Jesus prayed, and lived, Our Father …, and he demonstrated a life of total reliance on his heavenly Father. During the past three weeks we have been examining different passages from the scriptures that relate to the themes of Faith, Hope and Love, and these come together in our readings today. The story of Lazarus is long, but gives John the opportunity to enthral us with characters and ideas that combine richly.
The first thing to note is that is John concerned to reveal God’s glory: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, full of grace and truth.” How do we do this? “… to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” At the end of his Gospel, John records that “these (things) are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
When the terrible news reaches Jesus that Lazarus is sick, and it appears that Jesus knows that the sickness will result in death, he is glad that his disciples are not there to witness it, because of the negative impact it will have on their faith. How does faith grow? By observing God at work in the world, and becoming accustomed to the fact that we can rely on our Father God to help us. The implication is that even if Jesus had travelled earlier and got there in time, he and his disciples would have been subjected to the faith sapping ordeal of seeing Lazarus die.
How are we meant to comprehend this?
We are faced with the paradox of a God who is all powerful, and yet allows bad things to happen. What are we to make of it?
First, there is a powerful, almost inescapable urge to trust. Thomas (the doubting one?) announces that if Jesus is going into danger and probable death in Judea, they must go too, and die with him if necessary. Martha does not rant and rave at Jesus; she expresses a calm, dignified, disappointed certainty that Jesus could have averted her brother’s death, if he had been there. Jesus speaks those eternal words that have been read at countless funerals: “I am the resurrection and the life …”, and Martha believes him. Strictly speaking, she is expressing her hope that Lazarus would be resurrected one day. She is also affirming her faith that Jesus is the one, present with her, who will bring that future hope to pass.
I am frequently humbled by the persistent, humble faith of people who face great tragedies and hardships. Some folk find the most trivial things distract them from following after a life of discipleship, while others struggle though great life events to be closer to God. C.S. Lewis wrote “reflect for five minutes on the fact that all the great religions were first preached, and long practised, in a world without chloroform.”
Second, there is love. The bedrock of our faith is the conviction that God, as he is revealed to us in Jesus, is love, through and through. We see this demonstrated in the way that Jesus shares in the grief of Mary and the others at the grave. He was “deeply moved” – literally he groaned within himself. Was this not a bit extreme, given that he apparently expected a happy ending? The shortest verse in the bible, “Jesus wept”, is not about a dignified tear rolling down the cheek, but about an outburst of sobbing. Jesus appears to have been touched to the very core.
And earlier, it is noted for us clearly that Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters, and yet he delayed coming to them. The biggest challenge to our faith can be to believe that God is all loving, all knowing, all powerful, and yet allows us to go through terrible times. Our only consolation is that Jesus does not sail through them unaffected, and uncaring. The evidence is that when it is necessary for us to suffer, God in some mysterious way is suffering too. Jesus taught us to pray that we might not come to the time of trial, because he knew from bitter experience what that would mean. When we remember Gethsemane and Calvary in the coming weeks, we will seek to follow him; the truth is that in every experience he walks with us.
It actually appears that Lazarus must be allowed to die, and we are called to accept that God’s purposes are good in the midst of every human longing to see this averted. As we trust in God, we see his glory expressed in our lives, sometimes in healing and resurrection, and sometimes in hidden ways that only he knows.
What is going on here? Lazarus comes forth, and it is a triumph. In the next chapter we see him hosting a feast for Jesus, at which his sister Mary washes Jesus’ feet with her hair and scandalises Judas. So great is the fame of Lazarus, that the temple authorities are alarmed and start to plot his death alongside that of Jesus.
How does faith grow? By observing God at work in the world, and becoming accustomed to the fact that we can rely on our Father God to help us. Even when, especially when, we go through times of hardship and trial, we sink our roots deeper into him. Even if we call for him, and he apparently delays coming, yet we know he loves us and wants and will do the best for us.
We are given no hint about Lazarus’ final end, but imagine he led a normal life and died in the normal way. A major point of telling the story is that it is one of seven great signs of the glory of Jesus that are recounted in the Gospel. It gives a foretaste of the grand climax to come, which we will celebrate on Easter Day and for the six weeks after. I wonder if there was a different quality to the way that Lazarus lived? As Paul writes in our reading from Romans, a work of the Holy Spirit is to build the conviction within us that we will each be resurrected one day, because Jesus himself already has been, and therefore we live better lives now. Lazarus still had a finite time of earth, but perhaps greater faith in the Jesus who said: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
Sunday, 2 March 2008
Sunday 2 March 2008: Kim Colossians 3:12-17, Luke 2:33-35
Our Father, forgive us…as we forgive: Love
Over the Sundays in Lent, we have been looking at various key verses in the Lord’s Prayer and using the set readings are allowing them to suggest to us various key themes of the Christian faith. Last week it was HOPE. This week it is LOVE. Quite appropriate for Mothering Sunday.
Verse 12 in the Colossians passage tells us straight away what love is. ‘Therefore as God’s chosen people holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion (tender heartedness), kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. For we are called to peace and are to be thankful.’ That’s it – clear instructions on what we should do. Easy to follow. Now go out and do it. End of sermon! You wish.
Why did Paul feel the need to say these words? The list is straight forward enough; everything on that list is what we would like people to do to us and visa versa. Paul knew that there were battles going on within the people of Colosse. There was battling the cults – he knew that for everything worthwhile, there exists a counterfeit - mystery religion was beginning to infiltrate the town and Paul argued firmly, asserting that Christ is the complete expression of the mystery of God and nothing else. He told of the Supremacy of Christ, gave them rules for Holy living and showed them they could have freedom from Human regulations through Life with Christ. Paul knew the battles of the inner heart and gave instructions on how to live a Life with Christ which gave freedom. When you think about it, the inner heart of today is not much better than that of two thousand years ago.
We struggle to love, to forgive, to show kindness, to be patient, especially when we have been wronged. Its easier to pick out the bits of the bible we can do and not so easy to do the things we know we should when it goes against the grain; but Paul was adamant. He said ‘remember who you are: God’s chosen people, holy and dearly beloved’. Remember ‘election’ no longer means just for the Jews, but also includes all who trust in Jesus. You are to ‘clothe yourself’ – take responsibility for how your present yourself. The way we do this is to be so full of these inner qualities that they can be seen on the outside, like well-fitting and attractive clothing.
Paul says towards the needy, we should show compassion; respond to the misery of others. This is in opposition to the normal inclination – we don’t want to be seen with the outcasts, marginalised, the hurting, the drug addicts, the drunks, and the young people being a nuisance. Do we?
Towards our brother and sister, we should show kindness. What about when they let us down, or we feel they should return that kindness?
Towards leaders, whoever they might be, at work, in church, politicians, police, we should show humility (we should show modesty, lack arrogance, have an honest assessment of ourselves, and be willing to submit).
Towards those who have injured us, we should show gentleness (meekness, and refusal to get back at them) and -
Towards those who disappoint us, we should show patience (we should refuse to give up on them). And on top of these we should bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances we may have against each other. We should tolerate others’ shortcoming and forgive as Jesus has forgiven us. This also includes forgiveness for those who did something we may have disagreed with, or who were unfaithful to the church. And we must learn to forgive OURSELVES. So often forbearance and forgiveness is something which is in short supply – someone complains against the manager, the manager complains against the waitress, other workers take sides and complain against each other and against the shop owner who doesn’t solve the problem – forgetting to put on the clothes He has provided, we go around in rags.
And when we have put on all these, we need to cover them with the overcoat of love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Without love, kindness, forgiveness and all the rest are nothing, just empty gestures. Paul said ‘the greatest of these is love’ and Jesus taught us that the two greatest commandments are to love God and love one another.
We should submit to the rule of peace. Whether it is in marriage, within the family, at work, in church, we should stop the bickering and back biting and ask the question, ‘is this worth losing peace over’? The road to unity in the workplace, governments or church must include the acceptance of the leader the Lord has provided.
Paul goes on to say in verse 16 that the two most important ingredients of the Christian gatherings – church services – is listening to God’s word, and singing songs with thanksgiving, There needs to be a balance between instruction and admonition. The ‘word of Christ’ can refer to the words about Christ, or the words spoken by Christ. We should never stop learning about Christ, and never stop listening to Christ for the word ‘richly’ means ‘abundantly’. That this word is to ‘dwell in’ us means that it should take up residence, be at home in, be welcome in, be comfortable in, and allow His word to become our primary influence for good. In other words, we must live with the Word every day.
