encounter again the story of 'doubting' Thomas on the Sunday
after Easter. Thomas could be the patron saint of modern people,
for we all have doubts and questions we want answered; even the
mass media teaches us to question everything, to probe deeper into
stories, to discover cause and effect. Facts and events are examined
to the nth degree to get to the bottom of every story, to inform
everyone, to allay confusion and disbelief.
Thomas was reported to have been a twin, and it's possible he was
an identical twin or some think he closely resembled Jesus and could
have been a relation - as such, he would have known all about mistaken
identity. He would have known how easy it is to be wrong about something,
even when we see it with our own eyes. He couldn't take the disciples'
word about having seen Jesus alive; he needed proof; he needed to
be sure.
Jesus says to Thomas, "Blessed are those who have not seen
and yet have come to believe." That could well be said about
any of us, in most situations, especially with regard to things
we have heard second-hand. Like Thomas, we weren't at the empty
tomb, we didn't see the angels and we didn't hear Jesus call us
by name in the garden. We weren't in the upper room with the other
disciples when Jesus entered and saw him in the flesh, so it is
understandable that Thomas needed to confirm or deny the rumours
for himself.
When we hear the gospel stories, we sometimes identify with the
characters in them. Maybe we are we like Peter, overcome by fears
when things get tough, saying we will be strong when the going gets
tough, but buckling under the strain? Maybe we are more like the
women who were strong, who were determined and ready to suffer,
who stayed with Jesus despite the cost? Maybe we relate to some
of those that Jesus healed, being thankful, maybe a bit confused,
wondering what now? But most of all, many of us are like Thomas.
We have heard rumours, wonder if they could possibly be true, have
real doubts and we want proof.
Most of us long for accuracy in the stories about Jesus so that
we can feel that we have that proof - stories where all the witnesses
are in agreement, that confirms for us exactly what happened. Some
of us can create that neat and tidy bundle of facts and information
in our heads, but many of us only manage to produce a package of
loose ideas that looks like it was wrapped by a child, a package
that definitely would not stand up to the rigors of being posted.
Yet we long for that neat and tidy package of hard evidence on which
we can build our faith, which helps us believe when we're in a crisis,
and keeps us going on throughout the long haul and pressures of
discipleship.
What we get from the gospel accounts are stories filled with conflicting
accounts. Some people see only the empty tomb, some see an angel
or two angels, some see Jesus, some talk with Jesus, some only come
to recognise Jesus when he discussed scripture with them and when
he breaks the bread and shares a meal with them. Everyone seems
to have been caught off guard by the resurrection. The disciples
don't seem to be able to re-tell their experiences with any great
accuracy. They always seem totally surprised by Jesus' appearances.
They seem to struggle to deal with how resurrection works. Yet Jesus
comes to them in their fear, their confusion, and their doubts and
greets them with the comforting words "Peace be with you."
He even makes a return visit the next week so that Thomas can experience
the resurrection first hand, to have the physical proof he needs
to base his belief on.
Jesus does not come to the disciples in a blaze of glory, surrounded
by angels or accompanied by trumpet fanfares. Rather he comes into
their presence quietly; surprising the disciples. He comes with
his wounds - he is the wounded saviour coming to his wounded disciples.
He is not all neat and tidy, as depicted in many pictures of the
crucifixion and resurrection, but still bears the marks of his suffering,
the marks of his humanity. His resurrected body still shows the
signs of his dwelling among us. As humans, we attempt to hide our
woundedness, to avoid showing what is thought of as a sign of weakness,
yet the risen Christ still bears his woundedness as he comes to
meet us and bring us his peace. For it is this peace which is given
that brings forgiveness. His resurrection gives us hope that we
will be healed and made whole.
When the risen Lord came to the disciples in the upper room, he
brought them his peace, he breathed his spirit on them and commissioned
them to live and preach his message of love, forgiveness, and peace.
This spirit is given to all of us as well, commissioning us to go
into the world, just as the disciples were instructed to do.
In the creation story, God moulded Adam out of the clay and breathed
life into him. In the upper room, Jesus breathes the restoring life
of God into the disciples, making them new people and, through them,
offering new life to the world. The very fact that we are here this
morning, continuing to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, is
testimony to the power of the Spirit present in the disciples and
in the church throughout the ages.
This story isn't a moment frozen in time in that upper room in
Jerusalem; it is gospel, the good news that transcends time and
place. Whenever we practice forgiveness, whenever we overcome the
power of death in its many forms - in hatred, violence and indifference
- the spirit of Christ is alive and well in believers, and resurrection
life is expressed again in this time and place. We can't "prove"
the resurrection, but we can be fingers pointing to it, wherever
and whenever we act as signs that the life of Christ has not been
extinguished, but is fleshed-out in us and in every Christian community.
Jesus' appearance to Thomas reminds us that doubts do not disqualify
us from discipleship. Jesus says to Thomas and to us, "Do not
doubt, but believe." The theologian Paul Tillich said that
doubt isn't the opposite of faith; rather it is an essential element
of faith. Frederick Buechner, an American Presbyterian minister
and writer, puts it more basic terms. He says that if we don't have
any doubts, we're either kidding ourselves or asleep. He characterizes
doubts as "the ants in our pants" of faith - they keep
our faith awake and moving! Doubts are what keeps us on the move,
making our discipleship effective and real to those we share the
good news with.
At the very beginning of the Gospel of John, the author proclaims
that, through Jesus, God has brought life and light to the world.
In the death of Jesus on the cross, it appeared that the powers
of darkness were stronger than the power of light, that darkness
had overcome the light. Through the resurrection, we are shown that
the light still shines. Jesus commissioned the disciples to continue
his work, to spread his light throughout the world. Their future
changed through Christ's gift of the Spirit. In our baptism, we
are sealed by the Holy Spirit and made Christ's own forever. We,
too, have a new future because of Christ's resurrection. We, too,
have been commissioned to spread the light of Christ.
A contemporary theologian compares the resurrection to the sun.
"We cannot look directly at the sun, because the brightness
blinds us - our eyes are not suited to that strength of light. Yet
the sun, which we cannot see directly, illuminates everything else,
and in its light we make our way in the world. Likewise the resurrection
illuminates the entire New Testament; the resurrection is the confirmation
of everything Jesus revealed in his life and death and it is the
catalyst that transforms the disciples, releasing the power that
led to the foundation of the church."
On this April morning, we continue to be challenged to live as
though the resurrection really does light up our lives. We are challenged
to reach out and embrace the future in faith, believing that the
light of the resurrection will enable us to make our way in the
world. We are challenged to seek peace and reconciliation, knowing
it is the work of Christ and the Church. And most of all, we are
challenged to remember that while we may look at ourselves and see
only doubting Thomas', God looks at us and sees beloved children,
faithful friends, and spirited partners empowered to undertake the
on-going work of creation.
Sunday 18th March 2012 - Lent 4B
Numbers 21:4-9, John 2:14-21
When you were a child, were you ever afraid of the dark? Did you imagine
all sorts of scary things living in the dark of your closet or under
your bed? Did a night-light give you that little bit of reassurance
and comfort so that you could go to sleep safely? Most of us grow
out of that fear rather quickly. Some of us adults might get impatient
with our children who call us out of a deep sleep because there's
a monster lurking in the shadows. As children, we rarely make a friend
of our imagined worst fears.
Most adults no longer fear the dark. But listening to our readings
from Numbers and the gospel according to John today, maybe we shouldn't
be so quick to put that fear of the dark behind us. Certainly, we
no longer imagine monsters hiding in closets, but as adults, maybe
we ought to look at darkness in an adult way. The Israelites in the
desert actually did have a sort of real-life monster to contend with:
poisonous snakes! Anyone with any sense will stay away from them,
and we're lucky in New Zealand that we do not have to watch out for
them, but these people were suddenly set upon by snakes that bit them,
so many of them died. Indeed, it was for them a real-life type of
monster. We hear that this happened because the Israelites were grumbling
against not just Moses, but God. But they soon found that was a big
mistake! But we can't really blame them - they were wandering in the
desert, hungry, hot and thirsty. They may have been desperate. They
may have feared a death of another kind before the snakes came upon
them. Of course, we know that God heard their cry - like a child waking
a parent out of fear - and God had Moses set up the bronze serpent
on a pole and those who would look on it would live. Our passage from
Numbers talks about a real fear of bodily harm - a fear of death in
a natural way. Yet, underneath that natural fear was the darkness
brought on them by cursing God. It was their lack of belief that God
would keep the promise of bringing them to a land of milk and honey.
Children are usually much more trusting than adults. What happens
to us, is that as we grow to adulthood we begin ignoring the true
darkness of ignoring or disobeying God. This is what Jesus is talking
about in John's writings. As he does so often in scripture, Jesus
refers to the Old Testament, and he tells his hearers that he is the
new caduceus - the new serpent wound around the pole, the symbol that
doctors today use as a symbol of their ministry as healers. He tells
them that when the Son of Man is lifted up, whoever believes in him
will have eternal life. God did not send Jesus into the world like
the snakes to kill the people. God sent Jesus into the world to show
how much God loves us.
Jesus goes on to bring out the importance of understanding light and
dark as adults. There is something very frightening about living in
the dark, especially if it is an interior darkness - a despair or
hatred. Jesus talks about evil deeds hating the light. Many of us
might feel we could sit back right now and breathe a sigh of relief,
because surely none of us are evil. None of us hate the light. If
we did, we might be living in a situation that we see in so many thriller
movies - skulking down dark, wet streets of a city with guns in our
pockets and drugs to sell. We've read about people in the news or
seen them on TV who have no conscience, no way to keep them from killing
people for money or revenge.
But we can't just ignore that darkness. We are even reminded constantly
in popular media of the darkness around us; warning of what we should
be afraid of, almost encouraging us to dwell in that darkness. We
are all potential sinners, who as we are all born human, we are born
with a sinful nature. We all have a place where our darkness hides
so others might not see it. It comes in many forms. Are we wallowing
in grief or in fear of what might happen to us if a tragedy occurs.
We need to ask ourselves how we feel about discrimination. How do
we relate to those who come from somewhere else, who might be a bit
different and do things differently to us.
We might have family members that we no longer bother with. It might
be their fault, but have we given reconciliation one more try?
How do we feel about ourselves? Darkness could be our self-loathing
for whatever reason. God does not want that of us. Each of is a child
of God and gloriously unique in God's sight.
Maryanne Williamson, is a spiritual activist and author, and she wrote
a wonderful description of how we should look at ourselves. In it
she said, "We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented, and fabulous?' Actually, who am I not to be? I am a child
of God."
Yes, indeed, that is what God expects of us, to be what we created
to be and if we throw that back in God's face, couldn't that be a
form of darkness? Remember, the second great commandment is that we
love our neighbours as ourselves. If we don't love ourselves, we are
giving our neighbours less than they deserve.
To do this, we must live in the light. John's gospel is full of images
of light and dark, as are John's letters in the epistles after Paul's.
If we go right back to the beginning of the Gospel according to John,
we hear those wonderful words: "The true light that gives light
to everyone was coming into the world." We hear those words:
"to everyone." That means us. We are fools if we choose
to live in the darkness, especially if it's a darkness of our own
making, that which is thrust upon us by others.
Unfortunately, we know that we adults often do choose to live in the
darkness. One of the most tragic verses in John's gospel, maybe in
all of scripture, follows that verse: "He was in the world, and
though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize
him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive
him." Here's the crux of the matter. Jesus came to us. God took
on the flesh of a human so that God could live among us and show us
first hand how much we are loved - and yet we chose not to recognize
him. Not only that, we also chose not to receive him. That is darkness
of a really tragic type.
The Season of Lent is a time to consider our darkness - to see if
we have been so grown-up in a foolish way that we no longer believe
that the influence of the world can surround us with darkness. God
so loved the world, God so loved you and me, that he came into the
world, died for our sins, and rose again, so that we can have everlasting
life.
The light of the Resurrection is the light that can transfigure all
of us every day of our lives.
Sunday March 4th, 2012
Mark 8:31-38
Many people over the course of history have asked, "Why must
a person believe in God to be nice and do good things?" Why,
indeed? What separates our faith communities from other social activist
groups like the Lions Club, Rotary, Worldvision or Mission Without
Borders? The answer lies in our deepest motivation: that of following
Jesus. With this understanding, we have a lens to look through, which
enables us to filter through everything we do.
Of course, we should all be nice, decent people, but to follow Jesus
- that calls for something deeper, something more weighty and more
involved. You can be a nice person without believing in God or following
Jesus; but you can't truly believe in God and follow Jesus without
being a person of conversion: your heart must be where God's heart
is, as well as your hands and feet. This takes courage. It is often
easier said than done.
In Jesus day; at the time of crucifixion, some victims had to carry
their own crossbeams to the hill where they were to be crucified,
as part of their punishment. Imagine how terrible that road must have
felt, as they walked themselves to their impending death, carrying
one of the implements of their own death on their backs? Then, once
there, being humiliated by being seen in all your vulnerability as
a human being - not able to care for your basic human functions while
others watched; spending hours in unrelieved pain; having other people
jeer and laugh at you and not see you as a person, but as an object
of ridicule; all the while knowing that you are going to die.
When Jesus turns his face to Jerusalem, and sets off from Galilee
with the disciples to travel there, he knows that this is what it
will come to. He knows what he will encounter; fickle crowds, encounters
with authorities and misinterpretation of his mission. However Jesus
chooses this vulnerability. He chooses obedience and courage and tells
the disciples that if they are to follow him, that they must choose
this, also.
Even though the disciples chose to go with him, it was nevertheless
a very lonely choice for Jesus as he knew what the outcome would be.
This is not what a person would typically want for his or her life.
Brother David Vryhof of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist has
written, "It is no wonder that Jesus' family was concerned about
him. By his actions he was showing that those principles which most
people value above everything else - of security, safety, and a good
reputation in the eyes of others - meant nothing to him. How countercultural
is that?"
In order for us to live within the integrity of God's call to us,
we need to realize that instead of living within a popular group,
that the other option of being countercultural, can be a very lonely
choice. Being a follower of Jesus means that we also need to embrace
this loneliness. God came to be fully human in Jesus, so we too can
understand what it means to be fully human through Jesus. This is
where we find the glimpses of God's grace freely given to each and
every one of us, in our vulnerability.
The idea of a vulnerable, suffering God is a concept as unacceptable
to us as it was to Peter in our gospel reading today. Peter saw the
Messiah as something very different - an invincible war hero, a Zealot
who would lead the Jewish people to freedom, and redeem them from
their own vulnerability. We are all like Peter in our own way? Believing
that Jesus is the Messiah - a Messiah who will save us from the cruel,
harsh world that surrounds us? A tame and cosy Messiah that will come
when we call and keep the bad things at bay? "Get behind me,
Satan!" Jesus demands of Peter. In other words, get those comfy
thoughts behind all of us, so that we can have the clear and sobering
view of the path of the cross. We need to look instead at the things
that discomfort us; situations where we too can act a Jesus would,
to counter the popular culture of our day.
When we are baptized, at any age, it is a joyous occasion of being
received into the Christian community. But even as we receive the
water of life, we are also handed a crossbeam of our own and are pointed
to the path of Jesus and told to do likewise, to follow his example.
We look at that road and the figure of Jesus struggling in the distance
and wonder if there has been some mistake. The road looks difficult,
and at the end is death.
We need to remember that we are all dust, and to dust we shall return.
All our lives end in death, as we are reminded at the beginning of
Lent. The difference for a Christian is the singular intention to
live our lives following Jesus. We deny our notions of who we think
we are in order to truly become who God created us to be. The more
we know God, the longer we follow Jesus' path, the more we become
ourselves in Christ, his brothers and sisters, in the family of God.
There is true freedom in what Jesus asks of us - the freedom to draw
near to God, to love and accept one another and ourselves without
constraint. Jesus shows us how to do it. He keeps his eye on the prize:
obedience to God's will. And nothing deters him. We are asked to do
the same in our own lives, but we have a guide. When we keep our eyes
on Jesus, everything else falls away.
Where is it that Jesus is asking you to follow him in your life right
now? Is it too far out of your comfort zone? Perhaps it's time to
take that step of faithfulness, of vulnerability, of being loved by
God, of living and sharing the Good News; to take that step of becoming
the human that God has created you to be. So, what are you waiting
for?
Acts 10:44-48 John 15:9-17
Costly Love
The central theme, or the climax of this passage lies in the words,
"You did not choose me; I chose you and appointed you to go
and bear much fruit."
In these few words we see the nature and purpose and character of
God summed up.
Choice is an interesting thing. Why do we choose? Why do we choose
one thing or person over another? It usually comes out of some inner
desire or some recognition of value.
This statement of Christ's points to God's choice of us, motivate
from and born out of God's desire to love and to express that love.
Love on its own and with no context is merely a word. Love has to
be set in a context or given expression with some action. Thus God's
love begins and is initiated, giving it expression in his willingness
to pour out that love on humanity. This is a free and gracious choice
generated from the heart of God. There is no obligation on God's
part, nor any external pressure to do so, nor is there any guaranteed
outcome. And so it is in the context of this love that we are invited
to respond in kind.
William Barclay sums up this concept of God's gracious call and
the invitation that emanates from it when he says, "The great
interest of this passage lies in the fact that out of it we can
compile a list of the things for which we are chosen and to which
we are called."
This morning let us explore this list of seven things that Barclay
identifies.
He says we are chosen for joy, chosen for love, called to be his
friend, chose to be his partner, chosen to be his ambassadors, chosen
to be his advertisements and finally, chosen to be privileged members
of the family of God.
Having assured us of God's abiding love, present and remaining in
us, Christ goes on to tell us that the whole reason for this conversation
is that his joy may be in us and that our joy may be complete. The
Christian life is a way of joy, even when the travelling is hard.
Our joy is based on our assurance of God's love for us. Despite
our circumstances, despite the turmoil in the world around us, the
Christian can surely have a bigger overview of life seeing that
there is purpose and meaning behind all that we experience and all
that we do. Christ's life, death and resurrection serve as a picture
of hope and as example of how we can live life and how we can expect
God's presence to be with us at every moment, even beyond the present.
Thus we live with the joy of this hope.
Barclay says, "The Christian is a person of joy; the Christian
is the laughing cavalier of Christ. A gloomy Christian is a contradiction
in terms and nothing in all religious history has done Christianity
more harm than its connection with black clothes and long faces."
There are always those who want to point to judgment and matters
of condemnation, those who want to bind people with rules and regulations
rather than seeing the freedom and the joy that the gospel brings.
We are chosen for love. Christ's command is that we love one another.
Having expressed his own love for the world he now commands us to
go out and to love in the same fashion. We are to mirror his love
in our actions and attitudes, so that in some small measure we bring
his presence into the lives of others. In this way God's love continues
to be felt and experienced in a variety of ways in peoples lives.
We are called to be his friends. "What a friend we have in
Jesus all our sins and grief's to bear." His love was demonstrated
in that he gave his life up for his friends. The world was not an
enemy of Christ but he invited them to be his friends. So the invitation
to follow him and to have that friendship is on offer for all. This
was fleeting invitation in history seen grounded and planted in
his death for the sins of the world. What greater love could be
offered than one who gives up his life for another?
The other contrast that Jesus draws here is that no longer are we
to be slaves but friends. Again there is a sense here of being set
free, of not being confined by the limits of this world, but being
free to relate to the God of all creation.
Barclay says, "He gave us this intimacy with God, so that God
is no longer a distant stranger, but our intimate friend."
Closely linked to this concept of friendship is that he calls us
to be his partners. A slave could never be a partner. A slave was
defined by Greek Law as a living tool. Barclay says, "His master
never opened his mind to him; the slave had to do what he was told
without reason and without explanation. Jesus says, You are not
my slaves your are my partners. I have told you everything."
God's plan of redemption for the whole world has been opened up
for us in the person of Jesus Christ. He has engaged us in that
plan and invited us to be partakers in it. Such is the nature of
partnership.
In this role he calls us to be ambassadors. "I have chosen
you, to send you out." We are not to be retired from the world,
shut out from it, and living in cloistered surrounds, but rather
we are to be in the world, but not of it. We are God's representatives
in the world, living that life of faith and love. How important
it is that as Christians we engage with the world. In other analogies
Christ talks of us being light and salt to the world. By our presence
and participation we can have effects on the world which bring God's
love.
In this way we are called to be advertisements. The fruit we bear
advertises God's love in the communities in which we live and in
the groups in which we participate.
Barclay suggests, "The only way to bring others into the Christian
faith is to show them the fruit of the Christian life." Living
advertisements are far more effective than printed ones, or even
spoken ones over some remote device. By engaging with others, as
Christ did, others will be drawn to faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Finally we are made privileged members of his family.
