Don't be taken captive through philosophy and empty deceit.....

 PROPER 12 (17)  Seventh Sunday after Pentecost   Year C  July 24, 2022

·       Hosea 1:2-10 and Psalm 85   •   Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19)  •   Luke 11:1-13

 

We are a people who live in a physical world and most of our life is concerned with physical things.  Being at church means that we have a belief in God and something that is beyond the physical… something spiritual.

 

I’ve heard people, who don’t believe in God, say that they don’t believe in the “big fairy in the sky”.  They relegate the story of our faith to a fable – old wives’ tale.  Although these ones refuse to believe in God, they often believe in Ghosts and even believe in spirits.

 

Today I want to look at the message in Colossians where it says, “see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to christ.”

 

We are those who DO believe in a spiritual realm, because God is spirit. 

 

I did a quick search on the “elemental spirits of the universe” mentioned in the verse above, and discovered that these are Earth, Water, Air and Fire.  These are physical elements, but my searched revealed a belief that there is an Archangel set over each element and spirits that belong to each.  This information came from an article that explained this as folklore, but this was not fairy tales, but a real belief about the spiritual world and how it works and influences the physical, natural world. My guess is that this was a common knowledge and belief with the Colossians also.

 

It may well be true that there are Archangels in charge of the elements of our world.  There are scriptures to support this such as Daniel Chapter 10, where an Angel visits Daniel, but explains that he was delayed because the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted him for 21 days, until Michael, one of the chief princes, (or Archangel’s) came to help him.

 

What this tells us, is that there is a spiritual battle going on in the spiritual realm, which then has an impact on our physical world.  And that delay experienced in the book of Daniel, also perhaps, begins to give an answer to the age-old question, “Why are my prayers not answered?”

 

There is indeed a spiritual realm and a spiritual reality.  Somewhere, way back in time, God gave human kind a choice.  Humankind chose the wrong side. There is a spiritual reality that began in the garden of Eden when a choice was made to accept the words of the serpent.

 

Spiritually, we chose the wrong side.  Our scriptures tell us that we were then subject to a law of sin and death.  It was the spiritual consequence of our choice. Our reading from Hosea gives us a picture of what it is like for God.  Humankind is like Gomer, the unfaithful wife.  According to the law of that time, she should be put to death for her sin, but Hosea (who is a picture of God), has great and deep love for Gomer and constantly calls his wife back.  We notice that Hosea is hurt and lets his wife go and declares that her children are not loved and not his.  But that is not the end of the story.  The end of the reading declares that where it was said “not my people”, they will be called “children of the living God”.

 

God, with his deep love and goodness, takes his faithless people back to himself because, though they are unfaithful, HIS love is steadfast, unchanging, unconditional and faithful.

 

Colossians tells us that in Jesus the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily”.  Jesus is the righteousness of God.  All of his nature is righteous and good – without sin.  God’s nature is to be just and perfect. We, as a community, as a nation, as a society, and even individually, are simply as unfaithful as Israel who was compared to Hosea’s wife. 

 

None of us could deny that, under normal circumstances, Justice quite understandably, requires that those who have erred should make restitution… but how can you “make it up to God”.  We who are human will only fall again.  We pray to God and want to be God’s people when we need something, but we also want to please ourselves, and go our own way more often than not.  When things are going well, we tend to forget about God.  So, how can we realistically, ever come into a wholesome and right relationship with God?

 

Righteousness and peace meet in the person of Jesus.  Jesus suffered and died as a human.  He was both fully God and fully human.  He represented both parties, God and us.  More than that, he made restitution for us because only he could.  He satisfied the need for justice and brought peace for us with God.

 

Colossians goes on to explain this further by explaining that we were buried with him in baptism, we were also raised with him….God made us alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands.

 

We say words like “Jesus died to save us”, but we don’t always comprehend the magnitude and the completeness… or how it all works.  All our trespasses, our failings, whether past or future, are erased.  The spiritual legal demands for justice have been satisfied through Jesus.  There is nothing standing in the way of our relationship with God. Our prayers need not be hindered.

 

It was once explained to me this way…

Due to the righteous and Just nature of God, on one side, and our fallen nature, the reality on the other side, we humans were subject to a law of sin and death… separation from God.  But through Jesus there is another law, that of grace.  These two laws operate like two laws with which we are familiar, gravity and aerodynamics, which is how aeroplanes are able to fly.  In our own strength we can do nothing to win eternal life… and the law of sin and death is operating over our lives, much like gravity.  But if we get on board with Jesus, we step into the law of grace, much like aerodynamics.  Gravity is a reality, and is always there but the law of aerodynamics supersedes that law.

