Year C Fifth Sunday in Lent 17 March 2013
Isaiah 43: 16-21 Psalm 126 Philippians 3: 4b-14 John 12: 1-8
The ways of God often seem so unpredictable. Do you feel comfortable in your faith? Then it is possible you’ve fallen into the same ways as so many before and beware, because you are about to have that comfort challenged.
How much are the average annual wages for a labourer? Answer: Full-time earnings in Australia averaged $69,992 a year in the first quarter of 2012. (Seasonally adjusted wages – Bureau of Statistics.) Keep that in mind as we explore this week’s readings.
Isaiah 43:18- 21 “Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild animals will honour me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.”
How strange that God would declare to his people to NOT remember the former things. So strange, that we would be foolish not to explore further and discover what God was really doing.
In the former days God had made a path through the sea and had fed his people with bread from heaven and had given them water in the desert. It is obvious that before God asks them to NOT remember, that he does intend to remind them. These people are reminded of the great things that God has done, but now he says to them, “Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old….”
To put ourselves in the shoes of these people, we need to realize that these are a religious people. They had the holy festivals that told the story of the Passover and they had every ritual of life that tied in with the law of God where sacrifices were given for sin and first fruits were offered to God and the first born was consecrated to God and needed to be redeemed according to the law of God.
These rituals and stories were a comfort and assurance of God’s love and favour. In much the same way, we have our own rituals and stories. We have our church services which tell the story of God and within the service we have confession and absolution and we have communion as both remembrance and reconciliation and unity with God. How delightful and comfortable our faith is!! It is just like that same faith of the people of God so long ago and just like the faith that St. Paul was brought up in – that of the Pharisees.
Uh-Oh! Have I hit a nerve yet?
We like to think that we have nothing in common with the Pharisees who were so hypocritical, but we need to understand that these were people who were brought up in the ways of God, knowing the stories and the rituals – much like us. Because they knew the stories and rituals so well, they didn’t understand what was happening when Jesus came – and they rejected him – not all of them, but certainly on the whole and as a group, they did not recognize God among them, and the reason was that they thought that they knew God and His ways. When Jesus did things that didn’t seem in line with what they thought and had known about God through their religion and traditions, and when they began to feel uncomfortable in their faith, they concluded that Jesus was a sinner who must be put to death.
It is certainly not a bad thing to have the rituals and the stories….. otherwise God would not have commanded them in the first place. The rituals and the stories should teach us and lead us ultimately to a personal and intimately close relationship with God. Praying to God should be as natural and as often as breathing.
If we look back to our first reading we will note that God does remind the people of the things that were done in the former days, but he then commands them to no longer remember them and no longer consider them because he is about to do something new. The implication is that he is about to do something that is so far exceeding the former things that there will be no need to remember them, and also that to move forward there is a need to let go of the past.
What is it that we are holding on to that God would have us let go of?
I’m reminded of the story of a little girl whose father often travelled away for work. He gave the little girl a gift of a toy pearl necklace. The little girls treasured the pearls for a very long time, but then she was faced with a problem: The father asked the little girl if she loved him. She replied that she did, and the father then asked her to give him her pearls. She refused for a long time, but eventually she gave them to her father, deciding that she loved him more than the pearls. The father then presented her with the gift of a genuine pearl necklace.
Our Gospel story is much like this. God has given us something amazing and good. In the Old Testament and for the Israelite people this was the stories, the rituals and the precious law of God. It set the people apart as sacred to God and confirmed God’s favour. BUT God, after bringing these things to mind then commands them to not remember or consider these things because he had something new to do in the future that would so pale the former things by comparison. Could the Israelites, the people of Jesus time, accept that they needed to see that what they had in their stories, rituals, traditions and law was only a shadow of what he had in store for their future?
The rituals and the stories were such a comfort…… the pearls were a comfort…… The important question is, which do we love more; the stories, the rituals, the law and the traditions, or God who gave them? And can we give them up to allow God to do something greater?
St. Paul came face to face with this reality when he declared things about himself in his letter to the Philippians.
Philippians3: 4-6 “even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.
If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”
St. Paul goes on to explain that he considers all that he accomplished in the flesh as rubbish. He explains that all his efforts were loss in Christ because he would rather have a righteousness that was from his standing in Christ. He declares that his former Self-righteousness only served to keep him separated from acknowledging his need for a righteousness that is in Christ – and separated from God.
In the time of Jesus there were many sinners who had accepted Christ. These people knew that they needed a miracle for God to love and accept them because they were aware of their failure – their sin. St. Paul is completely different from most people who came to Christ. His conversion was a dramatic miracle and it needed to be, because St. Paul thought that he was alright with God. He was even so zealous for God that he was striving to snuff out the young Christian church who he considered to be heretics.
Without the intense light of God’s truth, St. Paul may never have been able to see his spiritual blindness. Is it possible that we too need the miracle of God’s intense light to see the things that we are holding on to in God’s name, are things that we have made so synonymous with God that we love them more than God himself. Are we willing to put a personal and intimate relationship with God above all our traditions and rituals and prior understandings?
While I leave you to ponder that thought, I ask you to call to mind again the average years wage in Australia - $69,992. Can you now call to mind something that would cost about that much?
In the time of Jesus, a year’s wage was about three hundred denarii.
John 12:1-8 “Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’”
Hopefully the understanding of the incredible expense of that perfume now sheds new light on this reading….
I believe it would not have been only Judas who was thinking that this was a huge misappropriation of funds, but I bring this to your attention as a challenge to see that God has a heart that is firstly and foremost concerned about us placing him as number one in our lives. All our understandings about how we should do things in church, what is appropriate and what isn’t, etc…. these things will constantly be challenged and constantly be breaking God’s heart unless we so intimately connect with him.
The Pharisees constantly were at odds with Jesus and yet they thought they were doing God’s will. It seems possible that it wasn’t until this incident with the perfume that Judas decided he would betray Jesus…. It is more than likely that Jesus did not fit in with Judas’s idea of God – otherwise he would not have betrayed him.
Surely it seems completely sinful to spend so much on perfume….. we can all see that now, can’t we? It was a whole year’s wage and there are poor and starving people…..
What seems abundantly clear to me is that God must be number one in our lives and in our churches. Unless we are so connected with God and indwelt by his Holy Spirit we will never be any more pleasing to God than a Pharisee, and we may even be Judas……
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
PAID a children's story
PAID by Niki Vella Power
“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” There was a loud cry from the shed. It sounded like Uncle Ben and He sounded really upset.
Lilly and Michael looked at each other from over their card game. They had been playing Fish, while their uncle had been hard at work all day in the shed.
Lilly and Michael were twins and they lived with their uncle, who was an inventor.
The shed was Uncle Ben’s special and precious place where he made the most amazing inventions. There was a boat that would convert into a quad bike as well as a small submarine, and then there was a ray gun that could project an image into a room so that it looked like whatever was being projected was actually there for real. The most amazing invention, as far as the twins were concerned, was the time machine that Uncle Ben had given Lilly for her birthday.
Having a time machine meant that they could travel back in time to watch events, but they couldn’t change anything. It was kind of like being a fly on the wall, watching life go by, but not interfering with it.
“Should we go and see what’s happened with Uncle Ben?” ask Michael.
But just then the children heard the shed door slam and Uncle Ben came striding in with his face red and eyes sparkling with anger. The children were quite afraid. They had never seen Uncle Ben angry. Usually he was the one who stayed calm even when they were out in a storm and everything seemed to be going wrong. What could have gotten him so steamed up?
“Your Uncle Simon is coming to stay!” He announced to the two children while still glaring and obviously trying to calm himself down for their sake.
The twins jumped and laughed and then hugged Uncle Ben. “Oh Uncle Ben that is wonderful and so exciting,” said Lilly. Uncle Ben finally smiled as the joy of the children was really quite contagious and he was catching a little of their excitement himself.