So close is this relationship, that we are told that whatever we
ask in his name the Father will give to us.
This sounds great but must not be taken thoughtlessly.
Our prayer must be brought in faith, prayer from the heart, believing
in God who is able to do all things. It must be in the name of Christ,
acknowledging his rule and his authority. It is no use praying for
things that are contrary to his standards and purposes. Prayer should
not be about personal ambition, but rather about our participation
and purposes in God's plan for the world.
Even Christ prayed in the Garden before facing the cross, "Not
my will but yours be done." What a great example to us all.
We are not there to change the will of God, but to see that God's
will is done and done well.
Prayer should never be selfish in its focus.
Barclay says, "The greatest temptation of all in prayer is
to pray as if nobody but ourselves mattered; such a prayer cannot
be effective."
And the answers to our prayers must always be left in the trusting
hands of God whose wisdom and knowledge and understanding far exceeds
anything that we can imagine. That relationship of prayer is a growing
developing one that continues to engage us throughout our lives
if we will but trust him.
All of this flows from that costly love that Christ offered the
world and that he continues to offer to us as his love is lived
out in our lives.
The cost he bore was for us all, so that we might respond in faith
and love to his call on our lives.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
18 March 2012
Numbers 21:4-9 John 3:14-21
Our God provides where ever we are!
Life is a journey that we travel both as individuals and as in
the context of community, whether that be family, friends, or much
wider circle of acquaintances. And depending on who we are with
at the moment, the memories and stories of the past will be shaped
by our own actions and those whom we have shared those moments with.
Community stories and family stories have shaped who we are today
and help to shape generations that are to come. No doubt as families
gather they remember both the people and events of the past that
have been handed down. There will always be those notable stories
that will raise a laugh, or there might be the embarrassing moments
that people would wish could be forgotten, or the tragedies that
bring those moments of reverential silence.
The Israelite people were great story tellers. They often looked
back to the major events in their history and remembered all that
happened. They made sure that they told and retold those stories
so that they would never forget.
In fact they shaped those stories into religious rituals and festivals
so that they would never forget that whatever was happening to them,
or where ever they were, God was with them and God provided for
them. Think of the Passover, and the Harvest. There stories were
a constant reminder of this one vital truth.
One of the amazing things about the stories of the people of Israel
is how universal they are. And I think this is because they are
told as it was. Nothing was glossed over, there were the joys and
the sorrows, the triumphs and the tragedies, the excitement and
the mundane.
We see how the people lost their patience, how they got angry with
God, and how their loyalty waxed and waned. We see them looking
to God for guidance and strength, and then we see them turning away
and ignoring God.
They are the stories of very real people who lived very real lives,
in often quite trying circumstances, and yet they survived.
The resilience of the humanity is amazing. What can be survived
and endured often incredible. We see programmes like that current
one, "I shouldn't be Alive" and that sort of resilience
that is illustrated. We travel to other countries and see the conditions
that less privileged people live in and wonder how they do it, and
yet they do.
And then we think back to our forebears who gave up everything to
move to a foreign land. There was no security, no guarantees, everything
that had been worked for and built up around them was left, and
they came to start a new life. They too survived.
One of the things that amazes me in the stories of the Israelite
people, is how often they and how quickly they seemed to forget
the good things that God did for them. They constantly remember
the negative things, the struggles and the persecutions, but they
forget so easily the way that God saved them from such peril.
That phrase, "But on the way the people lost their patience
and spoke against God and Moses," seems to be a recurring theme.
And I think it is a recurring theme among every generation. It seems
to result from either the great comfort that we build around us
and then forget where that has come from as we become more and more
content with our own ability to survive, or on the other hand it
comes as trouble and persecution swamps us and we begin to drown
in self pity. Either way, it is easy to loose sight of the God who
provides. Thus something as basic as remembering say, the harvest,
helps to ground us in our understanding of all of life being a gift
of God.
It is interesting that the snakes that had caused havoc among the
people of Israel was shaped into an image to remind the people of
God's presence with them.
This snake would be held up on the pole, and as the people looked
at it, they were reminded how God had saved them.
The negative image can also be a stark reminder of God's salvation.
And that is no surprise to us really is it, for during this Lenten
season we look to the later image of the cross.
This was no positive image. It was an image of cruelty, and image
of oppression, and image of torture used to suppress the people
by the occupying forces.
It was an image of shame, as one who was hung on the tree was cursed
by God. This is such a powerful image and such horrid experience,
and yet we use it to remember God's great act of salvation.
Christ, who was despised and rejected by humanity, was lifted up
so that all who looked to him might be saved.
All who put their trust in him would find God's love poured out
for them. In him, their needs for everyday living, for the ability
to face life with courage and confidence, would be found.
No longer did people need to fear God's anger or rejection, but
they could find love and acceptance. Why?
For, "As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the
desert, in the same way the Son of Man must be lifted up so that
everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
God's love for the world was expressed in this very practical way
so that every time we were reminded of this great act of grace,
of God's coming to us in Jesus the Christ, we would remember God's
presence in our midst. The crucified and risen Christ is in our
midst, understanding our joys and sorrows, knowing what it is to
suffer, but also understanding the concept of ultimate victory.
So God's presence cannot be taken from us. Does this not offer us
the ability to live life with the courage of those who wandered
in the wilderness, with the courage of our forebears who left the
comfort of their homelands for the great unknown world?
God's promise is never for and easy life, but always offers us the
constant presence and knowledge of his love with us where ever we
go.
The harvest reminds us that God provides in the most practical ways,
caring for our bodies as well as our souls. He cares for the present
as well as that eternal nature of our being.
God never gives up, but is lifted high that we might acknowledge
his love and live life depending on his presence with us to guard
and to guide.
May God continue with us in all that we do, may he go with us where
ever we are led, but may we always look to the Cross as God's expression
of his love for us, acknowledging that love and living in his presence.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
4 March 2012
Genesis 17:1-7,15-16 Mark 8:31-38
Be a follower.
Nothing sharpens our thinking more clearly than contemplating the
mortal nature of our life. Last week I quote the Psalmist when he
puts it in such a plain way comparing our life to the grass or the
flowers of the field; we grow and flourish like the flowers of the
field or grass and then the wind blows and it is gone.
And if we stop our thinking there, we can too easily become consumed
by such thoughts, but Jesus wants to push us beyond that by challenging
his disciples even further.
We need to remember a few things when reading these passages where
Jesus addresses his disciples about his impending death.
One thing to remember is that his disciples where not contemplating
his death. In their minds he was beginning and exciting and challenging
new way of looking at life. He was a young man in his prime and
so their focus was on his life, not his death.
Another thing to remember is that the Gospel writers are telling
these stories some years after the events of Calvary and so they
are looking back on them with the clear vision of hindsight. They
are remembering the events and stories as Jesus told them with the
understanding of what came later. They did not have this understanding
when they first heard those words or experienced those events.
Often such perspective on an event of history gives us a much clearer
picture of what was happening at the time.
So while the mistakes that we see the disciples making as they stumble
their way through the lead up to that first Easter makes them seem
to us a bit dim, or slow on the up take, in reality they could not
see the whole picture, and the vision they had of where they were
heading was vastly different from what Jesus saw and understood.
The Gospels draw together those two strands of understanding and
focus' our vision on that one point, the cross.
And in that drawing together, Jesus' challenge to us is to whether
we are going to follow Christ on his path, or whether we are going
to go off on our own, insisting we know what is best. This is really
a challenge as to what true discipleship is all about.
In this process of being a disciple we see Challenge, we see calling,
and we see of course the cross to which it all points.
Jesus did seem to have a reasonably clear understanding of where
his life was heading. He seemed to know with some clarity what was
expected of him. And in this understanding he was able to face the
reality that he would face some challenges and some fairly serious
ones at that.
He sums this up in a couple of sentences. "The Son of Man must
suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and
the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days
later he will rise to life."
He knew his life was going to be lived in the public eye and that
those who role in life was to promote religious belief would be
the very ones who would offer the most challenge to him.
The elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law; these
were the people who would scrutinize his every move. They are the
ones who will question his words and his actions down to the most
minute detail. They are the ones who will follow him, not in support,
but so that he might be tripped up at every point along the way.
Where we are told that he must suffer and be rejected, there is
that sense in terms of the rejection that he will not pass that
scrutiny.
His actions and reactions, and his motives will be challenged at
every point, and so he must be crystal clear keeping his focus on
the whole purpose of his life.
That in itself becomes a challenge to those who want to follow Christ.
Can we be as crystal clear in our vision as Christ was? Are we prepared
to face those challenges along the way as the world scrutinizes
our every move, as the world scrutinizes our motives behind every
action and thought that we have. This Lenten period gives us that
opportunity to look forward to the cross, as Christ was, and to
run some checks and balances in our own lives as to where our lives
are focused and how we have handled the challenges of the last year,
and where the challenges may lie in the coming year.
We can ask ourselves where Christ is in our lives; in our leisure,
in our work, in our family lives and then think about how we might
better serve Christ as we focus on his mission in our world today,
for if we are to take up such challenges, we must surely consider,
like Christ the calling that we are going to follow.
Will that calling be the calling of the world, with all its values
and foci, or will it be the calling of Christ to follow him?
Peter in his understandable attempt to encourage Jesus and help
him be more positive, took him aside and gave Jesus a pep talk.
He wanted to see them move forward with courage and perhaps more
positive force.
But Jesus recognised Peter's line of thought, and saw that worldly
thinking and worldly focus emerging. Thus we get that phrase that
is so often used in our language, "get behind me Satan."
It wasn't that he saw Satan and Peter as one in the same, but he
recognised that thinking that sounds good, but leads one in another
direction. It may make us feel good for the moment, but fails to
address the real and eternal issues of life.
We only need to look at our world today to see how we live in a
very nice and often caring society. However, we live in a secular
society whose focus more, often than not, discourages any religious
thought or certainly puts it into a box on the sideline for those
who wish to dabble in that. Jesus' take on life calls us to put
our main focus on God and his love for the whole world, and to see
him as the prime focus for all that we do. This is quite contrary
to the general populaces way of thinking, and is often reflected
in the motives of what we do as followers of Jesus Christ.
Peter wanted to avoid the hard stuff in life and to take the easy
path at this point, where as Jesus often leads us through the tough
issues teaching us to trust him as we go.
The calling to follow Christ involves the cross.
"If anyone wants to come with me, he must forget self, carry
his cross and follow me."
Christ could see the cross looming, and faced it head on.
He knew that this was not for his benefit, but for the benefit of
the world.
Any attempt to save his own skin, would be detrimental to the mission
of God, and ultimately detrimental to the whole world.
He looked beyond himself and his needs to the needs of the world.
That is, I suppose, the challenge we all face if we are to be followers
of Jesus Christ. Do we hold the cross before us with all the implications
that that may bring, or do we look for what is best for me and my
situation today?
If we do the later, are our motives to save our own skins, rather
than giving our lives in the service of Christ.
Do we want to gather the world around us winning what is there for
us, or do we want to focus our lives and others on the Cross, where
the focus is not only for here and now but takes us beyond that
to a much fuller sense of life.
A view of life like this takes us beyond the flowers of the field
to the ones whose love lasts forever and whose goodness endures
for all generations.
This was basis of God's covenant to love us with an everlasting
love. "I will be your God and the God of your descendants.
I will give to you and to your descendants this land in which you
are now a foreigner. The whole land of Cannan will belong to your
descendants for ever, and I will be their God."
God's covenant to love us is seen in the cross, and our view must
surely focus on that cross.
And this view of the cross includes both the cross of suffering,
which Christ endured for us and calls us sometimes to endure, but
also the cross of hope which is a symbol God's conquering glory
as the power of suffering and death is broken.
Only with both views of the cross can we see the complete picture
of God's love for us and the world. Only with this complete picture
can we live with hope and trust in the one who came among us as
Jesus the Christ, and whose risen hope can guide us and guard us
throughout our days here and beyond.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
19 Feb 2012
Transfiguration
2 Kings 2:1-12 Mark 9:2-9
What do you see?
Sometimes we see what we want to see! We see what we are expecting
to see, rather than observing what it is that actually lies before
us.
When surprises arise and we are greeted with something different
from what is expected, we don't quite know what to do. Our automatic
default setting seems to be to try and make sense out of our experience.
So imagine the disciples for a moment who have heard over the last
week, Jesus talk about his impending death and resurrection and
what it means in personal terms to follow him and now they are led
up this mountain, and in that moment a change comes over Jesus and
he is greeted by two extra guests. Such an experience is hard for
us to comprehend and make sense of, just as it was for them.
They weren't really taking on board all Jesus' talk about his coming
death and resurrection. The Gospel writer has them recognizing these
other two people as Elijah and Moses. These two patriarchs represented
for the Jewish people the law and the Prophets. And so before them
stood, perhaps God's completed revelation and set in context Jesus
as the Son of Man, come to set his people free from their sin. This
freedom from sin had been purpose of the Law and the message of
the Prophets, and now we see it personified in Jesus the Christ.
This episode for Mark, draws upon that dawning realisation of who
Christ is in the minds of his disciples and in the context of all
that they had been experiencing.
We have seen in this gospel word and action moving hand in hand.
Jesus would speak into the situations that faced him and people
were healed, changes took place before their eyes.
So while quite different, and equally bemusing, what they are experiencing
now is part and parcel of the whole series of events so far, and
he sets it firmly in that process, or journey, God's revelation
of God's self to his people in history.
And while there is a transformation before their eyes in this story,
it is also about the transformation within the lives of individuals
and the life of the church, of God's people.
What we see is not always the full picture, what we experience in
life is only part of the total canvas of the world in which we live.
We are told that cloud descended on this scene. Cloud occurred on
Mount Sinai at the time Moses received the Ten Commandments, cloud
was used as a means of leading the people through the wilderness
by day. Cloud is often associated with mystery as it allows glimpses
of what lies within or behind, but never gives that full picture.
Thus the mystery of life, the mystery of God and our place within
mystery is an ever unfolding story.
And the danger that we need to avoid is that in the glimpses we
catch of life, that we don't assume that that is the total picture.
God must always be allowed to surprise us further.
Life is always that continual unfolding pattern of surprises that
has the potential to lead us into deeper and more trusting relationship
with him if we are willing.
What we do with those surprises is what is perhaps the crux of the
matter. Do we run and hide in fear, not wanting anything to change,
clinging on to what we know and what is apparently certain? Or do
we want to capture the new excitement of the moment and cling to
it as if this is what life will mean from now on or do we absorb
the moment, and continue to hold out our hand so that God will continue
to lead us through that experience and on in life day by day.
I think we see all of these reactions from the disciples in this
story.
We are told that the disciples were frightened that they didn't
know what to say. Fear can paralyse us and leave us clinging to
anything that seems steady and sure. We see that in the church,
where people are so afraid of change that they put up barriers when
ever they suspect something different might be happening. In such
cases there is usually very little analysis of what change might
do, or why it might be needed. It is easier to cling to the forms
of our faith, rather than looking forward to and with Christ in
hopeful expectation of what God might be doing. We must allow Christ
to lead us, to guide us, to go with us through all that life brings
us, for in him we can draw strength and see hope through the clouds
of mystery as they unfold before us.
The only other alternative is to let go of Christ and fumble our
way through life seeking the path on our own and in our own strength,
unsure of where the next step will lead us.
The disciples also wanted to fix their position. It was such an
awe inspiring experience that they wanted to hold on to it forever.
Thus their suggestion, "We will make three tents, one for you,
one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
This desire to hold on to the great times, is natural and understandable,
but in reality we know life doesn't work like that.
The fleeting moments in life flicker before our eyes and we must
savour them and enjoy them as they come but also we must move on
in trust as they go.
The Psalmist captures this when he says, "He knows what we
are made of; he remembers that we are dust. As for us, our life
is like grass, We grow and flourish like a wild flower; then the
wind blows on it, and it is gone - no one sees it again. But for
those who honour the Lord, his love lasts for ever, and his goodness
endures for all generations of those who are true to his covenant
and who faithfully obey his commands."
The secret lies in the lesson the disciples were having that day.
Follow Christ, walk in his steps and he will lead us on.
They were not able to capture and cling to this moment of euphoria,
but having heard the affirmation that "This is my own dear
Son - listen to him," they too walked down the mountain with
Jesus to continue their journey in the world.
Life for us all, has those moments, those times when we seem to
stand and watch the world from a distance, those times when the
world swirls around us and we are confused or frightened or swept
up on a high, but there is always that point where we must come
back in the reality of the world and continue that path. Christ's
presence remains with us, Christ's hand is still there to reach
out too.
As they came down the mountain, Jesus told the disciples not to
tell anyone of what they had seen. This seems somewhat strange.
You would expect that this would be a selling point for the Gospel.
But Jesus does not build our faith up on the extraordinary experiences
of life getting us to look from one high point to another. If we
do this, we then struggle to find Christ in the low moments. When
we find ourselves alone or in despair rather than reaching out to
Christ we might find ourselves yearning for another fix of a spiritual
high, and if unable to find that, we would want to know where Christ
is and wander off disappointed.
But that is not what the Gospel is about. The Gospel is about Christ
who walks with us in the highs and the lows, in joy and in sorrow.
The hymn writer, John Bowring captures this as he looked forward
to that Easter Season when he wrote,
"In the cross of Christ I glory,
towering o'er the wrecks of time;
all the light of sacred story
gathers round its head sublime."
"When the woes of life o'er take me,
hopes deceive and fears annoy,
never shall the cross forsake me; lo!
It glows with peace and joy."
This is a picture of a God whose life is intimately intertwined
with ours, never abandoning us along the way, thus even in the Cross,
the lowest point in our Christian story, we are able to see and
experience the height and depth of God's love for us.
Let us, in life, not only see what we think we want to see, but
let us always be prepared to look beyond the limits of our own vision
to see where God has, and is, and will lead us, so that we live
day by day, trusting in his mercy and grace all the days of our
lives.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
2 Kings 5:1-14 Mark 1:40-45
If you want you can
!
Today's Gospel reading open up for us something of the very early
ministry of Jesus as he began to gather that group of followers
around him. It gives us a glimpse into the lives of ordinary people
and follows on from last week where we saw even into the homes of
ordinary people of Jesus' day.
I have sometimes spoken of the relationship between word and action
in the biblical writings, and how in creation when the word was
spoken it was synonymous with action. To speak was to act to act
was to speak. And here we see how this theme continues in the life
and ministry of Jesus as he begins to teach and preach and heal
the lives of many, often illustrating what he was saying with the
actions that flowed forth.
And so I think we can see from this early part of Marks Gospel the
interrelationship between word and action and also between worship
and living, between who we are and what we say. These concepts merge
into one and the same. And here we see Jesus not only initiating
conversation in the villages and synagogues of the area, but also
we see him responding to the needs and demands that are being placed
upon him.
There is a recognition here from this man suffering from a dreaded
skin disease that the answer to his problems lie with Jesus; not
only his health problems, but all the social problems that brings
with it, in terms of social isolation and exclusion from the city.
He sees in Jesus' words, as he recognises the transforming power
of that word, the answer to his situation. Here in this man whose
word brings with it action is the only thing that can bring him
the relief that he needs.
So this man comes in utter desperation and utter dependence upon
Jesus word. Only in his speaking to this man will his problems be
taken away.
"If you want to, you can make me clean."
We can see in that short sentence that acknowledged dependence upon
the power of Christ's creative word.
"Only say the word and I shall be free."
Simple, and yet profound.
And it is in the simplicity of the Gospel that we all too often
loose sight of what the message of God's saving love is all about.
We too often get tied up with all that we must do, if God is to
be real or if God is to act, or we struggle and strain to find meaning
and relevance and look for all sorts of ways to 'make' our faith
such, and yet this man recognised in Jesus all that was needed,
and that was for Jesus to speak.
He saw that the initiative lay with Jesus, "If you want to,
you can make me clean."
Grace always begins with Jesus, with his coming to us, with his
making known the needs that we have so that we can come in humility
realising our need of that word, of that grace.
This man came, not with the answers to his problems, but with the
path that would bring him to wholeness.
He did not know the outcome, but recognised where and with whom
the power lay to make him whole. We all, at times, live through
those moments in life where they are clouded with the troubles of
our lives, whether in grief or pain, sorrow or confusion and we
struggle to see the light and the end of the tunnel, but it is in
our faith, surely that we learn to hold out our hand like this man,
to the one who can make us whole.
And in this journey we do not know where the path will lead, but
we trust that the one leading us will bring us through to a fuller
sense of being, to a greater and more fulfilled sense of God's abiding
presence.