 

Because we belong to God, we want to please him and do what is right, but it is important to remember that these things we do, are never a measure of our holiness or an indication of our place in God.  The Colossians had this problem, because every religion had practises concerning food and ceremony.  The Pharisees of Jesus time were slaves to the traditions and ceremonies of religion.  It is pretty clear that these people saw themselves as holy because of the actions of their religion.  We need to fully understand what Christ achieved, so that we don’t make the same mistake.

 

The essence of the Christian message, is that the only thing necessary, is to accept the sacrifice of Christ and to identify as his by faith, through baptism. 

 

Prayer was also one of the ways that many religions thought they could have control over the spiritual realm.  Many would have rote prayers.  They believed if they repeated these a certain number of times they could be absolved from their sins or have prayers answered.  Occasionally these kinds of ideas still pop up on facebook and there will be a post that is passed from person to person, promising special blessing if you will only say this specific prayer.

 

 

When Jesus came, he made it clear that what God wanted, was not these actions, traditions & ceremonies, but to be in a relationship with us.  God has done everything possible to achieve this.  He gave us free will, but we turned to our own way.  God’s people turned away from Him over and over again, and he continued to call them back.

 

He sent Jesus to satisfy the need for justice… to make a way… to appease every spiritual authority.  When we, as a human race, chose our own way, we unwittingly became followers of Satan and under his legal authority.  This is why we read in Colossians that Jesus disarmed the rulers and authorities – it is referring to the spiritual authorities and powers that have a spiritual legal right to influence our lives.  When Jesus was tempted in the desert, we read that Satan offered him the authority over the kingdoms and he stated; ““I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. ….””

 

 

The sacrifice of Jesus bought us back - We now belong to God and He who is in us, is greater than he who is in the world.  The spiritual legal requirements are dealt with, and nothing need keep us from the love of God. 

 

While we are on this earth and in this fleshly body, we are limited and we find it hard to realize the love of God.  We sometimes feel distant from God.  The good gift that God the father gives us is the gift of himself within us.  It is the final piece of the story.  The Key! Without the Holy Spirit, we will always try to work out our faith by traditions, hard work and ceremonies.  Colossians tells us, “therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”           

 

If we don’t want to make the mistakes of the Pharisees, we need to operate in the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 8:15 tells us that the Spirit causes us to cry out, “Abba, Father”…. It is a personal, close and loving term and it is the Holy Spirit that enables this.   It is the Holy Spirit who teaches us to pray, who intercedes, knowing both our heart and the mind of God.

 

With the Holy Spirit we have help in prayer, but we also have a teacher and guide who will lead us into all truth.  Rather than being led astray into working for our salvation by following rules and false beliefs we can rejoice in the truth of our completed salvation, spiritual freedom and victory through the sacrifice of Jesus, and rejoice in the reliable, constant call of God’s unconditional love which will be forever calling us to be his beloved.

Scandalous Good News !

          PROPER 11 (16)  Sixth Sunday after Pentecost  Year C  July 17, 2022

·       Amos 8:1-12 and Psalm 52  •    Colossians 1:15-28  •   Luke 10:38-42

Let’s start our reflection on the readings today with a basket of fruit…. Sounds like an inviting, luscious and delicious place to start. 

Sadly, there is a shocking twist to this image.  The Hebrew word for “basket of fruit” and the Hebrew word for “End” are very similar, and it is a poetic play on words.  In our terms, it would be like God showing the prophet a grizzly bear and then proclaiming the land barren – or bare. 

There is more to this image, than a simple play on words.  It is no accident that God uses an image of lavishness.  The Israelites were living in affluence and lavishness.  They were buying and selling, and trade was good.  Of course, this buying and selling involved making a profit at the expense of others and the divide was widened between the rich and poor.  On the surface, life was wonderful… but underneath there was something that God was not happy about.  What could it be?

Another image of goodness and affluence, is the sun.  However, God declares through Amos, that the sun will be darkened at noon.  Noon is the height of the sun.  We might say that at the peak of goodness and affluence, darkness will overtake it all.

In 2019 our world was gearing up to enter the roaring 20’s, but there was a cloud on the horizon and in March of 2020 our Sun went down and our world was darkened.