Uncle Simon was the youngest of the three brothers. The Twins father was the eldest and then Uncle Ben, and then Uncle Simon. But most importantly, Uncle Simon was the fun uncle. He was the one who loved to play music loud and would play games with them when he visited. He wasn’t a secret agent like the twins father and he wasn’t an inventor like Uncle Ben. Uncle Simon played in a band that toured the country. He was always broke and needing a loan. It seemed that there were possibly other things Uncle Simon did that the adults didn’t tell the children about, but the children knew that Uncle Ben and their Dad thought Uncle Simon was TROUBLE with a capital T.
“But why are you so angry, Uncle Ben?” Michael inquired.
“Hmm… ,” said Uncle Ben, “Well I got such a fright when the phone rang that I dropped the soldering iron on knee, and broke the piece I was working on. As well as that, I just know that your Uncle usually only comes to visit when he has run out of places to go, and run out of money to spend.” As he said this he remembered that he had initially come over to the house to get ice for his burnt knee. He was so angry that he had almost forgotten how much it hurt, and now he remembered…. But he wasn’t angry anymore, just a little upset.
Lilly had grabbed the ice pack out of the freezer and wrapped a cloth around it for him. As he sat down with it he told them, “Uncle Simon expects to arrive tonight at around seven pm., which means that he should be in time for tea.”
This was met with a fresh round of enthusiasm and jumping with excitement from the twins.
Uncle Simon arrived looking way thinner than the twins had remembered and he was very tired. The twins were a little disappointed that he didn’t seem as interested in playing games with them as usual, but they figured that tomorrow would surely be a fun day.
The next morning the twins awoke with excitement and eager to spend time with Uncle Simon but he was nowhere to be found. When it was time for the children to catch the bus for school they still had not seen Uncle Simon, so they left for school somewhat disappointed.
The afternoon brought with it all that the twins had expected from their Uncle Simon. He greeted them off the bus and then showed them the new basketball that he’d bought for them…. And a basketball back board and hoop. Apparently he’d left early that morning to go into town and purchase everything.
The twins were so excited; this was what they loved about their Uncle Simon. He was fun! While Uncle Ben spent all his spare time in the shed the twins found that they were constantly entertained by Uncle Simon. It was a week of games and gifts and videos; Uncle Simon would make popcorn and watch movies with them like they were in a real picture theatre and he always seemed to know interesting things about the characters in the movie.
The weekend came around and Uncle Ben asked Michael to play his guitar for Uncle Simon, who was suitably impressed. Uncle Simon was leaving the next day and so the children were rather sad about that.
No one knew when Uncle Simon left, but once again Uncle Ben was in a bad mood…. And that was just so much not like Uncle Ben, but the children couldn’t blame him. Uncle Simon had taken Uncle Ben’s degravinator machine. It was one of Uncle Ben’s inventions but he didn’t own it. It belonged to one of the Secret Agents who worked with the children’s parents…. Uncle Simon must have known that it would be worth a lot of money, but the children weren’t sure if he realized that Uncle Ben would have to pay the Secret Agent back his money. In this case though, Uncle Ben had insured the degravinator and so the insurance claim would also cover any money that he lost on it, but nothing could replace the trust and good will that Uncle Ben and the children had lost in Uncle Simon and nothing could take away their disappointment.
The children were devastated to realize that their beloved uncle would steal from them. He always seemed to be giving things to them. He didn’t have to give them things; the children would have loved him anyway. They didn’t need any gifts and didn’t realize that he had a problem with being responsible with money. It seemed that their father and Uncle Ben were right about Uncle Simon after all. Uncle Simon was trouble…. Capital T – TROUBLE.
Uncle Ben tried to cheer the children up by showing them how to make hard lollies that explode in your mouth and turn into honey when you suck them. It was always lovely to be involved in the amazingly inventive life of Uncle Ben, but the children were still feeling rather sad.
Late that night the children were awakened by thunder and lightning. Uncle Ben brought them down into the lounge room with their pillows and blankets so they could all be together. The storm was pretty fierce and the lounge was a safe room in the middle of the house.
In the midst of the lightning strikes there was a knock at the door. The children and Uncle Ben all looked very surprised, but Uncle Ben got up quickly because no one should be out in that horrible storm.
There at the door, very wet and very frightened, and with a cut leg and a cut across his forehead, was Uncle Simon. Lilly quickly grabbed the first aid kit and Michael and Uncle Ben found some dry clothes and towel for Uncle Simon. Not much was said. Uncle Simon seemed sad and silent and the twins just didn’t know what to make of anything.
Finally Uncle Simon broke the silence. “I’m so sorry for everything. I’ve hurt you and I certainly don’t deserve to have you look after me.”
Uncle Ben spoke quietly, but it was clear he was still very angry. “That is right…. You don’t, and tomorrow you can leave.”
“I’ll pay you for the machine as soon as I can get enough money together.” Said Uncle Simon
“No need. It’s been paid already”, said Uncle Ben rather gruffly. “The insurance claim paid for it.”
The storm had died down so the twins headed back to their beds. In the morning breakfast was tense and uncomfortable. Lilly and Michael decided that they needed to do something so Michael told a joke… and then another and then another.
“What’s green and has wheels?” he asked. “Grass! I lied about the wheels.”
Lilly thought it was funny, but she noticed that the two uncles were still not very happy.
“Uncle Simon, have I shown you my birthday present from Uncle Ben?” asked Lilly. He shook his head and so she raced up to get it while Michael continued with the jokes.
“Why did the boy cross the road?” asked Michael “Because he was stapled to the chicken!”
“Lilly, come and save us from these crazy jokes”, pleaded Uncle Ben. He was starting to pick up on the children’s mood again. He really was a good natured man and couldn’t stay mad for very long.
“Well”, said Lilly, “I need us to all hold hands.” Without explaining to Uncle Simon about the time machine she set the date and pressed the button. She’d used the machine so often that she knew exactly what event she wanted and could set it exactly.
“Wooooo!” Uncle Simon let out a cry. Everything around him was spinning and he had no idea what was going on. Somewhere in the chaos of swirling colours he heard Lilly telling him that they were taking a trip in the time machine. “What?” He cried out again, “there’s no such thing as a time machine.” Lilly, Michael and Uncle Ben all laughed. It would seem that Uncle Simon had no idea just how clever his brother was.
Then the swirling cleared and the group found themselves standing halfway up a hill and a man was telling a story.
“Wow!” said Uncle Simon, “Look at all these people”.
On the hillside was quite a motley bunch of people. Some of them looked like they were quite important and some of them looked gruff and cranky. Others were just listening very intently to man telling the story.
Uncle Simon gasped, “Is that J… no it can’t be… Oh, but I think it is.. Is that Jesus?”
“You betcha” said Michael. “Now, quiet and listen”.
“There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he wasted his property and money with parties and reckless living.”
Uncle Simon spoke, “That’s me isn’t it, Lilly? That is why you wanted me to see this…”
He looked sad, but Lilly smiled and said, “just keep listening”.
Jesus continued with the story; “When he had spent everything, he began to be in need. So he went and got a job feeding the pigs. He was so hungry that he would gladly have filled himself with the food that the pigs were eating because no one gave him anything. Then he realized how good things were with his father and he said, “How many of my father’s workers have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’” So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his workers, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father is celebrating because he is back safe and sound.” Then he became angry and refused to go in. “
Now Uncle Ben interrupted, “uh-oh, now I know why Lilly wanted me here too Simon, I think that older brother might just be me.”
Once again Lilly just smiled and said, “just keep listening”..
Jesus continued, “His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me anything so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has wasted all your money you celebrate!” Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.”’
And just as Jesus said those words everything began to spin again as the time machine was taking them back to their own time.
As it spun everyone was very quiet and it was clear that both Uncle Ben and Uncle Simon were deep in thought.
Back in their own house, Uncle Ben broke the silence and said, “Simon, I’m sorry that I’ve been harsh with you.”
Uncle Simon sank into the kitchen chair and asked, “Is the father that Jesus was talking about… is that God? And do you think he will accept me even though I’ve done terrible things?”
“Are you sorry for those terrible things and do you realize that they truly were terrible?” Asked Uncle Ben
“Uncle Ben!” scolded Michael, “You know that God accepts us even though we do the wrong thing. You taught us that when I was skipping my school classes last year.”
