The GIFT Reflection for Christmas 2015

Isaiah 9:2-7       Psalm 96   Titus 2:11-14      Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

We’ve reached that amazing time of year once more.  The day that we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.  For most, this is simply the day that is set aside to celebrate the birth of a great historical figure.  For Christians what we celebrate is so much more and yet so hard to fully comprehend.

Our first reading begins in the reality of an historical time describe by Isaiah as “Darkness”. 

From Isaiah 9:2 “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them light has shined.”

We are no longer experiencing any “deep darkness”, are we? 

That was a rhetorical question because the people that I know, are experiencing some pretty deep dark this year.  There are at least three people, I know personally, who are to “celebrate” Christmas this year for the first time without their significant other alive.  Many more will be “celebrating” amidst the _-heartbreak of separation for so many other reasons.  Many in this area are struggling because they are out of work, sick and then there is also the deep dark that our society is in globally. 

We are living in a crazy contradiction of life, because Jesus Christ, the saviour, the messiah, has come… why are we in such deep dark?

This celebration of Christmas is one that we cannot afford to let pass without it being born in us, and while that may be a metaphor, if Christmas is nothing more than an ideology we really have missed the mark… and to “miss the mark”  is the literal definition of sin.  We don’t need to stay “in the dark” and in sin.

The birth of any great leader is often celebrated, but none more than this.  The reason being that Christians believe that this was no ordinary person who was born.  This was God made flesh.  The immortal creator and ruler of the universe, becomes the fragile and vulnerable creation.  He who is light and life is willing, for the love of humanity, to submerge himself into that world of deep darkness.

Our readings do not do not continue to focus on that deep darkness.  Even in that first line the sentence ends with light shining.  The coming of Christ is heralded as a time of great joy because there is an acknowledgement that they were in great need of a saviour.  The message before Christ’s ministry was to repent.  To repent, is essentially to reflect on the reality of your situation and acknowledge the darkness of your life and your need for change.  Is your world in need of change?

If you have already acknowledged the darkness in your life and tried to change it you will know what comes next.  Can you guess what it is?

Deeper darkness……!  Memes abound over social media promoting self-help and self-change.  These are great sounding to sound true to the naive… just as naïve as were Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when the Serpent convinced them also that they could better their life….  Do we remember what happened there?

The reason for this deep darkness is fallen humanity and all the earth subject to decay because of it.  Just look around.  Are you concerned about the environment and climate change?  Humanity has not been a good steward of the earth and we could well say that fallen humanity has put greed above the good of the earth and caused our environmental problems. 

It certainly isn’t too big a jump to blame fallen humanity for so many other woes in our dark world.

So we’ve acknowledged the darkness and tried to change it, but due to the nature of fallen humanity, changing the darkness is beyond our ability.  We can try to change ourselves, but many of us even fail at that and at best might have some temporary success.  Honestly, this has been my experience.  We all do it. We try hard and sometimes see signs of light, but in the end you will be exhausted.  I am.

Thankfully God knew all this and had a better plan.

Titus 2:11 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all,” 

We need to understand that “the grace of God”, means the undeserved favour of God.  We have salvation because of nothing that we are or do, but simply because God loves us.  It can best be described as the love a parent has for a favoured child who always does the wrong thing – everyone else might see the faults, but the parent looks with the eyes of love at something wonderful that only they can see.

But this unconditional love of God is wisdom also and it comes with the gift of the Holy Spirit bringing the presence of God, which affects change in the individual and then change in the community like ripples in a pond.  As Christians, we are anointed by our baptism to be an effective body of Christ in the community.

Titus 2:14 “He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.”

The result in us, of Christ’s coming, dying and rising, will be that we are people who are changed and eager to reflect God’s love.

I was wondering why the Angel announced the Good News about the birth of Christ, to shepherds.  I think the explanation given over years gone by was that these were the poor people and so it was God’s way of showing His love for all.  While this is true, I believe there is more to it.

Throughout the Bible, the image of the shepherd is used to describe how God cares for his sheep and also it illustrates the “Good” shepherd and compares this with those shepherds who scatter the sheep.  The Good News is given to the Shepherds, and we are now those shepherds.  The sheep are those in the world around us who God cared so much about that he died for them…. But they may not know it.  Will we be like the shepherds in the story and respond to the Good News by making a search for the saviour and by passing on the Good News?

Apparently there is more to these shepherds of Bethlehem.  From an article online; http://www.jesus.org/birth-of-jesus/shepherds-and-angels/why-did-the-angels-announce-jesuss-birth-to-shepherds.html

“Somewhere deep in Jewish tradition (revealed in writings called the Mishnah), a belief had arisen that the Messiah would be revealed from the Migdal Eder ("the tower of the flock"). This tower stood close to Bethlehem on the road to Jerusalem, and the sheep that pastured there were not the type used for ordinary purposes. The shepherds working there, in fact, took care of the temple-flocks, the sheep meant for sacrifice.

We can trust that God had a specific purpose for this shepherd audience, and the work they performed suggests the reason. These men who watched the sheep meant for the slaughter received a divine message about the ultimate Lamb who would take away the sins of the world through His death and resurrection.

(Adapted from The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah by Alfred Edersheim (Book II, Chapter VI).)

For those of us aware of the dark and longing for change, this message that the Angels bring, tell of a lamb that will take away sin.  This is no ordinary lamb, but the Lamb of God whose sacrifice is once and for all.  The Lamb of God is also the light of the world who stepped down into darkness.  He gives us eyes that can see in the dark, he can change our heart and most importantly he has restored

our fallen humanity, but we are like he was when he walked the earth – we live in a place of darkness.  Within us now we have the light – the light of Christ.  Just like Christ when he walked the earth, we hurt and we grieve, but like him, we can learn to walk in unity with God in a new reality of light.

 As Jesus said, in John 5:19 “Jesus gave them this answer: "Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”

We live in a dark world, but we can walk in the light.  So… let us rest from our labours and vain attempts to manipulate others, ourselves and the world that is, and accept the gift that Christ gives us this Christmas.  For so many years I have thought that Christmas was a time of thinking like the carol of the little drummer boy and pondering what gift I could give to God.  I have had it all back to front.  The message of Christmas is that God gives us himself. 

Will we receive the gift He gives?