Our reading from Amos is prophecy.  Prophecy, we know to be fulfilled in more than one way.   God’s word declares, “I will turn your feasts into mourning”.  It is possible that the darkening of the sun referred to the solar eclipse and experts have calculated a number of possible times that these occurred after the prophecy was declared, and interestingly there were a few of them, always coinciding with an Israelite feast.  (From Biblehub.com; )"There was an eclipse of the sun of about 10 digits in the Julian year 3923 (791 b.c.,) June 24, in the Feast of Pentecost; another, of about 12 digits, 20 years afterward, 3943, 771 b.c., Nov. 8, on the Day of the Feast of Tabernacles; and a third of more than 11 digits, on the following year 3944, May 5, on the Feast of the Passover.”

For us, reading this prophecy without context, the judgement of God seems very harsh.  It seems to re-enforce an idea that many have about the image of God in the Old Testament, as being wrathful, where as we preferably, and rightly, understand God as the gracious, loving and forgiving God of the New Testament.

God’s nature, however, is unchanging.  Therefore, if there is a warning and judgment in the Old Testament, we shouldn’t easily dismiss it, but ought to search further to understand the heart of God.  I strongly believe that we need to understand our human condition…. Explore, understand and be familiar with our fallibility, in order to truly appreciate the Good News.  For example, God sent us his son to save us.  Why?  What do we need saving from, or for?  What was so drastic that he had to suffer and die such a death for this to happen? – Hold that thought.

The people of Amos’ time lived in affluence.  I like to compare to see how we might be similar or different.  I mentioned the year 2019 and the world’s eagerness to enter into a time they declared as another version of the “roaring 1920’s” –Characteristics of that time also included affluence, a rise in consumerism and scandal. It wasn’t all bad – There was also some really great music. :-D 

We should always be reflecting on our life and striving for the best, by placing the warnings of scripture into our own world, understanding the differences in culture, but contemplating if we are making similar errors.  We ought to ask deeper questions about why God was upset with the fruit of that society.

In reflecting then, we note that we also live in a society where affluence is prevalent.  The proof of this is that young couples buy their first houses complete with ensuites, internet, pay TV, air-conditioners and all new furniture.  This seems pretty different from previous generations.  Not that any of this is bad in itself.  Please note, that God loves to bless us and just as any good parent does, loves to give good gifts to his children.  In the time of Amos there was a use of uneven scales, creating an injustice…  When the fuel in Townsville and Cairns is cheaper than the fuel in Mackay, because Mackay is deemed a mining town, I’d argue a similar use of uneven scales is being used.  God is concerned with injustice, broken hearts and people who do not have the power to claim their simple rights.  Is this happening today?

 

The first human right that we all have is a right to life.  This is article 3 of the United Nations declaration of Human rights.  In the last few years there have been laws passed about ending life.  There are arguments and justifications… stating love and compassion as the reason.  In the previous legal status, there were provisions for these extenuating circumstances, so why has there been a further change?  I don’t know.  But I do know that people who are concerned about the change are concerned also for compassionate reasons, and that there is a possibility of abuse in these laws.  People with no power… no voice… are in danger of having a basic human right violated.

In the last few years there have been many social changes.  Those affirming those changes state love and compassion as the reason.  And that is the best and only reason that should count.   However, we need to be asking the question; is there a generation, or anyone at all, being hurt by these changes and are we being good stewards of our society by affirming that change?  God knew us and formed us in the womb.  He affirms who we are, and who we are born to be…. But who is that….?   Who am I ?  How can I know, unless I believe what God says about me?

The declaration of Human Rights is worth a read, as it also says that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression.  It is tempered with the right to not be discriminated against. 

Do you think our society’s basket of fruit is ripe?  I need to emphasize a point.  God is concerned about the brokenness caused by unloving actions.  I’m sure every lawyer understands there is a back story behind every crime.  There are reasons and justifications, but the bottom line is; Are people being hurt?  Are people’s sense of dignity, respect, freedom and right to life being violated?

But don’t despair…  let me tell you about the Good News.

All that we are, individually and as a society, does not surprise God in the least.  But the surprise for us, is that he still totally and completely loves us.  What’s more the Judgement that there probably should be, has actually already taken place.  Jesus took all that judgement and on that day the sun went down at noon and the earth was darkened. 

God understands every back story to every less than admirable deed.  Please note that an understandable back story does not make it right.  When we fall short of perfection, no matter the good reason, it is called sin.  God understands our heart… and our extenuating circumstances.

Jesus willingly took the judgement that the world should have born.  Our reading from Colossians tells us; “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.  And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him—”

The message of the cross is like the roaring 20’s in one point…. It is scandalous!  How can it be that He has reconciled all things?  How can it be that all people, once hostile in mind and doing evil deeds, are made holy, blameless and irreproachable before God? 

