Year C Baptism of the Lord 13 January 2013
Isaiah 43: 1-7 Psalm 29 Acts 8:14-17 Luke 3: 15-22
Each of us has a name, and each of those names has a meaning and sometimes a personal meaning and a story behind our name. There are some very significant things about our name. Firstly it is something that was given to us. We didn’t get to choose our name, but we were given the name by our parents. It is interesting to note that in current society, in the absence of belief in God, many people are still having a type of Baptism for their children and they call it a “naming ceremony”. In giving a child a name we are giving it an identity and a place of belonging. We are affirming and celebrating its existence and in some ways even giving it a future of promise.
This week we celebrate the baptism of the Lord and we will find this is where God named Jesus as his son. Jesus always knew that God was his father, but yet, at his baptism God the father sees fit to declare and affirm this.
Luke 3:21,22 “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
The person of Jesus is known to us as the “Word of God” and also the “name of God”. At Jesus’ baptism we note that God the father celebrated the son, affirmed and declared that Jesus belongs to him, in very much the same way that those who would rather deny God’s existence celebrate their own children; “you are my child, whom I love; with you I am well pleased”.
Our reading from Acts explains to us about a group of people who had not yet received the Holy Spirit but they had simply been baptized into the name of Jesus.
Acts 8:15,16 “When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
Being baptized into the name of Jesus is something that all baptized believers share, but the importance is often lost. Remember what it means to be given a name? It means that we belong, are loved are affirmed and are given an identity. But what then does it mean to be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus?
We are actually baptized in the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit, but just for the moment we need to look at one simple but vitally significant aspect… that of being baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus – the Son.
To be baptized into the name of Jesus means that it is HIS name given to us as our own. Our baptism therefore, so identifies us with Jesus, that in other places in the Bible it describes it as us having died with Christ and being raised with Christ. And St. Paul declares, “It is no longer I that live, but Christ that is living in me…”
My name is Nicole. It means “victory of the people”, but I have a more important name that covers over my name and identifies me as a child of God. My personal name is important, but when it comes to spiritual things my personal name will not get me anywhere. However, the name of Jesus, into which I was baptized means that I am identified as Christ’s and covered with the identity of Jesus which means that I am now a “Son of God”, and through that identity I share the affirmation that God the father gave Jesus….. “you are my child whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Isaiah 43:6,7 “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up! ’and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
Way back in the time of Isaiah God had already made provisions for those who were, and those who would be, called by “His Name”… This is those of us who have been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. But we also remember that we are baptized into the name of the father and the Holy Spirit also. John the Baptist declares that it is Jesus who would bring this baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Luke 13;16b,17 “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
It is true that through the name of Jesus, God is well pleased with us. It is a completed mission that our debt to sin has been paid. But in our lives we do have “chaff”. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to sort this out. The Gospel goes on to describe these words of John’s as exhortations and Good News and truly it is, but not if you misunderstand.
It seems to be human nature to think that we have to earn our salvation and even when we joyfully receive Christ, and are baptized as a response to his sacrifice, we tend to then try to force our actions into something that warrants God’s reward, as if trying to actually earn our salvation.
It is the job of the Holy Spirit to burn the chaff. The Holy Spirit is our teacher and the one who convicts us of sin. If we are living in tune with God and His Holy Spirit then there is an element of being able to relax and allow him to show us where we need adjustments in our life… and this simply happens throughout the normal circumstances of our lives when our lives are connected and identified with Christ.
Isaiah 43:1-3 “43 But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;”
I love the promise of this passage. It sounds to me like the voice of God almighty speaking, who can command all the forces of nature. He can command all the forces of nature and yet he gives us free will. He doesn’t say that we will not go through rivers or through fires. These things will happen in our life that feel like a flood that overwhelms us or pain that feels like it burns us. At times we may feel drowned or burnt, but the promise of God is that those of us who are called by his name will not be harmed by the flood or fire.
Isaiah 43:4b,5b “…Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, ……………………………….. Do not be afraid, for I am with you;..”
He doesn’t say “Do not be afraid” lightly. He knows that there will be circumstances that are overwhelming and frightening, but we can be reassured of that bottom and most important line…. God loves us and is pleased with us because we are united to him in Christ. The name that covers us is “Jesus” – “God saves”.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Friday, January 4, 2013
Reflection for the three wise men!
Epiphany January 6
Isaiah 60: 1-6 Psalm 72: 1-7, 10-14 Ephesians 3: 1-12 Matthew 2: 1-12
The feast of the Epiphany stands out as that last little remnant of Christmas. The last Christmas carol to make its way into our services and one that I rather like is “We Three Kings of Orient Are”. It may be a song that tells of the travelling wise men and their gifts, but there is actually a whole lot of theology in that carol, as you find when you unpack some of the other traditional carols.
I’m pretty sure I’ve reflected in the past about the significance of the gifts that were given; Frankincense, Myrrh and Gold. The song tells us that Frankincense signified the deity of Christ and that he is God incarnate. Myrrh prophecies the ministry of his sacrifice on the cross; “myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume, breathes a life of gathering gloom. Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in a cold hard tomb”. Gold signified Jesus’ Kingship.
So this song and the gifts tell us about who Jesus is, but there is a curious element about this visit. These wise men are “outsiders”, and their part in the Christmas story has some very important messages beyond their gifts and confession of the nature of Christ.
The Jews were awaiting a Messiah. When the wise men began their travels they went first to Jerusalem to visit King Herod and find out about the facts. Perhaps they assumed that this King would be born in the palace.
Matthew 2:1-2 “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Can you imagine the surprise and alarm of Herod to hear this news? For certain we know that these men were taken seriously, so much so that Herod later ordered, in Bethlehem, the murder of all baby boys under the age of 2.
We also discover that all of Jerusalem was disturbed over the news that a King had been born:
Matthew 2:3 “When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.”
I find it interesting how there were so many who heard the story…. So many of God’s own people who heard the story, and yet it was only these outsiders who found Christ.
Somehow King Herod and the people acknowledged that this king must be the long awaited Messiah and so King Herod called together the chief priests and teachers of the law to find out all the facts that would fulfill the prophecies, and discovered that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. But Herod failed to see the significance of prophecy…. That there is a destiny that must be fulfilled, and he foolishly attempted to thwart the plans of God, but all he achieved was heartache and pain for those whose children were born at about the same time as Jesus in the region of Bethlehem. (Pain is what we bring when we unwittingly strive to thwart God’s plan also)
The wise men were warned in a dream not to tell Herod where they found the baby Jesus, so we once again see that these men are directed, led and obedient to God. They are the outsiders, but they are faithful.
The important message of the story of the wise men is that God came, called and worked through people who were not just the Israelites. We rejoice in this because, we who are not born of Jewish bloodline, have in this story the confirmation of God’s ministry within us.
In fact it should be a very loud warning to people to be aware of the way that God surprises us constantly with how big and wide his love and plan for salvation is, and how many and varied a people he can, will and does use in ministry… in fulfilling his purpose. We are so in need of His Holy Spirit to open our minds to His ways, because without it we are left guessing and cutting ourselves off from the many wonderful experiences of God’s blessing. (We do need the Holy Spirit’s gift of discernment also!!)
It is through the ministry of St. Paul, that this message of God’s salvation to the “outsiders” really became understood, and it is really only through God’s message to the “outsiders” that the more complete understanding of God’s Good News was revealed.
“Outsiders” had always been loved and part of God’s promise, right from the time of Abraham; Genesis 22:18 “and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me”.
St. Paul explains that there were mysteries in our understanding of God, but through Jesus these mysteries have been revealed and in particular the mystery of just how God is a God for all and not just the Israelites. (Gentiles = non Israelites i.e us).
Ephesians 3: 1-6 “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”
In the past the Israelites had a method of being in touch with God. It was in the fulfilling of the Law. It was through the priests and the many traditions and ceremonies that accompanied. It was only through these that the people of God felt that they could properly approach God, and sadly we are really not so different today if we don’t properly understand the gift of God.
There are still many people who think they must do a certain amount of penance, fasting or confession before they can be acceptable to God. How many people have you heard say, “The roof will fall in if I go to church”? This comes from the same understanding or should I say misunderstanding about the ways of God.
To acknowledge our unworthiness before God can be a healthy thing, but when we allow this to keep us away from him, we’ve really missed the message…. Or never truly heard it.
