Blinded by perceptions. Reflection for August 21, 2022

 PROPER 16 (21)  Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost  Year C  August 21, 2022

·       Jeremiah 1:4-10 and Psalm 71:1-6    • Hebrews 12:18-29  •   Luke 13:10-17 

It might seem to us, that these ancient people were a little dim.  Surely, they could understand the sense in Jesus’ healing of the crippled woman.  On the Sabbath they would untie their donkeys and lead it away to give it water.  These were their work animals, not pets, and they needed to be cared for.  Yet the simple act of Jesus curing a crippled woman on the Sabbath… well to put it in today’s terms, it was simply not politically correct.  You just didn’t do those kinds of things on the Sabbath!  Actually, those kinds of things didn’t happen everyday… this was a miraculous healing and Jesus was causing a stir.  

As far as the matter of the Sabbath goes, it is possible that today we have thrown out the baby with the bath water… in a manner of speaking.  We have long been aware that Jesus did all kinds of good works on the Sabbath and so we don’t really bother worrying about keeping the Sabbath “holy”. 

For many years, both Saturday and Sunday were days of limited trading, partly in respect for a time of rest and church attendance.  But that has almost all disappeared.  I notice that since covid and staff shortages that some businesses are choosing to only open for certain days or times…  and we are all fatigued.   We threw out the baby with the bath water, it seems, and paid the price of exhaustion, until covid hit and gave us an excuse – a valid one, to claim back a time of rest.  But we have yet to understand how to make that a holy time.

It’s not just those ancient people who were a little dim.  We all have times of not being able to see the good from the bad of things clearly, our eyes being blinded by the many attractions and temptations of ideas and opinions other than those from God.

This crippled lady had been suffering for 18 years.  I always imagined that this was an elderly lady, but there is actually nothing to indicate her age.  If she was an elderly lady here today, would we be less inclined to beg Jesus for her healing?  I have noticed a tendency in the dental/ medical and other professions that sometimes things are seen as less important because you are older.  We put braces on an eight year old’s teeth, concerned about how the teeth look, yet there is not the same concern in the appearance or care for an older man or woman.

On the flip side, we greatly care about our animals.  We have insurance and spend time and money ensuring they are cared for and yet some of our elderly (and not so elderly) men and women are left forgotten on the streets.  Do we, figuratively or literally, send them away without so much as a cup of tea on a cold winter’s morning?   You know, it is never as simple as it sounds. 

Street Chaplaincy is not a ministry to the homeless, as we work mostly with those in the night clubs, however we do regularly run into the homeless and those with mental health issues also - the two overlap often.  There is a lady we meet regularly on the streets who isn’t homeless – as I was told by one of our chaplains, who was not keen on us giving her too much help, as she had a home to go to.  Then another chaplain informed me that she is subject to domestic violence at home, which is why she spends a lot of time on the street.   There are other homeless who could go to stay in shelters provided, but they are on the streets because they refuse to obey the curfew time.  It is not a simple one size fits all issue, but if we had the power to heal what is hurting these people, would we?

 

We are challenged to see things through God’s eyes and not through the eyes of tradition or societal norms.  Challenged, not to see a crippled, old woman, but a treasure… a precious soul for whom Christ came, suffered and died.

 

Speaking of seeing things through God’s eyes, our first reading shows us a glimpse into the extent of God’s investment in our lives.  An element that we might not have considered. 

 

Take a look at this reading from Jeremiah and you will note that God forms us in the womb.  Jeremiah is told that he was put together by God in his mother’s womb.  This means that the collection of genes and hereditary possibilities were carefully designed by God.  You and I are also purposefully constructed in our mother’s womb.  I think we should just pause for a moment and consider the implication of this.  You and I were uniquely and purposefully designed by God himself.  Others are also uniquely and purposefully designed by God. 