Notice that this is what we do for one another – we speak the word of Christ with each other, and we sing songs for the benefit of one another. Church is not just about getting it from the ‘front’. Each of us has a well, and each of us has a bucket with which to draw out water for others to drink.
Everything should be done with the awareness of His oversight, and to bring credit to His name. ‘In the Name of Jesus’ is a set of words often said to bring His power to bear on a situation, in some cases almost used as a magical formula. But there is more than that. It is to suggest that we do everything to give honour to His name. ‘everything’ includes what we say –in words -. The ten commandments of the tongue from James is ‘Don’t blame God, be slow to speak, don’t use your tongue for venting anger, making empty promises, criticising others, or lying to cover up your faults. Don’t speak evil of one another, boast about personal plans, complain or swear. Rather use your tongue to bless, edify, encourage, praise and affirm. And the ‘everything’ also includes what we do ‘in deeds’. As it applies to the church, this means that we should be faithful, persevere, and do everything with the highest level of excellence and in LOVE.
When we decide to follow Jesus we make a decision to share Him with the people around us through love and how we respond to other people’s actions and reactions. For Jesus will cause a crisis in our and their hearts, as we all make decisions for and against Him. For the sword will divide, discriminate, and judge the thoughts, attitudes, and relationships of all people. Everyone like Mary will go through the same crisis, everyone must decide what to do with Jesus.
Today we celebrate Mothering Sunday – a day when we celebrate and give thanks for our Mothers and the Church – a day when children express their love and gratitude with cards, presents and flowers. Maybe lunch is being made for you today! When Mothers forget for a while, the times of heartache and wanting to ring their little necks and surround them with hugs and kisses of thankfulness that they are who they are. But for some today will be a day of sadness for like Mary their heart has been broken or pierced. There will be Women who will be able to identify with Mary perplex-ness because their own heart has been pierced. Their child is no longer here for whatever reason or they are missing or there has been a falling out, wrong words spoken and forgiveness not given. These are the women who need an abundance of love from us. If you know of a Woman today whom you know will be on their own for whatever reason, please see me after and I will give you something you can take to them.
Questions:
a. God show us a parent’s love. Ideally each family and each church lives that love out here on earth. How can we ‘do what it says on the tin’?
b. What are the realities in relationships that get beyond chocolates and flowers?
c. If you could do something outside your comfort zone (i.e. work on the night shift at a soup kitchen or an Aids hostel/hospital) what would it be?
Over the Sundays in Lent, we have been looking at various key verses in the Lord’s Prayer and using the set readings are allowing them to suggest to us various key themes of the Christian faith. Last week it was HOPE. This week it is LOVE. Quite appropriate for Mothering Sunday.
Verse 12 in the Colossians passage tells us straight away what love is. ‘Therefore as God’s chosen people holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion (tender heartedness), kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. For we are called to peace and are to be thankful.’ That’s it – clear instructions on what we should do. Easy to follow. Now go out and do it. End of sermon! You wish.
Why did Paul feel the need to say these words? The list is straight forward enough; everything on that list is what we would like people to do to us and visa versa. Paul knew that there were battles going on within the people of Colosse. There was battling the cults – he knew that for everything worthwhile, there exists a counterfeit - mystery religion was beginning to infiltrate the town and Paul argued firmly, asserting that Christ is the complete expression of the mystery of God and nothing else. He told of the Supremacy of Christ, gave them rules for Holy living and showed them they could have freedom from Human regulations through Life with Christ. Paul knew the battles of the inner heart and gave instructions on how to live a Life with Christ which gave freedom. When you think about it, the inner heart of today is not much better than that of two thousand years ago.
We struggle to love, to forgive, to show kindness, to be patient, especially when we have been wronged. Its easier to pick out the bits of the bible we can do and not so easy to do the things we know we should when it goes against the grain; but Paul was adamant. He said ‘remember who you are: God’s chosen people, holy and dearly beloved’. Remember ‘election’ no longer means just for the Jews, but also includes all who trust in Jesus. You are to ‘clothe yourself’ – take responsibility for how your present yourself. The way we do this is to be so full of these inner qualities that they can be seen on the outside, like well-fitting and attractive clothing.
Paul says towards the needy, we should show compassion; respond to the misery of others. This is in opposition to the normal inclination – we don’t want to be seen with the outcasts, marginalised, the hurting, the drug addicts, the drunks, and the young people being a nuisance. Do we?
Towards our brother and sister, we should show kindness. What about when they let us down, or we feel they should return that kindness?
Towards leaders, whoever they might be, at work, in church, politicians, police, we should show humility (we should show modesty, lack arrogance, have an honest assessment of ourselves, and be willing to submit).
Towards those who have injured us, we should show gentleness (meekness, and refusal to get back at them) and -
Towards those who disappoint us, we should show patience (we should refuse to give up on them). And on top of these we should bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances we may have against each other. We should tolerate others’ shortcoming and forgive as Jesus has forgiven us. This also includes forgiveness for those who did something we may have disagreed with, or who were unfaithful to the church. And we must learn to forgive OURSELVES. So often forbearance and forgiveness is something which is in short supply – someone complains against the manager, the manager complains against the waitress, other workers take sides and complain against each other and against the shop owner who doesn’t solve the problem – forgetting to put on the clothes He has provided, we go around in rags.
And when we have put on all these, we need to cover them with the overcoat of love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Without love, kindness, forgiveness and all the rest are nothing, just empty gestures. Paul said ‘the greatest of these is love’ and Jesus taught us that the two greatest commandments are to love God and love one another.
We should submit to the rule of peace. Whether it is in marriage, within the family, at work, in church, we should stop the bickering and back biting and ask the question, ‘is this worth losing peace over’? The road to unity in the workplace, governments or church must include the acceptance of the leader the Lord has provided.
Paul goes on to say in verse 16 that the two most important ingredients of the Christian gatherings – church services – is listening to God’s word, and singing songs with thanksgiving, There needs to be a balance between instruction and admonition. The ‘word of Christ’ can refer to the words about Christ, or the words spoken by Christ. We should never stop learning about Christ, and never stop listening to Christ for the word ‘richly’ means ‘abundantly’. That this word is to ‘dwell in’ us means that it should take up residence, be at home in, be welcome in, be comfortable in, and allow His word to become our primary influence for good. In other words, we must live with the Word every day.
Notice that this is what we do for one another – we speak the word of Christ with each other, and we sing songs for the benefit of one another. Church is not just about getting it from the ‘front’. Each of us has a well, and each of us has a bucket with which to draw out water for others to drink.
Everything should be done with the awareness of His oversight, and to bring credit to His name. ‘In the Name of Jesus’ is a set of words often said to bring His power to bear on a situation, in some cases almost used as a magical formula. But there is more than that. It is to suggest that we do everything to give honour to His name. ‘everything’ includes what we say –in words -. The ten commandments of the tongue from James is ‘Don’t blame God, be slow to speak, don’t use your tongue for venting anger, making empty promises, criticising others, or lying to cover up your faults. Don’t speak evil of one another, boast about personal plans, complain or swear. Rather use your tongue to bless, edify, encourage, praise and affirm. And the ‘everything’ also includes what we do ‘in deeds’. As it applies to the church, this means that we should be faithful, persevere, and do everything with the highest level of excellence and in LOVE.
When we decide to follow Jesus we make a decision to share Him with the people around us through love and how we respond to other people’s actions and reactions. For Jesus will cause a crisis in our and their hearts, as we all make decisions for and against Him. For the sword will divide, discriminate, and judge the thoughts, attitudes, and relationships of all people. Everyone like Mary will go through the same crisis, everyone must decide what to do with Jesus.
Today we celebrate Mothering Sunday – a day when we celebrate and give thanks for our Mothers and the Church – a day when children express their love and gratitude with cards, presents and flowers. Maybe lunch is being made for you today! When Mothers forget for a while, the times of heartache and wanting to ring their little necks and surround them with hugs and kisses of thankfulness that they are who they are. But for some today will be a day of sadness for like Mary their heart has been broken or pierced. There will be Women who will be able to identify with Mary perplex-ness because their own heart has been pierced. Their child is no longer here for whatever reason or they are missing or there has been a falling out, wrong words spoken and forgiveness not given. These are the women who need an abundance of love from us. If you know of a Woman today whom you know will be on their own for whatever reason, please see me after and I will give you something you can take to them.