From little things... Reflection for 4th Sunday of Advent

Year C   Fourth Sunday of Advent   20 December 2015

Michah 5:2-5a   Psalm 80: 1-7 OR Luke 1:47-55     Hebrews 10:5-10    Luke 1:39-45, (46-55)

From Psalm 80 we hear a cry that might resonate with many of us:

Psalm 80:4 -7 “O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?   You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us the scorn of our neighbours; our enemies laugh among themselves.  Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.”
 

It’s been quite a while since I last wrote a reflection.  Advent began and, to me, it is like a New Year’s Day and time for re-commitment – and getting back into writing.  However, I had a school Christmas concert to organise and so many other things.

Many times throughout 2015 I could relate to these words from Psalm 80.  It seemed like so many were against me, and being human, I wondered if I was being punished and sometimes, with my music and difficulty in getting gigs after being told I was one of the best that the venues had, I wondered if some of it was because I was out there on the streets of Mackay as a Street Chaplain and openly associated with church.

Sadly, as I’m sure you can imagine, rejection doesn’t just come from the secular community.  It has been there in the church also.  What I’ve discovered is that it doesn’t matter what you do to be accepted, some people will simply not accept you.  However, this is only the beginning of our readings for this weekend.  This is the reality that we start with.  Like the psalmist, we bring our feelings of inadequacy, rejection and hurt and we call out to God and say, “How long?”

Like the Psalmist, we may be at the end of our ability to press on, but here we are calling out to God for His intervention.  And there is hope…..

The first reading comes from the prophet Micah and offers a prophecy of hope:  Micah 5:3-6 “Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labour has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel.  And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace.”

The prophecy is about the coming of Jesus.  He was to come from Bethlehem, which is described as one of the little clans of Judah.  In fact there is a theme running through the readings about the small, the poor, the little, the overlooked, the rejected…. This is how God shows that He is concerned about all.  He doesn’t chose the by the worlds standard.  In the world, it seems that the most influential are those who make the most noise, have money or fame and somehow seem to fit right in as everyone’s ideal person.  They are the kind that you can imagine on the talk back shows where everyone is nodding and laughing. 

From the Gospel of Luke we notice that God’s way of choosing is different.

Luke1:46- 55 “And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.   He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."”

The fact of the matter is that right here and now we may have a reality that is far from what we would like and we may feel that, being just one person, we are completely unable to affect any change or to have any influence, but this is the very circumstances where God likes to show up.

God delights in comforting His people and causing those that are of seemingly no significance to become incredibly significant.  This is part of our message for Advent as we prepare for Christmas.  Of course the other part of the message is that “God is on His way”.

How do we make sense of the fact that God has already been here and yet is on his way? 

By His Holy Spirit God is always with his people.  Just as the unborn child within Elizabeth leapt for joy at the sound of Mary’s greeting, acknowledging Jesus within her, so too there are those who will notice something within them and others and respond to the Holy Spirit of Jesus within us, and within circumstances.

Why do I tell you all this?  In our readings there is a thread that ties them all together and it is about little things that become big things.  We, like the rest of humanity, tend to overlook the subtlety of God’s presence.  It was certain characters like Elizabeth that recognized God without any announcement from Mary.  How can we be also be attuned to the presence of God?

There have been many wonderful people who genuinely sought to be in tune with God and got it wrong.  The reading from the letter to the Hebrews tells us the truth about this change from operating under a system of sacrifice and offerings to the New Covenant of living in grateful acceptance.

Hebrews 10:8-10   “When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law) then he added, "See, I have come to do your will." He abolishes the first in order to establish the second.  And it is by God's will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

This reading speaks about the Old Covenant which prescribed certain sacrifices and offerings be made in order to come into God’s grace and presence.  But what does this reading tell us? 

Firstly and most importantly is states that all have been made holy through the offering of Christ… ONCE AND FOR ALL.  God does not require any other offering or sacrifice.  The reality that we fail to Grasp is that God IS present!  To the early Christians this concept sounded like Heresy. 

Many of the early followers of Jesus were “followers of the law”.   They kept the law of God to the best of their ability and they comprehended that Jesus was God incarnate who died because they couldn’t perfectly keep the Holy law of God, but what were they to do now? 

Surely it is for such people that this letter is written with the words, “He abolishes the first in order to establish the second.” 

Jesus put in place a New Covenant.  What are the terms of this covenant?  What sacrifices are we to make?  There is none…  Christ was offered once and for all.  What offering are we to make?   There is none…. Christ was offered once and for all.  So what are we to do?

Ever heard the phrase, “Good News”?  This New Covenant is Good News! How we will respond to the Good News is as individual as each person is, but generally there will be some degree of firstly acceptance or rejection of the gift that is given.  If acceptance, then we are to enjoy the unhindered gift of God’s eternal presence.   God is always there, and with our thanks to God for His presence comes the awareness. 

From little things, big things grow.  A tiny bit of trust that God is there.  A hope that this Good News is real.  A tiny step of faith and suddenly the world becomes four dimensional and joy can be found in the knowing that there is a greater purpose and plan for our existence.

Proper 21B/Ordinary 26B/Pentecost 18   September 27, 2015 •  Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 and Psalm 124  •          James 5:13-20  •       Mark 9:38-50

We all like to have opinions about what is just and fair, and some of us will go further and actually speak up for Justice.    But I’m wondering what it would take for any of us to stand up for our people if it means risk to our own lives?

Our readings today take us to the story of Queen Esther.  She was a Jewish girl who won the favour of the King and became his Queen after the previous Queen was deposed for refusing to bow to the whim of the King at a social event.    In many ways the deposed Queen was a modern and liberated woman, but then came Esther the submissive Queen.  At this point the king was recovering from the embarrassment caused by the deposed Queen and so Esther could well have been put to death for speaking out of turn to the King.

Esther 7:4 “For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace; but no enemy can compensate for this damage to the king."

Esther was not someone who spoke out for people.   Instead she was very attentive and even submissive to the advice of others.  But her uncle who had raised her, urged her that this was not a time for quiet submission.  This was a time that required bravery and advocacy for people.

This is a story that reminds me of those super-hero movies where it is quoted, “with much power, comes much responsibility”.   Esther was the Queen.  It was a precarious position at that moment in history, but her people were going to be annihilated unless she could advocate for them to the King.

We live in times that are very tense and times where opinions are many and varied.  In foreign countries our brothers and sisters in Christ are being annihilated.  And what do we do?  We shuffle between the fear of it reaching our own shores, and the desire to be seen as politically correct and non-discriminatory to anyone.