Our place is not to prescribe the out come, but we are invited to
come with our needs and place them before Christ, as we await his
word to us in our day.
It is interesting that this man was instructed to go straight to
those who had the power in their society to declare him clean. He
was not to tell anyone, but was to have what Christ had done acknowledged.
Our task is similar, we are not to put ourselves out there as the
ones who achieve, but always to point to Christ. We are to point
to Christ who transforms, Christ who brings hope, Christ who fulfils
the potential in us all enabling us to be witnesses and disciples
of his in our world today.
Thus our words and our actions and our worship all draw together
to give expression to our faith in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
We see throughout the Gospels this interaction of word, worship
and action and life is not complete if one of these elements is
absent. Too often we want to drop one or other or more, or we put
them in the too hard basket, and yet together they give expression
to our faith.
Worship is our response to God's initiating grace, our actions bear
testimony to the one whom we worship and our words speak forth in
harmony, giving expression to that which we think and do.
May God give us his grace as we live out our faith in the world
today.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
Deuteronomy 18:14-22 Mark 1:21-28
What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Throughout the history of humanity there seems to have always been
that conflict between the world or the general populace and its
thinking and between that of people who have found faith in God.
Moses chastises those in his day who, followed practices of divination,
and promised to the people of his day a prophet who would come among
them and who would reveal the will of God.
This promise gave them hope that would steer them away from the
pagan prophets of their day helping them to look forward with faith
and trust.
However like any other generation, they too longed for the instant
answer, longed for that time to come now, so that they could have
certainty and could perhaps match the power and signs that these
other people appeared to offer.
Moses reminds the people that they had once seen such power from
God on Mount Sinai, and had in fact pleaded not to see God's presence
with such awe. And the question that always seems to arise between
these swings in life seems to be, how do we know that it is God's
presence that we are experiencing? Is it really God whom we are
seeing? And is seeing and experiencing God what faith is actually
all about?
For after all, later in the Gospels, after the resurrection Jesus
challenges Thomas when Thomas demanded to see the holes in is hands
and side and feet, with those well known words,
"Do you believe because you see me? How happy are those who
believe without seeing me!"'
But perhaps the real question should be the one that the man in
the gospel story, whom we are told was possessed by an evil spirit
asked, so what does God really want with me?'
We often find ourselves asking the wrong question when it comes
to faith, and I think this has always been a problem.
We want to see, we want to touch, we want to feel God, so that we
can have absolute proof about God. Our scientific world has reinforced
this notion, that if something is true then it is provable, repeatable,
and it is constant.
God's presence has never been any of the above, and yet that does
not disprove anything about God, except maybe, that we are unable
to contain God into a framework that conforms exactly to our preconceived
notions or expectations.
So what is it that God wants of us?
The first thing we can notice in the Gospel story, is about Jesus.
There seemed to be some recognition, that in his teaching, in his
presence, in his very persona there was something that was different.
People recognised an authority that seemed different, and almost
compelling. His words had power and brought authority to what he
said.
This recognition of the power of the word in Jesus seemed to be
a constant theme with all the gospel writers, even if they expressed
it in different ways. While Mark sees this recognition of power
being recognized from among the people, John speaks of the Word
being full of grace and truth and coming to dwell among us. Doesn't
that tie in nicely with God's promise to Moses, that he would send
a prophet to his people, one from among their own!
And that word that is spoken of is just like the word that was spoken
in Creation bringing life out of nothing. God's word is powerful
and creative, it is synonymous with action, because in the biblical
text word and action are intertwined, God's speech is creative action.
God's power is seen in God's speech.
And this is what seems to be recognised in Jesus' speech. As he
teaches, people recognise that quality in him.
There is a consistency in his word and action, and yet a oneness
with us.
One who is from among us.
Thus in the prayer of St Richard of Chichester those words draw
together both the holiness of God and the closeness with us when
he prays, "O Holy Jesus, most merciful redeemer, friend and
brother, may I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly and
follow thee more nearly."
There is that quality in Jesus that points us to his unity with
God, and yet calls us to follow in his footsteps striving to live
our lives like him.
The Gospel story goes on to tell of the man possessed by an evil
spirit, and it tells of the evil spirit's reaction to Jesus.
The demons in this mans life recognised Jesus and reacted. The picture
again is that struggle between good and evil, between right and
wrong, and in the face of truth, evil or falsehood reacts.
Truth overcomes evil. It doesn't negate its presence but ultimately
the power lies with truth. Without such hope would our lives not
be in despair, would we not be left with the overwhelming sense
that evil reigns. And I suspect that this has been humanities problem
down the ages right from those time of Moses. As people have looked
for the ways in which they perceive God as being and working, they
have turned in all directions and many have lost sight of the fact
that God is with us. God's presence does not leave us. And in ones
search and struggle to discover a god in the form that they want
to see God, they turn to all sorts of other forms for comfort; whether
that be in the comfort and security of our own wealth, or our homes
or some search for a religious or spiritual high or direction that
will make us feel good, it becomes that human endeavour.
But in this gospel story, Jesus' presence was enough to bring out
that truth, that authority, that presence of the most merciful redeemer,
the one who draws us to God and brings us back into that relationship
with God, Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life.
God's presence transforms life and brings about radical change as
it did in this man's life. The spirit became quiet and left. The
light of God's presence dispels the darkness and takes away our
fears.
Jesus' word and action again display that consistency and it is
that consistency that Jesus challenges us with as he calls people
to follow him. "come with me and I will make you fishers of
me." Your life and your actions will focus on God's redeeming
love, drawing us and others to faith in him.
As we are challenged by God's love, I wonder are the demons in our
lives, what ever they be, challenged by the truth of God's presence.
Do we allow our lives to be challenged so that in our living we
become more and more Christ like, more and more transformed into
the likeness of Christ, taking on the holiness offered by God?
We cannot do this in our own strength, nor for our own pride, but
we must embark on this journey because this is what God calls us
too if we are to be his disciples.
We do not have the authority, nor the power, but it is Christ who
comes among us, Christ whose life and death and resurrection dealt
with our sin and bought us the freedom of God's love bringing us
and all God's people into the fellowship of God's reign.
Recognising God's presence among us forces us to look at our living,
to look at our priorities, to examine our hearts and our motives
in all that we do and say.
How do we treat others, where do our priorities lie, what drives
us in life? These are the challenges that face us as we recognise
Christ, the one who has come among us to save us from our sin. Christ's
risen presence has continued to challenge generation after generation.
Some have chosen to follow and some have ignore that call. Our responsibility
remains to live out that presence in our world and to witness God's
love as seen in Jesus Christ. May God continue to give us the strength
and the grace to do that to the best of our abilities in all that
we do and say and think.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
Jonah 3:1-5,10 Mark 1:14-20
Today our readings focus us on God's activity in communicating
with his people. In such activity God works in the lives of ordinary
people involving them the mission of the Kingdom of God in the places
were they are.
Jonah, an ordinary man, son of Ammittai was initially called to
go to the people of Nineveh to point out to them that God knew of
their wickedness and was not pleased with them. And we all know
how, Jonah, daunted by this task tried to flee, but eventually gave
in and did as God had asked him.
Simon, Andrew, James and John, similarly were going about their
daily tasks when Jesus approached them and placed a challenge before
them.
They too had the choice at that point to take up the challenge or
to move off and continue in their daily work.
We can all, no doubt place ourselves in the shoes of these characters
when at times in life, when challenged in some way, we wonder,,
Who, me?
The challenges placed before us seem to come from left field or
are so out of our comfort zone that we feel the wrong person must
have been asked.
But maybe that is just part of the nature of God's call that he
can place on anyone of us, whether it be a call to a particular
task, or whether it be the challenge that brings us to a deep and
more trusting faith in God. The danger is that we see in these stories
the specific circumstances and fail to see that God's approach to
anyone of us follows a similar pattern, and this is a pattern that
begins with God's initiative in coming to us and inviting from us
a response that can bring radical change to our lives.
The nature of God's call on our lives is shown in these stories
and can be seen in the continual and persistent nature of God's
call, the courage that is required from us and the respondents and
the commitment that is called for.
With both Jonah and Jesus' disciples the initiative in the approach
lies with God's coming to them. Jonah tried to run and hide when
he heard that voice of God speak to him, and yet God kept coming
and persisted with him until Jonah was compelled to go to Nineveh.
There was a real sense in which he was unable to let go of that
voice telling him to go. There was no other way for him to find
peace in his life except in the obedience that was being demanded
of him.
Although we are not given such detail in Jesus' calling of his disciples,
we still get that sense that there was something in the approach
from Jesus that compelled these men to lay down their nets and to
take a radical new direction in their lives. Radical not only for
them, I dare say, but radical also for those who were close to them,
their families and friends.
This compulsion must have been strong as there is very little detail
as to the processing of this decision in their lives. The Gospel
writer merely records Jesus as saying, Come with me, and I will
teach you to catch men, and their immediate response as being, "At
once they left their nets and went with him." Now this most
likely would be, like any journalistic reporting, offering the bare
bones of the story, leaving out the perceived, and unnecessary detail
showing the processing of such thought.
Nevertheless, the call is compelling and continual until the desired
response is achieve. These men were wanted for this particular task,
and Jesus appears not to want to look anywhere else. Their skills
in one field, have potential in a vastly different field, which
they themselves had probably never considered before.
They had spent their lives fishing for food to provide sustenance
for their families and their villages, and now they were being invited
to draw in a different catch and for a much different purpose. And
to fulfil this they would need the persistence of the one who had
called them. They would need to be continually out in the crowds
inviting people to put their trust in God, to turn from a reliance
on self, to trusting God who had come to them and who had challenged
them to change the focus of their lives.
For this task they would need courage. In the story of Jonah, he
was only too painfully aware of what the reaction of the people
might be. He knew his community well, he no doubt knew some of their
strengths, but he was also well aware of their shortcomings, and
of God's displeasure with them.
The story is an unfolding one, one of a growing understanding for
both Jonah and the people of Nineveh, the full ramifications of
which could not be understood or comprehended in that process.
The same would apply to Jesus' disciples. They lived in a stubbornly
nationalistic part of the world, among a people who resented their
oppressive invading government. They had long looked for the overthrowing
of the Roman Government by one who would bring about cataclysmic
change to their society. Maybe they saw a glimmer of hope in Jesus,
and their courage was fuelled. But they would need to learn that
Jesus' call was to a much quieter change, a change in the hearts
of people to give up a seeking or self fulfilment and self gratification,
for a focus on faith in God to strengthen them for the challenging
task of drawing people to trust in God. They would face opposition
from both their friends and their foes in this task, and it would
require them to face opposition even to the point of disappointment
and death. Such was the nature of God's call.
And in the process or journey of this growing faith, they would
find the courage that only God could give to face life head on with
all its challenges, with all its opportunities and even its disappointments.
For this task, such a call to faith required not only courage but
also commitment. This was not a call to the faint hearted who might
fall over at the first sign of challenge and return to the comfort
of their fishing boats, or the life they had once known.
This commitment meant a leaving behind of all that was dear to them
and all the earthly security that they had built around them, and
to follow the one who would lead them and teach them, Jesus, the
Christ.
Commitment, requires focus and determination, and a single mindedness
that keeps one on track, putting aside other things in favour of
that focus. This was the call the disciples responded to and it
is the call that comes to each and every one of us as we are all
challenged to have faith in God and to express that faith in our
daily lives.
We can all ask ourselves where our real faith lies, is it in God,
who came to us in Jesus Christ, or is it in the things and securities
that we build around us to keep us comfortable in our living.
I wonder how we would cope if all our so called security were stripped
away from us, if all that we had built up was suddenly taken. Many
people face such situations and find that their so called secure
things in their lives are puffs of wind, gone and seen no more.
What Jesus offers is an anchor that holds steady even in the storms.
It is a security that tells people that when all else fails, God
is there, and the challenge is to build that relationship of trust
focused on God even before the storms come so that we can stand
firm in faith and secure in the knowledge that God loves us.
Who? Me? Yes, God's love is here for us all, and God calls each
and every one of us to follow him, to take up that challenge of
faith with courage and commitment knowing that, yes there is a cost,
the cost of where we are willing to put our trust, and the cost
of being prepare to accept what the world may think of us because
we believe and have faith in God.
May God give us all such courage and help us to grow in our faith
and in our understanding of God's love for us and for the world.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
27 November 2011 Advent 1
Isaiah 64:1-9 Mark 13:24-37
Hope is something that has been a mark of the Christian Church
from its very inception, and was in fact part of the foundation
built on from the beginning of the Judeo-Christian tradition. It
is, I believe, a characteristic that is essential in our faith,
for it forms the basis of vision, of forward looking momentum that
brings expectation and reason to our lives as individuals and as
a collective.
It is said in the scriptures that without vision we perish. In other
words, without hope there is that sense of drifting aimlessly and
being lost.
But to merely speak of hope, without any context in which that hope
is placed, is nothing more than wishful thinking, and so the context
in which we bring our hope is grounded in the Advent Season as we
focus our hope on God's coming among us.
This hope is born in the context of God who has come among his people
throughout the ages. In theophonies, or appearances like the burning
bush, God came to people. The prophet Isaiah had a picture of God
who would come down from the sky. This was a God who did not remain
remote from his people, but in fact came and dwelt with us.
There is almost a challenge here, "Why don't you tear the sky
apart and come down? Show yourself to the world as you have done
in the past. In the events of nature, in the activities of people
around, all that we are involved in, this prophet suggests that
we can experience God at work and we can hope to see God on into
the future.
Such is his hope. Such is the intense nature of his desire to experience
God. And yet contrasting this intense desire is the reality of the
human nature that so often betrays that desire. That contrast between
wanting to experience God and the reality that our actions are too
often self absorbing and
Self gratifying, drawing us away from God and into our own world
of corruption and greed.
This takes us away from that forward movement of hope into a circle
of stagnation grasping for anything that will bring instant satisfaction.
So Isaiah sees that contrast of looking in hope to God who is like
the potter, that master craftsman, that creator who shapes and gives
beauty to the lump of lifeless clay.
The call is for God to come among us and breathe into us that life
giving Spirit that will excite us and draw us on in hope, looking
for those moments when God's presence can be seen and felt.
This really does sum up for us the whole picture of Advent, those
moments of coming.
And of course it is that moment of coming that we remember particularly
in the birth of Christ. Here is seen the ultimate moment of God's
coming among us.
Emmanuel, God is with us. In the simplicity of that of birth, in
the stable, devoid of any of the trappings of human luxury or comfort,
God came among us in this moment of history.
Isaiah's picture of God tearing the sky apart has found its place
in time and space.
God's remoteness comes to us in this simple scene and begins to
unfold in ways that we can relate to in our own world.
And like always, people wanted to cling to that moment, cling to
this one hoping that this experience would stay forever. But hope
that remains as a fix point, as a concrete and tangible part of
our lives would soon become an object of our control which as human
beings we would massage and manipulate for our own comfort and benefit.
Jesus in his teaching didn't just give a picture of a positive future,
of a hope devoid of trials and tribulations, but rather chose to
face the world with the realities of human life.
Having just spoken of those who would come seeking to deceive; of
those who would come as false Messiahs and prophets, he spoke of
the dark times of human history and how we would read such events
and even natural occurrences as signs of despair, in those moments
we should expect God's coming.
So like Isaiah who contrasted God's majestic coming with the short
comings of humanity, so Jesus here in this Gospel reading encourages
us to look for God's coming even when it would appear that the world
around us is falling apart. We are not to be put off even if sun
grows dark and the moon no longer shines. Such times should not
be seen nor lived without hope, for it is as the world panics in
despair that we should look for the hope of the coming of the Son
of Man.
God's presence, God's coming will be there in those times to lead
us on, for he will not abandon the world.
Jesus paints that picture of the four angels travelling to the four
corners of the earth. There is nowhere that we can escape from his
presence for he will continue to gather his people together.
Thus rather than despair his message is one of being open and prepared
to see God's coming among us. He gives that very short and simple
lesson using the fig tree as the example.
As winter ends, we look for those signs of warming. We don't only
feel those signs in the tangible warming of the air, but we probably
begin to see the coming of spring more visibly if we look to the
trees around us. The seemingly dead branches begin to bulge as the
buds thicken and the brown outer covering breaks away revealing
the bright green of the bud below. We can't necessarily race this
process but we look eagerly for those signs.
So Jesus suggests that we do the same for his coming among us. One
commentator says, "every generation should be eagerly looking
for and expecting the Lord's coming."
But are we so focused on expecting to see his coming in a particular
way or fashion that we fail to see his coming in those everyday
moments, in those times when we are looking too far into the future
that the present does not register in our minds.
Hope therefore should not be a pipe dream of future romantic euphoria,
but rather an expectation of living with our eyes open to the reality
of our present day moving us on in simple trust of God's presence
to guide and to guard.
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass
away," says Jesus. The world can so easily pass us bye and
we fail to open our eyes to God's presence in our midst.
That presence that was made real in Jesus the Christ who came among
us as a baby and whose risen presence continues to fill our lives.
Jesus of course was being even more provocative in this short extract
from the Gospels, as his claims that the coming of the Son of Man
should be sought, was a clear reference to himself. This piecing
together of Old Testament apocalyptic material building on the hope
that these people had been brought up with and lived for, would
have left them in no doubt that Jesus was speaking of himself in
this role. His disciples cannot have failed to see the reference
to himself in this teaching. Jesus was the hope for them, and remains
the hope for us as we can see in him the presence of God in our
midst.
His constant call to follow; his constant challenge to believe;
his constant assurances that trust in him would give hope and fulfilment
in life, remain for us our hope. The message of Advent remains one
of hope as we continue to look for signs of God's coming among us,
as we live in hope that he will come again into our midst especially
as we seem constantly to be facing a world that appears to be in
a mode of self destruction. We can choose to see the despair and
to be weighed down by the problems, or we can choose to follow Christ
brings God's presence to us. We can live in hope as we address the
issues the world faces with the resources that we have. It is too
easy to live in despair as we become overwhelmed by the enormity
of the world's issues and then we fail to address the issues on
our door step. Jesus chose to deal with what lay before him, he
chose to bring God's presence into the midst of his world where
he was, and still people looked beyond for supposedly bigger and
more convincing evidence. May be the message of hope is to live
in the present, to deal with the world as we experience it and to
bring God's love and peace to that place rather than trying to save
the world.
God's presence can be seen in our response to the world where we
are.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
6th November 2011 Pentecost 20
Joshua 24:1-3a,14-25 Matthew 25:1-13
Jesus is Coming!
Paul's encouragement to the church in Thessalonica has been well
ground to this point in his praise for them and the things he is
hearing as news continues to reach him.
He now turns to one of the recurring themes of Christianity which
was particularly poignant in this early stage of the Christian church
where it was expected that Christ would return, and it would be
soon.
This is a theme that has continued down the ages. It was written
into the creeds of the church, if you think of the Apostles Creed
where it says, "he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead." And the
Nicene creed, "He will come again in glory to judge the living
and the dead and his kingdom will have no end." Both of these
early church documents dated in the 300's reflect this belief that
was expressed early in the life Christian believers. Skip 1300 years
to the beginnings of our own tradition and the Westminster Confession
of Faith's closing words speak of our need of watchfulness, "because
they know not at what hour the Lord will come; and may be ever prepared
to say, Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. AMEN.
This belief in Christ's second coming has formed part of the mystery
of faith from the beginning and is based on Jesus' own teaching
as recorded in the Gospel's.
After telling the Parable of the five wise virgin's and the five
foolish ones waiting for the customary arrival of the bridegroom
and the need for them to be prepared, Jesus concludes, "Be
on your guard, then, because you do not know the day or the hour."
The Thessalonians firmly believed as, did many others at that time,
I suspect, that this return would be in their life time.
They eagerly awaited the return of Christ, expecting that they would
see this event and share in the excitement of it. But as time went
on, as people of their generation no doubt aged and died, the question
arose of what would happen to these people at that time when Christ
returned.
How indeed would they take part if they had already departed from
this world?
These questions interestingly enough, show that this was indeed
part of the earliest writings of the New Testament. Many of these
people may have know someone, or would have heard second hand, or
maybe had been part of the Pentecost gathering from around the known
world in Jerusalem recorded at the beginning of Acts, and their
expectation was that Christ's return would occur sooner rather than
later.
This whole focus on life as a journey that is not disrupted, even
by death, is something that gives cause for hope and a positive
attitude.
Paul challenges these people, that this gives those with faith a
whole different outlook on life and as such it can be a distinguishing
feature of such people.
This is a challenge that faces every generation for death faces
us all, it is something that we cannot avoid, and yet often the
question becomes how do we face it, and how do we handle it? Whether
this be our own, a loved one a friend or even a stranger? Do we
see it as the end, or do we see it as part of that journey with
something more glorious to hope for.