Uncle Ben grinned, “Yes, Simon. God does accept us”
“But I need to pay for all that I’ve done, don’t I?” replied Uncle Simon
Lilly spoke up, “Actually, no you don’t. It might be a good idea if you have hurt someone to try to make it up to them, but you don’t have to pay for what you’ve done before God will love you and accept you.”
“But how can I know that God will accept me? What do I need to do?” asked Uncle Simon.
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” said Michael and Lilly together. It was in the Bible and the both knew it by heart.
“Then I will…. Jesus is my Lord. I want him to be in charge of my life because I have stuffed it all up by doing what I wanted. And I do believe that he rose from the dead. Are you sure that is all I need to do?” Uncle Simon inquired again. “I still feel that I need to pay for what I’ve done”.
Uncle Ben smiled his lovely big smile and said, “It has been paid! Jesus paid for all our sins when he died on the cross; there is nothing else that we need to do. It is the same as the degravinator; It wouldn’t make sense to pay me for it because the debt has already been paid. In the same way, Jesus has paid for all our failures and so there is nothing keeping us apart from the love of God.”
“You know what, though?” interjected Michael, “I am reminded that we do really need to let Jesus be in control of our life. That is the only way to live an extra-ordinary life and that is what I want to do. It is very easy to say I want to do things my way, and I have to remember to ask Jesus what he wants me to do instead.”
“Oh yes,” agreed Lilly “and we all fail to do the very best at some times, but it is so great to know that God loves us and Jesus has already paid anything that we owe God.”
“Ah…” said Uncle Ben, “and because God loves, accepts and forgives us, we really should love, accept and forgive each other.”
Yep, yep, yep! And right there in the kitchen they all forgave, accepted and loved each other.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” There was a loud cry from the shed. It sounded like Uncle Ben and He sounded really upset.
Lilly and Michael looked at each other from over their card game. They had been playing Fish, while their uncle had been hard at work all day in the shed.
Lilly and Michael were twins and they lived with their uncle, who was an inventor.
The shed was Uncle Ben’s special and precious place where he made the most amazing inventions. There was a boat that would convert into a quad bike as well as a small submarine, and then there was a ray gun that could project an image into a room so that it looked like whatever was being projected was actually there for real. The most amazing invention, as far as the twins were concerned, was the time machine that Uncle Ben had given Lilly for her birthday.
Having a time machine meant that they could travel back in time to watch events, but they couldn’t change anything. It was kind of like being a fly on the wall, watching life go by, but not interfering with it.
“Should we go and see what’s happened with Uncle Ben?” ask Michael.
But just then the children heard the shed door slam and Uncle Ben came striding in with his face red and eyes sparkling with anger. The children were quite afraid. They had never seen Uncle Ben angry. Usually he was the one who stayed calm even when they were out in a storm and everything seemed to be going wrong. What could have gotten him so steamed up?
“Your Uncle Simon is coming to stay!” He announced to the two children while still glaring and obviously trying to calm himself down for their sake.
The twins jumped and laughed and then hugged Uncle Ben. “Oh Uncle Ben that is wonderful and so exciting,” said Lilly. Uncle Ben finally smiled as the joy of the children was really quite contagious and he was catching a little of their excitement himself.
Uncle Simon was the youngest of the three brothers. The Twins father was the eldest and then Uncle Ben, and then Uncle Simon. But most importantly, Uncle Simon was the fun uncle. He was the one who loved to play music loud and would play games with them when he visited. He wasn’t a secret agent like the twins father and he wasn’t an inventor like Uncle Ben. Uncle Simon played in a band that toured the country. He was always broke and needing a loan. It seemed that there were possibly other things Uncle Simon did that the adults didn’t tell the children about, but the children knew that Uncle Ben and their Dad thought Uncle Simon was TROUBLE with a capital T.
“But why are you so angry, Uncle Ben?” Michael inquired.
“Hmm… ,” said Uncle Ben, “Well I got such a fright when the phone rang that I dropped the soldering iron on knee, and broke the piece I was working on. As well as that, I just know that your Uncle usually only comes to visit when he has run out of places to go, and run out of money to spend.” As he said this he remembered that he had initially come over to the house to get ice for his burnt knee. He was so angry that he had almost forgotten how much it hurt, and now he remembered…. But he wasn’t angry anymore, just a little upset.
Lilly had grabbed the ice pack out of the freezer and wrapped a cloth around it for him. As he sat down with it he told them, “Uncle Simon expects to arrive tonight at around seven pm., which means that he should be in time for tea.”
This was met with a fresh round of enthusiasm and jumping with excitement from the twins.
Uncle Simon arrived looking way thinner than the twins had remembered and he was very tired. The twins were a little disappointed that he didn’t seem as interested in playing games with them as usual, but they figured that tomorrow would surely be a fun day.
The next morning the twins awoke with excitement and eager to spend time with Uncle Simon but he was nowhere to be found. When it was time for the children to catch the bus for school they still had not seen Uncle Simon, so they left for school somewhat disappointed.
The afternoon brought with it all that the twins had expected from their Uncle Simon. He greeted them off the bus and then showed them the new basketball that he’d bought for them…. And a basketball back board and hoop. Apparently he’d left early that morning to go into town and purchase everything.
The twins were so excited; this was what they loved about their Uncle Simon. He was fun! While Uncle Ben spent all his spare time in the shed the twins found that they were constantly entertained by Uncle Simon. It was a week of games and gifts and videos; Uncle Simon would make popcorn and watch movies with them like they were in a real picture theatre and he always seemed to know interesting things about the characters in the movie.
The weekend came around and Uncle Ben asked Michael to play his guitar for Uncle Simon, who was suitably impressed. Uncle Simon was leaving the next day and so the children were rather sad about that.
No one knew when Uncle Simon left, but once again Uncle Ben was in a bad mood…. And that was just so much not like Uncle Ben, but the children couldn’t blame him. Uncle Simon had taken Uncle Ben’s degravinator machine. It was one of Uncle Ben’s inventions but he didn’t own it. It belonged to one of the Secret Agents who worked with the children’s parents…. Uncle Simon must have known that it would be worth a lot of money, but the children weren’t sure if he realized that Uncle Ben would have to pay the Secret Agent back his money. In this case though, Uncle Ben had insured the degravinator and so the insurance claim would also cover any money that he lost on it, but nothing could replace the trust and good will that Uncle Ben and the children had lost in Uncle Simon and nothing could take away their disappointment.
The children were devastated to realize that their beloved uncle would steal from them. He always seemed to be giving things to them. He didn’t have to give them things; the children would have loved him anyway. They didn’t need any gifts and didn’t realize that he had a problem with being responsible with money. It seemed that their father and Uncle Ben were right about Uncle Simon after all. Uncle Simon was trouble…. Capital T – TROUBLE.
Uncle Ben tried to cheer the children up by showing them how to make hard lollies that explode in your mouth and turn into honey when you suck them. It was always lovely to be involved in the amazingly inventive life of Uncle Ben, but the children were still feeling rather sad.
Late that night the children were awakened by thunder and lightning. Uncle Ben brought them down into the lounge room with their pillows and blankets so they could all be together. The storm was pretty fierce and the lounge was a safe room in the middle of the house.
In the midst of the lightning strikes there was a knock at the door. The children and Uncle Ben all looked very surprised, but Uncle Ben got up quickly because no one should be out in that horrible storm.
There at the door, very wet and very frightened, and with a cut leg and a cut across his forehead, was Uncle Simon. Lilly quickly grabbed the first aid kit and Michael and Uncle Ben found some dry clothes and towel for Uncle Simon. Not much was said. Uncle Simon seemed sad and silent and the twins just didn’t know what to make of anything.
Finally Uncle Simon broke the silence. “I’m so sorry for everything. I’ve hurt you and I certainly don’t deserve to have you look after me.”
Uncle Ben spoke quietly, but it was clear he was still very angry. “That is right…. You don’t, and tomorrow you can leave.”
“I’ll pay you for the machine as soon as I can get enough money together.” Said Uncle Simon
“No need. It’s been paid already”, said Uncle Ben rather gruffly. “The insurance claim paid for it.”