The real answer and the lesson we can learn from our readings is actually, I believe, in the part of the reading that is not read, but which is shown in our other readings…  We read from James:

James 5:13-18 “Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.  Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.  The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.  Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.  Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.  Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.”

Before Queen Esther went to the King to advocate for her people, she requested days of prayer and people to pray with her.  I believe that prayer is the key and the message within our readings.  I believe that I have a lot to learn about how to pray, and I believe that I’m not the only one.

Prayer reminds us that God is in control and it enables us to see the issue in a way that focuses us such that we can let go of the things we can’t control.  It isn’t that we don’t do the hard yards of working through the problem, but more like a road map through a land littered with land-mines.

Our Psalm reminds us that if we are truly searching God and desiring His will, then we know that God is on our side.

Psalm 124:6-8 “Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth.  We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped.  Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”

The Psalmist repeats a phrase as if incredulous, that we would have perished if the Lord had been against us and we see a similar phrase in our Gospel reading from Mark 9:40 “Whoever is not against us is for us.”

However the reading from Mark is about people who were casting out Demons in Jesus name.  The disciples were concerned because these people didn’t seem to be followers of Jesus.  Is this pertinent to us today?   I hope not… I hope that we never experience anyone being thwarted in their desire to minister in Jesus name because they do not seem to be “one of us”.

As I read this Gospel reading I realized that over the years it may have been misunderstood.  It speaks about how it is better that you cut off your hand, your foot or put out your eye if any of these things cause you to stumble.  We generally think that this is trying to get us to see the severity of sin…. But just what is the severe sin that Jesus is warning about???? 

Not what you might think….!!!!    It is actually the sin of causing those “Little ones” to stumble, or to find yourself stumbling in the same way… and that particular stumbling, i.e. SIN, is to be thwarted in your desire to reach out to people in Jesus name and to set people free. 

You see, at the beginning of the passage the disciples are wanting to stop a group of people who are setting people free by casting out demons in Jesus name.  Jesus assures the disciples that these are people who are “for” him and continues in Mark 9:42 "If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.”  He is talking to those people who would have eldership in the church about how they were to treat others.

The passage ends with the mysterious analogy about salt and how we need to have salt in ourselves and be at peace with one another.  Sadly, we belong to churches that war against each other and cut people down instead of releasing and empowering them into ministries where they are free and can in turn set others free.  And this is why our churches are dying and why there are so many disharmonies.  In our jealousy and suspicion we disable anyone who stands out and begins to do any good and finally all that is left of the church is the walking wounded or bitter and twisted people who’ve never understood the heart of God.

Traditionally the church has denounced anyone different, calling them evil and sinners, forgetting that Christ has dealt with sin.  This is what we see the disciples hinting at in the Gospel reading.  They see themselves as the hierarchy in the Kingdom of God and so they feel they must control and stop these evil others.  What is most concerning to God is not the deeds of the people “OUT THERE”, but the attitudes of our heart and what we do with our free will.  Most importantly His concern is that we love and empower each other to spread His love to all.

The King in the story of Esther can be seen to mirror God’s heart as we notice his willingness to protect and promote Esther.

Esther 7:2-3 “On the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, "What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled."  Then Queen Esther answered, "If I have won your favour, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me -- that is my petition -- and the lives of my people -- that is my request.”

Esther’s request should be the same one that we make to God… “Let my life be given me, and the lives of my people…”  Esther does not set herself apart from her people.  We need to get serious about the ministry that God has called each of us to and get about it, praying that God enable us in this life.  When we disable others in ministry, we are setting ourselves apart from each other.  Remember that we are the body of Christ and it one part hurts we should all be hurting and if one part is doing well then we should all be rejoicing. 

Through prayer and petition we do not react to the precarious circumstances that present themselves in our lives, but instead we learn to respond to them in a way that is most effective and most adulating to God.

If we were to align ourselves with someone in the story of Esther, I wonder who we’d all choose.  Do you see yourself as Esther?  She is one who is in a place of privilege, but risks her very life because she is so connected to her people.  Or do you see yourself as Mordecai?  He is the one who teaches, encourages and gives the information to those with the power to effect change.  Or perhaps you are those who fasted and prayed….  Hopefully you are not Haman whose hate for one man drove him to devise a plan which nearly saw the annihilation of all God’s people….   In the name of God, many of God’s people have been destroyed.  It is important that we honestly search our hearts.

One thing is for certain; through prayer and petition and unity and support, God is victorious and His people with him.

Reflection for Sunday 2nd August 2015

Proper 13B/Ordinary 18B/Pentecost 10
August 2, 2015

2 Samuel 11:26 - 12:13a and Psalm 51:1-12 • Ephesians 4:1-16 • John 6:24-35

Some thoughts on this weekend’s readings are being written very last minute, but I think there is something here timely and important.

From St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians we read, Ephesian 4:1-3 “therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

In the last few weeks I heard someone speak about a group of people and that they’d like to “weed out” some of the difficult personalities.  This was immediately following a discussion about how the most important thing to the heart of God is our “relationships”. 

It is completely understandable and logical, that we will have some people that we are able to get along with more than others, but this doesn’t mean we should be so “wise in our own eyes” (arrogant), as to think that there is no merit in these other people.

One thing that I have observed through my involvement in one particular organisation, that of Street Chaplaincy, is that everyone has their gifts.  There are people on the street that I am not going to be able to connect with, so I thank God that I work with a team and I celebrate our differences… most of the time J 

I have also noticed that some people think that if you disagree with their ideas that you are “against” them.  We can’t ever live in true freedom if we think that liking someone, being their friend and even loving them, means that we must agree and approve of all that they think, do and say.

How wonderful it is, that God gives us families to grow up in.  Families have personalities that, if they were to choose, or we were to arrange it, they’d be placed with other more like minded types.  But families are the perfect example, and learning place for our lives in community.  Sadly, families can be just like the community and reject differences instead of embracing the learning opportunity of accepting differences, celebrating them and still loving unconditionally.

Speaking of family; our first reading for this weekend is the story of Bathsheba coming to live with King David and the story told by the Prophet Nathan to make clear to David just exactly what he had done.  Bathsheba was called to David, became pregnant and so David tried to cover up his act by calling her husband back from the war.  It didn’t work and so David organised for the husband to be placed on the frontline where he was killed in battle.

We are not told how Bathsheba felt about being called to David.  He was the King; therefore, did she have any say in the matter? 

