Sermon Given at All Saints' Church on Bible Sunday, 25 Oct 2015

Sermon for Bible Sunday 25 Oct 2015

All Saints’ Church,

Readings Is 55:1-11        2 Tim 3:14-4:5 Jn 5:36b-47

May I speak in the Name of the Eternal Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen

Today is Bible Sunday. I had little knowledge of this celebration in my days as a Catholic, as my experience of the Bible in those days was minimal.

The Priest at Mass read the Epistle and Gospel. We the laity, were taught the tenets of faith, using the the Catechism¹ and prayer. We learned the Catechism by rote, Question and Answer, a little like the Catechism in the Book of Common Prayer, but more detailed. Those words remain embedded in my mind 60 years later.

We heard some of the Bible Stories, mainly the old Testament such as Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, Noah and of Jesus Christ. Childhood and young adulthood was spent in ignorance of the bible and most of it’s contents.

After I joined the Army they gave me a copy of the New Testament. This was the first time that I actually owned any part of the bible, and to be frank, I didn’t know what to do with it.

Was I supposed to read it?

Was I supposed to learn it’s contents?

Totally confused I stuck it in the bottom of my kit bag, where it remained until I had completed training and got a posting. It didn’t go with me. I left it in the Camp chapel, thinking that someone there might find it of some use.

That was perhaps my great mistake, I missed the opportunity to know more about scripture, the nature and character of Jesus Christ through the Gospels.

I compare my experience, raised as a Christian to that of many people today, who’ve never opened a bible in their life,Bible Society  research shows that

9 out of 10 adults never have any regular engagement with the Bible.

46% of children never read or hear bible stories.

43% of children have never heard or seen the Crucifixion Story.

20 percent of children think that Harry Potter is a bible story?

This shows that millions live without the ‘The Word²’ probably without a thought to it’s significance or importance in our lives.

When I became an Anglican, I realised just how seriously reformed Christianity took the Bible and scripture. The three legged stool of Scripture, Tradition and Reason - each in balance³, that under pins the Anglican identity within the Universal Church.

It was like a ‘light’ going on in my heart and my mind.

More recently I’ve heard of the thinking of those theologians⁴ who believed or believe that we need to add a fourth leg or even fifth leg to that stool, one of Godly Experience, and yet another of Revelation (of God’s action in nature) ^I. This shows that theologians and academic study of scripture continues today, as they try to work out God’s action in the world through his Story, the Bible as they’ve done for the past 2000 years.

I think that I’ll stick to the three legged stool for now.

I have to admit now that I have an addiction!   I love the bible and have been guilty of buying or being given, many copies, at last count, I own about 15 versions, some of which are displayed on the table at the front of Church.

So what exactly is the bible to us as Christians?

Today's reading. from 2 Timothy is the second of two letters written by the Apostle Paul to his young friend and disciple, Timothy is a a leader in the church, trained and nurtured by Paul.

Paul in prison for the Gospel, is probably nearing the end of his life. So far in the letter Paul has instructed Timothy to remember what he taught him about the Gospel. Paul then tells Timothy to pass on this teaching to reliable people who are qualified to teach others. Paul warns Timothy against false teachers, and emphasises the importance of holding on to the trust of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy’ verse 3.15, it tells us of, ‘… the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus’’ . In reading, meditating and acting on God’s instruction, we are led to look to Jesus to restore our relationship with God the Father, who reorients us to how we were meant to live.

Literally translated, the word Bible means ‘book’ or ‘books’. It’s a collection of narrative books written over the course of more than 1,000 years. It includes poetry, legal documents, songs, letters, eyewitness accounts, people stories, historical documents and advice literature. It’s in 2 parts, old and new Testaments. There are 39 OT and 27 NT books for Anglicans, other denominations have different numbers of books, dependent on which denomination you belong to⁵.

But it’s not just a list of laws and commands, it’s estimated that up to 75% of the Bible is story telling. it resembles a collection of biographies (life stories) rather than an official rule book

Additional books are known as the apocryphal or deuterocanonical books. Parts of them will appear in the Lectionary occasionally. The commonly held view is that while they are not part of our standard tenets of faith, “they may be read for spiritual edification”.

What do we believe about the bible and scripture?

We understand that it is God inspired or as Paul describes it as ‘God Breathed⁶’ as he told us in 2 Timothy:

^“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work”.

The Bible needs to be interpreted, it was written by different authors, in historic contexts far removed from ours 2000 years ago. there are three different starting points for interpretation that people often use.