The former slave trader, converted Anglican minister, John Newton, understood this well.  While our contemporary society cringes at the idea that one might dare to insinuate that we are sinners, John Newton openly declared himself to be a wretch.  He wrote about his former life saying, “"I sinned with a high hand," he later wrote, "and I made it my study to tempt and seduce others."”( https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/pastorsandpreachers/john-newton.html)

If we can possibly be brave enough to search our own hearts and motives… If we can be brave enough to reflect on the times when we have caused another pain…. If we can notice the times when we have been less than gracious with those around us, perhaps we can then truly understand the magnitude of the reconciliation of God. 

Rather than the actions themselves, God is more concerned with the brokenness we cause ourselves and others by these actions.  However, through the cross, not only are we reconciled… did you notice how far reaching the work of Jesus goes?  We are presented before God as holy and blameless and irreproachable. 

There is nothing that we can do, in our own efforts, sacrifice or deeds, to come anywhere near this condition for which Christ has achieved for us.  And as for our Gospel reading this week…  Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, taking in every word.  Martha was busy serving and doing things.  Jesus never said serving is wrong, but simply that Mary had made a good and important choice.  Amos prophesied a famine of the word of the Lord, and here we notice Mary was taking in everything Jesus said…. Feeding on his words.  We serve, because we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, our servant king, but it is Christ living IN us, the WORD living in us, that is our hope and our salvation.

There is a line in our Colossians reading that we should put on our fridges … or somewhere that we look often.  It is, “Christ in you, the hope of glory”.  It is Christ who has reconciled us and will present us holy, blameless and irreproachable before God.  Christ living in us, through his holy spirit, shares the sacrifice that he has made.  Christ in us, the hope of glory.  There is no other way and there needs nothing more, except that we remain steadfast in this faith.

“Christ in us”, has a practical, “on this earth” application.  Through his spirit Christ lives in us.  He works through us and in doing so, he changes us.  Not only is it a spiritual reality, that he has achieved our salvation, but his nature impacts our nature so that we grow to be more like him.  It is a lifelong process, and involves times of sitting at his feet, taking in every word, but we needn’t worry that our slip ups send us into judgement.  The judgement has been dealt with by Jesus.  May the basket of fruit we produce, in the end, nourish our community and bring them the love, light and salvation of God. 

RESCUED! Pentecost 5C 10th July 2022

           PROPER 10 (15)  Fifth Sunday after Pentecost  Year C   July 10, 2022

• Amos 7:7-17 and Psalm 82  •    Colossians 1:1-14  •    Luke 10:25-37

We have a saying; “Let’s draw a line in the sand”.  It implies we are placing a limit between one thing or another… putting things on one side of the line or the other – placing them into categories according to the standard set by that line, or saying “this far and no farther.  Somewhat like the famous line in the Lord of the Rings movie where Gandalf cries to the Balrog Demon, “YOU SHALL NOT PASS”. 

Likewise, in our Old Testament reading, God says, "See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by;…”

Not being a builder, I was not completely sure of how the plumb line worked, but it is a heavy object with a pointed end at the bottom attached to a string.  The string with the object at the bottom would hang vertically and show the builders a straight vertical line so that they could build straight and ensure their angles were correct.

 

The prophet Amos, declares the word of the Lord, that God is setting a plumb line among His people.  In this first reading it seems that God has been like a parent with His people, Israel.  He has warned and corrected them and been patient with them, but now he declares a boundary line.  “This far and no farther… “, In other words…“You shall not pass!”  Enough is enough!  He declares “this is the standard -measure up”!

 

From https://www.gotquestions.org/plumb-line-Bible.html we read some thoughts on this.   “When God said He was setting a plumb line among His people, He was declaring an end to their attempts to justify their crooked ways. The Lord was setting the standard. God does not negotiate His laws. He does not change with the whims of culture God’s moral law is the plumb line against which we determine right and wrong. Just as a carpenter’s plumb line is not subject to the opinions or the frustration of the worker, so God’s moral standards are not subject to the opinions of man. Wise people are those who line up their lives according to God’s plumb line rather than trying to move it to satisfy their own agendas.”