The story or parable that the prophet tell to King David was about a poor man with a pet lamb – just one.  A rich man had a need to feed a visitor, but didn’t want to sacrifice his own flock and so he took the poor man’s lamb.

We always think that the poor man is referring to Bathsheba’s husband.  Indeed it is, but when you think about it, the innocent that was killed was the husband…. This puts the one most hurting to be Bathsheba.  Bathsheba was taken, fell pregnant as a result, lost her husband and then was taken to be just one of the King’s many wives.   The stories over the years have suggested that maybe Bathsheba was deliberately parading for the King to see her naked and these slights on her character, I suspect, would most certainly have been there from the very start – but are they warranted? 

We know that Bathsheba was beautiful.  We know that she was without her husband home.  This brings to mind a film that a friend told me about, “Malena”.  You can read the summery on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mal%C3%A8na

The film is set in the war and Malena is a beautiful woman whose husband has gone to the war… sound familiar?  I have not seen the film and don’t think it is one that I’d advise but the story goes that this woman was hated and rejected.  Why?  Her only crime was that she was very beautiful and men and young boys fantasised about her. 

Towards the end of the film the townspeople lash out at Malena, believing her to be something of a whore and they beat her and shave her head.  Did she do anything deserving this?  She was beautiful.

A beautiful woman such as Malena was safe while happily married, but as soon as her husband was away there was trouble.  Now, an interesting conversation was had during one of my tutorials at university; Many of us were single mothers and we realized that something we all had in common was that, as single women, we were never invited to the BBQs or social events of “friends”.  I can vividly remember the first time that anyone other than family invited me to a BBQ and I think I cried…. Didn’t end up going, but I was so touched at the genuine friendship and a gesture that hadn’t occurred in so many years.

But why do I tell you this?  I believe that Bathsheba was hurting.  She was the brunt of accusations… she was the reason her husband was killed… she was the one who lost her husband, her dignity, the respect and acceptance of the community… she lost everything… and she would also lose the child she was carrying.

So often, we look at others and perceive them to have things….  Others would have looked at Bathsheba and been so jealous… she was so beautiful and now she was the Kings wife, living in the lap of luxury.  Can’t you just hear the gossip? 

I recently came across a book, “Have you filled a bucket today”.  It says that we all carry invisible buckets.  When your bucket is full, you are happy and confident.  When someone says mean things it empties your bucket.  We need each other to fill our buckets, and we do this by supporting and encouraging. 

Some people are bucket dippers.   They are the gossips and bullies who might have empty buckets themselves and seem to think that they can feel better by emptying someone else’s bucket, but that just makes two empty buckets.  You fill your own bucket more when you are encouraged, but also when you actively fill someone else’s.

The message in the story of King David is not just about the sin that he committed but it is for us all to reflect on how we might also be “taking the poor man’s lamb”.  

Are we taking from someone else’s bucket, erroneously thinking that they have more than they deserve? 

Are we getting in the way of the gifts that God has given to another person because we are jealous and think that this person or that person already has so much? 

We need to actively let go of controlling situations because we feel that someone has something we want.  In the end, all we are doing is emptying both their bucket and our own….  What we do need to do is to set our minds on a bigger focus and that of the Kingdom of God

John 6:27- 29 “ Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal."  Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?"  Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."

Reflections for 12th July 2015

July 12, 2015  Proper 10B/Ordinary 15B/Pentecost 7

2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19  Psalm 24  Ephesians 1:3-14   Mark 6:14-29

It seems to me that it is time to get back into writing reflections on the readings.  There have been many lately that I wish I had gotten around to writing about, due to the way those verses and stories have impacted and clarified my life.  Sometimes my life has actually enabled me to understand them at a different level also.

This week we look at stories of conflict.   There are people doing God’s will and people who want to kill, humiliate, denounce and even crucify those people.

Our Psalm begins with the facts;
Psalm 24: 1-5 “The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.
Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?  Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.  They will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of their salvation.”

King David was someone who understood, accepted and proclaimed the facts about God.  He understood that the Ark was something precious and sacred and that to have it was a sign of God’s blessing…. Actually it was a sign that God was real, mighty, and had chosen His people… the Israelites.  They were the chosen race and the Ark was the sure sign of that relationship. 
Our story tells of a happy day, of people celebrating their relationship with God and praising God… and their leader, King David, was leading the way.  He was dressed in the simple garments that were worn by the novice priests and not his normal royal attire.  In this way he was an example to the people of humble, servant leadership.  King David was a leader who willingly humbled himself before the people to serve and praise God.  And when anyone stands up as a leader there are an abundance of critics who will try to be the voice of doubt and disillusion and criticism, and the fly in the ointment was personified in this case by his wife, Michal.  She was the daughter of the previous King, Saul. 

Michal’s are everywhere.  They are the ones who tell you not to get involved, and they will always have a very good and logical reason.  The very best (and most dangerous) ones, are those whose reasons will even appear to be spiritual and scriptural.   I recall the story of the prophet, only identified as a man of God who proclaims one of, what I think to be, the Bibles most forthright prophecies.  1 Kings 13:1-3 “By the word of the Lord a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’ ” That same day the man of God gave a sign: “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.””.

Now the reason I tell you the story about this amazing prophet, is that after that amazing encounter with King Jeroboam, where the altar split and Jeroboam’s hand was withered as he tried to seize the man, the man was enticed to disobey God’s directive to him by another man of God.  And he died as a result!!! 

 The prophet was told to return home without eating or drinking, but another man of God informed him that God has said that he should eat and drink at his place.   Oh dear, what a dreadful deception is that of the well-meaning Christian who believes that they speak for God but have never heard His voice!

This very strongly brings to mind the many people who proclaim “Christianity”, by asking the question, “Are you sure that you are saved”?

I hear it so often and what it really means is that they are preaching to Christians and feeding them fear and doubt about their salvation.  There have been others in my life who’ve said things like, “but you can’t really be a Christian if you are divorced.”  Oh and there are many others.  They are Michal’s.  They belong to the church, they therefore have some kind of authority, and we listen to them because of it, and that makes them very dangerous.   What are we to do?

It was the relationship with God that made David dance before the Lord.  It was the Ark that embodied that relationship which declared and even proved that the Israelites were the chosen people of God.  What do we have today that marks our relationship as the chosen people of God?

