Advent 4 A Partridge in a Pear tree and the reason the Santa once made the Naughty list

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT  Year A  December 22, 2019

·         Isaiah 7:10-16   • Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19  •  Romans 1:1-7  •   Matthew 1:18-25

Before writing anything I decided that the title for today’s readings should be; “A partridge in a pear tree and the reason that Santa once made the Naughty list”.  Just what exactly do Santa and a partridge have in common?  Stay tuned…

We have arrived at the fourth week of advent and by this time we are probably well into our Christmas preparations.  The children will most likely be most of the way through their advent calendars, which is as it should be, as these calendars aim to remind us to prepare for Christmas.  But Christmas doesn’t stop on the 25^th of December.  Did you know that the song the 12 days of Christmas actually starts with the 25^th of December and goes through to the feast of the Epiphany on the 6^th of January?

The song, 12 days of Christmas may be a fun and non-sense kind of Christmas song, but in an era of history when it was widely understood what and when were the 12 days of Christmas, many symbols were used with double meanings and these were also widely understood.  We don’t use these today and so it is easier to assume the song is full of nonsense words with no deeper meaning, however let’s just look at the partridge in a pear tree.

The common held belief in the Christian symbol version of the song, is that the partridge is a bird that will give its life for its children, therefore the symbol refers to Christ.  Why, in a pear tree? In many ancient cultures the pear tree was a symbol of life.  Putting the two symbols together means we have Christ who gave his life for us and brought us eternal life.

In today’s readings we discover that God’s people were well acquainted with signs and symbols.  We find that a sign is given to King Ahaz; “the young woman is with child and will bear a son”.  This sign was given to King Ahaz who was not faithful to God, but never the less, he was a King of Judah, and at this time he was encouraged to trust in God for the salvation of the nation.  He refused to ask for a sign, but one was given regardless.  “the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.”

Ahaz, though the King of God’s chosen people and of the Royal line of David, did not choose to trust in God.  When the prophet told him to ask God for a sign, Ahaz refused.  He used scripture as an excuse, as if he was being righteous in saying that he would not put God to the test, but in fact he is really refusing to ask for a sign because he had already decided to ignore the words of the prophet and trust in the help of the King of Assyria instead of God.

In both the first reading and the Gospel we find this prophecy about a child being born, but there is a different word used by Matthew as he deliberately uses the word “virgin”. 

In the Hebrew language of Isaiah, the word which translators have decided is “young woman”, has more meaning and is closer to, “young chaste girl”.

Oftentimes prophecies have a threefold meaning.  Firstly the prophecy is for fulfilment in the time particular to the prophecy being given, then secondly, to the time of the Messiah, thus the ambiguous word, from which our English translators troubled over – young woman or virgin – And thirdly prophecy has a fulfilment in the return of Christ.

We fast forward to our Gospel and find “The virgin is with child and shall bear a son”.  In this passage, the author, Saint Matthew, is referring to the prophecy in Isaiah, but the Greek language of the New Testament deliberately changes the original Hebrew word, “young girl”, to one that is unmistakeable and can only be translated as “Virgin”.  This is deliberate and important for our link to Santa Claus being found on the naughty list.

In our Gospel reading we find that Mary is with child and her fiancée is planning to divorce her quietly.  Why quietly?  Because it was a time in history when women could be stoned to death for adultery, but he was a good man who obviously cared about her and didn’t want her to face public disgrace. 

An angel interrupts the plans of Joseph and assures him that this child that Mary is carrying is conceived by the Holy Spirit.  Not only that, but the angel tells him that he is to call the baby, Jesus, a name which means, “God saves”.  It is significant that Joseph is to be the one who names the baby, as it means he is claiming the baby and assigning the baby to his family…. The family descended from the royal line of David.

Joseph was a son of David, and Ahaz was a son of David.  Both were given an opportunity to respond to trusting God in tenuous circumstances. Both were sent a message from God and a sign that what they were going through was in God’s hands.  With that opportunity, as with any of us, though God invites us to partner with him, we are free to decline.  Ahaz, son of David declined the invitation.   Joseph, son of David, accepted the invitation.

What follows in the story of Jesus’ life would show that Joseph and Mary really didn’t fully understand all that was happening, but they were two people swept up in a drama that we can only imagine.  They experienced the highs and lows of trusting God….  No room to stay in Bethlehem – How is that God’s provision?  But then the Angel warns them about Herod wanting to kill the baby and so they leave – they are saved – God’s provision. 

Do we ever realize how difficult it sometimes is to say YES to God and trust him?  He does know best, and with the hindsight of many years and the whole story of the Bible being accessible to us all in print, we can see the divine at work, but it sure doesn’t always seem like He is always opening doors – many that should be open seem slammed shut.  Free will is like that… we all have it and we can all say ‘no’… it is easy.  Saying ‘yes’ can be hard –

Saint Nicholas said ‘yes’.  Recently we had our school concert.  I wrote a story for the students to act out, and as we’ve had the theme this year of “Inspiration”, I decided that we should be inspired by Saint Nicholas.  This meant I did a fair bit of research.

Believe it or not, the story I wrote was crazy fiction involving time machines, school children and Santa Claus, as a young boy, being sent from the past to the present day and back again.  I tip-toed around the myth, and tried to present characteristics of Saint Nicholas which showed how the person became the legend.  There was much truth about “Saint Nicholas” that I couldn’t squeeze into the story, but it is no wonder he become such a legend and eventually Santa Claus.  Many Children didn’t realize that in other languages Saint is Santa and therefore where Santa Claus comes from.

