Year C Proper 14 11 August 2013
Isaiah 1: 1, 10-20 Psalm 50: 1-8, 22-23 Hebrews 11: 1-3, 8-16 Luke 12: 32-40
Luke 12:34 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
When I read that sentence from this week’s Gospel reading I wonder what my treasure is and what it is that I treasure. There are many things that I treasure and I wonder if other people can tell even more clearly than I, where my treasure lies.
This previous weekend I was somewhat upset with myself. I was working on Friday night and so I had to pass on my job of helping at the kids club to someone else. Admittedly, I had prepared the story and on my way to my work gig, I set up the data projector with the story loaded and ready to go, but I felt a bit like I was putting my gig in front of my responsibility to God.
The weekend progressed and I worked again on Saturday night, which meant that I didn’t get to church. It also meant that I wasn’t able to provide the music for the Saturday night service and I was grieved because it seems that I will be missing most Saturday nights this month and I feel I’m letting the church and God down.
But wait…there is more… After two late nights I slept in. When I woke and realized that I’d already missed church I went back to sleep again…. I did have a lot of sleep to catch up and had been fighting off that flu that kept threatening me. I planned to visit another church that night, but I wasn’t feeling well and had a basketball game in the afternoon, which was pushing me physically and emotionally over the edge. I just went home and felt sorry for myself and guilty.
What was really bothering me was that I have always had a strong commitment to church and lately it seemed that maybe my treasure was simply selfish me.
I remember hearing people say, “you have to have time for yourself”… “a little “Me” time”! It’s a bit of a catch phrase and an indication of a couple of things; one, that we have pretty hectic lives, and two – really I think in this modern day our only treasure is ourselves. I hear from nurses how sad it is that many sick people don’t have families to care for them – they are all too busy with their own lives and caring for someone else that they claim to love is not possible – and I’m not talking about long term sick elderly people, I’m talking about those who’ve had an operation and need support just until they recover.
If we look to our Old Testament readings we find that God seems to be confusing, because after prescribing the various intricacies of the sacrifices he then seems to not want them.
Isaiah 1:13-17 “Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”
What can we discern that the ancient Israelites were treasuring?
It outwardly would seem that God was their treasure.
There were outward signs, which other nations could easily see, and a visitor to the area would also say the same, “Oh how these Israelites love God! Just look at how particular they are about making sacrifices to the Lord.” When there was a new moon they made it a holy festival to the Lord and they were fastidious about the Sabbaths. They were a very religious nation.
Sometimes we need to be careful about how we judge from outward appearances, because God saw big trouble in the hearts of these very dedicated and religious people. Yes they kept the Sabbaths, but they neglected to understand the heart of God. They failed to understand that if any of God’s people were hurting then God couldn’t care less about the Sabbath. He cared about wiping the tears of the one in trouble.
The people just didn’t get it. And I fear that neither do we.
I hate that I missed church this weekend, but I know that it is really “no skin off God’s nose”. He is not a God who needs me to be at church…. I am a person who needs the nourishment that I get from church. Can you see the difference and the implications? This is why Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for mankind and not mankind for the Sabbath. It was never meant to be a religious requirement to appease a wrathful God, but a gift to enable mankind to refresh and maintain proper perspective about things like caring for one another.
Now there is another very important aspect that I must discuss. The Israelites were fastidious in keeping God’s law because they knew that in keeping his law they would be blessed…. And they sure did want His blessing. So I ask you again, where do you think their treasure was?
Very much like us when we neglect God’s ways because we need a little “me” time, the Israelites were their own treasure. They treasured themselves and if keeping the Sabbath and the festivals meant that God would bless them than that is what they would do. They kept the Sabbath because they thought that keeping the Sabbath would give them supernatural blessing. And God was exhausted with them.
It is a pretty natural and human thing to bargain with God. That is what the Israelites were doing. Basically they were saying, “If I do this for God, then he will bless me”. I remember bargaining with God once. I probably have done it in various ways at various times but certainly the most striking example is when I was expecting my first child and was bleeding. I did so much bargaining with God. All to no avail and I eventually miscarried and probably learnt a valuable lesson. God is God and he is merciful and wants to bless us, but his blessing is not dependant on our good works, but his blessings are simply dependant on his love and sovereignty.
Christianity is not like any other religion, unless we miss the point. When we miss the point we do what the ancient Israelites did and turn the Good News into religion. In every religion there is a list of dos and don’ts and Christianity can easily fall into this same way. But that isn’t the way that God wants it to be. The reason that we have the Holy Spirit is so that we can understand that we have no set of rules, but instead we have a relationship with the God who created us. With His Holy Spirit in us we have his law in our heart, and his is a law of love and care and concern.
I have a job which means that I’m going to be working often on weekends. Shift workers are the same, doctors and ambulance men and nurses, just to name a few. While it should be obvious to others that our treasure is God, it should be obvious to them because of our Christ-like heart and not because of our business in religious activity.
Luke 12: 35,36 ““Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.”
The service that we need to be doing might be very different from what you’ve previously thought. If you have thought, “I don’t need to be in Church to be a Christian and I do lots of caring for others, so I’m fine by God”; you have missed the point. And on the flip side if you are very active in Church activities and functions but don’t reach out to others around you, who may need no more than your friendship, you’ve also missed the point. Our life in Church and our interactions with those outside of church go hand in hand.
Our New Testament reading from Hebrews gives us examples of people who were commended for their faith. These are people who were in communion with God and when God told them to leave their comfort zone they did. More than that, when these people left that comfort zone, they didn’t see the blessing. Yes, you read correctly… they DIDN’T see the blessing. They obeyed God, but for years and years they could not see the fruit of God’s blessing.
Hebrews 11:13-16 “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
My eldest daughter has left to live in Cairns. She is working and going to University there. I sent her a little gift a couple of weeks ago and sent her another little one this week.
We are called to be the children of God and our treasure is that city that he has prepared for us, but in his mercy he does bless us along the way, but it isn’t because of our Good Works. It is because of his great love and his RELATIONSHIP with us.
I would hope that my daughter is old enough that she won’t treasure the silly little gifts I send her, but instead she will realize that the gifts are a sign of my love and my commitment to be in a relationship with her. And I assume that it is the relationship that she will treasure.
In the same way, it is our RELATIONSHIP with God that we are to treasure above all…. Not the doing of things for him so that we can feel justified, or the keeping of God’s law so that we can treasure his blessings.
I remember having friends who, when rumours were going around about me, I thought they would know better and never believe such craziness. I assumed that because of our relationship they would understand what was really going on – but they didn’t and it seemed that what I thought was a real relationship, was actually only a superficial one - what a disappointment!
Just like you do a close friend, a parent or child, with whom you really do understand and treasure, we need to realize that God’s greatest desire is for us to understand his heart and have a real relationship with him. Understanding His heart will mean that we will act with compassion in areas we may not have thought about previously, or cry out for justice in other areas, or stand up for the greater good somewhere else. And so, with this in mind, where is your treasure? Is it in your relationship with God?
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Reflection on readings for 23rd June 2013
Year C Proper 7 23 June 2013
1 Kings 19: 1-15 Psalm 42 & 43 Galatians 3: 23-29 Luke 8: 26-39
I’d have to say that this here is one of my favourite scriptures and it is especially my favourite today. Elijah had just proclaimed the sovereignty of God in his show down between the prophets of Baal and the sacrifice to God, where the one true God answered dramatically by sending down fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice and also consuming the prophets of Baal. After this, you would think Elijah would be full of self-confidence, but instead, with great fear, he receives the message that Jezebel is out to kill him, and he runs.
1 Kings 19:3-5 “ Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.”
Ever felt like that?
In the Christian community we almost dare not admit it, because we’d be deemed as one lacking in faith. You’d be judged as a flawed and immature Christian.
Elijah would have to be the most mature and strong man of God, and yet if he were among us, would we reject him for his honest, fearful and broken heart?
In the Psalms that are listed for this Sunday we see the sentiments that may have been expressed by Elijah as the same sentiments expressed by the psalmist;
Psalm 42:2-3 “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
But the story of Elijah doesn’t finish there. After crying out to God and falling asleep, God wakes him and feeds him. He is nourished by God and yet he remains despondent and falls asleep again. Again he is awoken by God, and fed and encouraged, and warned that the journey is too great for him. There is no condemnation from God. There is only care and comfort and encouragement and nourishment. Still it doesn’t change the despondency or even depression that Elijah is experiencing.
There are so many lessons about depression and grief in this passage. I hope you can sense some of them without me having to draw them all out.
At this point in time, after being woken and feed twice by God, Elijah sets off into the desert for 40 days until he comes to the mountain of God, where he goes into a cave to sleep – again. Then God speaks;
1 Kings 19:9b-11 “And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”
God already knew what Elijah was doing there, but Elijah needed to express his grief. Elijah was in the presence of God already but was told to go outside and be in the presence of the Lord and that the Lord would also pass by.
While Elijah was in the presence of the Lord on the mountain he experienced a great and powerful wind which tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks. Can you imagine how scary that was? And what was the point of it all? To show that God was not in the wind.
Then while Elijah was in the presence of the Lord on the mountain there was an earthquake. OH MY GOODNESS! I can just imagine Elijah being precariously perched on the mountain while an earthquake is happening, having barely recovered from the powerful wind, just regaining his balance and beginning to relax and then and earthquake shakes his being. And what was the point of it all? To show that God was not in the earthquake.
After this there came a fire…….. same story… God was not in the fire.
In the lives of God’s people there sometimes seems to be storm after storm and we find ourselves battered and shaken, and even depressed. We, as Christians are in the presence of God always because we carry him in us, but sometimes we feel that God is in the storm. Other Christians might even believe and have us believing that we are lesser Christians and this is why there are storms in our lives, erroneously indicating that God is “IN the storm”. AND other Christians will often erroneously judge our faith maturity by our inability to keep smiling through these storms…. I believe that God was showing Elijah something important that we all need to know.
Elijah was a prophet of the Lord and everything he’d done was to proclaim the word of God and for his reward he had been hunted and threatened. The people had seen the mighty work of God and yet it wasn’t enough… they still turned against Elijah.
The storms in our life are like the wind that batters us while we are in the presence of God – But don’t be mistaken – God is not in the wind / storm/ earthquake/ fire.
1 Kings 19:12b “…And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”
Elijah stood in the presence of the Lord and spoke with him, explaining his pain again to God. This time God gives him a direction to go back the way he came and anoint Hazael King over Aram.
It is said that a prophet is never accepted in their home town. Jesus came to his own, even though many rejected him and Elijah was sent back also, and in our Gospel reading we find that a man who’d be cured of demon possession was sent back to his home town to proclaim God’s message. Regardless of whether we are accepted or not, we are called to proclaim Gods message to our own people, and to our own community.
Coming back to that Gospel story, it is one where Jesus was travelling just outside of his “home parish”… he did this at times and we read of his interactions with Samaritans and other Gentiles. In our Gospel reading Jesus encountered a man who wore no clothes and who lived among tombs. This man was often chained, but he broke the chains. If I was Jesus companions I’d have felt rather scared. It brings to mind the story of Beauty and the Beast.
In today’s politically correct climate it could be argued that Beauty and the Beast is a harmful story, as it teaches little girls to put up with abuse at the hands of a beast. The flip side is that it is true love that sees through the beastly exterior and sets free the imprisoned prince within. Call me a romantic, but I like to think that this flip side was the actual intent of the author and it matches perfectly with our Gospel story.
The prince – a son of the living God was imprisoned by the demons that kept him separated from all that he loved and kept those who love him separated also. Jesus saw through the beastly exterior and set him free.
In both our Old Testament reading and our Gospel reading we can see that the judgments we make on people can keep them imprisoned. We can judge other Christians depression as being a lack of mature faith and we can judge outsiders as beasts who have no prince within. Our vision is limited by our lack of love and understanding.
Before the coming of Jesus into our lives we were all sharers of the beastly reality that we could not live up to the standards of God, we were imprisoned by our own humanity. And still we remain imprisoned unless we realize the Gospel message.
Galatians 3:23 “Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed.”
Apart from Jesus we are all subjected to the consequences of our fallen humanity and destined to live separated from the one who created and loves us. If we look at our lives with natural eyes we can still only see the beast – that creature that fails to live up to the perfection of God’s perfect law. If we think that we are better than that we are really only fooling ourselves because a quick look at some of the most confronting scriptures shows us that we all fall short of the glory of God.
