Stand and be counted - We are the people of God. 14th July 2024 Pentecost 8B Proper 10B

 2024  04  14  PROPER 10 Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 and Psalm 24  •  Ephesians 1:1-14  •  Mark 6:14-29

 

The Gospel reading today reminds me of that show on the ABC, “Horrible Histories”.  We read that King Herod joins in the conversation of those who are trying to figure out where Jesus fits in the story of their life.  Was he John the Baptist come back to life?  Was he Elijah or another of the prophets?  King Herod was voting for him being John the Baptist, perhaps to ease his conscience for having had John beheaded, but I’m not sure that he actually had much going on in the way of a conscience.

 

King Herod had Jesus beheaded because John spoke out about the King being married to his brother’s wife.  John told him that it wasn’t right.  John was free to voice his opinion and King Herod actually didn’t mind those opinions, as much as his wife did.  It was the wife who put the daughter up to asking for John’s head.  King Herod had offered her anything… up to half the kingdom! Unfortunately, he did this in front of his guests.  The king didn’t think she’d ask for John’s head, and then he didn’t want to lose face in front of his guests by refusing her. 

 

To some extent, the readings today are about this; the opinions of others and whether we will make what is the right action and God’s will, a priority or whether we will instead, make people’s opinions of us the priority over what is right.   People’s opinions give power to bully’s who use weak people who care about what people think of them, to gather power over others.  It isn’t always an easy thing to reject as it sneaks in as subtle as a serpent in a garden.  We all want to be accepted and belong.  It is great to be part of the “In” crowd…. But at what cost?

 

In our Gospel reading we notice that there was a buzz about Jesus.  Who is he?  And what gives him the power to perform miracles?  The Jews believed in resurrection and, in particular, they believed that it would happen when the Messiah came.  They had asked John if he was the messiah and John clearly declared that he wasn’t.  However, not everyone got the memo, so they naturally thought that Jesus could be, John resurrected, and that this resurrected status was what gave Jesus the power to perform miracles.  

 

This buzz about Jesus, gave rise to many opinions.  Everyone had an opinion about who Jesus was, and whether who he was, and what he was doing was “as it should be” or not.  From last week, you might recall, his home town largely rejected him, saying, “Is not this the carpenter’s son?”   As people who had grown up with him and his parents, they formed an assumption about who he was based on themselves, their town and the role that Jesus family played as the local carpenter.   

 

These assumptions are the same beliefs that can keep us all from reaching our potential.  For example; I’ve heard more than one person telling me that they didn’t follow a career path because they grew up with gifted older siblings who told them that they were stupid – and they believed them.  It reminds me of an S club 7 song, “Reach for the Stars” in the bridge are these words; “Don’t believe in all that you’ve been told… the sky’s the limit, you can reach your goal.  No one knows just what the future holds.  There ain’t nothing you can’t be, there’s a whole world at your feet.”

 

Jesus was aware of what people were saying about him.  He didn’t stop his ministry because people had an opinion about him being a carpenter’s son.  Jesus also didn’t stop his ministry for fear of Herod or the many other opinions about him.  He knew who he was in God and that was his real identity.

 

King David was also one who didn’t back down because of public opinion.  King David was an extraordinary king.  In our first reading, did you notice that little sentence in the middle about his wife Michal, she despised the king.  Michal was the daughter of King Saul.  She knew how a King was supposed to behave with dignity…. Or at least, that was her understanding of how a king should be.  Her experience of the king was one who was a bit of a tyrant… King Saul gave her in marriage to David as a prize when he defeated Goliath… and then gave her to someone else when David fell out of favour with the king.  Michal didn’t understand King David at all.

 

Our story about King David is a chapter where the ark of the covenant was being brought up into the city of David.  There is a whole huge back story here about the ark being taken in battle, but causing havoc at that place and so it was given back, but only got so far, because a priest reached out to stop it from falling and was killed by the power from it.   Then David left the ark there because he was afraid of God and his power.  Our story is full of rejoicing before God, but with sacrifices and reverence. 

 

Throughout history there has been a tension between reverence and rejoicing.  Even now, some churches would perceive others as being irreverent due to their use of drums in church.   Surely the pipe organ is the only God ordained instrument!  (I jest – please excuse).   David danced with all his might before the Lord and he was girded with a linen ephod.   Later his wife declared this as being undignified, dancing in his underwear in front of his people.  It begs the question; is the anything that we consider undignified or improper that God actually delights in?

 

A little research on the linen ephod and David’s wearing it, reveals that David was making a declaration.  Only priests were supposed to wear the ephod… which is pretty much the Alb that priests wear today.  David was king.  He was of higher standing than the priests, but David, in his act of wearing the epod and dancing before God, was declaring that he was in submission to God and at the mercy of God.  It was also a declaring of commitment to God first… and it was an act of humility before God.

 

David declared his priority; God was king and David was his servant.  This should cause us to reflect; who is most important and who do we need to please?  Can we make that same declaration as David?  Do we live to please people around us, or do we live to please God?  It can be scary to stand as a Christian, living for the approval of God alone, and we may be rejected by some because of it, but Psalm 24 reassures us: “Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.  They will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of their salvation”

 

More than this, our letter to the Ephesians tells us that God … “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.  He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will,”.

