September 30, 2018   PROPER 21 (26) Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost Year B
Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22 and Psalm 124  •  James 5:13-20  •  Mark 9:38-50

Do we realize our position of privilege?  We are children of God, belonging to his royal family and, as should be because of this, we have great power and a great responsibility.

Our first reading is from the book of Esther. Let me tell you about Esther, the young Jewish girl who became Queen when the Persian King married her while the Jews were living in exile.  They were in exile because of the great sin of the nation. 

Esther was described as being highly obedient both to her uncle who brought her up and to her husband the King.  So it was totally out of character that she should seek to speak to the king and, due to the law of that society, it took great courage as there was the threat of death for speaking out of turn, unless the king desired to spare her.  Esther was highly courageous, as not only was she to initiate conversation with the King, but she had a huge favour to request.  Her request was that the King should intervene in the plan that Haman, the king’s assistant (2 I C), had to annihilate the Jewish people.

Although it was not etiquette for her to initiate conversation with the king, she was the only Jew who had this position of privilege and relationship with the King, such that she could intercede for her people and nation.  She prayed and fasted before taking action and others outside the palace prayed and fasted with her.  When she did take action the result was favourable and the nation was saved.

We live in a privileged nation and we live lives of great privilege in the year 2018.   But there are things in our nation that require us to take a stand as the people of God.  When there are injustices and voices that need us to speak for them, we have a responsibility as the people of God to do so.  Just like Esther we need to pray and fast with those outside our camp so that we are doing all things according to his will.

Esther lived inside the palace and only received and gave messages about standing together in prayer.  I do wonder what those Jewish outsiders thought of Esther, the little Jewish girl who attracted the king and won the title of Queen. 

In our Gospel reading we see that the Disciples of Jesus were not impressed by the outsider who was casting out demons in Jesus name.  The disciples tried to stop him.   I wonder if the outsiders in Esther’s time tried to stop her becoming Queen?  If they had, God’s means to save them could not have come to be.  And to paraphrase the words of her uncle in an earlier part of the book, “who knows, maybe you were put in this position for this very purpose”.

Who are our outsiders?

A JOKE –A virtuous woman dies, goes to heaven, and finds everything she expected: picturesque landscapes, perfect sunsets, and infinite tranquillity and serenity. Only one thing puzzles her: a high wall, far off in the distance that climbs almost to the clouds.
“What’s behind that wall?” she asks one of the angels.
“Oh, that’s where we put the Catholics,” the angel replies. “They think they’re the only ones up here.”

It seems that this Gospel reading is dealing with the quarrels in the early church where different groups all saw themselves as being more authentic than others.  Nothing much has changed!  So we could easily become complacent about the issue and just accept it, but look again at the reading because this is not a G rated script, but more; “warning, strong violence and themes of body dismembering!”

Mark 9:43 “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.”

Strong words and warnings that are not to be taken literally, but shockingly serious warnings which we’ve pretty much failed to heed.  The severity of the words serve as a warning and follow the warning about causing a “little one to fall”.

Mark 9:42 "If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.”

All of these strong statements are like a slap across the face, but so shocking that perhaps we fail to connect them with the original statement from the disciples which brought on this barrage of warnings.  It was that statement being about the person casting out demons in Jesus’ name and the disciples trying to stop him.

Have we ever tried to stop someone who was doing something in Jesus name because they were not “one of us”?

Often, if we feel we are not in control, or even simply if we feel overlooked, it is all too easy to discourage, discount, even defame and reject those who are simply trying to do something in Jesus name.  What would Jesus do? 

These struggles happen because of our own feelings that we are right and others are not and, just like the disciples, we feel we are doing the right thing in stopping them, but we really need to stop and think about what we are doing and why? 

It is something that happens in volunteer organization regularly.  To be honest, there have been times when I felt I was trying to do things in Jesus name and I was stopped, discouraged and discounted.  An example; Back when Joe was alive I noticed something that was in need and knew I could fix it.  Joe said to go and do it, so I did, but later had someone confronted me over it.  I was shocked as I had only wanted to help.  And the fruit of that situation is that the thing I fixed is still used and amazing. 

That is one side of the coin, but I also need to remember this as I deal with people – and in our Street Chaplaincy organisation, often people want to do things to help…. And others get upset about it!  For example; the lady who makes chocolate crackles for special occasions … her own donation… but others think it is pointless and an extra unnecessary thing to worry about… but is it?   People on the street often talk about the chocolate crackle lady and how they love it.  As people from many different Christian traditions express a desire to have an impact, I need to remember that Chaplaincy doesn’t belong to me, but to God and anything done in his name are people working for him and therefore we are on the same team…. Sometimes instead of stopping things, just because it is not “MY” thing, I need to instead ask how I can help.  Can you imagine a world where we all encouraged each other like this?

