Second Sunday of Easter 11th April 2021 Peace be with you

 

SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER   Year B     April 11, 2021

• Acts 4:32-35  • Psalm 133  • 1 John 1:1-2:2  • John 20:19-31

Recently I happened to flick TV stations to an episode of Modern Family.  They were taking a vacation and all seemed wonderful and peaceful in the beginning.  The siblings and parents were all getting along and being kind to each other.  Before very long they were completely chaotic and tearing at each other.  The father of the family stopped the vehicle, got out and went and swapped stories with other men holidaying and having the same problem.  While he was out, something crazy happened with the fighting siblings; they confessed to the mess in each of their lives and an area where each had failed that they were hiding from the rest of the family.  In this act of confession, the family came together in support of each other and peace came to the situation – not peace like there was before, but a peace that was a lot deeper and more honest.

 

In our readings this week there are also some aspects of confession of sin for us to reflect on.  The first thing that we need to be aware of is the great cover up.  Just like in my tv story, it is not natural to confess our sin, but it is way more natural to cover up our sin.  I suspect that it is not terribly politically correct to insinuate that anyone sins, and yet we most certainly all do. 

 

1 John 1:8 tells us, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”  So, what is this “SIN” and why are we so uncomfortable with admitting to it?

 

The Bible actually tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Falling short of the glory of God is a given.  We are all fallen and none of us is perfect.  Failure is something that all humanity share – Except Jesus.

Another interesting quote about sin comes from Romans 14:12, “But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”

 

Have you ever had doubts?  Well, doubt is evidence that you are human.  Doubt is natural and a normal part of humanity, but it shows us that we are not perfect and doubt is sin.

 

Sin, perhaps is best understood by the archery example.  Apparently, when the Archer shoots at the target, the bullseye is the mark that they aim for and anything outside of that bullseye is called sin.  Some might miss the mark just a bit and others might miss it by a long way, but it is all called by the same term, sin.  It literally means, to miss the mark.  In our Christian story, we all miss the mark of God’s perfect glory… we all fall short… we all sin, as we miss the mark of perfection.  The first step for us to take, if we are going to walk in the light is to agree with the word of God and admit that we all sin.

 

In our modern times I notice that we all want to down play this sin factor and say that things that are sin, are actually not.  This is not helpful.  In fact it is a lie, it is in disagreement with God and it is SIN.  What is more helpful is to take a very hard line with sin, but a soft line with each other.  To do this we need to start with ourselves and admit to every lack of faith… every sin, little or big it is all sin.  To walk in the light is to shine a spot light on these dark spots and bring them into the light. 

It is important.  Not so much because God frowns on our sin.  God is not surprised or shocked or dismayed… he has seen it all, understands it all and is bigger than all this and he has covered our sins with his love.  But admitting our sin is important because otherwise, we lie to God and wedge a barrier between us and God when we refuse to admit the truth of our condition.  Not only is our confession important for this reason, but … and I believe God is super concerned about this next point….  Our walking in the dark, ie. Refusing to admit our sin, drives a huge wedge between us and our community.

 

Much like the tv story, we will always find that a group of people can get along ok together while they are all pretending to be perfect and trying to be good.  Psychologist, M Scott Peck called this kind of group, Pseudo Community.  In his book, The Different Drum”, he explains that people try to cover up who they really are, but eventually they vent about their differences and enter the next stage of community – Chaos!  Chaos is not nice, and we see it a lot in groups.  According to M. Scott Peck, the next stage of community is emptiness and then after that, if they haven’t given up, they may come to true community.  Surely there has to be a better way to be community.  We remember all that Jesus exhorted us to be in relationship, telling us that they’ll know we are Christians by our love.  Love is the answer… but God’s true love, flowing from the honesty of our condition.

 

It is obvious that Jesus has given us directions for how to enter into eternal life by admitting our failure and accepting his sacrifice, but how amazing is it that our God is not just concerned about us getting into Heaven one day, but concerned about our relationships and the way that we get along, right here and now?  This call to admit our sins, should be the first step in us being able to be in a right relationship, not just with God, but with each other.

 

It isn’t that we go about in the community confessing our sins out loud, but that we need to have an attitude of honesty with God and ourselves, and humility with each other. 

 

Many years ago, an international Bible speaker confessed to us that he had a problem loving people.  The most amazing thing happens when we are aware of our weakness and readily share them with God, asking for his help.  Would you believe, the main thing I remember about that bible speaker was that he was a strikingly loving man.  He seemed to be loved by many and he had a way of speaking the truth in love that I had never seen before.  What was the key to him being so loving?  If it wasn’t something that he found a natural and easy thing to do, the only logical explanation is that GOD did something.  Through the confession of his weakness and in asking God for his help, a miraculous change occurred.