But God sees the royal children within the beast and set us free by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, but more than that…..
We who are IN CHRIST are clothed in Christ.
When God looks at us he sees his perfect son. That is how Paul, in Galatians 3:26 can say, “So in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith”. Many modern translations, aiming to be politically correct state that we are “Children of God”… all true, but when we understand how God looks at us and sees his son, it seems that “sons of God” means a whole lot more. My relationship with God is not conditional on my ability to keep God’s law, it is conditional upon my relationship with Christ and I’m so grateful for that.
Galatians 3:10-12a, “For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith;…”
If we think that we can earn our way into heaven we are gravely mistaken. If we think we can work out our own salvation this way we have “fallen from Grace”. Grace is the unmerited favour that we have from God because of our relationship with Jesus, but once we start to try and earn our own salvation we become once again cursed and lost and there is no other sacrifice that can save us because we’ve not truly accepted the sacrifice of Jesus…. We haven’t understood that we are only saved by faith and not in any way saved by good works. In fact, this is an act of abominable disregard for Christ’s complete and sufficient sacrifice.
FAITH – complete faith in God is all that we need. We can be despondent and grieving and still have complete faith in God. We can still have that beastly human nature and our faith in Christ means that we are completely saved.
Galatians 3: 14 “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”
By FAITH we receive the promise of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit came on the feast of Pentecost. This feast was the feast of the receiving of the law. The Holy Spirit is God in us, the deposit of heaven within us and it is the true law of God. The Holy Spirit at work in us and allowed to fully live through us breaks through our beastly nature and brings God’s nature into our being. How it does this is between us and God and through our relationship with him.
This is amazing Good News! God himself is the author and perfector of our faith. But are we open and receptive to the Holy Spirit or are we striving foolishly in our own strength?
Clothed in Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit the beast is transformed. You may not sense it, but God sees it and his opinion is all that matters.
1 Kings 19: 1-15 Psalm 42 & 43 Galatians 3: 23-29 Luke 8: 26-39
I’d have to say that this here is one of my favourite scriptures and it is especially my favourite today. Elijah had just proclaimed the sovereignty of God in his show down between the prophets of Baal and the sacrifice to God, where the one true God answered dramatically by sending down fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice and also consuming the prophets of Baal. After this, you would think Elijah would be full of self-confidence, but instead, with great fear, he receives the message that Jezebel is out to kill him, and he runs.
1 Kings 19:3-5 “ Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.”
Ever felt like that?
In the Christian community we almost dare not admit it, because we’d be deemed as one lacking in faith. You’d be judged as a flawed and immature Christian.
Elijah would have to be the most mature and strong man of God, and yet if he were among us, would we reject him for his honest, fearful and broken heart?
In the Psalms that are listed for this Sunday we see the sentiments that may have been expressed by Elijah as the same sentiments expressed by the psalmist;
Psalm 42:2-3 “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
But the story of Elijah doesn’t finish there. After crying out to God and falling asleep, God wakes him and feeds him. He is nourished by God and yet he remains despondent and falls asleep again. Again he is awoken by God, and fed and encouraged, and warned that the journey is too great for him. There is no condemnation from God. There is only care and comfort and encouragement and nourishment. Still it doesn’t change the despondency or even depression that Elijah is experiencing.
There are so many lessons about depression and grief in this passage. I hope you can sense some of them without me having to draw them all out.
At this point in time, after being woken and feed twice by God, Elijah sets off into the desert for 40 days until he comes to the mountain of God, where he goes into a cave to sleep – again. Then God speaks;
1 Kings 19:9b-11 “And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”
God already knew what Elijah was doing there, but Elijah needed to express his grief. Elijah was in the presence of God already but was told to go outside and be in the presence of the Lord and that the Lord would also pass by.
While Elijah was in the presence of the Lord on the mountain he experienced a great and powerful wind which tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks. Can you imagine how scary that was? And what was the point of it all? To show that God was not in the wind.
Then while Elijah was in the presence of the Lord on the mountain there was an earthquake. OH MY GOODNESS! I can just imagine Elijah being precariously perched on the mountain while an earthquake is happening, having barely recovered from the powerful wind, just regaining his balance and beginning to relax and then and earthquake shakes his being. And what was the point of it all? To show that God was not in the earthquake.
After this there came a fire…….. same story… God was not in the fire.
In the lives of God’s people there sometimes seems to be storm after storm and we find ourselves battered and shaken, and even depressed. We, as Christians are in the presence of God always because we carry him in us, but sometimes we feel that God is in the storm. Other Christians might even believe and have us believing that we are lesser Christians and this is why there are storms in our lives, erroneously indicating that God is “IN the storm”. AND other Christians will often erroneously judge our faith maturity by our inability to keep smiling through these storms…. I believe that God was showing Elijah something important that we all need to know.
Elijah was a prophet of the Lord and everything he’d done was to proclaim the word of God and for his reward he had been hunted and threatened. The people had seen the mighty work of God and yet it wasn’t enough… they still turned against Elijah.
The storms in our life are like the wind that batters us while we are in the presence of God – But don’t be mistaken – God is not in the wind / storm/ earthquake/ fire.
1 Kings 19:12b “…And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”
Elijah stood in the presence of the Lord and spoke with him, explaining his pain again to God. This time God gives him a direction to go back the way he came and anoint Hazael King over Aram.
It is said that a prophet is never accepted in their home town. Jesus came to his own, even though many rejected him and Elijah was sent back also, and in our Gospel reading we find that a man who’d be cured of demon possession was sent back to his home town to proclaim God’s message. Regardless of whether we are accepted or not, we are called to proclaim Gods message to our own people, and to our own community.
Coming back to that Gospel story, it is one where Jesus was travelling just outside of his “home parish”… he did this at times and we read of his interactions with Samaritans and other Gentiles. In our Gospel reading Jesus encountered a man who wore no clothes and who lived among tombs. This man was often chained, but he broke the chains. If I was Jesus companions I’d have felt rather scared. It brings to mind the story of Beauty and the Beast.
In today’s politically correct climate it could be argued that Beauty and the Beast is a harmful story, as it teaches little girls to put up with abuse at the hands of a beast. The flip side is that it is true love that sees through the beastly exterior and sets free the imprisoned prince within. Call me a romantic, but I like to think that this flip side was the actual intent of the author and it matches perfectly with our Gospel story.
The prince – a son of the living God was imprisoned by the demons that kept him separated from all that he loved and kept those who love him separated also. Jesus saw through the beastly exterior and set him free.
In both our Old Testament reading and our Gospel reading we can see that the judgments we make on people can keep them imprisoned. We can judge other Christians depression as being a lack of mature faith and we can judge outsiders as beasts who have no prince within. Our vision is limited by our lack of love and understanding.
Before the coming of Jesus into our lives we were all sharers of the beastly reality that we could not live up to the standards of God, we were imprisoned by our own humanity. And still we remain imprisoned unless we realize the Gospel message.
Galatians 3:23 “Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed.”
Apart from Jesus we are all subjected to the consequences of our fallen humanity and destined to live separated from the one who created and loves us. If we look at our lives with natural eyes we can still only see the beast – that creature that fails to live up to the perfection of God’s perfect law. If we think that we are better than that we are really only fooling ourselves because a quick look at some of the most confronting scriptures shows us that we all fall short of the glory of God.
But God sees the royal children within the beast and set us free by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, but more than that…..
We who are IN CHRIST are clothed in Christ.
When God looks at us he sees his perfect son. That is how Paul, in Galatians 3:26 can say, “So in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith”. Many modern translations, aiming to be politically correct state that we are “Children of God”… all true, but when we understand how God looks at us and sees his son, it seems that “sons of God” means a whole lot more. My relationship with God is not conditional on my ability to keep God’s law, it is conditional upon my relationship with Christ and I’m so grateful for that.
Galatians 3:10-12a, “For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith;…”
If we think that we can earn our way into heaven we are gravely mistaken. If we think we can work out our own salvation this way we have “fallen from Grace”. Grace is the unmerited favour that we have from God because of our relationship with Jesus, but once we start to try and earn our own salvation we become once again cursed and lost and there is no other sacrifice that can save us because we’ve not truly accepted the sacrifice of Jesus…. We haven’t understood that we are only saved by faith and not in any way saved by good works. In fact, this is an act of abominable disregard for Christ’s complete and sufficient sacrifice.
FAITH – complete faith in God is all that we need. We can be despondent and grieving and still have complete faith in God. We can still have that beastly human nature and our faith in Christ means that we are completely saved.
Galatians 3: 14 “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”
By FAITH we receive the promise of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit came on the feast of Pentecost. This feast was the feast of the receiving of the law. The Holy Spirit is God in us, the deposit of heaven within us and it is the true law of God. The Holy Spirit at work in us and allowed to fully live through us breaks through our beastly nature and brings God’s nature into our being. How it does this is between us and God and through our relationship with him.
This is amazing Good News! God himself is the author and perfector of our faith. But are we open and receptive to the Holy Spirit or are we striving foolishly in our own strength?
Clothed in Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit the beast is transformed. You may not sense it, but God sees it and his opinion is all that matters.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Reflection 2nd June 2013
Year C Proper 4 2 June 2013
1 Kings 18: 20-39 Psalm 96 Galatians 1:1-12 Luke 7:1-10
It was a dark time for the Israelite nation. Those who pronounced judgment about the culture in which they lived were labeled crazy fundamentalists and trouble makers. They were persecuted and put to death or else lived in hiding.
Though it was a dark time, the sky was clear. There was drought. Food was scarce and the people sought a solution.
It is a dark time in many places in the world for Christians. Those who speak out and proclaim and proclaim that Jesus is the only way are labeled crazy fundamentalists who cause offense and are trouble makers. They are persecuted. In Australia and other western countries, those who speak out are branded as some kind of crazy, but there are other places in the world where their lives are in peril.
In this dark time, there is a drought of people in our churches. The Christian Church in Australia is diminishing.
What is the solution? It seems like Mission Impossible….
I’ve been reading articles for my course of study, the diploma of Anglican orders, and through this I have learnt a new word; syncretism.
The articles were dealing with the church of the unknown future and how, as a church we must change to “speak the language” of our current culture, but it warned against syncretism.
Syncretism is the melding of two opposing religious views.
I mention this because we find this issue in our readings for this week and I believe that God wants us to sit up and take notice. Forget about the future just for the moment, and let’s look at here and now. Are we already guilty of the sin of syncretism?
To explore this we’ll look at our first reading. It is supposed that the reason for the drought was that the people were hopping between two beliefs. They hadn’t deserted belief in Yahweh, their God, but they were also taking part in rituals that were identified as Baal Worship.
Baal worship included four things; the sacrifice of infants, immorality, Worship of nature and magical incantations.
Do we see these things anywhere today?
I’ll let you think about that, but add that you know that something is out of whack when a nation has laws to protect dangerous animals like crocodiles and yet abortion is readily available!
In our New Testament reading we find that the Galatians are struggling with this concept of syncretism. These people were those “on fire” early Christians who were quite radical and active. In fact they were so keen and active that they were hungry for more and more of what there might be to know about God. They figured that Jesus was a Jew and that God was revealed through the Israelite nation and therefore they figured that they needed to also take on the keeping of the Jewish law.
This was a common problem that St. Paul encountered and that he firmly, strongly and even fiercely fought against. It was an acceptance of the message of God’s forgiveness and saving power through his grace and through our faith in Jesus Christ, but then the people added that certain works were also necessary in order to be truly saved.
Having grown up in the Roman Catholic faith and education system, I know that in the history of the church there was a time when the priests sold “indulgences”. A certain amount of money “donated” to the church would ensure a shorter time for the soul in purgatory. However, when I was little I remember being told a certain amount of church attendance gave special grace… I was told that if you had a special petition you should go to church for nine first Fridays in a row and this would ensure God’s answer to that petition. There are many other forms and other denominations, unwittingly had their own more subtle forms – ie, Salvation was not sure unless certain prayer forms was said, or they knelt at the altar, or full emersion baptism, works of service, pray in tongues. Ultimately they’ve swapped one set of rules for another. These Gospel variations make their way to emails too – “pray this prayer and you will receive that thing you need”. Sometimes they are so close to being correct – but there is a slight difference.
The slight difference is that there is an underlying belief that God’s answer to our prayer depends on what we do, and not on God’s grace.
It shows that we do not understand God’s love and it shows that we do not actually have faith in God, but our faith is instead in an action. Adding certain works to our faith is like getting into a plane and then flapping your arms to keep the plane in the air.