Put simply, these are:

· what the author may have originally meant; in their context;

· what the text actually says;

· and also how the reader interprets it in today’s context.

Treating the bible as the literal word of God without relevant interpretation, particularly as much, including the Parables, is written as metaphor, can distort the text and context and may cause real harm.

For instance slavery and the subjugation, of women are two instances which are not acceptable to us in our context and culture today.

It seems to me that the Bible might be described as “God’s instructions on how to live life to its fullest – as it was designed to be. It’s simply the best manual for life there ever could be”⁷.

 Somebody did a pneumonic on social media! B.I.B.L.E. = Basic. Information. Before. Leaving. Earth.

How we can or do use the Bible:

In Community : The bible figures prominently in our communal worship, particularly in the Book of Common Prayer Services. The whole of the BCP is scripturally literate, carefully crafted for the edification of worshippers.

We follow the lectionary (a table of Readings) on a three year cycle, with a specific Gospel for each cycle. The table includes use for the Daily office, which ensures that the full text of books are read over the cycle of three years.

Personally:

Reading. Uses the timeless narrative of the Bible. Stories that were as received about God’s goodness, used to illuminate our faith, to guide us in ethical living and to proclaim to others.

Biblical study and reflection in small groups will help us with spiritual growth and maturity in faith.

AS A PRAYER BOOK : Lectio Divina. Find a quiet moment, or listen to something gentle with no words on your music player, and while gently breathing, really read the words, then reflect – what does that mean for me, for others, for God. Pray into the words that might come. Repeat for new insights.

How can we access the bible.

There are so many ways to access the bible these days. The development of digital technology and the internet has provided many different ways to access it, in text, audio, video, text message, mobile app, downloads and 88 different languages - the choice is endless. Perhaps we should pray for those who don’t have the freedom to read their bible or for those who reach out to distribute bibles free to those areas of the world.

One way to make the Bible more accessible and to assist with interpretation are the ‘Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF) Bible Reading Notes, which the parish subscribe too. Speak to Clive or myself later if you would like to take part. There are some handouts available at the back of church.

In summary, Bible Sunday gives us the opportunity to reflect together on God’s inspired word given to us in a form of divine revelation, which reveals the nature of God and of his creation and his great love to us. I commend it to each of you and to proclaim the good news it as widely as possible.

Some words from Psalm 19 verse 7 about God’s word;

Look inside: the Law of the Lord is Perfect

The law of the Lord is perfect,

refreshing the soul.

The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

Amen

---

¹ http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

² In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1)

³ The threefold sources of authority in Anglicanism are scripture, tradition, and reason. These three sources uphold and critique each other in a dynamic way. Scripture is the normative source for God's revelation and the source for all Christian teaching and reflection. Tradition passes down from generation to generation the church's ongoing experience of God's presence and activity. Reason is understood to include the human capacity to discern the truth in both rational and intuitive ways. It is not limited to logic as such. It takes into account and includes experience. Each of the three sources of authority must be perceived and interpreted in light of the other two.

⁴ John Wesley - The Wesleyan Quadrilateral http://www.virtueonline.org/three-legged-stool-anglicanism-robert-s-munday

⁵ Western and Orthodox Christians disagree agree on the number of books in the Old Testament. Protestants recognise 39, Catholics include 46 and Ethiopian Orthodox have as many as 54.

⁶ 2 Tim 3:16-17

⁷ Bible Society Sermon Outline 2015.

When Difference is a Blessing

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AOn_earth_peace%2C_goodwill_towards_men%3B_or%2C_the_civil%2C_political%2C_and_religious_means_of_establishing_the_kingdom_of_God_on_earth%2C_..._-_Upper_cover_(13a7).jpg


I am currently in the midst of a placement at a parish in the Evanglical Tradition, which given my #Catholic leanings is as different from my home parish as could be.   But, and it's a big But!, they're working just as hard (if not harder) to build the Kingdom of God than we are.

Just to record some one liners during a  conversation with a group of mature ladies that I met last week:

1.   I love the worship and diversity of it.  

2.  I might be old, but I'm not set in my ways.  And love how many different ways that we can participate.

3.  There is so much going on - there is something for everyone every week.

4.  The way that the people here cared for me after I lost my husband six years ago, is wonderful. Even now they still inquire about how I am and visit if I can't come to church.

5.  Although I do have children, they're all miles away, and some are abroad - they are my family, but the people here make me so welcome, although I don't belong in this parish, I go to another church,  they feel like my family now.