 

Often times, we in the church are labelled by outsiders as hypocrites.  In Shakespearean times an actor was referred to as a hypocrite.  It simply means someone who pretends to be someone else – an actor.  If we act as though we are people who don’t sin we only deceive ourselves.  Not that our sin is anything so drastic…. I’m sure…. But remember that sin is absolutely anything that falls short of perfection.  Remember anything that is not of faith is sin… so lack of faith and even doubt is sin. 

 

And now we come to Thomas.  Poor Thomas.  He is known as doubting Thomas, but let’s explore his story because there is a great truth and some incredible Good News to grasp.

 

In John 11:16 we read this about Thomas; “Then Thomas called Didymus said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.””

This is a statement made by Thomas, who understood that if Jesus travelled to see Mary and Martha, there was a possibility and even a probability that the Jews who were trying to kill Jesus, would do so.  Thomas was so dedicated to our Lord that he was prepared to go with him into danger and death.  Thomas was a loyal friend.

 

Thomas did not witness Jesus’ first appearance to the disciples and confesses his disbelief in the resurrection.  His doubting can well be seen as a sin.  If the others had not seen Jesus, I’m pretty sure that they’d have been guilty of that sin also.  Thomas could easily have gone along with the crowd, given in to peer pressure and cried “He is risen indeed, alleluia”, while harbouring his doubt deep in his heart and keeping it to himself.   – but that would have made him a hypocrite as well as a doubter.

 

In confessing our sins and admitting to the reality of our condition in perfect honesty, we give Jesus the opportunity to act.  Jesus did not leave Thomas to continue in his doubt for too long, but instead, understanding Thomas’s weakness, Jesus does something amazing.  He not only shows himself to Thomas, but allows Thomas to touch him.

 

Our message from Easter shows us that Jesus makes the way for us to be in uninterrupted relationship with God.  HE atones for our sin – He makes our paths straight – not us… our job is only to be honest and receive the gift.  Jesus creates a way of new life for us and this new life is not only eternal, but abundant and full, and begins here and now.

 

We can call sin, sin, and not be offended because it is something common to us all.  What’s more, sin no longer has the same sting because Jesus has taken that sting and defeated death.  In our relationships, we have a great equalizer…. We are all sinners and we have all been treated with the immense love and kindness of God by having Jesus redeem us.  All we need to do to enter this relationship and all the gifts that God has for us, is to believe….. To believe God’s word about our fallen condition, and to accept the gift of Jesus.

 

Modern society is struggling.  There are so many factions, and so many at odds with family, friends and colleagues.  We, the church, are called to be the salt of the earth… to bring good to the earth by showing a better way.  Jesus breathed on those early followers and declared, “peace be with you”.  Is there peace in our own communities, and are we an example of God’s design for relationships?

 

The answer is not to pretend we all get along.  The answer is to be honest-   firstly and foremostly with God who can miraculously turn our lives and witness around. When we can admit to God and ourselves that we need God’s help and that we are not perfect, we will have more compassion for others who are also imperfect.  We find true community by accepting that we are all very different… all fallen and all so very loved by God. Each of us is so loved that Jesus died to redeem us.

 

The very Good News is that we are free from the power of sin.  Just as Thomas honestly confessed his doubting, Jesus can turn our weakness around.  He does not treat us as we might think we deserve.  Our weakness is no surprise to him and he has already dealt with it, but the power of our story is in allowing Jesus to act on our weakness and turn our lives around.  Will we let him?

Some thoughts for Easter Sunday 2021

 

From the time I was little, I’ve been a fan of poetry.  One of my favourites is “Christmas is really for the children”, by Steve Turner.

 “Christmas is really
for the children.
Especially for children
who like animals, stables,
stars and babies wrapped
in swaddling clothes.
Then there are wise men,
kings in fine robes,
humble shepherds and a
hint of rich perfume.

Easter is not really
for the children
unless accompanied by
a cream filled egg.
It has whips, blood, nails,
a spear and allegations
of body snatching.
It involves politics, God
and the sins of the world.
It is not good for people
of a nervous disposition.
They would do better to
think on rabbits, chickens
and the first snowdrop
of spring.

Or they’d do better to
wait for a re-run of
Christmas without asking
too many questions about
what Jesus did when he grew up
or whether there’s any connection.”

 

Is Easter relevant in our contemporary society?  Unfortunately our society has turned Easter into well… Easter – a pagan festival.  My Italian friends Easter greeting is “Buona Pasqua” – Pasqua being the Italian word for Passover.  I rather like the phrase.

For us to understand Easter we really need to understand the Jewish Passover.  Passover was the festival celebrated to remember the great deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, to the freedom and joy in the promised land.  Passover was the festival being celebrated at the time that Jesus was taken and crucified.  During the Passover, a lamb would be sacrificed and during that first Passover the blood of the lamb, placed over the door way, saved the people from the Angel of death.

Jesus is the sacrificial lamb of God, whose shed blood is over the doorway of our lives, saving us.

But today is resurrection Sunday.