We might look at our lives now and wonder where it all went wrong, feeling a long way from a perfect creation.  I’m sure the crippled woman felt that way also.  Make no mistake, God desires us to be whole and unhindered.  God’s original plan for humankind was not for sickness, pain, injustice and all other kind of evil.  In God’s heart, is the heart of a parent who only wants good for his children…. But all children have to make their own decisions and are subject to the consequences of those choices… and so evil entered our world and it is a sad reality of our lives.

 

You and I are that crippled woman.  We, as humans, were hindered by the consequence of sin, but Jesus came on a holy day and set us free.  Jesus had the power to heal the crippled woman and he did not hesitate.  He did not wait to run her through a program so that she understood some basic theology.  He did not check into her background to see if she was worthy – none of us measure up anyway.  Jesus immediately acted to set that woman free because he knew God’s desire.  God’s desire is that we are all healed and well.  He doesn’t delight in our harm, but his plan is for all that is good for us.

 

We might not be physically crippled, but instead there may be something else that causes us to “limp” – something that impedes our life… and maybe it has been impeding our life for 18 years or even longer.  For many years women were crippled.  They were not allowed to vote.  Similarly, in Australia, our indigenous brothers and sisters were also crippled as they also were not allowed to vote.  Our lives have been disabled by the imposition of others.  It is not always an obvious injustice that cripples.  There are still people in Christian churches that will declare that a woman can’t preach – in many denominations there are women who feel crippled because they have a God given call to speak God’s message, but can’t.  In the Bible there is a story about how God opened the mouth of a donkey to speak his message, but for some reason some people believe that we can’t have a woman tell us about God.

Another thing that cripples us is our internal struggles.  Perhaps it is a guilty conscience…  something done or not done… unresolved relationships and relationship failures.  Our relationships are crippled by perceptions of rejection caused by whispers, true or untrue. 

Good news is in our Hebrew reading that explains that Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant.  In this new covenant the righteous are “Made Perfect”.  It may seem like a mysterious statement, but it is part of the imagery of Jesus as lamb of God whose sacrifice takes away our sin... our imperfections.  Earlier in the letter to the Hebrew it is explained that we can draw near to God having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience.  When we truly understand what God has done for us, we realize that every transgression is dealt with… we are made whole and healed.

You and I are that crippled woman in the Gospel story.  Regardless of social propriety or religious traditions, God wants to heal us and set us free to walk up-right and whole, so that we can also go, praising God.

Our first reading, from Jeremiah is known as the call of Jeremiah.  In some sense there is a hint of the ministry of Christ in this prophetic calling, and this shouldn’t surprise us, as all of us are called into the ministry of Christ.  Our calling is to be working alongside with Christ who set captives free.

The Good News message, that Jesus set us free, is the base of everything and our reason for responding to the challenge and answering the call.

We like Jeremiah are called.  God says to each of us; "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you…”  Jeremiah’s initial response is;  "Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy."

How often do we feel inadequate to answer the call of God?

My guess is that if you don’t feel some sense inadequacy, you might not be truly human.  However, scripture gives us consolation.  God knew us and formed us in the womb.  The implication of this is that we were designed with love and purpose. 

We have been purposefully designed to accomplish all that God calls us to do and be.  You are the exact right person in the exact right place, but you might be crippled by relying on your own strength.  On our own and left to rely on our own talents we will fall.  But rejoicing in who we are created to be with the miraculous touch of Christ we can and will accomplish that to which He is calling us.  A great Christian leader used to say, “If you have Christ, you have all you ever need right now, and you need never have more.”

In the body of Christ, not all are the same… and our particular call may be different, but we can rest assured that all of us are called by God.  How do you know that God is calling you?     Answer; You are breathing.

Do not be afraid.... Reflection for Pentecost 9C August 7th 2022

         PROPER 14 (19)  Ninth Sunday after Pentecost Year C  Aug 7, 2022

• Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 and Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23  •  Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16  •  Luke 12:32-40

“Do not be afraid”!  Whenever I see these words in scripture, I wonder what was going on.  At the start of our Gospel reading we are assured that God’s pleasure is to give us the Kingdom.  God’s heart is to see us happy and in relationship with him.  God’s heart’s desire is to give us every good thing.  It is important that we know this fact because there are going to be hard times and times when we will, naturally, be afraid.  We need to understand that God truly loves us and never wants to see us harmed or hurt, but wants only good for us.

