Lent 4A 22nd March 2026 The powerful breath

2026  03  22  Fifth Sunday in Lent

Ezekiel 37:1-14     Psalm 130     Romans 8:6-11     John 11:1-45

 

The scripture readings for today are totally mind-blowing!  In our first reading the prophet Ezekiel has a vision in which God takes him to a valley of dry bones.  What does it tell you about the bones if they are “dry”….  Very dead!  The valley of dry bones inspired the song, “Dem Bones - Ezekiel connected dem dry bones..”  We also have the New Testament reading which tells us of Jesus raising Lazurus from the dead.  A dramatic story which ultimately proves that Jesus Christ has power over the grave.   I don’t know if you caught it, but this story is the fulfillment of the prophecy recorded in our first reading.  It says; “…you shall know that I am the LORD when I open your graves and bring you up from your graves,..”

 

These are both stories of death and life.  They are stories with a powerful message, that when all human efforts and striving are spent and all hope is dead and gone – not just dead and gone, but bone-dry, dead and gone, God does what we cannot - God brings hope & life.

 

To anyone who has experienced, or is in the midst of loss and grief, it certainly doesn’t feel there is hope.  Someone once explained that we are on the underside of an elaborate tapestry… we see the knots and mess, but God sees clearly that there is brilliant masterpiece, visible from his point of view.  For sure, however, suffering and death was not part of God’s original plan for us.  Because of God’s own grief about our situation, Jesus, the Messiah was sent to make a way for us to be back in communion with God – for us to be reconciled to God – and to receive his eternal life.  God is deeply grieved over death. 

 

The shortest verse in the bible is found in this Gospel passage where it says; “Jesus wept”.   Jesus knew that Lazarus would be raised from the dead.  Yet Jesus’ weeping was so intense and authentic that the onlookers commented about how much he loved him.  I suspect that Jesus was feeling the pain that we all feel when we lose someone, but also, he was feeling all our pain.  He feels our pain.  Why?  Because he loves us.  Don’t ever think that God doesn’t care when you are hurting.  Just as we hurt when our precious children are in pain, God feels that for us.

 

Martha is the one who, in an earlier story, was concerned about doing all the proper things and cranky that her sister was not helping her.  This time Martha is the one to step outside conventional norms.  In the Jewish grieving process, the mourners are supposed to sit barefoot in their house for a week – not going anywhere.  On the third day people would bring food and sit with them.  This was the fourth day, but still within that first week.  Martha hears that Jesus is there and leaves the house to see him – breaking social convention.  She says the most amazing thing which shows us her faith in Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him."

 

Martha knows the power of God is in Jesus.  Jesus responds to her with something we might also miss; “I am the resurrection and the life.”  The bit that we miss in our English translation, is that Jesus said, “I AM… the resurrection..”  That “I AM”  is reiterating the statement that God made to Moses when Moses asked him his name.  God responded, “I Am who I am”.  When Jesus was saying “I Am the resurrection”, to Martha, He was stating that He is the resurrection today, yesterday and tomorrow, and most importantly, He was also declaring his deity – Jesus is God.  He and the father are one.  This is the mystery that we see all the way through the Gospel of John – which begins with; “In the beginning was the Word… and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh”

 

Jesus is the resurrection and the LIFE – He came to bring us eternal life.  He brought Lazurus back to life.  Jesus is called the Word of God.  Hold that thought while we explore some of the passage from Ezekiel.  In a vision, Ezekiel was brought to the valley of dry bones.  This was like that horrible valley in Psalm 23 – the valley of the shadow of death!  The bones being exposed implies disgrace, shame and desecration.  After some conversation God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones.  In other words, he was told to speak the Word of God to the bones. Remember – Jesus is the WORD of God.

 

As Ezekiel speaks the word of God, life comes back to the bones.  There is so much to explore in this, but I’ll start with a quote from an influential English preacher, Charles Spurgeon who said; “If we want revivals, we must revive our reverence for the Word of God…, for the only power which will bless men lies in that.” (Spurgeon).

 

Ezekiel was a prophet who lived through the time when Israel was taken into exile.  It seemed that the nation of Israel was completely doomed.  They were scattered, their homeland was destroyed and the temple had been destroyed.  Who they were as the chosen people of God was not much more than a memory.

 

Ezekiel declared the word of God out loud, and it brought life to the dry bones.  It was done as obedience to God.  It was the word of God proclaimed out loud, at God’s prompting.  We could put it this way; God the father commanded it and the WORD – or God the Son, actioned it.  But there is another element yet needed. Did you notice in the passage that although the bones came together and grew flesh at the Word of God, there was yet no breath – the breath -The Holy Spirit. The Hebrew word for breath and Spirit is the same.  It is a word that means “air in motion”.  And our first reading ends by making it clear that God would put his spirit in his people; “I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act," says the LORD.”

 

Humans need breath to live.  In our readings that breath is synonymous with God’s Holy Spirit.  Humans, made in the image of God, need God’s Holy Spirit in order to live as God knows is best.  Without the Holy Spirit we are incomplete.  The scriptures explain that God originally made mankind as a “Living” being – in other words, he made us with his eternal Spirit sustaining us, but through sin, that eternal spirit was taken away.  However, there was always a plan to have us be able to come back into fullness of the life which God intended.  The bad news is that there would be a price to pay… Jesus paid that price on the cross.