In our second reading Saint Paul tells us; “For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures… “

Note that he tells us this is of FIRST importance.   A little later in that same letter we discover that though this group of Christians readily accepted the message of the cross – in that they understood that Jesus died for our sins…for the sin of the world, there was a growing trend that didn’t really believe in resurrection.   

Saint Paul addressed this group saying;   I Corinthians15:17-19    “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.  If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”    Clearly, the resurrection is highly important.

In fact a renowned Bible speaker once said, “Christ did not die to save us from our sin” - - and if he’d have stopped there it sounded like heresy…  but he continued to explain…  “Jesus paid the price for our sins so that we might have LIFE…  dying for our sins needed to be accomplished in order to bring us life”. 

Many times we stop short of the purpose of God.  We acknowledge the sacrifice of Jesus and we are grateful, but often times we stay there and forget that God’s desire is for us to have LIFE.  WHAT does this life look to you?

The life Jesus brings us is not just any life, but abundant, transformed, spirit filled life.  AND… not just after we die, but right now.

Many times in the Gospel readings we hear that Jesus proclaimed that he forgave sin.  It would have been an easy, though, unless you were God, heretical thing to say, “Your sins are forgiven”… Anyone can say it to anyone, but is it true?  In order to prove that it was true and that Jesus had the power and authority to forgive sins, miraculous healings followed.

 Jesus experienced separation from the father on the cross, so that we don’t have to be separated from the father.  He paid the price for our sin, so that we don’t have to.  Jesus proclaimed that he had power over sin and death, and the followers of Jesus have passed this message on.  It is an easy thing to say…  Anyone can say that Jesus has authority over sin and death, but where is the proof?  We celebrate today the proof that all Jesus said, is true.  He showed his power over death and sin because he rose from the dead.

In our Gospel reading, John 20:9, there is this curious sentence  “for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.”  What scripture is our reading referring to? 

There are a few Old Testament writings, but in particular from Psalm 16:10 “because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.”

Now… the disciples of Jesus were not the only ones acquainted with the scriptures about the Messiah rising from the dead.  The religious leaders were also well aware and wanted to prevent any allegations of Jesus rising from the dead and so they asked that guards be placed at the tomb site.  Please realize their predicament; They put Jesus to death… they passed judgment on him, therefore, there is no way that they could ever admit that Jesus was the Messiah and rose from the dead even if there was a miraculous earthquake and the body nowhere to be found.

 

What would you think if it was you at that tomb side.  Jesus had told his disciples that he would rise from the dead and when the body was missing, they believed – but what did they believe? 

Mary Magdalene remains at the tomb side weeping, and there she is comforted by someone she supposes to be the gardener until he says her name.  Now, I’m assuming she was initially blinded by tears and possibly half turned away, too consumed with her own misery to see the truth in front of her.  What was it that she believed?  It seemed that she believed someone had taken the body away.  It is the physical and logical explanation.

 

How are we also like this; too consumed with our own misery, our own worries and concerns, to see the truth in front of us?  We need to turn and see the risen Lord and realize the abundant life that God has given us.  L. I. F. E. 

 

What do we believe about the resurrection?  Jesus was very truly dead.  All his blood was shed and when the soldiers pierced his side to ensure his death, they found that a little blood came out followed by water… all his blood was shed.  He was dead.  That was Friday… but Sunday was coming.

 

Jesus shed all his blood.  The blood represents the life… he gave it all for us.  In our baptism we unite with him and spiritually we die and rise with him.  Simply by believing and receiving, are given the spiritual life with which Jesus rose from the dead.  What this means is that our eternal life, begins at the time that we unite our life with his.

 

Sunday, the body was gone and Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene.  A lot could be said about the fact that he appeared to women.  He elevated the status of women by this and many other things he did in his ministry… You see how he not only showed all that he was there to impart life… the essentials… the needs, but he went beyond the needs and wants to LIFE,… L.I.F.E life, and gives not just survival, but abundant and eternal life.

 

Empowered by that extravagant reality, these early disciples and apostles went on to endure hardships and death.  The importance of the message of abundant and eternal life was THAT important.  They needed to ensure that others received the message, the GOOD NEWS… the truth.    This is a truth that sets the captives free.

 

What is it that we are held captive to?  Are we held captive by beliefs that rob us of the life that Jesus brought us, bought with the cost of the crucifixion?  The price of separation from the father, the cost for every sin in the world, past, present and future, has been paid in full and Jesus proved it to be true by rising from the dead.

 

When Jesus rose from the dead he was truly alive.  He rose, not just in spirit but his body as well.  He rose with a life that could no longer die.  He is still alive.  He did not die again.  By his spirit he communicates with our spirit.  He declares victory over sin.  He declares victory over death.  He declares our eternal life begins now.

 

The grave is empty.  We are not to be living in remembrance of a man who once lived, but in the reality of the Good News of the resurrection, and in relationship with him, through whom we have L. I. F. E.  LIFE IN FULL ETERNALLY.