Our Gospel reading tells the story of a Centurion who asked the Jewish elders to speak to Jesus on his behalf and to ask him to heal his servant. The Centurion was well acquainted with the Jewish ways and knew that if Jesus was to come under his roof and touch his sick servant, Jesus would be ceremonially unclean and unable to partake in the Jewish celebrations. So, out of politeness and thoughtfulness he declares that Jesus need not come to his house. He declares that Jesus need only say the word and the servant would be healed.
This Centurion knew that Jesus had power and he knew that he, as an outsider, had no right or authority to claim any special privilege, but he simply made his request. He had faith. He allowed Jesus to be the Boss! He acknowledged Jesus authority.
Jesus declared that the man had great faith and we often hear this from the Gospels and things like, “Your faith has made you well”, and we mistakenly think that if we had as MUCH faith, we’d see great things happen too…. But this is an error. The faith that heals is simply the fact that the person has “faith in Jesus” – that is the great faith, and the faith that heals…. Not some hypothetical volume of faith.
I’ll demonstrate with two chairs; one rickety and frail, and the other solid. I can walk around the rickety one seven times and praise it and offer thanks to it, but if I sit in it no matter how great my faith, the chair will fail me. On the other hand, I may not be sure about the solid chair and sit on it very cautiously…. It will still hold me… the object of my little faith is “faithful”.
And that is how it is with God. Will we have faith in him or will we have faith that the rituals or actions that we perform will somehow cause him to act on our behalf?
We can safeguard ourselves against syncretism by knowing and rejoicing continuously in the pure Gospel message that we are saved by the Grace of God and our faith in Jesus. FULL STOP.
We need to allow the fire of the Holy Spirit to come with power into our lives to sort out those superstitions and doubts that we have. It is the Holy Spirit who teaches us and leads us into all truths. In reality we are all a little guilty of syncretism – we unknowingly hold on to beliefs that are not 100% correct and we need to be in constant Christian conversation with others – through Bible study, church etc… and allow the Holy Spirit that is alive in each of us teach each other.
If we look back to the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal we will note that prophets of Baal perform many rituals and strive to invoke Baal to act, but when Elijah prays to God it is a simple prayer. It was not his volume of faith that enabled the great miracle – it was simply that his faith was in a great God.
So here is the solution to our Mission Impossible –
If the drought is to break in the decline of our numbers of Christians in Australia, we need to pray for that great fire of the Holy Spirit to turn our hearts back to him and burn up the areas where we are unwittingly worshiping false gods and accepting fallacies. We need to proclaim the pure Gospel without any additives and have faith that God will send the rain.
1 Kings 18: 20-39 Psalm 96 Galatians 1:1-12 Luke 7:1-10
It was a dark time for the Israelite nation. Those who pronounced judgment about the culture in which they lived were labeled crazy fundamentalists and trouble makers. They were persecuted and put to death or else lived in hiding.
Though it was a dark time, the sky was clear. There was drought. Food was scarce and the people sought a solution.
It is a dark time in many places in the world for Christians. Those who speak out and proclaim and proclaim that Jesus is the only way are labeled crazy fundamentalists who cause offense and are trouble makers. They are persecuted. In Australia and other western countries, those who speak out are branded as some kind of crazy, but there are other places in the world where their lives are in peril.
In this dark time, there is a drought of people in our churches. The Christian Church in Australia is diminishing.
What is the solution? It seems like Mission Impossible….
I’ve been reading articles for my course of study, the diploma of Anglican orders, and through this I have learnt a new word; syncretism.
The articles were dealing with the church of the unknown future and how, as a church we must change to “speak the language” of our current culture, but it warned against syncretism.
Syncretism is the melding of two opposing religious views.
I mention this because we find this issue in our readings for this week and I believe that God wants us to sit up and take notice. Forget about the future just for the moment, and let’s look at here and now. Are we already guilty of the sin of syncretism?
To explore this we’ll look at our first reading. It is supposed that the reason for the drought was that the people were hopping between two beliefs. They hadn’t deserted belief in Yahweh, their God, but they were also taking part in rituals that were identified as Baal Worship.
Baal worship included four things; the sacrifice of infants, immorality, Worship of nature and magical incantations.
Do we see these things anywhere today?
I’ll let you think about that, but add that you know that something is out of whack when a nation has laws to protect dangerous animals like crocodiles and yet abortion is readily available!
In our New Testament reading we find that the Galatians are struggling with this concept of syncretism. These people were those “on fire” early Christians who were quite radical and active. In fact they were so keen and active that they were hungry for more and more of what there might be to know about God. They figured that Jesus was a Jew and that God was revealed through the Israelite nation and therefore they figured that they needed to also take on the keeping of the Jewish law.
This was a common problem that St. Paul encountered and that he firmly, strongly and even fiercely fought against. It was an acceptance of the message of God’s forgiveness and saving power through his grace and through our faith in Jesus Christ, but then the people added that certain works were also necessary in order to be truly saved.
Having grown up in the Roman Catholic faith and education system, I know that in the history of the church there was a time when the priests sold “indulgences”. A certain amount of money “donated” to the church would ensure a shorter time for the soul in purgatory. However, when I was little I remember being told a certain amount of church attendance gave special grace… I was told that if you had a special petition you should go to church for nine first Fridays in a row and this would ensure God’s answer to that petition. There are many other forms and other denominations, unwittingly had their own more subtle forms – ie, Salvation was not sure unless certain prayer forms was said, or they knelt at the altar, or full emersion baptism, works of service, pray in tongues. Ultimately they’ve swapped one set of rules for another. These Gospel variations make their way to emails too – “pray this prayer and you will receive that thing you need”. Sometimes they are so close to being correct – but there is a slight difference.
The slight difference is that there is an underlying belief that God’s answer to our prayer depends on what we do, and not on God’s grace.
It shows that we do not understand God’s love and it shows that we do not actually have faith in God, but our faith is instead in an action. Adding certain works to our faith is like getting into a plane and then flapping your arms to keep the plane in the air.
Our Gospel reading tells the story of a Centurion who asked the Jewish elders to speak to Jesus on his behalf and to ask him to heal his servant. The Centurion was well acquainted with the Jewish ways and knew that if Jesus was to come under his roof and touch his sick servant, Jesus would be ceremonially unclean and unable to partake in the Jewish celebrations. So, out of politeness and thoughtfulness he declares that Jesus need not come to his house. He declares that Jesus need only say the word and the servant would be healed.
This Centurion knew that Jesus had power and he knew that he, as an outsider, had no right or authority to claim any special privilege, but he simply made his request. He had faith. He allowed Jesus to be the Boss! He acknowledged Jesus authority.
Jesus declared that the man had great faith and we often hear this from the Gospels and things like, “Your faith has made you well”, and we mistakenly think that if we had as MUCH faith, we’d see great things happen too…. But this is an error. The faith that heals is simply the fact that the person has “faith in Jesus” – that is the great faith, and the faith that heals…. Not some hypothetical volume of faith.
I’ll demonstrate with two chairs; one rickety and frail, and the other solid. I can walk around the rickety one seven times and praise it and offer thanks to it, but if I sit in it no matter how great my faith, the chair will fail me. On the other hand, I may not be sure about the solid chair and sit on it very cautiously…. It will still hold me… the object of my little faith is “faithful”.
And that is how it is with God. Will we have faith in him or will we have faith that the rituals or actions that we perform will somehow cause him to act on our behalf?
We can safeguard ourselves against syncretism by knowing and rejoicing continuously in the pure Gospel message that we are saved by the Grace of God and our faith in Jesus. FULL STOP.
We need to allow the fire of the Holy Spirit to come with power into our lives to sort out those superstitions and doubts that we have. It is the Holy Spirit who teaches us and leads us into all truths. In reality we are all a little guilty of syncretism – we unknowingly hold on to beliefs that are not 100% correct and we need to be in constant Christian conversation with others – through Bible study, church etc… and allow the Holy Spirit that is alive in each of us teach each other.
If we look back to the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal we will note that prophets of Baal perform many rituals and strive to invoke Baal to act, but when Elijah prays to God it is a simple prayer. It was not his volume of faith that enabled the great miracle – it was simply that his faith was in a great God.
So here is the solution to our Mission Impossible –
If the drought is to break in the decline of our numbers of Christians in Australia, we need to pray for that great fire of the Holy Spirit to turn our hearts back to him and burn up the areas where we are unwittingly worshiping false gods and accepting fallacies. We need to proclaim the pure Gospel without any additives and have faith that God will send the rain.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Reflection for 12 May 2013
Year C Seventh Sunday of Pascha (Easter) 12 May 2013
Acts 16: 16-34 Psalm 97 Revelation 22: 12-221 John 17: 20-26
How would you feel if you knew that Jesus looked through the tunnel of time, saw you, and specifically prayed for you?
Every now and then, scripture gives us a glimpse of God’s future vision. We glimpse his concern and provision for the people of the future who would align themselves with him.
In this week’s reading we witness Jesus’ prayer for all believers, and he is specific about those who “will believe”, not just those who already do believe. It seems that Jesus was looking through that tunnel of time and he saw you, and he saw me, and he prayed.
Next question that comes to mind is; what do you think Jesus would pray about when he has you in mind? And following on from that question; would it change anything about your actions and priorities if you knew what he prayed?
We find the prayer that Jesus prayed in the Gospel of John:
John 17:20-21 ““My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.””
There are three aspects to this prayer;
1. That all believers may be one,
2. That we may be “in” the Father and the Son,
3. That our unity should be a witness causing others to believe that Jesus is the Saviour.
Looking at the first aspect it is strikingly obvious that mostly, we are not one. And if we travel down to the end result we might also note that people are not flocking to the Church, but the very opposite is true…. We find people are rejecting and repulsed by the notion of church and the reason that most will give for this, is that the Church is full of hypocrites. What they mean by this, is that the people in the church pretend to love one another, but they don’t. Those in the church are actually talking about each other behind their backs and putting each other down, and those outside the church notice.
There are times when the community comes together as one. Those are usually times of great hardship and tragedy, although I think that we, as a community, are even failing in this compared to what once may have been, and the reason would be that there are less and less Christians in the community and our values have become so self-centred that we barely care about others at all.
What we witness is that the climate of society as a whole is a reflection of its members. When there are many Christians that make up society we see a rise in care and concern for the poor, justice and mercy in our courts and general good will towards all.
It has been long acknowledged that we need to grow our churches, as the numbers are growing few. But how can we do this?
We have an interesting reading from Acts this week and we read that St. Paul was in a town where a slave girl, who was possessed by a demon that enabled her to earn her owners money by telling fortunes, was proclaiming that Paul and his companions were servants of the most high God and that they would tell you how to be saved.
The girl was proclaiming the truth.
It struck me as being a bit like those people who feel they have to tell you everything about Christ, assuming that you know nothing and that you need saving. While it is great to have zeal such that you may want to share everything you know about God, we need to be careful that we are not doing the devil’s work by doing just as this girl was doing.
But what was wrong with what she said – everything she said was true?
Yes, but we are told not to worry about what to say because the Holy Spirit will give us the right words at the right time. This girl was speaking truth, but it was not by the Holy Spirit, and I am guessing that the words were inappropriate for the time…. Otherwise St. Paul would have had no need to silence her by casting the demon out in Jesus name.
The Holy Spirit is God, and God is respectful of our free will. It is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance and not the authoritative words that may be well meant but seem to judge and condemn. In fact it is our witness as a true friend that will allow a person to listen to any of our words about God, and it is those actions of a true friend that will speak louder than any word. So what is really needed more than any memorized scripture is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit such that others can see Christ in us, and such that we can sense His promptings.
The second element in Jesus prayer was that we should be “in” the Father and the Son. This is to be indwelt with the Holy Spirit to the extent that we are surrounded by the Spirit and filled with the Spirit. The Spirit testifies about the Son. When we are one with each other and “in” the Father and the Son, the world will believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
It isn’t clever words that bring people to Christ. It isn’t “you beaut” programs, youth groups or children’s services that bring people to Christ. It isn’t superior knowledge or intellect that brings people to Christ.
We can drive ourselves to exhaustion trying to bring people to Christ by striving to be knowledgeable, clever, technologically savvy, having Bible studies, the best music and programs but they will all fail unless we are “in” God and one with each other.