 

Our Gospel goes on to talk about being faithful to God and ready to serve him in all circumstances.  Ultimately, the reading finishes with an encouragement for being ever ready for the coming of Christ.

 

The early Christians thought that Jesus would be back for them really soon.  From what I understand about those times, it is no wonder.  The times were pretty horrific with Christians being persecuted, used for sport and being thrown to the lions.   Very real reasons to be afraid!  These early Christians didn’t compromise, because they knew that the way of God… the gift of God…  The love of God… was worth more than any torture or horror.  How would we go with this?  Is our faith strong enough? 

 

We now live in a time where, if someone were to say, “Jesus is coming soon”… we’d probably smile a little, thinking, “Yep.. I’ve heard that before.”.  There have been so many who tried to predict a time, an era… and so far, all have been wrong.  Or have they? 

 

We need to remember that prophecy is fulfilled in many ways and so Jesus’ coming to us happens in many ways.  Yes, there will be a time when the prophecy will be completed and Jesus will come again.  But in the meantime, each of us will have a time when Jesus comes for us personally.

 

We have a whole lot in common with those people of the Old Testament.  They were waiting for the coming of the Messiah.  We are also waiting, but for the second coming of Christ.  I have no doubt that many of them gave up hope and became somewhat cynical about the promises of God, possibly going their own way and, as we know some in Jesus’ time did, re-interpreted the laws of God to suit themselves and fit with their own version of reality.

 

And so, we have the warning in our Gospel, “be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks.”  These servants have faith that the master will return, and they show faithfulness in their attitude of constant servitude to their master.

 

The actions of those who wait faithfully, show the extent of their faith.  Our actions, our words, our behaviour… all show what we believe.  Our actions speak a message louder than words.  Do our actions tell a message of faith?

 

The letter to the Hebrews tells us all about what faith is and how it all works.  Our reading starts with an explanation of how faith is the assurance of things hoped for and conviction of things not seen.   In other translations; Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we can not see.

 

Faith and belief are synonyms, yet from this explanation I’d argue that faith is something stronger than belief -  I’d argue that it is possible that Faith could be a spiritual knowledge.  My understanding is that, because God now lives in us by his Holy Spirit, there are some things that we can feel certain about… things that we are so very, very sure about, even though we have no physical proof.  Another beautiful thing about this, is that God reveals different aspects of himself to each of us, and we need to listen to each other to learn more about what God wants to say to all of us.

 

We also learn from those who’ve gone before us and as the letter to the Hebrews tells us, we learn from those like Abraham.

We know that Abraham was declared righteous by faith.  He trusted and believed God… he had a relationship of trust and belief and faith in God and because of that, God declared him righteous.  It was the grace of God bestowed on Abraham due to the relationship that was between God and Abraham.

 

We learn that Abraham left his home and went to another place because God called him.  Abraham, never saw that land become his, in his lifetime, but he believed God would do it for his offspring.  But wait there is more.  Abraham and his wife had no children at this time.   It appeared that Sarah was barren at the time they were called to that land, and for many years in that land.  Regardless of the physical reality, Abraham and Sarah acted on the spiritual promise.

 

Remember the first part of today’s Gospel; God’s good pleasure is to give us the Kingdom.  Abraham must have known this by heart… by faith!  Because he continued to be faithful and follow God’s calling.  If there is one scripture to write out and place somewhere in your home to remember, as homework for this week, it is Luke 12:32  "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

 

Those words may have been the words of Jesus, but I get the sense that Abraham knew them by heart.  Throughout the years those promises made to Abraham were fulfilled in the lives of his offspring, but we know that these people were not always faithful to God.  Even though they knew the story of Abraham, the Israelites were more inclined to trust in giving sacrifices rather than trusting in having a relationship with God.  More inclined to trust in rites, rituals and traditions – trusting in their own works. 