God’s gift to us through Jesus is His grace. St. Paul experienced God’s grace first hand and understood it by heart. St. Paul expresses a vision that God has for the Church that the Church would be a proclaimer to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm that through Jesus Christ we can approach God with freedom and confidence. I wonder if we, as church, really do proclaim this to the heavenly authorities, when we exclude people as we sometimes do, when we refuse to hear God’s message because we believe women should not preach, or when we have so many lovely dedicated people who are fearful that they are not good enough for God to accept them.
No matter who we are, Jesus Christ has brought us this grace which means we have God’s favour. We received it when we received the gift of Christ’s sacrifice; we continue to receive it with every breath that we take. It isn’t a grace that runs out, but if we refuse the grace, there is no other sacrifice left. WE HAVE TO REMAIN AWARE that we live every moment in His grace… and his one sacrifice is all that was needed.
Ephesians 3:7-12 “I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 1His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
Isaiah 60: 1-6 Psalm 72: 1-7, 10-14 Ephesians 3: 1-12 Matthew 2: 1-12
The feast of the Epiphany stands out as that last little remnant of Christmas. The last Christmas carol to make its way into our services and one that I rather like is “We Three Kings of Orient Are”. It may be a song that tells of the travelling wise men and their gifts, but there is actually a whole lot of theology in that carol, as you find when you unpack some of the other traditional carols.
I’m pretty sure I’ve reflected in the past about the significance of the gifts that were given; Frankincense, Myrrh and Gold. The song tells us that Frankincense signified the deity of Christ and that he is God incarnate. Myrrh prophecies the ministry of his sacrifice on the cross; “myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume, breathes a life of gathering gloom. Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in a cold hard tomb”. Gold signified Jesus’ Kingship.
So this song and the gifts tell us about who Jesus is, but there is a curious element about this visit. These wise men are “outsiders”, and their part in the Christmas story has some very important messages beyond their gifts and confession of the nature of Christ.
The Jews were awaiting a Messiah. When the wise men began their travels they went first to Jerusalem to visit King Herod and find out about the facts. Perhaps they assumed that this King would be born in the palace.
Matthew 2:1-2 “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Can you imagine the surprise and alarm of Herod to hear this news? For certain we know that these men were taken seriously, so much so that Herod later ordered, in Bethlehem, the murder of all baby boys under the age of 2.
We also discover that all of Jerusalem was disturbed over the news that a King had been born:
Matthew 2:3 “When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.”
I find it interesting how there were so many who heard the story…. So many of God’s own people who heard the story, and yet it was only these outsiders who found Christ.
Somehow King Herod and the people acknowledged that this king must be the long awaited Messiah and so King Herod called together the chief priests and teachers of the law to find out all the facts that would fulfill the prophecies, and discovered that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. But Herod failed to see the significance of prophecy…. That there is a destiny that must be fulfilled, and he foolishly attempted to thwart the plans of God, but all he achieved was heartache and pain for those whose children were born at about the same time as Jesus in the region of Bethlehem. (Pain is what we bring when we unwittingly strive to thwart God’s plan also)
The wise men were warned in a dream not to tell Herod where they found the baby Jesus, so we once again see that these men are directed, led and obedient to God. They are the outsiders, but they are faithful.
The important message of the story of the wise men is that God came, called and worked through people who were not just the Israelites. We rejoice in this because, we who are not born of Jewish bloodline, have in this story the confirmation of God’s ministry within us.
In fact it should be a very loud warning to people to be aware of the way that God surprises us constantly with how big and wide his love and plan for salvation is, and how many and varied a people he can, will and does use in ministry… in fulfilling his purpose. We are so in need of His Holy Spirit to open our minds to His ways, because without it we are left guessing and cutting ourselves off from the many wonderful experiences of God’s blessing. (We do need the Holy Spirit’s gift of discernment also!!)
It is through the ministry of St. Paul, that this message of God’s salvation to the “outsiders” really became understood, and it is really only through God’s message to the “outsiders” that the more complete understanding of God’s Good News was revealed.
“Outsiders” had always been loved and part of God’s promise, right from the time of Abraham; Genesis 22:18 “and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me”.
St. Paul explains that there were mysteries in our understanding of God, but through Jesus these mysteries have been revealed and in particular the mystery of just how God is a God for all and not just the Israelites. (Gentiles = non Israelites i.e us).
Ephesians 3: 1-6 “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”
In the past the Israelites had a method of being in touch with God. It was in the fulfilling of the Law. It was through the priests and the many traditions and ceremonies that accompanied. It was only through these that the people of God felt that they could properly approach God, and sadly we are really not so different today if we don’t properly understand the gift of God.
There are still many people who think they must do a certain amount of penance, fasting or confession before they can be acceptable to God. How many people have you heard say, “The roof will fall in if I go to church”? This comes from the same understanding or should I say misunderstanding about the ways of God.
To acknowledge our unworthiness before God can be a healthy thing, but when we allow this to keep us away from him, we’ve really missed the message…. Or never truly heard it.
God’s gift to us through Jesus is His grace. St. Paul experienced God’s grace first hand and understood it by heart. St. Paul expresses a vision that God has for the Church that the Church would be a proclaimer to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm that through Jesus Christ we can approach God with freedom and confidence. I wonder if we, as church, really do proclaim this to the heavenly authorities, when we exclude people as we sometimes do, when we refuse to hear God’s message because we believe women should not preach, or when we have so many lovely dedicated people who are fearful that they are not good enough for God to accept them.
No matter who we are, Jesus Christ has brought us this grace which means we have God’s favour. We received it when we received the gift of Christ’s sacrifice; we continue to receive it with every breath that we take. It isn’t a grace that runs out, but if we refuse the grace, there is no other sacrifice left. WE HAVE TO REMAIN AWARE that we live every moment in His grace… and his one sacrifice is all that was needed.
Ephesians 3:7-12 “I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 1His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Reflection on readings for 23 December 2012 Advent 4
Year C Fourth Sunday of Advent 23 December 2012
Michah 5:2-5a Luke 1:47-55 Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45, (46-55)
I wrote a Christmas song some years ago with the words; “I could wish you joy and peace and love eternally, but don’t you realize what a futile wish that would be? Joy and peace and love is there, has been and will be… what I wish, my prayer for you is your eyes opened to see….”
We’ve reached the fourth Sunday in Advent and hopefully we are all prepared to celebrate the incarnation, where God became flesh. I say this with a grin, because I suspect many of you are like me and so busy with the organizational that you probably just wish you could go on a nice quiet retreat and reflect on this truth.
We’ve heard the story each year. We know the readings of Advent. We know what it has meant in our lives in the past, but what does it mean for us right now? How does it impact our lives today?
Micah 5:4-5a “He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be our peace…”
Many times we’ve heard that God’s care for his people is like a shepherd with his flock. It isn’t like in modern Australian sheep farming, this kind of shepherd knew their flock and bonded with their flock in a way such that the shepherd could say, “my sheep know my voice…”
First question: Are we so bonded with our shepherd that we recognize his voice?
Mary was a young lady who knew the voice of God. We realize this by her declarations about God. She rejoiced in God and acknowledged him as her saviour. She knew that he is mindful of the humble, that he feeds the hungry, and that his mercy extends from generation to generations of those who fear him. She declared that he keeps his promises.
It must have been a frightening and exciting thing for Mary to realize that she had a part in the promise keeping of God. There would have been so many challenges for her as an expectant mother whose child didn’t belong to the man to which she was betrothed. I honestly don’t think I could have said, “yes” to the will of God as she did. But then again, sometimes it isn’t until we are placed in certain positions that we realize the strength with which God has gifted us.
What does it mean for us, that God keeps his promises? He has promised to come again. Do we acknowledge this reality and live our lives accordingly? All of our lives are a testimony to our beliefs….. or our doubts.
One of the gifts that God had given to Mary was a cousin who was also carrying a child whose conception was due to miraculous circumstances. The confirmation of Mary’s role in the salvation of humanity was declared by Elizabeth.
Luke 1:41-45 “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
Once again we are reminded that there was a sure promise to be fulfilled and an exhortation that there is a blessing for those who believe.
Which begs the question; What does it mean to believe?
After researching a little I discovered that the Greek word which is translated as “believe” in the Bible is a verb. This implies that to believe is an action, as opposed to a passive mental agreement.
The implication for us is that if we believe the message of Christ then our whole lives should be a testament to our belief.
To believe in the message of Jesus means that we adhere to his words, we trust in him, cling to him and rely on him. Mary, who believed that God would fulfill his promise, would surely have experience great anguish, in the many different times and with all the consequences of the promise. There was an escape to Egypt that happened in the night to escape Herod’s decree to kill all the baby boys and who knows how many other trials in the explaining to Joseph and her family about the circumstances of her condition. Yet Mary clung to, trusted in and relied on God…. She believed…. What else could she do?