The Gospel of John also tells us in John 17:26 “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
Jesus has made the Father known, and will continue to make him known - So we see that even though we know God, we have much more to knowing to do. This reminds me of a clever saying that one of my students told me this week, “I know the one who is you and you know the one who is me, but I don’t know every one of you and you don’t know every one of me.” I don’t know where it came from – she read it in a book, but it illustrates perfectly the relationship we have with God… at least from our perspective – we do know that God knows ALL of us, but we need to continue in knowing him.
Our knowledge of God will never be complete while in this skin, but the Holy Spirit is God. If we are “in” God, we do not need to be concerned about our lack of knowledge but we can trust that the Holy Spirit will continue to teach us.
Our second reading contains exhortation and warning.
Revelation 22:12-13 ““Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
We can be confused into thinking that we need to do some religious activity, but scripture makes it very clear that these are not what God requires. What he does require, that demands our action, is that we love one another. Religious activity is an easy thing, but loving one another requires a whole greater level of sacrifice.
Christ in us is the only hope of glory. We cannot even do this one thing - to love one another, but if Christ dwells in us through his Holy Spirit, and we can give him the authority to live through us – such that we are “in” him and he “in” us, then he can love through us and in so doing we have hope of being one in Christ. We will then find our churches overflowing with those who’ve come to believe in Jesus because they’ve seen him living through us.
Acts 16: 16-34 Psalm 97 Revelation 22: 12-221 John 17: 20-26
How would you feel if you knew that Jesus looked through the tunnel of time, saw you, and specifically prayed for you?
Every now and then, scripture gives us a glimpse of God’s future vision. We glimpse his concern and provision for the people of the future who would align themselves with him.
In this week’s reading we witness Jesus’ prayer for all believers, and he is specific about those who “will believe”, not just those who already do believe. It seems that Jesus was looking through that tunnel of time and he saw you, and he saw me, and he prayed.
Next question that comes to mind is; what do you think Jesus would pray about when he has you in mind? And following on from that question; would it change anything about your actions and priorities if you knew what he prayed?
We find the prayer that Jesus prayed in the Gospel of John:
John 17:20-21 ““My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.””
There are three aspects to this prayer;
1. That all believers may be one,
2. That we may be “in” the Father and the Son,
3. That our unity should be a witness causing others to believe that Jesus is the Saviour.
Looking at the first aspect it is strikingly obvious that mostly, we are not one. And if we travel down to the end result we might also note that people are not flocking to the Church, but the very opposite is true…. We find people are rejecting and repulsed by the notion of church and the reason that most will give for this, is that the Church is full of hypocrites. What they mean by this, is that the people in the church pretend to love one another, but they don’t. Those in the church are actually talking about each other behind their backs and putting each other down, and those outside the church notice.
There are times when the community comes together as one. Those are usually times of great hardship and tragedy, although I think that we, as a community, are even failing in this compared to what once may have been, and the reason would be that there are less and less Christians in the community and our values have become so self-centred that we barely care about others at all.
What we witness is that the climate of society as a whole is a reflection of its members. When there are many Christians that make up society we see a rise in care and concern for the poor, justice and mercy in our courts and general good will towards all.
It has been long acknowledged that we need to grow our churches, as the numbers are growing few. But how can we do this?
We have an interesting reading from Acts this week and we read that St. Paul was in a town where a slave girl, who was possessed by a demon that enabled her to earn her owners money by telling fortunes, was proclaiming that Paul and his companions were servants of the most high God and that they would tell you how to be saved.
The girl was proclaiming the truth.
It struck me as being a bit like those people who feel they have to tell you everything about Christ, assuming that you know nothing and that you need saving. While it is great to have zeal such that you may want to share everything you know about God, we need to be careful that we are not doing the devil’s work by doing just as this girl was doing.
But what was wrong with what she said – everything she said was true?
Yes, but we are told not to worry about what to say because the Holy Spirit will give us the right words at the right time. This girl was speaking truth, but it was not by the Holy Spirit, and I am guessing that the words were inappropriate for the time…. Otherwise St. Paul would have had no need to silence her by casting the demon out in Jesus name.
The Holy Spirit is God, and God is respectful of our free will. It is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance and not the authoritative words that may be well meant but seem to judge and condemn. In fact it is our witness as a true friend that will allow a person to listen to any of our words about God, and it is those actions of a true friend that will speak louder than any word. So what is really needed more than any memorized scripture is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit such that others can see Christ in us, and such that we can sense His promptings.
The second element in Jesus prayer was that we should be “in” the Father and the Son. This is to be indwelt with the Holy Spirit to the extent that we are surrounded by the Spirit and filled with the Spirit. The Spirit testifies about the Son. When we are one with each other and “in” the Father and the Son, the world will believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
It isn’t clever words that bring people to Christ. It isn’t “you beaut” programs, youth groups or children’s services that bring people to Christ. It isn’t superior knowledge or intellect that brings people to Christ.
We can drive ourselves to exhaustion trying to bring people to Christ by striving to be knowledgeable, clever, technologically savvy, having Bible studies, the best music and programs but they will all fail unless we are “in” God and one with each other.
The Gospel of John also tells us in John 17:26 “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
Jesus has made the Father known, and will continue to make him known - So we see that even though we know God, we have much more to knowing to do. This reminds me of a clever saying that one of my students told me this week, “I know the one who is you and you know the one who is me, but I don’t know every one of you and you don’t know every one of me.” I don’t know where it came from – she read it in a book, but it illustrates perfectly the relationship we have with God… at least from our perspective – we do know that God knows ALL of us, but we need to continue in knowing him.
Our knowledge of God will never be complete while in this skin, but the Holy Spirit is God. If we are “in” God, we do not need to be concerned about our lack of knowledge but we can trust that the Holy Spirit will continue to teach us.
Our second reading contains exhortation and warning.
Revelation 22:12-13 ““Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
We can be confused into thinking that we need to do some religious activity, but scripture makes it very clear that these are not what God requires. What he does require, that demands our action, is that we love one another. Religious activity is an easy thing, but loving one another requires a whole greater level of sacrifice.
Christ in us is the only hope of glory. We cannot even do this one thing - to love one another, but if Christ dwells in us through his Holy Spirit, and we can give him the authority to live through us – such that we are “in” him and he “in” us, then he can love through us and in so doing we have hope of being one in Christ. We will then find our churches overflowing with those who’ve come to believe in Jesus because they’ve seen him living through us.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
A story for Mother's Day when things are not as we might hope!
A LONG WAY FROM ORDINARY by Niki Vella Power
There was stomping and banging coming from the room upstairs.
“Uh-oh,” said Uncle Ben to his 10 year old nephew, Michael, “It sounds like cyclone Lilly has struck again.”
Michael and Lilly were twins…. You may have heard about them. They go to school, just like ordinary 10 year olds, and they catch a bus, just like ordinary 10 year olds, and sometimes they, but mostly Lilly, throw major temper tantrums, like some ordinary 10 year olds.
It is never a very good idea to throw a tantrum because someone always ends up in trouble and sometimes things get broken! Lilly knew this, but for some reason every now and then she just couldn’t seem to help herself and Michael and Uncle Ben would stay out of her way until she calmed down a little.
It was times like these that Uncle Ben called her “Cyclone Lilly”. She caused a lot of mess, just like a real cyclone, and everyone was just a little scared of her.
“What has upset her this time?” Uncle Ben asked Michael.
“I think it has something to do with the new girl at school,” said Michael, “She is a fostered girl and she gets in trouble all the time and for some reason it is making Lilly angry, but I don’t know why.”
The fostered girl’s name was Sarah and she didn’t live with her Mum or Dad, and instead she stayed with other people. She had lived for a long time with a lady by the name of Debbie who had other children, but when Debbie got sick she wasn’t able to look after Sarah anymore and so Sarah then went to live with a lovely couple, the Smiths…. But then when Mrs. Smith had her baby, she decided she couldn’t look after Sarah anymore and so Sarah was then sent to live with the Johnsons, Amy and John, who sent her to the same school as the twins. And that was all that Michael had been able to find out about Sarah.
Things became quiet again upstairs. It seemed that Cyclone Lilly had run out of wind, and after stomping and throwing and punching pillows she was just too worn out to do anything. She was lying on her messed up bed among all the clothes she’d thrown around.
Usually at this stage Lilly would start to clean up the mess she’d made, but this time she was too upset. When Uncle Ben knocked on her door he found her sobbing into her pillow.
“Lilly, I’ve got some hot chocolate for you if you feel like it?” He said, and then when she didn’t respond, he figured she needed some more time alone and so he left her and went downstairs.
Truly, there is something magical about a warm and sweet drink when you are not feeling very happy. By the time that Lilly came down for her hot chocolate it needed to be warmed up, but that was easy enough to do….. a whole lot easier than trying to find out what was making Lilly so sad.
Michael did his usual joke telling to try and lighten the atmosphere, but Uncle Ben knew that something had very seriously upset Lilly and the only way to deal with big hurts is to share them with someone older and wiser….. Uncle Ben was both older and wiser.
“So, Lilly, what has been happening at school?” asked Uncle Ben.
Lilly shrugged her shoulders and continued to sip sadly on her hot chocolate.
“Michael tells me that there is a new girl at school.” Said Uncle Ben, and he could tell by the look on Lilly’s face that this was something to do with the problem. “Is she a nice girl, Lilly? Do you get on okay with her?”
Lilly finally replied, “She’s okay, but the other kids at school are mean to her.”
“Oh?” that surprised Uncle Ben because Michael hadn’t said anything about the kids being mean at school. “Is that true, Michael?” Uncle Ben asked, so that he could confirm the matter.
“Yeah, I guess so,” said Michael, “they tell her that if they were her Mum, they’d leave her with someone else too.”
Lilly’s eyes were filled with tears again and she added, “And they say ‘your mum doesn’t want you’, and things like that.”
“Oh”, said Uncle Ben, suddenly realizing a whole lot more about why Lilly was sad.
You see, Lilly and Michael were living with their Uncle Ben while their parents were away on a secret mission. So, the new girl, Sarah, and Lilly and Michael had something in common, they were all living with someone other than their parents. Every child misses their parents when they are away from them for any length of time, and sometimes they might worry whether or not their parents really do love them. Uncle Ben figured that this was why Lilly was upset. She missed her parents and because the kids at school were saying mean things about poor Sarah’s parents, Lilly was feeling insecure and rather unsure about whether her parents really loved her.
“Lilly and Michael…..”, announced Uncle Ben, “we are going on a trip in the time machine.” He said it like it was a definite command. No questions, ifs or buts.
Uncle Ben had invented the time machine and given it to Lilly for her birthday. It was a very simple and safe version so that nothing could go wrong. You could go back in time to see events that had already happened, but you couldn’t interfere with anything, just simply watch it happen.
Lilly didn’t feel like taking a trip in the time machine as she was just feeling too sad and cranky, but Michael ran up to Lilly’s room and brought the machine down to the kitchen. Uncle Ben set the dial and they all held on to the machine and each other.
Everything went all swirly and made them feel just a bit dizzy, but when the spinning stopped they found themselves at a place called Shiloh where there was a priest called Eli sitting on a chair near the church. He was looking inside at a lady.
Lilly and Michael and Uncle Ben went in very quietly so they could hear what the lady was saying and as they got closer they realized that she was crying.
She cried out to God, “Lord, you rule over all. Please see how I’m suffering! Show concern for me! Don’t forget about me! Please give me a son! If you do, I’ll give him back to you. Then he will serve you all the days of his life.”
She kept praying that kind of thing over and over and crying. Then the Priest came in and said to her, “How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine.”
The Lady replied to him, “That’s not true, sir, I’m a woman who is deeply troubled. I haven’t been drinking wine or beer. I was telling the Lord all of my troubles. Don’t think of me as an evil woman. I’ve been praying here because I’m very sad. My pain is so great.”
Then Eli answered, “Go in peace. May God give you what you have asked him for.”
Then the lady left and so did Michael, Lilly and Uncle Ben.
As they all sat down outside on the grass Lilly asked, “Who was that lady, Uncle Ben?”
“Her name is Hannah,” he replied, “and there is more to her story that we need to look at, but we need to go just a little forward in time to do so”.
Uncle Ben took a packet of chewing gum out of his pocket. “Here, you’d better have one of these because all this time travel might make you feel a bit dizzy. This is a special type of chewing gum I’ve invented to prevent the spinning from making you feel sick.”