I note that they are not necessarily talking about the Clergy or Leadership team, but the people of the parish.  I have felt some of that love in the meetings and greetings and the welcome that I have received there as I observe as an outsider, the life giving nature of their parish.

When we measure the success of Mission, God's work in the world, than as far as I can see, no matter how differently we do it - he can work through the spirit in ways that turns those differences into praise and Glory to the Father.  Thanks be to God.

Fleeing from the Presence of the Lord

Fleeing from the Presence of the Lord Jonah (@minidvr)

AUGUST 13, 2015

POSTED IN: DIGIDISCIPLE

“And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them”. Jonah 1:3-10 (ESV)

The story of Jonah and the Whale is one of the most well known in the Bible, probably many who have little or no contact with Christianity, will have heard the story in one context or another in their life.

http://www.theworshipcloud.com/view/images/the-nineveh-project

The thing that struck me, when rereading the opening passage was the concept of ‘Fleeing from the presence of the Lord’.   I reflected on my own past relationship with God, or lack of a relationship, through my own choice. It strikes me that I was doing in some fashion, the impossible, or improbable, what Jonah was seeking to do – to avoid doing what God was calling him to do, in his case, bad news to the people of Ninevah, of God’s rage against them.  In my case, it wasn’t fear of the Lord, more like rejecting the Lord for his absence when I needed him.   In other words, if he couldn’t be bothered to respond to my prayer and pleading, than I couldn’t be bothered with him either.

So, how did my fleeing from the presence of the Lord work?

It meant abandoning all of the concepts of God, it meant, discarding the trappings of a religion that I now regarded as obsolete.  It meant abandoning a faith, which while I wasn’t the best adherent of, had featured in my life from my early childhood.  Being raised from age 4 to 10 in a Catholic Orphanage, had formed me, whether I liked it or not.  I no longer held the shaky, undefinable belief that there could be a God.  It meant denying God loudly and noisily!  I declared myself Agnostic (not Atheist), I worked on the theory that if there was a God, he didn’t deserve my faith or belief in him.

At the time I was coping with delayed grief over the death of my father, the suicide of a friend and the breakdown of my marriage.   In all of this, my heartfelt prayers and pleadings to God to make things right, went unheeded.  I couldn’t see past the pain and grief I felt at the time. The Church had been no help. I was condemned by a Priest for my actions, not wanting to listen to my story.  All I felt was the absence of any source of help, peace or comfort.

Everywhere there were signs and portents that my fleeing was an aberration, a mistake. I met Christians, who I could admire for their integrity and sincerity, which I didn’t really find to much in Secular circles.  In some ways, I was shielded form their influence, as I worked in an organisation where politics and religion, while not the banned, where not discussed as a matter of policy and form.   I knew Christians, but their religious lives were their own business, not mine, but I was happy to call them friends, as long as they respected my views as well.

Of course, I couldn’t escape the presence of God!   He was there around me,  just because I stopped believing, didn’t mean that Christianity disappeared.  Churches were still there to mock me.  I met Clergy or Padre’s who, I could have a friendship with, but whose source of hope, I disparaged  as some form of mysticism or even mumbo-jumbo.   I was able to respect them for being good men or women,  I just couldn’t subscribe to their allegiance to a God, whose absence has so dramatically affected my whole life.

I seemed to find a middle way.  

I could hold ethical views, similar to those held by Christians, but founded on a secular morality.   I could have integrity in being an Agnostic, because there were many people, who were nominally Christian, but didn’t actively practice their faith. There were some who were Christian, who behaved in ways that were decidedly unchristian in my view.     I would  have described them as hypocrite, but I just couldn’t be bothered to join in the discussion.

Did I escape?

Reading Jonah’s story, reminds me strongly that we can ‘ignore’ the presence of God, but we can’t flee from him.   He will find us and in the end, will convert us.   Despite Jonah’s reluctance, fear and trepidation, he was eventually coerced by God into doing his will.   Jonah’s prayer, in Chapter 2[1] seems to echo my thoughts at the time I left the church, if only I had heeded them – I might have stayed:

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and you heard my voice.
For you cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
passed over me.
Then I said, ‘I am driven away
from your sight;
yet I shall again look
upon your holy temple.’

 ”And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land[2]”.

This line speaks to me, metaphorically, of how my fleeing the Lord ended.

In August 2008, while dealing with a particularly traumatic pastoral situation, while supported by a Padre, I experienced in the midst of my emotional turmoil and distress, the voice of God speaking directly to and in me, ‘I am here – let me in’ and that was the turning point.   The Lord had caught up with me, as he did with Jonah, and things changed for ever – now I would ‘yet again, look on his Holy Temple’.