Why was Jesus so very adamant about this issue?  In what ways are these “outsiders”, the “Little ones” that we mustn’t cause to stumble?   I think a classic example is in the life of the famous painter, Vincent Van Gogh.   Did you know that in his earlier life he was a zealous Christian who was devoting his whole life to serving and working as a missionary?

There is an article on the net that I would highly recommend, by Aaron Gloy.

http://aarongloy.com/2014/03/25/the-tragic-faith-story-of-vincent-van-gogh/

Van Gogh would eventually move to Amsterdam with the intent of studying theology at a school there. When he was unable to pass the entrance exam, he opted instead to study at a protestant missions school near Brussels.
It was from here that Van Gogh went to the mission field.
Moved by his conviction to share the gospel, Van Gogh took a position as an evangelist in a small mining community in Belgium. Like a true missionary, Van Gogh committed to live a poor, meagre lifestyle amongst the miners in order to adopt their way of life and more effectively minister to them. The local priesthood, however, did not like that at all. They found Van Gogh’s actions insulting to their vocation. So together they dismissed Van Gogh for what they called “undermining the dignity of the priesthood.”
This had a profound effect on Vincent Van Gogh. Personally, I’m not sure he ever fully recovered from it.

I find his painting of the church of Auvers interesting…. What do you notice?  The church is closed.  There is a divide between the church and outside.


When we hurt the people in God’s family it is a serious thing.  If it is our eye that causes us to do this it is better to… well … you know what Jesus said…  but we often fail to even see that we have sinned in this way.  In fact consider that this most graphic warning is not given to the woman caught in adultery or the tax collectors etc..,  but to the disciples who tried to stop an someone in ministry.

From the letter of James: 5:16 “Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.”
We need safe people who we can…. Let’s use the word “debrief” with.  Really… we need to confess our sins to one another – but I think the concept maybe too foreign, so to begin with we need to understand debrief - it means that we discuss situations in safety and confidentiality, not to work out an answer or be told what to do, but so that we can logically and rationally have help with seeing the situation clearly…. Perhaps once we do this we can than reach a point of confessing.   In doing this we keep a watch on our actions and help each other…. We cover a multitude of sins… because let’s face it, we are going to get things wrong a lot.  We are human and fallible, but in realizing what we are doing we can make a change.

We are told the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective, but to be righteous with God we need to be in a right relationship with both each other and with God.   Abraham believed God and it was credited as righteousness.  There is a righteousness that comes through faith and by being aligned with God through the life of Christ and all have access to this righteousness.
The Gospel reading ends with, 9:49 "For everyone will be salted with fire. 9:50 Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."

We are completely forgiven, set free and redeemed by Jesus, but the fire that we need to be salted with is our own willingness and desire to live fully submitted to God by examining ourselves and actually being courageous & willing to look our own sin fair and square in the eye.  Do you have salt in yourself?  Do you examine your motives and actions in the light of God’s law?  That is the salt we all need, but we can have confidence to do this only when we understand God’s mercy and grace.

It is vital that we all get serious with ourselves because we need the powerful and effective prayers of the righteous.  We are told that the prayers of Elijah stopped the rain.  We can sit comfortable in our palaces….or in our case, our comfortable churches, but like Queen Esther we have this position for a reason and it is to save God’s chosen people.  Like those praying and fasting with Esther we need to see the salvation of God over the matters that darken our society… the salvation of the unheard voices for whom we need to speak.  It’s time we claimed back the spiritual ground that we’ve been losing and built up the church of God – not just our denominational Church, but God’s Church.

Reflection for Proper 18 September 9th 2018 FAVOURITES

September 9, 2018   PROPER 18 (23)  Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost Year B


There are 106 days until Christmas.   One of my daughters loves to do these count-downs, but both of my daughters absolutely love Christmas, and I may be to blame, as might my own mother, as we make a pretty big deal of it and love to lavish others with delightful surprises.

I have actually begun my Christmas shopping already!  As I order things online, or see things that I think my girls will like, I am very sure to keep what I purchase in equal amounts because what I get for one, I must get the same or similar for the other – because as all we parents know – we don’t have favourites. 

Please don’t listen to my girls on this issue because they may disagree with this statement.

This concept of favouritism comes up in the scripture readings today.

Proverbs 22:1 tells us that “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favour is better than silver or gold.”

Looking up research about favouritism I found that there are conflicts about admitting to have a favourite in the family.  ALL parents strive to treat children equally but every family can quickly tell you who the favourite is.  This dynamic can lead to all kinds of issues in life both for the favourite and for the one who feels lesser.   All children long to hear their parent tell them that they are loved to the moon and back…..  and that they are more important to them than anyone else.  This gives the child a sense of security and comfort that enables them to face the lesser friendly world outside.