 

In these last few weeks, our readings have picked up different aspects of being called by God.  Today, as we notice the question about Jesus’ identity, and his steadfastness and knowing his own identity, we are reminded of our identity;  We belong to God and he has chosen us, blessed us with every spiritual blessing, and sealed us with his Holy Spirit.  We are his and we have a purpose.  We mustn’t become side tracked by the opinions of people and we must not become discouraged by those who might put us down for this faith.   Where would the kingdom of Israel have been if King David listened to his bitter wife who discouraged him from putting God first?  Where would we all be if Jesus accepted the opinions of those in his home town, that he was just a carpenter’s son?

 

Are we living in ignorance, or a false reality where we have been accepting these kinds of negative statements about ourselves and who we are in Christ, rather than the truth of what God has declared to us?  God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.  Just what does that imply about our lives?  For me, I believe that I have accepted a whole lot of limitations that God didn’t put there, and I’m betting that this is the same for every one of us.  Today, let’s commit to change that.  Let’s be brave and open to being the person that God has declared us to be and walk… not in a mere identity as a Christian… but in the reality that we are born of God!  We are born of the spirit of God and belong to him.  We will walk in this world bringing his blessings, because we are blessed with every spiritual blessing.  There is a whole destiny ahead of us that is bigger than any of us has imagined.  Let’s now thank God that we are His, and ask Him to help us remember and live in this reality.

Anointed! 2024 July 7th Proper 9B Pentecost 7B

 2024  07  07PROPER 9 (14) Seventh Sunday after Pentecost Year B

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 and Psalm 48  •  2 Corinthians 12:2-10  •  Mark 6:1-13

Our story about David picks up after the time when King Saul and his son Jonathon, had been killed in battle.  Many years earlier, the prophet Samuel, had anointed David as king, but David waited patiently and respectfully for the time when this promise would come into effect and he refused to take part in any treachery toward the current king.   At every turn, David sought to serve God and also King Saul honourably.  Yet David had been anointed by the Prophet Samuel many years earlier as God’s anointed King.  This death of King Saul and his off-spring left the throne open, and the people then united to anoint David as king.

 

We are told that at the original anointing of David, these words were proclaimed from God, “It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel."  You might remember that at the time of this anointing, David was very young and his job was as shepherd of his father’s sheep.  David understood what it meant to be a shepherd, and the difference between that job description and the understanding of the role of King, was significant.

 

The shepherd cares for the sheep and protects them.  Does a King do this?  Or is a king more likely to be the one protected by the people?  A king is protected by his people, but the shepherd serves the sheep and places himself between them and danger, and maintains their well-being of the sheep. 

 

David was anointed and chosen by God to be a different kind of leader – a kind that fore-shadowed the leadership and Kingship of Christ.  We are told that David became greater and greater for the LORD of hosts was with him.  Many great leaders have come and gone, but the reason that David was great was not because of his fighting ability, good looks, his wisdom, his charisma or anything else, but he was great due to this very important aspect; GOD was with him.

 

King David was the kind of King who was like a shepherd over the people, and his King was God.  David lived in submission to God and God was with him.  King David relied on God and knew by heart that the victory was won, not by might, nor by power, but the Spirit of God.  And it is this same understanding which is clearly in the mind of Saint Paul, as we read of him speaking about his weakness.

 

Saint Paul could have boasted about many things.  In one of his letters, he explains how much he had achieved in both society, position, and religion prior to his supernatural meeting with Christ.  He was faultless and admirable in so many ways and yet he sought to kill the Christians, not realizing that in this, he was fighting against God.  Later, after his encounter with Christ, we witness Paul declare that he will not boast in anything in himself, but he proclaims that it is in his weakness the power of God is evident.

 

What message of glorious hope is there in this for us?  Greatness and victory is not in might or power, but by God being with us.  And, in our weakness the power of God is evident.  In our modern society the weak are often overlooked.  None of us desires to have weakness and neither did Paul.  When he prayed to God about it, he received this very important answer:  “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness."

 

In our own lives, do we see our weaknesses as larger than the power of God?  Sometimes we might feel that we need to have everything in order and be “stronger”… whatever we might imagine that to entail…, before we can be of any use to God.  But here we find that this is NOT the case.  When Saint Paul thought he was strong and capable, was when he had everything wrong…. But in his weakness, God’s power was perfect.

 

We might naturally consider that before being any use to God, we need to be better….  have a good grasp of theology and eloquent apologetic arguments all perfected and committed to memory, but this is simply not the truth.  The disciples of Jesus didn’t understand so, so many things and yet Jesus gave them authority over demons and sent them on a journey of outreach.  They were to proclaim that all should repent, and this is what else happened on that journey…. they anointed the sick with oil and they were cured! 

 

There are some principles in this sending out that I really love.  Firstly, no one went alone.  They went in twos.  There was an understanding in the culture of Jesus, that two witnesses are more reliable than one. So, when two of Jesus' disciples proclaimed the presence of the kingdom, they would be more likely to be taken seriously.  Also, the scriptures tell us that two are better than one… if one falls down the other can help them up.  We need each other.  I wonder how much better the church might have fared if we had continued with this understanding.  Instead of having one person in charge of an area of ministry we always had two, working side by side.  Saint Paul spoke to his friend Timothy about being abandoned at one point of his ministry; he said, “At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of the lion.…”  Rest assured that if all else fails, we are never actually alone.  God is with us.