Thanks be to God.

[1]Jonah 2:3&4

[2]Jonah 2:10

Originally posted at http://bigbible.org.uk/2015/08/fleeing-from-the-presence-of-the-lord-jonah-minidvr/ on 13 Aug 2015

A Reflection on Ephesians 3:14-21 Preached on 26th July 2015

Sermon for All Saints Parish Church

on Sunday 26^th July 2015

Readings

2 Sam 11:1-15 (or 2 Kings 4:41-44)

Psalm 14

Eph 3:14-21

John 6:1-21

May I speak in the Name of the Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

Today we continue with our preaching series on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. I am going to talk on the passage that we heard earlier. Today’s reading is Trinitarian, we see The love of God the Father, through the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The theme this week is “Knowing Christ’s Love for us”.

A Question.

Have you ever been in love?

A strange question to ask perhaps, because it’s likely that all of us have been in love, or have been in a loving relationships with others - but how about being in a Loving relationship with more than one person?

Pause for Gasps!!

I’m not talking about our relationships with parents, grand parents, siblings or close friends, but loving relationships, in which we commit to share our whole lives in - It sounds a bit complicated, but isn’t really!

I’m of course talking about our personal relationships with God and our human relationships with each other.

Today, Paul is striving to reveal it to us, as he did to the Ephesians 2000 years ago, the mystery, the grace, the power and the love that is Jesus Christ, to encourage and to empower us in that love.

The passage from Paul, is in the form of a prayer - it ends in Amen which literally means (So be it).

In Verse 14 Paul writes ‘”For this reason I bow my knees before the Father”.

It was the custom of the Jews to stand when they prayed¹.

In Luke 4, we’re told that Jesus stood (as was the norm) when he read the scroll of Isaiah in the Synagogue in Nazareth²

However, if people had a great desire to pray, they would kneel.

 Ezra prayed in this way³.

Jesus prayed like this. He fell to the ground in the garden. This was just before he died on the cross⁴.

Stephen, the first Christian Martyr, prayed like this just before he died⁵ .

In 2 Phillipians, Paul wrote “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth”,

He was talking about the reverence and respect to be accorded to Jesus as our Saviour and Redeemer. Verse 14 shows us that for Paul, it wasn’t just words, but deeds also.

Verse 15 ‘from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,.’

Paul is telling us that God knows us intimately;

We are all sons and daughters not only of our own parents, but through our unity with Christ, we are also the sons and daughters of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

God’s love for us shown through his son is true! - his devotion, love and compassion for us is boundless, he provides for our every need through his creation.

As a loving Father, he gently corrects us when we stray, just as a human father does all that he can for his children.

Our Father in heaven is great and Glorious. His ways with us are perfect and complete.

In Verse 16, Paul is describing how God, through his Grace and Glory, will strengthen us spiritually in our ‘inner being!

“that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being”.

God’s Glory has been made visible to us, many times in scripture:

In Exodus 19⁶. Moses climbed Mount Sinai to meet with God!

“There was thunder, lightning and a thick cloud over the mountain... The noise was very great. It caused everyone in the camp to tremble with fear”.

What and where is this ‘inner being’? This is the secret part of us!

The ‘inner being’ is that place where we experience our life, our feelings. Where we can be happy;

We can be sad;

We can be angry;

We can hate; we can love.

 The inner being is the place where we think,

it is where we make decisions.

Here the Holy Spirit lives in us, even if we don’t know it. We coexist with the Holy Spirit in harmony (or disharmony) as we live out our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. It is our Centre - it is the ‘real us’ me or you!

In 2 Corinthians, Paul writes “The Holy Spirit works from this centre of our person. He works from there to change us. He changes us from one experience of glory to another⁷ !

In Verse 17 Paul describes how when we have faith in Christ, through the Holy Spirit living in our ‘inner being’. There also, is his love rooted. There he gives us his love!

We will be rooted in the Good Soil, which is Jesus Christ!

”so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love”.

Our deep roots will be in and with Christ. They will go deep into the fruitful soil of his love; that Love which nourishes and feeds us, that gives strong life with him and enables us to flourish.

In John 10, Jesus tells us that he came to “give life in all of it’s abundance”⁸

We are rooted in Christ, the firm Rock on which the Church is founded!

In Matthew 21⁹, The Parable of the Wicked Tenants, Jesus asked the Pharisee’s “Didn't you ever read this in the Scriptures? 'The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the LORD's doing, and it is wonderful to see.” Jesus is that cornerstone!