 

Our story of redemption is completed by the cross.  “It is FINISHED” is what Christ declared.  By the cross, the debt of sin is complete, and by Jesus’ resurrection he proves his authority over the grave, but if you check out how the disciples lived after the resurrection of Jesus and before the day of Pentecost, you will note that they lived pretty much like us now; in faith and trust in God…. Yet they were hidden away, keeping to themselves - something in them came to life on the day of Pentecost.

 

The bones, to which Ezekiel declared the Word of God, grew flesh -They looked alive, but they were not truly alive - there was no breath in them.  In 1946 a Preacher by the name of Major Ian Thomas, said that many churches are like this.  He explained, they have lots of church activity and use up a lot of energy doing things that make them appear to be alive, but they are merely zombies, because they do not have the Holy Spirit empowering them. (like headless chooks I think he said)  I think he was probably a bit harsh, but sometimes it is good to hear someone be harsh so that we can remember the importance of the Holy Spirit in all that we do.  

 

The Holy Spirit also comes through the proclamation of the Word of God.  Jesus is the word of God made flesh and so many times he spoke to his followers about the Holy Spirit, even breathing on them himself and saying, “receive the Holy Spirit”.  We are triune beings; flesh, soul and spirit, but through sin the spirit that brings spiritual life died.  In baptism we acknowledge our fallen human condition and our need for spiritual life.  We are baptised in the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit.  We identify with Christ and accept his redemption.  We use the symbol of water because it is a sign of new birth – spiritual birth.  Christians are born of God, spiritually alive through the Spirit of God and our eternal life begins that moment.

 

Because we forget so many things, we continue to meet together and tell the story of our salvation.  And each year we remember the most holy and important days…. Which is why have THIS Lenten season.  This year, I challenge us all to remember that the story doesn’t end with Easter.  Resurrection Sunday is certainly a highlight, but God’s plan was not complete until that life that Jesus achieved could be passed on to us.  Life is never complete until we have breath - the breath of God - the Holy Spirit.  This year let’s consider the biggest celebration the one where Jesus sends his Holy Spirit – Pentecost.  God’s spirit is within us…. We bring God’s goodness and love to our world only when we rely on His Holy Spirit to BREATHE in us and then we truly live!

Filled with the Spirit to be a blessing Lent 3A 08 March 2026

Third Sunday in Lent

• Exodus 17:1-7   Psalm 95    Romans 5:1-11     John 4:5-42

 

As an ex-school teacher, let me paint you a picture; It is in the heat of summer and you’ve just been teaching dancing in the hall – no air-conditioning.  You need to get the class back to their teacher, but they all want to have a drink of water and there is only one bubbler.  I would try to have them go in small groups to have a quick drink, but inevitably there would be some students who would stay for ages having more than just a sip or two.

 

It is a bit hard to imagine what it must have been like for Moses with what is estimated to be 2 to 3 million thirsty Israelites, grumbling that they wanted water.  It is no wonder that this great miracle is recorded.   Not only did water come from the rock, but it was no tiny trickle.  It was enough to quench the thirst of all those people.  Fast forward over 1000 years to our New Testament reading and we are still talking about water and being thirsty. 

 

Who is she?   She is said to have baptised the daughter of Nero.  She is said to have spat in Nero’s face after he tortured her and her sons and then told her to renounce her faith in Jesus.  She is known in Russia as Saint Svetlana.  In Greek she is Photinia…. Or something close to that.  She is said to be the first apostle to the Gentiles…. There I was thinking that it was saint Paul, but this lady was spreading the Good News about Jesus being the Messiah way before Paul came along.  For us, she is the unnamed woman at the well. 

 

Jesus had been with his disciples who were baptising people, in the land of Judah, but he withdrew from there as word had gotten out to the Pharisees that he was doing more baptising than John.  After travelling, Jesus is thirsty and tired.  He sits by a well and asks this lady for a drink.  Jesus breaks protocols.  Don’t you just love it?  Jesus was a Jew and they don’t share things with the Samaritans… usually… but this is not any concern for Jesus.

 

Now, just to clarify, the Samaritans are actually related to the Jews.  Back when there was a untied nation of Israel, there was King David, then Solomon…. Then the nation of Israel split and a couple of tribes stayed true to the line of David and the kings of Judah, where as the other ten tribes were known as the nation of Israel.  Over time, all were taken into exile and then semi-freed… It is a long and complicated story, but long story short, the Samaritans were interbred Israelites and non-Israelites.  Those who belonged to Israel worshiped God, loosely.  The Jews worshiped God in Jerusalem where the temple had been built.  The Jews looked down on the Samaritans as they saw them as a people who compromised in their worship of God.