 

In Street Chaplaincy, we have a team of four on each night and the team breaks into twos.  We don’t preach or proclaim the message of God in words -however, we actually do – just not in words, but with our actions – and our message is God loves you and cares about you.  So often we might be faced with things that are daunting, but having a second person with us means we have access to a whole different skill set and a reassurance that we are working together… we are not alone and together we can face whatever comes our way – More than this, we believe that God will equip us for whatever we face, but he equips us through the gift of each other.   The implication here is that all of us are needed and need to step up and be part of the team working with God.

 

The message the disciples proclaimed was to repent.  It is a word we hear and we think we know what it means, but do we understand it the same way as those who heard it from the mouths of those disciples?  It literally means to change your mind and go back the other way.  In other words, turn from following your own way and go in the direction of God’s way.  To turn back to God.  This is actually a very simple message….  Acknowledge or remember that God is God and knows so much more than us.  Trust in God….

 

King David trusted in God and relied on God rather than putting his hope in anything earthly.  God was with him – this is why he achieved so much.  To urge people to repent is simply to remind them that God can make the difference.  It was God who mightily rescued and delivered Israel, so many times, and God rescues and delivers us, but we, like them, forget so quickly.  We need to be constantly reminded to turn our mind back to trusting in God.

 

The disciples were given authority over unclean spirits and also anointed the sick with oil and cured them.   This wasn’t something that they could do in themselves.  They were obedient and did what they were called to do, but God was with them, and so people were cured.

 

When we turn our minds back to God and trust God, we are reminded that God is with us.  He is the one that makes the difference – not us.  We don’t have the power to make ourselves great, nor the power make our church great.  We can strive and try, and we can put on programs and use fancy technology, but nothing will work in and of ourselves, but God who is with us, makes the difference…. When we repent – That is, acknowledge that all is in God’s hands, and obediently step out do that to which we are called to do, then God’s purposes will be achieved.

 

What we are called to do is not beyond any of our abilities.  We are called to remind each other to turn our minds back to God, trusting in him and his call to us.  As a church, he has called us to continue the work that was given to the disciples and to go into all the world and make disciples.

 

King David was anointed by God.  We too, were anointed by God at our baptism.  We have been sealed as belonging to God and set apart as a holy people.  This is who you and I are… Like David, we are the anointed of God.  Let’s take a moment to talk to God… thanking him that he has chosen us, anointed us and called us.  Let us remember that He is God… and we belong to him.  We acknowledge that we can do nothing by ourselves , but he can do everything… and he is with us.

like a mustard seed Proper 6 year B 16th June 2024

 2024  06  16  PROPER 6  Fourth Sunday after Pentecost  Year B

1 Samuel 15:34 - 16:13 and Psalm 20  •  2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17  •  Mark 4:26-34

 

Today we hear that the Kingdom of God is like a tiny mustard seed that grows to become such a great shrub that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.  The Kingdom of God is a place of refuge… a place of sustenance, nurturing and growth.  Jesus tells us that this is the way it is, but do we view the Kingdom of God this way? And do others, see it that way?

 

I ponder how this Kingdom of God fits into the life of my friend who is struggling with years of trauma.  Years of trauma have seen her isolate herself from the church.  She recently booked herself into hospital for treatment.  My husband made the comment, “She needs Jesus”.  Ahhhh such a nice simple answer for such a complicated problem and I wish it really was that simple.  But this sudden and simple fix is not the story of the mustard seed.

 

We are told, and perhaps you know, that the mustard seed is actually very small.  But Jesus tells us that it grows to be a large tree – a source of life – nests for the birds.  So, what does this tell us about the Kingdom of God?

 

Those small seeds we plant in the kingdom of God- Our kindness to others, our church dinners, our care for those in need….  These, tiny and seemingly insignificant things, with the blessing of God, grow beyond what we can see, and in ways beyond our comprehension to become something so significant it will shock us.  

 

In the case of my friend, who my husband says, needs Jesus –she will receive Jesus through the gift of our friendship and care – We are in, and we bring the Kingdom of God -  that tree that brings life.  We trust that God will cause the Kingdom of God to give life to my friend.  But it will take time, and it doesn’t happen at all unless we step out in faith and BE the kingdom of God.

 

The growth of a tree takes time.  We can look closely at a seedling and not see the growing happening at all, but trees don’t generally grow from a seedling to a giant tree overnight.  It takes time… sometimes we see very little signs of growth – especially in the winter, and it takes care and watering… etc… to grow into a tree… and did I mention time. 

 

We tend to judge things by what we see physically.  After all we are physical creatures.  But our readings today encourage us to open our spiritual eyes and see the Kingdom of God – which is spiritual.

 

The readings for today cause us to ponder; How do we view others?  Do we look at their outward appearance and decide what kind of person they are based on the clothes they wear, their age, their looks, the sound of their voice, their ethnicity???  There are so many things that people can use to assume a picture of someone’s life, but today’s readings tell us something about these assumptions…. It isn’t the way that God looks at people.