One aspect about Saint Nicholas is what I want to tell you today, and that is the story about him, just once, being on the “Naughty” list.

Nicholas was a Bishop, when in 325AD Emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea. There were over 300 bishops gathered to debate the nature of the Holy Trinity.  “Arias, from Egypt, taught that the Son Jesus was not equal to God the Father. This was the Arian controversy which shook Christianity’s very foundations. According to one account, when confronted by the unyielding Arias, Nicholas slapped him in the face. For such a breach of decorum, Nicholas was brought before Constantine, who stripped him of his office and had him thrown into prison.” (https://www.stnicholascenter.org/who-is-st-nicholas/bishop-of-myra)

It wasn’t the first time that Nicholas had been thrown in prison, as during the time of Roman Emperor Diocletian, Christians were persecuted and thrown in prison.  (Diocletian’s reign ended in 305).  The story goes, that Nicholas was truly repentant that he lost his temper, and spent time praying and had a vision while in prison.  He was re-instated as Bishop, the doctrine of the Trinity was accepted, and Nicholas’ reputation for caring for the poor continued and his legendary reputation grew.

What this has to do with this week’s readings, is that the reason for Nicholas’ slapping Arias, was to do with the deity of Christ.

As I’ve said, the difference between the prophecy we read in Isaiah and the re-statement of that prophecy in Matthew, is that the word “young girl” is replaced by the word “Virgin”.   This is a deliberate change because the child conceived about which Matthew was writing was the Son of God, born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit.  

In all of our Christmas celebrations we have traditions, myths and legends, but are we aware of the history and truth at the very core?  Saint Paul declares this truth in his letter to the Romans when he states some facts; Paul declares himself to be set apart for the Good News of God which God promised beforehand through his prophets.  In this he is reminding his readers that this is not a new teaching, but the fulfilment of prophecy.  St. Paul also tells us that the Son, Jesus, was human and descended from King David, but declared to be the Son of God with power because he rose from the dead.

If we are to believe the stories, Saint Nicholas was thrown in prison for his overly zealous defence of the nature of Christ. In this final week to Christmas we are challenged to reflect on who it really was that came to be born in that stable.  Was it a baby who was conceived by the Holy Spirit?  Was it God incarnate, Jesus Lord at thy birth?  Son of God, God made flesh? 

Is it enough to know that those who knew Jesus in the flesh were willing to die for this truth?  Is it enough to know that history changed that day?  We don’t know the exact day, however the early Christians came up with a date and marked all of time as starting from then.  How many of us claim this year to be 2019…. Why?  What does it mean?  It means that 2019 years ago something happened so significant that we changed the way that we mark time and that event was the birth of Christ.

They called him Jesus, but when he told his apostles that he was going to the father and they said “show us the father”, his response in the Gospel of John (John 14:9)  was, “Don’t you know me, Phillip, even after I have been among you such a long time?  Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.  How can you say “show us the Father?”

Our readings today beg the question for us each to answer personally.  Who is Jesus?  He is the partridge in a pear tree… the one who gave his life to bring us eternal life.  He ultimately brings PEACE because he covers all of our transgressions by his sacrifice on the cross and declares that we are forgiven and have no barrier between us and God.

We have a choice to make every day; will we be like Ahaz or Joseph?  Will we choose to align ourselves with God and His calling?  It can be tough going sometimes.  It will not always mean open doors and rich dwellings, but it will mean eternal salvation…. Peace with God and a deep sense of knowing that our soul is in His care.

Saint Nicholas was in prison more than once for his zealous stand for this truth.  Each time we see an image of Santa Claus I invite us all to ponder his choice and our own, and I pray that we can all have the courage to respond to God’s invitation, and like Joseph, Mary and Saint Nicholas, say “Yes” to God, and to His invitation to be partakers with Him in His plan of salvation.

24th of November 2019 - Reign of Christ the King

November 24, 2019  REIGN OF CHRIST - PROPER 29 (34)  Year C   
• Jeremiah 23:1-6 and Luke 1:68-79  •  Colossians 1:11-20  • Luke 23:33-43
THE LORD is our Righteousness.  If you were asked to explain to someone what is the Gospel, or the Good News of our faith, could you do it?
At the end of our 1st reading we have the name that will be given to the branch that God promises to raise up to save his people.  The name is; The Lord is our Righteousness.  What exactly does that mean?

The definition of “Righteousness” “is the quality of being morally right or justifiable”. It is almost an old-fashioned word and the only time I have really heard it used, other than at church, would be when someone was cranky with another and describing them as being self-righteous, meaning that they are “right in their own eyes – and not in the eyes of the on-looker.  And I find this kind of hilarious, because we are all inclined to self-righteousness.  We all want to be morally right or justifiable…. And when we are not morally right we become experts at explaining how we can justify our actions, and therefore reclaim the title of being declared righteous.