The storm had died down so the twins headed back to their beds. In the morning breakfast was tense and uncomfortable. Lilly and Michael decided that they needed to do something so Michael told a joke… and then another and then another.
“What’s green and has wheels?” he asked. “Grass! I lied about the wheels.”
Lilly thought it was funny, but she noticed that the two uncles were still not very happy.
“Uncle Simon, have I shown you my birthday present from Uncle Ben?” asked Lilly. He shook his head and so she raced up to get it while Michael continued with the jokes.
“Why did the boy cross the road?” asked Michael “Because he was stapled to the chicken!”
“Lilly, come and save us from these crazy jokes”, pleaded Uncle Ben. He was starting to pick up on the children’s mood again. He really was a good natured man and couldn’t stay mad for very long.
“Well”, said Lilly, “I need us to all hold hands.” Without explaining to Uncle Simon about the time machine she set the date and pressed the button. She’d used the machine so often that she knew exactly what event she wanted and could set it exactly.
“Wooooo!” Uncle Simon let out a cry. Everything around him was spinning and he had no idea what was going on. Somewhere in the chaos of swirling colours he heard Lilly telling him that they were taking a trip in the time machine. “What?” He cried out again, “there’s no such thing as a time machine.” Lilly, Michael and Uncle Ben all laughed. It would seem that Uncle Simon had no idea just how clever his brother was.
Then the swirling cleared and the group found themselves standing halfway up a hill and a man was telling a story.
“Wow!” said Uncle Simon, “Look at all these people”.
On the hillside was quite a motley bunch of people. Some of them looked like they were quite important and some of them looked gruff and cranky. Others were just listening very intently to man telling the story.
Uncle Simon gasped, “Is that J… no it can’t be… Oh, but I think it is.. Is that Jesus?”
“You betcha” said Michael. “Now, quiet and listen”.
“There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he wasted his property and money with parties and reckless living.”
Uncle Simon spoke, “That’s me isn’t it, Lilly? That is why you wanted me to see this…”
He looked sad, but Lilly smiled and said, “just keep listening”.
Jesus continued with the story; “When he had spent everything, he began to be in need. So he went and got a job feeding the pigs. He was so hungry that he would gladly have filled himself with the food that the pigs were eating because no one gave him anything. Then he realized how good things were with his father and he said, “How many of my father’s workers have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’” So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his workers, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father is celebrating because he is back safe and sound.” Then he became angry and refused to go in. “
Now Uncle Ben interrupted, “uh-oh, now I know why Lilly wanted me here too Simon, I think that older brother might just be me.”
Once again Lilly just smiled and said, “just keep listening”..
Jesus continued, “His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me anything so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has wasted all your money you celebrate!” Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.”’
And just as Jesus said those words everything began to spin again as the time machine was taking them back to their own time.
As it spun everyone was very quiet and it was clear that both Uncle Ben and Uncle Simon were deep in thought.
Back in their own house, Uncle Ben broke the silence and said, “Simon, I’m sorry that I’ve been harsh with you.”
Uncle Simon sank into the kitchen chair and asked, “Is the father that Jesus was talking about… is that God? And do you think he will accept me even though I’ve done terrible things?”
“Are you sorry for those terrible things and do you realize that they truly were terrible?” Asked Uncle Ben
“Uncle Ben!” scolded Michael, “You know that God accepts us even though we do the wrong thing. You taught us that when I was skipping my school classes last year.”
Uncle Ben grinned, “Yes, Simon. God does accept us”
“But I need to pay for all that I’ve done, don’t I?” replied Uncle Simon
Lilly spoke up, “Actually, no you don’t. It might be a good idea if you have hurt someone to try to make it up to them, but you don’t have to pay for what you’ve done before God will love you and accept you.”
“But how can I know that God will accept me? What do I need to do?” asked Uncle Simon.
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” said Michael and Lilly together. It was in the Bible and the both knew it by heart.
“Then I will…. Jesus is my Lord. I want him to be in charge of my life because I have stuffed it all up by doing what I wanted. And I do believe that he rose from the dead. Are you sure that is all I need to do?” Uncle Simon inquired again. “I still feel that I need to pay for what I’ve done”.
Uncle Ben smiled his lovely big smile and said, “It has been paid! Jesus paid for all our sins when he died on the cross; there is nothing else that we need to do. It is the same as the degravinator; It wouldn’t make sense to pay me for it because the debt has already been paid. In the same way, Jesus has paid for all our failures and so there is nothing keeping us apart from the love of God.”
“You know what, though?” interjected Michael, “I am reminded that we do really need to let Jesus be in control of our life. That is the only way to live an extra-ordinary life and that is what I want to do. It is very easy to say I want to do things my way, and I have to remember to ask Jesus what he wants me to do instead.”
“Oh yes,” agreed Lilly “and we all fail to do the very best at some times, but it is so great to know that God loves us and Jesus has already paid anything that we owe God.”
“Ah…” said Uncle Ben, “and because God loves, accepts and forgives us, we really should love, accept and forgive each other.”
Yep, yep, yep! And right there in the kitchen they all forgave, accepted and loved each other.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Reflection on readings for 17th Feb 2013 LENT 1
Year C First Sunday in Lent 17 February 2013
Deuteronomy 26: 1-11 Psalm 91: 1-2, 9-16 Romans 10: 8b-13 Luke 4: 1-13
The concept of failure has come up a lot in my life this last couple of weeks. Perhaps it is no coincidence then to note that we begin this journey into Lent with the story of Jesus temptation in the desert. Unlike us, Jesus’ story is not one of failure, but of victory.
In the last week I’ve had conversations about failure, and I’ve said that it is vulnerability that leads to failure. In the past there have been responses made to circumstances that have been less than exemplary and the main thing that I have learnt from the experience was that when there is vulnerability in our life we are way more likely to make the same mistake over and over again. Very silly, but this seems to be the way it is.
Vulnerability in our spiritual journey is inevitable while we remain in this human body, but the more that we spend time and effort in our relationship with God, this less we should be vulnerable, as we see from the example of Jesus.
Although we begin the Lenten journey with the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert, the readings for this week are all very much about the victory and provision of God. The first reading describes the gift that the Israelites were to make to God in thanks for his bringing them out of the wandering and persecuted past to a land flowing with milk and honey. Jesus was 40 days in the desert and the Israelites were 40 years in the desert.
Luke 4:1-2 “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.”
Jesus had just had an amazing experience of being baptized and having God speak to him words of confirmation and assurance – “You are my beloved Son….” , and with this the Spirit of God led him out to the wilderness. Similarly, the Israelites had been rescued from Egypt through the Red Sea – a huge confirmation of God’s favour to the nation, and then they were in the wilderness….. and they were tempted and the fell to the temptation continuously and at every turn.
We would be incredibly foolish if we think for a second that we, in the same situation, would fare any differently from those Israelites – a stubborn and stiff necked people…. And so are we. In fact, our turning to God is like a Red sea miracle – we celebrate it with baptism… and then we find ourselves in very much in the wilderness….
Jesus was fully human and fully vulnerable. We read that he was famished and his first temptation is for food. We know that the Israelites in the desert cried out to God for food… actually they grumbled first and sinned. Jesus waits. Jesus knows that God had a purpose for his life and that he was not going to die there in the desert, so when he is tempted by the devil Jesus responds with scripture.
It is important to note that in the encounter with the devil in the desert, that both Jesus and the devil used scripture. Many times people might quote scripture to back their point of view, but scripture alone can be the work of the devil!
I feel I should leave some more space for thought about my last statement……
Our Psalm for this week is the scripture that the devil was quoting to Jesus:
Psalm 91:11-12 “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”
This is a Psalm that promises the protection of God. Certainly Jesus had God’s provision and protection, but it certainly didn’t always seem that way, and when we look at his life and his crucifixion as an outsider, we could logically conclude that Jesus did not have God’s protection. But we know that Jesus did have God’s protection – the crucifixion was part of the plan.
To properly and fully understand and quote scripture correctly, we need to also have the spirit of God. Without the Holy Spirit we could very well be doing the devil’s work and abusing the word of God.