They each took a piece of chewing gum and Uncle Ben turned the dial on the time machine once again. They all held on as things started to spin again and chewed on their gum. Just as the swirling cleared Lilly let out a big burp. Michael laughed and as he did a huge burp slipped out of his mouth, which brought on more laughter and then the loudest burp of all came from Uncle Ben.
“Ha, ha, ha, Yep”, laughed Uncle Ben, “the chewing gum works well, but the side effect is a big burp.”
They calmed down and looked around them. They were in the same place as they were before, but some of the trees were a little bigger and outside the church was a boy, about 12 years old, dressed exactly the same as the priest.
“Hey look,” exclaimed Lilly pointing, “there is Hannah!”
Sure enough, there was Hannah and she was walking toward the priest Eli, while the boy raced over and hugged her. Eli met them at the entrance of the church and they saw her give the priest a robe, indicating that it was for the boy.
“What is she doing, Uncle Ben?” asked Michael.
“The boy’s name is Samuel, and he is Hannah’s son,” said Uncle Ben. Just listen to their conversation and see if you can work it out what is happening.”
Hannah’s husband then joined them and the priest put his hand on the husband’s head as if he was praying. Michael and Lilly leaned forward so that they could hear clearly.
Eli closed his eyes and said, “May the Lord give you and your wife, Hannah, children that can take the place of the boy she prayed for and gave to God.”
After this Hannah hugged the boy, Samuel, and then Hannah and her husband set off down the road.
Lilly could see that the boy wanted to cry, but he didn’t. Eli handed the robe to Samuel and Samuel took it into the house that was next to the church.
The children looked at Uncle Ben with wide eyes. Michael asked, “Does Samuel live with Eli, Uncle Ben? Why didn’t they take him home with them?”
Uncle Ben explained, “Samuel sees his mother just once every year and she brings him a new robe, just like the priest’s. Do you remember Hannah’s prayer?”
“Yes,” said Michael, “she prayed for a son.”
“And…” prompted Uncle Ben, “What else did she say in that prayer?”
Lilly answered him very quietly, “She said that if God gave her a son, that she would give the son to God.”
“That’s right,” said Uncle Ben, “and that the son would serve God for all of his life”.
“But, Uncle Ben…..” said Lilly, “Samuel is only a boy, and he obviously misses his mum. I could see that he looked so sad when she left. It’s not fair and it is just too hard.”
At that moment the automatic home function of the time machine started and the swirling this time took them by surprise. They chewed hard on the gum and within a few seconds they found themselves back in their own kitchen. They burped again, but they were feeling too sad to laugh this time.
Uncle Ben flicked the switch on the jug to make another hot chocolate for all of them.
“Michael and Lilly,” he said as they all sat down with their drinks, “you have to understand some things about the story of Samuel. He was no ordinary man. He lived in a time when there were many evil things happening and no one was listening to God, but not long after that event that we saw, God woke Samuel up in the middle of the night and spoke with him. It freaked Samuel out for a little while and he thought that it was Eli calling out to him, because hardly anyone ever heard God speak to them like that. When Samuel grew up he led people in the right way and it was him who anointed the kings of Israel. None of it would have been possible if his mother didn’t keep her promise to give him to God.”
“But he was sad and only a boy a long way from his mother and father…” said Lilly “didn’t she love him and want him with her?”
“Of course she did,” explained Uncle Ben, “but she trusted God and kept her promise. It was hard for her and hard for Samuel, but sometimes it seems that those who have hard things happen to them are those who grow to be the absolutely most extraordinary people, with the most extraordinary lives.”
He added, “Lilly and Michael, your Mum and Dad Love you so much. Don’t ever doubt that. They know that they have a job to do and they know that it is better for you to be here with me. The Bible tells us that all things work for good for those who love God, so we know that even when things are hard, and even down right horrible, in the end, if we stay true to God, those same things can be something that makes us extraordinary people. And do you know why?”
The twins looked at him and both of them with their heads cocked to one side and a frown on their forehead replied, “Why?”
Uncle Ben answered, “Because the God who created the universe loves you more than you can possibly imagine…. Even more than how much you love your mum and dad… and when you are a child of God you are a long, long, way from being just an ordinary kid.”
Finally Lilly smiled. Ah, what a lovely sight. A big grin with twinkling eyes and Uncle Ben knew beyond any shadow of doubt that she was one very special kid…. Even if she did throw temper tantrums!
There was stomping and banging coming from the room upstairs.
“Uh-oh,” said Uncle Ben to his 10 year old nephew, Michael, “It sounds like cyclone Lilly has struck again.”
Michael and Lilly were twins…. You may have heard about them. They go to school, just like ordinary 10 year olds, and they catch a bus, just like ordinary 10 year olds, and sometimes they, but mostly Lilly, throw major temper tantrums, like some ordinary 10 year olds.
It is never a very good idea to throw a tantrum because someone always ends up in trouble and sometimes things get broken! Lilly knew this, but for some reason every now and then she just couldn’t seem to help herself and Michael and Uncle Ben would stay out of her way until she calmed down a little.
It was times like these that Uncle Ben called her “Cyclone Lilly”. She caused a lot of mess, just like a real cyclone, and everyone was just a little scared of her.
“What has upset her this time?” Uncle Ben asked Michael.
“I think it has something to do with the new girl at school,” said Michael, “She is a fostered girl and she gets in trouble all the time and for some reason it is making Lilly angry, but I don’t know why.”
The fostered girl’s name was Sarah and she didn’t live with her Mum or Dad, and instead she stayed with other people. She had lived for a long time with a lady by the name of Debbie who had other children, but when Debbie got sick she wasn’t able to look after Sarah anymore and so Sarah then went to live with a lovely couple, the Smiths…. But then when Mrs. Smith had her baby, she decided she couldn’t look after Sarah anymore and so Sarah was then sent to live with the Johnsons, Amy and John, who sent her to the same school as the twins. And that was all that Michael had been able to find out about Sarah.
Things became quiet again upstairs. It seemed that Cyclone Lilly had run out of wind, and after stomping and throwing and punching pillows she was just too worn out to do anything. She was lying on her messed up bed among all the clothes she’d thrown around.
Usually at this stage Lilly would start to clean up the mess she’d made, but this time she was too upset. When Uncle Ben knocked on her door he found her sobbing into her pillow.
“Lilly, I’ve got some hot chocolate for you if you feel like it?” He said, and then when she didn’t respond, he figured she needed some more time alone and so he left her and went downstairs.
Truly, there is something magical about a warm and sweet drink when you are not feeling very happy. By the time that Lilly came down for her hot chocolate it needed to be warmed up, but that was easy enough to do….. a whole lot easier than trying to find out what was making Lilly so sad.
Michael did his usual joke telling to try and lighten the atmosphere, but Uncle Ben knew that something had very seriously upset Lilly and the only way to deal with big hurts is to share them with someone older and wiser….. Uncle Ben was both older and wiser.
“So, Lilly, what has been happening at school?” asked Uncle Ben.
Lilly shrugged her shoulders and continued to sip sadly on her hot chocolate.
“Michael tells me that there is a new girl at school.” Said Uncle Ben, and he could tell by the look on Lilly’s face that this was something to do with the problem. “Is she a nice girl, Lilly? Do you get on okay with her?”
Lilly finally replied, “She’s okay, but the other kids at school are mean to her.”
“Oh?” that surprised Uncle Ben because Michael hadn’t said anything about the kids being mean at school. “Is that true, Michael?” Uncle Ben asked, so that he could confirm the matter.
“Yeah, I guess so,” said Michael, “they tell her that if they were her Mum, they’d leave her with someone else too.”
Lilly’s eyes were filled with tears again and she added, “And they say ‘your mum doesn’t want you’, and things like that.”
“Oh”, said Uncle Ben, suddenly realizing a whole lot more about why Lilly was sad.
You see, Lilly and Michael were living with their Uncle Ben while their parents were away on a secret mission. So, the new girl, Sarah, and Lilly and Michael had something in common, they were all living with someone other than their parents. Every child misses their parents when they are away from them for any length of time, and sometimes they might worry whether or not their parents really do love them. Uncle Ben figured that this was why Lilly was upset. She missed her parents and because the kids at school were saying mean things about poor Sarah’s parents, Lilly was feeling insecure and rather unsure about whether her parents really loved her.
“Lilly and Michael…..”, announced Uncle Ben, “we are going on a trip in the time machine.” He said it like it was a definite command. No questions, ifs or buts.
Uncle Ben had invented the time machine and given it to Lilly for her birthday. It was a very simple and safe version so that nothing could go wrong. You could go back in time to see events that had already happened, but you couldn’t interfere with anything, just simply watch it happen.
Lilly didn’t feel like taking a trip in the time machine as she was just feeling too sad and cranky, but Michael ran up to Lilly’s room and brought the machine down to the kitchen. Uncle Ben set the dial and they all held on to the machine and each other.
Everything went all swirly and made them feel just a bit dizzy, but when the spinning stopped they found themselves at a place called Shiloh where there was a priest called Eli sitting on a chair near the church. He was looking inside at a lady.
Lilly and Michael and Uncle Ben went in very quietly so they could hear what the lady was saying and as they got closer they realized that she was crying.
She cried out to God, “Lord, you rule over all. Please see how I’m suffering! Show concern for me! Don’t forget about me! Please give me a son! If you do, I’ll give him back to you. Then he will serve you all the days of his life.”
She kept praying that kind of thing over and over and crying. Then the Priest came in and said to her, “How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine.”
The Lady replied to him, “That’s not true, sir, I’m a woman who is deeply troubled. I haven’t been drinking wine or beer. I was telling the Lord all of my troubles. Don’t think of me as an evil woman. I’ve been praying here because I’m very sad. My pain is so great.”
Then Eli answered, “Go in peace. May God give you what you have asked him for.”
Then the lady left and so did Michael, Lilly and Uncle Ben.
As they all sat down outside on the grass Lilly asked, “Who was that lady, Uncle Ben?”
“Her name is Hannah,” he replied, “and there is more to her story that we need to look at, but we need to go just a little forward in time to do so”.
Uncle Ben took a packet of chewing gum out of his pocket. “Here, you’d better have one of these because all this time travel might make you feel a bit dizzy. This is a special type of chewing gum I’ve invented to prevent the spinning from making you feel sick.”
They each took a piece of chewing gum and Uncle Ben turned the dial on the time machine once again. They all held on as things started to spin again and chewed on their gum. Just as the swirling cleared Lilly let out a big burp. Michael laughed and as he did a huge burp slipped out of his mouth, which brought on more laughter and then the loudest burp of all came from Uncle Ben.
“Ha, ha, ha, Yep”, laughed Uncle Ben, “the chewing gum works well, but the side effect is a big burp.”
They calmed down and looked around them. They were in the same place as they were before, but some of the trees were a little bigger and outside the church was a boy, about 12 years old, dressed exactly the same as the priest.
“Hey look,” exclaimed Lilly pointing, “there is Hannah!”
Sure enough, there was Hannah and she was walking toward the priest Eli, while the boy raced over and hugged her. Eli met them at the entrance of the church and they saw her give the priest a robe, indicating that it was for the boy.
“What is she doing, Uncle Ben?” asked Michael.
“The boy’s name is Samuel, and he is Hannah’s son,” said Uncle Ben. Just listen to their conversation and see if you can work it out what is happening.”
Hannah’s husband then joined them and the priest put his hand on the husband’s head as if he was praying. Michael and Lilly leaned forward so that they could hear clearly.
Eli closed his eyes and said, “May the Lord give you and your wife, Hannah, children that can take the place of the boy she prayed for and gave to God.”
After this Hannah hugged the boy, Samuel, and then Hannah and her husband set off down the road.
Lilly could see that the boy wanted to cry, but he didn’t. Eli handed the robe to Samuel and Samuel took it into the house that was next to the church.
The children looked at Uncle Ben with wide eyes. Michael asked, “Does Samuel live with Eli, Uncle Ben? Why didn’t they take him home with them?”
Uncle Ben explained, “Samuel sees his mother just once every year and she brings him a new robe, just like the priest’s. Do you remember Hannah’s prayer?”
“Yes,” said Michael, “she prayed for a son.”
“And…” prompted Uncle Ben, “What else did she say in that prayer?”
Lilly answered him very quietly, “She said that if God gave her a son, that she would give the son to God.”
“That’s right,” said Uncle Ben, “and that the son would serve God for all of his life”.
“But, Uncle Ben…..” said Lilly, “Samuel is only a boy, and he obviously misses his mum. I could see that he looked so sad when she left. It’s not fair and it is just too hard.”