 

Last week we read about the call of Abraham.  He was called to leave his country and family.  In this call to up and leave, was the understanding that his country and family were living in the place where worship to idols was “king”.  Abraham’s home-town was a place that worshiped many gods and was THE central worship town of the Moon God.  Abraham made a choice to worship the LORD God almighty only.  The call of God came with a promise to make Abraham a great nation.  He was to be blessed by God and through him every nation on earth would be blessed.  This is always important to remember, because it means that God is always concerned with reaching everyone.  Yes, Israel was the chosen nation, and the Jews were the chosen people who stayed true to the law of God, but sometimes they forgot the reason that God called them…. So that every family on earth could be blessed.  Ultimately, Jesus would be born from that line of Judah.  Jesus is the ultimate reason that all families on earth are blessed.

 

Something that is important to understand for our story that we read today, is that in traditional Biblical culture, water is synonymous with blessing.  Rain, is seen as a great spiritual blessing.  The phrase, “Living Water” is used to describe rivers, springs and rain.  It is water that is connected to a natural, flowing source.  The sacred baths, known as Mikveh’s, in the Jewish faith require that they be filled with “Living Water”. 

 

When Jesus asks for the water from the well and then starts speaking about living water, there is a difference in the two types of water.  The water from a well is not “Living water”.   "Living Water" (Mayim Chayim) represents active, life-giving blessings.  What it was that had happened in this woman’s life to have had her in a position that she had five husbands, we can only guess, and much has been made about her being at the well at noon when other women were not there.  For certain, she was a woman aware that she was in need of life-giving blessings.  I’m not sure what was in the woman’s mind when she asked Jesus about this living water, but the discourse drew out her own thirsty condition – her emotional and spiritual thirst.

 

In the desert when Moses struck the rock and water gushed out, that water was living water.  The incident in the desert is a prophetic picture of Jesus.  The rock was struck – Jesus was struck (crucified).  You might recall that when Jesus died a spear was thrust into his side and water flowed from the wound.  The spiritual reality is that from Jesus being struck, living waters gush out…. The blessings flow.  We are saved from sin and blessed with eternal life through the gift that Jesus gives.  The blessings that Jesus gives us are not a simple trickle.  The blessings gush.  The living water is also a way of describing the Holy Spirit that Jesus sends.

 

Our letter to the Romans tries to explain the gushing blessings that we receive when it says; ‘much more surely, having been reconciled (to God), will we be saved by his life.”  The blessings are so, so abundant.  They are not something we earn or deserve.  We learnt this from our readings last week when we learnt about the faith of Abraham and how, God declared him righteous simply because he believed God and chose God.

 

From Jesus comes living, life-giving, life-bringing water.  The blessing of that living water is saturating, permeating and permanently life-altering.  Those who were saved by the water from the rock in the desert didn’t deserve it – they were blessed anyway.  The woman at the well had a past and she was not from the chosen line – she was blessed anyway – and so were the people of her town as they asked Jesus to stay with them and do you recall their conclusion?  “They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world."”

This conclusion was made long before Jesus was crucified and had risen from the dead.  These people who were pretty much outsiders, “got it”. 

 

Do we “get it”?  The outsiders, those considered undeserving, the thirsty and the desperate – they “got it”.  They sensed the enormity of the gift that Jesus offered.  Anyone who turns to Jesus, he offers them the living water.   Jesus says, “The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life."

 

Jesus brings the living water blessing that gushes up to eternal life.  When he gives us this, it then gushes up in us.  Eternal life is in us when we tap into Jesus.  His Holy Spirit bubbles up in us and over-flows.  Here is a thought; if that living water is an abundant flowing blessing, it ought to be easy and natural for us to answer God’s call to bring His blessing to all the earth.   

 

Today this talk of water reminds us of our baptism.  Baptism uses the image of water and traditionally baptism was to be fully immersed in water….  To show that we are completely immersed in Jesus… his blessings he soaks us in and fills us with.  Today, may we know that our lives are soaked and filled, and with the knowledge of the abundance of His blessing, may we be a blessing to our world.

Blessed we are So that we can be a blessing.

2026  03  01  Lent 2 A

Genesis 12.1-4a Psalm 121   Romans 4.1-5, 13-17  John 3.1-17

“Father Abraham has many sons….”   This was the song I learnt when I was little.  Through it, I learned that Abraham is considered our father in the faith.  He is the father of all who live by faith.   I have recently returned from a holiday where I cruised to New Zealand.  Through this we met a variety of people, notably a ministering couple from Ohio.  They shared with us that their church has a core motto; “Love God.  Bless People”.  To make it clear what it means to love others, they used the word “Bless”.    Be a blessing to others.   Abram was called, and in him all the families of the earth were to be blessed.

 

God called Abram (at this stage God had not changed his name to Abraham), and gave him a very sure promise.  "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.  I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

 

The promise was to make of him a great nation and make his name great.   Did God keep his promise?  yes, his name is great and his nation is the nation of Israel….  Although it could be correctly noted that he was the father of the Arab tribes, the Edomites and many others also… but the nation through whom the promise of God was through, is Israel.   Abraham is most famously considered the father of those who have faith in God.  God spoke and Abraham believed what God said.  This is an important aspect in the story of Abraham’s life and through that faith and trust and belief in God, Abraham is considered to be righteous.  This important understanding about the Good News, is explained in the letter to the Romans.  Abraham was justified by his faith and not by his works.   He trusted in God.  Faith is not just about believing in God.  It is about trusting as well, and therefore, following what God says.