There were three things with which the devil tempted Jesus; food, authority over the kingdoms of the world and supernatural protection, but underlying these temptations was a condition. The first temptation was offered that IF he was the Son of God, then he should be able to make instant food. We know that later in Jesus ministry he did just that, but this temptation was based on the implication that Jesus needed to prove who he was. The devil indicated doubt about Jesus being the Son of God. Jesus answered with scripture, and stood firm in relying on the mercy of God the father, rather than demanding what God would give him.
Many a modern Christian might claim the promises of God and I wonder if they are giving in to the temptation of the devil rather than trusting in a calm knowledge that God’s will be done. We submit our cares to God, knowing that he cares for us – we demand nothing.
God does want good things for us. When we truly know God, we can be led by the Holy Spirit and accept the wilderness knowing that ultimately God will bring about blessing, maybe not in this lifetime, but for certain the blessing will come.
Many have noted that Jesus could stand against the temptation because he knew the scripture, but I have added to this that we need more than knowing the scripture. We need to know the scripture and we need the Holy Spirit and we need to know God…. Personally.
The other temptations that Jesus faced were to do with access to authority and supernatural power. As the Son of God these belonged to Jesus, but he was operating as fully human and not as God. Therefore he did what we are to do and that is to fully rely on God. (F.R.O.G.)
Every now and then it becomes obvious to me that the Occult is rearing its head. Once upon a time I had no idea what the Occult involved and thought it was simply extreme Satan worship – through personal experience I came to realize that it involved things as every day and seemingly (but NOT) harmless as reading your horoscope. I have some lovely and spiritual friends who dabble in things, and I’m not sure how to tell them that they are playing with fire, but here we see how simply we can be enticed. Things happen in our lives and we desire control over them…. What do we do?
We can use a little “religion” and, like the devil, we can quote the scripture and demand the promise of God for protection – an example might be the wearing of a religious medal for protection. Those dabbling more in the occult might wear a charm or a crystal, or a special scent. It seems harmless and it seems like we are invoking the protection of God…. But are we???????
Romans 10:9-10 “because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’”
Becoming a Christian is a simple thing, and it comes with reassurances, but it means that we have to acknowledge that we need a savior…. Because we do not have the control… we do not have the ability to save ourselves.
We need to “confess” our faith and “believe” in our hearts (with every fiber of our being). It is in our believing that we are justified, and with our confessing that we are saved. There is no other action which can demand a blessing from God- so any good deed to earn God’s favour is just not good enough. Our good deeds need to be out of a response to His goodness, not motivated by a sense of controlling the blessings of God – it doesn’t work that way.
We are saved by God’s grace and our lives are in his hands. The early apostles were incredibly exemplary in the actions of their lives and they were often martyred. What does this tell us? No action on our part will force God’s hand. But like Jesus we need to know – KNOW – the love of God, be led by his Holy Spirit and submit to the will of God. Scripture tells us that God cares for us and wants good things for us, but submitting our desires to God and waiting for his response shows our trust and faith in him.
This is the beginning of our Lenten journey. It is a call to give our whole lives completely into the hands of God. It is only in this way that we can truly please him and not be unwittingly doing the devil’s work.
Deuteronomy 26: 1-11 Psalm 91: 1-2, 9-16 Romans 10: 8b-13 Luke 4: 1-13
The concept of failure has come up a lot in my life this last couple of weeks. Perhaps it is no coincidence then to note that we begin this journey into Lent with the story of Jesus temptation in the desert. Unlike us, Jesus’ story is not one of failure, but of victory.
In the last week I’ve had conversations about failure, and I’ve said that it is vulnerability that leads to failure. In the past there have been responses made to circumstances that have been less than exemplary and the main thing that I have learnt from the experience was that when there is vulnerability in our life we are way more likely to make the same mistake over and over again. Very silly, but this seems to be the way it is.
Vulnerability in our spiritual journey is inevitable while we remain in this human body, but the more that we spend time and effort in our relationship with God, this less we should be vulnerable, as we see from the example of Jesus.
Although we begin the Lenten journey with the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert, the readings for this week are all very much about the victory and provision of God. The first reading describes the gift that the Israelites were to make to God in thanks for his bringing them out of the wandering and persecuted past to a land flowing with milk and honey. Jesus was 40 days in the desert and the Israelites were 40 years in the desert.
Luke 4:1-2 “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.”
Jesus had just had an amazing experience of being baptized and having God speak to him words of confirmation and assurance – “You are my beloved Son….” , and with this the Spirit of God led him out to the wilderness. Similarly, the Israelites had been rescued from Egypt through the Red Sea – a huge confirmation of God’s favour to the nation, and then they were in the wilderness….. and they were tempted and the fell to the temptation continuously and at every turn.
We would be incredibly foolish if we think for a second that we, in the same situation, would fare any differently from those Israelites – a stubborn and stiff necked people…. And so are we. In fact, our turning to God is like a Red sea miracle – we celebrate it with baptism… and then we find ourselves in very much in the wilderness….
Jesus was fully human and fully vulnerable. We read that he was famished and his first temptation is for food. We know that the Israelites in the desert cried out to God for food… actually they grumbled first and sinned. Jesus waits. Jesus knows that God had a purpose for his life and that he was not going to die there in the desert, so when he is tempted by the devil Jesus responds with scripture.
It is important to note that in the encounter with the devil in the desert, that both Jesus and the devil used scripture. Many times people might quote scripture to back their point of view, but scripture alone can be the work of the devil!
I feel I should leave some more space for thought about my last statement……
Our Psalm for this week is the scripture that the devil was quoting to Jesus:
Psalm 91:11-12 “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”
This is a Psalm that promises the protection of God. Certainly Jesus had God’s provision and protection, but it certainly didn’t always seem that way, and when we look at his life and his crucifixion as an outsider, we could logically conclude that Jesus did not have God’s protection. But we know that Jesus did have God’s protection – the crucifixion was part of the plan.
To properly and fully understand and quote scripture correctly, we need to also have the spirit of God. Without the Holy Spirit we could very well be doing the devil’s work and abusing the word of God.
There were three things with which the devil tempted Jesus; food, authority over the kingdoms of the world and supernatural protection, but underlying these temptations was a condition. The first temptation was offered that IF he was the Son of God, then he should be able to make instant food. We know that later in Jesus ministry he did just that, but this temptation was based on the implication that Jesus needed to prove who he was. The devil indicated doubt about Jesus being the Son of God. Jesus answered with scripture, and stood firm in relying on the mercy of God the father, rather than demanding what God would give him.
Many a modern Christian might claim the promises of God and I wonder if they are giving in to the temptation of the devil rather than trusting in a calm knowledge that God’s will be done. We submit our cares to God, knowing that he cares for us – we demand nothing.
God does want good things for us. When we truly know God, we can be led by the Holy Spirit and accept the wilderness knowing that ultimately God will bring about blessing, maybe not in this lifetime, but for certain the blessing will come.
Many have noted that Jesus could stand against the temptation because he knew the scripture, but I have added to this that we need more than knowing the scripture. We need to know the scripture and we need the Holy Spirit and we need to know God…. Personally.
The other temptations that Jesus faced were to do with access to authority and supernatural power. As the Son of God these belonged to Jesus, but he was operating as fully human and not as God. Therefore he did what we are to do and that is to fully rely on God. (F.R.O.G.)
Every now and then it becomes obvious to me that the Occult is rearing its head. Once upon a time I had no idea what the Occult involved and thought it was simply extreme Satan worship – through personal experience I came to realize that it involved things as every day and seemingly (but NOT) harmless as reading your horoscope. I have some lovely and spiritual friends who dabble in things, and I’m not sure how to tell them that they are playing with fire, but here we see how simply we can be enticed. Things happen in our lives and we desire control over them…. What do we do?
We can use a little “religion” and, like the devil, we can quote the scripture and demand the promise of God for protection – an example might be the wearing of a religious medal for protection. Those dabbling more in the occult might wear a charm or a crystal, or a special scent. It seems harmless and it seems like we are invoking the protection of God…. But are we???????