 

This week I met my daughter’s boyfriend.  He is 38 and has a 21 year old son.  As he told me the age of his son, I noticed his expression, and sensed his discomfort at how I might perceive him.  It was obvious that he had already received much judgment and criticism.  Many of us have a past that we wish was different.  But for some of us, those mistakes haunt us and taint the perception that others have of us… and the image we have of ourselves.

 

 

Our prophet Samuel learnt something about this in our first reading. “…, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is now before the LORD."  But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."”

 

Samuel had come to anoint a King for the nation.  He saw the young man Eliab and he looked impressive.  But God wasn’t impressed.  David, the youngest and most insignificant of the sons was the one who God chose.  He was still very good looking and probably quite impressive physically also, but his family didn’t think of him as being important, or significant. 

 

Most of us feel that we are not terribly significant. Significance in this world is so superficial… You might do something extraordinarily good and have your 15 minutes of fame and the next day it is forgotten.  Yet the mistakes we make seem more memorable.  Where is the Good News in that?   There isn’t any. 

 

But the Kingdom of God is different.  In the Kingdom of God, we are told that God knew us and formed us with purpose before we were born.  In the Kingdom of God, we are told that God loved us so much that he sent his son to die for us so that we can have eternal life.   In the Kingdom of God, we are of infinite significance.  Because of this we, like Saint Paul, should regard no one from a human point of view;” Therefore, instead of making assumptions, judging and dismissing, we understand that Christ loved and came to redeem all and that every life is so very precious to him.

 

Saint Paul tells us, “if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”

 

This week, I read a prophetic post from Roma Waterman that said, “I don’t know who needs to hear this but you need to know you are not a failure. Don’t judge your whole life by one mistake you have made……..You have a future and a hope that is beyond all you can imagine waiting in your future. Keep going and don’t give up.”

 

The love of Christ urges us on because, as the scripture tells us, Christ died for all so that all might live – and live not for ourselves but for him.  This is a spiritual reality.

 

In our baptism we enter into Christ.   This term, “In Christ”, is a term that means that God the father now sees us as he sees Christ – that is, as His precious and perfect Child.  We enter into the royal family of God and we are of undeniable and incomprehensible importance and significance. We don’t just “Identify as a child of God”… we are a child of God. 

 

In our baptism we are born of the Spirit.  When we respond to, and receive the Gospel and choose to belong to God, our Spirit comes to life – is born, and we belong to God.  We are Children of the King.  As children of the King we are called to a royal role with the Kingdom of God, growing and being the Kingdom of God.  And like a mustard seed, that Kingdom grows to become a place of nurture for all those who need sustenance, shelter and rest.   We are loved and we are called.  We are a new creation and we grow the Kingdom of God here on Earth so that God’s Kingdom comes on earth as in heaven. 

 

Instead of a Kingdom where some feel excluded, the opposite is true.  It is a Kingdom of love, acceptance and belonging, where life can flourish.  Today we are invited to respond to that loving call of God, to work with him to grow the Kingdom of God, understanding that we are part of that tree of the Kingdom, and it continues to grow by stepping out in faith, even if it is with just the first tiniest step of faith

The greener grass! Proper 5B 9th June 2024

 2024  06  09   PROPER 5 (10)  Third Sunday after Pentecost  Year B

1 Samuel 8:4-11 and Psalm 138  •  2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1  •  Mark 3:20-35

“So Tell me what you want, what you really, really want”….  Are there any children of the 90s or fans of the spice girls?  These are the words of one of their first hit songs.  Tell me what you want, what you really, really want….  Well, our Old Testament reading is a part of the story where the people are telling the prophet Samuel what they really, really want.  They really, really, really want a King. 

 

Unlike our contemporary culture, the nations around Israel were not a democracy.  They all had Kings who ruled them.  Israel was different.  God was their King and the prophet Samuel was his spokesperson.  Israel looked around and saw that the grass appeared greener.  Samuel was upset about their request because it felt like a rejection and a dismissal of all the good that had taken place since God called him as prophet.  And he was right… it was a ridiculous oversight of the reality of the gift that God had given the people.

 

One thing we learn about looking at these stories, is how human nature is pretty much unchanging… we want what the other person has and fail to see the amazing things that God has given us already. 

 

When God was in charge, goodness and mercy ruled. God gave the nation the commandments in order to keep all safe, and thriving, paying particular attention to the weak and vulnerable, yet it seemed to these people, that the grass would be greener with a King.  God says it this way, “they have rejected me from being king over them”.

 

The whole story of our faith is about this statement; “They have rejected me from being King over them.”  Human kind rejects God as King. 

 

Adam and Eve, in the garden of Eden, were tempted and ate of the forbidden fruit because they wanted to be like God.  That was what it was all about; rejecting God as King…  the grass looked greener on the other side.  But it wasn’t.  It never is. 

 

The Psalmist says of God, “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies; you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me.”  Would an earthly King do this for us?  Not usually.  An earthly King is looking after himself first.