This concept of being someone’s favourite is not just a childish thing.  We all need to know that we are important to someone.   To some extent we grow up and leave home but continue to seek favour in other places.  When/ if we find favour we can then feel secure in our jobs, in our social groups, with our mate.

On the other side of the coin is the warning that we read about in the second reading, the epistle of James.

James 2:1- 4,  “My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favouritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?  For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?”

As much as it might be a natural thing to be naturally more comfortable with some people over others, the scriptures tell us that we must be careful to treat all people without partiality.  In fact it says that we sin and become law breakers if we treat people differently. …. this whole love your neighbour thing implies that we are to treat all as favourites.

In the Gospel readings Jesus was trying to go about quietly, without notice in the beginning, but the reading coincidentally ends with him using the word Ephphatha.

The Greek word used means more than just "to open." It means to open in order to make a connection.  Much like we need our eyes miraculously opened to see the things of God.

But wait…. What is this in the Gospel that suddenly assaults our sensitivities? And perhaps it is only in the light of our minds being opened to understanding Christ’s motivation to connect with the heart of people that this makes any sense.

A Gentile lady of Syrophoenician origin comes to Jesus with a request to heal her daughter of a demon.  Jesus reply is ridiculously harsh and well… very un-Jesus like.

Throughout this reading we see Jesus performing miracles, but trying hard to keep it quiet.  Some have suggested that the way to get something known is to ask them not to say anything, but I believe Jesus had a deeper agenda than the physical healings and the hype that physical healings creates sometimes impedes that deeper thinking and connecting with God.  This deeper agenda is, what I believe was happening in the Gentile lady. 

In some of the research that I did about Jews and Gentiles, I found that there was a belief about the spirit of the Gentiles being the same as that of the animals.  It is perhaps this common understanding that was floating around the woman’s mind as she pondered her actions before coming to Jesus. 

The lady knew that as far as this society was concerned she was not among the favoured children.

Throughout the history of the Israelites, we read in the Old Testament that Israel was God’s favourite and chosen nation.  When other nations came against the Israelites, even because of their disobedience to God, God always declared that he would take up Israel’s cause and punish the oppressing nation.

I imagine the Syrophoenician woman was in inner turmoil about coming to Jesus with her request.  I imagine that she, like most of us when we come with a request to God, had thoughts about how she was unworthy of His time, let alone his favour to grant her this request.

The only explanation for Jesus harsh statement – which actually was slightly softened as he didn’t call her a Gentile dog like perhaps was the common term among Jews, but his actual word was more like, “puppy”.

It was as if he was reading the lady’s mind and dealing directly with her heart.  She knew who she was to the Jews, but this picture that Jesus gave of the puppy immediately reminded her of how they would feed the dogs under the table.   And a puppy in the household is usually the favourite centre of attention.

Sometime ago I was given a letter of encouragement.  I can’t remember much about it except that it made me laugh because the person writing it seemed so very obviously to see himself as God’s favourite.

While his intentions were to encourage me, the way that he did it was to proclaim that through His special relationship with God, God had shown him that I was special too.  That is nice. 

I laughed because of the obvious lack of comprehension about my own relationship with God and because of a beautiful memory that came to mind which seemed to illustrate the situation perfectly.


When my sister was getting married in Brisbane we were reunited with friends from afar.  One very special lady was Mrs Miller.  Mrs Miller had previously lived in Mackay and used to run a dance supplies shop.  She has a daughter, who is now a dance teacher, who learned dancing from Betty Meskel – as did my sister… Mrs Miller was a great friend to my Mum and my Mum stayed with her and worked with her for a while in Sydney when my sister was also down there.

Mrs Miller has a big personality!   At the wedding Mrs Miller made a point of giving all Mum’s grandchildren a big hug and made a huge fuss of each of them…. Then she whispered in their ear…  “your gran tells me that you’re the favourite”.

This is what God does to each of us.  So to you and you and you and you…. God whispers… “You are my favourite”.  Do you realize that YOU are God’s favourite?


But on the flip side…. See these people over here…. Even though we know we are God’s favourite, if we are dealing with these people over here, we mustn’t deal with them as if we are God’s favourite and they are not because, guess what?  He has “done a Mrs. Miller” and whispered to them also that they are His favourite.


Some of God’s favourites are smart and some are not. Some are eccentric and some and some are plain weird.  Some are old and some are very young.  Some are simply awesome.  Some we will be naturally drawn to and some we will not.  But one thing I believe will make God smile, is that we should strive to always treat those we meet and greet as if they are God’s favourite – because in fact they just might be. 

The miracle we need today is for Jesus to touch our eyes and say “Ephphatha”, so that our formerly blinded eyes can be opened to see the favour of God in those around us.