At that moment the automatic home function of the time machine started and the swirling this time took them by surprise. They chewed hard on the gum and within a few seconds they found themselves back in their own kitchen. They burped again, but they were feeling too sad to laugh this time.
Uncle Ben flicked the switch on the jug to make another hot chocolate for all of them.
“Michael and Lilly,” he said as they all sat down with their drinks, “you have to understand some things about the story of Samuel. He was no ordinary man. He lived in a time when there were many evil things happening and no one was listening to God, but not long after that event that we saw, God woke Samuel up in the middle of the night and spoke with him. It freaked Samuel out for a little while and he thought that it was Eli calling out to him, because hardly anyone ever heard God speak to them like that. When Samuel grew up he led people in the right way and it was him who anointed the kings of Israel. None of it would have been possible if his mother didn’t keep her promise to give him to God.”
“But he was sad and only a boy a long way from his mother and father…” said Lilly “didn’t she love him and want him with her?”
“Of course she did,” explained Uncle Ben, “but she trusted God and kept her promise. It was hard for her and hard for Samuel, but sometimes it seems that those who have hard things happen to them are those who grow to be the absolutely most extraordinary people, with the most extraordinary lives.”
He added, “Lilly and Michael, your Mum and Dad Love you so much. Don’t ever doubt that. They know that they have a job to do and they know that it is better for you to be here with me. The Bible tells us that all things work for good for those who love God, so we know that even when things are hard, and even down right horrible, in the end, if we stay true to God, those same things can be something that makes us extraordinary people. And do you know why?”
The twins looked at him and both of them with their heads cocked to one side and a frown on their forehead replied, “Why?”
Uncle Ben answered, “Because the God who created the universe loves you more than you can possibly imagine…. Even more than how much you love your mum and dad… and when you are a child of God you are a long, long, way from being just an ordinary kid.”
Finally Lilly smiled. Ah, what a lovely sight. A big grin with twinkling eyes and Uncle Ben knew beyond any shadow of doubt that she was one very special kid…. Even if she did throw temper tantrums!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Reflection for 17th March 2013 Lent 5
Year C Fifth Sunday in Lent 17 March 2013
Isaiah 43: 16-21 Psalm 126 Philippians 3: 4b-14 John 12: 1-8
The ways of God often seem so unpredictable. Do you feel comfortable in your faith? Then it is possible you’ve fallen into the same ways as so many before and beware, because you are about to have that comfort challenged.
How much are the average annual wages for a labourer? Answer: Full-time earnings in Australia averaged $69,992 a year in the first quarter of 2012. (Seasonally adjusted wages – Bureau of Statistics.) Keep that in mind as we explore this week’s readings.
Isaiah 43:18- 21 “Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild animals will honour me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.”
How strange that God would declare to his people to NOT remember the former things. So strange, that we would be foolish not to explore further and discover what God was really doing.
In the former days God had made a path through the sea and had fed his people with bread from heaven and had given them water in the desert. It is obvious that before God asks them to NOT remember, that he does intend to remind them. These people are reminded of the great things that God has done, but now he says to them, “Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old….”
To put ourselves in the shoes of these people, we need to realize that these are a religious people. They had the holy festivals that told the story of the Passover and they had every ritual of life that tied in with the law of God where sacrifices were given for sin and first fruits were offered to God and the first born was consecrated to God and needed to be redeemed according to the law of God.
These rituals and stories were a comfort and assurance of God’s love and favour. In much the same way, we have our own rituals and stories. We have our church services which tell the story of God and within the service we have confession and absolution and we have communion as both remembrance and reconciliation and unity with God. How delightful and comfortable our faith is!! It is just like that same faith of the people of God so long ago and just like the faith that St. Paul was brought up in – that of the Pharisees.
Uh-Oh! Have I hit a nerve yet?
We like to think that we have nothing in common with the Pharisees who were so hypocritical, but we need to understand that these were people who were brought up in the ways of God, knowing the stories and the rituals – much like us. Because they knew the stories and rituals so well, they didn’t understand what was happening when Jesus came – and they rejected him – not all of them, but certainly on the whole and as a group, they did not recognize God among them, and the reason was that they thought that they knew God and His ways. When Jesus did things that didn’t seem in line with what they thought and had known about God through their religion and traditions, and when they began to feel uncomfortable in their faith, they concluded that Jesus was a sinner who must be put to death.
It is certainly not a bad thing to have the rituals and the stories….. otherwise God would not have commanded them in the first place. The rituals and the stories should teach us and lead us ultimately to a personal and intimately close relationship with God. Praying to God should be as natural and as often as breathing.
If we look back to our first reading we will note that God does remind the people of the things that were done in the former days, but he then commands them to no longer remember them and no longer consider them because he is about to do something new. The implication is that he is about to do something that is so far exceeding the former things that there will be no need to remember them, and also that to move forward there is a need to let go of the past.
What is it that we are holding on to that God would have us let go of?
I’m reminded of the story of a little girl whose father often travelled away for work. He gave the little girl a gift of a toy pearl necklace. The little girls treasured the pearls for a very long time, but then she was faced with a problem: The father asked the little girl if she loved him. She replied that she did, and the father then asked her to give him her pearls. She refused for a long time, but eventually she gave them to her father, deciding that she loved him more than the pearls. The father then presented her with the gift of a genuine pearl necklace.
Our Gospel story is much like this. God has given us something amazing and good. In the Old Testament and for the Israelite people this was the stories, the rituals and the precious law of God. It set the people apart as sacred to God and confirmed God’s favour. BUT God, after bringing these things to mind then commands them to not remember or consider these things because he had something new to do in the future that would so pale the former things by comparison. Could the Israelites, the people of Jesus time, accept that they needed to see that what they had in their stories, rituals, traditions and law was only a shadow of what he had in store for their future?
The rituals and the stories were such a comfort…… the pearls were a comfort…… The important question is, which do we love more; the stories, the rituals, the law and the traditions, or God who gave them? And can we give them up to allow God to do something greater?
St. Paul came face to face with this reality when he declared things about himself in his letter to the Philippians.
Philippians3: 4-6 “even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.
If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”
St. Paul goes on to explain that he considers all that he accomplished in the flesh as rubbish. He explains that all his efforts were loss in Christ because he would rather have a righteousness that was from his standing in Christ. He declares that his former Self-righteousness only served to keep him separated from acknowledging his need for a righteousness that is in Christ – and separated from God.
In the time of Jesus there were many sinners who had accepted Christ. These people knew that they needed a miracle for God to love and accept them because they were aware of their failure – their sin. St. Paul is completely different from most people who came to Christ. His conversion was a dramatic miracle and it needed to be, because St. Paul thought that he was alright with God. He was even so zealous for God that he was striving to snuff out the young Christian church who he considered to be heretics.
Without the intense light of God’s truth, St. Paul may never have been able to see his spiritual blindness. Is it possible that we too need the miracle of God’s intense light to see the things that we are holding on to in God’s name, are things that we have made so synonymous with God that we love them more than God himself. Are we willing to put a personal and intimate relationship with God above all our traditions and rituals and prior understandings?
While I leave you to ponder that thought, I ask you to call to mind again the average years wage in Australia - $69,992. Can you now call to mind something that would cost about that much?
In the time of Jesus, a year’s wage was about three hundred denarii.
John 12:1-8 “Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’”
Hopefully the understanding of the incredible expense of that perfume now sheds new light on this reading….
I believe it would not have been only Judas who was thinking that this was a huge misappropriation of funds, but I bring this to your attention as a challenge to see that God has a heart that is firstly and foremost concerned about us placing him as number one in our lives. All our understandings about how we should do things in church, what is appropriate and what isn’t, etc…. these things will constantly be challenged and constantly be breaking God’s heart unless we so intimately connect with him.
The Pharisees constantly were at odds with Jesus and yet they thought they were doing God’s will. It seems possible that it wasn’t until this incident with the perfume that Judas decided he would betray Jesus…. It is more than likely that Jesus did not fit in with Judas’s idea of God – otherwise he would not have betrayed him.
Surely it seems completely sinful to spend so much on perfume….. we can all see that now, can’t we? It was a whole year’s wage and there are poor and starving people…..
What seems abundantly clear to me is that God must be number one in our lives and in our churches. Unless we are so connected with God and indwelt by his Holy Spirit we will never be any more pleasing to God than a Pharisee, and we may even be Judas……
Isaiah 43: 16-21 Psalm 126 Philippians 3: 4b-14 John 12: 1-8
The ways of God often seem so unpredictable. Do you feel comfortable in your faith? Then it is possible you’ve fallen into the same ways as so many before and beware, because you are about to have that comfort challenged.
How much are the average annual wages for a labourer? Answer: Full-time earnings in Australia averaged $69,992 a year in the first quarter of 2012. (Seasonally adjusted wages – Bureau of Statistics.) Keep that in mind as we explore this week’s readings.
Isaiah 43:18- 21 “Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild animals will honour me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.”
How strange that God would declare to his people to NOT remember the former things. So strange, that we would be foolish not to explore further and discover what God was really doing.
In the former days God had made a path through the sea and had fed his people with bread from heaven and had given them water in the desert. It is obvious that before God asks them to NOT remember, that he does intend to remind them. These people are reminded of the great things that God has done, but now he says to them, “Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old….”
To put ourselves in the shoes of these people, we need to realize that these are a religious people. They had the holy festivals that told the story of the Passover and they had every ritual of life that tied in with the law of God where sacrifices were given for sin and first fruits were offered to God and the first born was consecrated to God and needed to be redeemed according to the law of God.
These rituals and stories were a comfort and assurance of God’s love and favour. In much the same way, we have our own rituals and stories. We have our church services which tell the story of God and within the service we have confession and absolution and we have communion as both remembrance and reconciliation and unity with God. How delightful and comfortable our faith is!! It is just like that same faith of the people of God so long ago and just like the faith that St. Paul was brought up in – that of the Pharisees.
Uh-Oh! Have I hit a nerve yet?
We like to think that we have nothing in common with the Pharisees who were so hypocritical, but we need to understand that these were people who were brought up in the ways of God, knowing the stories and the rituals – much like us. Because they knew the stories and rituals so well, they didn’t understand what was happening when Jesus came – and they rejected him – not all of them, but certainly on the whole and as a group, they did not recognize God among them, and the reason was that they thought that they knew God and His ways. When Jesus did things that didn’t seem in line with what they thought and had known about God through their religion and traditions, and when they began to feel uncomfortable in their faith, they concluded that Jesus was a sinner who must be put to death.
It is certainly not a bad thing to have the rituals and the stories….. otherwise God would not have commanded them in the first place. The rituals and the stories should teach us and lead us ultimately to a personal and intimately close relationship with God. Praying to God should be as natural and as often as breathing.
If we look back to our first reading we will note that God does remind the people of the things that were done in the former days, but he then commands them to no longer remember them and no longer consider them because he is about to do something new. The implication is that he is about to do something that is so far exceeding the former things that there will be no need to remember them, and also that to move forward there is a need to let go of the past.
What is it that we are holding on to that God would have us let go of?
I’m reminded of the story of a little girl whose father often travelled away for work. He gave the little girl a gift of a toy pearl necklace. The little girls treasured the pearls for a very long time, but then she was faced with a problem: The father asked the little girl if she loved him. She replied that she did, and the father then asked her to give him her pearls. She refused for a long time, but eventually she gave them to her father, deciding that she loved him more than the pearls. The father then presented her with the gift of a genuine pearl necklace.
Our Gospel story is much like this. God has given us something amazing and good. In the Old Testament and for the Israelite people this was the stories, the rituals and the precious law of God. It set the people apart as sacred to God and confirmed God’s favour. BUT God, after bringing these things to mind then commands them to not remember or consider these things because he had something new to do in the future that would so pale the former things by comparison. Could the Israelites, the people of Jesus time, accept that they needed to see that what they had in their stories, rituals, traditions and law was only a shadow of what he had in store for their future?
The rituals and the stories were such a comfort…… the pearls were a comfort…… The important question is, which do we love more; the stories, the rituals, the law and the traditions, or God who gave them? And can we give them up to allow God to do something greater?
St. Paul came face to face with this reality when he declared things about himself in his letter to the Philippians.
Philippians3: 4-6 “even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.
If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”
St. Paul goes on to explain that he considers all that he accomplished in the flesh as rubbish. He explains that all his efforts were loss in Christ because he would rather have a righteousness that was from his standing in Christ. He declares that his former Self-righteousness only served to keep him separated from acknowledging his need for a righteousness that is in Christ – and separated from God.