In Matthew 16, Jesus hands over that responsibility to build the church on to Simon - Peter. Jesus said to Peter ‘Simon your name is Peter and upon this rock I will build my church¹⁰’ an indication to us that the foundation stone - Jesus, was willing to share that with his disciples and with us as their successors.

In Verse 18 Paul prays that we “may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth” (of Jesus’ love)

Jesus’ love!

· Is for all mankind, it is ever lasting.

· It is high enough to bring praise to God in heaven.

· It is deep enough to reach down to the worst sinner.

· The love is rooted in our inner being.

· The love is not superficial, it’s not intellectual or vacuous, it’s given through the Gift of the spirit.

· It isn’t selfish, it’s compassionate and generous. We need to love Christ if we’re to share his love with each other.

· Christ’s love is relational, it’s about him in us, and us with each other, sharing that love unstintingy.

In verse 19, Paul tells us that we don’t know God’s love in human terms, but in the wonder and awe of God’s fullness, and mystery, which is, beyond our imagination, desires, thoughts or hopes or prayers.

We need to know, feel and express and celebrate Christ’s love and show and share it with others in our life. His love is in and with us in our joys, difficulties and suffering:

“and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God”.

Here we have, in my view the most important part of Paul’s prayer.

Paul is asking that we receive all that we can of Jesus. It is so that he can enter into us - into our inner being.

But that’s not enough!!

We need to go on and on receiving him, through the Eucharist, through our common life together. To strive to be more like him to be ‘Christlike’. Christ sits at the right side of the Father. Only at the end, in heaven, shall we be really like him. We shall then be perfect and complete in his love.

In Verse 20 Paul is spelling out that Jesus knows what we ask!

And He knows it even before we ask! He knows our thoughts, what we imagine, our dreams. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus can do more than our thoughts, imagination or dreams can comprehend or think to Ask.

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,according to the power at work within us”.

The power comes from Christ through the Holy Spirit.

He lives in our inner being by our faith.

Paul writes about the same power that raised Jesus from death.

The same power put Jesus at the right side of God. And it puts us there with him.

Verse 21 God’s love will be everlasting, for all time. This is God’s Master Plan of Salvation. A plan which he gifted to us in Jesus Christ as our redeemer and Saviour
.

“to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever”

Everything that there is will give God glory!

In summary:

· Christ’s love and power are rooted in us, our inner being as his disciples;

· Christ’s love is through the church and his disciples - US, you and me.

· God’s mission for us is to fulfill God’s Purposes, expressed through Jesus’ love and our discipleship to share that Love and the Good news in building the Kingdom of God, here and now.

Paul in this prayer, has given us the reasons and incentives to have faith and trust in God, through Jesus, his gift to us - If we take anything away today, surely it is the thought of the breadth and length and height and depth‘ of Jesus’ love, living in our inner being, it’s there to support and to strengthen us as his disciples for Kingdom Building.

Perhaps our question to ourselves as a church or as a ‘disciple’ is how can we bring about God’s Kingdom here, in our community and in our lives? I pray that we may find some answers.

Your Kingdom Come, Your Will be Done! Amen

---

¹  Matthew 6:5; Luke 18:11, 13

² Luke 4:16:21

³ Ezra 9:5

⁴ Matthew 26:39

⁵ Acts 7:60

⁶ Exodus 19:16-19

⁷ 2 Corinthians 3:18

⁸ John 10:10

⁹  Matthew 21:42.

¹⁰ Math 16:18

Sermon Preached on Palm Sunday 2015

Sermon for Palm Sunday 29^th March 2014

Readings:

Phillipians 2:5-11

Mark 11:1-11

May I speak in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Today is the sixth Sunday of Lent or Palm Sunday.

Today, we commemorate with our Palm Crosses the symbolism of these events. We also remember Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross. We praise him for the Gift of Salvation and look forward expectantly to his second coming.

I thought that I was familiar with the Palm Sunday story and with Holy week, but the research for this talk, quickly dispelled that smugness. I give you just one example;

Palm Sunday was a Sunday of Two Triumphant processions into Jerusalem!     While I had vague idea of these events, I was missing the detail.

The first procession from the West, was by the Roman Governor, Pontious Pilate; he was fresh from having quashed a rebellion; following which he killed 2000 rebels as an example and deterrent to the rest of the population of Judah. Pilate travelled from his preferred headquarters in Caesarea-by-the-Sea, with his Army, to the stuffy, crowded, provincial capital of Judah in Jerusalem.