Reflection on readings for All Saints day used for ordination Deacon

My Reflection on these readings: Isaiah 25:6-9,  Psalm 24, Revelation 21:1-6, John 11:32-44

These are the readings for All Saints day and the readings for my ordination to the deaconate.

“TAKE AWAY THE STONE”.  This was the command of Jesus.  It was a bigger ask than you may immediately imagine.

Mary and Martha’s brother had died.  When he was sick they had sent for Jesus, but by the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead four days.

 Let’s put it in context.  Imagine someone you love has died.  You’ve had the service, said your good-bye’s and had the graveside ceremony, throwing dirt on top of the coffin.  You’ve walked away and cried with your friends at the wake.  In Jesus’ time the ceremony took place on the same day of the death.  So, although that part was done, four days after the pain was still very fresh…. But the corpse was not.

When Jesus requires them to take away the stone he is referring to the stone that sealed the entrance to where the corpse had be laid.  If the very pain of the death was not bad enough, now there is this request which seems to strike at the heart of their pain bringing fresh fear of the smell of rotting flesh and the disrespect of dishonouring the memory of Lazarus – not to mention the sin of uncleanliness that was part of the Jewish law which stated that to touch a dead body would make you unclean, and ceremonially unclean for 7 days.

Psalm 24:3-4 tells us, “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?  Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.” 

This is the Psalm that gives us hope that we will be acceptable to God.  But then we realize that we have lifted up our souls to all kinds of false.  There are people we’ve placed as god in our lives and there are ambitions and pleasures.  Not that any good and joyful thing would be denied us by God, but that we’ve neglected God in our pursuit of these things.  All in all, most of us become aware that our lives fall very short of being as pure as we’d like.

In many ways we feel like we are Lazarus in the tomb.  We may have gone in there washed clean, but if the stone was rolled away and the true state of our heart revealed, most of us would feel a little more than apprehensive about the rotten state in which it would be found.

When Jesus sees how upset Mary is and those with her he is also troubled and he weeps.  This brings about two different responses in the onlookers, one favourable and one not so.

When Jesus tells them to take away the stone, he also reminds the sisters that he had told them that if they believe they would see the glory of God.  Now I’m thinking that this may be interpreted that “If you believe God can raise the dead, he will- But if you don’t, he wont”…. Of course, this kind of thinking is wrong, and we know this by following along with the rest of the story where Jesus prays and says that he makes his request to the father so that those witnessing will believe.  The ladies had a relationship with Jesus.  They believed in him and his love for them.  Beyond this was unknown and perhaps a little sketchy.

This is much like all of us.  We believe in God, but the out-workings of that belief and the limits are sometimes areas that need work – and sometimes we aren’t meant to know – but instead we trust that God knows things that we don’t.

There is some great news in this reading because this is one of the miracles that Jesus performed for which no one explicitly asked.  The ladies called for Jesus because they knew he could heal the sick, but what would happen next took all by surprise… and I suspect none of their lives would be the same again – especially Lazarus.

When you think about it, there are a number of miracles that Jesus performed which he initiated out of love and empathy.   It was empathy that caused him to weep with the mourners. He knew that this day would become a glorious one of celebration, yet he still took the time to weep with those who were weeping.  He stood as one with them and not as one with superior knowledge and a covert agenda…. He did genuinely care.

And what of our rotten hearts?

Our hearts will work best if we take away the stone.  

All too often we try to give people the appearance of our life and we want to be those people who have all the answers…. After all this is the Christian Church and we are trying to tell people that God has all the answers for everything……

As we witnessed in this story, even when Jesus had all the answers, he still wept in solidarity with the people.

There is a time for everything, and Jesus did go on after firstly weeping, to declare the Good News and then to prove it.  In order for the Good News to be realized there was that huge step of obedience.  Taking the stone away and preparing to be met with whatever horror is on the other side, is not something any of us do willingly, but only something we can do because of our relationship with Jesus.

Having the stone rolled away and being called out is a feeling of real vulnerability.  Will people recoil from the truth about who I am? 

For me, stepping into the role of Deacon feels a bit like Lazarus being called out by Jesus.  I feel vulnerable and I’m not sure about what is next or whether that which people will see, will send them recoiling in rejection.  I don’t see anything good enough for Jesus to be interested in.  Yet he calls. 

For all of us, with our tightly wrapped inner fears about our true selves being an unsightly mess, Jesus calls us to come out.  Then he tells those around us to “unbind us and let us go”. 

Isaiah 25:7 tells us, “And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever.”

In the story of Lazarus we see how Jesus proved that God has power over death and death is not the end.  But it was through the cross that he gave us the grace of God’s acceptance and welcome into eternal life.  That life starts now.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life, and he imparts this life of His to us.  It is different to the life we’ve had.  With the freedom and the realization of our eternal life beginning now, it brings us the challenge to take the stone away….   But also there is a command to unbind others and let them go.