Our reading from Ephesians tells us about our adoption into the family of God.  It states that we were chosen before the foundation of the world.  How can anyone make us doubt?  We are God’s and we belong to him, and were we chosen on the condition of any good deed or act?  According to Ephesians it is according to the good pleasure of God’s will. 

The “Ark” for the Christian is the seal of the Holy Spirit:  Ephesians 1:13-14 “In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory.”

The Holy Spirit not only assures us that we belong to God, but it is the Holy Spirit that enables us to discern what is good and what is not, however, we need to practise discerning and pray.  If an incredible prophet could be fooled into listening to the wrong person then we can too. 

On the flip side, we need to have confidence that in the end we will figure it out if we are like David and willing to be humble and submit all to God.

We look now at Herod.  Herod actually had a lot of respect for John the Baptist and it appears some hope in Jesus.  He didn’t actually put anything into action, but he did listen to John and obviously contemplated his words.  But in the end Herod thought more of his position than he did of God and of even his own conscience.   Herod was the opposite of Kind David.  He didn’t want to humble himself in front of his guests by saying to Herodias’s daughter, “You can have anything, but not the head of John the Baptist”.    So he valued his position and reputation more than he valued doing what he knew to be right.  He grieved, but he had John killed.

And when we give credence to those voices in the church that cause doubt and fear where there should be faith and peace, we are being Herod. 

We have quite a responsibility as the church.  I read in a small booklet that was distributed at our Church’s recent Synod gathering that our mission  is to Proclaim the Gospel, nurture believers, care for those in need, protect creation and transform unjust structures in society.   I looked at it and I wondered if we really do nurture and care, and whether we really would get our hands dirty in transforming unjust structures.    At the moment I’m facing some issues of bullying and I notice that in our “caring” we seem to advise walking away… ie.. Letting the bully have what they want.  Is this transforming unjust structures?

Now these are just my thoughts, but it seems that we have a choice; David or Herod.  Which king’s example will we follow?   Choose wisely or you may find yourself inadvertently beheading a prophet.

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas my true love gave to me....

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, twelve drummers drumming….
On this twelfth day of Christmas, the Twelve Drummers Drumming refers to the twelve articles of the Apostle's Creed.
I have been looking at each point of these as we’ve travelled this journey of the twelve day of Christmas, but today is a good day to find out where the Apostle’s Creed comes from.
The information from Wikipedia states that the first verifiable mention of "Apostles' Creed" occurs in a letter of 390 from a synod in Milan.

The Catholic Encyclopedia online: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01629a.htm has an interesting article about how, in the middle ages, it was thought that the Apostles put together the creed, each one contributing one point, which is why, on the “12th Day of Christmas”, it speaks of the twelve articles of faith, where as we would have probably never counted the points contained. However, the notion that each Apostle contributed just one point is based on not much more than hear say.
There seems to be indications of the presence of a “creed” or set of beliefs to guide the new converts from the time of the New Testament writers, but nothing formal or conclusive. Certainly, as we’ve been discovering, each article from the creed is firmly based in Scripture.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia online http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01629a.htm :
“(3) Though no uniform type of Creed can be surely recognized among the earlier Eastern writers before the Council of Nicaea, an argument which has been considered by many to disprove the existence of any Apostolic formula, it is a striking fact that the Eastern Churches in the fourth century are found in possession of a Creed which reproduces with variations the old Roman type. This fact is full admitted by such Protestant authorities as Harnack (in Hauck's Realencyclopädie, I, 747) and Kattenbusch (I, 380 sq.; II, 194 sqq., and 737 sq.). It is obvious that these data would harmonize very well with the theory that a primitive Creed had been delivered to the Christian community of Rome, either by Sts. Peter and Paul themselves or by their immediate successors, and in the course of time had spread throughout the world.
(4) Furthermore note that towards the end of the second century we can extract from the writings of St. Irenæus in southern Gaul and of Tertullian in far-off Africa two almost complete Creeds agreeing closely both with the old Roman Creed (R), as we know it from Rufinus, and with one another. It will be useful to translate from Burn (Introduction to the Creeds, pp. 50, 51) his tabular presentation of the evidence in the case of Tertullian. (Cf. MacDonald in "Ecclesiastical Review", February, 1903):”

In the time close following the early church, there arose some theological teachings that were at odds which created division. There arose in Arius, known as Arian theology, which believed that Christ did not always exist and purported that the Son and the Spirit were not equal in the God head. We’ve discussed how Christ was there at the beginning and the Gospel of John clearly shows the unity of the Trinity from the beginning of time.

There also arose some other beliefs that were not specifically covered by the Apostles Creed, and so the first ecumenical council was held at Nicaea in the year 325 Ad. Here they formulated the Nicene Creed to ensure that the essentials orthodox teachings of Christianity were firmly established. This is very similar to, and based on, the Apostles Creed, but has more detail to leave no room for error in these fundamentals of our Christian faith.

We will always, throughout time, find a ‘new’ idea arise on how all this spiritual stuff works, and it is safe to say that even the ‘orthodox’ church can occasionally get it wrong. The reason for the formation of our various denominations is because of that very fact, and these factions can be exactly what the church needs. A reformation wouldn’t have happened if not for someone literally sticking their neck out.
There were many people noticing corruption in the church at the time that Martin Luther nailed his thesis to the church door. It may have taken many years, but this friction forces churches to look at themselves and really see where they need to change.
Interestingly, and MOST importantly, all of the orthodox Christian denominations accept the most commonly used, Nicene Creed.

It is a huge responsibility to be ‘Church’. As Christ’s representatives on earth, do we represent him or do we present a completely false view? You can see why people take it so seriously.

Saint Paul was an incredibly up-standing and respectable man, known as Saul of Tarsus. He was a part of the Pharisees and a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin. He describes himself in Philippians 3:5-8 “circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ”

Saint Paul thought that he was doing the right thing by persecuting and killing Christians. He thought that he was safe-guarding the sacred word of God by ridding the world of these people (Christians) who threatened his faith. He was a good man, even righteous, and faultless according to the law of God. Finally God had to strike him down with blindness and show him the truth.

The difference between having a recipe about how God works and what to do to please him, and actually truly understanding who God is and actually truly pleasing him, takes an act of God.

We believe in life everlasting. This is the twelfth article of the Apostles Creed. The life everlasting is the life that begins with ‘spiritual’ birth. This means that it has already begun in us… assuming that we have experienced the spiritual birth. The Spiritual birth is also an act of God.