In the time of Jesus there were many sinners who had accepted Christ. These people knew that they needed a miracle for God to love and accept them because they were aware of their failure – their sin. St. Paul is completely different from most people who came to Christ. His conversion was a dramatic miracle and it needed to be, because St. Paul thought that he was alright with God. He was even so zealous for God that he was striving to snuff out the young Christian church who he considered to be heretics.
Without the intense light of God’s truth, St. Paul may never have been able to see his spiritual blindness. Is it possible that we too need the miracle of God’s intense light to see the things that we are holding on to in God’s name, are things that we have made so synonymous with God that we love them more than God himself. Are we willing to put a personal and intimate relationship with God above all our traditions and rituals and prior understandings?
While I leave you to ponder that thought, I ask you to call to mind again the average years wage in Australia - $69,992. Can you now call to mind something that would cost about that much?
In the time of Jesus, a year’s wage was about three hundred denarii.
John 12:1-8 “Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’”
Hopefully the understanding of the incredible expense of that perfume now sheds new light on this reading….
I believe it would not have been only Judas who was thinking that this was a huge misappropriation of funds, but I bring this to your attention as a challenge to see that God has a heart that is firstly and foremost concerned about us placing him as number one in our lives. All our understandings about how we should do things in church, what is appropriate and what isn’t, etc…. these things will constantly be challenged and constantly be breaking God’s heart unless we so intimately connect with him.
The Pharisees constantly were at odds with Jesus and yet they thought they were doing God’s will. It seems possible that it wasn’t until this incident with the perfume that Judas decided he would betray Jesus…. It is more than likely that Jesus did not fit in with Judas’s idea of God – otherwise he would not have betrayed him.
Surely it seems completely sinful to spend so much on perfume….. we can all see that now, can’t we? It was a whole year’s wage and there are poor and starving people…..
What seems abundantly clear to me is that God must be number one in our lives and in our churches. Unless we are so connected with God and indwelt by his Holy Spirit we will never be any more pleasing to God than a Pharisee, and we may even be Judas……
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
PAID a children's story
PAID by Niki Vella Power
“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” There was a loud cry from the shed. It sounded like Uncle Ben and He sounded really upset.
Lilly and Michael looked at each other from over their card game. They had been playing Fish, while their uncle had been hard at work all day in the shed.
Lilly and Michael were twins and they lived with their uncle, who was an inventor.
The shed was Uncle Ben’s special and precious place where he made the most amazing inventions. There was a boat that would convert into a quad bike as well as a small submarine, and then there was a ray gun that could project an image into a room so that it looked like whatever was being projected was actually there for real. The most amazing invention, as far as the twins were concerned, was the time machine that Uncle Ben had given Lilly for her birthday.
Having a time machine meant that they could travel back in time to watch events, but they couldn’t change anything. It was kind of like being a fly on the wall, watching life go by, but not interfering with it.
“Should we go and see what’s happened with Uncle Ben?” ask Michael.
But just then the children heard the shed door slam and Uncle Ben came striding in with his face red and eyes sparkling with anger. The children were quite afraid. They had never seen Uncle Ben angry. Usually he was the one who stayed calm even when they were out in a storm and everything seemed to be going wrong. What could have gotten him so steamed up?
“Your Uncle Simon is coming to stay!” He announced to the two children while still glaring and obviously trying to calm himself down for their sake.
The twins jumped and laughed and then hugged Uncle Ben. “Oh Uncle Ben that is wonderful and so exciting,” said Lilly. Uncle Ben finally smiled as the joy of the children was really quite contagious and he was catching a little of their excitement himself.
Uncle Simon was the youngest of the three brothers. The Twins father was the eldest and then Uncle Ben, and then Uncle Simon. But most importantly, Uncle Simon was the fun uncle. He was the one who loved to play music loud and would play games with them when he visited. He wasn’t a secret agent like the twins father and he wasn’t an inventor like Uncle Ben. Uncle Simon played in a band that toured the country. He was always broke and needing a loan. It seemed that there were possibly other things Uncle Simon did that the adults didn’t tell the children about, but the children knew that Uncle Ben and their Dad thought Uncle Simon was TROUBLE with a capital T.
“But why are you so angry, Uncle Ben?” Michael inquired.
“Hmm… ,” said Uncle Ben, “Well I got such a fright when the phone rang that I dropped the soldering iron on knee, and broke the piece I was working on. As well as that, I just know that your Uncle usually only comes to visit when he has run out of places to go, and run out of money to spend.” As he said this he remembered that he had initially come over to the house to get ice for his burnt knee. He was so angry that he had almost forgotten how much it hurt, and now he remembered…. But he wasn’t angry anymore, just a little upset.
Lilly had grabbed the ice pack out of the freezer and wrapped a cloth around it for him. As he sat down with it he told them, “Uncle Simon expects to arrive tonight at around seven pm., which means that he should be in time for tea.”
This was met with a fresh round of enthusiasm and jumping with excitement from the twins.
Uncle Simon arrived looking way thinner than the twins had remembered and he was very tired. The twins were a little disappointed that he didn’t seem as interested in playing games with them as usual, but they figured that tomorrow would surely be a fun day.
The next morning the twins awoke with excitement and eager to spend time with Uncle Simon but he was nowhere to be found. When it was time for the children to catch the bus for school they still had not seen Uncle Simon, so they left for school somewhat disappointed.
The afternoon brought with it all that the twins had expected from their Uncle Simon. He greeted them off the bus and then showed them the new basketball that he’d bought for them…. And a basketball back board and hoop. Apparently he’d left early that morning to go into town and purchase everything.
The twins were so excited; this was what they loved about their Uncle Simon. He was fun! While Uncle Ben spent all his spare time in the shed the twins found that they were constantly entertained by Uncle Simon. It was a week of games and gifts and videos; Uncle Simon would make popcorn and watch movies with them like they were in a real picture theatre and he always seemed to know interesting things about the characters in the movie.
The weekend came around and Uncle Ben asked Michael to play his guitar for Uncle Simon, who was suitably impressed. Uncle Simon was leaving the next day and so the children were rather sad about that.
No one knew when Uncle Simon left, but once again Uncle Ben was in a bad mood…. And that was just so much not like Uncle Ben, but the children couldn’t blame him. Uncle Simon had taken Uncle Ben’s degravinator machine. It was one of Uncle Ben’s inventions but he didn’t own it. It belonged to one of the Secret Agents who worked with the children’s parents…. Uncle Simon must have known that it would be worth a lot of money, but the children weren’t sure if he realized that Uncle Ben would have to pay the Secret Agent back his money. In this case though, Uncle Ben had insured the degravinator and so the insurance claim would also cover any money that he lost on it, but nothing could replace the trust and good will that Uncle Ben and the children had lost in Uncle Simon and nothing could take away their disappointment.
The children were devastated to realize that their beloved uncle would steal from them. He always seemed to be giving things to them. He didn’t have to give them things; the children would have loved him anyway. They didn’t need any gifts and didn’t realize that he had a problem with being responsible with money. It seemed that their father and Uncle Ben were right about Uncle Simon after all. Uncle Simon was trouble…. Capital T – TROUBLE.
Uncle Ben tried to cheer the children up by showing them how to make hard lollies that explode in your mouth and turn into honey when you suck them. It was always lovely to be involved in the amazingly inventive life of Uncle Ben, but the children were still feeling rather sad.
Late that night the children were awakened by thunder and lightning. Uncle Ben brought them down into the lounge room with their pillows and blankets so they could all be together. The storm was pretty fierce and the lounge was a safe room in the middle of the house.
In the midst of the lightning strikes there was a knock at the door. The children and Uncle Ben all looked very surprised, but Uncle Ben got up quickly because no one should be out in that horrible storm.
There at the door, very wet and very frightened, and with a cut leg and a cut across his forehead, was Uncle Simon. Lilly quickly grabbed the first aid kit and Michael and Uncle Ben found some dry clothes and towel for Uncle Simon. Not much was said. Uncle Simon seemed sad and silent and the twins just didn’t know what to make of anything.
Finally Uncle Simon broke the silence. “I’m so sorry for everything. I’ve hurt you and I certainly don’t deserve to have you look after me.”
Uncle Ben spoke quietly, but it was clear he was still very angry. “That is right…. You don’t, and tomorrow you can leave.”
“I’ll pay you for the machine as soon as I can get enough money together.” Said Uncle Simon
“No need. It’s been paid already”, said Uncle Ben rather gruffly. “The insurance claim paid for it.”
The storm had died down so the twins headed back to their beds. In the morning breakfast was tense and uncomfortable. Lilly and Michael decided that they needed to do something so Michael told a joke… and then another and then another.
“What’s green and has wheels?” he asked. “Grass! I lied about the wheels.”
Lilly thought it was funny, but she noticed that the two uncles were still not very happy.
“Uncle Simon, have I shown you my birthday present from Uncle Ben?” asked Lilly. He shook his head and so she raced up to get it while Michael continued with the jokes.
“Why did the boy cross the road?” asked Michael “Because he was stapled to the chicken!”
“Lilly, come and save us from these crazy jokes”, pleaded Uncle Ben. He was starting to pick up on the children’s mood again. He really was a good natured man and couldn’t stay mad for very long.
“Well”, said Lilly, “I need us to all hold hands.” Without explaining to Uncle Simon about the time machine she set the date and pressed the button. She’d used the machine so often that she knew exactly what event she wanted and could set it exactly.
“Wooooo!” Uncle Simon let out a cry. Everything around him was spinning and he had no idea what was going on. Somewhere in the chaos of swirling colours he heard Lilly telling him that they were taking a trip in the time machine. “What?” He cried out again, “there’s no such thing as a time machine.” Lilly, Michael and Uncle Ben all laughed. It would seem that Uncle Simon had no idea just how clever his brother was.
Then the swirling cleared and the group found themselves standing halfway up a hill and a man was telling a story.
“Wow!” said Uncle Simon, “Look at all these people”.
On the hillside was quite a motley bunch of people. Some of them looked like they were quite important and some of them looked gruff and cranky. Others were just listening very intently to man telling the story.
Uncle Simon gasped, “Is that J… no it can’t be… Oh, but I think it is.. Is that Jesus?”
“You betcha” said Michael. “Now, quiet and listen”.
“There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he wasted his property and money with parties and reckless living.”
Uncle Simon spoke, “That’s me isn’t it, Lilly? That is why you wanted me to see this…”
He looked sad, but Lilly smiled and said, “just keep listening”.
Jesus continued with the story; “When he had spent everything, he began to be in need. So he went and got a job feeding the pigs. He was so hungry that he would gladly have filled himself with the food that the pigs were eating because no one gave him anything. Then he realized how good things were with his father and he said, “How many of my father’s workers have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’” So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his workers, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father is celebrating because he is back safe and sound.” Then he became angry and refused to go in. “
Now Uncle Ben interrupted, “uh-oh, now I know why Lilly wanted me here too Simon, I think that older brother might just be me.”
Once again Lilly just smiled and said, “just keep listening”..
Jesus continued, “His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me anything so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has wasted all your money you celebrate!” Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.”’
And just as Jesus said those words everything began to spin again as the time machine was taking them back to their own time.
As it spun everyone was very quiet and it was clear that both Uncle Ben and Uncle Simon were deep in thought.
Back in their own house, Uncle Ben broke the silence and said, “Simon, I’m sorry that I’ve been harsh with you.”
Uncle Simon sank into the kitchen chair and asked, “Is the father that Jesus was talking about… is that God? And do you think he will accept me even though I’ve done terrible things?”
“Are you sorry for those terrible things and do you realize that they truly were terrible?” Asked Uncle Ben
“Uncle Ben!” scolded Michael, “You know that God accepts us even though we do the wrong thing. You taught us that when I was skipping my school classes last year.”
Uncle Ben grinned, “Yes, Simon. God does accept us”
“But I need to pay for all that I’ve done, don’t I?” replied Uncle Simon
Lilly spoke up, “Actually, no you don’t. It might be a good idea if you have hurt someone to try to make it up to them, but you don’t have to pay for what you’ve done before God will love you and accept you.”
“But how can I know that God will accept me? What do I need to do?” asked Uncle Simon.
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” said Michael and Lilly together. It was in the Bible and the both knew it by heart.
“Then I will…. Jesus is my Lord. I want him to be in charge of my life because I have stuffed it all up by doing what I wanted. And I do believe that he rose from the dead. Are you sure that is all I need to do?” Uncle Simon inquired again. “I still feel that I need to pay for what I’ve done”.