Questions:
a. God show us a parent’s love. Ideally each family and each church lives that love out here on earth. How can we ‘do what it says on the tin’?
b. What are the realities in relationships that get beyond chocolates and flowers?
c. If you could do something outside your comfort zone (i.e. work on the night shift at a soup kitchen or an Aids hostel/hospital) what would it be?
SERMON: 24 FEBRUARY 2008 HOPE Romans 5: 1-11 John 4: 5-42 Robert
On these Sundays in Lent we are taking as our base-line the Lord’s Prayer, but using the set readings, and allowing them to suggest to us various key themes of the Christians faith. Last week the theme was FAITH. This week the theme is HOPE. Guess what the theme is next week is? LOVE. Appropriate for Mothering Sunday. So today we are thinking of Christian Hope, and it would be hard to think of a more appropriate reading than Romans 5:1-11. If we had lots of time, I would begin by handing out paper and pen, and asking you to write down your expectations for the future. Like those opinion surveys that pop up from time to time, I would ask you – on a scale of one to ten – how hopeful (how optimistic) you feel under various headings - yourself personally, the local community, the country, the world in general - where ‘one’ means not hopeful at all, and 10 means very hopeful and optimistic indeed.
If we did that exercise, I have a feeling that the answers would not, on the whole, be very positive. We grow older and not surprisingly health can be a concern. The economy is not doing well, and not surprisingly jobs and money can be a concern. The world is not a peaceful place and that, too, doesn’t fill our hearts with joy when we read the newspapers or listen to the news. I wonder what effect this has on our Christian faith? Does the way we feel about ourselves and our world affect our faith? Does our faith affect the way we feel about ourselves and our world?
Let’s think for a moment about the world of the New Testament. Those first Christians lived in a world not altogether unlike ours. Relatively stable government over most of it, but (if we look beyond our own door-step) a world also full of injustice, danger, great cruelty sickness and short life expectancy, and where human life (let alone human rights) were not highly valued at all. Moreover, Christians often faced vicious persecution, misunderstanding, opposition and the real fear of imprisonment, torture and ignominious death, such as none of us (probably) has ever contemplated.
Yet the New Testament brims over with hope. It is a message imbued with hope from beginning to end. Indeed, you can feel their hope bursting through even when they are writing about persecution, danger and death. Think of a passage like2Corinthians4:8-l0, where Paul’s words match every difficulty with an equal optimism: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”
You could actually say that the reason these gospels and letters in the New Testament were written in the first place was to express the almost explosive hope the writers felt, and to convey that hope to the readers.
What is the key to this wonderful hope? The key is that they had actually seen the future - and it is great! People say that it’s impossible to see the future, but not for the Christian. The future has already arrived, embodied in the person of Jesus Christ This is a dimension of the New Testament which many miss.
In the Lord’s Prayer we say: “Thy Kingdom come”. Jesus came pronouncing that the “Kingdom of God has come near to you”. The Kingdom of God is actually confronting you in me. Look, repent and believe the good news!” In Jesus was the fulfilment of everything that the prophets had said would happen at the end-time - the end of the world and the coming of the kingdom.
God would come down and visit his people. Everything that is summed up in the Beatitudes would come to pass. Material values would be reversed (as Mary has understood at the annunciation). The poor and marginalized whom no-one valued would become the important. Those who mourn would be comforted. The lowly would be raised high. Those who longed for God to show his face would be rewarded. The repentant would see their sins forgiven. The sick would be healed. Those imprisoned by every kind of sin or disability would see the prison doors open and be set free. The oppressed would see their chains fall off.
As Jesus moved through Galilee and on to Jerusalem, they saw all this come true, as Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, made the lame walk, and healed through the forgiveness of sins. The future would be the Day of Judgement, and in Jesus we see what that judgement looks like.
And as Jesus faced the cross, they saw that love would overcome the power of evil - yes, good really would triumph - and (most important of all) they would witness the surest sign of all that - in Jesus - the last days had come - the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting.
In Jesus they had seen the future – and so have we. Everything that Jesus was and did and symbolised and represented, was the Kingdom of God which will come one day in all its fullness.
No wonder they could hardly contain their hope! Hope is faith in the future tense. It is faith on tiptoe! And - in the interim and with that vision - they could cope with anything. Paul again in 2 Corinthians 4: 16- 18: “Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So our eyes are fixed not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen in eternal.”
What was the most important thing that Jesus gave the Samaritan woman? When Jesus saw her approaching, he didn’t need prophetic powers to see that there was something dramatically wrong with her life. Women don’t go out to a well on their own. They go in groups - for company, for safety, because they know each other and talk about everything going on in the village and (no doubt) the latest rumour or gossip. And the sixth hour is midday. Who would go to draw water at the hottest hour of the day? This woman came alone, at a time she knew there would be no-one there (Jesus was a big surprise in every sense of the word –a man, a Jew, on his own). If other women had seen her, she would have been criticised, insulted or ignored, and possibly even attacked. She was the village scandal, and would be perceived as a potential danger to every married woman. She was hated, isolated, lonely and with no possible future other than as an outcast.
But with the spiritual water of cleansing, and renewal and health, what was the most important thing Jesus gave her? He gave her hope. The possibility of a new life, a new start, restoration and acceptance. Jesus always brings us hope, no matter what our situation or state.
I’m going to have to leave you to study Romans 5, and I hope you will, because it is one of the greatest chapters in the New Testament. But note the sequence. When we turn and put our trust for life and death into the hands of Jesus, we are accounted in God’s sight as accepted, justified through the cross, and at peace with God. Through Jesus we have access into the Holy of Holies - the very presence of God Himself. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
The resurrection of Jesus guarantees our resurrection - the Holy Spirit is God’s signature on the guarantee warrant - and so we can now cope with whatever comes our way, even if it’s suffering, because suffering builds the character we shall become in the new life.
So many of our hopes are frankly trivial, and the material ones pale in insignificance if we are building up treasure of heaven. For, as Peter writes in his First Letter (1 Peter 1:1 -4): As those who put our trust in Christ, God has given us “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Even if suffering and persecution came their way, their eyes were alight with expectation. They could see glory ahead - in fact they could glimpse it already. This was not delusional optimism, or an artificial way of keeping their spirits up, they had seen the future - the Kingdom of God in Jesus. Jesus did not simply point to the future - He is the future - the future has invaded the present - and we have seen his glory. Keep your eyes on Him and your hope will never dim.
QUESTIONS 1. How does your Christian faith affect your outlook on life - personally? In the wider context? 2. In Romans 5: 1 - 11, what do you understand by the word ‘Justified’? Also the words ‘Access into the grace in which we now stand’? 3. Sadly suffering does not always produce character. Consider experiences in your own life or the life of those you know. How can Christian Hope shine through all our experiences?4. Quotation: “We are still deeply aware that the mortality rate is 100%.” Does your Christian hope extend beyond this life? In what way?
If we did that exercise, I have a feeling that the answers would not, on the whole, be very positive. We grow older and not surprisingly health can be a concern. The economy is not doing well, and not surprisingly jobs and money can be a concern. The world is not a peaceful place and that, too, doesn’t fill our hearts with joy when we read the newspapers or listen to the news. I wonder what effect this has on our Christian faith? Does the way we feel about ourselves and our world affect our faith? Does our faith affect the way we feel about ourselves and our world?
Let’s think for a moment about the world of the New Testament. Those first Christians lived in a world not altogether unlike ours. Relatively stable government over most of it, but (if we look beyond our own door-step) a world also full of injustice, danger, great cruelty sickness and short life expectancy, and where human life (let alone human rights) were not highly valued at all. Moreover, Christians often faced vicious persecution, misunderstanding, opposition and the real fear of imprisonment, torture and ignominious death, such as none of us (probably) has ever contemplated.
Yet the New Testament brims over with hope. It is a message imbued with hope from beginning to end. Indeed, you can feel their hope bursting through even when they are writing about persecution, danger and death. Think of a passage like2Corinthians4:8-l0, where Paul’s words match every difficulty with an equal optimism: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”
You could actually say that the reason these gospels and letters in the New Testament were written in the first place was to express the almost explosive hope the writers felt, and to convey that hope to the readers.
What is the key to this wonderful hope? The key is that they had actually seen the future - and it is great! People say that it’s impossible to see the future, but not for the Christian. The future has already arrived, embodied in the person of Jesus Christ This is a dimension of the New Testament which many miss.
In the Lord’s Prayer we say: “Thy Kingdom come”. Jesus came pronouncing that the “Kingdom of God has come near to you”. The Kingdom of God is actually confronting you in me. Look, repent and believe the good news!” In Jesus was the fulfilment of everything that the prophets had said would happen at the end-time - the end of the world and the coming of the kingdom.