Romans 10:9-10 “because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’”
Becoming a Christian is a simple thing, and it comes with reassurances, but it means that we have to acknowledge that we need a savior…. Because we do not have the control… we do not have the ability to save ourselves.
We need to “confess” our faith and “believe” in our hearts (with every fiber of our being). It is in our believing that we are justified, and with our confessing that we are saved. There is no other action which can demand a blessing from God- so any good deed to earn God’s favour is just not good enough. Our good deeds need to be out of a response to His goodness, not motivated by a sense of controlling the blessings of God – it doesn’t work that way.
We are saved by God’s grace and our lives are in his hands. The early apostles were incredibly exemplary in the actions of their lives and they were often martyred. What does this tell us? No action on our part will force God’s hand. But like Jesus we need to know – KNOW – the love of God, be led by his Holy Spirit and submit to the will of God. Scripture tells us that God cares for us and wants good things for us, but submitting our desires to God and waiting for his response shows our trust and faith in him.
This is the beginning of our Lenten journey. It is a call to give our whole lives completely into the hands of God. It is only in this way that we can truly please him and not be unwittingly doing the devil’s work.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Reflection for 3rd Feb 2013
Year C 4th Sunday after the Epiphany 3 February 2013
Jeremiah 1: 4-10 Psalm 71: 1-6 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13 Luke 4: 21-30
Here in Australia, a land far removed from Israel, we find the Church, the people of God. We are people that God has called and God has chosen. How is this possible that God, who revealed himself as the God of the small nation of Israel, has become the God of so many all over the world?
This week’s readings proclaim God’s care, plan and calling for us all. They warn us of the rejection and hardships that may be faced and comfort us with God’s promise to deliver us. The readings also challenge us to listen to the prophets in our midst, but as prophets, we are reminded to make love our focus, our aim and our purpose.
Luke 4: 24-26 “And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.”
The reason that people all over the world have come to know about the saving love of Jesus is in part because this message was rejected by the very people that Jesus came to save. Of course it was always part of God’s plan that all nations would be blessed through the Messiah, and the example that is given from the Old Testament scriptures is used by St. Luke to confirm to his non-Jewish readers that God sends his message and his love to all.
There is, however, a very definite warning in the Gospel of Luke to those who reject the message of God because they see the messenger as being just an ordinary bloke… or for that matter, an ordinary woman.
Sorry… but I have to bring this up. You see, I am a woman… kind of ordinary – depends on who you talk to Sometimes rather annoying. But, to get away from me and back to the point; God once used a donkey to get his message to someone. He actually made the donkey speak!!! But here in the 21st century, there are still many who don’t think we should have women preachers. Hmmm…. A donkey can give God’s message but not a female. Please tell me the logical reason behind this?
The same kind of ridicules bias is found from denomination to denomination. There exists a preconceived idea that certain people from certain denominations will be a certain way and preach a certain thing and therefore either be worth listening to or not worth listening to depending on their denomination rather than on what they actually say.
I’m guessing this is ironic. We read the Gospels and take it all so seriously that we call ourselves the people of God and yet we fail to understand what God is saying. We think that we are the good guys in the Gospel stories, but in actual fact, we are the ones Christ was trying to warn against…. Those who rejected the prophets..
How much do you love Jeremiah? I have a big soft spot for the bloke. His is an amazing story about a prophet who knew that God had called him. He knew that God had chosen him and that his was a destiny written by God. He knew that God formed him and knew him in his mother’s womb and that all of his days were known to God. He had a calling, he was chosen, he was destined….. sounds so awesome and amazing… but….. When God say’s don’t be afraid, there is usually a good reason to fear, and this is what God said to Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 1:6-8 “Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.’”
Just to reassure you, God’s message through the prophet Jeremiah was rejected and he was even thrown in jail. Those of his own people, God’s own people, did not acknowledge Jeremiah’s message.
So, if history is to teach us anything, we should be listening very hard and taking note of ourselves and our biases, because Jeremiah, this great and true messenger of God was rejected by his own “religious” people, and Jesus, the promised Messiah, was rejected by his own “religious” people. What prophets are we rejecting today because we “know” them / they are the son or daughter of a certain denomination, etc.. ?
Luke 4:22-25 “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’ He said to them, ‘Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself!” And you will say, “Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.”’ And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town.”
Do you ever wonder if Jesus came to downtown Aussie town, whether we would reject him? What would he look like? Doing street chaplaincy has brought about some interesting conversations and this was one subject that came up and I declared rather strongly that Jesus would probably have tattoos and fit in just fine down the street.
This was met with some disagreement…. Of course we know from the television show, The Big Bang Theory, that Jews can’t have tattoos… but if Jesus came to downtown Aussie town instead of Jerusalem, I don’t think the Jewish dos and don’ts would matter much…. God’s dos and don’ts ..yes they would matter!!! But that is where the argument was on the knife edge, because the Old Testament does actually mention not to have tattoos…… but there was a religious significance about those tattoos, most Aussie tattoos are for various commemorative and decorative purposes – and are skin deep. In fact all this brings me to this week’s New Testament reading.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
I think that about sums it up. End of argument. When we reject anyone, when we refuse to acknowledge the God given gifts that they offer, yet confess to be Christian, we are showing ourselves to be hypocritical Pharisees. – And we are rejecting Christ himself.
There are times for discernment and for speaking the truth, but the purpose of a harsh prophecy is to ultimately promote truth and love.
Jeremiah 1:10 “ See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.’
When we build a garden there is often some breaking up and tearing down before the plant can be established. Prophets today don’t say anything new. God’s word is complete. But the Prophets of today see the bigger picture and when the church and individuals in it are going astray…. It isn’t really that hard to discern whether we’ve gone astray when we read from the letter to the Corinthians and see a picture of how our church life should be.
I’m going to be a little bold and suggest that if our Church and we as Christians do not have this kind of love then we need to stop having any judgment on anyone else until it does.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
To be honest, we know from the next part of the reading that we will never have it completely right in this mortal shell, as we are told that now, we see things in part, but when we see Jesus face to face, we will then see things fully and know completely. Until then, we strive with God to be perfect in love, but resting and rejoicing that it is enough to strive, because our own failings have been covered by the all-consuming and perfect love of God.
Jeremiah 1: 4-10 Psalm 71: 1-6 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13 Luke 4: 21-30
Here in Australia, a land far removed from Israel, we find the Church, the people of God. We are people that God has called and God has chosen. How is this possible that God, who revealed himself as the God of the small nation of Israel, has become the God of so many all over the world?
This week’s readings proclaim God’s care, plan and calling for us all. They warn us of the rejection and hardships that may be faced and comfort us with God’s promise to deliver us. The readings also challenge us to listen to the prophets in our midst, but as prophets, we are reminded to make love our focus, our aim and our purpose.
Luke 4: 24-26 “And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.”
The reason that people all over the world have come to know about the saving love of Jesus is in part because this message was rejected by the very people that Jesus came to save. Of course it was always part of God’s plan that all nations would be blessed through the Messiah, and the example that is given from the Old Testament scriptures is used by St. Luke to confirm to his non-Jewish readers that God sends his message and his love to all.
There is, however, a very definite warning in the Gospel of Luke to those who reject the message of God because they see the messenger as being just an ordinary bloke… or for that matter, an ordinary woman.
Sorry… but I have to bring this up. You see, I am a woman… kind of ordinary – depends on who you talk to Sometimes rather annoying. But, to get away from me and back to the point; God once used a donkey to get his message to someone. He actually made the donkey speak!!! But here in the 21st century, there are still many who don’t think we should have women preachers. Hmmm…. A donkey can give God’s message but not a female. Please tell me the logical reason behind this?
The same kind of ridicules bias is found from denomination to denomination. There exists a preconceived idea that certain people from certain denominations will be a certain way and preach a certain thing and therefore either be worth listening to or not worth listening to depending on their denomination rather than on what they actually say.
I’m guessing this is ironic. We read the Gospels and take it all so seriously that we call ourselves the people of God and yet we fail to understand what God is saying. We think that we are the good guys in the Gospel stories, but in actual fact, we are the ones Christ was trying to warn against…. Those who rejected the prophets..