The ancient Israelite nation prided themselves on being a righteous nation.  They claimed to be God’s own people.  Sure, each nation had their own God and worshiped accordingly, but it was Israel who were rescued by the parting of the sea and it was Israel who were fed by manna, bread from heaven, while they wondered about in the desert.  It was Israel who possessed the Ark of the Covenant, so holy that those who reached out to touch it, died.  And there were many more stories that they knew about God’s supernatural intervention, so they knew themselves to be a special nation and assumed themselves to be just a bit better than the nations around them….  It is what I like to call duck logic; perfectly logical, but wrong.  

It would be logical to assume that if God chose you then there was something special about you and logically, if God is good and right, then his chosen nation must also be righteous and his chosen people also must be righteous.  It is logical, but it is wrong.  Just like duck logic, it is wrong because this logic leaves out other factors, and it leaves out the most important fact about the grace of God who says in Exodus 33:19;  And the LORD said, "……. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”  

Fast forward from our 1st reading to our Gospel reading and we find some very interesting statements in a story we’ve heard so often.  This is the story we hear at Easter when Jesus is on the cross.  There are two criminals also being crucified and one scoffs at Jesus and the other asks Jesus to remember him when he comes into his kingdom.  We know the story…  Jesus assures him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

There are some very remarkable things in this reading which we can easily miss.  Firstly I have a question; to which criminal did Jesus give this assurance?  We assume that it was the one who acknowledged his guilt, but let me point out some parts of the story you might have missed;
Luke 23:34 “Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."…...”
Did the father indeed answer Jesus’ prayer?  The one who scoffed at Jesus, was he aware of what he was doing, or was he one of those for whom Jesus was interceding?  

“They do not know what they are doing……”  What were they doing that they didn’t know?  They did know that they were ridiculing a man who claimed to be something special.  They knew the claims that Jesus had made during his time of freedom and it is remarkable just how much, and how accurately these things were known in a time that didn’t have radio, television or social media.  What they didn’t grasp was that thing that the other criminal somehow did understand.

Imagine the scene; the three of them on their crosses, Jesus in the middle, but all of them about to die.  To all intents and purposes this was three mortal men.  They were made of flesh and blood and they were most likely looking incredibly mortal with exposed flesh and blood from the whips and nails etc…  
The Jewish people were waiting for the Messiah and many had hoped that Jesus might be it…..  only a short time ago they welcomed him to the city with palm branches and declared Hosanna to the son of David…  They expected that the Messiah would lead an army and establish land and peace and dominion for the people.  Here was that man in whom they had hoped, and he was dying on the cross.   But the man dying next to him says, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  

Not even the apostles fully understood the kingdom that Jesus was bringing, but somehow in this pain-filled moment a criminal understood.  That criminal was not self-righteous.  That criminal declared the justice of his sentence and that he and the other were getting what they deserved, and somehow with divine understanding he reached out to Jesus and the real kingdom.  Did he deserve to be in the Kingdom of God?  Did he confess his sins?  Did he prove that he was changing his ways?  There was no time to do so…. 

What that criminal grasped that the others did not, is something that we find in our 2nd reading from Colossians – and that is the nature of who Jesus really is.

Quite often I find people get confused with God and Jesus…. We have the creed that declares there is one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but we still don’t quite get it.  Colossians makes it clear that Jesus is the visible expression of God, and more than just being like a perfect picture of God, we read that the fullness of God dwelt IN HIM.  But wait there is more; in him all things in heaven and on earth were created and this includes the creatures of the physical and spiritual realm and dominions, rulers and powers.

The one criminal on the cross somehow was given the understanding of the nature of Christ and responded.  Others …. Hmm well, Jesus asked that they be forgiven because they did not understand what they were doing.

But what does this all mean for us?  
Recently I was reminded of two theological ways of understanding our faith.  One is Original Sin and the other is Original Blessing.  These are two important things that are contained in the stories at the beginning of Genesis.  Original Sin is that thing that happened in the story of Adam and Eve disobeying God, commonly known as the fall, and it follows that all are fallen because of Adam’s sin.  Original blessing is to remember that God made everything, blessed it and said “It is good”.

Throughout history there has been such an emphasis on Original Sin that there seemed to be a great negativity, a whole lot of judgment and not a lot of love.  Those who promoted Original blessing reminded all to focus on God as a God of love.  

Both Original Sin and Original Blessing are a part of the story of our faith and one without the other is to only tell half the story.

As far as being righteous is concerned, in today’s society, all are striving to declare themselves righteous.  We justify all our actions, and we are all right in our own eyes, but if we really are right, why do we not have peace and harmony with each other?   We don’t see things the same way.  We justify ourselves, but we are not admitting our faults – I believe that we’ve become incredibly self-righteous.  There has to be a standard beyond ourselves that is morally right and truly justifiable.  There is a standard, but we ALL fall short of this standard.

We don’t need to understand the theology of Original Sin to realize that we all do fall short of perfection.  If we think that we are perfect, we are truly deluded and living in a la la land.  Look around us… look at the car thefts, the fire lightings….  I’m sure these people can justify their actions, or others will justify for them – a bad up-bringing – the influence of video games etc… but the fact is, they still fall short of perfection.  Look at ourselves when we talk about someone behind their back, when we lose our temper, even when we simply fail to reach out to the lonely friend…. We can justify our actions, but those actions still fall short of perfection, and therefore our righteousness falls short.

God is perfect and His standard is perfection.  Though we are imperfect, we read that God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross.

