Reflecting on readings for the 3rd November 2018 Some women of Significance.

GOD IS GOOD – ALL THE TIME!

I have heard some people say this recently like a catch phrase… so I did a google search and found a song that starts with the preacher/ singer stating, “God is good”  and the people replied, “All the time”…. And they went on and then he said, “All the time” and the people replied “God is Good”.

What is your response when you hear this?

I have a confession….  My response is not so immediately enthusiastic.  While I give intellectual assent, my heart is sending messages that oppose and saying, yes but remember how things have gone wrong in your life…. Remember how just when it got good it got taken away....   I wonder if you are also in this kind of inner tug-of-war.

Many years ago in the time something BC.  There was an Ephrathite family, (that is, they were from Bethlehem), and there was famine in the land.  So they moved.  They went to the land of Moab and settled, but the Man of the house died.  His two sons married Moabite women, but the sons then also died, leaving the mother with two daughter-in-laws.  All this was within 10 years.

Naomi was the mother and she was a devout woman of God, but with all that had happened she logically concluded, “God has turned His hand against me”. 

God is good – ALL THE TIME.  But sometimes it seems that God has turned his hand against me.  Is it my sinfulness that has brought about this hand of God?  These are the questions that naturally arise.

In recent weeks we have had readings from the book of Job and almost more than anything, I think the Bible deals with this question….  Why do bad things happen?  Is it because of something bad I have done?  Does God hate me?  Is he trying to hurt me?  IS HE GOOD?   God is good….all the time?

It is natural to believe in cause and effect… for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction…  Therefore when we see something bad happen we look for the reason and make conclusions like, God’s hand is against me. 

Apparently the New Orleans disaster had two different views from Christian people – one said God was punishing the people for their great sin, the other said that God was showing mercy such that though there was a natural disaster, people were saved.  I’m just going to conclude that we always look for the cause and effect.  We always ask, why?

Our whole worship is built on the understanding that God is perfect and holy and beyond the reach of imperfect humans.  The ancient people also knew this and had a system of sacrifice to God which enabled them to enter the presence of God.  In our reading from Hebrews we see how God has used this understanding to assure us that we have unlimited access to God.  Jesus gave his life as that sacrifice and through him our communion with God and acceptance to God is unimpeded.  EVERY sin past, present and future has already been atoned for, once and for all.

As far as the East is from the West… this far, he has removed our sins…. And the East and the West never meet.

But, was it due to the sin of Naomi that all this tragedy had happened to her?  Some commentators have suggested that it was that they moved to an unholy place and others have said it was because the sons took foreign women as wives… all these are looking for the cause to equal and make sense of the effect… and all are wrong.

Just as when Jesus was once asked in the Gospel of John chapter 9, “who sinned, this man or his parents that he is blind” – the answer to both that question and the question of why the tragedy happened to Naomi is, neither, but this has happened so that the glory of God can be revealed. 

Our Gospel reading for this weekend is about the greatest commandment.  Mark 12:29-31 “… "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.'  The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

Jesus was often confronted by people who thought that they kept all the commandments, (stayed in Holy towns, didn’t take foreign wives etc..) but I believe most of those missed these two.  Firstly let’s look at the first one; God is one.  In this land and era of Jesus there were various religions and many so called gods.  So too in Naomi’s time, and in fact the Moabites worshiped the god Chemosh, so you can see how commentators might suggest that Naomi and her family had fallen into sin – and there are Christians today who will say that we as Christians need to be separate from the world and not be tarnished by it.  As a Street Chaplain and resident of planet Earth, I am kind of opposed to this idea.  It certainly is not the way that Jesus lived as he moved among and was merciful to all those who were labelled as “sinful”.  We are told that Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners.

Our God is one and we are to love him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.  How does that tangibly look?  I’m glad you asked.  Let’s go back to this story of Naomi.   This beautiful woman had lost husband and sons.  Her only hope really was her two daughter-in-laws and God.  There is an exchange in the story of Naomi and Ruth that tell us a lot.

Firstly, we have the women setting off to go back to Naomi’s homeland, but then Naomi releases the girls from their obligation to her.  Naomi selflessly gave a huge gift…. that of freedom.  Naomi released the girls from their obligation to care for her.  Not only this, but she urged them to go back to their gods.  She was acknowledging that their conversion to being a worshiper of God was potentially superficial and she gave them the respect that we don’t always give others.  The respect to be free to choose to believe and think differently. 

When I look at the respect that Naomi showed the young girls and the freedom that they experienced with her, then I understand why we see that one of those girls freely chose to declare her commitment to her mother-in-law and to God.  Yes, one did return to her people and her gods, but we don’t actually know the rest of her story either.  Ruth, however, more than declared- she vowed - “Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 

Ruth, has long been known for her example of being a loyal friend, but to leave it there is to underestimate the significance of her story.  It seems logical that Ruth, from a people who worshiped the god Chemosh, somehow acknowledged the magnitude of the one true God in the witness of Naomi.  In the time that Ruth had spent with her family she witnessed and received so much love and respect from Naomi, that even though it seemed that all had gone against them, she still chose to say, your God is my God. 

Ruth had married into this foreign family, probably having very little approval from her own family with their own gods, and then her husband died.  What was this new God, who she now worshipped, doing to her?  This was not the way she should be rewarded for her obedience to God… what was going on?  And what was she to make of this?    This is what many in her position would have been thinking and feeling…. But not Ruth, and I believe the difference, is the love and respect that she had in the relationship with Naomi, who was more than likely the one who instructed her in following God. Somehow, Naomi, in the midst of a foreign culture, was grounded in a relationship with God that spoke volumes to those around her.

 I imagine that Ruth, like the scribe in our Gospel story asking Jesus, may have asked Naomi, “What is the greatest commandment”.

And I imagine that Naomi would have answered just as Jesus did, “, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

From the way that Naomi loved her neighbour, and accepted her daughter-in-law into her family, Ruth understood these two commandments and freely responded with her own commitment to God and to Naomi.

The Scribe from the Gospel story also added, “--this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."

When we experience tragedy in our life it is even easier to feel that God is repaying us for our sins-Naomi and Ruth must have felt this, but the love and respect in the relationship of Naomi and Ruth, while an example of that second greatest commandment, is a reflection of the first commandment. 

People turn to God when they are shown love and respect.  To love God with all our strength means a willing sacrificial love for his people.  The two commandments are connected.

We read in Hebrews about the New Covenant where Jesus has declared the way to God permanently open, but in reality God has always been wanting us to come to him in the same way as Ruth, freely and fully – heart, soul, mind and strength.  She was an outsider who showed the greatest example of keeping the two greatest commands – and she was a total outsider who became the integral to the story of our salvation as she became the great grandmother of King David (ancestor of Christ).

I pray that we can all learn from and be inspired by both Naomi and Ruth; By Naomi we learn to love and respect the outsider and pray for their prosperity even if they choose to believe in and worship false gods.  By Ruth we learn to respond genuinely and freely to the love God regardless of our dire circumstances.  And both show us that, in the midst of intense suffering and grief the story isn’t over and the plans and purposes of God are good beyond our wildest imaginings. 

God is Good – All the time.

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