 

The grave is empty…. Will you accept that there is but emptiness in the tomb where our sins, our doubts, our hurts and failings were crucified  - because of Jesus rising from the dead, they are gone.  We need not dwell on our past failings… Our sin was crucified with Christ.  There is nothing but ourselves standing between us and the abundant, eternal life. Will you, with joy, embrace the abundant and eternal LIFE of our risen Lord?

Lent 1 year B 21st Feb 2021 NOW is the time

 

Lent 1 2021  -  Genesis 9:8-17  • Psalm 25:1-10  • 1 Peter 3:18-22  • Mark 1:9-15

 

The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near.  This is the time. 

Here we are again in the season of Lent and at a time when we traditionally think about doing something extra to bring us into an even closer relationship with God. 

 

After the year that we have just had, we may be thinking, “I’ve had about as much hard and tough times as I ever want”.  However, Lent is not meant to be a bother.  In fact the word Lent is simply the season of spring…. And therefore the season of new growth.  It is a season of excitement, and it is the time in our church calendar that we are invited to journey with Christ for the 40 days in the wilderness.  The season of Lent is 40 days long, not counting Sundays.  In our Gospel reading we note that Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days.

 

Jesus went to the river Jordan to be baptised by John and it seems a little odd that he, in whose name we are all baptised, should have willingly submitted himself to a baptism of repentance for sin.  After all, he was without sin.

 

In the days when Jesus was baptised, baptism was not something unique that John did.  There were many kinds of ceremonial baptisms, usually for those about to undertake a life change or to signify a covenant type commitment, such as for marriage.  In another Gospel’s account we read that Jesus gives a reason for his being baptised, saying that it is proper to fulfil all righteousness.  Which informs us that it is important, but really doesn’t tell us much more.

 

John’s baptism was one where he called people to repent.  Jesus, as we know, had no sin, yet we notice that immediately following his baptism, he goes into the wilderness and is tempted by Satan. 

To repent literally means to go back the other way.  We could say, it means to change your mind.  When used in the Christian context, it means to turn from our own way and go God’s way.

Jesus is God.  He is part of the trinity, but scripture tells us he was obedient to God the father, to death on the cross.  Jesus was also human and fully man.  He therefore had the capacity of his own free will.  With this free will he freely declared, by his baptism, that he was going the way of God the father.  It was this baptism that began his ministry in power and much like the commitment of a marriage, this baptism declared his covenant resolve to keep this commitment. 

 There are some elements of this baptism of Jesus worth noting. Firstly the Spirit descended on him.  While Jesus was walking the earth, before the crucifixion, though he was fully God, he operated as fully man.  He therefore had all the limitations that we have, but at his baptism, the Holy Spirit descended.  The Holy Spirit was what compelled him to go out to the wilderness.  The Holy Spirit was his anointing and the empowering for his ministry on earth.  Here we see the relationship of the trinity, but also an example of how we should also be in relationship with God.

 

Jesus was baptised in the river Jordan.  A baptism of repentance, and the Holy Spirit descended, empowering his earthly ministry.   Then a voice came from heaven saying, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." Jesus knew the love of the father.  How much would it mean to know that God loves and approves of us?

 

There are many scripture verses that explain how we are baptised into Jesus.  To be baptised, means to be immersed.  Is our life immersed in Christ?  If an outsider came and looked at our lives, would that outsider say that our life is immersed in Christ?  While our physical life might fall short of this standard, our spiritual life is in better hands.

 

When we are baptised, we are baptised, not into water – though we use water as the agent, but we are actually baptised into Jesus.  We are spiritually baptised/ immersed and spiritually, we take on a new identity.  Imagine a white cloth that is baptised – or immersed into red dye.  The material takes on the colour of the dye.  We being baptised into Christ take on all that he has and is.  The scriptures tell us that in baptism, we die with Christ and we are raised with Christ.  Being baptised into Jesus, therefore, we spiritually partake in his experience.  He was empowered by the Holy Spirit, and we are also empowered by the Holy Spirit.  We also, through Jesus, hear God say to us, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

 

God the father, through our baptism and union with Christ, sees the colours of Jesus in us and seeing Jesus he declares us to be his beloved child.  Jesus was fully human, but operated his life in submission to the father.  With the power of the Holy Spirit, we have access to the power of God, and are able to do more than we realize.  Jesus did say, in John 14:12 Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

 

Physically we will always fall short of the perfection of Christ, as our human flesh is very much tied to the earthly things, but through our baptism into Jesus, we are blessed with all the blessings of Christ.  Though we are blessed and empowered, just as Jesus was compelled to spend time in the wilderness, we too find ourselves experiencing these elements.

 

There is an old Indian saying about two wolves.  There are different versions, but basically describing an inner struggle.  It explains that inside of us there are two wolves fighting.  One wolf is love and goodness, the other is hate and despair.  Which wolf wins?  The one you feed.