God would come down and visit his people. Everything that is summed up in the Beatitudes would come to pass. Material values would be reversed (as Mary has understood at the annunciation). The poor and marginalized whom no-one valued would become the important. Those who mourn would be comforted. The lowly would be raised high. Those who longed for God to show his face would be rewarded. The repentant would see their sins forgiven. The sick would be healed. Those imprisoned by every kind of sin or disability would see the prison doors open and be set free. The oppressed would see their chains fall off.
As Jesus moved through Galilee and on to Jerusalem, they saw all this come true, as Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, made the lame walk, and healed through the forgiveness of sins. The future would be the Day of Judgement, and in Jesus we see what that judgement looks like.
And as Jesus faced the cross, they saw that love would overcome the power of evil - yes, good really would triumph - and (most important of all) they would witness the surest sign of all that - in Jesus - the last days had come - the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting.
In Jesus they had seen the future – and so have we. Everything that Jesus was and did and symbolised and represented, was the Kingdom of God which will come one day in all its fullness.
No wonder they could hardly contain their hope! Hope is faith in the future tense. It is faith on tiptoe! And - in the interim and with that vision - they could cope with anything. Paul again in 2 Corinthians 4: 16- 18: “Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So our eyes are fixed not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen in eternal.”
What was the most important thing that Jesus gave the Samaritan woman? When Jesus saw her approaching, he didn’t need prophetic powers to see that there was something dramatically wrong with her life. Women don’t go out to a well on their own. They go in groups - for company, for safety, because they know each other and talk about everything going on in the village and (no doubt) the latest rumour or gossip. And the sixth hour is midday. Who would go to draw water at the hottest hour of the day? This woman came alone, at a time she knew there would be no-one there (Jesus was a big surprise in every sense of the word –a man, a Jew, on his own). If other women had seen her, she would have been criticised, insulted or ignored, and possibly even attacked. She was the village scandal, and would be perceived as a potential danger to every married woman. She was hated, isolated, lonely and with no possible future other than as an outcast.
But with the spiritual water of cleansing, and renewal and health, what was the most important thing Jesus gave her? He gave her hope. The possibility of a new life, a new start, restoration and acceptance. Jesus always brings us hope, no matter what our situation or state.
I’m going to have to leave you to study Romans 5, and I hope you will, because it is one of the greatest chapters in the New Testament. But note the sequence. When we turn and put our trust for life and death into the hands of Jesus, we are accounted in God’s sight as accepted, justified through the cross, and at peace with God. Through Jesus we have access into the Holy of Holies - the very presence of God Himself. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
The resurrection of Jesus guarantees our resurrection - the Holy Spirit is God’s signature on the guarantee warrant - and so we can now cope with whatever comes our way, even if it’s suffering, because suffering builds the character we shall become in the new life.
So many of our hopes are frankly trivial, and the material ones pale in insignificance if we are building up treasure of heaven. For, as Peter writes in his First Letter (1 Peter 1:1 -4): As those who put our trust in Christ, God has given us “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Even if suffering and persecution came their way, their eyes were alight with expectation. They could see glory ahead - in fact they could glimpse it already. This was not delusional optimism, or an artificial way of keeping their spirits up, they had seen the future - the Kingdom of God in Jesus. Jesus did not simply point to the future - He is the future - the future has invaded the present - and we have seen his glory. Keep your eyes on Him and your hope will never dim.
QUESTIONS 1. How does your Christian faith affect your outlook on life - personally? In the wider context? 2. In Romans 5: 1 - 11, what do you understand by the word ‘Justified’? Also the words ‘Access into the grace in which we now stand’? 3. Sadly suffering does not always produce character. Consider experiences in your own life or the life of those you know. How can Christian Hope shine through all our experiences?4. Quotation: “We are still deeply aware that the mortality rate is 100%.” Does your Christian hope extend beyond this life? In what way?
Tuesday, 12 February 2008
Sunday 17 February 2007 John 3:1-17 Lent 2 Kim: Faith
Jesus: the Son of God (John 3:1-17)
Our Father: Forgive us…as we forgive: Faith
Nicodemus, a Pharisee, was a member of the Sanhedrin and he was an ‘undercover’ believer. He wanted to learn from Jesus, but not to be seen. He probably got more than he expected – a challenge to a new life. We too have that same challenge – a challenge to a new life. The question is do we want to take up the challenge?
For God’s kingdom is not a country that has borders. It is not in one particular place and I think the best description of God’s kingdom is in the ‘Lord’s Prayer’. In this prayer, we ask for God’s kingdom to come to the earth, so that everyone will obey God, for even the angels in heaven obey God and we ask that this will happen on earth too. A writer named William Barclay said that ‘God’s Kingdom is a society and in this society people do everything that pleases God and that God’s kingdom had already begun because when a person believes in Jesus, they join God’s kingdom’.
When Jesus told Nicodemus that there is only one way to enter God’s kingdom – a person has to be born again. Nicodemus did not understand that Jesus was not talking about the birth of our physical bodies. He was talking about the birth of our spirits. Now Nicodemus was a very clever man. He knew the Scriptures well and he taught people about them. But he did not understand and because he was clever, he realised this. He was wise enough to ask Jesus some questions. He really wanted to understand and Jesus explained things to him. You do not have to be clever to believe what Jesus said. You just have to have ‘faith’ in him. Sadly, there are many people today who do not understand and they struggle with the concept that they need to believe in Jesus. But when we understand, we are compelled to do something about it. It affects us. We must choose whether to obey Jesus or not.
For when we ‘believe in Jesus’ and begin to trust him, we are made aware of our sins and are sorry because of them. We know we should be punished for our sins but Jesus suffered that punishment on our behalf. He paid the price for our sins. So when we accept him as our ‘Lord’, God forgives our sins and he accepts us. Then the Holy Spirit enters us and God begins to change us. Our spirits are born again! Our spirits become alive and we know God is real. We love him and we want to please him and as the Spirit moves within us we become different people inside our hearts and because He has forgiven us, we too have the urge and the ability to forgive others no matter what.
Everyone who has been born again belongs to God’s kingdom. It does not matter where you live, or if you’re rich or poor, what colour skin you have, or whether you are young or old; God accepts everyone who believes in his Son and are given a ‘New Life’. It is a gift from God.
Sin is like a snake’s bite. A bite poisons our bodies and ruins our lives. But God has provided a way to cure us. He has provided a way to save us from sin and death. Jesus said that people would lift him up, like the snake. He was referring to the time when they would put him on the cross. They would lift him up on the cross for everyone to see and we must look up at him on the cross. To put it bluntly, we must trust him, because of the cross. The only way to free us from the results of our sin is to look at Jesus on the cross. When we look at the cross, God rescues us from the results of our sins. In other words, we must trust Jesus to save us from the punishment for our sins. He died so that God would forgive us. And we are expected to forgive others.
Verse 16 is probably the most famous verse in the Bible. It expresses in only a few words what Christians believe. It tells us the main reason why God sent his Son to die on our behalf. There are several reasons why God did this. He did it because he is fair. If people do wrong things, they deserve a punishment. So Jesus suffered our punishment in our place. He did it because he is holy. God cannot accept us, because we sin. But Jesus, who never sinned, took our place. He died instead of us and when we believe this, we receive Jesus’ righteousness as our own. So when God looks at us, he is so overwhelmed with love for us, he chooses to see Jesus’ righteousness instead of our sin. That’s amazing.
Love is more than just one of God’s qualities. His nature is love and God does everything because he loves. God’s love always reaches out to us, the people that he has made. God’s love is never selfish. He gave to us the most precious thing that he had: his only Son so that we might have Life – ‘eternal life’, God’s free gift to us. We cannot earn it. But we do have a duty to let other people know that the only one way to receive a ‘new life’ is to be born again and to believe in Jesus. To believe ‘in’ means more than just to know that Jesus is God. Even the devil knows that! It means that we should trust Jesus completely. We should allow him to rule every part of our lives completely for He has a plan for each one of us. We must believe that all his words in the Bible are true and we must obey him. We must believe that he gives us the power to change our characters to make us become more like him, if only we would let him. People have gone before us and have done just that – believed in Jesus and when we look at the Old Testament we can see that with our new birth in Jesus, God welcomes us into the family and we can share in the same trust that Abraham and Moses had. But we cannot will this, we can only respond to the Spirit’s will, and receive the Father’s love revealed to us in his Son.