 

Amos lived in the middle of the 8^th Century BC.  The Israelites at that time considered themselves to be the chosen people of God, but they were enjoying peace and prosperity.  We ourselves live in a very prosperous time.  We may complain about certain things, but there is really nothing we lack.  When it comes to questions about what we might want for birthday presents… even wedding presents, the answer is “Nothing”…. We have everything we want and desire.  In this kind of environment the people of Amos were increasingly self-centred, and the middle class disappeared with people either exploiting others or being exploited until there was only the rich and the poor.

 

Are we in danger of becoming a society like the one to which Amos is prophesying?  Interestingly, the Israelite kingdom of the north, became taken over by foreigners and foreigners were settled there in their place.  These foreign people became known as Samaritans.

 

In the book of 1 Kings there is a description of what happened at that time.  It says; 2 Kings 17 from verse 24 “Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities.”….. “And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, ‘The nations whom you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; therefore He has sent lions among them, and indeed, they are killing them because they do not know the rituals of the God of the land.’ Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, ‘Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the rituals of the God of the land.’ Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the Lord. However every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities where they dwelt.”

We can now understand why the Jewish people despised the Samaritans.  They were a people with some knowledge and ritual of Judaism, living in the land that should have belonged to the Jewish kingdom.  These people worshiped God and also practised their own traditions. 

 

Now that we understand this, we look to our New Testament reading; The parable of the Good Samaritan.  We have all heard it before.  It is a story about someone who fell into the hands of evil people.  We don’t know if this person was in that predicament due to their own folly, or if they were evil themselves, a hated person by all, due to their actions…. What we do know, is that the church people passed them by.

 

This is a model that our Street Chaplaincy is based on.  It is a non-judgmental ministry of helping where we see the need.  Some have said that we are helping people who should have known better, and that no one should be foolish enough to get into that situation.  In our experience, no one plans to get themselves into trouble and many have said, “why are you helping me, I’m not worth it”.    It seems that self-loathing sometimes accompanies this behaviour and inebriation. 

We may hate ourselves, but God loves us deeply.

The bottom line is that none of us is perfect.  We all have made mistakes, and we all have had experiences of regret at some point.  Maybe some will point the finger at others, trying to place blame there instead of taking responsibility for our actions… re-enacting the sin of Adam…. “She made me do it.”  Hmmm…  The bottom line is still the same, and God loves us deeply.

 

Jesus, on his way to the cross, didn’t stop and ask each of us if we were worthy.  He didn’t ever say to the father… “No, I don’t want to do this because this is a sinful people”.  He knew our sinful nature to be a fact.  He knows our relentless tendency to go from one mistake to another…. From one sin to another, even though we don’t actually mean to, or intend to do so.  In fact, we all want to do what is right.    Jesus knew all this.  He loves us deeply. 

 

We can cry out, “Lord I am not worthy.”  He says, “I am the word and I say you shall be healed”.  By his sacrifice he is our Good Samaritan. 

 

We are the traveller on the road of life and one way or another we all sin and fall short of the perfect glory of God.  Jesus does not ask us if we are worth his sacrifice – WE ARE because he loves us.  Jesus gladly picks us up and carries us to a place of healing.  Jesus pays the price for that healing.

 

Jesus asks us to do something similar.  To love our neighbour, and in doing so, to sacrificially care for their needs.  He lets us know that we are not to ask if the person is worth our care.  We needn’t ask this question because we know that Jesus loves our neighbour deeply and died to save them…. Therefore, no matter what they have done, they are worth our care.  This is actually not an option in our faith.

 

The reason that Jesus told this story of the Good Samaritan was because someone asked him what he must do to inherit eternal life.  Jesus responded by asking him what the law said about inheriting eternal life and he responded; “He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself."

 

Have we failed to keep this command?

 

The prophet Amos, was also concerned about this command.  To care for others is all about social justice.  It is about living justly, loving mercy and walking with God.  It is the command of God.  It is the command about which God said, “See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by;”

 

The plumb line is Jesus.  We need to be doing what he has done and measuring ourselves by his standard.  Jesus showed us the true and correct standard of God and the truth be known, none of us can really measure up.

 

Jesus rescues us.  We strive to be like Jesus, but we do fail and we fail often.  This doesn’t mean we give up trying, but now that we have been rescued by the God of the universe, who counts us so worthy that he died to save us, we respond in mercy and love to others.  We who have the care and healing of God, are called to bring the heart of God to those who have also fallen by the roadside – literally and figuratively.

 

God has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

 

We are rescued.  We are loved.  Let us spread this Good News!