How much do you love Jeremiah? I have a big soft spot for the bloke. His is an amazing story about a prophet who knew that God had called him. He knew that God had chosen him and that his was a destiny written by God. He knew that God formed him and knew him in his mother’s womb and that all of his days were known to God. He had a calling, he was chosen, he was destined….. sounds so awesome and amazing… but….. When God say’s don’t be afraid, there is usually a good reason to fear, and this is what God said to Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 1:6-8 “Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.’”
Just to reassure you, God’s message through the prophet Jeremiah was rejected and he was even thrown in jail. Those of his own people, God’s own people, did not acknowledge Jeremiah’s message.
So, if history is to teach us anything, we should be listening very hard and taking note of ourselves and our biases, because Jeremiah, this great and true messenger of God was rejected by his own “religious” people, and Jesus, the promised Messiah, was rejected by his own “religious” people. What prophets are we rejecting today because we “know” them / they are the son or daughter of a certain denomination, etc.. ?
Luke 4:22-25 “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’ He said to them, ‘Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself!” And you will say, “Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.”’ And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town.”
Do you ever wonder if Jesus came to downtown Aussie town, whether we would reject him? What would he look like? Doing street chaplaincy has brought about some interesting conversations and this was one subject that came up and I declared rather strongly that Jesus would probably have tattoos and fit in just fine down the street.
This was met with some disagreement…. Of course we know from the television show, The Big Bang Theory, that Jews can’t have tattoos… but if Jesus came to downtown Aussie town instead of Jerusalem, I don’t think the Jewish dos and don’ts would matter much…. God’s dos and don’ts ..yes they would matter!!! But that is where the argument was on the knife edge, because the Old Testament does actually mention not to have tattoos…… but there was a religious significance about those tattoos, most Aussie tattoos are for various commemorative and decorative purposes – and are skin deep. In fact all this brings me to this week’s New Testament reading.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
I think that about sums it up. End of argument. When we reject anyone, when we refuse to acknowledge the God given gifts that they offer, yet confess to be Christian, we are showing ourselves to be hypocritical Pharisees. – And we are rejecting Christ himself.
There are times for discernment and for speaking the truth, but the purpose of a harsh prophecy is to ultimately promote truth and love.
Jeremiah 1:10 “ See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.’
When we build a garden there is often some breaking up and tearing down before the plant can be established. Prophets today don’t say anything new. God’s word is complete. But the Prophets of today see the bigger picture and when the church and individuals in it are going astray…. It isn’t really that hard to discern whether we’ve gone astray when we read from the letter to the Corinthians and see a picture of how our church life should be.
I’m going to be a little bold and suggest that if our Church and we as Christians do not have this kind of love then we need to stop having any judgment on anyone else until it does.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
To be honest, we know from the next part of the reading that we will never have it completely right in this mortal shell, as we are told that now, we see things in part, but when we see Jesus face to face, we will then see things fully and know completely. Until then, we strive with God to be perfect in love, but resting and rejoicing that it is enough to strive, because our own failings have been covered by the all-consuming and perfect love of God.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Australia Day Reflection 26 Jan 2013
AUSTRALIA DAY
Jeremiah 29:4-14 Psalm 33:12-21 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 John 8:31-36
Australia Day always begs the question of our Australian identity. We have the indigenous Australians who see Australia Day as a bit of an insult and we have plenty who see Australians as those easy going larrikins who love a beer or six. In the middle of this are those who are just a little confused trying to figure out how we are any different to any other nation in this era of Globalization.
Before we look at the readings I’d like to have a look at the name “Australia”. Every name means something, and Australia means, “South Land”, and it obvious that our land is a great land in the southern hemisphere. Before the explorers came and named it Australia, it had no other name. There were indigenous living here but they consisted of many different tribes with many different languages – there was no name for Australia.
Throughout the Bible we see that God is big on naming things. Naming things gives them a purpose, a story, an identity, a place in history, and a future. The history of Australia certainly has some similarities with the ancient Israelites, because just as those people were taken into exile in foreign lands against their will, so too many of the early Australians were settled in Australia as convicts sent to the colony against their will. Oh, and don’t forget that the Israelites were sent into exile because of their sin…. However, our God of love and grace says this to them:
Jeremiah 29:4-7 ““This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.””
Australia has been a country that began in strife, but flourished and prospered greatly.
Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.”
Our psalm for this week tells us about how a king is not saved by a great army, but by the will of God. There are so many stories of the weaker army prevailing because of their reliance on God and in Australia’s history there is grounding in Christianity that bore the fruits of God’s provision.
There are those today who will deny our Christian heritage, but this Christian heritage is historical fact. Even now, although we, as a country, have drifted a long way from our Christian heritage, our public holidays proclaim the lingering blessings of Christianity and we acknowledge Good Friday as a holiday where there are less shops open than any other day. Then of course we have Easter and Christmas as a testimony to our Christianity – and fast becoming a testimony to our new religion of materialism.
1 Thessalonians 5:12-15 “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.”
We are to be different from the people who do not confess a belief in Christ. What this means is that we will have an attitude that enables the Gospel to be preached without us needing to say a word. And this attitude is what we find defined in the letter to the Thessalonians. Sadly, we are falling short. Do we really acknowledge those who care for us in the Lord? And heaven forbid that they should admonish us!!! We are told to hold them in highest regard in love. And they’ll know we are Christians by our love…. This is how we prosper as a church…
The letter continues to exhort us to live in peace with each other and not be idle or disruptive… we are to encourage the disheartened, help the weak and be patient with everyone – never paying back wrong for wrong, but always striving to do what is good. To live this way is in direct contrast to the world. It always makes me cringe when I hear of people making judgments – and putting others down – and I would have to say it is heard as often in the church – sometimes way more, than it is outside – and this is a terrible testimony and completely contradictory to the ways of God.
Our Gospel reading presents another challenge. Jesus speaks with the Jews who believed him and tells them that if they remain in his word they will then know the truth and the truth will set them free.
I’m thinking that this means it isn’t enough to fill in your census form and mark the religion box as being Christian. This has an implication for us personally as well as for Australia as a country. These were believers who were with Jesus and he tells them that they need to remain in his word. There is freedom for us and good news for our Country if we, and it, remain in HIS word. As a country we are falling, falling, falling. Faith matters less and less and no one cares that they don’t always attend church. We think that as long as we “believe”, then we have our golden ticket, but Jesus is very clearly stating that we need to remain in his word to know the truth and to be free.
Why do we need more than just believing? Because without remaining in Jesus, we get lost. Let me give you an example. I was challenged by some teenage students about the book The Divinci Code. There are a whole lot of theories about Jesus that are presented in that book which are so far beyond credible that I couldn’t even read it as the piece of FICTION that it is intended to be. I could immediate spot the blatant flaws, but many people were so impressed that they took on many of the lies as truth.
AND the truth really will set you free. One of my little pet sayings is, “if it doesn’t seem like Good News”- then you haven’t got the Gospel. There is more to the way of God than what we see in black and white print. We need to know the cultural setting, the history and traditions to understand the heart of what was being said and we need the wisdom of each other AND more than anything else, we need the spirit of Jesus.
John 8:34-36 “Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
The truth sets us free, and the Son sets us free. The truth is Jesus. We can read a person’s biography and think that we know all about them, but it is often not unless you have a personal relationship with that person that you can really know what they think and feel. This is especially true if we need to come to a decision about things that are not written…. We need to know Jesus, speak with him and let him speak to us.
We need the light of Jesus – the truth to enlighten our minds.
On our Australia Day it is worth recalling the story of Christianity to the Torres Strait Islanders. They mark the anniversary of this with a festival called “The Coming of the Light”:
“One Saturday evening, 1st July 1871, the Reverend Samuel MacFarlane of the London Missionary Society anchored at Erub (Darnley Island). The Society had been active in the Southwest Pacific since the 1840’s converting people to Christianity.