We are made righteous, and we are justified only through the righteousness of God – His name is Jesus.
The Good News of our faith and the Gospel, is that statement; The LORD is our righteousness.
What this means is that we, like Abraham, are counted as righteous by our faith in God, by our faith in our saviour.  The righteousness of Jesus is credited to us.

THIS is how Christianity stands apart from every other religion.  This is how it truly is the Good News….  In every other religion its adherents strive to attain perfection… work to be worthy, ie… strive to be righteous and worthy.  They justify what it means to be “holy”, or “worthy”.  Christians who are humble and honest, acknowledge that our righteousness falls short, but rejoice that we are acceptable and reconciled to our creator by the righteousness of Christ.  Through the sacrifice of Christ the original Blessing is set back in place, where God looks at His creation and declares, “It is good.” 

It is SUCH Good News to be able to admit that I can’t attain perfection, and it is a great equalizer to know that no other human can reach that standard either, but that we are forgiven and made acceptable by God himself.

The Gospel in a nutshell  - The LORD is our righteousness.

Reflecting October 27 2019 Old men will dream dreams (women too)!

October 27, 2019PROPER 25 (30) Twentieth Sunday after PentecostYear C 

Joel 2:23-32 and Psalm 65    • 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18  •  Luke 18:9-14

I was recently at a music teachers’ professional development and they sang a four line song that began; “Where there is no vision the people perish”.  No one spoke about this being a biblical quote as it wasn’t the point of the exercise, but I notice in the readings today – not that verse, but a related one from Joel….  Your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.  Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my spirit.

In our society we praise the strong and independent.  The elderly are pushed aside.  We have grants to encourage the young in their career, but our society seems to assume the elderly have had their day.  Perhaps we, on the older side, feel that our energy is waning also.  

God, however, does not forget anyone… he promises that he will pour out his Spirit on all…. Male and female, slave and free, young and old.  I’m picking up on the fact that he pours out his Spirit on the old because we can easily miss the implication and I want to draw your attention to it.

What do we look like when we have the Holy Spirit out pouring upon us?  What do you imagine?

Do you see visions of young people declaring the word of the LORD?  Do you imagine energy and vitality of people working together?   What do these people look like?

We expect the young people to have dreams and visions.  They are usually expected to be the ones to come up with innovative designs and new ways of doing things.  They are the ones who still have a whole lot of future.  They are the ones we envision with the energy to make things happen.

Take special note however, because when God declares that he will pour out His Holy Spirit on all, and then He specifically mentions the old, He is making a very powerful statement, that there is an immense future and purpose for the elderly.  He is also declaring a relationship and vision that is way beyond what we would imagine.

The passage goes on to speak about the rather dramatic signs in the heavens and on the earth.  It describes a time of turmoil but ends by comforting that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.  Then it says something else, “and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.”

I get to chat with Christians from many back-grounds and persuasions and it often amuses me to hear some who declare that they just can’t wait for Jesus to come back.  I generally smile and say nothing, but I think a whole lot and generally I’m thinking, “ Oh sure you do… but I bet you have no idea about the naivety of your statement….” 

From my readings of scripture there will times of great trial before the coming of Jesus.  After all, what exactly do we mean in the Lord’s Prayer when we say, “save of from the time of trial”?   We have those words to pray because those times are going to be horrible.  We can interpret them as personal trials or the trials that are to come before the return of Jesus… both are correct, but both are not nice times to be going through.

Although I may be behaving like a bit of a Pharisee myself in making this judgment, I strongly believe that these people who are so sure of themselves that they just “can’t wait ‘til Jesus returns”, are a whole lot like that Pharisee in our Gospel reading.

In our Gospel reading we have a Pharisee who was a good man.  He fasted in prayer twice a week and he gave a tenth of his income to God.  He really was a great bloke.  I bet he was admired by his friends and we know that as a Pharisee he had a position of authority in the community.  He was the special guest at community functions.   As I said, he was a great bloke and there is nothing to say that he wasn’t, except that he held himself as better than others….. 

We live in a society that over-looks people unless they somehow declare their own worth – i.e. “toot their own horn”.  In our Gospel, Jesus is clearly showing that this over-looking of other people or treating others with contempt is not the way of the Kingdom of God.

So, me treating Christians, who long for Jesus return, with contempt is rather like the Pharisee, but let me explain why I accuse them of being like the Pharisee also;

Those who long for the time of Jesus coming, seem to present themselves as if they are Christians who are superior and chosen, who have no fear of the time of trial and the hardships to come.   They seem less concerned with the plight of those who don’t yet know Jesus and more concerned that the coming of Jesus will see them crowned victoriously in the sight of those who have scoffed at their belief and therefore they will be vindicated.   While, our scriptures tell us that God will vindicate us and I can understand the attraction, I feel that there is often something lacking….  God does care for how we feel, but wants us to have that same compassion for others.  

   

Saint Paul understood the longing for Jesus to return.  We read his words, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

The difference between us and Saint Paul is that Saint Paul was well and truly not saved from the time of trial, but he was saved through them.

We all have trials of many shapes and forms, but Saint Paul was whipped and imprisoned and eventually martyred.  At this point we need to realize that there is no place for anything bar honesty….. and this is what was possibly lacking in the prayer of the Pharisee.  His prayer focused on the good he did… i.e. the good works, but nothing in his prayer indicates a heart submitted to the concerns of God. – He hasn’t tapped into God’s heart.