 

We all have free will and God respects our free will always.  Even though the nation of Israel had previously declared that they would follow God and be His people, they then decided, of their own free will, to reject his wisdom and goodness and ask for an earthly King like the other nations.  The grass looked greener – It certainly wasn’t!

…

It isn’t that anyone deliberately sets out to turn away from God.  This nation still called themselves God’s chosen nation, but they figured they knew better…. Better than God.  In their actions, they proved their deepest heart’s desires and they didn’t listen to the wisdom of God and His spokesperson.  I bet that they didn’t really comprehend that they were rejecting God.   Yet, in their actions they proved that they didn’t trust God…. They didn’t trust in His goodness, and the grass looked greener on the other side.

 

There is a saying about the grass…. The grass is greener on the side you water…

Saint Paul tells us; “ For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure.”  He also tells us that what is seen is passing away and temporary.  The Kingdom of God is eternal.  For this same reason…  looking at the physical rather than the spiritual truth, …we see that Jesus’ family is trying to restrain him…. Talk sense into him.  To them, the grass was not looking very green…. Jesus was getting himself into trouble with the authorities and there was such a fuss about him that they didn’t seem to think he was properly looking after himself…. It didn’t seem sensible. 

 

Jesus’ family was looking at the way of life that was temporal, but Jesus’ vision was eternal.  He therefore, says something interesting…. Those who do the will of God are my mother, brothers and sisters. 

 

We enter the family of God through our baptism.  We become spiritually born of God by acknowledging God as the King of our lives.  It is an acknowledgement that the grass that is temporal is not greener than the Kingdom of God and in our baptism, we acknowledge that God knows best, we choose to follow God and accept Christ as our King. 

 

Just like that Israelite nation, who was saved from the slavery in Egypt by the hand of God, we are saved and belong to God.  We are God’s chosen people, but we do still have free will and God forever respects our free will.  Though we are his and he loves us, will we water the grass in the kingdom of God, or will we live in the delusion that the grass that is temporary is greener?

 

Those who do the will of God are the family of God.  Each moment we make a choice, and the reality is that it will always be a struggle, but this is why we need to support and encourage each other.  We remind each other that God is King.  With God as King, mercy and love rule.  The grass in the Kingdom of God is the best green that there is.  This is where we will find goodness and true life.

So there is really just one thing to say; Will you accept Jesus as the Lord and King of your life?

Revived and restored 2024 06 02

2024  06  09   PROPER 5 (10)  Third Sunday after Pentecost  Year B

1 Samuel 8:4-11 and Psalm 138  •  2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1  •  Mark 3:20-35

“So Tell me what you want, what you really, really want”….  Are there any children of the 90s or fans of the spice girls?  These are the words of one of their first hit songs.  Tell me what you want, what you really, really want….  Well, our Old Testament reading is a part of the story where the people are telling the prophet Samuel what they really, really want.  They really, really, really want a King.  

Unlike our contemporary culture, the nations around Israel were not a democracy.  They all had Kings who ruled them.  Israel was different.  God was their King and the prophet Samuel was his spokesperson.  Israel looked around and saw that the grass appeared greener.  Samuel was upset about their request because it felt like a rejection and a dismissal of all the good that had taken place since God called him as prophet.  And he was right… it was a ridiculous oversight of the reality of the gift that God had given the people.

One thing we learn about looking at these stories, is how human nature is pretty much unchanging… we want what the other person has and fail to see the amazing things that God has given us already.  

When God was in charge, goodness and mercy ruled. God gave the nation the commandments in order to keep all safe, and thriving, paying particular attention to the weak and vulnerable, yet it seemed to these people, that the grass would be greener with a King.  God says it this way, “they have rejected me from being king over them”.

The whole story of our faith is about this statement; “They have rejected me from being King over them.”  Human kind rejects God as King.  

Adam and Eve, in the garden of Eden, were tempted and ate of the forbidden fruit because they wanted to be like God.  That was what it was all about; rejecting God as King…  the grass looked greener on the other side.  But it wasn’t.  It never is.  

The Psalmist says of God, “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies; you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me.”  Would an earthly King do this for us?  Not usually.  An earthly King is looking after himself first. 

We all have free will and God respects our free will always.  Even though the nation of Israel had previously declared that they would follow God and be His people, they then decided, of their own free will, to reject his wisdom and goodness and ask for an earthly King like the other nations.  The grass looked greener – It certainly wasn’t!

…

It isn’t that anyone deliberately sets out to turn away from God.  This nation still called themselves God’s chosen nation, but they figured they knew better…. Better than God.  In their actions, they proved their deepest heart’s desires and they didn’t listen to the wisdom of God and His spokesperson.  I bet that they didn’t really comprehend that they were rejecting God.   Yet, in their actions they proved that they didn’t trust God…. They didn’t trust in His goodness, and the grass looked greener on the other side.

There is a saying about the grass…. The grass is greener on the side you water… 

Saint Paul tells us; “ For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure.”  He also tells us that what is seen is passing away and temporary.  The Kingdom of God is eternal.  For this same reason…  looking at the physical rather than the spiritual truth, …we see that Jesus’ family is trying to restrain him…. Talk sense into him.  To them, the grass was not looking very green…. Jesus was getting himself into trouble with the authorities and there was such a fuss about him that they didn’t seem to think he was properly looking after himself…. It didn’t seem sensible.  