Questions
1. What thoughts come to mind as you read this passage? What do you think God might be saying to you?
2. We pray ‘forgive us as we forgive those who trespass against us’. Are you the first to say sorry or do you find it difficult to forgive? Is there anything you would not forgive?
3. Jesus said “You must be born again and have faith in Jesus”. Have you? There are going to be three answers to that question. Yes – No – Not sure. If the answer is no or not sure, then please talk to Bruce, Robert, Melanie or Kim or someone you trust about how you can be sure.
Our Father: Forgive us…as we forgive: Faith
Nicodemus, a Pharisee, was a member of the Sanhedrin and he was an ‘undercover’ believer. He wanted to learn from Jesus, but not to be seen. He probably got more than he expected – a challenge to a new life. We too have that same challenge – a challenge to a new life. The question is do we want to take up the challenge?
For God’s kingdom is not a country that has borders. It is not in one particular place and I think the best description of God’s kingdom is in the ‘Lord’s Prayer’. In this prayer, we ask for God’s kingdom to come to the earth, so that everyone will obey God, for even the angels in heaven obey God and we ask that this will happen on earth too. A writer named William Barclay said that ‘God’s Kingdom is a society and in this society people do everything that pleases God and that God’s kingdom had already begun because when a person believes in Jesus, they join God’s kingdom’.
When Jesus told Nicodemus that there is only one way to enter God’s kingdom – a person has to be born again. Nicodemus did not understand that Jesus was not talking about the birth of our physical bodies. He was talking about the birth of our spirits. Now Nicodemus was a very clever man. He knew the Scriptures well and he taught people about them. But he did not understand and because he was clever, he realised this. He was wise enough to ask Jesus some questions. He really wanted to understand and Jesus explained things to him. You do not have to be clever to believe what Jesus said. You just have to have ‘faith’ in him. Sadly, there are many people today who do not understand and they struggle with the concept that they need to believe in Jesus. But when we understand, we are compelled to do something about it. It affects us. We must choose whether to obey Jesus or not.
For when we ‘believe in Jesus’ and begin to trust him, we are made aware of our sins and are sorry because of them. We know we should be punished for our sins but Jesus suffered that punishment on our behalf. He paid the price for our sins. So when we accept him as our ‘Lord’, God forgives our sins and he accepts us. Then the Holy Spirit enters us and God begins to change us. Our spirits are born again! Our spirits become alive and we know God is real. We love him and we want to please him and as the Spirit moves within us we become different people inside our hearts and because He has forgiven us, we too have the urge and the ability to forgive others no matter what.
Everyone who has been born again belongs to God’s kingdom. It does not matter where you live, or if you’re rich or poor, what colour skin you have, or whether you are young or old; God accepts everyone who believes in his Son and are given a ‘New Life’. It is a gift from God.
Sin is like a snake’s bite. A bite poisons our bodies and ruins our lives. But God has provided a way to cure us. He has provided a way to save us from sin and death. Jesus said that people would lift him up, like the snake. He was referring to the time when they would put him on the cross. They would lift him up on the cross for everyone to see and we must look up at him on the cross. To put it bluntly, we must trust him, because of the cross. The only way to free us from the results of our sin is to look at Jesus on the cross. When we look at the cross, God rescues us from the results of our sins. In other words, we must trust Jesus to save us from the punishment for our sins. He died so that God would forgive us. And we are expected to forgive others.
Verse 16 is probably the most famous verse in the Bible. It expresses in only a few words what Christians believe. It tells us the main reason why God sent his Son to die on our behalf. There are several reasons why God did this. He did it because he is fair. If people do wrong things, they deserve a punishment. So Jesus suffered our punishment in our place. He did it because he is holy. God cannot accept us, because we sin. But Jesus, who never sinned, took our place. He died instead of us and when we believe this, we receive Jesus’ righteousness as our own. So when God looks at us, he is so overwhelmed with love for us, he chooses to see Jesus’ righteousness instead of our sin. That’s amazing.
Love is more than just one of God’s qualities. His nature is love and God does everything because he loves. God’s love always reaches out to us, the people that he has made. God’s love is never selfish. He gave to us the most precious thing that he had: his only Son so that we might have Life – ‘eternal life’, God’s free gift to us. We cannot earn it. But we do have a duty to let other people know that the only one way to receive a ‘new life’ is to be born again and to believe in Jesus. To believe ‘in’ means more than just to know that Jesus is God. Even the devil knows that! It means that we should trust Jesus completely. We should allow him to rule every part of our lives completely for He has a plan for each one of us. We must believe that all his words in the Bible are true and we must obey him. We must believe that he gives us the power to change our characters to make us become more like him, if only we would let him. People have gone before us and have done just that – believed in Jesus and when we look at the Old Testament we can see that with our new birth in Jesus, God welcomes us into the family and we can share in the same trust that Abraham and Moses had. But we cannot will this, we can only respond to the Spirit’s will, and receive the Father’s love revealed to us in his Son.
Questions
1. What thoughts come to mind as you read this passage? What do you think God might be saying to you?
2. We pray ‘forgive us as we forgive those who trespass against us’. Are you the first to say sorry or do you find it difficult to forgive? Is there anything you would not forgive?
3. Jesus said “You must be born again and have faith in Jesus”. Have you? There are going to be three answers to that question. Yes – No – Not sure. If the answer is no or not sure, then please talk to Bruce, Robert, Melanie or Kim or someone you trust about how you can be sure.
Sunday 10 February 2008 Matthew 4:1-11 Lent 1 Melanie
A newly married sailor was told by the Navy that he was going to be stationed for a whole year a long way from home on a remote Island in the Pacific.
It was only a few days after he arrived that he began to miss his new wife. So he wrote her a letter.
‘My love’, he wrote, ‘we are going to be apart for a very long time.
Already I’m starting to miss you and there’s not much to do here in the evenings. We are also constantly surrounded by young attractive native girls.
Do you think if I had a hobby of some kind I would not be tempted?’
His wife sent a letter back, enclosing a harmonica saying, ‘Why don’t you learn to play this?’
Eventually his tour of duty came to an end. He rushed home to his wife. ‘Darling’, he said, ‘I can’t wait to see you and have a cuddle’.
She kissed him, then said: ‘First, let’s hear you play that harmonica’.
Temptation is the theme of the first Sunday of Lent year after year.
Today we are told about the temptations of Christ. In the wilderness, in a solitary, deserted place. No shelter from the searing sun. Or respite from the dry heat of the desert
Struggling to find food and water. Sharing an inhospitable place with other predators. Living with an endless horizon of sand, where only the most hardened could survive.
In this barren desert, he would try to find God.
Find God, in the middle of nothingness.
Find God in a place where little on earth lived.
Find God at the extremes.
What would be wrong with turning stones into bread? Later he would turn 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish into a feast for 5,000.
What would be wrong with relying on Jewish scriptures? Relying on them so much that he trusts the angels to protect him? Later Jesus would walk on water. Surely that is no harder than floating on air.
What would be wrong with Jesus, God’s Son taking control of the kingdoms of the world? Don’t we look to him to do this at the end of time? What would be wrong with doing all of this?
On one level – nothing. And on another level – everything.
The Son of God using superhuman powers to save himself, to give himself glory, to take away his humanity. Yes – everything would be wrong.
It’s a constant debate: Jesus – human or divine? It kept the church arguing for centuries. Even now we struggle with the same problem. Was this Son of God so divine that he lost sight of human emotion? Would he have had sexual thoughts? Fantasised about marrying Mary Magdalene? Shades of Da Vinci Code, and The Last Temptation of Christ spring to mind.
And yet, in this reading we have the evidence. The truth that Jesus was in all ways tempted, yet was without sin.
I wonder what tempts you? Probably not turning stones to bread or jumping off a cliff.
I am usually tempted by good things, not evil.
I can happily say no to things we all agree are wrong. My struggle is between the good and the best. I am so often satisfied with the status quo.
Tempted to let others speak out against social evils.
Tempted to do nothing about world poverty.
Tempted to go with the flow, rather than be a voice that makes a difference.
But then I remember the famous line: ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing’. Even if our temptation is to do nothing, we are in danger of being caught by evil. ‘Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil’ at once becomes a necessary, vibrant, living reality. Something that we need to have at the front rather than the back of our minds.
Perhaps we need to be blessed with discomfort when we hear easy answers or half truths.
Blessed with anger at injustice and exploitation.
Blessed with tears for those who suffer.
Blessed with foolishness that says we can make a difference.
Blessed with all of these things rather than being tempted to go with the flow, to do nothing.