 

Spiritually, we have been baptised with Christ and God the father loves and affirms us.  However, we know that there are times when we fall short of being the exemplary person we’d like to be.  Physically we are still, and will always be, while we are wearing this earthly flesh, very fallible and prone to sin.  There is a battle between the flesh and the spirit.  Just as we learn in the story of the two wolves, the one that wins is the one we feed.

 

We are called… no… compelled into the wilderness of Lent.  The wilderness is a change from the usual day to day distractions.  In the wilderness survival is hard and we strip away the things that don’t matter and realize the only thing that does.  In the wilderness we deliberately feed the spirit.

 

When it all boils down… what really matters?  We are all like flowers that bloom and fade, but the love of God remains.  How much do you long to hear God say to you, “This is my beloved child in whom I am well pleased.”?  Have you ever realized that God does say this to you?  He says it because spiritually you have been made clean.  It is confirmed in our reading from Saint Peter, “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God,” (1 Peter 3:18)

 

I believe that we all need to know the affirmation of God’s love and approval.  It is in knowing that God loves and approves of us that we can find the strength to face the wilderness and survive.  This love and approval is not a hollow sentiment.  God created us, and sees us completely and decided that we were worth dying for. 

 

Proving the extent of God’s love for us, our 2^nd reading also tells us,

about how Christ then went and preached to the spirits in prison who in former times did not obey.  This tells me that God is beyond patient with us and gives us every opportunity to respond to his love and then gives us more.  AND -He is concerned for all… not just the people in church, as his covenant is said to be with ALL FLESH – as we read in Genesis 9:16 “ When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."

 

You and I are of infinite worth to God.  Now is the time to strip away the layers that distract us from completely trusting in God.  Now is the time to feed our spirit… to grow our physical life into line with our spiritual reality of being the children of God.  Let’s go into this wilderness armed with the Spirit of God empowering us to do and be more than we could have ever imagined, but exactly as God always knew and planned us to be.

How do you know God is calling you? SECOND SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY Year B January 17, 2021

1 Samuel 3:1-10, (11-20)  • Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18  • 1 Corinthians 6:12-20  • John 1:43-51

It feels like twilight.  It feels like the light of life is dim.  It feels like there is a shadow on the bottom step with menacing arms reaching towards us.  We thought we’d managed to escape the clutches of COVID 19 and we began to make plans for fun and travel and events.  Then.. Brisbane goes into lock-down and it is as if that monstrous shadow again winds its way up the steps towards us.  At least that is how it felt for me.

 

In our first reading we find it is twilight.  Eli is feeling the twilight of his years and sensing the monster of his age and poor eye sight that finds him early in bed.  Israel is in a time of darkness also, as the verse prior to our reading tells us that the word of God was rare.  Full of imagery and parallels, we read that the lamp of God had not yet gone out.  There was still hope, but hope, like Eli’s eyesight, had grown dim.

 

This is the story of the calling of Samuel.  Before Samuel was born or conceived, his mother, Hannah, had sought God with tears and anguish for a child.  Her prayers were answered and she promised that as soon as he was weaned, he would be given to the Lord.  Samuel’s name means “God has heard”.  There was an anointing and blessing on this child from before he was even conceived.

 

Samuel had been living with Eli and serving God since he was weaned from his mother, and yet we are told that he did not yet know the word of God.  It seems like a contradiction.  How can he not know the word of God and yet have been ministering since a young child?

There is obviously a difference between hearing about God, …even doing things for God, and actually knowing God. That phrase, “The word of the LORD”;  do we know what this means?  Perhaps we need to read the beginning of the Gospel of John to understand.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God.3 All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made……  (who was John speaking about…? John is, of course, speaking about Jesus) – He goes on…  “14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

 

By this we understand that the Word of God, is Jesus.  When God communicates it is through Jesus.  At the time when God called Samuel, the word of God did not have flesh, and was not known as Jesus, but only as the WORD of GOD.  Mostly we don’t bother to make this connection, but I believe it is important for this reason; Jesus – that is, “the word of God”, is how we have a relationship with God.  A real relationship.  Not just reading a story and doing things for God, but actually really knowing and speaking to God.

 

In this dark time of Eli and Samuel, while one lay on his bed contemplating the darkness, the other lay in the presence of God.  And right there, before we go any further is a message for us all.  In times of darkness, do we lay down in that darkness, contemplating it, or do we rest in the presence of God.

 

We read in the story that Samuel was at that place in the temple where the Ark of the Lord was.  This is that famous Ark of the Covenant.  It is the instrument where God chose to place his presence.  Samuel rested in the presence of God.

 

The theme that runs through our readings seems to be this contrast of acknowledging and not acknowledging the presence of God. 