Saint Paul had times when he felt abandoned.  “At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth.”

How was it, that Saint Paul could endure such trials?

Although we all have trials, we have lives that are abundantly blessed, physically and materially.  But as the time draws on, we need to understand the power that kept Saint Paul through all his time of trial was the out pouring of the Holy Spirit.

We also need to grab hold of the fact that God pours out his Spirit on all.  Not just men, but to women too and not just to the young but to the old as well.  The implication is that God will give us the dreams and the vision, the strength and the energy, so that through us the message of the Gospel will be fully proclaimed.

No matter our age or our gender, there is a job to be done in the Kingdom of God.  We can’t simply pray that God’s Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven and not do anything about bringing it into being.  What is the dream that he has given you to make this happen?

As I write this I’m aware, once again, of God saying to me, “ARE YOU GETTING IT?”

I’m not as young as I once was.  I feel tired.   But I am hearing that it is time to say, “Yes LORD, send your Spirit…..”.  

God does not impose.  He will pour out His Spirit…. But not if you don’t want it.  He waits patiently, he stirs us to hear him nudge and ask, but he gave us free will.  With our free will, we need to deliberately say yes to God and ask him for his Spirit and ask him to send us those dreams…. Expect them…. He longs to surprise us with the things that he has in store.

11th Sunday after Pentecost 25th August 2019 What gets you bent out of shape ?

PROPER 16 (21) Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost Year C August 25, 2019

• Jeremiah 1:4-10 and Psalm 71:1-6  •   Hebrews 12:18-29  •   Luke 13:10-17

What is it that gets you bent out of shape?

In each of our readings, we see a duality.  In Jeremiah we read that he was given authority to “pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."  

In our Gospel reading we see that Jesus sets Free the lady who was bound – the binding and loosing was authority that was also part of being a Pharisee… but more on that later, and our Hebrews reading speaks of our God who consumes, but we are reassured that we are receiving an unshakable (or in-consumable) Kingdom.

Recently I noticed the advertisements for the show, “This time next year”.  There is a story about a girl with Turrets syndrome.  Apparently not everyone with turrets has this compulsion to swear and curse – But it was this aspect that caught my attention because it just seemed so completely extreme…  She would say how she loved her mother and then swear and say she hated her and make rude signs with her hands.

A small percentage of Turrets sufferers have this thing called Coprolalia, which is compulsive and uncontrollable swearing and obscene gestures.  Once upon a time this was thought to be of the devil and it is easy to understand why.  However those who suffer turrets describe the impulse as being like an itch that you try not to scratch.   The more you try not to, the more intensely that you feel you must.

Then I saw another advertisement for a girl with extreme turrets, such that she hit herself and pulled out most of her hair.  Both of these cases struck me as being so incredibly debilitating and sad.  Neither could live any semblance of a normal life and both were quite young.

Our Gospel story brings to mind these girls as I read about the lady who was bent over for 18 years.  I’ve had enough injuries to know how debilitating it can be in suffering the short time until recovery.  It is hard to imagine the extreme debilitation of being bent over for 18 years.

Our readings say that it was a spirit that kept her bent over for all this time.

There are many things that keep us bent out of shape.  For some it is a physical ailment and for others it is the mental/ emotional ailment of depression or other mental illness.  One thing for certain – 18 years of suffering is no passing fad or trivial condition.  This is a lifetime of lost joy. 

When it comes to illnesses there are so many “shoulds”.  People tend to have sympathy for a moment and then turn to telling these people what they “Should” do.  The reason is that we cannot even bear the pain of sympathy for too long and want to “fix” the person – In doing this we are acting toward them as if they have the control and they can do it.  It is important that Jesus says that a spirit had kept her crippled, because this means she was oppressed by something outside of herself and outside of her control – she could do nothing herself to “fix” it.

For 18 years this lady had not been able to straighten up.  She is described as a daughter of Abraham, meaning that she belonged to the community, yet we know that any infirmity was generally seen as a sign of sin and a reason for exclusion in that time and place, and that particular community.  18 years is a long time to be crippled.

According to the Jewish encyclopedia, The power of binding and loosing was always claimed by the Pharisees. Josephus reports that("B J." i, 5, § 2),the Pharisees "became the administrators of all public affairs so as to be empowered to banish and re-admit whom they pleased, as well as to loose and to bind."  http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3307-binding-and-loosing

Jesus uses these same words in his conversation with the Pharisees.  The Pharisees were like a clique, keeping people from experiencing community and life.  They ensured that only those of whom they approved were admitted and others were forbidden. – That is, bound.

Not only was this woman bound by the spirit that kept her physically bent, but by the religious authorities who also kept her from being part of the community.  Therefore, she was twice bound – once by the spirit that kept her crippled and then again by the religious authorities.

Jesus used those same words, giving authority to bind and loose, to his followers, but unlike the Pharisees Jesus did not get these opposites of binding and loosing out of balance.   The Pharisees were overly zealous in binding – or forbidding.  That which Jesus bound – or forbade was unclean spirits and injustices, so that people were set free.  Jesus healed the woman and set her free – restoring her in body, and in the community of faith.

The Pharisees objected, and complained that Jesus was breaking the Sabbath rest by healing the woman.  Can you imagine?  Imagine that this is you and you’ve been ostracized by the church for 18 years… and crippled for 18 years.  Suddenly God heals you.   The church doesn’t rejoice, but instead objects because this healing is done on the wrong day.