But why do we believe? What is the purpose of our belief?
In our culture we often miss the message of salvation. We live with so many privileges and with so many good things. We have our faith in doctors to heal us, our government to provide for us, our legal system to keep us safe etc… we live in the here and now and rarely think about eternity unless we experience death and even then we mourn our loss and rarely think beyond to discover the complete salvation of God.
We are not the hungry or the humble in need of lifting up. We are all pretty well taught in self-promotion and probably generation x and y better than any previous generations.
Every now and then amidst the lavishness of our lives we spot our inability to control our lives and an inability to achieve and succeed and these things are a blessing in disguise, because then we just may turn our thoughts to God.
We might often feel that we are good enough for our friends and family, but in a time of failure we will realize that we are not really that good after all. And if we aren’t good enough for family and friends, how can we possibly be good enough to be accepted by God?
A barren woman, Elizabeth, felt the rejection of a society that valued mother-hood. She knew that she found acceptance by God, not because of any goodness in her – she was like a blemished lamb – not fit for the sacrifice offered to God. But Elizabeth experienced the mercy and grace of God.
We too, all have our imperfections. Though our society strives to justify our imperfections and normalize sin, the Israelites in the time of Mary and Elizabeth, were surrounded by rejection that reminded them of their fallen state. Certain places in the temple were for men only… how could a woman find the love and acceptance of God.
Those who can acknowledge their failure are those who can acknowledge their need for a saviour. The Israelites had a way of acknowledging their failure and finding acceptance by God. In many ways it mirrored the religions of those around them and required animal sacrifices to take away sin and make them acceptable to God. Modern people reading about this system find it quite crazy, but that is the system understood by the people. God used this understanding and then brought about a revelation that changed history.
Hebrews 10:8-10 “First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Jesus completely and perfectly fulfilled the will of God and he sets aside the system of sacrifices for the atonement for sin, because he completed it…. He finished it. He makes it very clear that his one sacrifice of himself was once for all.
But what does it mean for us? We know that Christ died for our sins once and for all, but how does it affect us now? Do we believe it, and is our life a testament to the amazing Good News that so few seem to fully grasp?
We have been made holy.
Ah… so you see, each time we realize our failure and we realize that we do not deserve the love and acceptance of God we can stop right there and thank God. REMEMBER this little phrase, “We have been made holy”.
Here is true freedom. What are the implications of this fact?
We have been made holy. What a celebration of life to know that we have unconditional acceptance and approval by God. I know that some have stopped me in the past because this unconditional acceptance and approval by God just seems too good to be true. But from all that I read and understand of God, this is the message I find loud and clear….
This holiness is not conditional on anything that we do, but only on what Christ did.
So…. I could wish you joy and peace and love eternally, but don’t you realize what a futile wish that would be? Joy and peace and love is there, has been and will be… what I wish, my prayer for you is your eyes opened to see.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FXQPRLc40o
Michah 5:2-5a Luke 1:47-55 Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45, (46-55)
I wrote a Christmas song some years ago with the words; “I could wish you joy and peace and love eternally, but don’t you realize what a futile wish that would be? Joy and peace and love is there, has been and will be… what I wish, my prayer for you is your eyes opened to see….”
We’ve reached the fourth Sunday in Advent and hopefully we are all prepared to celebrate the incarnation, where God became flesh. I say this with a grin, because I suspect many of you are like me and so busy with the organizational that you probably just wish you could go on a nice quiet retreat and reflect on this truth.
We’ve heard the story each year. We know the readings of Advent. We know what it has meant in our lives in the past, but what does it mean for us right now? How does it impact our lives today?
Micah 5:4-5a “He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be our peace…”
Many times we’ve heard that God’s care for his people is like a shepherd with his flock. It isn’t like in modern Australian sheep farming, this kind of shepherd knew their flock and bonded with their flock in a way such that the shepherd could say, “my sheep know my voice…”
First question: Are we so bonded with our shepherd that we recognize his voice?
Mary was a young lady who knew the voice of God. We realize this by her declarations about God. She rejoiced in God and acknowledged him as her saviour. She knew that he is mindful of the humble, that he feeds the hungry, and that his mercy extends from generation to generations of those who fear him. She declared that he keeps his promises.
It must have been a frightening and exciting thing for Mary to realize that she had a part in the promise keeping of God. There would have been so many challenges for her as an expectant mother whose child didn’t belong to the man to which she was betrothed. I honestly don’t think I could have said, “yes” to the will of God as she did. But then again, sometimes it isn’t until we are placed in certain positions that we realize the strength with which God has gifted us.
What does it mean for us, that God keeps his promises? He has promised to come again. Do we acknowledge this reality and live our lives accordingly? All of our lives are a testimony to our beliefs….. or our doubts.
One of the gifts that God had given to Mary was a cousin who was also carrying a child whose conception was due to miraculous circumstances. The confirmation of Mary’s role in the salvation of humanity was declared by Elizabeth.
Luke 1:41-45 “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
Once again we are reminded that there was a sure promise to be fulfilled and an exhortation that there is a blessing for those who believe.
Which begs the question; What does it mean to believe?
After researching a little I discovered that the Greek word which is translated as “believe” in the Bible is a verb. This implies that to believe is an action, as opposed to a passive mental agreement.
The implication for us is that if we believe the message of Christ then our whole lives should be a testament to our belief.
To believe in the message of Jesus means that we adhere to his words, we trust in him, cling to him and rely on him. Mary, who believed that God would fulfill his promise, would surely have experience great anguish, in the many different times and with all the consequences of the promise. There was an escape to Egypt that happened in the night to escape Herod’s decree to kill all the baby boys and who knows how many other trials in the explaining to Joseph and her family about the circumstances of her condition. Yet Mary clung to, trusted in and relied on God…. She believed…. What else could she do?
But why do we believe? What is the purpose of our belief?
In our culture we often miss the message of salvation. We live with so many privileges and with so many good things. We have our faith in doctors to heal us, our government to provide for us, our legal system to keep us safe etc… we live in the here and now and rarely think about eternity unless we experience death and even then we mourn our loss and rarely think beyond to discover the complete salvation of God.
We are not the hungry or the humble in need of lifting up. We are all pretty well taught in self-promotion and probably generation x and y better than any previous generations.
Every now and then amidst the lavishness of our lives we spot our inability to control our lives and an inability to achieve and succeed and these things are a blessing in disguise, because then we just may turn our thoughts to God.
We might often feel that we are good enough for our friends and family, but in a time of failure we will realize that we are not really that good after all. And if we aren’t good enough for family and friends, how can we possibly be good enough to be accepted by God?
A barren woman, Elizabeth, felt the rejection of a society that valued mother-hood. She knew that she found acceptance by God, not because of any goodness in her – she was like a blemished lamb – not fit for the sacrifice offered to God. But Elizabeth experienced the mercy and grace of God.
We too, all have our imperfections. Though our society strives to justify our imperfections and normalize sin, the Israelites in the time of Mary and Elizabeth, were surrounded by rejection that reminded them of their fallen state. Certain places in the temple were for men only… how could a woman find the love and acceptance of God.
Those who can acknowledge their failure are those who can acknowledge their need for a saviour. The Israelites had a way of acknowledging their failure and finding acceptance by God. In many ways it mirrored the religions of those around them and required animal sacrifices to take away sin and make them acceptable to God. Modern people reading about this system find it quite crazy, but that is the system understood by the people. God used this understanding and then brought about a revelation that changed history.
Hebrews 10:8-10 “First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Jesus completely and perfectly fulfilled the will of God and he sets aside the system of sacrifices for the atonement for sin, because he completed it…. He finished it. He makes it very clear that his one sacrifice of himself was once for all.
But what does it mean for us? We know that Christ died for our sins once and for all, but how does it affect us now? Do we believe it, and is our life a testament to the amazing Good News that so few seem to fully grasp?
We have been made holy.
Ah… so you see, each time we realize our failure and we realize that we do not deserve the love and acceptance of God we can stop right there and thank God. REMEMBER this little phrase, “We have been made holy”.
Here is true freedom. What are the implications of this fact?
We have been made holy. What a celebration of life to know that we have unconditional acceptance and approval by God. I know that some have stopped me in the past because this unconditional acceptance and approval by God just seems too good to be true. But from all that I read and understand of God, this is the message I find loud and clear….
This holiness is not conditional on anything that we do, but only on what Christ did.