Uncle Ben smiled his lovely big smile and said, “It has been paid! Jesus paid for all our sins when he died on the cross; there is nothing else that we need to do. It is the same as the degravinator; It wouldn’t make sense to pay me for it because the debt has already been paid. In the same way, Jesus has paid for all our failures and so there is nothing keeping us apart from the love of God.”
“You know what, though?” interjected Michael, “I am reminded that we do really need to let Jesus be in control of our life. That is the only way to live an extra-ordinary life and that is what I want to do. It is very easy to say I want to do things my way, and I have to remember to ask Jesus what he wants me to do instead.”
“Oh yes,” agreed Lilly “and we all fail to do the very best at some times, but it is so great to know that God loves us and Jesus has already paid anything that we owe God.”
“Ah…” said Uncle Ben, “and because God loves, accepts and forgives us, we really should love, accept and forgive each other.”
Yep, yep, yep! And right there in the kitchen they all forgave, accepted and loved each other.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” There was a loud cry from the shed. It sounded like Uncle Ben and He sounded really upset.
Lilly and Michael looked at each other from over their card game. They had been playing Fish, while their uncle had been hard at work all day in the shed.
Lilly and Michael were twins and they lived with their uncle, who was an inventor.
The shed was Uncle Ben’s special and precious place where he made the most amazing inventions. There was a boat that would convert into a quad bike as well as a small submarine, and then there was a ray gun that could project an image into a room so that it looked like whatever was being projected was actually there for real. The most amazing invention, as far as the twins were concerned, was the time machine that Uncle Ben had given Lilly for her birthday.
Having a time machine meant that they could travel back in time to watch events, but they couldn’t change anything. It was kind of like being a fly on the wall, watching life go by, but not interfering with it.
“Should we go and see what’s happened with Uncle Ben?” ask Michael.
But just then the children heard the shed door slam and Uncle Ben came striding in with his face red and eyes sparkling with anger. The children were quite afraid. They had never seen Uncle Ben angry. Usually he was the one who stayed calm even when they were out in a storm and everything seemed to be going wrong. What could have gotten him so steamed up?
“Your Uncle Simon is coming to stay!” He announced to the two children while still glaring and obviously trying to calm himself down for their sake.
The twins jumped and laughed and then hugged Uncle Ben. “Oh Uncle Ben that is wonderful and so exciting,” said Lilly. Uncle Ben finally smiled as the joy of the children was really quite contagious and he was catching a little of their excitement himself.
Uncle Simon was the youngest of the three brothers. The Twins father was the eldest and then Uncle Ben, and then Uncle Simon. But most importantly, Uncle Simon was the fun uncle. He was the one who loved to play music loud and would play games with them when he visited. He wasn’t a secret agent like the twins father and he wasn’t an inventor like Uncle Ben. Uncle Simon played in a band that toured the country. He was always broke and needing a loan. It seemed that there were possibly other things Uncle Simon did that the adults didn’t tell the children about, but the children knew that Uncle Ben and their Dad thought Uncle Simon was TROUBLE with a capital T.
“But why are you so angry, Uncle Ben?” Michael inquired.
“Hmm… ,” said Uncle Ben, “Well I got such a fright when the phone rang that I dropped the soldering iron on knee, and broke the piece I was working on. As well as that, I just know that your Uncle usually only comes to visit when he has run out of places to go, and run out of money to spend.” As he said this he remembered that he had initially come over to the house to get ice for his burnt knee. He was so angry that he had almost forgotten how much it hurt, and now he remembered…. But he wasn’t angry anymore, just a little upset.
Lilly had grabbed the ice pack out of the freezer and wrapped a cloth around it for him. As he sat down with it he told them, “Uncle Simon expects to arrive tonight at around seven pm., which means that he should be in time for tea.”
This was met with a fresh round of enthusiasm and jumping with excitement from the twins.
Uncle Simon arrived looking way thinner than the twins had remembered and he was very tired. The twins were a little disappointed that he didn’t seem as interested in playing games with them as usual, but they figured that tomorrow would surely be a fun day.
The next morning the twins awoke with excitement and eager to spend time with Uncle Simon but he was nowhere to be found. When it was time for the children to catch the bus for school they still had not seen Uncle Simon, so they left for school somewhat disappointed.
The afternoon brought with it all that the twins had expected from their Uncle Simon. He greeted them off the bus and then showed them the new basketball that he’d bought for them…. And a basketball back board and hoop. Apparently he’d left early that morning to go into town and purchase everything.
The twins were so excited; this was what they loved about their Uncle Simon. He was fun! While Uncle Ben spent all his spare time in the shed the twins found that they were constantly entertained by Uncle Simon. It was a week of games and gifts and videos; Uncle Simon would make popcorn and watch movies with them like they were in a real picture theatre and he always seemed to know interesting things about the characters in the movie.
The weekend came around and Uncle Ben asked Michael to play his guitar for Uncle Simon, who was suitably impressed. Uncle Simon was leaving the next day and so the children were rather sad about that.
No one knew when Uncle Simon left, but once again Uncle Ben was in a bad mood…. And that was just so much not like Uncle Ben, but the children couldn’t blame him. Uncle Simon had taken Uncle Ben’s degravinator machine. It was one of Uncle Ben’s inventions but he didn’t own it. It belonged to one of the Secret Agents who worked with the children’s parents…. Uncle Simon must have known that it would be worth a lot of money, but the children weren’t sure if he realized that Uncle Ben would have to pay the Secret Agent back his money. In this case though, Uncle Ben had insured the degravinator and so the insurance claim would also cover any money that he lost on it, but nothing could replace the trust and good will that Uncle Ben and the children had lost in Uncle Simon and nothing could take away their disappointment.
The children were devastated to realize that their beloved uncle would steal from them. He always seemed to be giving things to them. He didn’t have to give them things; the children would have loved him anyway. They didn’t need any gifts and didn’t realize that he had a problem with being responsible with money. It seemed that their father and Uncle Ben were right about Uncle Simon after all. Uncle Simon was trouble…. Capital T – TROUBLE.
Uncle Ben tried to cheer the children up by showing them how to make hard lollies that explode in your mouth and turn into honey when you suck them. It was always lovely to be involved in the amazingly inventive life of Uncle Ben, but the children were still feeling rather sad.
Late that night the children were awakened by thunder and lightning. Uncle Ben brought them down into the lounge room with their pillows and blankets so they could all be together. The storm was pretty fierce and the lounge was a safe room in the middle of the house.
In the midst of the lightning strikes there was a knock at the door. The children and Uncle Ben all looked very surprised, but Uncle Ben got up quickly because no one should be out in that horrible storm.
There at the door, very wet and very frightened, and with a cut leg and a cut across his forehead, was Uncle Simon. Lilly quickly grabbed the first aid kit and Michael and Uncle Ben found some dry clothes and towel for Uncle Simon. Not much was said. Uncle Simon seemed sad and silent and the twins just didn’t know what to make of anything.
Finally Uncle Simon broke the silence. “I’m so sorry for everything. I’ve hurt you and I certainly don’t deserve to have you look after me.”
Uncle Ben spoke quietly, but it was clear he was still very angry. “That is right…. You don’t, and tomorrow you can leave.”
“I’ll pay you for the machine as soon as I can get enough money together.” Said Uncle Simon
“No need. It’s been paid already”, said Uncle Ben rather gruffly. “The insurance claim paid for it.”
The storm had died down so the twins headed back to their beds. In the morning breakfast was tense and uncomfortable. Lilly and Michael decided that they needed to do something so Michael told a joke… and then another and then another.
“What’s green and has wheels?” he asked. “Grass! I lied about the wheels.”
Lilly thought it was funny, but she noticed that the two uncles were still not very happy.
“Uncle Simon, have I shown you my birthday present from Uncle Ben?” asked Lilly. He shook his head and so she raced up to get it while Michael continued with the jokes.
“Why did the boy cross the road?” asked Michael “Because he was stapled to the chicken!”
“Lilly, come and save us from these crazy jokes”, pleaded Uncle Ben. He was starting to pick up on the children’s mood again. He really was a good natured man and couldn’t stay mad for very long.
“Well”, said Lilly, “I need us to all hold hands.” Without explaining to Uncle Simon about the time machine she set the date and pressed the button. She’d used the machine so often that she knew exactly what event she wanted and could set it exactly.
“Wooooo!” Uncle Simon let out a cry. Everything around him was spinning and he had no idea what was going on. Somewhere in the chaos of swirling colours he heard Lilly telling him that they were taking a trip in the time machine. “What?” He cried out again, “there’s no such thing as a time machine.” Lilly, Michael and Uncle Ben all laughed. It would seem that Uncle Simon had no idea just how clever his brother was.
Then the swirling cleared and the group found themselves standing halfway up a hill and a man was telling a story.
“Wow!” said Uncle Simon, “Look at all these people”.
On the hillside was quite a motley bunch of people. Some of them looked like they were quite important and some of them looked gruff and cranky. Others were just listening very intently to man telling the story.
Uncle Simon gasped, “Is that J… no it can’t be… Oh, but I think it is.. Is that Jesus?”
“You betcha” said Michael. “Now, quiet and listen”.
“There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he wasted his property and money with parties and reckless living.”
Uncle Simon spoke, “That’s me isn’t it, Lilly? That is why you wanted me to see this…”
He looked sad, but Lilly smiled and said, “just keep listening”.
Jesus continued with the story; “When he had spent everything, he began to be in need. So he went and got a job feeding the pigs. He was so hungry that he would gladly have filled himself with the food that the pigs were eating because no one gave him anything. Then he realized how good things were with his father and he said, “How many of my father’s workers have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’” So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his workers, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father is celebrating because he is back safe and sound.” Then he became angry and refused to go in. “
Now Uncle Ben interrupted, “uh-oh, now I know why Lilly wanted me here too Simon, I think that older brother might just be me.”
Once again Lilly just smiled and said, “just keep listening”..
Jesus continued, “His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me anything so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has wasted all your money you celebrate!” Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.”’
And just as Jesus said those words everything began to spin again as the time machine was taking them back to their own time.
As it spun everyone was very quiet and it was clear that both Uncle Ben and Uncle Simon were deep in thought.
Back in their own house, Uncle Ben broke the silence and said, “Simon, I’m sorry that I’ve been harsh with you.”
Uncle Simon sank into the kitchen chair and asked, “Is the father that Jesus was talking about… is that God? And do you think he will accept me even though I’ve done terrible things?”
“Are you sorry for those terrible things and do you realize that they truly were terrible?” Asked Uncle Ben
“Uncle Ben!” scolded Michael, “You know that God accepts us even though we do the wrong thing. You taught us that when I was skipping my school classes last year.”
Uncle Ben grinned, “Yes, Simon. God does accept us”
“But I need to pay for all that I’ve done, don’t I?” replied Uncle Simon
Lilly spoke up, “Actually, no you don’t. It might be a good idea if you have hurt someone to try to make it up to them, but you don’t have to pay for what you’ve done before God will love you and accept you.”
“But how can I know that God will accept me? What do I need to do?” asked Uncle Simon.
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” said Michael and Lilly together. It was in the Bible and the both knew it by heart.
“Then I will…. Jesus is my Lord. I want him to be in charge of my life because I have stuffed it all up by doing what I wanted. And I do believe that he rose from the dead. Are you sure that is all I need to do?” Uncle Simon inquired again. “I still feel that I need to pay for what I’ve done”.
Uncle Ben smiled his lovely big smile and said, “It has been paid! Jesus paid for all our sins when he died on the cross; there is nothing else that we need to do. It is the same as the degravinator; It wouldn’t make sense to pay me for it because the debt has already been paid. In the same way, Jesus has paid for all our failures and so there is nothing keeping us apart from the love of God.”
“You know what, though?” interjected Michael, “I am reminded that we do really need to let Jesus be in control of our life. That is the only way to live an extra-ordinary life and that is what I want to do. It is very easy to say I want to do things my way, and I have to remember to ask Jesus what he wants me to do instead.”
“Oh yes,” agreed Lilly “and we all fail to do the very best at some times, but it is so great to know that God loves us and Jesus has already paid anything that we owe God.”
“Ah…” said Uncle Ben, “and because God loves, accepts and forgives us, we really should love, accept and forgive each other.”
Yep, yep, yep! And right there in the kitchen they all forgave, accepted and loved each other.
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