Today’s question must be; are there people bent out of shape because we have bound them, where God would have set them free? 

In reality, the Pharisees thought they were following God’s command to keep his house holy by not permitting any infirmity.  They felt comfortable that they had worked out how God works, what he commands, and their life was neatly secure in their shared belief.  Do we do the same?  Day in and day out we all have our routines and in those routines we have a sense of security, but is this what God is calling us to do – feel safe and secure in our routine of church and belief, or does he want us to actually go out into the world and reach out to those who are bent out of shape because they have felt the church cutting them off?

Are we going to bind and loose the way Jesus did and set people free?  Or will we abuse the authority that we have been given by being gate-keepers who carefully choose who can be part of our church?  And you know, when we do set free the way that Jesus did, it will cause all the ruckus for us that it did for him.  The freedom of Christ will often mean we need to enter into some challenging conversations and debate with each other.  Paul and Peter certainly had a heated debate, so we will need to bravely, respectfully and lovingly be part of these discussions also. 

This brings to mind two things… Firstly, my mum telling my Dad that there are two things you should not talk about in polite company – Politics and Religion – He absolutely loves to talk about both.  And secondly, a facebook meme which states: “Being taught not to talk about politics and religion has led to a lack of understanding about politics and religion.  What we should have been taught was how to have a civil conversation about a difficult topic.”

Being part of the discussion is scary.   Jeremiah was scared, but was told not to say, “I’m just a boy, I don’t know how to speak”. 

I have a very good friend who often makes comments about his lack of literacy skills.  He is one of our Street Chaplains and has been a huge encouragement to me.  I know that he often feels insecure about being a leader because of his literacy limitations, but I often smile when he speaks, because I can see the way that God has given him just the right words, the right wisdom – and most importantly, the right heart.   It is obvious to me that God has called him to be where he is and do what he does and even to be in a place of leadership.  Just like Jeremiah, he is acutely aware of his short comings.  But God says to him and to us… have courage, don’t say, ”I’m just a child”.

In Jeremiah 1:8-9 we read; “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD." Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth.”

There is a difference between having our say and speaking God’s word.  But each of us has been called by God to have a relationship with God and to have his Spirit living within us, teaching us, and leading us into all truth.  This means we have something to say and it is vital that we say it. 

We proclaim the Good News of Salvation and the world needs the light of Christ, the love of Christ, and to be set free by the truth of the Gospel.  It is the Good News and truth of Jesus Christ that truly sets all free – we need to speak it.

An important aspect that I learn from looking at Jeremiah’s story, the story of our Gospel lady, and by observing my friend, is that emphasis to build up and to plant.   In other words, to encourage and set free.  When we speak and disagree, we are often doing so, to bind a wrong action or ideology, and our focus is on the negative instead of challenging ourselves to focus on setting free the correct action and ideology which sets all free.

We are here now – part of the Church to whom Jesus gave the authority to bind and loose.  Looking further into what is meant by this binding and loosing, we find that it is implied that we are working in agreement with what God has already done.  Speaking the words and claiming the victory which has already been won.

All this tells me that more than anything we need to know that Christ has brought us victory and we stand on this unshakable Kingdom that we are receiving.  We also need to know the heart of God – which is love - is about building up.  Remember that verse much later in the book of Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Our second reading from the letter to the Hebrews assures us of the hope and future that God has prepare for us, and it is an unshakable kingdom. He knew us before we were born and destined this for us.

The lady in the Gospel reading was set free on the Sabbath day.  The Sabbath was a day of rest, and we can rest because the work of loosing is not initiated with us. We are simply responding and claiming that which God has already done.  The question is; what consequence is there if we do not respond to what God has already done… what consequence is there for not setting people free and therefore not responding to God’s voice?

This is a covenant of love and forgiveness, yet we need to listen to the one who speaks from heaven –We who belong to God should recognise his voice because we belong to him. 

So I ask again, “What has you bent out of shape”?  And I add, “Where do you see others bent out of shape and how can we proclaim the truth to set us all free”?

July 28th 2019 Philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe

PROPER 12 (17)  Seventh Sunday after Pentecost  Year C  July 28, 2019

• Hosea 1:2-10 and Psalm 85   •  Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19)  •   Luke 11:1-13

Recently a friend of mine received a slightly riotous response from her post on facebook.  She posted a picture that contained the headshot of many high profile “Christian” leaders.  The accompanying statement was; “Don’t get your Theology from these False Leaders – avoid them”. 

 The riotous response was because most names on the post were well respected and notable leaders who’ve an established and credible ministry.  These are people like Joyce Meyer, who wrote the series of books, “Chicken soup for the soul” and Rick Warren who wrote and developed the book and program, “The Purpose Driven Life”, and also Brian Houston who is the founder and senior pastor of the Hillsong Church.  Is my friend completely losing the plot in her post, or is there something we can learn?

Our first reading comes from the prophet Hosea.  God told him to go and take a prostitute for a wife.  Now, the first lesson for us to learn is, that nothing is ever what it looks on the surface.  On the surface the lives of the prophets often looked like they were either slightly, or way left of the centre.  The exception to this was King David who was popular, respected and although a might warrior and king, gave us the psalms which were often prophetic.  Many prophets had an element of “Not quite fitting in with the mainstream”, yet each prophet, though rejected by many, had a vital message for God’s people and God’s people needed to hear them. 