So…. I could wish you joy and peace and love eternally, but don’t you realize what a futile wish that would be? Joy and peace and love is there, has been and will be… what I wish, my prayer for you is your eyes opened to see.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FXQPRLc40o
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Readings for 2nd Week in Advent
JUST CALL ME JOHN!
Luke 3:6 "And all people will see God's salvation"
Lately I've come to realize that I'm a bit "strung out". The signs of that, are that I seem unable to cope with things going wrong.... and things DO go wrong. So what has this got to do with this weeks readings?
Malachai 3:2-3 " But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,"
As we travel through this Advent season, preparing for Christmas, we not only remember and celebrate the coming of the Lord as the baby Jesus, but we recall that He will come again. We remind ourselves that we have a faith that is alive and happening, something with a promise for the future and not just a past story which serves as a moral guide.
Most of us don't spend too much time thinking about this future aspect of Christ's coming and just a few actually really look forward to it, which always amuses me, because of the verses of scripture, such as this one from Malachai, which are very clear that there is a refining process. I tend to think a refiners fire will be anything but comfortable!
So here I am, complaining about every little thing that goes wrong. How would I ever stand up to the refiners fire? I can tell you now exactly how..... I'll grumble and complain like crazy, just like now, not realizing that the hand of God is behind it all.
Phillipians 1:3-6 "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
We are all a work in progress. One of the aspects that I love about scripture prophecy is that they have an application for the Messianic period (the time of Jesus on earth year 0-33 AD approx.) aswell as for end times and as well as for the contemporary situation.
We are being refined as we speak (read / write). There are people and situations in our lives that are preparing us for the coming of Jesus. We could call them "John". It was the role of John the Baptist to be the messenger of God to prepare the way for the Lord, but in our lives there is another with the role that John had. We can sometimes be like the Pharisees and not see. Some would say that they refused to see that John was that great prophet, but in reality it was way more complicated than that.
The Pharisees were the religious people who knew the scriptures. They knew them so well and were very comfortable with how they opperated in their own tradition, but when someone was a little different.... well it just didn't seem like it was God talking. These people knew the law of God, the Torah, and they saw themselves as the authority on how to have your sins forgiven and live a godly life. The law required sacrifices for sin to make atonement. I have no doubt they thought the baptism of John was superflous and unnecessary... and undermining their ministry.
I would imagine the ministry of John irritated the pharisees. Do you know of anyone or thing that irritates you? Perhaps there is a message in the irratation that will actually help prepare you for the coming of the Lord???
The Pharisees were the "keepers" of the law. Who was John?
John was the son of a Priest. He was born under miraculous circumstances and he was a prophet. In fact John's very name was prophetic and stands in vast contrast to the role of the Pharisees. When John was named, the people were surprised that he wasn't named after his father, but his father was told what to name him - THEREFORE, his very name was part of the message of God that John would herald. John means "God is gracious".
Luke 3:2-3 "during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins."
The Pharisees had prescribed sacrifices for sin atonement, but John came preaching that the people needed to repent and be baptised for the forgiveness of sin. Can you understand why the Pharisees were suspicious of John?
The baptism of John was a call to "change your mind". The Greek word for repent means to "change your mind". This means that those who heard John's message were convinced that they were sinners and needed to be "washed" clean. Although this wasn't something usually done by the Jews for forgiveness of sins, ritual washing was something cultural, and required for certain circumstances and understood as a sign of the covenant with God.
As Christians, our denominational disagreements over the aspects of baptism show that our understanding is limited.
To understand the message that John proclaimed we need to look at the prophecy of his father:
Luke 1:76-79 "And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
We know that John was a prophet who prepared the way for the ministry of Jesus. There is something to be said about this also. How many of us perform some ministry simply as preparation for someone else to build on?
John began the message of the forgiveness of sins because of the tender mercy of God. Although John is usually portrayed as a confrontational kind of person, his message was about the grace and love of God.
The grace of God would come like the rising sun shining on those living in darkness and in the valley of the shadow of death. The valley of the shadow of death is the reality of our condition under the law. These people knew the commandments and knew that they sinned. Having God's law revealed to them, had meant that they were aware of the many ways in which they failed to keep the law. Sadly, like many Christians today, although the love of God had also been revealed to them, the people lived with the knowlege that they were separated from God by sin.
St Paul writes about the Law: Romans 7:10 "I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death."
Sadly, as I said, there are many Christians who have not grasped the Good News of God's salvation. They've heard it, but haven't fully understood it.
Most of us live with the understanding that if you are good enough, you make the grade and if you are not - you fail, you lose. We transfer this to our relationship with God. EVEN, when we know that Christ died for our sins, and we accept his salvation, we then go back to trying to earn his favour. This is what it actually means to fall from GRACE!
Galations 5:4 "For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace.
NOW, here is the GOOD NEWS, and the message of the Gospel this week: "John" - God is gracious. Grace meaning, undeserved favour.
Oh... but there is more fantastic news: The refiner's fire is already at work in our lives. The Holy Spirit is "a" coming of Jesus and almost unconsciously the Holy Spirit is refining us through our everyday circumstances.... even when we grumble about it.
The Holy Spirit is a "John" in our lives. It is a message of God's grace. When the refiner refines, he does it! The object being refined does nothing but does become purified in the refiners hand.
Undeserved favour means we have God's attention as if we were His only child. To begin this process we acknowledged that we are sinners in need of forgiveness and unable to help ourselves - We accepted the salvation of Jesus Christ. To continue the process we continue to acknowledge that we are sinners in need of forgiveness and unable to help ourselves. As soon as we think we can help God out by keeping the law by ourselves we fall from Grace and straight into heresy and walk again in the valley of the shadow of death... maybe into death itself.
In our lives we have the Holy Spirit preparing us, but we are called to also prepare the way for others. Not by telling them to keep God's law, because that would mean we are just a new version of the Pharisees. We prepare the way for Christ's second coming for others by being "John" - declaring that God is gracious and full of tender mercy. Yes this does mean that people need to change their mind about their need for God - they need to realize that we all are sinners, but there is very Good News; God is gracious.
I want to leave you with one more thought. I would like you to imagine that these are the prophetic words said to you:
Luke 1:76-79 "And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
Luke 3:6 "And all people will see God's salvation"
Lately I've come to realize that I'm a bit "strung out". The signs of that, are that I seem unable to cope with things going wrong.... and things DO go wrong. So what has this got to do with this weeks readings?
Malachai 3:2-3 " But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,"
As we travel through this Advent season, preparing for Christmas, we not only remember and celebrate the coming of the Lord as the baby Jesus, but we recall that He will come again. We remind ourselves that we have a faith that is alive and happening, something with a promise for the future and not just a past story which serves as a moral guide.
Most of us don't spend too much time thinking about this future aspect of Christ's coming and just a few actually really look forward to it, which always amuses me, because of the verses of scripture, such as this one from Malachai, which are very clear that there is a refining process. I tend to think a refiners fire will be anything but comfortable!
So here I am, complaining about every little thing that goes wrong. How would I ever stand up to the refiners fire? I can tell you now exactly how..... I'll grumble and complain like crazy, just like now, not realizing that the hand of God is behind it all.
Phillipians 1:3-6 "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
We are all a work in progress. One of the aspects that I love about scripture prophecy is that they have an application for the Messianic period (the time of Jesus on earth year 0-33 AD approx.) aswell as for end times and as well as for the contemporary situation.
We are being refined as we speak (read / write). There are people and situations in our lives that are preparing us for the coming of Jesus. We could call them "John". It was the role of John the Baptist to be the messenger of God to prepare the way for the Lord, but in our lives there is another with the role that John had. We can sometimes be like the Pharisees and not see. Some would say that they refused to see that John was that great prophet, but in reality it was way more complicated than that.
The Pharisees were the religious people who knew the scriptures. They knew them so well and were very comfortable with how they opperated in their own tradition, but when someone was a little different.... well it just didn't seem like it was God talking. These people knew the law of God, the Torah, and they saw themselves as the authority on how to have your sins forgiven and live a godly life. The law required sacrifices for sin to make atonement. I have no doubt they thought the baptism of John was superflous and unnecessary... and undermining their ministry.
I would imagine the ministry of John irritated the pharisees. Do you know of anyone or thing that irritates you? Perhaps there is a message in the irratation that will actually help prepare you for the coming of the Lord???
The Pharisees were the "keepers" of the law. Who was John?
John was the son of a Priest. He was born under miraculous circumstances and he was a prophet. In fact John's very name was prophetic and stands in vast contrast to the role of the Pharisees. When John was named, the people were surprised that he wasn't named after his father, but his father was told what to name him - THEREFORE, his very name was part of the message of God that John would herald. John means "God is gracious".