Sentiments from this passage form the basis of any Christian funeral
service, and they offer the hope, that as I have said, has formed
part of the creeds of our Church that have been recited from very
early times.
And yet grief and death is something that we all need to face at
sometime in our lives, and it is interesting seeing how society
handles it even when there is no faith present.
Today society uses language that often suggest a view of life that
would go beyond the grave.
Euphemisms of 'passing on,' passed away to express death give the
impression that it is not final. And these more often than not come
from people who give no expression to faith in their own lives,
but often don't want to face the reality of what has occurred. Even
with this language though, the reaction to death is one that sees
it as final, where as surely what Paul is saying to the Christians
here is, yes grieve, there will be that time of sadness, but don't
let that sadness overwhelm you to the extent that you forget the
hope that we profess in our faith.
Jesus' coming is not interrupted by anything, not even death. His
presence will be there to sustain and comfort, to strengthen and
to help in times of distress and trouble.
And for those who expect Christ's return in their life time, death
is no barrier to ones participation in this parousia, this coming
again of Christ.
Many in our own day have seen this coming as being imminent and
have placed great focus on it in their faith journey. While this
can be of benefit it can also have some drawbacks. What ever our
view, the one thing both Jesus and Paul were clear on when it comes
to this coming that is spoken of, is that it is in God's time and
that no one knows the day nor the hour.
So what are the benefits that I referred too? I will probably cover
this in a little more detail next week, but the biggest benefit
is that if we live with that expectation of Christ's imminent coming,
it helps to keep us sharp in our response to God's activity in our
lives and in the world in which we live.
That sharpness means that we do not want to be caught unawares of
God's presence. But I think that should be viewed on much broader
basis than merely looking for some future one off event known as
the parousia, no we should always be aware of God's activity in
our midst on a daily basis. We speak of God presence with us and
in our midst. The whole coming Advent season reminds us of both
God's coming in Jesus Christ and his coming again, but what about
God's daily activity in our world and our lives and in the lives
of those around us. Maybe we need to be more aware of that coming
so that we recognise God in our midst in all that we are engaged
in. It is so easy to only remember God in the big things and more
often than not in the 'Acts of God' that bring adversity to us and
our world. God's presence brings us joy in the every day activities
and relationship in life if only we would recognise it.
I have already spoken of the effect such a vision can also have
on our attitude to death, which offers hope and certainty when for
others there is nothing but despair.
But the one warning I would want to leave you with is one that probably
every generation experiences and that is an obsession with the teaching
around Jesus coming again. Why? Firstly because as I have already
pointed out, no one knows the day nor the hour, but secondly, if
we are focused so far into the future we forget about the present,
we not only fail to see God's activity at work, but we don't even
look for it because we are so focused on the concept of the end
of the world. Our present world looses any sense of importance and
the injustices and the problems of this world fail to touch us because
they matter no longer. With this approach we fail to look for Christ's
presence today or to be his presence as his disciples because we
are too concerned with what is going to happen some time off.
We must be grounded in the world of our day, to be part of the presence
of Christ in the world today, to do as Christ did in feeding the
poor, of fighting injustice, of tending to the sick. Without this
activity of God's people God's coming into our world in Jesus Christ
was wasted, and his suffering for us meaningless. God's compassion
and grace must be lived out in his people and in his church.
This is brought out in the story of Joshua and his plea for the
people to continue to "honour the Lord and serve him sincerely
and faithfully." This has been God's call to his people of
every generation. Not to naval gaze into the future, but to serve
God in daily life, in the real world, in the places were we live
and work and sleep.
It is a call to remain focused on our God and the God of our forebears
and not to let the many things that would draw us from such a focus,
take our attention away.
Remember those familiar words that should constantly challenge us,
"Choose you this day, whom you will serve, but as for me and
my household, we will serve the Lord."
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
23rd October 2011
Pentecost 19
Deuteronomy 34:1-12 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Having spent the last few weeks looking at the Exodus story as
Moses led the people out of Egypt and away from the tyranny that
they suffered at the hands of the Egyptian people, we now end that
story with Moses death and skip to the time of Paul and expansion
of the early Christian Church.
Moses journey ends with the people in sight of the Promised Land
and his death in the land of Moab meant that he himself never experienced
the fulfilment of Yahweh's promise. Nevertheless Moses died a faithful
man, knowing in his heart that God had remained faithful to his
promise.
We then turn to Paul's life which involves journeys, it involves
people, it involves dissatisfaction and disruption; all the things
that seem to be trademarks of humanity as we strive for justice,
truth and peace. One only needs to think of the people of Libya
at the moment and the struggles for freedom and justice that they
have encountered over the last months and years. We do have to wonder
what that freedom will involve for them, will it be all that they
hoped for and expected.
Like the Moses, Paul travelled. He took with him the message of
God's love and freedom as seen and experienced in the person of
Jesus Christ.
And in this time Paul's mode of operation seemed to be to visit
particular cities and spend time at the synagogues and among the
people sharing the story of Christ's death and resurrection and
the implications of this for daily living. He shared his own experience
and the transformation that his encounter with the risen Christ
brought in his life.
His message did not always fall on sympathetic ears. In fact it
would seem that there may have been a group of Jewish fanatics that
followed him around stirring up trouble where ever he went. And
yet it also appears that Paul's preaching was having great results
and people were warming very quickly to his message.
At this stage the Christian Church did not have its own identity
apart from Judaism, but was still a group within which was at this
point tolerated even if it wasn't embraced by the mainline leaders.
Thus Paul still had access to the Synagogues to teach.
Of course part of the irony in the treatment that Paul was receiving
from his detractors, was the fact that he himself, prior to his
Damascus Road experience had been part of this group that would
persecute the followers of the Christ.
So some might say he was reaping that which he had once sown.
But as he moved about sowing the seed of the Gospel, he developed
relationships with these people. These were relationships based
on his knowledge of God's love for God's people, based on his experience
of the change that God could bring in the lives of people who were
open to that love making a difference for them.
It would appear therefore that Paul's visit to Thessalonica and
many other places on this missionary journey were fairly short as
they were followed about by a group wanting to cause trouble. This
group would wind up the locals inciting them against what Paul was
preaching. And yet under this persecution, there were many quite
influential people who took on board what Paul was saying and moved
their allegiance to follow his teaching.
Thus Paul, as he moved on, under pressure, felt for these people.
So when news arrived in Corinth where Paul had met up with Timothy,
and they heard that the Christians in Thessalonica had remained
faithful and were continuing steadfastly on their journey of faith,
Paul wrote to offer them some encouragement.
There were some questions that had arisen in this community around
Christ's return and the timing of that which he addresses as he
encourages them to work quietly for the cause of the Gospel while
waiting in hope for Christ's return.
Someone has described this passage we read today as, "one of
the richest descriptions of the work of a Christian minister to
be found in the New Testament."
In this short passage we see something of Paul's experience in ministry,
of his motives, the mode and the message that focus his work.
As we have discussed Paul's experience of ministry, not unlike Moses'
was not an easy one. Paul, being hounded by his antagonists from
outside, was a constant strain, never allowing him to settle and
form long and personal pastoral ties. He says, "You know how
we had already been ill-treated and insulted in Philippi before
we came to you in Thessalonica." This seemed to be an on going
problem where ever he went. Opposition to the Gospel is nothing
new. We think we have it bad as we have come to live in an increasingly
secular society. Where once the church had standing and a voice
which was treated with respect, now we are lucky to be invited to
offer an opinion on anything. We are viewed as a minority voice
within our society.
Our experience of presenting the gospel in our society is that we
are largely ignored.
The question is, should we be surprised by this or is this part
of human nature? The other experience where I think we differ today
from Paul's time, which is probably the difference between and emerging
movement and that of an established movement, is that while Paul
suffered attacks from within, the church often finds its biggest
detractors outside. And this pattern did develop reasonably quickly
within in the emerging church and has been a constant problem down
the ages.
Perhaps it develops from the second view we get of ministry here,
and that is the view of motive.
Paul says, "Our appeal to you is not based on error or impure
motives, nor do we try to trick anyone. Instead, we always speak
as God wants us to, because he has judged us worthy to be entrusted
with the Good News."
What motivates us is crucial in our approach to our faith. If our
motives are for self gain, or for scoring cheap points, or for what
ever, they detract from the message of the truth of the Gospel which
is to point people to God's love for God's people as shown to us
in Jesus Christ.
It is a message of hope that affirms people and encourages people,
drawing people together in harmony.
If our motives however bring discord and disharmony to the body
we need to look very carefully at the message that is being proclaimed.
However, for Paul this did not mean that his mode was just to set
out to please everybody with kind words. His mode was to speak the
truth in kindness, but not merely to say what people were wanting
to hear. He didn't just go about scratching where people were itching,
offering words that would please people because that is what they
wanted to hear.
Paul seemed to be incisive in what he had to say touching the raw
spots and encouraging those who were heading down the right track
with words of hope.
He reminded them that the path was straight but not necessarily
an easy one.
His message was one grounded in the reality of the world in which
he lived. It was not just about Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, but
it was about the Jesus who suffered, who died, who rose again, and
the Jesus who continues to come to us challenging us in our daily
living. It was about working and toiling to ensure that this Jesus
was made knowing to the world around them. It was not just about
assuming that people would come to a knowledge of Jesus by osmosis,
but the fact that we have to go out into our communities and tell
people, encourage people, exhort people to consider these matters
of God's love for the world.
We today, assume that people have a basic knowledge of the Christian
faith in our communities. They do not!
We live in a secular society, probably even more secular than Paul's
time, and yet there is that yearning out there for something spiritual,
but people need the opportunity to hear the most basic tenants of
our faith, and we can no longer assume that in wanting to hear that,
that they will just walk through our doors and join us.
While we view the church as open and accepting, I suspect the world
out there see us as a group that meets behind closed doors, where
one needs an invitation to come.
We need to work at recapturing the church as an open place where
the wider community can gather.
So as we look at this letter of Paul's to the church in Thessalonica,
we need to look again at our own life both within our community
of faith and within the wider community of this city and let ourselves
be challenged as we seek to be faithful. We must not let our faithfulness
turn into complacency, by only listening to what we want to hear,
or doing only that which makes us feel comfortable and good. We
must allow the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ to continue
to challenge us.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
25th September 2011
Pentecost 15
Exodus 17:1-7 Matthew 21:23-32
The journey continues for the people of Israel wandering, it seems
to them anyway, aimlessly through the Sinai Desert.
Last week we read of the hunger that faced them and God's ability
to provide. One would think that that would settle the moaning and
groaning, and yet here again this week we see a similar theme, except
now it is deprivation of water.
This is hardly surprising in the setting of a desert, although there
would have been the odd oasis around, but obviously not close at
hand at this stage of the journey.
And while being understandable, the incessant moaning and groaning
of these people must have worn the nerves of the most patient of
saints.
Moses was called by God, and this call was confirmed by the people
as they listened and then followed him out of the land of Egypt.
But as the difficulties of daily life consumed their energies and
occupied their minds remembering the land of the plenty that they
had left, the vision that was before them waxed and waned.
It would seem that unless God's provision was there for them to
see and experience on a constant basis then their interest would
falter in those times of spiritual quietness.
There are some interesting but hardly surprising parallels here
for every generation, as faith in God is never something that is
provable beyond doubt, nor is it so blindingly obvious that one
can't help but take up a life of faith, otherwise, where would the
faith itself be. Faith would become an acceptance of what was obvious.
And yet here it seems even the moments of surprise when God did
supply and meet their needs, it didn't take long for that assurance
of God's presence and power to be knocked back and doubt and mistrust
to creep back in.
This is surely part of our fickle human nature that constantly see
us falling into doubt, changing our minds, forgetting what has gone
before us, or just that desire to go off on our own direction in
paths that suit us most of all.
While the people of Israel were in somewhat of a bind, as to go
off in their direction would almost certainly lead to them perishing
in the extremes of the desert climate, continuing on without a vision
of what lay ahead would leave them feeling as if they were no better
off.
Life in many respects is like this. We find ourselves knowing where
we have come from, remembering what life was like before, or imagining
what it had been like for others as we build mental pictures based
on the stories we have heard or been told.
Often what is in the past seems so much better than what we are
facing at the present, or where we imagine life might lead us in
the future.
And yet, is this not what lies at the heart of faith, for faith
is about the stories of the past and the hopes of the future.
As the writer to the Hebrew's so aptly reminds us,
"To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to
be certain of the things we cannot see." And he goes on to
remind us, "It was by their faith that the people of ancient
times won God's approval
..It was faith that made Moses leave
Egypt without being afraid of the king's anger. As though he saw
the invisible God, he refused to turn back."
It is about sometimes walking with uncertainty in the present and
in reality not knowing what the future holds. But we do this confident
that God walks with us and that God will provide. We do it steadfastly
holding on to God's love, even when we feel it is not there or if
we feel God may have abandoned us.
Why? Because from experience we know that that sense of God abandonment
is about us, and not about God moving away from us.
Moses picks up on this in a recurring thought that he keeps putting
out there when he answers them with the question, "Why are
you complaining? Why are you putting the Lord to the test?"
This ties in with last weeks episode of the hunger of the people
and the falling of the manna from heaven, when Moses said to them,
"He has heard your complaints against him - yes, against him,
because we are only carrying out his instructions."
Although the people moaned to Moses and against Moses this was taken
as a complaint against God. That for a start in interest, for I
am sure that we all fall into that trap from time to time, but I
do not believe that this calls for blind obedience to anyone who
sees that they are working for God. History is littered with examples
of tragedies where people have done this sort of thing. Discernment
and accountability are always necessary, and the church over time
has worked on these concepts so that people are not led off down
blind alleys.
And also that concept of complaining to God is not necessarily a
negative thing either, as that is part and parcel of relationship.
It is part of our engagement. However in this story, there is one
episode after another where the complaints are the same, and it
doesn't seem to matter what God provides in answer to their complaints,
there is always something else the matter. I think we always need
to be careful that we don't get into that mindset of perpetual complaining,
but rather look for ways to engage to bring about change within
the structures and groups
Ones relationship with God is always about engaging, of sharing
the highs and the lows, of expressing doubts, fears and disappointments,
of giving thanks for the times of triumph and elation.
Such is the nature of relationship, and this is what the story of
the Exodus is from beginning to end. It is God's engaging with his
people, and their engaging with him.
The word engage has some interesting meanings, to bind by contract,
to hire, to fasten or interlock, to hold fast, to bring into conflict,
take part.
All of these meanings have that sense of being active together with
someone or something. Our engagement with God does open up the full
spectrum of human emotion and invites that opportunity to share
this with God in our daily lives. The Psalms are full of such expression.
But as we have seen in this story there are some emotions that are
negative when it comes to relationship building. Here in this story
it was blame, blaming Moses was in effect blaming God. Blame lumps
guilt onto others when that in fact may not be justified. Sometimes
it is even transferring our own guilt onto others to deflect if
from ourselves.
Blame was rife within the group wandering the Sinai Desert.
But all the time God was present with them. And just as God had
an answer for their hunger, so to he had one for their thirst.
Moses was to tap on a rock and from it would flow fresh water. Again,
enough to satisfy the needs of these people.
Images of God supplying springs of life giving water are not unusual.
The Psalmist talks of, "leading to pools of fresh water."
Jesus engaged in the conversation with the woman at the well and
tells her, "Whoever drinks this water will be thirsty again,
but whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never be
thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him
a spring which will provide him with life-giving water and give
him eternal life."
It is God who offers to us satisfaction and meaning in life that
helps us to keep things in perspective, to keep a balance between
our own self interests and the interests of others, that helps us
to see our place in God's world rather than setting our selves in
the centre of a world trying to make it fit into the mould we create.
God is the one who gives us to us all that sense of life giving
refreshment that will last forever, helping us to see life in a
much bigger picture than just our own world around us. At times
it may seem to us that this journey is aimless, or that we are lost,
or we may feel we are in the wilderness, but in reality, God is
with us. It is this exciting and dynamic life that God walks with
us never leaving nor forsaking us.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
31 August 2011 Pentecost 11
Exodus 3:1-15 Matthew 16:21-28
God calls the most unlikely.
In this wonderful story of the call of Moses, we see some interesting
parallels to many other examples of God's interaction in the world
and in the lives of his people throughout history.
Moses' life from the beginning seems to be one of upheaval and turmoil,
and yet it is one where God's engagement is unrelenting.
As we read this encounter, I think we can see a pattern to God's
activity, we can see something of the power that God can exercise,
and we can see the persistence with which God pursues his purposes.
All of this, as so often is the case, contrasts with where Moses
sees his life heading and the final response he makes to God's call
on his life.
Contrast this with Christ, who although at times he struggled with
what lay before him, he pursued with determination the tasks set.
"From that time on Jesus began to say plainly to his disciples,
'I must go to Jerusalem and suffer much from the elders, the chief
priests, and the teachers of the Law. I will be put to death, but
three days later I will be raised to life.'"
Clearly this clarity comes towards the end of his ministry, and
perhaps he sees what lies ahead with better vision than earlier
in his life, nevertheless he continues on steadfastly toward the
cross.
The pattern that can be discerned in this call of God begins with
the fact that Moses was not expecting this encounter with God. He
was out in the fields tending to his father-in-laws sheep. Furthest
from his mind is an encounter with Yahweh. And yet in that moment
of surprise, God comes.
The writer of Exodus tells us, "There the angel of the Lord
appeared to him as a flame coming from the middle of the bush."
This is not an angel in the sense that later came to be understood
as a separate heavenly being, but rather there is always, as one
commentator puts it, "a fluid interchange between symbol, representative,
and God himself."
Moses soon comes to acknowledge that it is indeed God in this encounter.
Such encounters are known as Theophanies and these encounters occur
on odd occasions throughout the scriptures.
Thus in this story, God comes to Moses, not in some prearranged
meeting, and certainly not at a time when Moses was out seeking
some religious experience or on a pilgrimage to some holy site,
but possibly when God was furthest from his mind, and in some remote
part of the countryside.
Ultimately God came to us in Jesus Christ, that baby born in a manger,
that man from Galilee.
God comes to us in many ways and at those times when we may least
be expecting it, and yet he comes. The initiative lies with God,
and awaits our response. It is interesting that it took some time
for Moses to recognise and acknowledge what was going on here. He
had come to this place Sinai, which is described by the writer as
a holy place, but it is not holy for any other reason than this
is where God came to Moses. Moses comes only with the intention
of feeding his flock, and yet it is here that he saw the bush burning
and noticed it was not being consumed by the fire, and as he was
examining it, again God took the initiative and spoke to him.
Fire and light are common themes when it comes to stories of God's
interaction with us. They can speak of illumination, of consuming,
of warming, of purifying of bringing one out of darkness. All these
images open up for us something of the character of God who engages
with us in ways that we cannot sometimes imagine.
This pattern of God taking the initiative is what we term as grace.
God comes to us and it is only as God comes to us that we are able
to make any response, and like Moses sometimes it takes a while
for the penny to drop.
So the pattern is God's move toward us, and we see this ultimately
in Jesus who came into the world, not estranged from it, but as
one of us to be with us, so as to understand our humanity.
Secondly we see the power of this encounter in that it arrests Moses
and grabs his attention. He cannot ignore what he is seeing or put
it to one side, but he is drawn into this experience and begins
to engage with God.
In his engaging he is respectful of the relationship as God sets
the parameters that indicate something of the nature of this holy
encounter. He answers the questions put to him and he follows the
instructions of taking his sandals off as a mark of respect.
God's holiness is not a barrier of exclusion, but is mark of difference
acknowledging the limits of humanity and the infinite nature of
God and only seen as God reveals himself to us.
And in that revelation comes both the recognition of God's understanding
of who we are and his invitation for us to join with him in transforming
the world.
Here Yahweh acknowledges the plight of the Hebrew people captured
in Egypt and he recognises their pain and suffering.
And in doing this God invites Moses to join him in the task of freeing
these people from their oppression.
Here Moses clearly must make a choice. This choice comes with the
assurance of God's continued presence.
This is the same invitation or challenge that Jesus put to his disciples
when Peter tried to push aside Jesus' talk of what lay ahead in
his mission to free God's people for all time.
His challenge was no less demanding and it came with the same assurance
when Jesus said,
"If anyone wants to come with me, he must forget self, carry
his cross, and follow me."
Thus this call of Moses becomes a call to us all, to take up the
challenge to follow Christ, to live in his ways and to express the
freedom he offered the world to live at peace with God and one another.