Jesus’ family was looking at the way of life that was temporal, but Jesus’ vision was eternal.  He therefore, says something interesting…. Those who do the will of God are my mother, brothers and sisters.  

We enter the family of God through our baptism.  We become spiritually born of God by acknowledging God as the King of our lives.  It is an acknowledgement that the grass that is temporal is not greener than the Kingdom of God and in our baptism, we acknowledge that God knows best, we choose to follow God and accept Christ as our King.  

Just like that Israelite nation, who was saved from the slavery in Egypt by the hand of God, we are saved and belong to God.  We are God’s chosen people, but we do still have free will and God forever respects our free will.  Though we are his and he loves us, will we water the grass in the kingdom of God, or will we live in the delusion that the grass that is temporary is greener?

Those who do the will of God are the family of God.  Each moment we make a choice, and the reality is that it will always be a struggle, but this is why we need to support and encourage each other.  We remind each other that God is King.  With God as King, mercy and love rule.  The grass in the Kingdom of God is the best green that there is.  This is where we will find goodness and true life. 

So there is really just one thing to say; Will you accept Jesus as the Lord and King of your life?

To SEE the Kingdom of God HOLY TRINITY 26th May 2024

                                               TRINITY SUNDAY Year B  May 26, 2024

Isaiah 6:1-8 and Psalm 29  •  Romans 8:12-17  •  John 3:1-17

 

What does a three-leaf clover, three overlapping circles, and a triangle all have in common?  All have been used to try to illustrate the Holy Trinity; one God, three persons.  And probably there have been various other analogies also, because this concept of the Holy Trinity is not an easy thing to understand…  In fact, I’d go so far as to say, you can only understand it if you are born of the Spirit.

 

As we explore and celebrate this today, note the structure of our services; we begin and end our services in the name of, and the blessing of, God the father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

 

A couple of weeks ago we had the reading of the prayer of Jesus.  In this he prayed to the father to protect us.  He said, “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.”   When I read these words, I straight away think of, “In the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit”  -the sign of the cross.  And it calls to mind those movies where the characters are in dire straits and they bless themselves. It makes sense in the light of Jesus prayer for protection.  And it makes sense that we should also, regularly remind ourselves that our faith, and our destiny for the kingdom of God is protected by God, through that prayer of Jesus – through our faith in one God – Three persons.

 

The HOLY TRINITY is a mysterious and sometimes divisive statement of faith.  But it is super important.  The doctrine of the Holy Trinity began to be formalised at the council of Nicaea in 325 AD when it stated that Christ is “of the same substance [homoousios] as the Father,”… 

 

You will not find the Holy Trinity written in the scriptures, but you will find, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord”.  And you will find, in the Gospel of John, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ..”  The word of God was a common term in the Old Testament, and we have come to know that the word of God is Jesus.  St. John made this very clear when he said, “And the word became flesh and dwelt among us.”  And as scripture tells us, Jesus is the exact representation – the visible expression of our unseen God.  So we come to understand, as Christians, that Christ and God the father are ONE…. But how?  It is still a mystery and hard to grasp concept….. so lets just add another…. The Holy Spirit.

 

Before I talk a little more on the Holy Spirit, however, lets imagine the Christian Church back in the first few centuries….. They started with a bang.  The Holy Spirit enabled the Gospel to be proclaimed with boldness and accompanied by many miracles showing the power of God.  They went through extreme persecution and finally, in the 3^rd century, through the Roman empire and the Christian influence of the Emperor Constantine, the church gained legal status.  Then through the Emperor Theodosius, Christianity, specifically Nicene Christianity was made the official religion of the Roman Empire. Other Christian sects were deemed heretical.

 

There were lots of ideas floated around about Christianity…. Right from the start!  We know this through the New Testament letters.  Most of those letters were written to teach and correct. 

 

In our God-given freedom, we will all sometimes, on one point or another, get it wrong.  Why?  Because there is so very much to know about God.  His thoughts are way beyond our thoughts… scripture tells us this.  Our wisdom is foolishness compared to God.   God loves for us to get to know him, but he understands that we will sometimes get it wrong.  However, it is important that there are some guidelines to bring us back…. Our creed does this.

 

The third part of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, and is our helper, teacher and comforter.  In fact, the only real way to understand anything about God is “Spiritually”.   In fact Scripture tells us about this New Covenant into which we have entered, in the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, 31 it says; “33“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. 34No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD.”  This is because of the coming of the Holy Spirit. 

 – the Jewish festival of Pentecost was a festival celebrating the coming of God’s Holy Law to his people.  When the Holy Spirit came, he indwelt and wrote that law on the hearts and minds of God’s people.  In other words, the Holy Spirit leads, guides and teaches… the Holy Spirit is God within us and is the Key to understanding.  The image that comes to mind is like one of those great adventure movies, where the characters all have different parts of the puzzle and when they all come together the final piece becomes the key, and suddenly everything opens up and reveals the treasure.  The Holy Spirit is that final Key.