Our reading this morning gives us hope.
It shows us once more that we are not alone in our struggle.
We know that Jesus struggled too; that he wrestled with evil, that in the middle of that wilderness he too must have questioned, reasoned, argued, shouted, and cried out to God.
And yet, we are left with his final words to Satan: ‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him’.
We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that nothing living or dead, high or low
angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, thinkable or unthinkable, absolutely nothing can come between us and God’s love in Christ Jesus.
And that is good news.
Questions for Discussion
1. What is the most comforting thing for you about the temptation of Jesus?
2. And what might you find troubling or perplexing?
It was only a few days after he arrived that he began to miss his new wife. So he wrote her a letter.
‘My love’, he wrote, ‘we are going to be apart for a very long time.
Already I’m starting to miss you and there’s not much to do here in the evenings. We are also constantly surrounded by young attractive native girls.
Do you think if I had a hobby of some kind I would not be tempted?’
His wife sent a letter back, enclosing a harmonica saying, ‘Why don’t you learn to play this?’
Eventually his tour of duty came to an end. He rushed home to his wife. ‘Darling’, he said, ‘I can’t wait to see you and have a cuddle’.
She kissed him, then said: ‘First, let’s hear you play that harmonica’.
Temptation is the theme of the first Sunday of Lent year after year.
Today we are told about the temptations of Christ. In the wilderness, in a solitary, deserted place. No shelter from the searing sun. Or respite from the dry heat of the desert
Struggling to find food and water. Sharing an inhospitable place with other predators. Living with an endless horizon of sand, where only the most hardened could survive.
In this barren desert, he would try to find God.
Find God, in the middle of nothingness.
Find God in a place where little on earth lived.
Find God at the extremes.
What would be wrong with turning stones into bread? Later he would turn 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish into a feast for 5,000.
What would be wrong with relying on Jewish scriptures? Relying on them so much that he trusts the angels to protect him? Later Jesus would walk on water. Surely that is no harder than floating on air.
What would be wrong with Jesus, God’s Son taking control of the kingdoms of the world? Don’t we look to him to do this at the end of time? What would be wrong with doing all of this?
On one level – nothing. And on another level – everything.
The Son of God using superhuman powers to save himself, to give himself glory, to take away his humanity. Yes – everything would be wrong.
It’s a constant debate: Jesus – human or divine? It kept the church arguing for centuries. Even now we struggle with the same problem. Was this Son of God so divine that he lost sight of human emotion? Would he have had sexual thoughts? Fantasised about marrying Mary Magdalene? Shades of Da Vinci Code, and The Last Temptation of Christ spring to mind.
And yet, in this reading we have the evidence. The truth that Jesus was in all ways tempted, yet was without sin.
I wonder what tempts you? Probably not turning stones to bread or jumping off a cliff.
I am usually tempted by good things, not evil.
I can happily say no to things we all agree are wrong. My struggle is between the good and the best. I am so often satisfied with the status quo.
Tempted to let others speak out against social evils.
Tempted to do nothing about world poverty.
Tempted to go with the flow, rather than be a voice that makes a difference.
But then I remember the famous line: ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing’. Even if our temptation is to do nothing, we are in danger of being caught by evil. ‘Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil’ at once becomes a necessary, vibrant, living reality. Something that we need to have at the front rather than the back of our minds.
Perhaps we need to be blessed with discomfort when we hear easy answers or half truths.
Blessed with anger at injustice and exploitation.
Blessed with tears for those who suffer.
Blessed with foolishness that says we can make a difference.
Blessed with all of these things rather than being tempted to go with the flow, to do nothing.
Our reading this morning gives us hope.
It shows us once more that we are not alone in our struggle.
We know that Jesus struggled too; that he wrestled with evil, that in the middle of that wilderness he too must have questioned, reasoned, argued, shouted, and cried out to God.
And yet, we are left with his final words to Satan: ‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him’.
We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that nothing living or dead, high or low
angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, thinkable or unthinkable, absolutely nothing can come between us and God’s love in Christ Jesus.
And that is good news.
Questions for Discussion
1. What is the most comforting thing for you about the temptation of Jesus?
2. And what might you find troubling or perplexing?
Tuesday, 5 February 2008
Sunday 3 February 2008 The Presentation Hebrews 2:14-18, Luke 2:22-40, Bruce
Our Father, who art in heaven
At the hinge point between Christmas and Easter, we are reminded that heaven’s only Son was fully one with us. Humble servants have waited long years for a glimpse of heaven on earth. His parents are doing all they can humanly do, and they must trust …
Last week we began a series of associated talks, on the theme of the Lord’s Prayer.
Today we remember the Presentation of our Lord. Arising from the regulations in Leviticus in the Hebrew scriptures, a woman need to be ritually cleansed after childbirth; this took place forty days after the birth of a boy and sixty six days after the birth of a girl. Until recently it was customary for women to be ‘churched’ after a birth.
In addition, it is part of the Exodus story that the first born son belonged to the Lord, and had to be ‘redeemed’. This is connected with the story of the Passover, and the concept that the nation of Israel is God’s special son among the nations. The son was to be redeemed by the offering of a lamb.
And so Mary and Joseph come on the fortieth day with their son to the temple. The prescribed offering is a lamb for the son and a dove or pigeon for the mother. However if the couple are too poor to afford a lamb, they may offer a dove or pigeon, and that is what we find happened in this case.
And so we tell for the last time this season the Christmas story: angels from the realms of glory, shepherds in the field abiding, sages, or wise ones, leaving their contemplations, all have passed before us. And now we have these faithful ones who have dedicated their lives to waiting for the coming of the promised saviour. The prophet Malachi had promised that the promised one would appear “suddenly” in the temple (page 961), and they were determined not to miss it!
And so this wizened old man, probably with a bald head and a white beard, rushes up and seizes their child! Simeon praises God with the words that generations of Christians have known as the Nunc Dimittis, calling Jesus the light for the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of Israel. It is from these words that we have the custom of lighting candles at this time, to acknowledge the light of Christ shining out.
For Simeon, Jesus is the presence of heaven here on earth. The darkness of this world will be dispersed by the brightness heaven’s glory. As we take this last look back to Christmas, so we also take our first look forward to the cross. Jesus will bring the light of heaven by causing many to fall, perhaps as they become conscious of the darkness within them; he will cause many to rise, as they trust personally in Jesus for forgiveness and wholeness. As the writer to the Hebrews says, Jesus has become fully human. He has come to suffer temptation and suffer and die for us, in order to atone for us. He will be spoken against by many, but many will also find their thoughts and motivations exposed and made clear.
For Mary, there is puzzlement and pain: a sword will pierce her soul also.
All this backed up Anna, who has been waiting for this moment and joins in the songs of praise. This special child will grow up to make a difference, to bring about heaven on earth as the fortunes of God’s people are transformed.
What are we to make of this?
Every child is special. We are here to baptise little Abi, rejoicing in the potential and hope that her young life brings us. On her behalf her parents and godparents pledge a life of obedience to Christ and walking in his ways. She will be part of the bringing in of the kingdom. Can we guarantee this? Of course not. Rather, we are writing a cheque of faith on her life. Through the prayers and example of us all, as we welcome her into the family of God, we will do all that we can to help her.
Mary and Joseph offered up their child to the service of God. We humbly come to do the same today. Perhaps we have here a teacher, a doctor, an engineer, a railway worker, a prime minister or a bishop! Whatever paths she takes, we offer her and entrust her to God’s keeping.
And each of us is called to live out those baptismal promises - to reject evil and turn to Christ. Today, as we say the words of the service together, we each have an opportunity, as Simeon and Anna did, to respond to the presence and love of Christ, living in the presence of our Father, who is in heaven.
May the light of Christ shine in your life! Amen.
At the hinge point between Christmas and Easter, we are reminded that heaven’s only Son was fully one with us. Humble servants have waited long years for a glimpse of heaven on earth. His parents are doing all they can humanly do, and they must trust …
Last week we began a series of associated talks, on the theme of the Lord’s Prayer.
Today we remember the Presentation of our Lord. Arising from the regulations in Leviticus in the Hebrew scriptures, a woman need to be ritually cleansed after childbirth; this took place forty days after the birth of a boy and sixty six days after the birth of a girl. Until recently it was customary for women to be ‘churched’ after a birth.
In addition, it is part of the Exodus story that the first born son belonged to the Lord, and had to be ‘redeemed’. This is connected with the story of the Passover, and the concept that the nation of Israel is God’s special son among the nations. The son was to be redeemed by the offering of a lamb.