And like Moses, I dare say most of us prefer to resist this call
for many and varied reasons. We use all sorts of excuses as to why
our lives are just OK as they are, and yet God persisted with Moses.
He listened to Moses' reasoning and then assured him that he was
just fine as he was. He answer his doubt and countered his excuses.
God's persistence is one that will not let us go. As the hymn writer
put it, "O love that wilt not let me go."
God's grace is gripping and draws us with assurance. For Moses it
was God's declaration that "I am who I am."
This clearly refers to the name of God, Yahweh. It is thought to
be a shortening of that phrase and a running together of the clause
into one word.
There is debate as to exactly what Yahweh was meaning here, but
there is that sense of self-sufficiency, that God exists without
need or support from anywhere else, I am who I am. But in this statement
there is also a call to faith. Yahweh is looking for the response
of Moses and Israel to this statement. Will they accept Yahweh for
who he is.
This is a theme again picked up by Christ in the many times he referred
to himself often with the word, I am. I am the light of the world,
I am the good shepherd, and of course in that great call to faith,
I am the way the truth and the life, no one goes to the Father except
by me. This is where Jesus laid his cards on the table, and those
listening would have understood the implications of his statements
as they knew the story of Moses and God's coming to him in the burning
bush. Was this God, come in Jesus of Nazareth? It was after all
such claims that led to the cross, and so the invitation for us
all to follow Christ, is not an invitation to an easy life, but
to a life that seeks justice and truth, a life that focuses on God
even when the world around has its own opinions on that.
I wonder do we like Moses and many others follow that same invitation
that God offers to a life of faith? Do we allow ourselves to let
God speak to us, even in the most unexpected times and in ways that
we have not imagined?
May we walk through life with the same commitment, determination
and focus that Christ did, even when treading that path to the cross.
May God's grace be with us all through our journey of life.
AMEN.
24 August 2011 Pentecost 10
Exodus 1:8-2:10
Matthew 16:13-20
The bible from beginning to end is a testament to God's working
in His world. And as we leave the stories of the beginning of our
faith with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who ended up moving from the
land of Canaan to settle in the land of Egypt we see that period
of their history begin to come to an end.
The book of Exodus explores the departure of this people out of
Egypt back into the land of Israel. It is a story that takes them
from slavery to freedom. Within this freedom the covenant relationship
is enhanced as they settle bringing down the law of the covenant
to give moral, civil and religious guidelines by which to live.
And finally they establish a place of worship for their people along
with the institution to oversee the governance of God's people.
Many of the stories in Exodus as well know and memorable, not least
today's where we are told of the birth of Moses in the most trying
of circumstances.
And of course there is the stories surrounding the giving of the
ten commandments of Mount Sinai.
Exodus is the second book in the Pentateuch, the first five books
of the Bible, sometimes know as the books of Moses as they were
once attributed to his authorship.
Later scholarship has disputed this, but nevertheless these books
form the foundation of the Judeo-Christian faith as they track the
history and tell the stories of the early people of Israel.
This morning's reading sets the context of this period of history
by informing us that Egypt had come under a new King who did not
know the history of Joseph and his family. We are not sure of the
time lapse here, but obviously some considerable period of time
had passed since the days of Joseph, as the number of Israelite
people had so expanded and this history had faded into the recesses
of their collective memory.
Out of this memory failing and a lack of any sense of history, Egypt
did what so many societies do when no cognisance is taken of where
we have come from, they began to pick on the differences of others
to bring dominance and power over minorities.
I have commented often in recent years over the thin vale of civilization
that exists in any society. How time and time again we see developing
and developed countries slip into civil unrest and even war destroying
years of social unity. It begins by picking on the differences in
others and highlighting those as the sources of all social problems.
Such behaviour is almost universal, and we have even seen it in
recent days in the likes of the United Kingdom with their riots.
It only takes one or two people and the crowd follows.
In Moses time, it was the Pharaoh, wishing to make his mark on his
newly acquired kingdom, bringing with him a tradition of proud nationalism
that made the Hebrew people an easy target.
His first plan was to force them to leave by driving them into slavery.
He forced them to work, perhaps in areas that they had not been
accustomed too.
That failing, he then tries genocide. There is nothing new under
the sun is there! We have seen the cruelty dished out upon generation
after generation as one after another is threatened and craves power
over others.
But part of the lesson here is that failure to recognise what has
gone before. There is a failure to connect to the stories of the
past and thus not to fall into the traps of the past.
And the secret lies in two places at the beginning of this story
of the Exodus.
Firstly in the Midwives. These woman had nurtured generation after
generation and remembered and told the stories of their past. They
knew their roots and valued their past. They were engaged in lives
of service to their community, not caring for their own lives but
honouring the lives of the women in the community and the children
who were being born. They could not bring themselves to acquiesce
to the demands of this new Pharaoh who seemed to have no value for
life, especially for the down trodden in their society. So these
midwives quietly got on doing their job and sticking to their standards
maintaining the value that they placed on life and above all maintaining
the faith that drove them.
Why, because they also feared God. That term is not fear in the
sense of being scared of God, but rather that they honoured God
and that their faith was what motivated them in their actions.
One commentator says on this aspect of these women's life,
"Just as Abraham's faith was reckoned to him as righteousness,
so the midwives reverence for God, insuring the protection of his
purpose in Israel, became the means of blessing for them."
These women were the one preserving the faith of the people of Israel
at this point, and they were not about to give that away.
God honoured their faithfulness as they were only too willing to
answer the question that Jesus hundreds of years later asks his
disciples, "Who do you say that I am?"
This is a question that we must allow ourselves to be asked and
must surely be prepared to have some answer too.
It also illustrates for us the importance and responsibility that
we have to hand our faith stories on from one generation to the
next so that they too can answer that question for themselves as
they grow and develop.
For it is in the stories of our faith that we can find both peace
with God, and then peace with one another.
One of the main questions that is addressed in all of these stories
is about God's presence among his people. And it is not a question
of "if" God is present, but rather "how" God
is present and how that presence might be seen. It is often in the
least expected places among the least expected people. For in this
story of Moses birth we see God's presence in the lives of those
Midwives, and we see the emerging presence of God in His servant
Moses.
The image of God's presence coming in that helpless babe set in
the small boat made of reeds and tar, is somewhat similar to the
theme of that babe born in Bethlehem. God's presences comes when
we least expect it and in the most unassuming ways. It is interesting
that the word used for the reed boat is the same as that used in
Genesis in reference to Noah's Ark. God salvation coming when all
around seems to be drowning in despair.
And like in the time of Noah, did the general populace recognise
God at work.
"Who do the people say that I am?" was the first question
addressed to the disciples, before he asked who they thought he
was.
The crowd does not always have the right answer, the majority is
not always right. God's people have not always been large in number
and influential in society, but it is the faithfulness of the few,
of the midwives in this story, of the twelve in Jesus' day, who
are willing to say,
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
God's faithfulness is there for all, but not all recognise or acknowledge
it.
God's call is always one of acknowledgement, one which invites us
to express our faith and trust in Him who is able to keep us safe,
even through those times when the world appears to be against us.
Against the odds, God's presence is with us to guide and to guard.
May we grow in appreciation of God's abiding presence and grace
which is there to sustain us throughout our lives and in the face
of every situation the confronts us.
God did not abandon his people under the rule of the new Pharaoh
but continued to bring his message of his saving love through many
and varied people, through old and young alike.
We all have that part to play expressing the faithfulness of God
in our lives, so that we do not forget or put aside the message
of God's saving love for all.
In Moses' life we see that move from danger to privilege, from bondage
to freedom. We see this same movement fulfilled in Jesus Christ
and it is that same movement that is there for us all, for God wants
us to be free, not to be in bondage to the world and all that it
demands.
Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life, life in
all it's freedom." And it was Paul who reminds us that there
is no condemnation (bondage) for those who are in Christ Jesus.
May we find that freedom in the faith we profess as we put our trust
in Jesus Christ as Lord of all.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
Sunday, 7th August 2011 Pentecost 8
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 Matthew 14:22-33
Getting in and out of Trouble
This week's passage from the book of Genesis, is quite a challenge
if we like a happy ending (and who doesn't?). We're drawn into the
story of the charismatic and cocky Joseph, the "golden boy"
of his father Jacob's twelve sons. Handsome and undoubtedly precocious,
Joseph stirs up feelings of envy in his brothers so deep that they
spill over into the ugliness of fraternal violence, brother against
brother, even to the point of murder. Of course, Joseph's brothers
had a history of striking out when they were angry or wronged: just
three chapters back, they executed a murderous rampage against the
town of Shechem to avenge the perceived rape of their only sister,
Dinah.
Understandably, Jacob may be nervous about his sons as they are
tending their father's flocks near Shechem; it may have weighed
on Jacob's mind that they could get into some more trouble while
they're in that neighbourhood. So he sends his beloved son, born
to his favourite wife Rachael; Joseph, who is just seventeen years
old, goes to check up on his older brothers. For all of his self-confidence
born of his dreams of a future of lording it over his family, the
boy Joseph wanders, lost, until a stranger helps him find his way.
But that's the last good thing that happens to Joseph for quite
a while.
Today's episode ends badly; and it's understandable that we may
finish reading this text by asking, "Where's the good news
in that?" However, we shouldnt skip too easily over the
suffering displayed in this story, or the questions it provokes,
even if we do have a sense of where the story is going, and who
is the unseen presence is, at work the whole time in the background.
That's why it's important to stay with the story, all the way to
the end. Next week's passage will help us to do just that. In fact,
next week's text brings this all together and, in a sense, brings
the book of Genesis together, to a satisfying close and then sets
the scene for the grand narrative of the Exodus from Egypt by the
Hebrew people. So, Joseph brings the book of Genesis to a happy
end. The saga that began with banishment from the garden of Eden
and violence between earth's first two brothers ends with a family
reunion in a land of plenty. Earlier in the book of Genesis, God
was never hard to find, but now, in Joseph's time, God has become
silent. There are no more direct addresses from God, even in response
to fraternal violence. So, when Joseph wanted to hear the voice
of God, he listened to his dreams, to the people he met along the
way and to the things that happened to him each day.
Unfortunately, its his dreams that have helped to get him into
trouble and ultimately into the pit and then on his way to slavery
in Egypt. It shouldn't be his fault that he dreamed of his family
bowing down before him, as dreams in that world were usually understood
to be externally and divinely generated, that is, not a product
of Joseph's ambition. Yet his brothers interpret Joseph's dreams
as if they are the product of Joseph's own arrogance rather than
a divine word about destiny, which is why Joseph finds himself in
a strange land, having to get out of the trouble his brothers have
gotten him into.
In our gospel reading today we also find the disciples in a spot
of trouble. What sort of advice would you have given the disciples
caught in the storm Matthew tells us about? He paints a very bleak
and desperate picture of their situation: the waves and the strong
head winds are ripping at the boat and it is the darkest part of
the night, the usual time for many to worry about any troubles and
concerns they may have on their minds. The disciples are not going
anywhere against those winds and waves. You could have given them
some encouraging words like "Its always darkest before
the dawn", "You can do it dont give up!"
or "Row harder!" But, these were seasoned fisherman. Who
knows what those frightened and pre-occupied men would have shouted
back in response to our "good advice?" Probably words
that wouldnt be fit for polite company. Maybe, if we were
there with them, they would have thrown us overboard, shouting after
us, "So much for your advice!" Good advice might help
people who can do something for themselves.
But this is a storm at sea! While we all appreciate encouraging
words and some wise advice from concerned people, if the storms
we face or the trouble we get ourselves into are really bad, their
well-intentioned words are just not enough, platitudes can seem
insincere when we cant see a way ahead. We might give an appreciative,
"Thank you," and then turn and face the "strong head
winds," on our own. Just as Joseph had to cope with
his situation on his own.
We all face storms in life, our own or those of people we love:
a friend with a tumor now undergoing chemo; a son or daughter who
makes a foolish mistake and their having to pay the consequences;
a marriage disintegrating after many years, affecting children,
family and friends.
Noticing the storms of others, we might ask ourselves, "What
if that happens to me
?" There are storms in life we fear,
thinking we may have to face because weve witnessed others,
whose strength we have always admired, get tossed around by them.
What is there to protect us from the same kind of struggle? How
would we handle those same kind of catastrophes? These fears surface,
for example, when we hear that a friend our age has had a crippling
stroke; or, we read of people our age who have died, "after
a long illness."
What advice should we give a person going through a dark storm,
or stuck in deep trouble? Have you ever tried and found yourself
tongue tied? Or, just felt that you have no words at all to say
in such a situation? Some might say "Keep your eyes fixed on
Jesus" or rest in Gods comforting arms which
can sound like a platitude, except when we know that they have also
had to get out of similar trouble and weather the storms of life,
and then we can know that what is said is genuine and valuable advice.
What others advise out of their own stormy experiences, is that
were not alone in the boat; on the stormy seas, here in church
or around the dinner table. For when we gather here, or in with
friends over a meal that is when we share our troubles and know
that those are the ones who support us, and if they have been sustained
by their faith in God, then we can be assured that we will be too.
Praying together can also help us to know that there are others
in the boat with us in stormy seas, keeping "our eyes fixed
on Jesus." We are not alone, for in prayer we are reminded
that Jesus was there too, not watching us from some distant shoreline,
but right there in the boat on the stormy seas with us. As we pray
we can feel a kind of calm come for which we can give thanks.
Praying is what we can do for one another. By our presence with
someone in crisis we remind them that they are not alone in the
boat, we are with them. Our presence, we hope, is also a reminder
that Jesus is there too. If we want to take a chance, as Peter did
when he left the boat to step out onto risky waters, we might that
we can do what others do, in saying a prayer with the one who is
struggling. Doing that is a reminder that someone else is in the
boat with us, the one whose voice and silent presence can bring
calm and give us courage as we try to walk through the tumultuous
crisis raging against us and threatening our faith.
Its not just about illness or crisis. In many ways being
a Christian is a very risky business. Doing what Christians are
supposed to do might mean facing various kinds of upsetting situations
like stormy seas. For example: calling someone weve
been alienated from; standing up for someone suffering ridicule
or prejudice; being honest in a job where other workers take shortcuts;
not following the pack at school when we know their actions or attitudes
are wrong; or, just saying a gracious word to a cranky person. Storms
can be stirred up by our living the way we should, as disciples
of Christ.
Being a Christian isnt a warm fuzzy, it means taking a chance
with Jesus. When Peter put himself in a vulnerable position he learned
again about his own weakness, but he also experienced the power
of the Almighty. If he hadnt taken the risk, he wouldnt
have known the power of God and experienced Jesus presence
with him in the midst of the storm.
31 July 2011 Pentecost 7
Genesis 32:22-31 Matthew 14:13-21
Wrestling with God
In both the Old Testament and New Testament stories today we see
people wrestling with God. Neither in the sense that they have gone
out to have an argument with the Divine, but rather that God has
faced them in the everyday setting where they have found themselves.
God has come to them, not only in times of need, where we most often
picture God coming, but at times perhaps when we least expect to
have such an encounter.
The disciples were about to go off to the local supermarket to find
some food, but Jesus encouraged them to use what they had and we
are told that God supplied all they needed plus more. Where as Jacob
was on the final stage of his journey, having sent his wives and
concubines and children across the River, he stayed one more night
before re-entering the land of promise. Was he afraid of meeting
his older brother Esau, whom he had done out of his birthright?
Maybe it was a time for personal reflection and a chance to give
thanks to God for all that had gone on before. We don't really know.
But the land of promise lay before him and all he needed to do was
to cross the river.
There are certainly indications that Jacob's life had been a series
of struggles, and this was yet another; his struggle with his brother,
which I have eluded too, his struggle with Laban, his father in-law
to get the wife of his choice; and now this struggle with God.
And one can ask, "Does such a struggle set Jacob against an
enemy, or does it bring Jacob into intimate contact with a friend?"
We often see such struggles in a negative light. At the time there
is pain and anxiety, uncertainty of how people will react, and the
emotional hurt that can accompany such interaction. But if we look
back and even if we observe many relationships from the outside,
more often than not the tempestuous nature of the relationship is
balanced by an ever deepening and often intriguing affection.
The latest royal couple, Zara Philips and Mike Tindall's relationship
is described as Ice and fire, but goes on to say how they adore
one another.
I have observed many such relationships where on the surface they
seem tempestuous but underneath there is a huge affection and underlying
respect for each other.
I think this story of Jacob wrestling with God shows us that we
are free to express in many and varied ways our relationship with
God. God is not a static, unresponsive being who is uninterested
in us as individuals, but rather like our friends, God engages with
us in ways appropriate to who we are.
There are many interesting aspects of this story.
Firstly, this is one encounter of many that Jacob has with God.
His experience of God is not a once only point in history, but is
an on going day to day relationship that has memorable moments,
and I dare say times when things coasted along. This encounter at
Jabbok was notable and a point of growth in Jacob's life. This is
further reinforced with the name change, where the man said to Jacob,
"You struggled with God and with men, and you have won; so
your name will be Israel."
Reno tells us, "Name changes signal new identities. The blessing
that accompanies the new name adds to the atmosphere of benediction.
That the new name denotes the nation that will claim Abraham's inheritance
- and will have a history marked by many occasions of conflict with
God - only reinforces this interpretation."
This occasion is the fulfilment of the promise made all those years
before to Abram that he would be the ancestor of many nations. This
promise was also noted with the change of name from Abram to Abraham.
We see this tradition carry on in Jesus' time when calling Cephas
to be his disciple, that Jesus declares you will be called Peter,
meaning rock, because upon this rock will I build my church.
When we enter that relationship with Christ, Paul tells us that
we are new creations, the old has gone behold the new has come.
All of this comes as we see the world from that whole new perspective.
No longer do we see it as our world, but God's world, no longer
do we see ourselves at the centre of the world with it revolving
around us, but we see God as the ultimate authority to whom we give
our allegiance and pay our homage.
The Westminster shorter Catechism reminds us at the very beginning,
when asking the question, What is the chief end of man? It is to
glorify God and to enjoy him for ever. This is so contrary to the
world's way of thinking, it is so contrary to our natural inclinations
as human beings, and yet this is what a call to faith is all about,
and sometimes we need to wrestle with it.
It is also interesting in this story that as the wrestling continues,
the man, who is later acknowledged as God is not seen as having
the upper hand. Verse 25 tells us, "When the man saw that he
was not winning the struggle, he struck Jacob on the hip, and it
was thrown out of joint."
There was no overpowering imposition of Divine wrath, but rather
an engaging struggle that became more intense as time was running
out. And to balance this, there was that final awaking and recognition
of Jacob that his opponent was in fact God. So often we want to
blame God for the bad things that happen to us, particularly as
we imagine God standing at some distance observing from afar. We
see this as being the easy and most convenient way to rationalise
our own difficulties, but here we see the struggle that God had
with Jacob, and out of it comes a respectful acknowledgement that
God is God, the supreme Lord and giver of life. Jacob declared,
"I have seen God face to face, and I am still alive."
He recognised not only the power and supremacy of God, but also
God's incredible mercy and grace.
Many today deny God's existence, or feel that they have not seen
God, or that God has abandoned us, but maybe we do not look in the
right places to see God at work.
Philip Yancey in his book, The Jesus I never Knew, speaks of our
concept of God as seeming absent, and says, "God has not absconded
at all. Rather, he has taken on a disguise, a most unlikely disguise
of the stranger, the poor, the hungry, the prisoner, the sick, the
ragged ones of earth: 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for
one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' If
we cannot detect God's presence in the world, it may be that we
have been looking in the wrong places."
Too often we look to see what we have achieve for God, or where
the miracles might happen, when we fail to notice the miracle in
our presence through the least expected moment or person or happening.
The disciples desire to be hospitable to the crowd had them wanting
to race off to buy great quantities of food, but God supplied from
what they had. The miracle isn't so much in the event, as it is
in us recognising and acknowledging God's presence in whatever form
that may take. It is where we look and where we are willing to recognised
God, that we will find his hand at work.
And the final interesting aspect of this story I want to touch on
is something of the personal interaction that God engages in, and
that is seen in his asking Jacob his name, and that whole conversation.
God was not just interested in any passer by, he was interested
in Jacob and as I have said, this relates to the covenant promise
handed down from Abram. But in asking the name he was personalising
and localising his activity in human history and in the context
of time and space. Jacob at Jabbok. For the hearers of this story,
there is no doubting who it is that was being spoken of. It formed
part of their history, and they could place it in the context of
their world.
However when Jacob asks the man his name, why is it that he is not
so forthcoming? "Why do you want to know my name? Then he blessed
Jacob."