In the case of Hosea, God chose to figuratively show his relationship with the nation of Israel by using Hosea’s relationship with his wife as a parable. The nation of Israel who had experienced the dynamic salvation of God gave allegiance to all manner of false Gods.  Over and over, God proved himself to them, but they predicably turned again and again to falsehood.

We read the stories and we can be amazed at the infidelity of the Israelite nation and we find it hard to fathom that they turned away to these hollow and empty gods, but let us look more closely at the subtlety and we may just find that we have been in danger of doing the same.

The idolatry in which the Israelites were engaged, originated from King Jeroboam.  He had been made king after King Solomon’s son had decided to harshly tax the people. The people revolted and followed Jeroboam instead and kingdom of Israel was divided and became two Kingdoms -  the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel.  Then in 1st Kings 12:26 we read:  “Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David.  If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”

After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”  One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.  And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other.”

Basically he gave the people simplicity.  He didn’t want to risk losing his position of power and popularity and so he compromised. 

Do you recall another person who made a golden calf?  Aaron and the Israelites made a golden calf while Moses was on the mountain of God receiving the law.  After a little research, it seems that neither Jeroboam, nor Aaron intended the calf to represent anything other than Yahweh.  They simply felt that the people needed a visible expression of their God.  The calf was the obvious choice as the zodiac symbol of Taurus was understood at the ruler – ie… in their minds this represented Yahweh. 

Over the years there have been and are still many who use the zodiac to predict and understand the world around us.  It is said that this is how the three wise men came to be looking for Jesus.  We would assume then that there is some truth within this, but beware, God’s initial response to the Israelites who created the image of the calf was to completely wipe them out and build his nation from Moses instead.  Seems an extreme response to something we would think as trivial – therefore we need to sit up and take notice.

These people had just been led out of captivity in Egypt by incredible miracles and tangible signs such as the cloud that went with them (God’s presence), leading and protecting them.  Why would you seek the signs in the heavens for direction and ask the stars of the heaven when you have direct access to God almighty?

In our Gospel reading we are told; “"…Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.  For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

This follows the disciples request for Jesus to teach them how to pray.

Jesus answer to the disciples is what we all know as The Lord’s Prayer.  He starts by addressing God as Father.  This is significant because it tells us the relationship we have with the almighty God is a loving and personal one.   “Hallowed be your name” – a reminder that while we can be close and familiar with God, God is God, holy and honoured.  We also should pray for God’s will over all – in other words, that God’s kingdom come.  This is something we need to pray for ourselves… that God’s kingdom reign in us.  It is an essential element for Christians in prayer to submit to the Lordship and sovereignty of Christ. 

God is concerned about our day to day needs and so we pray, “Give us each day our daily bread”.
Now for the tricky one; “and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.”  God has forgiven us, but wants us to remember we need to therefore be forgiving to those around us.  Our forgiveness of another does not depend on the other person’s repentance.  It is about realizing that we too have failed to be perfect and have been forgiven much.  We need to comprehend that others are complex being that we can’t possibly hope to understand and simply let go.  This is a very difficult subject because we need to understand that forgiveness does not mean we allow these people to continue to abuse us.  It does mean understanding that we are all limited in our ability to do good.

Finally we are exhorted to pray, “And do not bring us to the time of trial."  A reminder that there will be a time of divine judgement and in this there will be a time of persecution.  It brings to mind a reality that some are martyred for their faith.  It reminds us to be sure about who we are and whose we are, and acknowledges that we are not able to stand the trial except by the grace of God…. A humbling acknowledgement.

In all of this I’m certain The Lord’s Prayer was not meant to be formulated, such that it becomes something one parrots and thinks they’ve attained a perfect prayer, yet a quick google search shows that some believe there are special requests granted by saying certain prayers a certain way for a certain amount of times. The internet is full of what prayers to pray for a miracle.  Prayer does bring about miracles but not because of the prayer…. But because of the person to whom the prayer is addressed. 

It seems that as humans we have a natural tendency to twist the good things of God and not quite understand.  Just like the Israelites who though well-intentioned, made the golden calf, and looked for answers in God’s creation, we can get caught in the trappings of structure and tradition, thinking that these are the way to spirituality when God is there all along wanting us to simply come to him… as we would a child to a father.

Our second reading which comes from Colossians 2 tells us; “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.  See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ.” 

Are there philosophies and empty deceits that take us captive?  Just doing a quick search on a book written by one of the men on my friend’s list, Brian Houston and I see the title is; “YOU NEED MORE MONEY”.   Sounds pretty good, and I know that there is this thing called “Prosperity doctrine”.   Don’t get me wrong, God does desire good for us, but there has been a section of Christianity that has pushed this philosophy and converted many influential young business people.  In fact these churches greatly appeal to that demographic and all their leaders are between certain ages and look a certain way – which should straight away raise the red flag of danger.  One of the reviews on the book said this:  “There are many interpretation problems in this book. The author has not seriously studied the Scriptures, but simply read into them whatever he so desired. There is not one reference to any commentator in the whole book or any other scholarly resource. The author has greatly disrespected Scripture. He has skewed interpretations of the parable of the prodigal son, numerous verses in Proverbs, the rich young ruler, etc.  I would suggest to not buy this book, because that way, you'll have more money!”