Luke 3:2-3 "during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins."
The Pharisees had prescribed sacrifices for sin atonement, but John came preaching that the people needed to repent and be baptised for the forgiveness of sin. Can you understand why the Pharisees were suspicious of John?
The baptism of John was a call to "change your mind". The Greek word for repent means to "change your mind". This means that those who heard John's message were convinced that they were sinners and needed to be "washed" clean. Although this wasn't something usually done by the Jews for forgiveness of sins, ritual washing was something cultural, and required for certain circumstances and understood as a sign of the covenant with God.
As Christians, our denominational disagreements over the aspects of baptism show that our understanding is limited.
To understand the message that John proclaimed we need to look at the prophecy of his father:
Luke 1:76-79 "And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
We know that John was a prophet who prepared the way for the ministry of Jesus. There is something to be said about this also. How many of us perform some ministry simply as preparation for someone else to build on?
John began the message of the forgiveness of sins because of the tender mercy of God. Although John is usually portrayed as a confrontational kind of person, his message was about the grace and love of God.
The grace of God would come like the rising sun shining on those living in darkness and in the valley of the shadow of death. The valley of the shadow of death is the reality of our condition under the law. These people knew the commandments and knew that they sinned. Having God's law revealed to them, had meant that they were aware of the many ways in which they failed to keep the law. Sadly, like many Christians today, although the love of God had also been revealed to them, the people lived with the knowlege that they were separated from God by sin.
St Paul writes about the Law: Romans 7:10 "I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death."
Sadly, as I said, there are many Christians who have not grasped the Good News of God's salvation. They've heard it, but haven't fully understood it.
Most of us live with the understanding that if you are good enough, you make the grade and if you are not - you fail, you lose. We transfer this to our relationship with God. EVEN, when we know that Christ died for our sins, and we accept his salvation, we then go back to trying to earn his favour. This is what it actually means to fall from GRACE!
Galations 5:4 "For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace.
NOW, here is the GOOD NEWS, and the message of the Gospel this week: "John" - God is gracious. Grace meaning, undeserved favour.
Oh... but there is more fantastic news: The refiner's fire is already at work in our lives. The Holy Spirit is "a" coming of Jesus and almost unconsciously the Holy Spirit is refining us through our everyday circumstances.... even when we grumble about it.
The Holy Spirit is a "John" in our lives. It is a message of God's grace. When the refiner refines, he does it! The object being refined does nothing but does become purified in the refiners hand.
Undeserved favour means we have God's attention as if we were His only child. To begin this process we acknowledged that we are sinners in need of forgiveness and unable to help ourselves - We accepted the salvation of Jesus Christ. To continue the process we continue to acknowledge that we are sinners in need of forgiveness and unable to help ourselves. As soon as we think we can help God out by keeping the law by ourselves we fall from Grace and straight into heresy and walk again in the valley of the shadow of death... maybe into death itself.
In our lives we have the Holy Spirit preparing us, but we are called to also prepare the way for others. Not by telling them to keep God's law, because that would mean we are just a new version of the Pharisees. We prepare the way for Christ's second coming for others by being "John" - declaring that God is gracious and full of tender mercy. Yes this does mean that people need to change their mind about their need for God - they need to realize that we all are sinners, but there is very Good News; God is gracious.
I want to leave you with one more thought. I would like you to imagine that these are the prophetic words said to you:
Luke 1:76-79 "And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Reflection for 25 Nov 2012
Year B Proper 29 - Reign of Christ 25 November 2012
2 Samuel 23:1-7 Psalm 132: 1-12, (13-18) Revelation 1:4b-8 John 18:33-37
Tonight was the night! Brittany has been counting down the hours for the last couple of days..... It was the return of the television series Once Upon A Time. The last series finished with the curse being broken. With the curse broken, the characters remembered who they are and the heroine, Emma, who was sent into the real world as a baby, seemingly abandoned by her parents, realized that she was actually a princess. While everyone else rejoiced, Emma was the only one who seemed like she’d lost something. The others had all found their true identity, but for Emma to embrace her true identity meant letting go of all she’d ever known.
I think that many of us also have an identity crisis. We don’t realize who we really are.
Revelation 1:5b-6a “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”
We belong to a kingdom and we are priests – all of us- to serve God. Most of us would acknowledge that this is right but most of us are more comfortable with the God who serves us and we like to say, “Thank-you God for salvation” and for the good stuff, and perhaps chat with him every now and then, but we certainly don’t think of ourselves as priests in a kingdom that serves God.
But there is more to our identity than this, because through our union with Christ we are heirs of this kingdom.
Jesus had a sign nailed to the cross above him which read, “King of the Jews”. The Jews objected to this but Pilate may have known something, because he insisted that this be the wording. In actual fact what Pilate ordered be written was prophetically accurate.
2 Samuel 23:2-4 ““The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning,”
I have always wondered about that old argument about keeping church and state separate. I have no answer, as it is complicated, but certainly we know that when one rules over people in the fear of God it is a great thing. Many times in the history of the Israelite nation they were taken captive by foreign kings, and many of these were actually good men who came to serve (in some manner) God as revealed through and often because of the King’s interactions with the Israelite nation.
Recently I did some research and found out some interesting things about Jesus and about the role of the messiah. It is well known among the Jewish people that the messiah is to be of the house of David, but did you know that to be able to claim to be the messiah, he must be able to prove his kingly line? And did you know that since the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, records were destroyed, implying that the messiah had to have been born before then?
In two of the Gospels we have the record of the genealogy of Jesus. Common understanding is that one of the records is of Mary’s genealogy and the other is of Joseph’s. Both are of the line of David, but one is directly the kingly line. So it would seem that even in a very earthly and physical way, Jesus was the king of the Jews. I found lots of great stuff.... but I’ll leave that for another time...
Psalm 132:2-5 “He swore an oath to the LORD, he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob: “I will not enter my house or go to my bed, I will allow no sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, till I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
King David spoke these words. His first priority was to God. This was a king who understood that he himself was part of a kingdom, and that he and his kingdom were there to serve God. It may have been easier for David to grasp the concept because he was a king, but he wasn’t born a king and even as the youngest, smallest and least significant of his family, he seemed to grasp that he was of God’s royal line.
John 18:36- 37 “Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.””
Jesus knew who he was. He didn’t need to prove it because the evidence spoke for itself, but he also declared that his kingdom was from another place. In the words of Jesus we find no doubts and maybes. He knows who he is and he always did. We recall the time he was in the temple at the age of 12 and telling his parents that he would be about his father’s business, meaning that God was his father. Jesus did not deny the fatherhood he had in Joseph, but the deeper reality was that God is his father.
We are the opposite of Jesus. We live lives that are grounded in the here and now and although we profess to have faith in God our lives bare testament to our doubts. How is it possible that Jesus could live without doubt, and so sure of his identity?
Sometimes it is easiest to find the answer by looking at fairytales like Once Upon A Time. Jesus, like a few of the characters, had grown up always knowing who he was. Some of the fairytale characters forgot who they were, but once the curse was lifted they remembered and fell easily back into their own identity, but Emma is a lot more like the majority who struggle with their true identity. She had lived all her life in a world apart from her birth place..... and that world denied the existence of her birth place.
We live in a world that denies our true identity.... a world that denies God exists. It is hard to remember who we really are while we surround ourselves with this world of denial and doubt. This is one very good reason for being in community with other Christians. When we go to church or meet with other Christians we are reminding ourselves where our true home is and who we really are.
Revelations 1:7-8 ““Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.””
Why will the people of the earth mourn because of the return of Jesus? It won’t just be those who physically pierced him who will mourn, but ALL peoples on the earth. I can only guess, but I would be mourning if I had forgotten my place in the kingdom of God. If I was found to be living as if removed from the reality of God, and then God interrupted my life, I would be disappointed in myself.
It’s time now to rethink our lives. In what ways are we living as children of the King, and how should we be living if we are living in the reality that we are children of the king?
2 Samuel 23:1-7 Psalm 132: 1-12, (13-18) Revelation 1:4b-8 John 18:33-37
Tonight was the night! Brittany has been counting down the hours for the last couple of days..... It was the return of the television series Once Upon A Time. The last series finished with the curse being broken. With the curse broken, the characters remembered who they are and the heroine, Emma, who was sent into the real world as a baby, seemingly abandoned by her parents, realized that she was actually a princess. While everyone else rejoiced, Emma was the only one who seemed like she’d lost something. The others had all found their true identity, but for Emma to embrace her true identity meant letting go of all she’d ever known.