And so Mary and Joseph come on the fortieth day with their son to the temple. The prescribed offering is a lamb for the son and a dove or pigeon for the mother. However if the couple are too poor to afford a lamb, they may offer a dove or pigeon, and that is what we find happened in this case.
And so we tell for the last time this season the Christmas story: angels from the realms of glory, shepherds in the field abiding, sages, or wise ones, leaving their contemplations, all have passed before us. And now we have these faithful ones who have dedicated their lives to waiting for the coming of the promised saviour. The prophet Malachi had promised that the promised one would appear “suddenly” in the temple (page 961), and they were determined not to miss it!
And so this wizened old man, probably with a bald head and a white beard, rushes up and seizes their child! Simeon praises God with the words that generations of Christians have known as the Nunc Dimittis, calling Jesus the light for the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of Israel. It is from these words that we have the custom of lighting candles at this time, to acknowledge the light of Christ shining out.
For Simeon, Jesus is the presence of heaven here on earth. The darkness of this world will be dispersed by the brightness heaven’s glory. As we take this last look back to Christmas, so we also take our first look forward to the cross. Jesus will bring the light of heaven by causing many to fall, perhaps as they become conscious of the darkness within them; he will cause many to rise, as they trust personally in Jesus for forgiveness and wholeness. As the writer to the Hebrews says, Jesus has become fully human. He has come to suffer temptation and suffer and die for us, in order to atone for us. He will be spoken against by many, but many will also find their thoughts and motivations exposed and made clear.
For Mary, there is puzzlement and pain: a sword will pierce her soul also.
All this backed up Anna, who has been waiting for this moment and joins in the songs of praise. This special child will grow up to make a difference, to bring about heaven on earth as the fortunes of God’s people are transformed.
What are we to make of this?
Every child is special. We are here to baptise little Abi, rejoicing in the potential and hope that her young life brings us. On her behalf her parents and godparents pledge a life of obedience to Christ and walking in his ways. She will be part of the bringing in of the kingdom. Can we guarantee this? Of course not. Rather, we are writing a cheque of faith on her life. Through the prayers and example of us all, as we welcome her into the family of God, we will do all that we can to help her.
Mary and Joseph offered up their child to the service of God. We humbly come to do the same today. Perhaps we have here a teacher, a doctor, an engineer, a railway worker, a prime minister or a bishop! Whatever paths she takes, we offer her and entrust her to God’s keeping.
And each of us is called to live out those baptismal promises - to reject evil and turn to Christ. Today, as we say the words of the service together, we each have an opportunity, as Simeon and Anna did, to respond to the presence and love of Christ, living in the presence of our Father, who is in heaven.
May the light of Christ shine in your life! Amen.
Wednesday, 30 January 2008
Sunday 27 January 2008 Luke 11:1-13 The Power of Prayer to Change the World. Bruce.
Welcome to the last of our series on discipleship, Following in the Footsteps of Jesus. We have been looking at ten areas that concern the Christian who wants to follow Christ. Before Advent we looked at:
· CARE FOR CREATION
· COMMUNITY ON THE PILGRIM ROAD
· RHYTHM OF PRAYER, WORK & RECREATION
· ABSORBING THE SCRIPTURES
· SIMPLE LIFESTYLE
· HEALING FRAGMENTED PEOPLE AND COMMUNITY
· OPENNESS TO GOD’S SPIRIT
· MISSION
Last week Robert preached on UNITY.
Which is ironic as I come to look at this passage on prayer. If you gather a representative group of Christians from different churches and say “Our Father”, you can never be quite sure of the result.
Is it Our Father, which art in heaven? Or Our Father, who art in heaven? Or since 1980, Our Father in heaven… ? And there are various permutations after that.
If you compare the version from today’s Gospel with the more familiar one in Matthew 6 (page 970), you will see at least two versions in scripture. The two gospel writers each have their own interests and ways of telling the story, of course, but it may be enough to imagine that Jesus will have given this teaching on many occasions, and perhaps did not feel the need to stick to a precise script.
In other words, the Lord’s Prayer was not originally a piece of liturgy to recited, but a pattern for engagement with the Father, for us to live in the same way that Jesus lived.
Boiling the concerns of Jesus down to the basics, they seem to have been: Father, Name, Kingdom, Bread, Forgive, Temptation. It would be good to devote a few moments to each one.
Jesus taught us to call God our Father. Everything springs from relationship. The serpent tempted Eve in the Garden: “Did God really say? God does not want the best for you…” But Jesus had no doubt that Father is absolutely for us, on our side, wants the best for us. The best of human fathers, Jesus says, will let their children down, but they do their best; if that is so, then how much more can we trust Our Father to less us? And if it is all about relationship, there will be ramifications which we will return to.
To hallow God’s name is to honour him, to worship him, and to seek to lead lives that do justice to his name. It is not just to refrain from cursing, but to positively live in ways that powerfully suggest that God is at work. We do not need to protect his name, but our desire is to see him praised.
And then Jesus tells us to pray for the kingdom to come. We struggle to understand scripture unless we come to terms with the ancients’ conception of two worlds, above and below. Everything here on earth has its counterpart above. Our army prevails if the battle is going well in the heavenlies. If there is peace and order in heaven, then it should be so here on earth.
But it is not.
Today is Holocaust Memorial Day, and there are holocausts today. The heart of faith is change; the world is not perfect as it is, and we cannot rest. An article in the Church Times tries to explain the continuing popularity of Songs of Praise on BBC on Sunday evenings. The Dean of Windsor suggests: “There is, deep down in each human being, some spiritual impulse and energy that is constantly yearning and aching for a fuller life and a better world.”
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Kaj Munk was a Danish priest martyred by the Gestapo in 1944. He wrote: “Our task today is recklessness. For what we Christians lack is not psychology or literature… we lack a holy RAGE - the recklessness which comes from the knowledge of God and humanity. The ability to RAGE when justice lies prostrate on the streets and when the lie rages across the face of the earth… a holy anger about the things that are wrong in the world. To RAGE against the ravaging of God’s earth and the destruction of God’s world. To RAGE when little children must die of hunger, when the tables of the rich are sagging with food. To RAGE at senseless killing of so many and against the madness of militaries. To RAGE at the lie that calls threat of death and the strategy of destruction peace. To RAGE against complacency. To restlessly seek that recklessness that will change and seek to change human history until it conforms to the norms of the Kingdom of God. Remember the signs of the church have been the Lion, the Lamb, the Dove and the Fish, but never the Chameleon.”
Ray Simpson is the Guardian of the Order of Aidan and Hilda, based on Holy Island. He writes: “The purpose is ‘to overcome evil with good’ (Romans 12:21). No initiative to change what is wrong can succeed unless it begins in a Godward movement of the heart – and that is intercession. Intercession is not just something we say, not even just what we do – it is an outpoured life. Christ ever lives to make intercession (Hebrews 7:25). Christ is the head of the body of which we are each a member; thus, as we unite ourselves with him, we too share in this outpouring of lived prayer.”
Give us our bread for today … We are commanded to ask God for what need. Food, shelter, health, every thing, comes from him and we seek him for it.
And I know there are problems with this.
There is a persistent suspicion that prayer does not “work”. It does not do what it says on the tin. We ask ourselves “Are we “making it up”? Talking to ourselves?” Does God answer prayer?
Yes, but God is not a slot machine. When we pray, God is moved; but he is not at our beck and call. We are not doing magic, so that if we get the words and actions just right, we can guarantee the required result. I have been helped by reading the book “God on Mute” by Pete Ward, which I have found humbling, instructive and above all encouraging.
I really believe that God can and does answer prayer. Not every prayer immediately, perhaps, and not always to our preferred timescale. But I trust him. At the heart of this is to desire what God desires. Prayer is not to be learnt and recited by rote, but to be lived.
Not every prayer that Jesus prayed was answered. Jesus prayed for unity, and we are still waiting to see an answer to that prayer.
Jesus prayed in the garden that the cup of suffering might be taken from him; but he went forward to the cross anyway, believing it to be God’s will.
Forgive, as we forgive … There is no escaping the call to relationship, to encounter God and grow in him. It is because we yearn for perfection, and are so aware of our shortcomings, that we hardly dare to believe that we can be accepted into the Father’s love. And only when we have been received and welcomed and forgiven so undeservedly do we find a space to accept and forgive ourselves, and to accept and forgive others. Our relationships on earth can begin to reflect something of the quality of the love and grace that are the reality of heaven.