In our New Testament reading we find out that our bodies are now the temple of the Lord, as his presence dwells in us.  If we truly understood and believed this, would we be more careful of our lives and the things that we do?  Just as importantly, and probably less realized, is that our fellow Christian’s bodies are also temples of the Lord. 

 

How would our relationships with each other, be different if we truly believed that God dwelt in you and me?  I have a feeling that we shouldn’t so much be bowing to the church altar to acknowledge the presence of God, as we should be bowing to each other to acknowledge the presence of God.  In fact, The spiritual meaning of the Japanese, namaste, is that “the divine in me respectfully recognizes the divine in you.”  I think it would be a great thing to be remembering, as we meet with each other, the relationship God has with each of us.

 

The most obvious theme in the readings, is the call of God.  When God calls us, what is our response?

 

When God called Samuel, Samuel didn’t recognise the call as being from God, but thought that it was Eli.  After three times Eli finally realized that God was calling Samuel and explained to Samuel how to respond.  This was Eli responding to God’s call on another.  How exceptional that he didn’t respond with jealousy.  How exceptional that he didn’t dismiss the call and keep the knowledge of how to respond to himself, because many Christians over the years have jealously held onto their place in the church community by rejecting others.  A greater and more deadly monster than COVID is the one who keeps others out of God’s call by either rejecting them completely or by not passing on the information they need to respond.

 

And so, let’s take this to its logical application; Are we encouraging others in their relationship with God?  Are we encouraging them in their calling?  Are we passing on the word of God to the next generation?  Do we have Religious Instruction teachers who go to the schools and pass on the faith?  Are we personally passing on the faith to our children and grandchildren?  They can’t know that God is calling them if we don’t tell them.

 

“Speak Lord, your servant is listening”.  But are we listening?

 

Samuel was given a message that was frightening to pass on.  Eli mentored him to diligently pass on the word of God regardless of whether there was bad news or good.  It seems that Eli had failed with his own sons, but now he’d learnt what he must do with his teaching of Samuel.

 

“Speak Lord, your servant is listening”.  What is God calling us to do today? 

I remember a poster at a Christian school that read, “How do you know that God is calling you?”  At the bottom of the poster it gave the answer.  Can you guess what it said?      …..“You are breathing”.

 

You can rest assured that God is calling you.  You are breathing.  For me, this brings to mind the nuns who taught me when I was little, saying, “If God forgot you for a moment, you would die”… He sustains us in every breath.  He keeps us breathing and he is calling us.  No matter how old or young, he is calling us.  Before any of us was born we were known by God and we were put together in the way that God purposed.  God knows us completely and calls us to respond to his voice.  Do you hear it?

 

The call of Nathanael is something that always amazes me.  We make a big deal about St. Peter’s declaration that Jesus is the Christ, yet here at Nathanael’s first introduction to Jesus, he declares, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

 

For each of us, we need to respond to the call of God by firstly acknowledging the Lordship of Jesus and that he is the Christ, he is the word made flesh – God incarnate.  Is Jesus truly the King of our lives?

 

I firmly believe that each time we take communion we are answering an altar call…. And that call is from Jesus saying, “will you accept me?  Will you make my life yours?  My challenge to us all today is to recognise Jesus as Lord, as saviour and as King of our lives and say YES, by receiving communion… receiving Jesus and saying AMEN.

 

Like Samuel, at the end of the day, or as the time grows dark, we need to spend time resting in the presence of God.  He is calling us all.  When we hear his voice, how will we respond? “Speak Lord, you servant is listening”.

 

Fourth Sunday in Advent  Samuel 7:1-11,16 Magnificat,  Romans 16:25-27, Luke 1:26……….

 

Do you ever wonder if Mary really understood all that saying “yes” would hold?   Without yet being married, she was about to become pregnant in a society which would happily stone those caught in adultery – not to mention what her betrothed would think of the idea.  With the Angel’s words “Do not be afraid” ringing in her ears, I imagine her heart may have many times, been beating hard with fear.

 

Our reading comes from the Gospel of Luke.  We know from Luke’s introduction at that beginning of his book, that he was writing after other accounts had been written, and he had carefully investigated these things so that his reader, Theophilus could be assured of it’s accuracy. 

 

It is from this Gospel that we have the most complete version of the virgin birth, a stumbling block to many people, hopefully not to us, who know that all things are possible with God – after all, if God is God he can do anything.  Throughout the Bible there are stories of people who gave birth to sons whose birth was impossible without God’s intervention.  Sarah was barren and old, and it seemed Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin, was headed in that direction also.  But this message to Mary is different.

 

In most of the previous instances, the Angel or message from God came to the male.  Mary spoke with the Angel directly.  In every other case the woman was married.  Mary was engaged, but still single, and had not had relations yet with Joseph.  This was a baby that would be conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.  This would be the son of God.

 

It is true that our society and the story of faith tradition has been male dominated, but here we see one of the times that God surprises all by directly visiting his Angel to Mary…. Just a young woman! 