It was the feast of the Passover!! Keeping an eye on a rebellious people from their centre of power, at a key feast might have seemed to have been a good idea on Pilate’s part, but subsequent events seem to me to prove that he had ‘bitten’ of more than he could chew, as we will see in the next week’s liturgy.

For us the important procession was that of Jesus. We hear the story in Mark’s Gospel. Jesus’ procession from the east is often described or portrayed as “Entering in Triumph”, Nowadays, we tend towards a different view. Jesus chose the path of humility! But was aware of the symbolism of his actions.

The people of Jerusalem expected to receive the Messiah, in triumph, and that he would bring about the victories of the prophesy of Zechariah from centuries before. Zechariah’s was a prophetic call to repentance, and gave details of how the promised Messiah would come.

Today’s Gospel from Mark points us too why Jesus’ did things in this manner.

He came in humility not triumph (echoed in today’s collect). He came in order to fulfil the scripture and his Father’s will; Jesus’ use of the Words of Zechariah’s prophecy and his actions would have resonated with the people of Jerusalem, who were well schooled in scripture and knew of Zechariah’s prophecy. The symbolism to them would have been immediately evident:

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!

Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you, 

   righteous and having salvation, 

   gentle and riding on a donkey, 

   on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

I will take away the chariots from Ephraim

and the war-horses from Jerusalem,

and the battle bow will be broken.

He will proclaim peace to the nations.

His rule will extend from sea to sea

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Jesus demonstrated to the people that He was the one that Zechariah prophesied about; Jesus, by riding on a colt instead of walking, is showing every pious Jew who knows the Scriptures that He is their King:

A young, unused animal held special significance in their culture; like the cattle used to pull the ‘Ark of the Covenant in 1 Samuel.

Spreading clothes on the ground was done for Kings, such as Jehu, Palm leaf’s symbolise triumph and victory.

The people understood that Jesus was claiming to be the coming King, the Messiah. By spreading their cloaks and Palm branches on the road before Him, they were proclaiming His kingdom and submitting themselves to His rule. 

When they shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David” the words drawn from Psalm 118 they were literally saying, “Save us please!”. Their blessing of Jesus was recognition of who He was and what He was doing.

But as we know, it all goes horribly wrong. The very people who laid their clothes over the Colt for Jesus to ride, those who laid the leafy branches on the road before him, those who sung his praises, were a few days later, baying for his blood? Shouting “Crucify Him, Crucify Him”.

The two processions could not be more different in the messages they give us. Pilate, leading Roman soldiers, asserts the power and might of the empire of Rome which crushes all who oppose it.

Jesus, riding on a young donkey, embodies the peace and tranquility; promises that God makes to His people.

Jesus made a choice on that day. He knew that he was going to die!

He knew that he faced the Cross and Crucifixion!

Only he understood what was to come, although he had told the Apostles what was to happen despite this, they still didn’t get it.

Jesus chose God’s will, over his own or that of the world. He submitted himself through love and obedience to his destiny.

On either side of a division between power and weakness, you will always find Jesus on the side of weakness. Because a man nailed to a cross can't side with power. He knows it all too well for what it is. This is not to say that money is bad, or power can't be used well. But weakness is the side that Jesus is on.

The people who cheered on Jesus that day, will also have made a choice, one that still faces us to today; will we serve the God(s) of this world, might and power; or will we choose to serve the King of a very different Kingdom, the Kingdom of God? Jesus “The Servant King”.

I pray that we choose the latter.

Amen

Reflection on 2 Chronicles 5:11-14

2 Chronicles 5:11-14 Worship and Praise of God

at the Dedication of the Temple of God

A Reflection for #bigbible #digidisciple by @minidvr

Solomon Dedicates the Temple: image ©1896-1902, by James Jacques Joseph Tisso

public domain image http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tissot_Solomon_Dedicates_the_Temple_at_Jerusalem.jpg

¹¹ The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. ¹² All the Levities who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. ¹³ The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:

“He is good;
    his love endures forever.”

Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, ¹⁴ and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.

This description of worship celebrate at the dedication of the Temple by Solomon has echoes for us today. The words of praise used remind of of the goodness and faithfulness of God toward us and particularly how surpassing that love was that he sent his only Son, Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for our redemption.

I was pondering on how we worship collectively (or individually) in our Churches or other places these days. Does our worship evoke such powerful imagery, do we experience our homes or churches being filled with the “Cloud for the the Glory of the Lord” or is our experience more mundane or even at times, plain boring?