I think that many of us also have an identity crisis. We don’t realize who we really are.
Revelation 1:5b-6a “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”
We belong to a kingdom and we are priests – all of us- to serve God. Most of us would acknowledge that this is right but most of us are more comfortable with the God who serves us and we like to say, “Thank-you God for salvation” and for the good stuff, and perhaps chat with him every now and then, but we certainly don’t think of ourselves as priests in a kingdom that serves God.
But there is more to our identity than this, because through our union with Christ we are heirs of this kingdom.
Jesus had a sign nailed to the cross above him which read, “King of the Jews”. The Jews objected to this but Pilate may have known something, because he insisted that this be the wording. In actual fact what Pilate ordered be written was prophetically accurate.
2 Samuel 23:2-4 ““The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning,”
I have always wondered about that old argument about keeping church and state separate. I have no answer, as it is complicated, but certainly we know that when one rules over people in the fear of God it is a great thing. Many times in the history of the Israelite nation they were taken captive by foreign kings, and many of these were actually good men who came to serve (in some manner) God as revealed through and often because of the King’s interactions with the Israelite nation.
Recently I did some research and found out some interesting things about Jesus and about the role of the messiah. It is well known among the Jewish people that the messiah is to be of the house of David, but did you know that to be able to claim to be the messiah, he must be able to prove his kingly line? And did you know that since the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, records were destroyed, implying that the messiah had to have been born before then?
In two of the Gospels we have the record of the genealogy of Jesus. Common understanding is that one of the records is of Mary’s genealogy and the other is of Joseph’s. Both are of the line of David, but one is directly the kingly line. So it would seem that even in a very earthly and physical way, Jesus was the king of the Jews. I found lots of great stuff.... but I’ll leave that for another time...
Psalm 132:2-5 “He swore an oath to the LORD, he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob: “I will not enter my house or go to my bed, I will allow no sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, till I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
King David spoke these words. His first priority was to God. This was a king who understood that he himself was part of a kingdom, and that he and his kingdom were there to serve God. It may have been easier for David to grasp the concept because he was a king, but he wasn’t born a king and even as the youngest, smallest and least significant of his family, he seemed to grasp that he was of God’s royal line.
John 18:36- 37 “Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.””
Jesus knew who he was. He didn’t need to prove it because the evidence spoke for itself, but he also declared that his kingdom was from another place. In the words of Jesus we find no doubts and maybes. He knows who he is and he always did. We recall the time he was in the temple at the age of 12 and telling his parents that he would be about his father’s business, meaning that God was his father. Jesus did not deny the fatherhood he had in Joseph, but the deeper reality was that God is his father.
We are the opposite of Jesus. We live lives that are grounded in the here and now and although we profess to have faith in God our lives bare testament to our doubts. How is it possible that Jesus could live without doubt, and so sure of his identity?
Sometimes it is easiest to find the answer by looking at fairytales like Once Upon A Time. Jesus, like a few of the characters, had grown up always knowing who he was. Some of the fairytale characters forgot who they were, but once the curse was lifted they remembered and fell easily back into their own identity, but Emma is a lot more like the majority who struggle with their true identity. She had lived all her life in a world apart from her birth place..... and that world denied the existence of her birth place.
We live in a world that denies our true identity.... a world that denies God exists. It is hard to remember who we really are while we surround ourselves with this world of denial and doubt. This is one very good reason for being in community with other Christians. When we go to church or meet with other Christians we are reminding ourselves where our true home is and who we really are.
Revelations 1:7-8 ““Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.””
Why will the people of the earth mourn because of the return of Jesus? It won’t just be those who physically pierced him who will mourn, but ALL peoples on the earth. I can only guess, but I would be mourning if I had forgotten my place in the kingdom of God. If I was found to be living as if removed from the reality of God, and then God interrupted my life, I would be disappointed in myself.
It’s time now to rethink our lives. In what ways are we living as children of the King, and how should we be living if we are living in the reality that we are children of the king?
Friday, November 16, 2012
Reflection on readings for 18th November 2012
Year B Proper 28 18 November 2012
1 Samuel 1: 4-20 1 Samuel 2:1-10 Hebrews 10: 11-14, (15-18), 19-25 Mark 13: 1-811
Last week I arrived home from Cairns by plane, feeling very hungry after waiting through various travel delays, so instead of going straight home, I was driven into town. As I got out of the car I noted and said out loud, “something is wrong”. It coincided with hearing sirens, but I think I felt the sense that something was very wrong even before hearing sirens. Also, hearing sirens is not unusual and it seemed that something more was going on…. Something I couldn’t, and still can’t put my finger on, but just that something was very wrong.
As it happened, we discovered later that the sirens were because someone had started a fire at the Toys R Us building on the north side of town. I still am left pondering why I felt so strongly that something was wrong. Yes, something was wrong, but what is it that God is trying to tell me through it all, and what was really going on in the spiritual realm that overflowed dramatically into the physical?
I’ve said recently that the Israelite history was one of asking “Why?”, and we find that many Old Testament accounts of the Israelites not only tell us the happenings of our Bible characters, but give an account how God was involved. It is a coming together of the spiritual and the physical in order to show the deeper truth.
Our readings this week leave me with a similar sense to that which I felt last Saturday when the fire was blazing. There is a sense of drama and danger, and it would be easy to get swept up in fear. It is one of the many parts of the Bible that many would prefer to skim over, but it is there for a reason and the sense of drama and danger should alert us to the fact that this is something to take note of as important.
Mark 13:5-8 “Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.”
Our Gospel reading is quite long and with important warnings. Firstly we are told to watch out that no one deceives us. We think that we are clever enough not to be deceived and we’ve known that those who claimed to know the date for the world to end or Jesus’ return, were fakes, but this is a very real warning from Jesus to his closest followers. I suspect the reason for the warning is that the deceivers will become way harder to spot. These ‘end of the world’ fakes are likely there to serve the purpose of lulling us into a false sense of security, thinking we can spot the fakes, so that we will be off guard when a real deception presents itself.
When someone wants to make counterfeit money they will study the real thing. It is likely that the deceptions that we need to look out for are among our churches already, walking and talking like fair dinkum Christians. They will probably know the Bible and church history better than any of us. So how can we know that we won’t be deceived?
1 Samuel 1:12-16 “As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”
“Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”
What we learn from our first reading is that looks are deceiving! I wonder if you have ever had the experience of thinking that a particular person was not nice and then actually got to meet that particular person and found out how wrong you had been. I have been guilty of this – at least two examples come to mind where I have been so wrong.
Our Old Testament reading tell the account of Hannah who was married to a man who had two wives. Hannah was loved, but had no children. This fact was great material for her rival wife who tormented her about it. I wonder if the rival wife, Penninah would have been so cruel if she had realized this woman would be the mother of one of Israel’s great prophets. But Penninah wasn’t the only one to judge Hannah cruelly. Eli was the high priest and although he had wicked sons which he should have chastised and didn’t, he had no hesitation in chastising this heartbroken woman. The good news is that Hannah had opportunity to explain herself and Eli prayed that God might grant her request, which He did.
There is something more we learn about Hannah. She was a woman of her word. She prayed that if God gave her a son she would give him to God for all of his days. It must have been so for Hannah, because when Samuel was a small boy he was given to Eli to serve him and to serve God.
I think that we are way more inclined to reject the people we should be accepting than we are to reject the teaching that we should be rejecting. We reject and judge people who are God’s chosen, but we seem to accept teaching that is popular fairly readily, sometimes simply because of who it is that teaches it, rather than if it is the truth.
I remember attending a weekend with some theology students where the lecturer was a catholic priest. His teaching was heresy, but most seemed to be lapping up his every word as if it was something fabulous. It was fabulously clever and combined science and faith and appealed to the intellectual Christian who wanted to be seen to be intelligent, but I have no doubt and no hesitation in telling you all that it was complete heresy.
So this begs the question, how can we know that we are not being deceived?
Hebrews 10:15- 16“15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”[Jer 31:33]”
By the gift of the Holy Spirit, God writes his law in our hearts and on our minds. Sometimes it starts as a gut feeling that something is not right and then we need to look further. If we are like Hannah and striving to be faithful to God and in relationship with him, i.e. he lives in us, then we need to know that a gut feeling telling us something isn’t right is the Holy Spirit telling us truth. This is how God’s Spirit communicates with us, but to expose the falsehood we need something more tangible…. We need to be familiar with the word of God.