Reflection for 29th July 2018 HALLELUJAH !

Year B July 29, 2018  PROPER 12 (17) Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

2 Samuel 11:1-15 and Psalm 14  •  Ephesians 3:14-21  • John 6:1-21

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPPH-rDQtVg 

I think the words go, "you saw her bathing on the roof her beauty in the Moonlight overthrew you.".  These are words from the song Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen). The song goes on with many other biblical references although it is song about love and it isn't a gospel song.  However this little section refers to the story of David and Bathsheba.

The story of David and Bathsheba appear in the Scripture reading for this weekend. I find it interesting that we refer to it this way, and not as the story of David and Uriah (Bathsheba's husband).  For the uninitiated, this story is about David taking another man's wife, she falls pregnant, and then he tries to cover it up by bringing Uriah back from the fighting so that Uriah would think that the child is his.

Traditionally I think we've all thought about this story as being a story of adultery and that was the great sin that David committed.  But it's worse than that, David actually committed murder.

When David's cover up plan didn't work he organised for Uriah to be put at the front line of the fighting, therefore Uriah was killed.

A Couple of things that have suddenly struck me. Firstly the fact that we have traditionally read this as a story of adultery, rather than murder (and really it should be the other way around), tells me a lot about our society.... And secondly, there is a whole lot we need to learn by looking more at what happens between David and Uriah.

Here is a reflection question for you; When we do the wrong thing, do we aim to manipulate someone innocent into the web of our actions so that they become entangled and as they struggle, like a fly in a spiders web, they take the focus away from us? 

Uriah did not cover up David's action. Because Uriah was resolute in his convictions and could not be caught in David's web , David had to manipulate the situation for Uriah to be killed.  When we come across someone who won't "play our game", do we discredit them in the eyes of others... Do we gosip about them... Do we hate them?  

I remember two of my friends from long ago ...one strongly disliked the other because the goodness of one showed up the other. 

The story of David's interaction with Uriah goes on all the time yet because we've focused on the story of David and Bathsheba we've not learnt this lesson.  We need to learn this lesson because people are dying on the inside because of our actions and they are innocent.

There's a line in the story that says the thing that David did displeased the Lord .  Every one immediately thinks of Bathsheba and David, forgetting Uriah, not even remembering his name.

Great blessing came from David and Bathsheba as Bathsheba was eventually to give birth to the great King Solomon, however Uriah's story ends. Might I suggest that this was really the thing that displeased the Lord.

The most incredible thing about this story really is that David was a favourite of God's. He did this really, really horrible thing and God still loved him and forgave him. True he was confronted by God and made to face the error of his ways but God continued to be with him.

The writer of Amazing Grace understood this incredible forgiveness. He had been involved in the slave trade and understood well the manipulation, the deception, the disregard for human life, and the murder. This was the reality of John Newton and when God confronted him opening his eyes to what was really going on, he also repented.
To repent comes from a word which means to turn around and go back the other way, and it's to do with changing our mind. These people realized the errors of their ways and they repented, and in that repentance they understood the Amazing Grace of God who can forgive even someone who commits these horrible, horrible things.

And so the message for us is to open our eyes and see what we are really doing.  Question ourselves and ask if we are manipulating and hating someone else to cover up our own inadequacies and iniquities.  And secondly, our message from this, is to understand that our iniquities or sin, our failings, are all forgivable.

God continued to be with David and bless him.  God chose him as the ancestor of a line of kings that followed through to Jesus Christ.  King David’s line lasted forever and yet King Saul’s did not.  The difference perhaps being that David humbly sought God most earnestly, and honestly repented.

Ephesians 3:16 – 19 “ I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.  I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

God is extravagantly generous with his love, forgiveness and provision.  Why are we not exuberantly delighting in this?  I suspect that when we do understand, we can then truly begin to live the life that God intended.   Let go of your failings… they are forgiven!!!  Dealt with on the cross once and for all.  Hallelujah !

Who will be king?

PROPER 5 (10) - Third Sunday after Pentecost - Year B - June 10, 2018

1 SAMUEL 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (11:14-15) AND PSALM 138  •

 GENESIS 3:8-15 AND PSALM 130  • 2 CORINTHIANS 4:13-5:1  • MARK 3:20-35

Every now and then the set Lectionary readings seem to jump out with a very relevant and contemporary theme.

This week this is the case for me.

Our first reading from 1 Samuel 8, tells the story of those Israelites coming to see Samuel and telling him that they want a king.

Two questions firstly need to be answered; who is Samuel and who is ruling the nation if there is no king.