PRIDE - 3rd July 2022 Pentecost 4C

PROPER 9 Pentecost 4C  Year C   July 3, 2022

• 2 Kings 5:1-14 and Psalm 30  •   Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16  •   Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Today we look at some really great Bible stories.  Naaman, who was not even an Israelite, received a divine healing, but he almost missed it due to his pride.  This is an amazing story about someone, blessed by God, even though he belonged to the people who were often enemies of Israel. 

Our first reading tells us: “Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favour with his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy.”

Do you notice that it is was God who had given victory to Aram?  No doubt that some of those victories were against the Israelites and in one of those raids a young girl was taken as a slave.  This is a stark reminder that we are dealing with a story where the culture was so different to our own.  What was considered the norm, and considered honourable, was different.  Certainly, the young girl appeared to hold no bitterness.  Much like Joseph who, when he was sold into slavery by his brothers, saw God’s hand of provision for the future, perhaps this girl, aware of the story, held a similar view. 

In this story, we tend to look at the great warrior, Naaman.  And the great prophet, Elisha, but we should perhaps make definite note of this young, un-named girl, who became the instrument of God – the missionary – the evangelist.  She declared that the leprosy, suffered by Naaman, could be healed by the prophet.

 

Naaman was obviously someone of importance to the King of Aram, as the King sends Naaman to the King of Israel with a glowing letter and a great deal of money.  The King of Israel received the letter, and though his relationship with the prophet Elisha should have been a close one, it was not – and so he misinterprets the letter as the Arameans picking a fight.

 

Elisha sends word to the King and Naaman is sent on his way to the prophet.  After all this drama at the palace, and then finally arriving at the prophet’s house, a servant is sent and Naaman is told; "Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean."

 

Naaman might have been a great man, doing the work of God… an honourable man, cared for by his slaves and servants, but to be sent away without an audience with the prophet, messed with his ego.  He left angry and was not going to do as the prophet said, simply because it wasn’t done in the way he expected.  And that expectation of course, included being treated as the important person he knew himself to be.

 

Have we ever been guilty of the same?   Have we missed the blessings of God because of our pride, and an expectation that things would only be done in a certain way?  Pride and this expectation of how things would be done was a stumbling point for the Pharisees of Jesus time also.

 

Naaman’s pride, however, was not so immovable that his servants couldn’t speak with him and convince him to heed the word of the prophet.  And so Naaman was healed.

 

Ego might not be a dirty word, but it has been said that pride comes before a fall.  In our Gospel, Jesus makes a comment about seeing Satan fall from Heaven.  Satan fell because of pride, and the Biblical connection to this statement is found in Isaiah 14:12, “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!”

Jesus is saying that he saw Satan fall like lightening, in response to the excitement of the 70 who were sent out in his name.  Often, we hear about the Twelve apostles, but it is important to remember that we are also, all called, and these 70 were a large group who were sent with a specific mission; They were to heal in Jesus’ name and to declare that the Kingdom of God was near.  Jesus was sending these people to places where he intended to visit.  In many ways they had a mission a bit like John the Baptist, of preparing the way.

 

I can’t help but wonder how this would look in our community today.  Would there be 70 people who would be prepared to travel to the surrounding areas, not just praying for the sick, but healing, and declaring the kingdom of God?  It sure would create a buzz of excitement.  If it were us, would we return proud and a little full of our own importance?

 

These 70 were excited that people were miraculously healed and also that the demons submitted to them.  What power they must have experienced?  But then Jesus says this perplexing thing.  “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightening”.

 

The implication of that one statement holds plenty for discussion.  Firstly, Jesus is saying that he saw that event.  He is standing there before them as the Messiah, but also as a completely human being and declaring his pre-existence and therefore his divinity.

 

In the same statement, Jesus is declaring a warning.  Satan was once a shining Angel of light, but he became so convinced of his own importance that he fell.

 

No matter who we are and what we are called to in this life, we can easily cross that line between confidence and self-importance.  Pride can hinder our own blessings and healings, and pride can even cause complete rejection of God.  Not that he ever rejects us, but that we, in our pride, reject him and the good that he has for us.

 

The letter to the Galatians also has somethings to say about pride and self-importance; “Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.  For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves.  All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbour’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads.”

 

I want to break this down a little because it might seem a bit confusing with the talk of burdens and loads.  In the past I have witnessed judgements from people about people.  And before I go any further, we all know, that we all make judgements, …. All the time, in fact!  And THAT is simply a fact… But sometimes these judgements impact our actions.

 

I’m sure you have heard people complain about our taxes going to the unemployed.  It seems that some work while others “SEEM” to get hand-outs. 