Saint Paul did not, to our knowledge, ask for God to give him this Spiritual birth, but I would bet it took place when he was struck down by God on that road to Damascus. My reason is that he suddenly saw his whole life in a different way from that moment on.

Being born naturally is when, for the very first time, a baby sees the world. Being born spiritually is when, for the first time we see things of God’s as if we’ve never seen them before. To quote John Newton, “I was blind, but now I see”.

Our eternal life begins in this life. We are spiritually alive if the Holy Spirit dwells in us. So, why all the problems?
We still live in a mortal body and our natural self is often at odds with the Holy Spirit which is why we are encouraged to “work ‘out’ our Salvation”. We need to continue to look to the Holy Spirit within and allow his working to flow out through our lives. This does not mean that the longer we are a Christian, the less likely we are to fail. It does mean that at each moment we need to be encouraged to look to God and his guidance- it is an always, ever present and ongoing reality.

It is the twelfth day of Christmas and we’ve come to the point in the church year when the Epiphany is celebrated. It is the celebration of when the 3 non-Jewish men came to Jesus, bringing gifts that symbolized the deity of God, the Kingship of God and the sacrifice that Jesus would make for us. It was another early form of creed, declaring the nature of Christ and promise of God.
You can take down your Christmas tree. We’ve come to an epiphany that God is for all of us and works IN us. Out ward signs help us tell the story, remind us and encourage us, but should never become a “MUST DO”. Our holy day is now our every day and our moment for following God is every moment. Our eternal life begins now. And, in the words we know from John Newtown, “When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise then when we’d first begun.”

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eleven pipers piping….

The Eleventh Day of Christmas the eleven pipers piping celebrates the Eleven Faithful Apostles.
We find the story about the choosing of these in the Gospel of Luke 6:12-16 “One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names: Simon (whom he named Peter), Andrew (Peter’s brother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the zealot), Judas (son of James), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).”

Other places in the Gospels we find stories about the initial call of some of these men, and there were many more that were following Jesus who were called the disciples of Jesus. At some point in Jesus ministry he specifically set apart twelve men. Why?

Although today is the 11th Day of Christmas we really need to explore the number Twelve. In other places throughout the Bible the number 12 is called upon. We most prominently find it featured in the account of Jacob (Israel) and his twelve sons, which became the twelve tribes of Israel, but we find the number mentioned even before this in God’s promise to Hagar.
Genesis 17:20 “And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.”
God had promised Abraham a son, but Sarah was old and barren. At this point in time God told Abraham that his descendants would live in a land not their own, in slavery for four generations and then return. Abraham believed God but Sarah was old and barren. Sarah had an idea that Abraham could have a son through her maid, Hagar. Hagar fell pregnant and gave birth to a son, Ishmael. It was still a number of years before God would fulfil His promise in the way that God intended – not through the efforts of man, but through the free and miraculous gift of God.

The first son, the son of Hagar, which God did not recognise, was called Ishmael and even before Jacob (Israel) was born, God declares that Ishmael will be the father of twelve rulers. And in this promise we see a hint of what God means when he speaks of the number twelve.

The website: http://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/12.html gives lots of information about the use and symbolisms of the number twelve worth noting, but simply put; “The meaning of 12, which is considered a perfect number, is that it symbolizes God's power and authority, as well as serving as a perfect governmental foundation. It can also symbolize completeness or the nation of Israel as a whole”

Interestingly, the tribes of Israel were sometimes technically thirteen, as Joseph’s sons became two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh. But then later at the time of the Exodus from Egypt, God called the tribe of Levi to be joined to him and not counted separately, but to be his priests and representatives in each of the other tribes, so the count became twelve again. Then there was a major split at the time of King Rehoboam, the son of King Solomon, the son of King David. The only tribes that remained loyal to the king were the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The other ten tribes set up their own king and so there was a King of Judah and a King of Israel.

When Jesus called twelve apostles and set them apart, he was making it clear that he was setting up a ‘body’ that was complete and with authority to govern. This makes perfect sense when we recall what Jesus said to these faithful eleven after he rose from the dead. Matthew 28:18-21 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” He spoke this to the eleven, but he himself made the complete number twelve.

Jesus used the number to ‘tell the story’ and make it understood to his people. The number now is not literally to be adhered. We know that Saint Paul became an Apostle because he refers to himself as such. The word ‘Apostle’ comes from a word that means, ‘sent’.

Many of the Apostles were martyred in the sense that we understand the term, as being killed because of their adherence to their testimony about Jesus. The word martyr was originally from the Greek martur ‘witness’. So, originally martyr was not about dying for your faith, but essentially about being a rock solid witness.
My question is; who are the Apostles today?

It seems that in God’s blueprint for his church there was a need for a governing system in which authority was vested and sent out as a witness. We have already discussed the article of the creed in which we believe in one holy and apostolic Church, so I’m thinking it is obvious that the church is today’s apostle.

Belonging to this church, which is one, holy and apostolic, means that I’m not a ‘lone-shark ‘,spruiking my own brand of something crazy. But that I belong to a body that has a governing authority, and a mission. Within this body, is the body of Christ – us and each of us has our own place within this call of the church, to take that part that God has given us.

The early Corinthian church came up against some difficulties in this area, and there were, not just in the Corinthian church, many who were spruiking their own thing. One such issue was over the resurrection because many were proclaiming Christianity, and yet denying the resurrection.

Our 11th Article from the creed declares that we look for the resurrection for the dead.
Saint Paul addresses the error of those who were promoting an incorrect view in the Corinthian church, in 1 Corinthians 15: 18,19 “Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”

The Gospel that we proclaim is not just about how to cope with living in this life. So much of this life is hard and makes so little sense. Our gift of free will has often become a curse as the consequence is the mess of our society. Life on planet Earth can sometimes really and truly suck! Truly, if we only have eyes that see the here and now and there is nothing else, life can seem utterly meaningless when faced with tragedies.
But there is a resurrection and there will be a resurrection for us too and Saint Paul writes quite a bit on the matter;
1 Corinthians 15:54-56 “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.””

On this 11th day of Christmas, let’s endeavour to be faithful witnesses to the truth and Good News that we are sent into the world to proclaim.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas....

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Ten Lords a-leaping.

What famous ten of the Bible could Ten Lords a-Leaping represent? The Ten Commandments!
1. I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange gods before me. 2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 3. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. 4. Honor your father and mother. 5. You shall not kill. 6. You shall not commit adultery. 7. You shall not steal. 8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. 10. You shall not covet thy neighbor's goods.