Lead us not into temptation. Or do not lead us to the time of trial. We are to pray this because the Christian life is not a magic carpet ride to heaven. We hope and pray for the best, and often get it, but we know that this life is often a vale of tears. Jesus lived his life according to this pattern.
As an example, consider him in the Garden of Gethsemane. On this occasion he does not pray: “Our Father, who art in heaven”, but “Abba Father, everything is possible for you.”
He makes himself the answer to his prayer, replacing “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” with “not my will but thine be done”. Instead of “lead us not into temptation”, he has told the disciples to stay awake and pray so that they will not fall into sin.
He does not pray for bread, but perhaps he is aware that he is offering himself as the bread that will be broken for many. He does not pray “forgive us our trespasses”, but he is soon to say “Father, forgive them ...”. He does not pray “deliver us from evil”; he is about to deliver himself into hell.
There is much more I would like to say. Our readings over the next few weeks will use the Lord’s Prayer as a reference point, giving us time and space to pray the prayer, study the prayer, live the prayer.
The PCC is leading us in a project to renew St Michael’s. What sort of people does our Father God want us to be? What needs to be changed in us, so that we can bring in necessary change to his world? Wherever we find ourselves on our pilgrimage now, what are the next, small, tremulous steps that we can take, on the road to be more like Jesus?
Please join me as I seek to discover a deeper relationship with the Father, to align earth and heaven, to rely upon him to provide all that is necessary, and to avoid temptation. God does have power to change the world, and he does it in response to our prayers; he does it by changing us.
· CARE FOR CREATION
· COMMUNITY ON THE PILGRIM ROAD
· RHYTHM OF PRAYER, WORK & RECREATION
· ABSORBING THE SCRIPTURES
· SIMPLE LIFESTYLE
· HEALING FRAGMENTED PEOPLE AND COMMUNITY
· OPENNESS TO GOD’S SPIRIT
· MISSION
Last week Robert preached on UNITY.
Which is ironic as I come to look at this passage on prayer. If you gather a representative group of Christians from different churches and say “Our Father”, you can never be quite sure of the result.
Is it Our Father, which art in heaven? Or Our Father, who art in heaven? Or since 1980, Our Father in heaven… ? And there are various permutations after that.
If you compare the version from today’s Gospel with the more familiar one in Matthew 6 (page 970), you will see at least two versions in scripture. The two gospel writers each have their own interests and ways of telling the story, of course, but it may be enough to imagine that Jesus will have given this teaching on many occasions, and perhaps did not feel the need to stick to a precise script.
In other words, the Lord’s Prayer was not originally a piece of liturgy to recited, but a pattern for engagement with the Father, for us to live in the same way that Jesus lived.
Boiling the concerns of Jesus down to the basics, they seem to have been: Father, Name, Kingdom, Bread, Forgive, Temptation. It would be good to devote a few moments to each one.
Jesus taught us to call God our Father. Everything springs from relationship. The serpent tempted Eve in the Garden: “Did God really say? God does not want the best for you…” But Jesus had no doubt that Father is absolutely for us, on our side, wants the best for us. The best of human fathers, Jesus says, will let their children down, but they do their best; if that is so, then how much more can we trust Our Father to less us? And if it is all about relationship, there will be ramifications which we will return to.
To hallow God’s name is to honour him, to worship him, and to seek to lead lives that do justice to his name. It is not just to refrain from cursing, but to positively live in ways that powerfully suggest that God is at work. We do not need to protect his name, but our desire is to see him praised.
And then Jesus tells us to pray for the kingdom to come. We struggle to understand scripture unless we come to terms with the ancients’ conception of two worlds, above and below. Everything here on earth has its counterpart above. Our army prevails if the battle is going well in the heavenlies. If there is peace and order in heaven, then it should be so here on earth.
But it is not.
Today is Holocaust Memorial Day, and there are holocausts today. The heart of faith is change; the world is not perfect as it is, and we cannot rest. An article in the Church Times tries to explain the continuing popularity of Songs of Praise on BBC on Sunday evenings. The Dean of Windsor suggests: “There is, deep down in each human being, some spiritual impulse and energy that is constantly yearning and aching for a fuller life and a better world.”
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Kaj Munk was a Danish priest martyred by the Gestapo in 1944. He wrote: “Our task today is recklessness. For what we Christians lack is not psychology or literature… we lack a holy RAGE - the recklessness which comes from the knowledge of God and humanity. The ability to RAGE when justice lies prostrate on the streets and when the lie rages across the face of the earth… a holy anger about the things that are wrong in the world. To RAGE against the ravaging of God’s earth and the destruction of God’s world. To RAGE when little children must die of hunger, when the tables of the rich are sagging with food. To RAGE at senseless killing of so many and against the madness of militaries. To RAGE at the lie that calls threat of death and the strategy of destruction peace. To RAGE against complacency. To restlessly seek that recklessness that will change and seek to change human history until it conforms to the norms of the Kingdom of God. Remember the signs of the church have been the Lion, the Lamb, the Dove and the Fish, but never the Chameleon.”
Ray Simpson is the Guardian of the Order of Aidan and Hilda, based on Holy Island. He writes: “The purpose is ‘to overcome evil with good’ (Romans 12:21). No initiative to change what is wrong can succeed unless it begins in a Godward movement of the heart – and that is intercession. Intercession is not just something we say, not even just what we do – it is an outpoured life. Christ ever lives to make intercession (Hebrews 7:25). Christ is the head of the body of which we are each a member; thus, as we unite ourselves with him, we too share in this outpouring of lived prayer.”
Give us our bread for today … We are commanded to ask God for what need. Food, shelter, health, every thing, comes from him and we seek him for it.
And I know there are problems with this.
There is a persistent suspicion that prayer does not “work”. It does not do what it says on the tin. We ask ourselves “Are we “making it up”? Talking to ourselves?” Does God answer prayer?
Yes, but God is not a slot machine. When we pray, God is moved; but he is not at our beck and call. We are not doing magic, so that if we get the words and actions just right, we can guarantee the required result. I have been helped by reading the book “God on Mute” by Pete Ward, which I have found humbling, instructive and above all encouraging.
I really believe that God can and does answer prayer. Not every prayer immediately, perhaps, and not always to our preferred timescale. But I trust him. At the heart of this is to desire what God desires. Prayer is not to be learnt and recited by rote, but to be lived.
Not every prayer that Jesus prayed was answered. Jesus prayed for unity, and we are still waiting to see an answer to that prayer.
Jesus prayed in the garden that the cup of suffering might be taken from him; but he went forward to the cross anyway, believing it to be God’s will.
Forgive, as we forgive … There is no escaping the call to relationship, to encounter God and grow in him. It is because we yearn for perfection, and are so aware of our shortcomings, that we hardly dare to believe that we can be accepted into the Father’s love. And only when we have been received and welcomed and forgiven so undeservedly do we find a space to accept and forgive ourselves, and to accept and forgive others. Our relationships on earth can begin to reflect something of the quality of the love and grace that are the reality of heaven.
Lead us not into temptation. Or do not lead us to the time of trial. We are to pray this because the Christian life is not a magic carpet ride to heaven. We hope and pray for the best, and often get it, but we know that this life is often a vale of tears. Jesus lived his life according to this pattern.
As an example, consider him in the Garden of Gethsemane. On this occasion he does not pray: “Our Father, who art in heaven”, but “Abba Father, everything is possible for you.”
He makes himself the answer to his prayer, replacing “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” with “not my will but thine be done”. Instead of “lead us not into temptation”, he has told the disciples to stay awake and pray so that they will not fall into sin.
He does not pray for bread, but perhaps he is aware that he is offering himself as the bread that will be broken for many. He does not pray “forgive us our trespasses”, but he is soon to say “Father, forgive them ...”. He does not pray “deliver us from evil”; he is about to deliver himself into hell.
There is much more I would like to say. Our readings over the next few weeks will use the Lord’s Prayer as a reference point, giving us time and space to pray the prayer, study the prayer, live the prayer.
The PCC is leading us in a project to renew St Michael’s. What sort of people does our Father God want us to be? What needs to be changed in us, so that we can bring in necessary change to his world? Wherever we find ourselves on our pilgrimage now, what are the next, small, tremulous steps that we can take, on the road to be more like Jesus?
Please join me as I seek to discover a deeper relationship with the Father, to align earth and heaven, to rely upon him to provide all that is necessary, and to avoid temptation. God does have power to change the world, and he does it in response to our prayers; he does it by changing us.
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