 

Abraham came from Ur of the Chaldeans.  Ur was THE main center for the worship of the moon god, Nanna - also known as Suen or Sin.  It is safe to say that Abram was well acquainted with this god.  When God called Abram, he was called to leave his country, his home and his family…. Not an easy thing to do, but also God was calling him to leave behind the religion that worshipped many gods.   Abram obeyed because he believed what God was telling him.  As we follow the story of Abraham we find that he had chosen to turn away from all other gods and serve the LORD.  We are told when Abram reached that land, he built an altar to the LORD.  It would be many years- many, many years before Abram would have a child.  Abram’s wife was barren.  Abram still remained faithful to God.  Many years of being separated from his homeland and family.  Many years of waiting to become a great nation and still no child.  Abram up and left all that he had known because God called him, but here he was living in what seemed to be exile and the promise was not fulfilled.  He passed through towns where he could well be murdered so that others could have his wife, who, as rumour would have it, was very beautiful. 

 

It was a treacherous time, and God was with him to save him and confirm his blessing on him, but still no child to fulfill the promise of the great nation.  Why I’m highlighting these tough times of Abram is because we are living in times that are tough.  We are a church hard pressed by legal and financial demands.  We are in a position where we wonder about our future.  There is a scripture verse that is quoted about us paying for the “sins of the fathers”, but this is actually only part of the scripture passage. It actually says in Exodus 20: 4-6 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”  The second and more important part of the scripture says that God shows love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.  We are recipients of his love and favour.

 

We too, are like Abraham.  We have been given a promise by God.  He will show love to the thousandth generation.   We have a hope and a future.  We, like Abraham, are always being called to leave behind the things that might ensnare us.  We are always being called to let go of any false gods that we’ve been inclined to trust in rather than trusting in God.  The people of Abrams home-town trusted in many gods – Abraham made a choice and he chose to believe the ONE God El Shaddai/ the Almighty…. then he put his faith into action.  We are always being called to let go of the sins of yesterday and walk into the promise of what God will do in our tomorrow.   God promised to make Abraham’s name great.  Why?  So that he would be a blessing.  The point of the promise was so that others could also be blessed.   The world is blessed through Abraham, because it is through him that Jesus came into the world.  Through him we are brought into the family of God.

 

In our Gospel reading Jesus tells Nicodemus that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.  What he is referring to, is his crucifixion.  Through his death anyone who believes in him can have eternal life.  Eternal life is an amazing gift, and we receive it, not by anything we do to be “good enough” – because we can never in our own strength BE good enough.  However, simply by making a definite choice to believe God and by believing that God is who he says he is and knowing that he is Good and loves us, we are counted as the people of faith, and we like Abraham are considered righteous and acceptable to God.   Our challenge is always to get our lives to line up with our spiritual reality.  Our spiritual reality is that we are considered clothed in Christ through our baptism.  In other words, Christ has atoned for the sins of the world and God the father sees us as perfect and acceptable through him.  Yet, the fact is we fall even in our faith.  Even in our believing in God…. We doubt.   Last week our readings talked about Adam and Eve and how Satan planted doubt about God.  It was that doubt that led to the fall.  It was doubt that the devil tried to plant in Jesus’ mind when he said, “IF you are the son of God….” “IF” – it was a vain attempt to planted doubt about Jesus own identity. 

 

Our call is to BE the people of faith.  It is easy to be people of faith when all is going our way.  It is harder when things are not going well.  It is harder still when everything goes “pear-shaped”.   How hard was it for Abraham to believe in God’s promises of making him a great nation when his barren wife reached 90?   It is easy in those times to doubt.  Abraham didn’t know how God would make him into a great nation, but he continued to be trust God.

 

Nicodemus struggled to understand Jesus, because he had a cultural understanding about his world and the spiritual world.  What Jesus was telling him was new, about being born from above.  He had to let go of his prior understandings, to accept what Jesus was saying.  We are challenged likewise to let go “Other gods” that we are inclined to put our trust in, rather than God.  Our own efforts?  Our own intelligence?  Our own culture?  Are we accepting the worldview of those around us and becoming no different from our secular culture?  This is why God called Abraham to leave his country – so that he could be different and true to the living God, the LORD almighty.  No doubt, as the years without an heir went by, many would have said to Abram, “Did God really call you?”  The world around us would say to us “Did God really call you?”  “Is God really with you?”  It seems to me, through last week’s message, and this week’s, we are encouraged to remember that God loves us.  Remembering this is important so that we don’t fall for the devil’s lies. 