According to Jewish websites, there are apparently 613 laws in the Torah. Now, this Torah is more than just the first five books of the Bible and the laws contain the Ten Commandments plus many others that further define them and also laws about observing special days.

Remember how I’ve said, we humans like to have the recipe for how to attain God’s acceptance? Well it gets pretty complicated if not for the Good News of Jesus Christ. But even in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew it seems quite impossible. We read from chapter 5 :17-20
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Here we clearly read that Jesus says we need righteousness greater than the Pharisees. The general people knew the Pharisees were dedicated to keeping the law and so how could anyone be more righteous. Remember we have talked about how we are only righteous by being in Christ and cannot earn any on our own merit. In this chapter Jesus is making it abundantly clear that the bar was high… very high. We do not get into heaven because God lowered the bar… we get there because Jesus accomplished the law… now, as he said on the cross, “it is finished”. We can only attain this mark of righteousness by being “in Jesus”.

The next part of the chapter of Matthew goes on to talk about the extent of perfection that is required, by describing that even if you are angry at your brother, you are in danger of the fire of hell. And even if you look at a woman lustfully, in your heart, adultery is committed. Similarly we find absolute judgments for divorce and oaths… and then the command to love enemies. It is all so hard…. And it is meant to be. .

People often make the mistake of trying to justify these hard sayings of Jesus and there are many who define sin in different categories with varying degrees of seriousness. I like to think of the law as a chain. Upon each link is the engraving of one of the commandments. The chain is linked to make a perfect circle. Then when a command is broken so is the link. If a link is broken the whole circle is broken. If we were to look at the link to see which commandment was broken it would make no difference to the outcome as to whether it was a “small” sin or a “serious” sin. The end result is the same and that is, the law is broken. And the Bible tells us that the penalty for sin is death. To perfectly live the Christian life is impossible – only Christ can live it

Later in the chapter of Matthew we find Jesus does simplify the law when he is asked which is the greatest: Matthew22:36-40 ““Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.””

From this we see a shift in the emphasis from a hard cold law to an attitude of the heart where love is the guide. This was present in the Old Testament also, as we find verses such as:
Hosea 6:6 “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
and
Psalm 51:16,17 “For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.…”
Notice in the verse the reference to a broken spirit and how this fits with our beatitudes in our eighth day of Christmas.

So, we’ve established that we can’t keep the law and that Christ completed it, but what about now? How does it all fit in with now, and should we be observing special days and laws etc...
Colossians 2:16 “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.”

The short answer is, “No”. The best example I can give comes from an analogy by the late Major Ian Thomas, where he aligns the Old Covenant law of sin with the Law of Gravity, and the New Covenant law of grace with the law of aerodynamics.
The law of gravity is a reality, (and so is God’s law- it will forever remain a reality) ,but if you get into an airplane you become subject to a new law - the law of aerodynamics. This new law keeps you in the air. If you step out of the airplane, gravity will let you know that it is still there.
If you are in the airplane and start flapping your arms about to try and stay up in the air you’ll be using a lot of senseless energy that could be best served doing other activities (and you’ll look like an idiot!  ).

From the book of Galatians we see that this is exactly how Paul saw the Galatians, who after receiving the Good News “fell from grace” (just like falling from the law of aerodynamics when you step out a plan), by trying to then attain God’s acceptance by works, outward signs and religious activity.

Galatians 1:1- 6 “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

And the passage goes on to explain and emphasis over and over that the righteous will live by faith.
Galatians 1:10- 11 “For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.””

THE HEART OF THE MATTER: When we are wasting time and energy in trying to keep the law in a vain effort to justify ourselves before God, all we are really doing is self-centeredly trying to better ourselves instead of spending our energy on love and good deeds, and this is how we truly obey God’s call…. Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy”. and to walk humbly with your God.”

While we remain in human flesh there will always be struggle. No one but Christ can perfectly live the Christian live and this is why the Christian life is called the “exchanged life”.

I was most excited when I noticed that our tenth article of faith from our creed brings light to this discussion on the Law. In the tenth article of our creed we profess that we believe in one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

Baptism is how (Spiritually) we exchange our life for Christ’s. It is how we come to have Peace with God.

Just briefly on Baptism; Once again, if we get caught up on the fine details of whether it is a sprinkle or full emersion and how and when it should be done, we would be missing the essential point. The more traditional churches name Baptism a sacrament. A sacrament is an outward sign of an inner spiritual reality. For some this reality may have already come into being… at the moment that they accepted Jesus into their life (Which is why we see the close connection in the early church, ie, they believed and were baptized.).

Baptism is the renouncing of our own lives and the accepting of Jesus life. This is the “exchanged life”. We receive Christ’s life, as we believe that we, through our baptism, are united to him in his death and therefore live in the reality of his resurrected life.
Romans 6:4 “For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”

We believe in the ONE BAPTISM FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN. This is why, if you have been baptized in one denomination and move to another denomination you do not need to be baptized again, however, I personally believe that there is more to this ‘one baptism for the forgiveness of sin’.

Luke 12:50 “But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!”
Jesus spoke about a baptism that he was to experience. We can best understand if we look at the Old Testament passages from Leviticus 16:21 “He will lay both of his hands on the goat's head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people's sins to the head of the goat. Then a man specially chosen for the task will drive the goat into the wilderness.”
John the Baptist declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God; John 1: 29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

In the Old Testament, among those 613 Laws, were laws about how sin could be atoned. Jesus is the Lamb of God who died for our sins… how could he die for our sins? How could this happen? Jesus went through a baptism also – he was like that scapegoat from Leviticus 16, and all our sins were placed on him.
The prophecy about the Messiah makes this clear;
Isaiah 53:4- 6 “surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.…”

Truly, we are baptized and our sins are forgiven, but I believe the more profound meaning of the ‘One Baptism for the forgiveness of sins’, is the baptism with which Jesus was baptized in his death.

On the Ninth day of Christmas....

On the 9th Day of Christmas my true love gave to me, nine ladies dancing…
Wishing you all a very merry ninth day of Christmas as we head back to our nativity story just for a while, as the nine ladies dancing remind us of the jubilant Angels who sang and announced Christ’s birth.
The Nine Ladies Dancing is possibly to symbolize the nine choirs of angels: (in ascending order)
1. Angels 2. Archangels 3. Principalities 4. Powers 5. Virtues 6. Dominations 7. Thrones 8. Cherubim 9. Seraphim.
Now, if you are anything like me you’ll be looking at this list and saying, “Angels, Archangels, Cherubim and seraphim… maybe Powers and Principalities… but what are these others?”