 

That is the difference…. When the emphasis changes from what God promises to what we do, we get it wrong.

 

God gave the laws to help the people understand him.  There were sacrifices for the forgiveness of sin, so that the people would know what things they were doing were wrong and needed forgiveness…. But also, so that they could know God’s forgiveness.  Those outward things served a purpose, but the people grew to trust in their actions as the means of forgiveness rather than trusting in God.

Logically speaking, if they were not able to make the recommended sacrifice due to ill health or poverty, would that mean God didn’t forgive?  No.  That isn’t the way that God works.  The same argument has been made about Baptism, as there are some who say it must be full immersion and others who say that a sprinkle is fine.  The argument puts faith in the outward, physical elements instead of understanding that the new life in the kingdom of God is what God does for us.  Our rituals and traditions are an outward sign of an inner, spiritual reality. 

 

We ritualistically take communion.  We do this in remembrance, but there is a deeper spiritual reality.  It is an acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus.  We accept the sacrifice of his broken body and shed blood.  Why?  Because through that sacrifice we are brought back into an unhindered, unconditional loving relationship with God.  Through that sacrifice every sin, past, present and future is forgiven.    This is good news and I want to partake in this spiritual reality.    So I want to partake in Communion.

 

The prophecy for this is in our first reading today.  It says, “Come now, let us argue it out, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. “  A bit of play on words, as the people were saved by the blood of the lamb.  The sacrifice was a prophetic sign of what Jesus was to do… he became the lamb of God and we are all forgiven and brought back into a relationship with God by the body and blood of Jesus Christ. 

 

It helps us to have a signs and symbols in our faith.  Abraham showed the reality of his faith by his action, when he was called to up and leave his home, he did so.  We have tangible rituals, such as communion to help us respond to the call of God, but if our lives don’t show the truth of our relationship with God, people will hear our doubt loud and clear, instead of our faith.  Our lives need to be the message of the Gospel.

 

The fundamental element of our message is that this is Good News.  Good News is what the word “Gospel” means.  It is good news that the God of the universe desires to give us the kingdom.  It is good news that Jesus came, died and rose again to bring us to new birth into the kingdom of God.

 

At Street Chaplaincy we have come to have a saying, “We preach the word of God always…. And if we have to, we use words”….  We don’t actually preach on the streets with words.  We don’t have to.  Our actions, speak much louder. 

 

I personally believe, from what I’ve read, that things will be much harder for Christians before Jesus returns.  Scripture also says that for the sake of the elect that time will be cut short, so we really need to be ever diligent in our relationship with God.  And I do most certainly encourage you to somewhere write our homework verse from Luke, because when times are tough, we all need the assurance that God does unconditionally accept and love us, and desires to give us the kingdom.  In fact, Ephesians tells us that our being sealed with the Holy Spirit is the pledge of our inheritance.

 

With the faith to understand that God has already secured His kingdom for us, we can be like Abraham, pressing on with sure faith in the promise of God, even though we live hard times.  I leave you with a challenge in the words of a song by Australian composer, Brian Boniwell (Same composer who wrote The Lord is my Shepherd and I want to follow).   This song poses the challenge to us, as if God is singing the song…  It starts; Will you give me your life forever? Will you carry my cross every day?  Will you walk in the light of my presence?  Will you follow the truth of my ways?

 

In summary… Can we answer His call?

Dividing family inheritance

 

PROPER 13 (18) Pentecost 8C Year C  July 31, 2022

• Hosea 11:1-11 and Psalm 107:1-9, 43  • Colossians 3:1-11  •  Luke 12:13-21

 

Is there anything uglier than a family fighting over an inheritance?  Relationships are broken, and the only winner is the solicitor, whose power to make judgements, will still be deemed unsatisfactory to all involved.  It is a sure sign we’ve fallen a long way from God’s image.   In our Gospel reading a man asks Jesus to intervene in what seems to be an unfair divide in a family inheritance.   reminiscent of the story of where Martha asks Jesus to tell her sister to help, Jesus does not do what he requests. 