I read that some of the reasons that people have stopped coming to church is that the liturgy can be incomprehensible, that they don’t understand what’s going on. Yet in the Early Church, perhaps inspired by the fervour, wonder and awe at their conversion and with leaders such as the disciples and Peter and Paul, the evidence is of a vibrant gathering of believers, The Acts of the Apostles amply demonstrate this fact:

Acts 1:14 - The disciples were "all" with "one accord" continuing steadfastly in prayer (worship). Unity of purpose and attitude showed itself in people being together for worship. [2:1,46]

Acts 4:24 - In time of persecution, the church met (v23) and raised their voice to God "with one accord."

Acts 4:32 - The multitude of believers had "one heart and one soul." This expressed itself in a generous collection for needy saints.

Acts 5:11,12 - Ananias and Sapphira did not share the oneness of attitude of other disciples and were disciplined. This led the rest of the church to have respect (v11) and to be together "with one accord." [15:22,25].

I know that a major part of my own participation in worship is to use my imagination along with the words, the texts or Word of God and the actions of the celebrant, readers, intercessors and others (even incensers) to bring experience to worship that seeks to reflect “The Cloud for the Glory of God”. I believe that imagination is needed to overcome the gap between the physical presence and the spiritual presence of God to us in worship or prayer.

As an example that I have used before, during a service in an ancient freezing church, I imagine the frosted breath of worshipers rising in the cold air as our prayers, rising with those of all the Saints who have e worshiped their over the centuries to heaven to be taken and used by the Son to the Father to his greater Glory. Others might not think or use their imagination in this way, but when I describe the experience to others, they can than understand why I might seem lost in wonder, awe or praise during worship.

Is it I wonder, a consequence of our modernity, our jaded worldliness, and the huge access to media and imagery of all types day in and day out that we’ve lost the ability to ‘imagine’? Has the church lost the ambition and skill to evoke through powerful liturgy, music and preaching that stirs the imagination of believers and worshipers that empowers and enhances their worship, raising it to the level that “The Cloud for the Glory of God” becomes real and tangible within them and among their fellow worshipers?

What about the Sacraments? For me, the greatest joys of being a Christian is access to the Sacraments, which are a gift from God. I’m not talking about the general view that there is only two (Baptism and the Eucharist) but a wider emphasis found in the Catholic wing of the Church of England and the Cathlolic and Orthodox denominations. The Sacraments are there, are accessible to all and are for me a vital part of faith and belief. I have found that the efficacy of the Sacraments have worked so much in my own life and development in faith and as a Christian and in particular that personal relationship with God which is central to my being. The beauty of the Eucharist, the peace and restorative properties of reconciliation (confession) are but two. Another view that I formed during the discernment process is to think of Jesus Christ as a ‘Sacrament’ and developing this to see the Church that he gave us is also Sacramental in itself. In essence I see them as “The cloud of the Glory of God”. How can we ensure that this Sacramental nature is communicated effectively, without being accused of mysticism or mythology?

In the book The Fire and the Clay, George Guiver and others give a simplified breakdown of the nature of Sacraments, some passages that struck me profoundly:

· “Sacraments are physical things and actions, usually accompanied by a particular form of words, which put us in touch with God in a unque way. The uniquness is partly that they are not just symbols, but bring about that which they express (P30).

· When therefore we speak of the sacraments, we are speaking not of magical actions, but of this mystery of Christ. The sacraments are the ‘mysteries’ gifts to us from God in which we meet the mysteries of Christ (P30).

· Our modern way of life does not mesh well with the Christian notion of the Sacraments. We are practical, utilitarian, sceptical. For us everything needs to be objectively tested and verified.(p31).

· We therefore need a good deal of persuading when it comes to the sacramental theology of tradition. For this says that physical acts as Baptism and The Eucharist belong to the new order ushered in by Christ. They participate in the uniqueness of the incarnation. So they bring together things that we are convinced are incommensurate: our humanity with God’s divinity, closely associated with a little piece of created matter, in simple human actions. By the water in Baptism something is effected which no other water can do; the bread in the Eucharist unites us with God in such a way that it is totally different from the ordinary bread that it was a few minutes ago (p31).

· Christ has taken all that is good in what it is to be human and brought it together in a new synthesis with the divine. All those who are taken up into the Sacrament of Christ’s body, The Church are effected by this, and it’s typically human structures have this added dimension. A bishop, a priest, a deacon, a reader, a server, a musician, a flower arranger, fulfill roles ....... they act out in their roles the mystery of the incarnation; they make present the Sacrament of the Church. They are the presence of Jesus (p31)”.