There are some who will tell you that the word of God is all you need in order to know God’s truth, but those who deceive often use the word of God. You may remember that Satan tempted Jesus in the desert by quoting scripture. He told Jesus the truth…. “If you are the son of God you can turn these rocks to bread.” It was true, but it wasn’t God’s will and it was with the Spirit of God to discern the will of God and with another scripture truth that Jesus was able to resist Satan’s attack.
Hebrews tells us that by one sacrifice, Jesus made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Why is it important that we know this? Because so many of us feel that we can’t be too close to God because we feel unworthy. This unworthy feeling prevents us from knowing all that we can about God and being able to discern the truth. But the truth is that while we are physically being made holy by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, we are spiritually made perfect by the sacrifice of Jesus. This means that there is nothing to separate us from God except our own ignorance of the gift he has given.
I wonder if you have come in contact with the kind of person who uses scripture to condemn you? There is plenty in the Bible that does condemn us…. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…. There are many of God’s laws that can witness against us, but if we understand that we are in need of a saviour and that a saviour has been given then who can condemn us…. God is for us and our debt has been paid.
Hebrews 10: 19-22a “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings”
Mark 13: 20 – 23““If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.”
I remember a girl I knew, who went on a bus trip to see a new leader who had risen in the church. On the trip she said they all saw the sun dance in the sky….. it was a miracle. It is so important to know that just because something is real and supernatural, it is not necessarily from God and not necessarily good. It was discovered later that this particular leader was setting up a cult.
From the experiences I’ve had with wonderful Christian people it is clear that it isn’t too hard to be deceived by these seemingly knowledgeable false prophets, and it is important to be constantly checking ourselves to see if we are accepting false teaching. It is vital that we remain connected to the church to keep a check on ourselves and our influences. Although these false prophets and teachings can and do come through the church, in the broader church body these are usually sorted out and found out for what they truly are. And so, as we are exhorted in the letter to the Hebrews, let’s not give up meeting together and let’s consider how we can spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
The warning that is repeated in the Gospel is that we must “watch”. We are the “watchmen” and if we compare this to the watchmen of the Bible it gives us a clear picture of someone patrolling up and down and back and forth…. There may not be any attack, but neither is there any sleeping. It is a constant dedication to keep all safe from harm. We have been given an amazing gift; the assurance that our spiritual debt is paid and now we are united with God and have him living in and through us. This is a truth which saw St. Paul stand up against St. Peter to proclaim that we are saved by faith and not by works…. It is Good News that needs proclamation and protection. We need to protect the message of the Good News, because any other Gospel is not Good News and not truth and makes Christ’s sacrifice to be pointless.
Watch! There are plenty of false teachings out there, but do you know them? Can you spot them? AND what do you need to do in order to discern?
1 Samuel 1: 4-20 1 Samuel 2:1-10 Hebrews 10: 11-14, (15-18), 19-25 Mark 13: 1-811
Last week I arrived home from Cairns by plane, feeling very hungry after waiting through various travel delays, so instead of going straight home, I was driven into town. As I got out of the car I noted and said out loud, “something is wrong”. It coincided with hearing sirens, but I think I felt the sense that something was very wrong even before hearing sirens. Also, hearing sirens is not unusual and it seemed that something more was going on…. Something I couldn’t, and still can’t put my finger on, but just that something was very wrong.
As it happened, we discovered later that the sirens were because someone had started a fire at the Toys R Us building on the north side of town. I still am left pondering why I felt so strongly that something was wrong. Yes, something was wrong, but what is it that God is trying to tell me through it all, and what was really going on in the spiritual realm that overflowed dramatically into the physical?
I’ve said recently that the Israelite history was one of asking “Why?”, and we find that many Old Testament accounts of the Israelites not only tell us the happenings of our Bible characters, but give an account how God was involved. It is a coming together of the spiritual and the physical in order to show the deeper truth.
Our readings this week leave me with a similar sense to that which I felt last Saturday when the fire was blazing. There is a sense of drama and danger, and it would be easy to get swept up in fear. It is one of the many parts of the Bible that many would prefer to skim over, but it is there for a reason and the sense of drama and danger should alert us to the fact that this is something to take note of as important.
Mark 13:5-8 “Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.”
Our Gospel reading is quite long and with important warnings. Firstly we are told to watch out that no one deceives us. We think that we are clever enough not to be deceived and we’ve known that those who claimed to know the date for the world to end or Jesus’ return, were fakes, but this is a very real warning from Jesus to his closest followers. I suspect the reason for the warning is that the deceivers will become way harder to spot. These ‘end of the world’ fakes are likely there to serve the purpose of lulling us into a false sense of security, thinking we can spot the fakes, so that we will be off guard when a real deception presents itself.
When someone wants to make counterfeit money they will study the real thing. It is likely that the deceptions that we need to look out for are among our churches already, walking and talking like fair dinkum Christians. They will probably know the Bible and church history better than any of us. So how can we know that we won’t be deceived?
1 Samuel 1:12-16 “As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”
“Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.”
What we learn from our first reading is that looks are deceiving! I wonder if you have ever had the experience of thinking that a particular person was not nice and then actually got to meet that particular person and found out how wrong you had been. I have been guilty of this – at least two examples come to mind where I have been so wrong.
Our Old Testament reading tell the account of Hannah who was married to a man who had two wives. Hannah was loved, but had no children. This fact was great material for her rival wife who tormented her about it. I wonder if the rival wife, Penninah would have been so cruel if she had realized this woman would be the mother of one of Israel’s great prophets. But Penninah wasn’t the only one to judge Hannah cruelly. Eli was the high priest and although he had wicked sons which he should have chastised and didn’t, he had no hesitation in chastising this heartbroken woman. The good news is that Hannah had opportunity to explain herself and Eli prayed that God might grant her request, which He did.
There is something more we learn about Hannah. She was a woman of her word. She prayed that if God gave her a son she would give him to God for all of his days. It must have been so for Hannah, because when Samuel was a small boy he was given to Eli to serve him and to serve God.
I think that we are way more inclined to reject the people we should be accepting than we are to reject the teaching that we should be rejecting. We reject and judge people who are God’s chosen, but we seem to accept teaching that is popular fairly readily, sometimes simply because of who it is that teaches it, rather than if it is the truth.
I remember attending a weekend with some theology students where the lecturer was a catholic priest. His teaching was heresy, but most seemed to be lapping up his every word as if it was something fabulous. It was fabulously clever and combined science and faith and appealed to the intellectual Christian who wanted to be seen to be intelligent, but I have no doubt and no hesitation in telling you all that it was complete heresy.
So this begs the question, how can we know that we are not being deceived?
Hebrews 10:15- 16“15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”[Jer 31:33]”
By the gift of the Holy Spirit, God writes his law in our hearts and on our minds. Sometimes it starts as a gut feeling that something is not right and then we need to look further. If we are like Hannah and striving to be faithful to God and in relationship with him, i.e. he lives in us, then we need to know that a gut feeling telling us something isn’t right is the Holy Spirit telling us truth. This is how God’s Spirit communicates with us, but to expose the falsehood we need something more tangible…. We need to be familiar with the word of God.
There are some who will tell you that the word of God is all you need in order to know God’s truth, but those who deceive often use the word of God. You may remember that Satan tempted Jesus in the desert by quoting scripture. He told Jesus the truth…. “If you are the son of God you can turn these rocks to bread.” It was true, but it wasn’t God’s will and it was with the Spirit of God to discern the will of God and with another scripture truth that Jesus was able to resist Satan’s attack.
Hebrews tells us that by one sacrifice, Jesus made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Why is it important that we know this? Because so many of us feel that we can’t be too close to God because we feel unworthy. This unworthy feeling prevents us from knowing all that we can about God and being able to discern the truth. But the truth is that while we are physically being made holy by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, we are spiritually made perfect by the sacrifice of Jesus. This means that there is nothing to separate us from God except our own ignorance of the gift he has given.
I wonder if you have come in contact with the kind of person who uses scripture to condemn you? There is plenty in the Bible that does condemn us…. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…. There are many of God’s laws that can witness against us, but if we understand that we are in need of a saviour and that a saviour has been given then who can condemn us…. God is for us and our debt has been paid.
Hebrews 10: 19-22a “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings”
Mark 13: 20 – 23““If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.”
I remember a girl I knew, who went on a bus trip to see a new leader who had risen in the church. On the trip she said they all saw the sun dance in the sky….. it was a miracle. It is so important to know that just because something is real and supernatural, it is not necessarily from God and not necessarily good. It was discovered later that this particular leader was setting up a cult.