The other possible symbol for the nine ladies dancing is the nine fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

I’d like to spend just a little time reflecting on both of these. I suspect that the Angels may be more the traditional symbol because back in the 16th century, around about when the 12 days were potentially celebrated, many church traditions seemed to stem from the Roman Catholic tradition, and the Catholics had re-defined the fruit of the Spirit into twelve, rather than nine. However there had been the split between Eastern orthodox and Roman Catholics way back in 1054 and the formation of the Anglican, Lutheran and other protestant churches seemed to emerge in the 16th century. It matters not what we choose to reflect on, but more importantly, that whatever we look at, are the things of God.

In Speaking of the Church and the churches; the ninth article of our creed states that we believe In One Holy catholic and apostolic Church. We profess this same creed whether we are Roman Catholic or other denominations and many are confused as to what it means.
“Catholic” means “universal”. We believe that the true church has no denominations but that it consists of all who are Christians, accepting the sacrifice of Jesus, believing in his divinity and humanity and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This is regardless of one’s culture, background and geographical location.
“Apostolic” is a word that means “sent”. The first to be sent were the apostles who were there with Christ and then those who have accepted him. It implies an adhesion to the early Church and a mission to continue Christ’s work and the commission given to receive the Holy Spirit and to go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The proclamation of God’s word is what those Angels declared when Christ was born, “Peace to all on Earth”!

The word angel means, “Messenger of God”. Angels are spoken of throughout the Bible and only very occasionally named. Gabriel visited Zechariah about the pregnancy of Elizabeth and then to Mary.
I don’t want to go into depth about the Angels and the ranks of Archangels etc., but certainly these exist and the purpose is to serve God and they have a part to play in his plan which means supporting God’s creation – ie. Humans, with protection and guidance.
There are no direct references to Guardian Angels, in the way that people think each person has one assigned to them, but there are references to suggest that Angels (Plural) look out for us.

It would appear that both humans and Angels have been given free will, and can choose Good or evil. As we know, Satan is an Angel who went against God and fights against those who follow him. We also know fallen Angels who follow Satan, as demons.

According to Baruch S. Davidson from the website: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/692875/jewish/What-Are-Angels.htm
“According to Jewish tradition, an angel is a spiritual being and does not have any physical characteristics. The angelic descriptions provided by the prophets – such as wings, arms etc. – are anthropomorphic, referring to their spiritual abilities and tasks.”

However we know that Angels can appear to look just like humans. In the story of Lot from Genesis 19, two Angels came and stayed with Lot and the men of the town demanded that Lot send the men out so that they could have sex with them. The men of the township didn’t recognize anything divine about them and it is not clear that Lot realized until these Angels gave them the message from the Lord.

In the New Testament we are urged to act with hospitality towards strangers. Hebrew 13:2 “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”

Angels are not to be worshiped. Revelations 19:10 and 22:9 describes occasions when John fell prostrate to worship and Angel and the Angel quickly reprimanded him for doing so. Also we have a warning from Colossians 2:18 “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.”

And on that note, there are many who claim to have superior knowledge and when we are eager to know about God, we actively look for someone we can respect and whose knowledge we can drink in. Please remember our message from previous days, where we are all given the Holy Spirit and we all can know God and his ways… we need to respect each other and know that each of us carries God, but each of us is just as fallible. “There but for the Grace of God go I”. Any of us can fall, given the circumstances and any of us can become strong given the encouragement and gifts of God… so “let us consider how we might spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24)

Other Angelic beings listed, which I find interesting are the Powers and Principalities. The reason these caught my eye is that these are spoken of in the Bible, but in a negative way. Remember that all Angels can be those who follow God or those who follow Satan.
The verse that lists these is Ephesians 6:12 KJV “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
This is speaking of a spiritual force that is behind things that happen in the physical world. Those familiar with Spiritual warfare will know more about this than me. But let us not kid ourselves into thinking we don’t want to be involved in Spiritual warfare; if you follow Christ and you are actively doing his work, you will encounter these powers and principalities. We are, thankfully given the tools to combat and this is listed in the surrounding verses of Ephesians 6:13-18
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people”

These things that are listed as the armour of God are about knowing who we are in Christ. We are clothed in Christ and belong to him… it is TRUTH. Through Christ we have righteousness and not through anything that we are or do in ourselves. We know the Gospel of peace – the Gospel that brings us into peace with God – a completely uninhibited relationship and we are ready to declare it. Our faith in God is a Shield and our Salvation is what protects us. All these are our protection and defense. Our offensive tools are also in these, but particularly with the sword of the Spirit… which is the word of God.

I have this image in my head of someone being knighted… God holds the sword and touches their shoulders and says “arise knights”…. Our readiness for the battle begins and ends with the word of God- both the living and the written.

Much of our power stems from the Holy Spirit. As I’ve said before, this involves many facets, but this being the ninth day, we look at the fruit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These fruit are not separate, but a description of what the effect of the Holy Spirit in us is.
These are things that grow in us because of the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives and not something that we “Paint” on. I watched the original Alice in Wonderland last night and they were painting the white roses red. They were not authentically red. It is the same with the fruit of the Spirit… you can look at these and “paint” them onto your lives, but people will eventually feel like something is not right about you.
So, what is the solution? There is none. It is a reality of your life that if you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and remaining connected to God, that this fruit will be produced in your life. You will most probably be completely unaware of its production. If the fruit is not being produced you may need to look at your “soil”, your influences and other aspects of your life that may be impeding on God’s plan for your life.
An orange tree doesn’t groan and strive to produce fruit and neither do we in producing the fruit of the Spirit, It will happen naturally. But just as an orange tree need soil nutrients and water, so do we need the encouragement of other Christians, the word of God in our lives and a focus on all that is good and wholesome to guard us against the poison of things that may harm. And remember the “solution to pollution is dilution”… which I’ll parallel to mean that we live in a world full of sinful and potentially harmful things… we can’t avoid these, but we dilute their effect on us by having a whole lot of God stuff to water that which could poison could harm.

The purpose for the fruit in our lives is to be a blessing to others and to proclaim that same message of the Angels on that Holy Night, “Glory to God in the Highest and Peace to all on earth”.