We who have resources, might feel that we are “something.”  We might feel that our job and our wealth mean that we are someone important.  And in that sense of importance, we might judge these receivers of the handouts, who do not have jobs or finance, as people of less or no value.

 

The scriptures tell us very clearly about how love is the fulfillment of the law and the law of God is to care for others… to have mercy and act with compassion, and it is stated again in our Galatians reading that when we bear one another's burdens, we fulfill the law of Christ.  But then the reading tells us we must carry our own load.

 

Our loads are our own day to day responsibilities, and we all have them.  There are times when we or others fall on hard times and those hard times, grief, financial hardships, disasters, etc…  are burdens that we are not meant to carry alone. I suspect disappointments and disillusions are burdens that many people have sought to carry alone.  These then cause bitterness which comes between people and God.  We need to be carrying these burdens with each other… acknowledging the burden that they are and therefore sharing the weight of them, until there is enough relief.

 

Burdens and loads are all about healthy boundaries… you don’t take the burden – you share the weight of it, but we are all responsible for our own loads.

We can’t actually bear another person’s burden if we are full of pride and think we are better than them.  It is the difference between empathy and sympathy.  To actually bear a burden is to feel the weight of it yourself, just a little…. Not so much that we become overwhelmed.

 

To bear another’s burdens is to understand the heart of God and have that heart for others.  Jesus, who knows of eternal life, who healed the sick and raised the dead, still wept for Lazarus when he was in the tomb.  Jesus felt compassion for the widow whose only son had died and raised him to life.

 

We are now the hands, feet and heart of God on this earth and we are called to fulfill the law of Christ by bearing each other’s burdens, but there is more…. The revelation of how we can bear each other burdens, is in that commission that Jesus gives his followers.

 

Our Gospel reading tells us that Jesus had given authority to the 70 followers to heal and declare the kingdom of God.  Authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy.  But it all came with a warning about pride and to instead rejoice that our names are written in heaven.

 

The cross is the great equalizer, because none of us has been perfect and therefore none of us had the power to save ourselves…. We need Jesus and his redemption.  Our safe-guard against pride is knowing who we are in Jesus.  In Jesus we are so, so loved and treasured, but we are nothing compared to him and all of us mere humans are in the same boat there.  When someone is hurting, we should all be hurting and interceding for them.  In doing this we not only fulfil the law of God, but we really do declare that his Kingdom has come.

The Giver of Life... Trinity Sunday

TRINITY SUNDAY  - Year C  - June 12, 2022

• Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 and Psalm 8  •   Romans 5:1-5  •   John 16:12-15

 

We believe in ONE God, the father – the Almighty!  This is a revelation of God from the Old Testament- God revealed himself as father.  Should we reject this image because of our flawed human experience?  Some do.  Is it right that we reject this image God has given us?  Certainly, our God is good, and he loves us as a responsible and caring parent should.

 

God, desires to reveal his nature, yet any discussion about God is naturally going to fall short of all he is, as he is God, and while we can know some things about him, he is also beyond our full comprehension.  God is also the Almighty and worthy of our reverence.

 

We believe in God the Son.  Jesus himself, declares his divine nature – it is what had him crucified, but what evidence is there for this?... other than numerous miracles and rising from the dead? In Matthew 22 Jesus explores the question of the nature of the Messiah by asking the people about the prophecy in the Psalm of David.  He asks; “..How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord’? For he says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’ So if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how can He be David’s son?”…  It is a question no one answered as it implied that somehow this Messiah, though the descendant of King David was also pre-existent and God.

 

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the LORD, the giver of life.  Remember that the word for Spirit is the same as breath.  In Genesis 2:7 we read;  “then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.….. ”  The scriptures explain that before the fall, mankind was “spiritually alive”, enjoying fellowship with God and sharing the spirit life of God.  A change occurred at the time of the fall.  Something died - and we did eventually…  like a battery that has a light that lingers when disconnected from the power-source.  Jesus came, redeemed us, and breathed on his followers saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.  His followers then becoming spiritually alive – reconnected to the power source.  In the Gospel of John, it is described as being Born Again, or born from above.

 

The Holy Spirit is the Lord, the giver of life – Spiritual life.  The Holy Spirit didn’t just suddenly appear in the New Testament.  Throughout the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit is mentioned many times and also the “Word of the Lord” is a term that is spoken in such a way that it implies a kind of personification.

 

We need to be very clear that there is just one God, but to comprehend God is beyond our limited understanding.  Yet in the blueprint of our DNA, it appears that our creator, in whose image we are made, has enabled points of understanding through our imaginings. 