Samuel’s story began when his barren mother prayed for a child.  She promised that if God gave her a child, she would dedicate him to God.  This is what happened and Samuel lived with the high priest from the time he was a small boy.  Samuel was immersed in the ways of God and the stories of God’s interactions with His people from that early age, but most importantly, Samuel was called by God.

God actually woke Samuel from his sleep.  Samuel heard his voice from this young age.  For many religion is just that – a set of beliefs handed down that seem like a good idea and so you follow. 

People today trust in God though they haven’t heard his voice, but some have.

Samuel didn’t merely believe, he KNEW that there was a God and he knew that God had called him and was concerned for His people. 

The Israelites had been miraculously delivered out of the slavery of Egypt and Moses had been leading them.  After they had finally settled in the Promised Land they kind of did their own thing, but God had raised up prophets and judges along the way.  Really, God was in charge and the Israelites were free, but for that bit of guidance somehow God would raise up a leader who always kind of filled the need that they had – sometimes it was for wisdom, sometimes for deliverance from an enemy, but one thing is for sure, the Israelites knew that they were God’s people.

Now, the Israelites wanted a king to lead them.

Samuel felt rejected.  God explained to him that it wasn’t Samuel that they had rejected but in fact, they were rejecting the leadership of God.

The Israelites were free.

God had freed them from slavery.  They were free from the tyranny that might come from a king or dictatorial leadership, and in fact they were so free that God respected their free will and told Samuel to give them what they wanted.

A facebook friend recently posted “Being SAVED is Easy..STAYING SAVED is a Full Time Job..Just ask the 2 Million+ (Minus 2!) that DIDN'T ENTER the PROMISED LAND!”  You can argue with me if you like, but those who left Egypt were saved from Slavery and that was a fact and they stayed saved from the slavery of Egypt.   Mistakes they made, yes…. As humans do.  Let’s not hold it against them, but learn from them and especially learn from God.

God respected the free will of the people he saved because that is what freedom is; the freedom to make choices.  It doesn’t mean that God leaves your life or becomes disinterested.  The kings that followed were anointed by God and chosen as the ancestry of Christ.

Samuel was told that before he anointed the king he needed to warn the people about what this would mean for them.

Australian society is quickly changing.  The ignorance of those uneducated in the reality of our Christian heritage, means that they want to deny any good influence of the Church in the history of our nation.  Honestly, there have been so many bad incidences, that it is sometimes very hard to blame them.  But I feel like there are two things to be considered. 

1.     God has given them and us, the free will to make our own choices and we know He even respects our bad choices – so we need to respect this in others too – NOT that we have to adopt these for ourselves – but that we shouldn’t lose respect for, or sight of, the dignity that each person has, just because of their choices.

2.    I sense that someone needs to warn Australian society where their choices will take them.

Our Gospel reading for this weekend shows the rejection of God’s Kingship yet again.  The people were flocking to Jesus to the extent that his family couldn’t get to him and he couldn’t freely eat…. but yet he was rejected. 

Some of our churches are full and some are nearly empty.   A full church is no indication that people are following Jesus.  Some are curious about this religion stuff and some go because it is a habit that keeps family members happy.

Some go to church because it is a place where they have found acceptance and friendship, good values to teach the kids, kids clubs so they can go out, or their friends are there.

Some go to church, and due to their charisma and talent they find a place of importance and purpose.  We all want these things.  We can use Christian jargon and lead Bible studies, but it still doesn’t necessarily mean that God is our king.

When there is a wedding or a funeral the church is full again.  It’s a momentary glimpse at eternity, but no indication that Jesus is accepted as King.

The readings this week challenge us to this one thing; What will we do with our God given free will.  Will we serve Jesus as the King of our lives?

We have been freed from the eternal consequence of sin by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  Have we accepted that gift?  And now that we are truly free, our free will is still respected and God loves us.  But…. Who will you serve as King?

Yes…., in my book, there is really only one correct answer yet I understand and respect that you might not make this choice and I won’t judge you for that….. But I do challenge you to consider the benefits and consequences, and to ask yourself if you can make Jesus the Lord of your life, God, your king?

Bob Dylan SERVE SOMEBODY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtIEYjNZgiU

Reflection for Pentecost 20th May 2018 Bring it on!

DAY OF PENTECOST Year B May 20, 2018

Acts 2:1-21 or Ezekiel 37:1-14  •  Psalm 104:24-34, 35b  •  Romans 8:22-27 or Acts 2:1-21  •  John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

I’m inspired by the readings of Pentecost.  Into the humdrum of life emerges an explosive event.

Romans 8:22-23 “We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.”