 

"Hosanna" is a word we hear, mostly when we read about Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem as the word of praise, but the  Hebrew phrase hôšîʿâ-nā means "save, I pray" or "save now". It is a plea for help that became a shout of praise.  It is the praise we give God expectantly sure of His deliverance before the battle has even begun.  It is the image of the small shepherd boy David declaring his trust in God as he stands before Goliath. Be encouraged to stand firm in times that are tough and, like Abram, answer God’s call – We chose God, the LORD almighty.  We are his and we are in his hands.  God has chosen us and has called us to be blessed  - and blessed we will be, because he wants us to be a blessing to our world. Hosanna!

The first commandment ! Lent 1 A 22nd Feb 2026

 

2026 02  22 Lent 1 year A

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7   Romans 5:12-21   Matthew 4:1-11   Psalm 32

 

I’m often amused at how many non-church going people will tell you that they are pretty good because they are law-abiding people who keep the Ten Commandments.  What amuses me about this is that they have no idea of the first and most important command.  To love God and have no other God’s before him.   I mention this because it is central to our readings today.

 

Speaking of laws, did you notice the extent of freedom enjoyed by Adam and Eve in our first reading?  Adam was free to eat of every tree in the garden, but one.  We may have the Ten Commandments, but Adam and Eve only had one!  Also, perhaps of note, just to balance the blame that woman gets for the fall, this command was given to the Man before there WAS any woman.  However, have you ever considered the freedom enjoyed by Adam and Eve?

 

From the very beginning, Adam and Eve were free.  God created us to be free, and He gave us free will.  Death was not initially part of our reality, and you might have missed the fact that in the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve could freely eat from the tree of life.  That all changed when they followed the advice of the serpent and God exiled them from the garden of Eden. 

 

Adam and Eve disobeyed God, but why….?  What could have been so tantalizing that they would risk death?  Firstly, the fruit looked good for food.  Notice how this is echoed in the temptation of Jesus in the desert.  He was first tempted with food… this was at a time when Jesus was hungry – very hungry and a very real temptation.  But Jesus does not sin.  He answers by quoting spiritual truth that emphasizes the will of God and trust in God. 

 

We are told that Eve considered the fruit desirable for making her wise.  Many scripture verses encourage us to aspire to be wise but also advise that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.  God is first and foremost and His ways are truth and life.  Was it wise to eat from a tree that God said would cause your death?  To accept that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, means to have a humility towards God.  It means we defer to God’s wisdom, rather than our own and we trust in what HE says….. God says, “Don’t eat that fruit”, we accept that God knows what is best for us and we don’t.  We might think this was simple and foolish of Adam and Eve, but do we still do the same?  Are there aspects of our life, where God’s direction is different from our actions?

 

The second and third temptations of Jesus in the desert have been suggested to be about pride and about authority and power.  Jesus knew he was the Son of God – THE son of God.  He knew his importance, but he humbly submitted to the will of the father - always– even to the cross.

 

The third temptation of Christ was where Jesus was offered all power and authority by bowing down to Satan, to which Christ answers with our familiar commandment to worship God alone and serve him only.

 

Although there were three temptations described as happening to Jesus in the desert, they are all essentially about the same thing…. They are all about that first commandment – Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.   It is about allegiance.  Which side would Jesus choose?  God or the Devil?  Jesus was faithful to God – three times – therefore the matter is well and truly settled.

 

The serpent had told Eve that God lied to them.  They wouldn’t really die but would be like God.  All they had to do was eat the fruit…. All they had to do was not obey God…. All they had to do was to obey the serpent.

Adam and Eve took a side.  There was Satan on one side and God on the other.  In eating that fruit, they took the side of Satan.

 

Many people in the world around us today, don’t trust in God.  They might hear about God or read parts of the Bible and decide that God is lying to them.  And we all know those people – we’ve come across these people.  But here is where the rubber hits the road…. Sometimes those people are us.  When we know what God wants us to do, but we don’t do it, or anytime we put ourselves before God and anytime we make a judgement about what is good or bad, rather than deferring to what God tells us, then we are eating that fruit all over again…. We are taking a side – and it isn’t the side of faith.  And we ALL do this.  Even with our best intentions…. Sadly.  Sin entered the world through Adam, but we all bear his image, and sin is passed on as though part of our DNA.  Now, we need a saviour!

 

In the desert Jesus faced the same temptation as Adam and Eve, but he didn’t fall, he continues to reverence God the father and submit to his will – three times he was tested – which means the matter was confirmed and absolute.  Jesus, standing true to God the father in this time of testing, demonstrates his role in reversing the disobedience in the Garden of Eden.

 

The temptation was ultimately about being “God” – having the power and authority and wisdom of God and being our own God and therefore, not needing God.  Therefore, choosing the way of Satan.  Adam and Eve were enticed to doubt God.  They were enticed to be their own God.   They were enticed to disobey God.  The consequence was death.  Without God’s spirit and presence, and without access to the tree of life, they began to die physically.   Death entered the world and reigned ever after – Then Jesus rose from the dead, proving that he had power over the grave, and he brought about something new…  the opportunity for redemption.