 

In our reading today we have Nicodemus having a discussion with Christ.  Nicodemus really and truly desires to know God.  He has already observed Jesus and decided that He must be from God, but it went against his traditional understanding…. So he comes at night.  In some ways it is figurative… he is still in the dark… he doesn’t understand… and then the first thing that Jesus says to him is; , "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."

Older translations of this passage have the phrase “born from above” as “Born Again” The Greek word translated as 'again' or “from above” actual has two meanings: it can mean not only 'a second time' but also 'from above.'  Jesus may have meant both, but Nicodemus doesn’t understand and takes the literal meaning as being born again.  He therefore asks and says that a man can’t enter his mother’s womb a second time.

 

Jesus is talking about being born of the Spirit.  Something that we often forget, is that we are made in the image of God and we are also triune beings.   Mostly we are familiar with body and soul and there is a good reason for this.  We are body, soul and spirit.   However, our spirit is dormant like a seed in an alfoil packet.  When we respond to the message of the Gospel it is because our spirit has been awakened by the Spirit of God… and we can finally SEE spiritual truth.   We have become born from above because it is of God that we are born spiritually. 

 

Just like physical birth, when you are born you can’t then be unborn.  You can’t stop being a child of God… you are born again and your spiritual life is a reality.  And this is regardless of any of our failings.  We don’t forfeit being a child of God because we fail or get things wrong.  But we should come to resemble our heavenly father’s nature that becomes our own, simply because we are his children and we resemble him… we have his spirit… in fact we have his Holy Spirit. 

 

With the Holy Spirit in union with our own spirit we can finally SEE the kingdom of God… the things of God.  In our world there may be spiritual things that we encounter, but not all of these are the Holy Spirit.  We need to discern these with the help of the Holy Spirit, and also through scripture itself and through returning to our creed.

 

We believe in one God the father, the almighty.  We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ – Of one being with the father.  We believe in the Holy Spirit – who proceeds from the Father and the Son.  This Holy Trinity is there throughout scripture, and the formalizing and defining God as three in one, gives validity to the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

 

Many accept Jesus as a good man and maybe as one who was even God’s son, but they fail to see Jesus as God.  Jesus was crucified because he claimed divinity and oneness with God.  Jesus tells us through his words to Nicodemus, that God sent the Son to bring us ETERNAL life, and that life comes to us though our union with the Holy Spirit.  Just as the Holy Spirit came over the early Christians in power, the Holy Spirit needs to be integral to our experience of God today. 

 

Unlike the pictures of the three circles, three leaf-ed clover and other images, I am not going to explain how God can possibly be three in one.  But instead I will leave you with this one truth; the Holy Spirit will bring about an understanding about the things of God that are naturally beyond us.  Scripture also tells us that with the Holy Spirit in us, we have the mind of Christ – We can SEE the kingdom of God. 

 

So, I’ll leave it in your hands, and the hands of the author and perfector of our faith and with the Holy Spirit who hovered over the waters of chaos at the beginning of time and created all things.  He is with us always… lean into him and wait.  He has SO much that he desires to teach us, And I will finish with this…. In the name of the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  AMEN.

THE POWER OF A TESTIMONY Easter 7B 2024 May 12th

 2024  05  12  EASTER 7B       

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26  •  Psalm 1  •  1 John 5:9-13  •  John 17:6-19

 

Do you have a testimony?  A testimony is to tell what you saw or what you know.  The Latin root for the word “testimony is the word “testis”, meaning “witness”.   Do you have a declaration that you make, as a witness to the truth and Jesus Christ?

 

In our readings today there is an emphasis on the importance of testimony.  The apostles chose a new apostle to take the place of Judas and the qualification for that position, was simply that it was someone who had been an eye witness of all that they had experienced in their time with Jesus, beginning with the baptism by John.  They came up with two names and chose by lot, Matthias. 

 

I love that the scripture doesn’t say, “Matthias is an eloquent speaker”, or “Joseph is someone of high standing in the community”.  The qualification to be an apostle was simply someone who had been with the group, following Jesus the whole time and therefore, someone with a testimony about Jesus, who could witness to others about the truth of this Good News, Gospel message.

 

Even when it appeared that there were two men properly qualified, the apostles decided that God knows better than they, who should be called to fill the spot and so they cast lots, in prayer, trusting that God is in control of the outcome.

 

Saint John had a testimony about Christ.  He says, that if we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son.

 

You may have heard or read about people who had near death experiences, witnessed Ghosts or other unusual happenings.  That is a testimony, and no one can deny a personal experience – It is a powerful testimony.  However, our interpretation of that event or the conclusion we come to because of that event can range from spot on true and correct to wildly skewed.  While you and I might have learned knowledge, or a story about spiritual matters, the supernatural or any other belief system, and we can share that story with others,… there is a testimony that is greater and carries more weight…. It is the testimony of God. 

 

Other religions or even theologians might come up with ideas about God that seem good, but nothing trumps our message of the Gospel, because it is what God has said about himself.  What’s more, Saint John tells us that “Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts.”  We have this testimony because we are those who believe in Jesus.