When we don’t have a strong understanding of God’s word or of theology we can very easily be led astray.  Many good and genuine Christians have followed these philosophies and I am probably insulting many right now by saying what I am, but to soften the blow a little, let me also say, any of us can get it wrong and from day to day we do get it wrong.

My apology to Brian Houston as a person, because I assume that he is a well-intentioned person and has probably led many to faith.  There are many things I don’t know and can’t judge, but then again, I also assume King Jeroboam was well- intentioned when he built the calves.   After all, it was a prophet who anointed him as King and foretold of his kingdom.  Surely, in Jeroboams mind, to keep the people unified in his kingdom was a good thing.  BUT it was a vile perversion of God’s truth.

There are many other “Sacred Cows” in our modern philosophy.  We’ve explored the problem and what we need it the solution.

At the conclusion to our Gospel reading Jesus mentions the Holy Spirit.  It seems to be almost out of place with the rest of the text, but its position there is a climax and once I realize, then I need to go back and make sense of the whole text according to this new piece of information.

The Holy Spirit is uniquely involved in effective prayer and it is a gift that Jesus says is good.  But in order to show how very willing God is to gift us with the Holy Spirit, Jesus tells the story of someone who goes after midnight to a friend, and asks for 3 loaves of bread.  Jesus shows that even a selfish man will grant the request.  There is a misleading word – Persistence.  A better translation, according to my research, is actually “shamelessness”.

There is a certain amount of humility in asking for help.  Not only do we acknowledge our need when we ask for help, but we acknowledge our failure and inability to be self-sufficient.  Do we sometimes fail to ask God for the Holy Spirit because we are too proud to admit that we need such help?

Jesus told his followers that he would send a helper… the Holy Spirit.  Have we actually asked God to give us the Holy Spirit?  I know we are all anointed with the oil at our baptism and confirmation, but have we asked for, and sought the Holy Spirit?  The Holy Spirit was sent because it was absolutely necessary that we have this help.

There are many, many, many empty philosophies that come through society and the church and we take these on as Gospel.  One long held one is that we need to love ourselves before we can love others.  It is only a slight twist but it puts the emphasis on ourselves instead of God and others.  In other verses Jesus says that we are to love others as he loves us.  We love others because God has first loved us.  As far as a focus on self – we are told to consider ourselves dead to sin – therefore as far as our “self” is concerned the focus is to consider it crucified with Christ – yet understand that so great is God’s love for us that he willingly suffered and died on the cross.

A more contemporary pop culture making its way into the church is that Men are from Mars and women are from Venus – Our scriptures tell us that in Jesus all are one.  It is psychology and not theology, but these things become so accepted that Christian people take it on as fact.  Genesis tells us that woman was made from man – therefore we are of the same substance and any lack of understanding needs to be faced in the truth that we are essentially all more alike than we are different and should be striving to understand each other in the way that God directs. 

It was a Christian that brought us the books about love languages.  Maybe we do show love in different ways, but if someone doesn’t understand that what you are trying to express is love, I suggest you really are not loving or considering the other person at all.  On street Chaplaincy people know that we love because we are there and we don’t need to say anything – our actions convey the message.  If we use the excuse that someone doesn’t know we love them because their love language is different, then we are possibly not truly loving at all, and this book has just given us an excuse instead of a challenge.  And I call it a hollow philosophy and an empty deceit. 

And then we heard about the law of attraction otherwise known as the secret…  The key phrase of the philosophy of the secret with its law of attraction is “Ask, Believe and Receive”.   Sounds kind of familiar doesn’t it?  Sounds kind of scriptural, and we do well to remember that Satan masquerades as an instrument of light, with counterfeit philosophies that seem good, wholesome, and sound a lot like God’s words.   Many Christians take on ways of prayer that sound just like this, innocently thinking that they are doing things correctly.  Hopefully we can see that all these philosophies lead us away from honest communicating with God.  They are all about finding a way to control without submitting in humility to God, relying on and trusting in him.

Every now and then a simple philosophy that seems good and right comes along but who can we trust to tell us what is right and wrong if all those wonderful Christian leaders have been led astray at some point?

Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find… The man who gave bread to his neighbour gave grudgingly, but this highlights the difference between what we expect and the reality of God’s way – God gives us the Holy Spirit eagerly and the Holy Spirit helps us to discern what is good and true, and what is not.

If we are overly critical of everyone we might not hear the wisdom they have to offer.  Every Christian with the Holy Spirit has the ability to be taught directly by God – therefore we need to listen to each other, but we are not meant to blindly believe. 

Both the word of God and the Holy Spirit are needed and without one or the other we will surely be led astray.  Jesus who is the physical “word of God” told us that HE is the way, the truth and the life – no one comes to the father except through him.

There will be persecutions and hardships in the end times, but I suspect we might already be in them.  This is a time where those who quote the Bible lose their contract and parts of our country have passed laws to terminate life, seemingly on a whim.  Our simplistic morals are challenged and the very nature of nature is questioned.  We might not be thrown to the physical lions but there are golden calves in every corner. 

The golden calf claims to represent truth – and even represent the one true God, claiming that we all worship the same God, but there is only one way to really discern and that is by shamelessly, (humbly) asking God for the gift of His Holy Spirit.  He gives it willingly, freely and eagerly.  Just ask.