Don’t get me wrong, It isn’t that God didn’t do this at other times.  We know that there were prophetess’s, significant women such as Abigail, Rahab, Esther, Naomi & Ruth and the Judge Deborah of the Old Testament.  I believe that God is no respecter of people, status or gender, but our cultures have been male dominated.  One thing we do know is that God delights in using those that “nice” and “influential” society would overlook. God looks with favour on, and has concern and love especially for the poor and the rejected.

 

We know that King David was the youngest of his family.  He was considered so inconsequential that he wasn’t even invited to the family feast with the prophet Samuel.  Samuel himself, was born as an answer to prayer.  His mother Hannah had prayed fervently and when Samuel was born, her praise, recorded in the Bible, is similar to the Magnificat appointed to Mary, which we read today as our psalm.

 

From the book of Samuel comes our first reading where we read that King David desired to build a house for God.  The word of the Lord comes to the prophet Nathan and we discover that God doesn’t want David to build him a house, but instead God promises to make David a house and promises that THIS house and kingdom shall be established forever.  It is a prophecy about Jesus – the descendant of David. 

 

The amazing insight we have about King David in this story, is that God was his priority.  King David was once a shepherd boy of no consequence but through God he become a great King.  Now as a great King he desires to do something for God.  David is described often as being a man after God’s own heart and the Lord’s anointed.  Now we glimpse the heart of God as we note God’s response to David’s desire to give to God.  And what do we note?  Instead of God saying, “yes… thanks for that David, I will have one of those…” He turns back with promises to establish David’s throne forever.  That little inconsequential shepherd boy is in no way inconsequential to God.

 

Mary is a young girl.  We don’t know much about her from our Bible accounts but we know that she found favour with God.  I find it interesting that the Angel’s greeting is firstly to tell Mary that she has found favour with God.  I suspect, we get so caught up in our ideas about things of faith… working out what is what with our faith and our own understanding of God, that we forget, or maybe don’t even realize, that more than anything… God loves us.

 

Knowing that God loves us is vital.  Both Mary and King David were loved by God, but that doesn’t mean that everything in their life was going to be easy.  King David faced many battles of life and death before the promises of God were fulfilled, but knowing these promises and the love of God, he was able to face those battles with integrity and faith.

 

Mary was greeted with the favour of God and told that she was chosen to bare the son of God.  It was a huge…. No, HUGE responsibility – and that is an understatement.  It was explained to her that the Holy Spirit would cause this to happen, making it completely different from others like her cousin Elizabeth, as this was to be a virgin birth.

 

Recently I had the opportunity to talk to my school students about Jesus.  I had been teaching them Christmas carols and so they had many questions.  One question was, “how did Jesus get His powers”.  And the simple answer, hopefully simple enough for the children to understand, is that Jesus is the son of God – Jesus is God inside.  For us, we say, God made flesh.

 

Mary would have hardships.  She was initially rejected by Joseph – at that point she didn’t know that he would change his mind.  To be rejected by your betrothed is hard.  To be thought of as an unfaithful adulterer is hard.   To travel to Bethlehem when you are nine months pregnant is hard.  Then to find there is no where to be housed is hard, let alone it being when you are about to give birth.  To give birth is hard.  To give birth in a strange stable must have been hard… then to try to clean up and sleep under those conditions must have also been hard.  To be told in the middle of the night to flee to Egypt had to be hard.  And the list might go on.

 

In all those hardships, Mary needed to know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that God loved her…. And that God was with her and would never leave nor forsake her…  because I’m sure there were times that it felt that surely it could have been easier.  I have no doubt that there were many tears along the way.

 

In all those hardships, it was the love of God that enabled Mary to persevere.  I have no doubt that it was also the love of God revealed to Joseph that empowered him to also take on the responsibility of Mary and the child.  I am sure that the rumours of Mary’s pregnancy, which wasn’t a child by Joseph, was known in the community.  I’m also pretty sure others didn’t believe Mary’s story of the child being from the Holy Spirit, therefore Joseph, along with Mary, must have felt the judgement of others and the burden of everyone’s opinions.

 

It is the love of God, the assurance that they found favour with God that enabled these people of God to say, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”  It is the love of God that enabled them to say, “YES, LORD.  Let it be with me according to your word.”

 

Our own faith journey will not always be easy.  There will be times when we will be personally challenged and there will be times when we will be challenged as a church community.  Some would even say, if we are not being persecuted for Jesus sake, are we even doing anything?  Therefore, hardships are a given.  And so we need to know that God loves us.

 

Where would we be if Mary didn’t say “yes”?  Mary said “yes” and gave birth to our salvation.  We are all called to bring Jesus to community.  We are all pregnant with the Gospel… we carry it and need to reveal the Gospel to the world.  We are all asked to say, “Yes”.  Before we do, let’s take a moment to rest in God’s presence and know that we are chosen, favoured, and we are loved.