Ah… there it is right there… You see, life is HARD.  Here on planet Earth there is a struggle – and it is not just a struggle for some random person, but also for those who have the first fruits of the Spirit.  The struggle is real!  Things on this planet are not the way the creator intended, and all of creation groans as if in labour pains as we long for a life that we sub-consciously, deep in our souls, know is meant to be something different and better.

There may be some Christians who will tell you that life is a breeze since they become a Christian.  Well God bless them and their little cotton socks, but for most of us who live in the real world, even though we’ve been given a vision and promise, we still struggle because things really are not how they could and should be…. Why do we think that Jesus gave us the “Our Father” as our prayer which states, “your kingdom come on Earth, as it is in Heaven” ?  Obviously, because how things are meant to be, as yet, are not.

On this day of Pentecost that prayer was answered in part. 

The followers of Christ were a frightened but hopeful bunch, gathered together and united in prayer and purpose.  Surprisingly, their meeting took an interesting and dramatic turn.  Partly, Heaven did come on Earth. 

There was the sound of a rushing wind and what appeared as tongues of fire settled above them and they began speaking in other languages…. It must have been quite a commotion because the visitors to the area heard them proclaiming and praising God in their native languages. 

Now there have been many a person to explain this event with varied and disagreeing views, however it is clear that something totally miraculous happened.  A scared group of people became courageous and somehow, not only did the listeners hear these people in their own language, but about 3000 of them were converted and joined them, confirming their conversion by baptism.

Truly this is a fulfilment of the prophecy of Ezekiel 37:4 - 5 “Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.””

The followers of Christ must have been worn out.  They had hope in Christ, but they had seen what the authorities do to those sent from God….. they crucified them.  The hope of Heaven on Earth was a very dry hope…  but on that day those dry bones truly lived, and hope was not just renewed, it was realized.

Much more I could say about all this, but here, I think, is the most important one for me today – the Kingdom of Heaven came and God’s will was done on Earth!  NOW, that Kingdom is still here.  It was brought about on that day by the Holy Spirit which was given to the believers.

The Holy Spirit is still given to believers.  Therefore the Kingdom of God is with the believers.  It is our job to nourish and not quench that Kingdom.  We pray that His Kingdom come, but more often than not, and our own will be done….  We control and neaten everything up.  We decide who is able to be “in” and who is “out”.  We make judgements and we hurt each other.

The Holy Spirit came on that day of Pentecost and didn’t hold a course or have  interviews.  3000 people were converted and joined!  It must have been chaos, and we need to remember that the Holy Spirit/ God is in charge.  Can we step back from our need to get all our theology correct and the same as each other, and just rejoice in the differences and colourful people that God calls into His family?  Because that is what Pentecost is about.

Acts 2:17-18 “'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.  Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.”

Let go and let God take over.

People get ready 10th December 2017

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT Year B  December 10, 2017

Isaiah 40:1-11  •  Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13  •  2 Peter 3:8-15a   •  Mark 1:1-8

To set the scene for where we are at today I feel the need to sing…People Get READY

People get ready, there’s a train a comin’

You don’t need no baggage, you just get on board

All you need is faith, to hear the diesels hummin’

Don’t need no ticket, you just thank the Lord

I wonder how many people have heard these words and sung them without knowing the extent of Gospel meaning it contains.  IN the same way many enter this season of Advent getting prepared for all the physical demands of Christmas and with little or no thought about why we celebrate each year.   And THAT reason is ……  there’s a train a comin’…

I want you to imagine yourself, as a child, playing outside in the hot sun… getting grubby, hot and bothered… and fun times turn into squabbles as you get tired.  Then mum calls you in for dinner and you grumble and complain about what was going on in the playground, expecting mum to intervene, but instead she says, “There, there – It’s all over now… go wash up and get ready for dinner”.

Same scenario happens as adults.  We get involved in our lives and we play in the dirt of the world… it can be hard and rewarding, but sometimes just hard.  As we get tired we get into more squabbles as we try to make sense of it and of course – no one wins.  We long for words of comfort and for someone with a bigger view of things to tell us that it is time to rest from our troubles… “go wash up and get ready for dinner”.

THANK you for being here…. In this space in this sacred place.

The first piece of Good News for us all today is that it is time for that rest from our work and for us to be comforted.  We are the people of God, and our readings begin with a request to comfort God’s people….  Not once but twice …. “Comfort, O comfort my people”.

God wishes you to be comforted and to know that he has seen your hard times.  He also declares that the penalty for sin has been paid.  Time to rest.  Let go of the hurt and the struggle.

Have you rested, or are you still trying to justify yourself or working hard at being good enough? 

I stop and ask this because sometimes we find the Good News that we are forgiven and accepted by God unconditionally, hard to really believe.  We hear the message that Jesus paid for our sins, but do we really know this deep in our soul?   This is the first part of the message in our readings and you can only really be truly comforted if you understand this.  The Song tells us, “you don’t need no baggage…..”  You can put all those ifs and buts aside because God declares that your sins have been doubly paid.   So drop that baggage… the other baggage that we often carry is the things we do to try and be good enough for God…. You don’t need that baggage either….  All you need is faith, and to get on board.