 

Many years ago, there was an advertisement where a single Goddess couldn’t decide on what flavour ice-cream to have and so she separated into three and had one of each.  Superman 2 from back in the 80’s or 90’s, was a movie where Superman gave up his powers out of love for Lois Lane and became fully human and was hurt and bled, until he realized that he could do better for Lois and the rest of the human race by taking up his power again.  For me, these show glimpses of our ability to, almost innately, know somethings about God.  But we always need to be aware that our imaginings don’t go beyond that which God reveals to us, and wander into error.

 

There are ways that we can ensure we don’t go into error and the formulation of the Nicaean Creed is one designed for that purpose.  But most importantly, to teach us, to guide us, to comfort us - this is why God sent us the Holy Spirit.

 

The Holy Spirit is the key.  If we attend a university and learn all there is to know, there are so many things we would forget and other things that we would miss.  In our Gospel reading, Jesus explains that he has so much more to tell the disciples, but he assures them that when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide them into all the truth.  This is what the Holy Spirit does for us also.    What is important is that we understand that God is greater than we can imagine.  He sent his son to redeem us and through the Holy Spirit he is with us always.  Through the Holy Spirit we can sense the deity of Christ and the truth of the trinity, but not necessarily explain it.

 

The Holy Spirit is more than a force.  The Holy Spirit is the helper that God sends.  The Holy Spirit IS God.  In the Old Testament, God appeared as a glowing cloud to the Israelites as they crossed the Red Sea.  Then we read about God dwelling in the temple in Leviticus 16:2; “And the LORD said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.”  What is cloud?  Vapour and air….  Breath… spirit!   Jesus gives himself to each of us.  He breathes on each of us and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit”! 

 

The most common mis-conception that I come across from children and even adults, is that Jesus is not God.  There are many who think that Jesus was a great man who taught great things.  It is super important that we understand that if Jesus was simply a great man, he could not possibly have died to redeem us. 

 

The letter to the Romans tells us we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  We are justified through faith and this is all only possible if Jesus is more than a mere man.  Our whole message is about our God who became one of us – truly human – but he is our God who saved us.  Our God who dwells in us.  The Gospel is Good News only because of this.  God loved us so much that he sent his son that we might have life – God the father sends.  The Son is and the Spirit is the life giver.…. But even here we have the tension… God sent His son and yet the son is in the father and they are one, and they are one with the Spirit.

 

Without the Holy Spirit teaching and convicting, we cannot accept any of this truth.  It is, to others, utter foolishness, that the God of the universe would come to save his creation.  And others would simply say, “It doesn’t make sense”.  In human terms it doesn’t.  But God has knowledge and wisdom and power that is beyond our human ways and beyond our natural comprehension.  Only in our imaginings, with the mind of the Holy Spirit can we glimpse the truth.

 

There are many who don’t believe, though some would say it takes as much of a leap of faith to be an atheist as it does to be a Christian, because there are many facts that can’t be denied which stand as evidence of an intelligent creator.  Recently there was an episode of “Young Sheldon” on the television.  Sheldon is an atheist and his mother a southern Baptist, Bible believing full blown Christian.  On one particular episode, Sheldon’s mother, Mary, has a crisis of faith after a teenage girl from their church is killed in a car accident.  In the end Mary decides that she doesn’t believe any more.   Sheldon can not bare this change in his mother and sits with her to reflect.  “Sheldon tries to convince his mom that God exists by stating that only a creator of the universe can adjust gravity so precisely that even 1% less would result in star and planets dispersing off further away and 1% more would have caused sort of an implosion into a ball.  Mary appreciates her son’s support but tells him that logic belongs to the brain while she’s having trouble at the heart. To this Sheldon adds that there are 5 billion people on this planet and she’s the perfect mom for him. What are the odds of that? This innocent speech makes Mary tear up and she ends up hugging Sheldon and thanking the Lord and him for fixing her.”  (https://starrymag.com/young-sheldon-a-crisis-of-faith-and-octopus-aliens/ )

 

What we believe is important because it drives our actions.  As Christians who believe in the Trinity, what do you think are the implications of this on our actions?  What will our actions be to others if we truly believe that we have a God who is diverse and unified, who himself gave up his position and power to die as one of us, to save us?  What will our action to others be if we truly believe that God dwells in each of us by His Holy Spirit?  You have the Spirit of God in you… and I have the Spirit of God in me…..  and He will lead us into all truth.  Jesus said it, the Holy Spirit affirms it and we believe.