 

Last week we had the Gospel on how to pray.  Prayer often takes the form of asking God for something, but our experience tells us that many times our prayers are not answered.  Perhaps it is, that we are making requests similar to Martha and this man, where there is a problem with our request.

 

Why is it that these things, which seem like straightforward and just requests, are given a less than expected response?  Please note that God does care about every little thing that concerns us, so Jesus’ refusal to act as arbitrator is something to ponder and realize that there is more going on here.  Each of us has free will and God does always respect our free will and the free will of others, which means that sometimes our prayers can’t be answered because it relies on the free will of others.

 

In our Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of a rich man who, rather than act generously with his excess grain, builds bigger barns.  I wonder if the brother of the man who made the request, was in the crowd to which Jesus was speaking.  What do you think would be more effective, telling someone what they must do, or telling a story that shows the foolishness of their actions?  If the man was in the crowd, Jesus was in fact answering the man’s request more effectively and intervening in the matter of the inheritance, by showing the foolishness of hoarding wealth – But he was respecting free will.

 

However, there is a deeper issue that I think this week’s readings bring into focus, and it is important that we don’t miss it.  For God to answer prayer, it is obvious that we need to be willing to bend our will to God’s Kingship and authority.  For us to be the answer to each other’s prayers we need to understand the heart of God and trust in His supremacy.

 

I believe the key verse in our readings today is that one about greed in the letter to the Colossians.  It reads; “Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).”

 

The part of this that caught my attention, is the part which is repeated in the Gospel about being on our guard against all kinds of greed; “for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions”.  I am also keen to explore the part in our Colossians reading that appears in brackets as an explanation, where it says, “which is idolatry”.  How is greed idolatry?

 

Firstly, what is idolatry?  In exploring this, I went to commentaries on the commandments.  I especially like to check out Hebrew commentaries on topics, as the Bible is primarily a Hebrew book (at least the Old Testament is), written for Hebrews.  So, I found a site that had this comment; “The first commandment reminds us that everything in the Torah flows from the love we have for God, which in turn is a response to the love he has for us. This love was demonstrated by God’s deliverance of Israel “out of the house of slavery” in Egypt (Exod. 20:2). Nothing else in life should concern us more than our desire to love and be loved by God. If we do have some other concern stronger to us than our love for God, it is not so much that we are breaking God’s rules, but that we are not really in relationship with God.” https://www.theologyofwork.org/old-testament/exodus-and-work/israel-at-mount-sinai-exodus-191-4038/instructions-about-work-exodus-201-17-and-211-239/the-ten-commandments-exodus-201-17/you-shall-have-no-other-gods-before-me-exodus-203

 

What I notice here, is that the commandment is all about love and our relationship with God.  It makes a lot of sense then, when we reflect on the first reading from Hosea where God speaks so passionately of His love for his people.  In Hosea 11:4 and 5 we see both the love of God and God’s respect for free will where it says, “ I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.  They shall return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me.” 

 

Things went badly for the Israelites because they let things break their relationship with God, by trusting in other sources.  Those other sources became their Gods.  Do we do the same?  Of course, we do! It is only human, but it breaks God’s heart because he desires to be our only God – our benevolent father and ultimate authority, but an authority that is borne out of our trust in God’s love and a rightful acknowledgement of God’s superiority. 

 

Our relationship with God was first broken back in the garden of Eden when the choice was made to trust in something other than God.  In fact, there is more to the story of the Garden of Eden, which is pertinent to our reflection for today.  In my research I discovered that the meaning of tree of the knowledge of good and evil is actually about having the authority to pronounce judgment.

 

Adam and Eve were already given everything.  God had put everything under Adam’s stewardship.  The temptation of the serpent was about replacing God by becoming like God, therefore having the authority to pronounce judgement.  You might recall the words of the serpent, “You will not certainly die,” …. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.””  When questioned, Adam pronounced Judgement … It was the woman’s fault…. And God’s.