God cannot be localised and confined by name, and time and space
for all of these concepts lie beyond the Divine, and go no way to
enlightening us in anyway. It is very like the idea that we make
no graven image of God, for exactly the same reason. It is too easy
to confine God, and hold God in the limits of our understanding
of what is possible and impossible. And every time we do this we
narrow the power and the majesty of God. Jacob was happy to recognise
and acknowledge he had met God. This experience and the blessings
that he then recognised in his life was enough for him to see and
to know God and to then declare his continued faith in God who had
lead him thus far, and who would continue to lead him into the future.
I wonder do we see God as the God of possibilities, or do we limit
God to what we can perceive as possible. Do we want to label God
and name God to satisfy our own images that we hold? Do we hold
these images so tight and paint such a defined picture of God that
we are never able to see beyond that which we can imagine.
God is God and we are unable to contain him.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
Sunday 24th July, 2011
Genesis 29:15-28, Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
What do you value the most?
The story of Jacob continues, as does our journey through Genesis,
and the saga of the development of the lineage of Abraham. Todays
reading is at the centre of the promise for Abraham to be a nation,
and its difficult to discuss in isolation from the past to
which it is connected and the future it represents. These verses
are the key elements to the weaving of the future for the nation
that is to come from Abraham. The weaving of this story comes in
two ways. We begin to see the connection of the stories with elements
of the past as we read the text for this week. There is also the
weaving, or zigzag course, revealed throughout as obstacles are
encountered and surmounted.
We have learned that Jacob is not the most upstanding citizen.
His story to date has been steeped in greed, self-interest, scheming
and cheating. Now, Jacob is on the run after cheating his brother
out of his birthright and the blessing of their father Isaac. Jacob's
scheming ways could be headed up as "The trickster gets tricked!
Though there is more to this story than revelling in Jacob
receiving "pay back" for what he has done to his brother
and his father, with the help of his mother. For the manner in which
Jacob took advantage of Esau's vulnerability to coax from him his
birthright and then took advantage of their father's infirmity to
steal the blessing that rightfully belonged to Esau, resulted in
a deep rupture between the brothers. Then, because his life is in
danger, Jacob flees from Esau and heads for the homeland of their
Uncle Laban and their mothers relatives.
Jacob's arrival in Haran is no coincidence. In a previous reading
from Genesis where he stole the blessing of his father from his
brother Esau, he is told not to marry one of the Canaanite women
but to go "to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father; and
take as wife from there one of the daughters of Laban, your mothers
brother" So, in running from Esau, Jacob enters the land of
Haran for the express purpose of finding a wife.
Missing from the lectionary reading is Jacob's initial encounter
with Rachel, the younger daughter, at the well where she arrives
to water her father's flock. Jacob knows who she is and is then
taken to the home of his uncle Laban, where he strikes a deal to
work seven years for Laban to get Rachel's hand in marriage. To
fulfil the promise given to Abraham of a great nation, that will
be of a large number, there have to be babies and babies require
women so finding a wife is always important to the narrative.
Our reading today focuses our attention on Jacob finding a wife.
There is concern here as elsewhere with having children and fulfilling
the promise made to Abraham in Genesis 12. The men in the story
are the fathers of the children the women seem secondary
necessary only for bearing children, and they prove problematic
as barrenness continues to be a theme, a barrier to the fulfilment
of God's promise. Somewhere in the midst, we encounter God's grace,
mercy and forgiveness that continues to be present even with Jacob
who repeatedly lies and cheats his way through life.
The story is similar to when Isaac's servant meets Rebekah at the
well. Jacob asks for Rachel, but he gets Leah. Leah is almost a
non-entity, introduced as having "lovely eyes" in contrast
to her sister Rachel who is "graceful and beautiful" and
is loved by Jacob. When Laban fails to meet his end of the bargain
with Jacob at the end of seven years, Laban's response is that the
firstborn daughter has to be married before the younger. One has
to wonder if Jacob is once again trying to cheat the system by marrying
the younger instead of the older as was the custom. Is he really
tricked? Or was Laban just a little wiser in not breaking with tradition
to give Rachel in marriage before offering Leah?
After promising to work for Laban for another seven years, Jacob
is given Rachel as his wife. Each of the sisters is given a maid
by their father. Laban gives Leah his maid Zilpah and gives to Rachel
his maid Bilhah. Jacob's story is woven with the two women he marries
as well as the two maids they bring with them as gifts from Laban.
These four women become the mothers to the twelve sons and one daughter
named as his children. You may still have the bulletin of a few
weeks ago that outlined these details in a diagram of the descendents
of Abraham.
We might well ask if God is present in the midst of all this trickery
and bending of the rules? Can the presence of God be sensed in the
company of these women who have no voice in the matter of their
lives, and find themselves pawns in the deception and manipulation?
What happens to Leah who is given although she is not wanted and
Rachel who is loved by her husband from the beginning and "bought"
with twice the time he gives for her sister? What of the lives of
the servants who are mere appendages to these wives and yet serve
a purpose in producing the offspring required for the great nation
that eventuates?
There are always challenges in finding God's presence and God's
grace in the midst of a text where God is not explicitly named.
But, God can bring good even out of betrayal, as God will do with
Joseph and his brothers. From the unhappy but prolific union of
Leah and Jacob, will come six of the twelve tribes of Israel, including
Judah, the father of the royal line and Levi, the father of the
priestly line. The other six tribes come from Rachael, Zilpah and
Bilhah. The progeny of these unions was the most valued object of
this episode in this family story. The deceitful and devious dealings
of the key members were all deemed necessary in order for the promises
of God to be fulfilled, the risk of their machinations back-firing
was minimised by their faith in God, and their belief that God was
on their side.
All that risk seems to put a lot at stake just to ensure a positive
outcome. But then many still undertake many risky undertakings for
the things they value. I wonder if any of you have ever seen the
movie called, "Everest", its based on a true story
about a mountain climbing expedition that went bad when an unexpected
storm came up. The climbers got stranded, some died and one man,
whom they thought was dead, survived, but he had his toes and fingers
amputated because of frostbite.
To us this seems like a risky and crazy thing to do. The survivor
was asked, "Will you ever climb again?" His response,
without a pause, was "Absolutely!" The person interviewing
him asked, "But why? You almost died on that mountain!"
The climbers response, "You just have to be there. It
makes each minute of life so alive, so precious. Your whole life
is affected by your experience on that mountain. You see everyday
things, including your family, job and life choices, in a different
light. You become more aware, once youve climbed, and nothing
is ever the same in your life." I suppose he was able to see
more clearly what he valued in life.
The climber has another perspective on life that is probably different
from ours. Though other climbers would probably be in agreement
with him. They seem to live with a completely different worldview
than we do. They are the insiders and we look into their world from
the outside. This is similar to the way we look at the story of
Jacob, Leah and Rachael. We see their story as from the outside
while they were the ones inside the story at the time.
Something like that insider/outsider worldview was also working
when Jesus told parables to his disciples. He has an experience
of God and life that he is sharing with those "insiders"
who are beginning to understand his view of life and God. When he
lays out these stories to people who are looking from the outside,
they dont seem to understand. To them the parables dont
make sense and even sound crazy. But for disciples like us, we may
not be biblical scholars and we are far from complete and perfect
followers, but we have come inside to this place of worship where
we hear with ears of faith and know a little of what Jesus is describing.
It is about a way of believing and living which, though risky, we
have accepted, for we have come to know these stories as truth.
These parables have a wisdom we wouldnt get on our own.
So we hear again the stories Jesus tells us today in our reading
from the Gospel according to Matthew; parables that illustrate the
kingdom of God. A man stumbles on a treasure hidden in a field.
When he found the treasure it changed his life and held out great
promise, for he sells all that he has and buys the field to possess
the treasure hidden there. Also, when the merchant finds a pearl
of great price, he too goes and sells all that he has and buys it.
His life has been changed by the treasure he has found and no sacrifice
is too great to possess it.
We are like the people in these parables who have made personal
sacrifices, for what we have found is truly the most valuable possession
we could ever have. We hold a treasure and are willing to make sacrifices
to hold on to that treasure, so we also "buy the whole field."
In order to honour that belief which we value the most we do not
live according to the prevalent standards around us: instead, we
choose honesty, even when it means not making extra profits on the
job; we treat all people, not just family, in a loving way, even
if others dont think these people are worth it; we are faithful
in marriage and friendships, even though the world treats promises,
spoken and unspoken, casually; we help people who need us, even
if we dont owe them anything; we have hope as we look into
the future, even though there is a lot that could make us despair;
we forgive those offend us, even though our world keeps a long memory
of wrongs.
But none of this makes sense to outsiders, they dont get
it; the way climbing Everest doesnt make any sense to most
of us, especially since some die there! The risk just isnt
worth it. But when Jesus tells stories about finding treasures and
a pearl of great price, we take the risk and make the sacrifices
necessary to receive and hold on to the treasure. We sense that
we have stumbled onto something very valuable, that which we have
searched for all our lives, even though we hadnt realised
it. We have stumbled onto a treasure and we will try to let go of
whatever holds us back from embracing it like the two men
in the parables who sell all they have for their new-found treasures.
Its a risky undertaking, maybe even more risky than mountain
climbing, because we have to risk and take a chance on Christ and
what he is offering us each and every day of our lives; sometimes
in large ways requiring big sacrifices, but mostly, the daily risks
are little, but constant. Its all for the sake of the treasure,
life in Gods kingdom. In fact, while there are other things
that the world considers valuable, like personal gain, possessions
at any cost, time and certain pleasures, we are willing to let all
those "pearls" go whenever we sense they keep us from
having the pearl more valuable than all the rest.
Jacob was in a similar situation, he saw Rachael as his pearl of
great price and was willing to pay a great deal to have her as his
wife, little knowing that even more would be asked of him, after
he was married to Leah. But for him he saw that the pearl was worth
it.
So, like Jacob we need to identify what we value the most, what
we think of as the pearl of great price and be prepared to pay the
price in order to achieve it.
17th July 2011
Genesis 28:10-19a Matthew 13:24-30,36-43
A couple of weeks back we had Abraham sending his slave back to
his homeland to find a wife for Isaac, now we see Isaac sending
his son Jacob back to that same place to find a wife for himself.
It is interesting that while Isaac was not allowed to go himself,
Jacob is. Some have suggested that Abraham did not sense that same
commitment to the Godly vision in Isaac that was recognised in Jacob.
Reno says of Jacob, "he has Abraham's personality to match
Abraham's vocation."
As Jacob travels to the homeland of his father to find himself a
wife, he stops to rest as the sun goes down and spends the night
at what is described as a holy place. Whether this place is a holy
place in retrospect as the story is told, or whether it was a recognised
holy place which Jacob chose to stop at, thus perhaps reinforcing
Jacob's own personal piety, we are not told. But certainly it is
a place where God's presence is felt as Jacob sleeps the night away.
And again we see God coming in grace. He is not on a pilgrimage,
he is not seek a particular religious experience, but rather God
comes to him as he sleep.
Derek Kinder describes this as "a display of divine grace,
unsought and unstinted:
Unsought in that Jacob is no pilgrim or prodigal - yet God came
to meet him, and unstinted, for there was no word of reproach or
demand, only a stream of assurances".
Such is the nature of grace and the nature of God's working with
humanity down the ages.
So what was it about this encounter, as God comes to Jacob in his
sleep. This of course is another picture of the Grace of God here.
Jacob passive in his sleep, and yet God is able to engage with him.
Reno describes two movements here, the forward movement of Jacob
toward a wife and the upward movement toward God who transcends
space and time. These two movements operate together in the life
of Jacob. Jacob is not called up and out of his earthly life to
encounter God, destroying and interrupting nature, no God comes
to him where he is in the midst of his life, in the day to day journey
and movement of life encountering him where he is.
While we are fixed with our feet firmly on the ground, God is free
to move backward and forward between the Kingdom of this world and
the Kingdom that is to come. Thus grace must always be the starting
point of our relationship with God, for he comes to us enabling
us to respond to that approach. He comes to us in the place where
we are at, in the world which has many different foci pulling us
in many and varied directions. There are those who follow God and
those who choose to take different paths, those who are absorbed
by the world in which they live and those who are willing and able
to look to a much bigger picture.
This theme is very like that parable that Jesus told about the weeds.
The field that was sown with good seed that someone came alone and
scattered the seed of weed among it.
It is thought the weed was probably darnel, a poisonous plant related
to wheat and virtually indistinguishable from it until the ears
form. Thus is cannot be separated out until the harvest, otherwise
the interwoven roots would destroy the good wheat and the chances
of pulling out wheat instead of the darnel would be a danger also.
To sow wheat as an act of revenge was punishable in Roman law, which
would suggest that this was sometimes done, and also reinforces
the idea that Jesus took real life examples when he told these parables.
Jesus was suggesting what Jacob had discovered, God is in our midst
meeting us in the midst of life and engaging with us. In this life
there are those who will believe in God and those who will not,
and we are not to make judgement for that is over to God. The uncertainty
of whether one is a believer or not, or saved or not according to
the parable is by no means clear cut. The plant and the weed can
be quite indistinguishable until late in the growth process, and
is done quite close to the harvest and the only way to tell is by
the ear that is formed, the fruit of the plant, if you like.
And so in life we are to live with our feet grounded in this world
but with our focus on God.
Like Jacob we are to look forward on the journey, engaging in the
world in which we live, but also to look upward to the God who transcends
time and space.
Reno says, "The central saving mystery of the Christian faith
does not rise up and out of space and time, but rather both ascends
and descends upon the crucified body of Christ."
In the cross of Christ, we can see the ascending and descending
movement of God who came to us in Jesus Christ, and we can recognise
his outstretch hands that are open to embrace us as he engages with
us.
Thus both Jacob's ladder and the cross of Christ are pictures of
God's grace in coming to us. They speak of God's loving embrace
of his world and all who dwell here.
They both speak of the invitation offered to follow and to respond
to that love given so freely.
Jacob woke up and built a cairn as a memorial to that moment. He
then offered himself in service to God and named the place Bethel,
meaning house of God. It was not in any way to confine God to that
place, but to acknowledge that that is where he met with God.
Many see that what comes next is Jacob bargaining with God, but
it is much more an affirmation and acknowledgement of all that has
gone on in this story. It is an affirmation and acknowledgement
of what God has already promised, His presence and blessing. In
many ways it is Jacob, saying, 'God, I have heard you and I will
do my best. This is surely the essence of worship. As we come together
each week we come to acknowledge that we have heard God and are
open to hearing God. We are expectant in our coming that he is in
our midst. Jesus after all said, "Where two or three gather
in my name, there am I in the midst of them." That is God's
promise, and like Jacob we respond, not in a bargaining mode, but
in a spirit of affirmation that if this is what God has promised
then we will take up the invitation and join with him.
Jacob also responded with a promise to tithe everything that God
gave him. This was not prescribed nor demanded, but was something
that Jacob saw he could do that was tangible and appropriate to
express his gratitude to God for the grace so freely given.
Thus in the church throughout the ages, the offering of God's people
has been an important element in our worship. It is part of the
response we make along with the prayers offered, and the hymns sung,
we offer a portion of our income in gratitude to God.
The concept of proportionate given has been a long establish practice.
Derek Kinder described the prescription of a tenth of ones income
as becoming a fetish among the Pharisees, and I fear it has among
many Christians when such demands are placed on people, often those
who can least afford it. But the opportunity to give freely and
proportionately as one is able remains a central part of our worship,
for this is always a tangible contribution to God's work in the
world of our day as it is for every generation. It is our own personal
way of offering what we are able, with no pressure of how much that
should or must be, but rather it is the response of our heart.
God has been gracious to us as individuals, and to us as a church
and to the church throughout the world, and as such we are given
the opportunity to express as part of our response, our giving,
our song, our prayer, in fact our whole being. It is interesting
that just as God gives freely, so Jacob affirmed the promises God
had made as part of his response in promising to follow God's ways.
Although he phrases it as, "if you will be with me and protect
me," this is merely repeating what God had said to him, but
Jacob does not insist on the success of his mission as being a condition
of his to follow God. No, he merely affirms the promises made by
God and leaves the rest to God, accepting that whatever happens
along the way will be in God's hands. He was not going to be swayed
in his commitment according to the day to day encounters in the
world, as he is in the world, but declaring that he is not of the
world.
His focus, while embracing the world in which he lived, was directed
to God, who came and continued to come to him as there was that
descending and ascending motion.
We must ask ourselves how much our commitment is swayed by the world
in which we live or do we have that same covenant love that God
has for us that is immovable and always abounding in its focus on
God through the Cross of Christ. God's promises remain for us as
they did for Jacob and as they were given and demonstrated in Jesus
Christ, based on the premise that God is with us.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
10th July 2011
Genesis 25:19-34 Matthew 13:1-9,18-23
In today's reading from Genesis we begin to see the fruit of the
promise of God to Abraham as it unfolds into the next generation
as the story continues on this journey of God's love down this particular
family line.
Parallel this with the story of the sower that Jesus told and we
begin to see the theme that questions why some people follow God
and others reject him.
This has been the prerogative of humanity from the beginning, in
that we are not programmed in one sense to make that choice leaving
us powerless to make real decisions for ourselves, and yet on the
other hand it would seem from the story that right from the beginning
in this account that one brother would follow God and the other
would not.
Jacob the younger of the two would in the end have power over the
older, Esau.
As with so many biblical stories they contradict the commonly held
points of view or expectations of the hearers. It would have been
far more normal for the elder brother to have held sway over the
younger.
And there are many other puzzling aspects to this story, which is
not uncommon in the Biblical literature.
Why are the manipulating and deceptive actions of Jacob seemingly
rewarded by God's acceptance of him as the righteous one?
Such questions have occupied the minds of plenty down the centuries
as we try to rationalise and in a sense humanise the choices and
decisions of the Divine, fitting God's thought patterns and concepts
of justice and righteousness into our own minds so that we can feel
comfortable with the outcomes.
It would seem the more we try to do this the greater confusion we
can find ourselves in.
The parable of the sower goes some way to answering these questions,
in the sense that it gives an illustration that points to many influences
that affect ones effective participation in the kingdom of God.
Where the seed falls, the nature of the ground on which it falls,
the competition of other growth, the sun and so on. All external
influences beyond the control of the seed affect its chances of
survival to be useful and productive in the way in which it was
intended.
Humanity in creation was meant to bring honour and glory to God
and because of the very nature of humanity this is not necessarily
the case.
But God in his love comes to us.
And so we pick up the story of Jacob and Esau. These two lads, were
the result of the earnest prayers of their parents, Isaac and Rebecca.
And right from the very early stages, Rebecca was aware of the antagonism
between them as we are told, "She was going to have twins,
and before they were born, they struggled against each other in
her womb."
They were told that this would be pattern of their lives, one of
struggling against the other, and that the older would serve the
younger. Little could they know as to how this would pan out in
the years to come and what the longer effects would be.
So the questions left in our minds relate to the concept of particularity.
Why Jacob and not Esau? Why is the divine blessing to run through
the family of Abraham and not someone else? Why Isaac and not Ishmael?
We can rationalise the latter question as Isaac was the child of
the marriage and not the child of a slave, but that in itself is
fitting the reason into our human logic rather than exploring apparent
arbitrary nature of God's election.
If we try to weigh up the positive characteristics verses the negative
ones in these two people to try and justify the reasoning behind
the choice of Jacob over Esau, we come up with a very mixed picture.
Both have their faults and quite serious ones, and both have their
strengths. This does not help us forward.
Reno says, "Both brothers seem less-than-ideal children of
the promise."
Thus this idea of election can never be boiled down to, or solved
by recourse to personal merit.
In fact the Apostle Paul interprets this in Romans 9:11 by saying,
"But in order that the choice of one son might be completely
the result of God's own purpose, God said to her, "The elder
will serve the younger." He said this before they were born,
before they had done anything either good or bad; so God's choice
was based on his call, and not on anything they had done."
It is by grace alone, by God's unmerited, unearned, undeserved love
that any of us can stand before Him. It is in all of this that we
see some fundamental differences between God and humanity. We puzzle
over this issues of choice for we base our assumptions on our human
experience of choice where merit becomes so important. Ones deservedness
is crucial when making choices for reward, and thus we become very
careful in the choices we make.
So often in our relationships with others, we make choices based
on all sorts of things, common interests and values, appearance,
attitudes, other acceptable social networks. But in no way can we
boil God's choice to love, down to any such human way of thinking,
for immediately we are then pushed back into that corner of merit
becoming the basis. We almost automatically look for reasons to
love or be loved or not to love.
Reno says on this, "The fierce purity in God's love eclipses
reasons, motives, and judgements we can share. We partake in God's
nature only insofar as we know that God reaches out to grab us -
Christ crucified and risen - and not because we know why?"