 

Saint John was personally present when God the father spoke about Jesus at his baptism and he was there when Jesus went up the mountain and was transformed when Elijah and Moses appeared.  Saint John had heard the voice saying, this is my son in whom I am well pleased – listen to him.  This is the testimony of God about God.  There is something more that Saint John reveals to us in this letter, he says, “this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”

 

The Good News at the heart of our message is that we have eternal life and this eternal life is ours through our connection with Jesus.  When John writes about “eternal life”, he is using the Greek word “Zoe”, which has to do with a life that death cannot destroy.  We might read this and think of this as meaning our being with God when we die, and although that is true, it isn’t primarily what John was talking about.  The ZOE life is more to do with the quality of life… Spiritual Life… which starts here and now and never ends.

 

In our culture, we might imagine that a good life means riches and health, but that is not what these early Christians understood about the life that God gave.  They all understood that, to be given the life of Christ was to be so infused with the spiritual life of God that they were assured of eternal life and they were therefore willing to endure all kinds of hardship and yet at the same time proclaim the goodness of the life they had, here and now, in Christ.  Their vision of life and eternal life was bigger.  Most importantly, that spiritual life with which they were infused, was the life of God that can not die.  These early Christians were infused…. Infilled… with life through the Holy Spirit.

 

We contrast this with Judas who betrayed Jesus.  His vision of life was limited. He was looking for a life that was here and now and he was expecting something that seemed better than what Jesus was offering in the here and now – He missed the bigger picture – his perception of Jesus’ message didn’t make sense to him because he expected more in this physical life.  He was focused on the physical rather than the spiritual.

 

In the Gospel of John, the prayer of Jesus is recorded; “While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled.” 

I find this concept that Judas could be so close to Jesus and yet lost, most frustrating.  There are certainly things that are beyond our knowledge, but it teaches us that it is possible to follow the “idea” of Jesus and still miss the Good News.   It is possible to hear the Good News and still not understand it.  We sometimes have our own agenda and our free will resists the message of the Gospel.  God respects and will never over ride our free will.  This is different from genuine difficulty and slowness in understanding.

 

A quick look at history, or even just a quick look around us, we see that the disciples, apostles, and all of us, poorly handle the message of God – the testimony.  We are so slow to understand.  But it isn’t all as bad as it looks.  For example, when the former slave trader John Newton, realized the truth about Jesus Christ, he and Wilberforce instigated the ablution of slavery.  Rest assured that God’s message eventually cuts through and then God’s life abiding in us, still makes a difference in our world.

 

Our world desperately needs apostles who have the testimony of Jesus to proclaim.  Matthias was an eye witness, but those eye witnesses are long gone…. What now?  Now it is up to you and me.  Now, you and I have the testimony of Jesus and we need to proclaim it.  Each of us who believes in Jesus, has the testimony of Jesus in our heart.  We each have our part to play in testifying to the truth.  This may make us a little anxious but we can take comfort in the fact that we are upheld in prayer…. In particular, we have been prayed for by Jesus himself.

 

In the Gospel of John, we get to eves drop on the prayer that Jesus prayed for his followers, but understand that the verse after our reading says this; “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,....”  This is US.  Therefore, it is worth looking to see what Jesus prays for us and rest assured that His prayer is answered.

 

Central to the message is this prayer for protection.  “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.

While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me.”

 

At the time that Jesus prayed this prayer, Peter was about to deny him, Thomas was about to doubt and most of them were about to be scattered in fear and despair.  My takeaway from this is that sometimes it looks like our prayers aren’t answered….  But looks can be very deceiving.  This was the very prayer of God.  The protection for which he prayed was not so much about physical protection, but that their faith in God would be protected, and that they would be protected for their destiny in the Kingdom of God. 

 

There were arguments and varied opinions in the early church which must have “looked” like disunity, but Jesus prays that they may be one.  It again, looks like his prayer was not answered…. But looks are deceiving.  In fact, what we see is why Jesus needed to pray for them.  There will always be tension when working together because we are all so different, but Jesus prays that we may be one. 

 

Right now, it may seem that the churches and people within the churches, are in tension with one another.  My takeaway from today’s readings is that this is simply why Jesus needed to pray for us and don’t despair… looks are deceiving.  If there is any prayer that we can be assured will be answered, surely it is the prayer of Jesus…. We will be one and we are one.  Within the variations of understandings there will be and is unity.  In fact I love the word “harmony”….  Harmony is a musical term that that does not mean sameness.  In music, harmony only happens when notes that are different play together in such a way that they make a gorgeous tapestry of sound. 

 

The prayer of Jesus is not just for those apostles and disciples back in the day, but for us also.  We can rest assured that we are protected in our faith so that our destiny in the Kingdom of God will be fulfilled. 

 

We each have the testimony of God, because John tells us that those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts.  Our world needs us to proclaim this testimony.  Our world desperately needs saving by God, and our destiny in the Kingdom of God, is to bring that testimony to those we meet so that the world can be saved.  Those who believe in Jesus are saved and have eternal life.   We have the testimony, and a testimony is meant to be declared and shared so that all can know the truth.

 

Next week we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit empowers us to share the testimony.  In this coming week, let’s commit to praying for the re-infilling/ empowering of the Holy Spirit so that we can truly be the witness of God in our world, so in need of saving.