There is NOTHING keeping us from the love of God – It is time to come in from the “Play ground”, listen to the words of comfort and get washed up for dinner.

The key phrase in both our Old Testament reading and in the New Testament is; PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD  - Just as we prepare for dinner by washing up, we find something similar in our Gospel reading.

John was a man in Jesus time, who hung out in the wilderness, wore strange clothes and ate strange food, and proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  You’d think people would avoid him….. but no, people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

Baptism was not foreign to these people, it was a ritual that was commonly used to signify a new path in life.  Baptism came from the practical practise of dipping fabrics in dye, permanently changing their colour, so the symbolic emersion in water for life changes made sense.  It makes sense for us too, if we recall the need to wash up in preparation for dinner.

John specifies that his baptism was one of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  It is vital, that in our preparing the way of the Lord, we need to let go of the things that come between us and God.  We can’t say we have faith in the life and work of Jesus Christ, but then be thinking that we are sinners who need to earn God’s acceptance.  Acceptance and love has been gifted to us… it would be like being given a priceless gift and then insisting on paying for it, but there is no way that we can ever afford it.  We need to, as the song says, have faith in Jesus and thank him for the gift and then “Get on board”… that is all. 

Each advent, the church remembers the fulfilment of prophecy in the coming of the messiah, Jesus, but we also recall that Jesus said he would come back again.  The prophetic request, to prepare the way of the Lord was a message for the people in the time of Isaiah, but it was also informing the people about the messenger who would prepare the way for the Messiah. 

 The New Testament Christians thought Jesus was a long time in returning, how much more so our current society?  Our second reading explains His delay by stating that, with God, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. Today, the prophetic request, to Prepare the Way of the Lord, is in no way diminished, but requested of us as we wait for the second coming of Christ.

As the people of God’s church there is also a challenge and warning in these readings.  We should ponder why it was that lone figure in the wilderness that declared, “Prepare the way of the Lord”, and not the “Church” of John and Jesus time?  And this should cause us to pause and ponder, “Are we, as the church, in danger of failing to proclaim the message “prepare the way of the Lord” for Jesus second coming”? 

It isn’t that the Jews were not reading the scriptures that declared the coming of a promised Messiah, they did do this.  So what was different about John and why was his ministry so effective in comparison?    Those in the church of that time, didn’t really know if John was harmless or a heretic, but certainly while many Pharisees were hearers and proclaimers of the word of God, John the Baptist was also a “doer”   - He answered God’s specific call for his life…. His actions followed through, and it is our actions that tell people what we really do believe.

You may or may not know that I’m involved in Street Chaplaincy.  With this ministry we have very specific boundaries.  We do not ever proselytize.  Some churches think that we are not doing what God calls us to do because of this, but I love the quote and always tell people that we Preach the Gospel at all times…. And if we have to we use words. 

People come up to us on Chaplaincy and say, “I know why you do this… you do it because you are a Christian.” 

People hear the message of God in our actions, and while we are out there being the face of God on the streets, I ask you to pray that we never misrepresent God. 

If we keep our Christianity for Sunday and for our church friends, we are burying the talent that God has given us.  It is a safe thing to do, because stepping out can be scary, but remember the parable of the talents….  The one who buried his talent was certainly not rewarded for his caution.

St. John baptised in water.  The people understood that baptism was a conversion of heart and mind.  In the year 2017, I believe we need reminding of who and what we are.  

We are called to be the voice in the wilderness of society’s confusion, declaring “Here is your God”, but we are also those who need to PREPARE the way of the Lord by comforting by making known the Good News of salvation.  BUT we need to know it by heart ourselves. 

Just like the mother who embraces and comforts the child all grubby and cranky from the dealings in the playground, God comforts us with redemption.  Jesus has paid completely for us.  It is time to let go and wash up in preparation for that heavenly banquet.   We are washed clean by the shed blood of Jesus.

Water reminds us to prepare – it reminds us that we are clean. 

Water is all around us, but next time you pour yourself a refreshing cup of H2O, or wash your hands, I challenge you to remember your own baptism and that you are already completely washed clean and are the precious chosen child of God, called and gifted with eternal life.

People, it is time to get ready, there’s a train a comin’ – in fact it is here already, but a bigger one is coming.  You don’t need no baggage,  - get rid of the guilt and doubt – the stuff that weighs you down…. Christ set you free….you just get on board – enjoy the ride.

All you need is faith, to hear the diesels hummin’ - Don’t need no ticket, you just thank the Lord!