The true nature of pure love moves beyond reason and stands alone
unable to be justified.
The cross if reasoned becomes meaningless and yet it stands as an
expression of love. Or as Paul puts it, it is foolishness to the
wise and wisdom to the foolish.
In the parable of the sower, there is no reason in that picture
where the seed falls, unlike today's methods of planting where we
place seed in well prepared ground, although in the parable we can
explain to some degree or other why there is a better chance that
some seed will survive over the other.
Unmerited love is given, and is there for us.
To quote Reno again, "The sheer fact of love sways the heart.
Love's reasonless abandonment to another is what gives love its
burning necessity. This is why God's name is good news."
In this family line that we have been looking at we see that commitment
to the love offered by God, and a willingness to trust the promise
made by God of that unconditional love. Isaac's prayer, that Rebecca
have children is answered. In faith they trusted God, not limiting
God to the conventions that were considered normal. They were perhaps
getting on years beyond those where children were normally born,
and then the older would serve the younger. Restriction and conventions
that govern our humanity are never limiting to God in the offering
of his love and fulfilment of his promises. For such love is beyond
reason.
So where does this leave us. It can only leave us with the question
of our own response to such love as we can only ask ourselves what
we desire most in life as we seek to respond to that great love
offered. Our response is purely that, response. It is never a means
of justifying the love given, or earning or making us deserving
of such love. That is out of the question.
For us, it is what does that love evoke in us that will change our
lives and the way we view the world and others.
If God's love can be offered without reason or justification, are
we able to offer that same love to those around us. Can we look
beyond reason, beyond motive, beyond personality?
We may struggle with such concepts and yet is our desire to allow
God to be seen through us and in us as we live as his children in
this world.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
26th June 2011 Pentecost 8 - St John Service
Genesis 22:1-14 Matthew 10:40-42
God Provides:
Last weeks readings drew us into the story of Creation and I suggested
that those stories are not written as scientific treatise explaining
the beginnings of the world as we know it, but are far more about
the relationship between God and humanity from the beginning of
time.
Like the world, that relationship has been on an ever evolving and
changing path from those beginnings until today, and the scriptures
bear witness to varying stages in the relationship over time and
throughout history.
And as we look at some of the more unusual stories that we have
been given, we need to look at them as much as possible through
the cultural eyes of those who were involved, or for whom these
stories were primarily told.
The story of Abraham does not fit well with us if we merely try
to overlay it on our social, moral and cultural values that are
expressed in our society today. Blood offerings as recompense for
our wrong doings is not seen as being particularly relevant or appropriate
in our society today, but for these people this was becoming the
way in which they gave expression to their human frailty and at
the same time offered something back to their Holy and awe inspiring
God. For them, this was offering something of great personal value
in thanksgiving to God, recognising that only God was worthy of
such praise.
Obviously in this story of Abraham such an offering was also extraordinary
and came as a bolt out of the blue. Even for Abraham, a Godly man,
he struggled with this, although the call to obedience was strong.
He had always honoured God and he wished to continue to do that,
even in the face of such a demanding and strange request. One commentator
says,
"From Abraham the harrowing demand evokes only love and faith,
certain as he is that the 'foolishness of God' is unexplored wisdom."
For Abraham there was trust in the good times and in the uncertainties
of life, during the times of blessing as well as in those times
when he was unsure of what the future held.
Abraham had been promised that he would be the father of many nations,
and here in his son was this promise borne out, so Abraham trusted
God not to go back on his word. As he went off preparing the sacrifice
as instructed he told those with him, that he and his son would
return. Thus in the face of what seemed foolish, Abraham continued
to exercise trust.
He exercised this trust believing that just as God had provided
a son for him in fulfilment of his promise, so he would provide
that which was necessary for him to please God in his sacrifice
as he continued to worship God.
Thus, this story speaks of God's abundant provision for the needs
of his people not only here in this story but throughout history.
This story is a foreshadow to the greatest story of all time, the
one whose life and teaching we base our faith around today. The
one who came as Son into our world to be the sacrifice for all humanity.
The one who came to take away the sin of the world.
And the parallels are interesting. God's son came and dwelt among
us as one of us. He understood what it was to be human, he lived
with joy and sorrow, with both acceptance and rejection. And like
Issac, with his father leading the way he walked the path to that
point of sacrifice.
And just as Isaac did he carried the wood with him that aided in
that sacrifice.
The horror of both stories can leave us with a certain unease.
And yet in both stories there is hope, hope of resurrection. For
Isaac it was prior to his death, and the hope that Abraham had as
he parted from the group with Isaac, "The boy and I will go
over there and worship, and then we will come back." Such was
Abraham's faith.
Then with Jesus, he spoke often enough in the lead up to the cross,
that he would rise again. And of course this has formed the basis
of the Christian faith, that without such hope our message would
be meaningless.
And it is in this great act of God's love for all humanity that
has down the centuries evoked response in people from generation
to generation to offer their own selves in the service of mankind.
It was indeed the basis of the movement that led to the formation
of the Order of St John, those who gave their own lives in the service
of others, tending to the needs of the pilgrims and crusaders all
in the name of Christ.
In Jewish thought a man's agent is like himself, so he does the
things that the master would have done. And this is what Christian
discipleship is all about, is it not?
We follow the teaching and the example of Jesus, just as he followed
the example and love of God and lived that out in the world of his
day.
And so if we are to be followers of Jesus we are all called to offer
ourselves for the service of those around us.
The little snippet of the Matthew's gospel that we read today picks
up this theme encouraging us to consider our treatment and service
of others.
If we welcome on of God's children, we are indeed welcoming God
himself, for God's children are agents of their master.
Even a drink to the least of his followers is offering service to
God.
This is basis from which the church and organisations like St John
with its Christian roots work from. Whether it be picking up the
elderly or sick from their homes and getting them to where help
can be provided, or whether it be helping the person who has collapsed
on the side of the road, or been injured in a car accident, or whether
it is service cups of tea to those in the emergency department of
our hospital as they anxiously wait for treatment for a friend or
relative to be seen too, it is all about the offering of ourselves
for the service of others.
Like Abraham, we all have to weigh up the cost that is being asked
of us as we consider the service we might be called to. But like
Abraham we too can believe that God will provide as we step out
in faith, often with feelings of personal inadequacy, of time pressure
of, fear, of all sorts of things that could prevent us from moving
forward.
Reno in commenting on this passage reminds us,
"What seemed an unbearable loss to Abraham, becomes, through
an enduring faith, an unaccountable gain."
And isn't that so often the case in the sacrifices we make in life,
that we initially think of the unbearable cost, the time, the commitment,
the cost to personal life, and then as we engage in service, we
gain so much more from it.
Abraham saw God and named, as Jehoval Jira, which meant, my provider.
He saw God as the one who even in the face of huge personal cost
and possible tragedy, God was the one who would provide, and he
did.
Just as he did in the sending of his Son into the world to be our
Saviour.
May God be with us all in our service to Him and to those around
us as we each consider our commitment to Christ and what that means
in terms of our commitment to one another and our community.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
5th June 2011 Easter 7
Acts 1:1-11 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11
The Life God calls us to
It is easy when talking about faith and religion to become lofty
in our thoughts and pie in the sky in our attitudes, when in fact
the Christian faith has always been grounded in the reality of the
world in which we live.
No where is this seen more clearly than in the Gospel's and in the
accounts of the early church as it became established around the
know world, firstly within Judaism, and then gradually as it moved
out of that to become an independent movement in its own right.
The life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth grounded the
Christian faith very much in the reality of our world as we come
to understand that God, in Jesus Christ came and dwelt with us as
one of us, experiencing life as we experience it, facing joys and
sorrows, trials and tribulations, just as we face them. He too came
face to face with those who opposed or despised him. Such was the
experience of his life, as all he tried to do was to give expression
to God's love for the world.
We see this in John's Gospel in that great high Priestly prayer
which comes at a turning point in Jesus life as he shifts his focus
from his earthly ministry on to his coming Priestly role as he will
take upon himself the sins of the world. But in that shift he does
not abandon his connection with the world, but rather grounds his
shift in that very point as he prays earnestly for his disciples.
His prayer is that in what he must go through, that God would receive
glory, that his disciples would be kept safe and that they may know
through him the oneness with God that has strengthened him in his
earthly life. He goes on to pray for all those who will respond
to the ongoing ministry in which his disciples and subsequent generations
will be involved.
Such was his understanding of the world in which he lived and the
needs that flow from our human existence.
Peter writing to the churches in Asia Minor in the second half of
the first century AD, to a scattered congregation who were beginning
to suffer more and more persecution did not promise that pie in
the sky religious well being. There was no idea that, positive thinking
will make your life go well, or the power of self to be able to
improve ones lot, but rather his advice was based on the reality
of what was happening in the world of their day.
And what was happening? Increasingly the growing Christian community
were becoming isolated from the Jewish community and there was a
growing persecution of people who claimed to follow Jesus, probably
from both the religious community and the general populace.
So again and again Peter addresses this issue of how as Christians
we can find strength to face such suffering and trials when persecution
for our faith confronts us.
In the closing section of this letter Peter reminds us that we should
not be surprised in the fact that we might suffer for our faith.
People will always look for a point of difference to isolate and
confront others so that power or position might be obtained. Faith
becomes an easy target for this.
In summing up this first letter, Peter suggest that suffering for
faith is not to be seen in a negative light. If we suffer for our
faith it allows us to remember all that Christ went through for
us. Now he is not saying here, to go out and look for ways to suffer,
there is no sense of creating a situation so that we might suffer.
No, this is purely a coping mechanism if for reasons out of our
control suffering for our faith should come our way.
If Christ was prepared to suffer to the extent that he did for us,
should we not find strength from that if we are asked to suffer
for him? And it is made clear that this is only in the context of
suffering for our faith.
Peter says, "If any of you suffers, it must not be because
he is a murderer or a thief or a criminal or meddles in other peoples
affairs. However, if you suffer because you are a Christian, don't
be ashamed of it, but thank God that you bear Christ's name."
I suppose to look at this from another angle would be to say, don't
hide your faith under a bowl, but always let the light of Christ
shine through you. If others have trouble with that, that is in
fact their problem.
It is not that we have to be in people's faces with our faith, always
pushing our ideas onto them, but rather the idea that our faith
is so much part of our make up that one cannot separate out that
aspect of our faith from the rest of our being.
We certainly don't live in a day and age where there is open antagonism
on any mass scale against religious belief in our country, but perhaps
the greatest threat for us against faith, is that of apathy. No
one cares that much at all; therefore faith becomes almost irrelevant
to the world. In a sense that may be harder to cope with.
Peter's call is to put all such worries with God and to humbly walk
with God in our own lives. As a community of faith, as individuals,
we are to concentrate on our own relationship with God and with
one another, and to leave all such external threats and persecutions
with God, for it is in his strength that we can live with confidence,
even in the face of suffering.
How many people do we hear, who face all sorts of trials, who testify
to have found strength for what they face through their relationship
with God.
"Leave all our worries with him, because he cares for you."
It is easy to say and sometimes hard to live out, but the reality
is that worrying merely eats away at us, and usually achieves nothing
constructive.
Worrying can destroy ones confidence and even erode relationships
with others, and Peter sees such destructive forces as not being
of God, but rather from the Devil. So he urges his hearers to keep
a watch out for such behaviour so that we might concentrate on more
positive attitudes in life.
We are to concentrate on building up ones own faith, as well as
encouraging others in theirs, we are to work toward those things
that are good and pleasing to God, and leave the rest with God.
Suffering in a world that is resistant to God is to be expected
and is not out of the ordinary, but get on with life, is Peter advice
in such times and he suggests we be firm in our faith. Trust God,
for our lives are in his hands and he will bring all things to perfect
completion in the end.
It is too easy in our modern world to be consumed with worry by
the things that surround us and entrap us our modern lifestyle as
we seek to be in control when in fact we never have ultimate control.
That is, and always will be the domain of God. And constantly we
are reminded of this, whether it be through climatic events, natural
disasters, health issues, we seem to be in a constant struggle,
almost, to contain and control our world, rather than acknowledging
it as God's world in our pursuit to understand that more fully.
Peter finishes that main body of his letter with some wonderfully
assuring words.
"But the God of all grace, who calls you to share his eternal
glory in union with Christ, will himself perfect you and give you
firmness, strength, and a sure foundation."
This is about our God, who never abandons us, who walks our lives
with us, understanding us and encouraging us to keep our eyes fixed
on him.
Such trust enables us to leave the worries that so often bind us,
with him, so that we can live with confidence, faith and joy, even
in the face of hardship and suffering.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
Sunday 29th May, 2011
'Truth gets personal'
John 14:15-21
In our reading today form the Gospel according to John, Jesus continues
his farewell speech to the disciples, in which he says, "God
will give you another helper, who will stay with you forever; the
Spirit who reveals the truth about God. The world cannot receive
it, because it cannot see it nor know it. You know the Spirit because
it lives with you and will be in you."
Have you met the Truth lately? In the New Testament, truth is personal.
Not some thing, but someone. Through Jesus and the Holy Spirit,
truth becomes a personal experience.
In the upper room, on the night of his betrayal, Jesus assured his
bewildered disciples that they would not be left without divine
assistance. There would be another helper, the Counsellor, the Spirit
of truth. Here truth is not some abstract quality but a personal
relationship. In our world where deceit and lies are practised as
a major profession, via political "spin doctors" and advertising
specialists, it comes as a relief to know that there is someone
Jesus calls "The Spirit of truth."
In the Ten Commandments the most important command after the first
two concerning worshipping God alone, is the ninth commandment:
you shall not bear false witness. It seems that as long as truth
is respected, a community can deal with wrongdoing. But when deceit
rules, then everything becomes chaotic. Society can deal with theft
as long there is integrity in the Police and witnesses. Society
can cope with the breakdown of marriages as long as the participants
are honest with each other. Society can even come to terms with
murder, providing witnesses, police, jurors and judges retain their
commitment to the truth.
However, when the essence of the ninth commandment breaks down,
when truth ceases to be the common bond in community interaction,
then all hell breaks loose. We are very much in that situation in
today's times, where using other people like furniture for one's
comfort or profit, is widespread, and this is graphically displayed
in most of the programmes we watch on TV.
This media that lives in our homes, brings us into a new world,
not so much of immoral people but of amoral people. Honesty no longer
has status, people are to be exploited, even one's best friends
can be laughed about behind their backs but praised in their presence.
Parents are portrayed as a burden. Commitments are avoided. Marriage
is a trap and sex is a bargaining chip. These programmes portray
a society of mostly non-violent sociopaths.
We can all appreciate the humour of some shows; seeing comedy in
trivial situations, comments and attitudes. We probably watch it
more for its humour rather than pondering its social comment. But
mostly it is a superficial existence that most situation comedies
portray, and if they reflect in some degree our contemporary Western
way of life, then we are in deep trouble.
We could well ask 'To what degree are we being seduced by this deceitful
portrayal?' Thank goodness we can rely on the knowledge that there
is a Spirit of truth, for there is little else in this world that
we can depend on.
The truth of God in Christ Jesus, made known through the Holy Spirit
is what we can depend on. This is one reality which is not relative,
one on which we can completely rely, one voice that never fools
us, one great love which will never cheat on us. Because this truth
is personal. It is our personal relationship with God; as the Spirit
of truth is, that God with us. As Jesus said: You know it because
it lives with you and will be in you." (John 14: 16-17)
This truth is not information we learn about physics, or astronomy,
or psychology, or theology. It is God's relationship with humanity.
A relationship which God initiates and to which we can respond with
an emphatic "no," or with a joyful "yes" each
and every day. It is the sheer strength of God's love leading us
towards the fulfilment of ourselves and our community.
The Spirit of truth sees us as we really are, yet accepts and treasures
us. Nothing can be hidden from this truth. Nor is there any need
to hide anything from this truth. For the love of God can face our
simple humanity without disgust or despair. This is one of the wonderful
things about the Spirit of truth. We do not have to pretend, or
makes excuses, or try to hide any ugliness. Just as men and women
found themselves at peace in the presence of Jesus of Nazareth,
so we too find ourselves at peace in the Presence of the Spirit
of truth.
The Spirit also sharpens our perceptions of life, and at times alerts
us to dangers or opens our eyes to new opportunities for serving
Christ. Traditionally the church used the word "conviction"
to describe this ministry of the Spirit of truth. The Spirit convicts
us of sin, or convinces us of wrongs to be righted, neighbours to
be helped, enemies to be forgiven, apologies to be made, achievements
in others to be applauded.
To trust the Spirit of truth may mean we need to be reshaped, which
may be a painful experience. We generally don't like to make changes;
especially not changes deep down in our being which might make us
feel uncomfortable and challenged. The Spirit of truth is also called
the Counsellor, (who like a barrister conducting a cross examination
in court) can make us face things that we thought were good but
we now begin to see, fall short of the best that God wishes for
us.
It is implied that Jesus himself has been God's helper up to this
point, as he says, "God will give you another helper."
The Spirit of truth is not different from Jesus, but gives the same
hard challenges and the same warm comfort and healing that Jesus
gave to those around him. It is no wonder that in the New Testament
the words--the "Spirit of God" the "Spirit of Christ"
and the "Holy Spirit" are used interchangeably. God's
truth therefore, is no kinder and no tougher than Jesus, whose life
we admire, praise and love. There is laughter in God's truth. There
is compassion in God's truth. There is judgement in God's truth.
There is grace in God's truth. There is the cross in God's truth.
There are wounds in God's truth. There is the joy of the resurrection
in God's truth.
Around us in this twenty-first century, there are masses of lies
and deceits; like smog over a large city on a still autumn day,
infiltrating our offices, our homes and our lungs. There are a few,
maybe more than a few, deceits within us. Some of them are the same
lies and deceits that lead to Jesus being hounded, abused and slaughtered.
But in the midst of all this the Helper, the Spirit of truth, will
be personally with and within the friends of Jesus, determined to
set us free from all falsehood.
In two weeks time we will celebrate Pentecost, that great explosion
of the Spirit of truth in the early church. Through the days of
these two weeks, consider making it your prayer and discipline to
empty out some of the junk in your life and make more room; more
room for more of what you already have but can also have in abundance.
For when you have an abundance of God's love it will show itself
in more love for others, for love is the sure sign of the Presence
of the Spirit of truth.
15th May 2011
Acts 2:42-47
1 Peter 2:18-25
Today our readings focus our thoughts on us as member of the Christian
community. What does it mean to be part of the church? The church
as the people of God, the gather people, the people called by God.
Often the church is criticised by some as being a clique. And it
is a criticism that we need to be mindful of, for I am sure that
in no way are we to be a closed group of people. It is not a club,
with a set of rules for membership that we are tested against and
held to account for. The church is a unique organism if you like.
It is a gathering of a wide cross section of the community, from
all walks of life and from a wide variety of backgrounds. There
was obviously from its very earliest inception a gathering together
to meet the spiritual, social, economic, and emotional needs of
those who held a common belief in Christ as Risen Lord and Messiah.
In Acts we read how they shared possessions, gathered for prayer
and worship, and shared meals together.
The common bond of belief had a profound affect on the way these
people lived their lives. That sense of being a community, of being
responsible for and accountable to each other seemed by all accounts
to be much more heightened. They were obviously under enormous strain
both from within the established religious community of that day
and from the wider political community and their sense of community
gave them both comfort and strength to face the difficulties which
lay before them.
The cooperate nature of the church is something that was fostered
right from our very beginnings. And in talking of the church here,
I mean God's people from the beginning of time. We see in Psalm
23 that we know so well, a theme Jesus also picks up in a Parable
he tells in John's Gospel using the whole imagery is of the shepherd
and the sheep. Clearly the community of God's people is seen as
being like that flock of sheep, a collective that is gathered together
and cared for by a superior or Supreme Being.
In Psalm 23 the people Israel had no difficulty there with the concept
of God as their shepherd. It was an image that came from their day
and drawn out of their setting. They could visualise the scene that
was painted for them in the words of this Psalm.
Today we might prefer to talk of God as our Chairman of Directors,
the one who lays out our policies and gives us our daily directions:
The one who fills our pay packets and gives us power to go and spend:
The one who leads us to the supermarkets where we can fill our pantries
with those goodies that will supply our needs.
Imagery like this might certainly be more applicable to today's
world and give us more of a sense of the power that the Psalmist
was writing of.
But when Jesus drew on the imagery from this Psalm to paint a picture
of himself, it left his hearers in no doubt as to the parallels
that he was drawing. The murmurs of disquiet began to ripple around
the community. Here was Jesus claiming to be the shepherd. Here
he was taking that Psalm of old that they loved so much and claiming
that status for himself.