 

We, like God, are triune beings.  We have a body, soul and spirit.   The consequence of sin was death… physical death eventually, but spiritual death through being separated from God’s spirit.  Often people see this time of Lent as being the big build up and preparation time for Easter, with it’s culmination being resurrection Sunday.  But those apostles, after experiencing the resurrection, did very little, even after seeing the risen Christ, until they received the Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit.  It wasn’t an optional extra.  The Holy Spirit is vital.  The story of the salvation we have through Christ is not finished until we have experienced Pentecost.  Someone once said it this way, “Jesus did not come to die for your sin” – and that sounded like heresy – because Jesus did die to atone for sin– he died as the perfect Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world…  but the speaker went on to explain.  “Jesus came to bring you life!” 

 

Yes, Jesus brings us eternal life through dying to atone for the sins of the world, but that life – the abundant God type life -  is what comes through the Holy Spirit.  God desires for us to be truly alive.  His desire is to be in communion with us… to have us walk with him just as Adam and Eve did in the beginning, but better, because we have already chosen a side… through our baptism into Christ we are considered to have chosen the side of faith.

 

Our journey today begins with understanding that Adam and Eve fell, and we all do the same.  We come before God in humility knowing that we have also questioned God, not followed His call and by doubting God, we’ve unwittingly given allegiance to one who tempts and lies to us.  In acknowledging this, we turn back to God. 

 

Romans tells us; “If, because of the one man's trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”  This is the Good News.  Our unity with Jesus, who didn’t fall for the temptation, means that we have life – abundant, spirit-filled life!  Grace, eternal life and unity with God is the free gift of God, which is ours through Christ Jesus.

 

Lent is a time of consecration, where we commit our lives to God.  We know our weaknesses, but we don’t rely on our own resolve and efforts. …. Instead, we know that our life is assured through our unity with Christ.  However, we take this time to focus on prayer and fasting, as we acknowledge the reality that we are not as law abiding as we wish we were…. We do fall… often... but in this time, we remind ourselves that we continue to choose God.  We, through the gift of Jesus, are absolutely the people of God.  It is who we are and who we always choose to be.  We choose the way of faith.

WHERE ARE WE GOING? Australia Day and Epiphany 3 25th 01 2026

 2026  01  25  Epiphany 3 plus Australia Day.

Deuteronomy 8:5-14 – AUS DAY

Isaiah 9:1-4     Psalm 27:1, 4-9      1 Corinthians 1:10-18      Matthew 4:12-23

 

I have some questions to ask; Do you know where you are going…? Do you know where you’ve been?  Today we ponder the lives of some fishermen, who, as Jewish men, were connected to a great history of faith, but whose lives had an eternal destiny and an impact that would cause their names to be known by most of the world for all generations to come.  These men were called by Jesus and they could have said, “No”, but instead there, “Yes” was so enthusiastic that they immediately left their form life and followed Jesus. 

 

These questions about history and future are good things to think about at the start of a new year.  Do you see where you’ve been and do you know where you are going?  As we gather on Australia Day weekend we can reflect on these questions for our country.    Our country has a history - a story, and our country has a faith story.  God, most certainly, has a vision for our nation. 

 

In 1606 Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, a Portuguese explorer sailing for Spain, claimed Australia as the "Great Southland of the Holy Spirit".  He thought he was on Australia, but was actually on Vanuatu.  Never the less, he claimed the surrounding lands, stretching to the South Pole, as "Tierra Australis del Espíritu Santo" (The Great South Land of the Holy Spirit).  I guess if Pedro had stuck around we might all be speaking Spanish.  But he left and others came.  Obviously, this is just one tiny part of our Country’s story. 

 

We, as the children of God, reflect on the past with an understanding that we have a responsibility and call as God’s children, to be stewards in our country and to intercede – pray and take action, so that it has a good future.  We always have the free will to answer that call or not.  But learn from the Ancient Israelites who chose not to answer that call – they were taken into exile and scattered so that for many years there was no nation. 

 

Last week we saw that St. Peter received a new identity.  Through his call from God he became Peter, but he had been Simon.  Through his interaction with Jesus, we reflected on our own identity and how we might be Simon-ish – or Niki-ish, but we are called to be something more.  Through our baptism, God’s hand is on us, just as it was on Simon, who became Peter – Rock solid in his understanding of who he was in God.  

 

Last week we pondered, “Who am I?”  This week, now that we know we have an identity in God, we focus on the next part of our great adventure in faith – “Where am I going”?    - in other words; our calling.

 

We are in the season of Epiphany, the season where it is realized that Jesus came, not just for the Jew, but also for the Non-Jew – or Gentile.  This is highlighted in our readings today, by the fact that Jesus left where he was ministering and went to “Galilee of the Gentiles”.  This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says…  ‘”… He will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations”  - of the nations refers to the Gentiles.

 

In the time of Jesus, Galilee was a place where there were Jewish towns, but also many Gentile towns.  It was ethnically diverse.  Both in the prophecy and in the actions of Jesus ministering in Galilee, God revealed that He is concerned for everyone.  Jesus showed that God’s gifts and calling were not just for the chosen nation, but through that chosen nation, all nations would be blessed.

 

All nations will be blessed.  That includes the nation of Australia.  The scripture verse from Deuteronomy says;  “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills;”.  The verse is speaking to the Israelites when God was about to bring them into their land, promised to them by God.  It was a good land, and it was a gift from God.  But there was an exhortation to remember God; “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.  Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.”