Dabad, a Warrior Clan Elder on Erub, “defied his Tribal Law” and openly welcomed the London Missionary Society clergymen and South Sea Islander evangelists and teachers. Torres Strait Islanders acknowledgment of the missionaries was the acceptance of a change that would profoundly affect every aspect of life in the Torres Strait from that time onwards.” http://www.southbank.qm.qld.gov.au/Events+and+Exhibitions/Exhibitions/Permanent/Dandiiri+Maiwar/Torres+Strait+Islander+resilience/Coming+of+the+light
I spent some time in Cairns and did some theological studies with the indigenous theology students. It was explained to me that these people had God…. They knew God, but they didn’t know Jesus. There was a prophecy among them about a man who would come and bring the light. The tribe had been cannibalistic before this time and so it was such a huge miracle of God to prepare them in such a way that it was immediately recognized that this missionary was the one prophesied about who was bringing the light.
We, and the rest of Australia, need the light of truth. We’ve been asleep in the light for such a long time that we allowed the light to grow dim. We’ve been accepting lies as truth and thinking that truth are lies. We need the enlightenment of the spirit of Jesus. We need to claim this land as did the Spanish explorer Pedro Fernandes de Queirós in May of 1606 and name this land, Australia del Espiritu Santo – (Great Southland of the Holy Spirit).
Just as the Israelite exiles had children in foreign lands, who grew up knowing no other home, most of us call Australia home. We’ve been here so many generations now that there is only one other place that we call home and that is heaven. While we are on this earth and part of this country we belong to no other and we are to pray for it and care for it as if our own. In this way the country will prosper according to God’s will and we in turn will prosper – and this is God’s will for us and for our country…..
Jeremiah 29:11-13 ““For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.””
Jeremiah 29:4-14 Psalm 33:12-21 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 John 8:31-36
Australia Day always begs the question of our Australian identity. We have the indigenous Australians who see Australia Day as a bit of an insult and we have plenty who see Australians as those easy going larrikins who love a beer or six. In the middle of this are those who are just a little confused trying to figure out how we are any different to any other nation in this era of Globalization.
Before we look at the readings I’d like to have a look at the name “Australia”. Every name means something, and Australia means, “South Land”, and it obvious that our land is a great land in the southern hemisphere. Before the explorers came and named it Australia, it had no other name. There were indigenous living here but they consisted of many different tribes with many different languages – there was no name for Australia.
Throughout the Bible we see that God is big on naming things. Naming things gives them a purpose, a story, an identity, a place in history, and a future. The history of Australia certainly has some similarities with the ancient Israelites, because just as those people were taken into exile in foreign lands against their will, so too many of the early Australians were settled in Australia as convicts sent to the colony against their will. Oh, and don’t forget that the Israelites were sent into exile because of their sin…. However, our God of love and grace says this to them:
Jeremiah 29:4-7 ““This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.””
Australia has been a country that began in strife, but flourished and prospered greatly.
Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.”
Our psalm for this week tells us about how a king is not saved by a great army, but by the will of God. There are so many stories of the weaker army prevailing because of their reliance on God and in Australia’s history there is grounding in Christianity that bore the fruits of God’s provision.
There are those today who will deny our Christian heritage, but this Christian heritage is historical fact. Even now, although we, as a country, have drifted a long way from our Christian heritage, our public holidays proclaim the lingering blessings of Christianity and we acknowledge Good Friday as a holiday where there are less shops open than any other day. Then of course we have Easter and Christmas as a testimony to our Christianity – and fast becoming a testimony to our new religion of materialism.
1 Thessalonians 5:12-15 “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.”
We are to be different from the people who do not confess a belief in Christ. What this means is that we will have an attitude that enables the Gospel to be preached without us needing to say a word. And this attitude is what we find defined in the letter to the Thessalonians. Sadly, we are falling short. Do we really acknowledge those who care for us in the Lord? And heaven forbid that they should admonish us!!! We are told to hold them in highest regard in love. And they’ll know we are Christians by our love…. This is how we prosper as a church…
The letter continues to exhort us to live in peace with each other and not be idle or disruptive… we are to encourage the disheartened, help the weak and be patient with everyone – never paying back wrong for wrong, but always striving to do what is good. To live this way is in direct contrast to the world. It always makes me cringe when I hear of people making judgments – and putting others down – and I would have to say it is heard as often in the church – sometimes way more, than it is outside – and this is a terrible testimony and completely contradictory to the ways of God.
Our Gospel reading presents another challenge. Jesus speaks with the Jews who believed him and tells them that if they remain in his word they will then know the truth and the truth will set them free.
I’m thinking that this means it isn’t enough to fill in your census form and mark the religion box as being Christian. This has an implication for us personally as well as for Australia as a country. These were believers who were with Jesus and he tells them that they need to remain in his word. There is freedom for us and good news for our Country if we, and it, remain in HIS word. As a country we are falling, falling, falling. Faith matters less and less and no one cares that they don’t always attend church. We think that as long as we “believe”, then we have our golden ticket, but Jesus is very clearly stating that we need to remain in his word to know the truth and to be free.
Why do we need more than just believing? Because without remaining in Jesus, we get lost. Let me give you an example. I was challenged by some teenage students about the book The Divinci Code. There are a whole lot of theories about Jesus that are presented in that book which are so far beyond credible that I couldn’t even read it as the piece of FICTION that it is intended to be. I could immediate spot the blatant flaws, but many people were so impressed that they took on many of the lies as truth.
AND the truth really will set you free. One of my little pet sayings is, “if it doesn’t seem like Good News”- then you haven’t got the Gospel. There is more to the way of God than what we see in black and white print. We need to know the cultural setting, the history and traditions to understand the heart of what was being said and we need the wisdom of each other AND more than anything else, we need the spirit of Jesus.
John 8:34-36 “Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
The truth sets us free, and the Son sets us free. The truth is Jesus. We can read a person’s biography and think that we know all about them, but it is often not unless you have a personal relationship with that person that you can really know what they think and feel. This is especially true if we need to come to a decision about things that are not written…. We need to know Jesus, speak with him and let him speak to us.
We need the light of Jesus – the truth to enlighten our minds.
On our Australia Day it is worth recalling the story of Christianity to the Torres Strait Islanders. They mark the anniversary of this with a festival called “The Coming of the Light”:
“One Saturday evening, 1st July 1871, the Reverend Samuel MacFarlane of the London Missionary Society anchored at Erub (Darnley Island). The Society had been active in the Southwest Pacific since the 1840’s converting people to Christianity.
Dabad, a Warrior Clan Elder on Erub, “defied his Tribal Law” and openly welcomed the London Missionary Society clergymen and South Sea Islander evangelists and teachers. Torres Strait Islanders acknowledgment of the missionaries was the acceptance of a change that would profoundly affect every aspect of life in the Torres Strait from that time onwards.” http://www.southbank.qm.qld.gov.au/Events+and+Exhibitions/Exhibitions/Permanent/Dandiiri+Maiwar/Torres+Strait+Islander+resilience/Coming+of+the+light
I spent some time in Cairns and did some theological studies with the indigenous theology students. It was explained to me that these people had God…. They knew God, but they didn’t know Jesus. There was a prophecy among them about a man who would come and bring the light. The tribe had been cannibalistic before this time and so it was such a huge miracle of God to prepare them in such a way that it was immediately recognized that this missionary was the one prophesied about who was bringing the light.
We, and the rest of Australia, need the light of truth. We’ve been asleep in the light for such a long time that we allowed the light to grow dim. We’ve been accepting lies as truth and thinking that truth are lies. We need the enlightenment of the spirit of Jesus. We need to claim this land as did the Spanish explorer Pedro Fernandes de Queirós in May of 1606 and name this land, Australia del Espiritu Santo – (Great Southland of the Holy Spirit).
Just as the Israelite exiles had children in foreign lands, who grew up knowing no other home, most of us call Australia home. We’ve been here so many generations now that there is only one other place that we call home and that is heaven. While we are on this earth and part of this country we belong to no other and we are to pray for it and care for it as if our own. In this way the country will prosper according to God’s will and we in turn will prosper – and this is God’s will for us and for our country…..
Jeremiah 29:11-13 ““For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.””
Friday, January 11, 2013
Reflection for 13th Jan 2013
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”.
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 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.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)