 

There is a great old country song; each verse has questions like, why are children starving?  Why is there war?   Why is there heart ache?…etc.. The chorus says - “When the man said, “this way to heaven”, fools knew a better way to go and when the man said, “this way to heaven”, this mad, crazy world said “No”!  We may have eaten from that tree, but we sure don’t have the wisdom to get it right.

In today’s world, we stray from God’s word by judging that our ways are better than his and that we know better than him.  In the church we are struggling to keep up with our modern society laws which seem in contradiction to the word of God and we re-look at the scriptures and try to re-jig them to see how we can get them to fit.  Does that seem crazy to you?  It is simply what has been happening since the beginning of time -a pattern of human behaviour.  We want the authority ourselves to pronounce judgement.  In doing this we proclaim ourselves to have the ultimate authority -God’s authority.  We’ve made an idol…. and the idol is ourselves.  Christopher Wright, in his book, [Mission of God] says; “.., all idolatry is human rejection of the Godness of God and the finality of God’s moral authority.” https://www.realbiblestudy.com/?p=3064

 

We can all tell horror stories about someone dying and the children fighting over the inheritance, but Jesus knew what he was doing in refusing to take sides.  When people are grieving, they misplace the grief by being angry at others and they may try to hold on to the person who died by desiring their possessions.  It is ugly, but there is a deeper problem and it is often simply heartache manifested as greed.  Sometimes it is simple greed also.

 

The greed that becomes idolatry is the desire to be more important than the next person, making ourselves God.  This is a greed for authority.  Not just any authority, but God’s authority to judge what is good and what is evil.  Have you experienced those who, because of their influential status, dictated beliefs and values?   These values are not allowed to be argued about, even though they may be clearly wrong.  They proclaim fiction as fact, and pronounce judgement on anyone who dares disagree with them.

 

Rather than pronounce judgement, it is vital to seek God’s heart in matters.  Colossians tells us how we should live.  We must get rid of things like malice, slander and abusive language, because we are clothed with Christ and our mind is being renewed as we grow more into the image of God.

 

The irony of all of this, is that we have everything.  We are created in the image of God and His desire is to give us everything.  Why would we step outside his authority and claim it for our own?  In the world God made, none are above another…. As it says; there is no Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!  Christ in us is the hope of glory.  With the heart of God living in us which, instead of judging, shows us an example of laying down our lives for each other, is the hope of glory… and a much better way.   The only way!

 

To end with, there is a story that explains this better way – it isn’t in the Bible, but is believed to be Hebrew and is certainly well known.  My shortened version goes like this; https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/children/toolbox/session13/two-brothers

In the land of Israel lived two brothers who worked the land together.  The crops were abundant, and each reflected on this at night.  One thought, “I have more than what I need, I am single and alone, but my brother has a family to provide for”.  So, he decided on a plan.  In the night he would sneak some of his share of the crops to his brother’s barn.

Mean while the other brother was also reflecting at night and thinking, “My brother is alone with no family to care for him when he is old and frail.  I will give him some of my crop so that he has wealth to assure him help in his old age.” 

Each brother was a little perplexed that, though they were giving, their store of the crop continued to grow.   For many nights the brothers each secretly stocked each other’s barns until one night they ran into each other…  in the moonlight they recognised each other and realized what was happening and laughed and hugged each other.

 

The legend goes on to say that this spot where they met, is where king Solomon built his temple.  King Solomon who, as King had authority to pronounce judgment and was known for his wisdom as a gift from God.  I like the idea, though it might only be myth, as the spirit of love, compassion and generosity, is the foundation for true judgement.   This is what we have in God.  We who should be judged, quite rightly by God, instead find love, compassion and generosity and a renewed relationship with our creator.   May we continue to grow in his image as we set our minds to be renewed by the knowledge of His love and all His ways.

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

It was once explained to me this way…

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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