 

Every nation will be blessed because the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross is for everyone.  His exhortation to love our neighbours as ourselves and his call to live following his example of sacrificial love is the way to a society that would be Heaven on earth – but we are still falling short… very short.  Thankfully God is gracious to us still.  St. Paul also encourages all to “play nice”, when he tells the church, “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you but that you be knit together in the same mind and the same purpose.”

 

The same mind and the same purpose….  Sounds like pie in the sky.  Yet it is to this we are called.   Mother Theresa is famous for saying, “Today, if we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other–that man, that woman, that child is my brother or my sister. If everyone could see the image of God in his neighbour, do you think we would still need tanks and generals?”

 

The same mind and the same purpose to which we are called is our calling in Christ.  It is the mind and purpose of Christ with which we need to become acquainted…. More than merely acquainted!  Saint Paul talks about the divisions in the church where some follow Peter and some Paul etc…  much like the divisions within our denominations, unfortunately not much has changed in 2000 years.

 

We will always have differences, and those differences are actually good.  The scriptures tell us that the Holy Spirit teaches us.  There will be differences because WE are all different – but these things should not divide us.  We all belong to God.  We all need to seek the mind and the purpose of God.  To this purpose we are called.

 

Last week we read about the first disciples who went to follow Jesus.  They sought Jesus out.  The interactions were personal and we were told of the interaction where Simon became Peter.  The interaction caused Peter to understand something new – something of his identity in God.  This week we have a later account that emphasises that Jesus, who already knew them personally, sought out and called these men to a specific purpose.  These men already knew Jesus.  They already identified with him.  Now they were called by him to be about his business.  To do this, was not like getting a job description and hopping to it.  To do the work of Jesus they would need to have his mind and purpose.  We too are called to know that we have an identity in God.  And we too are called to have the mind of Christ and be about His purpose.

 

I am, you are… we are Australian!  But what is our purpose here?  No matter who we are and where we come from, there is a much deeper connection between us all, when we know, as Mother Theresa says, that we belong to each other.  And of course, the reason that we belong to each other is because we belong to God.  We are the children of God and as such, we are called by him to have his mind and be about His purpose.

 

We are one, but we are many.  There is a music term called harmony where two or more different notes are played at the same time, and it makes a beautiful sound.  This is the best example of the freedom we have in Christ and yet the one-ness.  God didn’t make us to be clones, but in all our differences and uniqueness we ARE all called to have HIS mind and be about HIS purpose.    

It isn’t just the fishermen who were given a calling.  We too are called, but we too have free will.  What of our country?  There is a calling for our country also.  Whether it is for our own personal life, our family, our town, state or country, Jesus calls us to follow him.  Not just on Sunday or in our spare time.  Come and follow me…. Leave your nets – Those fishermen didn’t stop being fishermen, but they left them to follow Jesus.  Jesus is first and foremost.  We are all called to leave our nets in the same way and follow Jesus.  Through him this world was made.  Where are you going?  The message from Jesus this day is to Leave your nets and, first and foremost, follow Him who is the life, the truth and the way. 

What's in a name.... What's in a call...?? Epiphany 2A 18th Jan 2026

2026  01  18  Epiphany 2

Isaiah 49.1-7 Psalm 40.1-14 1 Corinthians 1.1-9 John 1.29-42

 

Who am I?  Is this something you’ve ever pondered?  As I look at the modern trends where absolutely everything is encouraged to be questioned, especially among our young people, I’m not in any way surprised by the rise of mental health issues and depression.

 

Research confirms that the issue of identity is at the core of the rise in depression, and certainly, a lack of a sense of identity is linked to an increased risk and severity of depression.

 

I strongly believe the solution is here in understanding who God is and what is our identity in Christ.  We plan to study this more, this year in our Bible study, but this week’s readings also have something to say about identity.  Sometimes it might appear somewhat mysterious, but let’s look at it and discover what God says about us.

 

Before we do; my little aside is that; we can develop a sense of identity apart from God, but I believe that all apart from God is arbitrary and fallible.  When we lose our health, for example, or financial status etc… we can lose our sense of identity.  However, when we know who we are in God – nothing can sway or change that identity.

 

Therefore, here is some really great news, and it starts right from our first reading where the prophet Isaiah makes it clear that God knows us and has a call on our lives from before we were born.  There is identity 101!   

 

Isaiah’s prophecy is a typical prophecy in that there are numerous levels of meaning.  The word of God is sometimes described as being like a multi-faceted diamond, with multiple facets of fulfilment.  Isaiah’s prophecy is talking about the Messiah, but at some points it is also talking about Isaiah himself.  Then we notice that the prophecy is speaking of the nation of Israel.  As we learn about how God is so involved in the lives of his nation and His people, Israel, we glimpse that God also personally knew each of us and calls us each to his purpose as well.