But for the emerging Christian community this imagery began to draw
parallels and began to confirm for them, Christ as Messiah. As the
early church developed, these stories of Jesus became more and more
important. They became the foundation for the beliefs surrounding
the risen Christ.
From these stories they could draw strength for the growing persecutions
that were facing them.
As people were faced with difficulties and situations that caused
discomfort and unease, many were dropping away. So people like Peter
would write and offer advice and encouragement and such advice and
encouragement would be enhanced by remembering the stories of old.
Peter urged, "For it is a credit to you if, being aware of
God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly."
Suffering and endurance is part of human life, and for some they
suffer more than others. As a community of faith we are there to
support people in their suffering, we are there to fight injustice,
but above all we are there to tell the stories of the one who suffered
with us and for us. No suffering that we encounter is outside of
God's experience and God is with us in such suffering. In fact as
the shepherd guides his sheep, so God guides us. And in another
parable where Jesus speaks of himself as the shepherd, he speaks
of going out and seeking out the sheep that are suffering , the
sheep that are lost. In John's Gospel it is about God who protects
us and keeps us from ultimate harm, for there is nothing in the
end that can separate us from the loving concern of our Shepherd,
not even death itself.
These stories offer us that sense of comfort and in all the paths
of life that we walk, the presence of God is with us. God is enduring
in his love for us, and calls us to endure in our faith with him.
In all the struggles that we face, we are not alone, for Christ
who walked and talked with his disciples, who suffered with his
people, is the same risen Christ who walks with us and who strengthens
and encourages us in our journey of life enabling us to endure in
the faith that we profess.
We as a community of God's people are the body of Christ, and so
there is a sense in which we have the responsibility to live out
the presence of Christ in the world today.
Each of us have a part to play in bringing Christ's values and Christ's
teaching into the world. We are here to encourage one another and
support one another in the struggles that face us. We are here to
tell and retell the stories of our faith, that we too may draw strength
from Christ, crucified and risen; The living Christ who is in our
midst.
That's what it means to be God's people, to live in union with God
and to live as the church today.
May we continue to seek ways in which we can be effective in not
only living our lives and expressing the enduring faith that we
hold dear, but also in helping others to live theirs knowing and
experiencing the enduring love that God has for us and the world.
May we learn to stand with others in the joys and the sorrows of
life, in the successes and the struggles, pointing others always
to God, whose love is there and never lets us go.
As one song writer puts it,
To be God's people - in this place,
Live his goodness share his grace,
Proclaim God's mercy through his Son
Be his love to every one.
Almighty Father, give us a vision
Of a dying world that needs your love and care.
We see the need, the searching for a Saviour
In Jesus' name, grant this our prayer.
In our searching for such enduring faith, we can surely only find
that in Christ, Crucified and Risen. He suffered and died for us,
but rose victorious, and that is where our hope must lie, for in
him we too can be guided and led through this life, with the Lord
as our shepherd.
To God be the glory, now and forever more. AMEN
8th May 2011
Acts 2:14a,36-41
1 Peter 1:13-25
Personal Faith
Having outlined Christ's work of salvation through his life, death
and resurrection, Peter goes on to encourage his scattered congregation
throughout Asia Minor in the response that they should make.
Salvation has been achieved. God has reconciled humanity to himself
through Christ and this aspect of our salvation must always be attributed
to God. There is nothing that we can or could do to affect this
work in our own lives.
He reiterates this in today's reading as he alludes to Christ as
the Lamb without defect or flaw, drawing his hearers back to the
Passover and the whole Old Testament ideas of sacrificial rites
where the spilt blood paid the price. In Christ, that work was complete,
the price was paid, and this was the once and for all sacrifice
God required, God initiated and achieved in Jesus of Nazareth.
But here Peter says, although that is the case, and that is the
vital part achieved, we as people, as individuals, as communities
of God's people, we as the church, are called to respond in the
way we live.
Peter offers some sound practical advice laced with good theological
reasoning. That reasoning being grounded in what God, through Jesus
Christ has already achieved. That is the given, the rest is our
response, as faltering and as fickle as that may be.
He begins by appealing to the mind.
"Have your minds ready for action. Keep alert and set your
hope completely on the blessing which will be given you when Jesus
Christ is revealed."
Have your minds ready. This is an appeal to reason, to think carefully
about your faith in relation to the rest of your living. I am sure
that although this sounds simple it is easier to talk about than
most of us find to put into practice.
But it is the human mind that drives the actions of most people.
And it is the mind which we need to constantly work at training,
so that our actions more and more conform to the faith that we profess.
I suspect that this is the area that at various times and in various
ways lets us all down, as it is our minds that that define us as
uniquely human. It is our capacity to think and to allow our thoughts
to be reflected in our actions, and our ability to have some control
over that capacity that lies at the heart of being human.
There is the choice of right and wrong, there is the decision to
believe or not believe, to accept or to reject.
And so Peter reminds us of the need to have our minds ready, to
be alert.
This is a call to actively shape our lives into the image that God
calls us too.
Now that sounds easy, but it is not for a number of reasons.
We all know of the conflicting pressures and messages that we face
in life, areas where decisions have to be made that are not necessarily
clear cut. We need to remember that Jesus' own teaching came out
of a tradition where rules and regulations were made to help people
confirm to what others thought was appropriate behaviour and actions.
But legalism is not the answer. The Gospel calls us to a change
of heart, to pursue a way that encourages the individual to see
life as a response to God's love for us.
This does not fit with a regimented set of rules that determine
for us a clear cut notion of right and wrong but encourages us to
use the freedom we have to equip ourselves for honouring God in
our living.
Peter draws this picture of humanity with that nature that offers
choice and invites us to build on the choices we make to give substance
to the faith that we profess.
This is never a single choice offering a once and for all solution,
but is a journey that we travel, sometimes seeing smooth paths ahead
and at other times having to deal with the turbulence that life
can throw at us.
The one constant and enduring aspect of this relationship is God
and what he has done, and Peter reiterates this time and again.
That becomes the given factor. God loves us, God has achieved his
purpose in offering salvation for all humanity.
And even the seemingly enduring things like gold and silver, Peter
suggests, can in fact be worn away, where as God's love in Jesus
Christ stands and endures.
That relationship was in the beginning, and will be for ever more.
And it is here, in this relationship that God offers that Peter
says were are to fix our eyes.
It is out of this relationship that we are invited to shape and
form our lives around, relying on God, but also responding to him
in ways that demonstrate that life in our world today.
How does this show? In our love for God and our love for one another!
Love can never be regulated, and must always be the response of
the heart and mind, and act of the will that responds with grace.
Peter calls for this earnest love even in the face of trouble and
persecution, and again grounds this love in our understanding of
God's love for humanity.
So dramatic is the difference between our human nature and the nature
that God calls us to put on, that like John, Peter calls for that
total transformation and aligns it with the idea of a complete rebirth.
It is like coming to the world in which we live with totally new
and fresh eyes, seeing our lives and our community from a different
perspective.
Unfortunately that rather worn and tired clique of being born again,
has had laid on it today, many connotations and nuisances that were
not intended, and it certainly wasn't meant to be a particular brand
of believer, for none of us can be Christian unless we have that
new view of the world, no matter how small our glimpse is of it,
for we are born in this way not through our own efforts or actions
but by the Spirit of God at work in us transforming us into the
people he wants us to be.
Our acceptance of our place in God's world with God at the centre
stands in stark contrast to those who see humanity at the centre
of the world with us having ultimate dominion over it.
Peter reminds us that we really are just like the grass and the
wild flowers that wither and fade, where as God remains from generation
to generation, from everlasting to everlasting.
His word who came among us in Jesus the Christ, his living risen
presence stands as the everlasting reminder that this is indeed
God's world and this is the message we have to continue to proclaim
as his church in our day as in every day. Our choice is always to
follow him or not to follow him, and no one apart from we ourselves
can make that choice.
May God give us the grace and continue to open our eyes to the wonder
of his love that surrounds us on every side.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
1st May 2011
Acts 2:14a, 22-32 1 Peter 1:3-9
Doubts disperse:
While we have just celebrated the Easter event with the death and
resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ at the heart of that celebration,
it struck me as I read this passage from 1 Peter, as to the passion
with which he was penning this letter.
This letter was written nearly 30 years after the events of that
first Easter around AD 62 and yet here Peter writes as if it were
yesterday.
The impact of that first Easter on those who witnessed it was so
powerful and lasting in its effects that nearly three decades later
Peter was encouraging the church scattered through northern Asia
Minor to continue in their walk with God despite any persecution
and suffering they might encounter.
If doubts were to loom in their minds because of what they had or
might suffer they were to put those behind them because they had
so much to be thankful for. Rather than gloom and doom they were
to see joy because of what Christ had done for them, and Peter grounds
this in the historic events of that first Easter that he and his
fellow apostles had been so intimately part of.
So as the doubts were dispersed their hearts were filled with joy;
joy in the future heavenly blessings that awaited them,
joy in spite of the suffering that faced them and the inexpressible
joy in knowing Christ.
So this joy is grounded in our response to God. Peter's understanding
of God at this point has overtones of Trinitarian language as expressed
in, "God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!"
God as the Father is not in any way to be conceived as having created
the Son or caused him to exist, for the Son has always existed in
the fullness of the Godhead. This relationship is much more in terms
of the Father who directs and the son who responds and obeys, the
Father sends, the son goes.
Peter's encouragement is a helpful remedy for people weighed down
by the worries of the world and reminds us that the joy of looking
beyond the immediate can sometimes help us to live through the present.
It is too easy to become weighed down by what is happening now and
to wallow in the burdens of the moment, where as to focus on something
greater which lies beyond the present, especially where we can see
and know something more certain can give strength for the here and
now. Peter puts this in the context of his faith, and probably still
relives the horror days leading up to the crucifixion. And as he
reflects in hindsight on those days, he can also relive the glorious
moment of encountering the risen Christ as it dawned that he is
risen.
No doubt the implications of that took sometime to sink in.
Now his theology is grounded in that event.
New life, a new way of living, and new way of viewing life, a new
and certain hope is held out for all who are prepared to trust in
him, This new hope offers both a remedy for the present and a certain
hope for the future where the fullness of God's love will be experienced.
And for Peter this holds both certainty and mystery together in
tension. This tension is ultimately held secure by God and therefore
our joy is found in God alone; it is found in his actions for us
and his promises offered to us. Peter will also look back to the
promises that Christ offered in the months and days leading up to
that first Easter and realise that they did not really understand
that mystery, but in the full light of the resurrection these mysteries
were opened up for them. So too, for us when it comes to the mystery
of God and life with its trials and triumphs, they too will only
be fully understood in the context of that Divine love.
Peter offers that confident expectation quelling our doubts and
our fears, for this is something that God has kept and continues
to keep for us.
Peter suggests that this forms the basis of a Joy that endures
even in the face of suffering. Joy is not to be understood as a
frothy happiness, put on to merely counter the bad things that are
happening. It is not a put on expression to cover up the present
misery. No! Joy is to be understood as a deep spiritual joy, emanating
from that understanding of what God has done and is doing and will
do in our lives.
This overlays the sufferings and trials of life as experienced in
so many and varied ways and continually points us to that hope that
we have talked of.
He draws that analogy of the precious metal, gold. It is refined
and made pure and more beautiful through a process of heating and
cooling to remove all the impurities. So too our lives with all
the pressures and trials must be seen in this light.
The question has to be about how we want to view life. Do we see
the glass half empty or half full?
How do we view aging? How do we view illness, how do we view children
and grandchildren? How do we view work? How do we view church, marriage,
neighbours, friends, government, anything for that matter? All the
issues we can think of in life that influence us and our attitude
to such issues determine how we live and what we get out of life.
And I am not saying it is all about the power of positive thinking,
and I certainly don't think this is what Peter is getting at. No,
just as Peter says, the trials and tribulations of life will be
there, but it is out attitude to facing them and particularly in
the light of God's abiding and eternal love for us as demonstrated
in the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and in the knowledge
and belief that life is longer than our years lived on this earth.
This is where our faith, based on the person of Jesus Christ can
surely give us such confidence and allow our hearts to be filled
with joy even in the face of adversity.
Finally, Peter suggests that such joy in and of itself is inexpressible.
In v8 he says, So you rejoice with a great and glorious joy which
words cannot express, because you are receiving the salvation of
your souls, which is the purpose of your faith in him."
Mystery can never be fully expressed, otherwise it ceases to be
mystery. The certainty we can have is that God loves us, the mystery
is why and how, and often this comes in times when we feel God is
so far away. And yet those are the times when we need to remind
ourselves and be reminded of the Easter encounter the disciples
had with the risen Christ and that that same risen Christ is with
us where ever we stand in life.
Such is the promise of our faith, and such is God's working out
of his salvation in our lives.
It is not worked out in a cocooned environment isolated from the
realities of the world, but is worked out in context of life with
it joys and with its trials, with its times of celebration and with
those unpleasant moments that leave us gasping for breath.
Faith must be grounded in reality otherwise it would loose all integrity.
Peter says, "You love him although you have not seen him, and
you believe in him, although you do not now see him."
He is writing to a generation after that first Easter, but encourages
them in that same response as those first disciples made, to offer
love and belief. This belief has that meaning of an active trust,
to rest one's confidence in or to depend upon. That is the crux
of faith, it is not an intellectual assent to an idea, but an active
trust in Christ's power to love us and to reconcile us to God. It
is this active trust that continues to bring us that joy, that deep
seated contentment, in knowing God through every moment in life,
through the up's and down's, through the trials and triumphs.
May God continue to give us grace and the courage to share our joy
and our faith with those around us.
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
Easter 2011
Acts 10:34-43 John 20:1-18
Over the weeks leading up to Easter we have looked at some of the
conversations that have been held with Jesus and some of his followers.
The conversations with Jesus, certainly at this point, for the disciples
was apparently over. Death brings that finality to the conversation
but on this first Easter Morning something different had happened,
and the conversations between his followers must have been intriguing.
Looking at those conversations through the eyes of artists in history
give us glimpses both into their own times and thoughts and also
into our own as we interpret such works in our day. The actual conversation
in the Gospel is patchy to say the least.
Eugene Burnand's work of Peter and one whom we assume is John ,
running to the tomb portray the urgency along with the hope and
determination to check out the story that woman had told them. The
Gospel tell us that Peter and the other disciple, whom Jesus loved,
were told by the women of the disappearance of Jesus' body.
In their eyes there is that sense of disbelief that this could not
possibly be true, and yet hope that maybe, just maybe all is not
lost. The trauma and confusion of the last few days has left them
alone and scared, and yet this news that they have just received
offers them hope beyond belief.
The eyes in this painting convey both hope and fear in a complex
mix of emotions. There is wonder about what indeed they might find.
The forward leaning posture shows the speed and determination with
which they are pursuing this news. There is not creeping around
with hesitation but that determined forward motion that suggests
nothing would hold them back in their pursuit of the truth. The
beloved disciple is forward of Peter as the gospel writer tells
us, 'The two of them were running, but the other disciple ran faster
than Peter and reached the tomb first. This order is backed up by
the painter in the build of the characters. John is portrayed as
finer and slighter build, with Peter being older, bulkier and therefore
slightly slower as he strains to keep up.
I wonder does the Easter message evoke such determination in us
even though we are never sure what that journey will turn up for
us.
The hand of John, the beloved disciple gives further expression
to that hope and prayer that what they have been told is indeed
the truth and that Jesus is alive.
And Peter's hand on his heart, perhaps he is thinking back to his
denial and the many times he blustered in thinking he was helping
out. Maybe he is hoping that this one time his enthusiasm will lead
him directly to the truth.
You see the contrast of these two very different figures the fine
features of the well dressed John with his smooth textured skin,
contrasting with Peter's rugged and wild look in more common clothing
and his gnarled hands from a life time of hard work on the fishing
boats. This covers the spectrum of those for whom the Gospel message
is given. God loves the whole world, from where ever we come, if
we are but eager to follow the truth.
And like these two character portrayed by Burnand, we are on a journey
of discovery, never sure of what God has for us, never certain of
the how the truth of God's love for us will pan out, and yet the
question remains, how focused are we on discovering the truth of
God's love for us.
The second picture is quite different: Tanner, and African American,
paints the "Two disciples at the Tomb.
There is much more about thoughtful contemplation. The artist has
also set the scene much more in his own day judging by the dress
and the stance of these figures. So he is looking at the disciples
response through his own eyes rather than directly through the eyes
of those first disciples.
Again one can only guess at the conversation going on here, but
there is no doubting that what they have discovered is momentous
and brings about a new era in the world.
The masterful use of light captures this with the early dim light
of dawn appearing over the trees in the top right hand corner of
the painting, playing this off with the bright light of recognition
emanating from tomb and lighting their faces.
John's open radiant face reflects the luminous emptiness of the
arched sepulchre, while next to him Peter's head is bowed in awe.
Is Peter wondering what this will mean for him as the leading disciple?
What weight will this place upon his shoulders as he goes out to
tell the world that Jesus' Body is gone? There is much more of the
sense in this painting of a realisation that Jesus is risen, although
the complete dawning of that realisation is yet to come, so the
light, although bright on them, is not the light of the full day
sun.
They are still processing the scene that lies before them from two
completely different angles, giving cover to the fact that across
the board of humanity, we process faith in a wide a varied way when
faced with the truth of what lies before us.
The gospel writer tells us "Then the other disciple, who had
reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and believed. (They
still did not understand the scripture which said that he must rise
from death.)
And as I have said, the conversation is patchy, but these artists
fill in some of the thoughts that must have been going through their
minds.
For us we too, must process what the resurrection means for us today.
It is easy for us to proclaim the story as we have always heard
it, to tell it as it was, but what does that mean for each of us?
How has the dawning of that truth impacted on our lives as individuals
and as a church together? Jesus is risen! His presence is with us!
It is the risen Christ who welcomes us into his presence at the
table today, and welcomes us to walk through life knowing and experiencing
that risen presence. "Come to me, all who labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest!
To God be the glory, now and for ever more. AMEN.
Easter - Good Friday 2011
Isaiah 52:13-53:12 John 18:1-11, 19:38-42
The irony of the Easter Story lies in the fact that in the face
of the agony and suffering that Christ had to endure comes the message
of salvation for the world.
In a perverse and cruel act of humanity God is able to offer hope
and courage to the world.
Such is the nature of the gospel message. Paul writing to the Corinthians
captures this as he talks of that which is foolish to the world
is wisdom to God and that which is folly to God can appear as wisdom
to the world.
This to me sums up the Easter celebrations.
And as we remember today the extreme cruelty and suffering that
Christ endured, let us not skip past this as we are prone to do,
to get the bit that in hindsight we know happens, namely the glorious
resurrection.
No! we need to take time to reflect on the cost to God that he put
in to the world, the world which he want to pour out his love upon.
The imagery of Isaiah, that looked forward to a time when this suffering
servant would come to us, can leave us gasping.
Words and phrases like disfigured, he hardly looked human, he had
no dignity or beauty to make us notice him, remind us that what
he had to go through would be no party.
It was human wisdom that judged him guilty, human wisdom that condemned
Christ, why? Because human wisdom struggled to see beyond a self
centred and self serving world that wanted to protect the political
fragility keeping peace at any price. And others did not want to
upset the religious piety that kept people controlled and consumed
by a sense of guilt. Jesus had spent his life challenging the norms
of the times, challenging the assumptions that people had built
their whole lives around, and pushing the boundaries of acceptability,
choosing to consort with the marginalised, the sick, the ones who
were different, and through his time with them restored many to
a way of life where they had to be accepted back into the community.
He restored people to health and strength and acceptability, and
ultimately his mission was to restore the world to that oneness
with God where we felt acceptance rather than rejection and wholeness
rather than condemnation.
Isaiah says, "Because of our sins he was wounded, beaten because
of the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment he suffered,
made whole by the blows he received." Just as in his living
he turned our concepts of justice and acceptability on their heads,
so too in his death, he made the curse of dying on a tree, into
an act of redeeming love.
But in doing that he took the pain and humiliation of the world
upon his shoulders and bore that for us all.
Jesus died, there is no doubting that. His death was cruel, his
death could not be justified, and yet he did not fight back.
Not because he did not value life, but quite the opposite, he valued
life for all humanity, for then and for all generations to come.
He valued life so much that he willingly gave his own.
That was the cost of his love, the cost of obedience to God's will.
This is the cost that we are not called to bear for it has be borne
for us all.
Let us remember again the sacrifice made, not so that we might be
consumed by guilt, but rather so that we might be freed to live
full and meaningful lives in the context of our understanding of
God's love for us.
To God be the glory, now and forever more. AMEN.
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