 

Readings and reflection Wednesday the 16^th December 2020

Isaiah 45:6-26,      Luke 7:19-………..

Have you ever been passionate about a subject that no one else seemed to get?  If so, you may have found yourself trying to explain the subject and saying more or less the same thing in many different ways, in the hope that at some point the penny will drop and others will understand.

Isaiah had a lot to say.  If we can grasp the mood of the reading we notice that it is not unlike how we might get if we are passionate about a subject and trying hard to make someone understand.  There are some points that Isaiah repeats over and over, and there is a good chance that these repeated things are the main point of his message.  What did you pick up from it?  Do you recall?  “Thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), …. I am the Lord and there is no other…. “ Over and over, as if to say, “How can you not understand this?”

The people were acquainted with talk of God but who is this God and what is he like?  The reading tells us that he made the heavens, formed the earth and created human kind.  In poetic language we read that He commands the skies to shower righteousness that salvation might spring up. 

There are many things going on at the time of Isaiah, and this word was a declaration of good things, of which God wanted them to know that HE was the author.  Just as it was a word for the people of God at that time, it is an eternal truth that God is the author of the blessings of righteousness… and the fruit of that blessing is salvation.

 

Righteousness being dropped on earth like showers is like heaven coming down; the answered prayer, just as we pray the Lord’s prayer, “May your kingdom, your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven”.  Salvation is the fruit that springs, and righteousness is also the fruit.  Salvation and righteousness we find in Jesus.

 

John’s disciples came to Jesus, basically asking for confirmation about what John had declared.  John, inspired by the Spirit of God, had declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God, but then, very humanly, and also wisely, asked for confirmation….

Previously, the people had asked John who he was and he answered honestly that he wasn’t the Messiah.  There was a sense of genuine inquiry and excited expectancy with the questioning of John, but with this questioning of Jesus there seems to be a sense of doubt.  Perhaps they expected something different.

Unfortunately, this is a fact of life.  We often expect something different.  The expectations that people had of the Messiah proved to be vastly different to the person that Jesus was, and this became a huge offense and a stumbling block to many.  Is God doing something now which we can’t see as being from God because it doesn’t meet our expectations.  What does our reading tell us?  “Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker; Wil you question me about my children?”

 

God is God and we have no place as the “clay” to say, “What are you making”?  We are living in such an intense time where so many things are questioned.  Even our traditional right and wrong is on trial, so how can we navigate to stay on the path of truth?  Perhaps by keeping God as God.

 

Recently I have had the opportunity to speak to children about what Christmas really means.  When they want to know how long ago it was when Jesus was born, I ask them, what year is it?   2020.  

While some theologians might quibble about the actual year, there was a time in the history of the world when people thought this event to be so significant that we needed to mark the birth of Christ by counting our years from the time of his birth.  What saddens me, is that the majority of society today don’t realize that the person, Jesus, called the Christ, is a real person.  We beg permission to teach religious instruction in state schools, seemingly forgetting that our faith is built on historical facts with eternal significance.  To omit the truth of these facts is a travesty.   No wonder we struggle to navigate the path of truth when we fail to declare facts of faith and fail to remember that God is God.

 

To answer John’s disciples, Jesus answers by pointing out the facts that were plainly seen.  He reminds them the blind see and deaf hear etc…  Jesus is pointing out that the fulfilment of the prophet’s writing is taking place.  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.  He sent me to preach good news to the poor.  He sent me to give sight to the blind etc…  In other words, “It is obvious… why do you doubt?” 

 

If we look at the miracles of Jesus, then carefully examine Jesus, who is the visible expression of our God in heaven, we will see that the miracles come out of a heart of compassion and love.  It isn’t to prove that he is who he says he is that he performs miracles, but because of his mercy, his compassion and his very great love.  The miraculous healings were the fruit of Jesus Love and mercy.  However…. by this fruit we know the nature of Jesus is God.

 

In Jesus, righteousness has dropped from heaven.  Heaven has come down – the kingdom of God is on earth as it is in heaven… and the fruit of this is righteousness and salvation.

 

As Isaiah tells us, God did not speak in secret.  He has made himself abundantly clear, so why do we have so much trouble in knowing the truth? 

Is it that we are blinded by our expectations?  Is it that we are offended by the truth?  Jesus came to open the eyes of the blind.  And with the declaration of Isaiah saying, “For I am God and there is no other”, ringing in our ears we realize the deity of Christ.

 

Is our Christianity just a belief which we can adapt as it suits us ?– If so, we make God into our own image.  God is God and not our wild imaginings.  God’s word has been clearly spoken… His name is Jesus.

May we ever have our eyes opened to see beyond our expectations.  Our God is love and the fruit of his love is salvation and righteousness – all things good.  May we always know that God is God. 

Lord may your word (our Lord Jesus Christ) dwell in us and bare much fruit to your Glory.  AMEN.