 

What do you want?  What do you want from God?  John the Baptist had testified that Jesus was the Lamb of God – a somewhat mysterious statement indicating a lot from a Jewish perspective.  They knew that it was a lamb – a perfect lamb that was used to sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin.  The lamb of God indicated the sacrifice that Jesus would make to take away sin.  Some of those who followed John turned to follow Jesus.  Why?  What did they want?  Jesus asked them this question and they answered with another question, “Where are you staying?”  By asking this they were saying that they wanted to be his students.  These men were so committed to the Kingdom of God that they were willing to go and stay with Jesus so that they could learn about God.

 

To be a disciple means to be a learner.  This is what was happening here.  We are also disciples of Jesus, we are learners.  The learners stayed where Jesus stayed because that was the way to learn from a Rabbi.  They didn’t just learn from what he said, but they learnt from all that he did.  They learnt or aimed to learn to do all that he did.  This is how we are meant to be as followers of Christ also.

 

What’s in a name?  This week we are introduced to Saint Peter, but he wasn’t always known by that name.  He was simply, Simon.  

 

Jesus looks at Simon and then does something that we, English speaking readers miss.  In our English version the text says, “you are Simon, son of John.”  In the Hebrew Jesus addresses him as, “Simon, bar- Jonah.   As I was reading the text it struck me as an odd way to address Simon, therefore I did a little research.  Do you recall anyone else named Jonah?  Jonah was called to preach to the Ninevites and he tried to run away.  In doing so he boarded a ship and a great storm arose, which immediately stopped when Jonah was thrown into the sea.  Jonah was then swallowed by a whale and then spat up on the beach.  The incident is a prophecy of Jesus’ three days in the belly of the earth.  In the Gospel of Matthew, 12:39 Jesus says, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign. Yet no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah,”.   When Jesus refers to Peter with his full name, he is prophetically connecting him to the sign of Jonah, indicating that Peter will see this sign.  

 

But what about this change from Simon to Peter?  What is in a name?

 

“Sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me….” Well, I might suggest, we all know that names and labels can hurt – but they can hurt a whole lot less when we have a name that is sure and connected with our destiny….  Our destiny, which is a hope and a future, such as a future that God secures for us.  Evidence of this we see in all of those in the early church.  In reflection, I suspect, we in the present day church have lost this edge… this courage and conviction…. Perhaps we also need a name change…  we are simon-ish.

 

The name, Simon, is often theologically connected with being a reed and swayed in the breeze according to which ever way it blows.  However, the name Simon is more accurately defined as being heard or listening.   Perhaps too much is made of what Simon does or does not mean.  The important aspect of our reading today is that, from an encounter with Jesus, Simon is given a new name, and his destiny becomes connected with the call of God on his life.

 

In the book of Revelation there is a mysterious verse about names. Revelation 2:17says this ;  “… To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” 

 

When we are born and named by our family, it shows us and all who witness it that we belong.  We have a history and a future associated with our name.  At our Baptism, especially if we were baptised as an infant, the name our family have given us is stated and we are named and claimed as also belonging to God.  This is a prophetic sign of what God does…. He names us and claims us. 

 

Last week we heard that God the father said to Jesus, “This is my beloved, in whom I’m well pleased”.  Jesus was claimed as the Son of God.  We noted that the baptism of Jesus wasn’t for the forgiveness of sins, but a commitment to the kingdom of God.  However, we are baptised into Jesus, through whom we do have our sins forgiven.  He is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  Through our baptism we identify with Jesus.  It is in our baptism that we die with Christ and rise with Christ.  When God the father looks at us he sees his perfect son.  A new name that we all receive from God is the name “Jesus”. 

 

The name of “Jesus” for each of us, means that we are clothed in Christ.  The sacrifice of Jesus atones for sin and cleanses us.  St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians addresses a people who are described as being sanctified in Christ.  By Christ we are cleansed and made holy.  This is what sanctified means.  This is what it means to call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and to receive his name.

 

An important difference in the Baptism of John and the Baptism of Jesus is that John testifies that he, John, baptises with water so that Jesus, the Messiah might be revealed.  He goes on to explain that Jesus will baptise with the Holy Spirit.  The baptism that Jesus gives, baptising into or with the Holy Spirit is far superior.  It is the baptism of the Holy Spirit that sanctifies us.  It is through the Holy Spirit ever with us, that we even now have eternal life.

 

Jesus gives us his name and all who believe in him become the children of God.  We are forever connected to God and we are grafted into the family of faith – grafted into the family of Abraham – grafted into Israel – saved by the Lion of Judah.  Being part of this family gives us a deep, deep connection with the past.  Our story is connection with the creation of the universe.  Through the sacrifice of Jesus, the good news of salvation, we are assured of a glorious future.  We are called and chosen right now.  God knew us and called us from the time we were in our mother’s womb.  We have a purpose in the present.  This is a place of identity that is rock solid.  I guess, to some extent, we are all called from being Simon to grow into the future and become Peter – Rock solid in the certainty of who we are in God.

 

We all need a Simon/ Peter encounter with God.   In this name change, Peter is connected with all the great people of the Bible who God called and altered their name.  None of them were without fault or even became perfect, but their lives would never be the same, as they were forever committed to walking with God, connected to the call and love of God.