From the experiences I’ve had with wonderful Christian people it is clear that it isn’t too hard to be deceived by these seemingly knowledgeable false prophets, and it is important to be constantly checking ourselves to see if we are accepting false teaching. It is vital that we remain connected to the church to keep a check on ourselves and our influences. Although these false prophets and teachings can and do come through the church, in the broader church body these are usually sorted out and found out for what they truly are. And so, as we are exhorted in the letter to the Hebrews, let’s not give up meeting together and let’s consider how we can spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
The warning that is repeated in the Gospel is that we must “watch”. We are the “watchmen” and if we compare this to the watchmen of the Bible it gives us a clear picture of someone patrolling up and down and back and forth…. There may not be any attack, but neither is there any sleeping. It is a constant dedication to keep all safe from harm. We have been given an amazing gift; the assurance that our spiritual debt is paid and now we are united with God and have him living in and through us. This is a truth which saw St. Paul stand up against St. Peter to proclaim that we are saved by faith and not by works…. It is Good News that needs proclamation and protection. We need to protect the message of the Good News, because any other Gospel is not Good News and not truth and makes Christ’s sacrifice to be pointless.
Watch! There are plenty of false teachings out there, but do you know them? Can you spot them? AND what do you need to do in order to discern?
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Reflection on Readings for 11 November 2012 proper 27
Mark 12:38-40 “As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.””
This passage reminds me of something that happened when the Anglican Diploma students went to the Indigenous theology college graduation on Thursday night. The Indigenous priest asked us, “Who are you blokes?” Our fearless leader replied, “This is the Anglican theology students.”
The Indigenous College is also Anglican, but he replied, “Anglican? What’s that? The Chosen Frozen! ...and more frozen than chosen!” And we all laughed, because we could all probably bring to mind an image of traditional Church that fitted this description....... but not us of course!!
This passage from the Gospel is an invitation to take an honest look at ourselves.... the Pharisees were the religious leaders who were God's earthly representatives. Can you imagine what God would be doing if he were on earth? Would he be parading around in the shops escorted by the dignitaries, such that the poor folk, (the single parents, the hung over night clubbers and smelly addicts) were kept away? Would he remain in the altar sanctuary area of the church and wait for people to come to see him?
I hope the answer is obvious, but I want us to make this a little more personal.... WE are God's representatives on earth.
In the past the clergy had been seen as people deserving respect in the community. But I would like you for just a moment, to consider how your friends, acquaintances and work colleagues would respond to you if you were to announce to them that you were to be ordained a priest tomorrow.
In some circles, being clergy can still be seen as a position of respect but, more often than not, this is now a position of disdain in society. On the flip side it is still a good thing on a job application to proclaim that you are a church goer..... So it is now the people in the pews who’ve become the people of honour and respect who might fail to realize that they are actually claiming and enjoying a seat of honour, and who may not realize it, but they maybe figuratively devouring widows houses. Anyone who calls themselves “Christian” is God's representative on earth but it is becoming increasingly important that the laity realize that they are called to this..... are we aware of this and responsible? ...or do we simply enjoy the privilege of being seen as a "holy" or “good” person?
Here is the benchmark to test if we are truly being God's representative on earth? Do we love our neighbour, and care for the poor?
During my week away, taking part in the intensive unit for the Diploma course, the idea of power was discussed. Each person there truly desired to NOT abuse the power, position and responsibility we have. Someone reminded us that mother Theresa described the people that she worked with as the "ungrateful poor". We need to realize that the reward for being truly God's representative on earth may well mean that no earthly reward may be forthcoming. (Remember the story of the ten leapers? Only one returned to give God thanks.)
Not all are called to work directly with the poor in the way of mother Theresa, but we all need to have the same heart that genuinely has concern. The poor that we may be called to work with are the people we meet each day. They may or may not be financially poor, but they may be spiritually poor.... emotionally poor... simply worn out and hurt.
They may be the ungrateful poor, with little regard for our efforts, but this is our mission because we know it is the poor that God is concerned with, and often, the poor who are his chosen. Such is in the case of Ruth.... Ruth 3:3 “One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for.”
Naomi was a woman of great grief. She was a woman of God and yet her sons and husband had died. She had told her daughter-in-laws that they could go home to their family of origin, thus releasing them from any obligation to look after her. Can you imagine her grief? Not only would it have seemed a great emotional loss, but who would care for Naomi and provide for her?
While the natural reaction would have been to cling to the daughter-in-laws and demand that they had an obligation to care for her, Naomi puts the welfare of her daughter-in-laws ahead of her on and strives to trust solely on the Lord for her future. I suspect she didn’t hold out much hope, but that which she could give, she gave..... she gave the hope of remarriage and a happier life to the daughter-in-laws.
In many ways she was like the widow from our Gospel reading who gave to God all she had to live on. And we read on to discover that Ruth follows in this same act of selflessness.
Ruth refused to leave her mother-in-law and proclaimed that famous commitment statement, “where you go, I will go. Your God will be my God and your people will be my people”.
You know, that wonderful commitment is all good and well, and to us it might seem lovely, warm and fuzzy, but this was a commitment that could have meant the death of Ruth. She was going to live with a foreign people, and if our own experiences tell us anything it should be about how hard it is to be accepted when we try to become part of a new family. I wonder if this “family” of God, the Israelites, were as difficult to be accepted by as some of our own church families.
Ruth was not even an Israelite by birth. She was an outsider in that community- but she chose to be joined to the family of God, not because of the acceptance of the people, but because of her duty and love for her mother-in-law. I have no doubt many would have still regarded her as an outsider -bigger fool them to reject her, as she became an ancestor of Christ.
We often have subconscious limits about just who might be the recipients of God’s grace. I suspect that the Israelite people of Ruth’s time would never have thought it possible that this outsider could have been God’s chosen vessel to bring them salvation. It was a long way down the line, but Ruth was the great grandmother of King David and therefore an ancestor of Christ.
Certainly the story testifies that Ruth’s commitment to her mother-in-law was admired by many, but it was only the wonderful man, Boaz, who would redeem the property to which this outsider belonged, and, reading between the lines, it seems that these remarks about Ruth’s admiration came from a distance, as if from those who feared to contaminate themselves with an “unclean” Gentile woman.
Are we limiting God’s grace by rejecting someone who might just be a vessel, chosen by God, to bring God’s message of salvation? Although we may subconsciously sometimes reject some one as being a possible recipient of God’s grace, do we also subconsciously reject someone as not being able to bring us God’s grace? Ruth shows us that she was both. She was an outsider destined to receive God’s grace and she was an outsider who was the bringer of God’s grace and salvation. What I am really asking is, do we realize that God can reveal himself to us through the man who seems to be just a little slow? ....through the new Christian who seems to be a little flighty and worldly?.... The elderly quiet lady... and the list goes on....
Hebrews 9: 24 “For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.”
In God’s perfect plan for our salvation he died to unite ALL to himself. He also sent us all his Holy Spirit. Taking this through to its logical implications we see that God lives in all his people, therefore he can minister to all and through ALL.
Once upon a very long time ago I use to be very critical as I listened to the preaching at church. Somehow it dawned on me that I had the wrong attitude and I can remember that this was at a time that my house backed onto the church grounds. I’d go to church on Saturday night, but I could hear it a second time while I sat in my back yard. I remember that I decided that I should pray for the minister while church was going on. So I prayed for his sermon, that the Holy Spirit would lead him and also that the Holy Spirit would enable the listeners to hear God’s message in what he was saying.
None of us is perfect and we all fall very short of perfection, but many of us do care deeply about the truth of God. Sometimes this caring causes us to fight for what we believe to be true and this is necessary and good, but do we realize the person we are arguing with just may have the same passionate commitment to the truth of God?
We have the potential to be the equivalent of the hypocritical Pharisees if we remain comfortable in our honourable position in society and church and do not care for the poor.
I’d like to suggest that our poor neighbours that God would have us care for, are the very same people that we may have hurt with our criticisms. These maybe the emotionally poor, or the spiritually poor... maybe even the financially poor who’ve learnt to hide it well so that they appear to fit in. I’d also like to challenge us to care for the outcast - Those who are new to our churches and those who maybe just feel alone.... they maybe hard to spot, but if we pray for God’s guidance I’m sure we’ll not be led astray.
Finally I want to point out that the outcast, the criticized, the overwhelmed and the harassed that God wants us to also put our whole self into caring for, is our ministers. These are those on the front line of the battle and they have become society’s outcast and sometimes they are outcast in their own churches. Often they are called by God to move from where they are comfortable into places where they are unknowns and outsiders and they find themselves giving all and getting only criticism in return.
Mark 12:41- 44 “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)