For many former or ‘never Christians’ it might be that we need to recapture the excitement and joy and wonder and awe experienced by those who came to faith and belief in God through Jesus Christ in the early Church, particularly the mystery of the Sacraments. This is a challenge - how can the Church make worship an experience of God that captures the imagination of all? How can we instil faith and belief in peoples lives, taking that perceived longing for something spiritual and greater than ourselves and transform it into the vibrant and living faith that held by the early disciples and converts? How can we re-imagine the early church to transform The Church of God from a boring, mundane experience to become Central in the lives of people across the world?

I don’t have any quick answers, but I am convinced that ‘imagination’ needs to be placed central to it. Visionary and imaginative leadership and example, powerful and evocative worship, might just encourage people back into faith and belief and build the Kingdom of God, here and now and restore “The Cloud for the Glory of God to all”. I pray that it might come soon.

 This post originally featured on the www.bigbible.org/digidisciple website on 10th Feb 2014

An Uncomfortable Confession - An Unjust Law?

A Reflection on Ezra 10-1:4.

by @minidvr for #digidisciple 10 March 2014

The Leaders tell Ezra of the Sinful marriages of Jews to Foreigners (Ezra 9:1-2)

Image under Wikipedia Commons License

Ezra’s story is troubling to us in these days. We have accepted ‘diversity’ and all that it means, including inter-racial marriage. But in Ezra’s time and context, he was troubled that the Jewish race was being diluted or was not remaining it’s pure line as the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. People were marrying ‘foreigners’ (Ezra 10:2) which endangered the racial purity of God’s chosen people, but what could be done about it? If the people remained in this state, the prophecy of their kingdom being broken up and the people dispersed might well be repeated?

Ezra’s history is admittedly a little obscure. He had studied the laws given to the Israelites by God through Moses and had become a Teacher and the hand of God was upon him (Ezra 7:6). He had been favoured by Artaxerxes king of Persia (who described him as Ezra the priest, the teacher of the Law of the God of heaven (Ezra 7:11-21) in his commission to Ezra). Ezra was sent with others from Babylon with a personal mission to oversee the work of those rebuilding the Temple and Jerusalem (Ezra 7:11-17). To “Appoint Judges and Magistrates to administer the laws and justice”.. and “ to teach those who do not know the laws” (Ezra 7:11-25).

Ezra seemed to be having a bad time of it; But the record shows that the leaders of the people? came to him complaining about the situation of intermarriage and the failings of those that they considered were in breach of God’s law (Ezra 9:1-2). Ezra has a meltdown on hearing this and begs God to forgive those who have forsaken the law and have brought impurity and disgrace upon the people of God. (Ezra 9:3-13). One wonders how he hadn’t noticed this before the leaders brought it to his attention?

The People’s Confession of Sin (Ezra 10:1-4)

10 While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites—men, women and children—gathered around him. They too wept bitterly. ² Then Shekaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel. ³ Now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law. ⁴ Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.”

The outcome was Ezra with the leaders issuing a proclamation (v10:7) calling together all of the exiles in Judah on pain of exile from the community is they didn’t come. Within three days, all had assembled in Jerusalem (v.10:9).

¹⁰ Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful; you have married foreign women, adding to Israel’s guilt. ¹¹ Now honour the Lord, the God of your ancestors, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives. Harsh, or what?

The surprising thing was that people appointed by Ezra formed a commission and dealt in days with those who had married foreigners (v10.16) and the passages from 10:18-44, actually name and shame those guilty of intermarriage with foreigners? And the unstated outcome that they cast out their foreign wives and any children, abandoned to whatever fate might befall them.

How does this speak to us of unjust laws? It certainly sounds cruel and negligent. Imagine the uproar if this were to happen today - it would cause enormous problems! it would break more secular laws than I can count and would infringe so many human rights that the legal profession would make millions from it. And it would be inhumane and cruel. Surely God’s law wouldn’t expect us to be so cruel, I sure that this isn’t still extant.

In the context of it’s time and the people of Israel, doing what they did, it must have broken so many hearts, caused so much pain, but people were willing to sacrifice their families for the sake of a law made centuries before, but would put them in good conscience with God? In an odd twist, divorce became an act of faithfulness among these newly married exiles.

To answer my question in the title, yes, the law appears unjust in the context of our time, but to the people of Israel, following God’s law was a serious business, in the main because they had already been all to aware of the consequences of falling away - their ruin and transportation to Babylon was fresh in their mind.

I have to seriously wonder at the mind set that could do this. But when I look at the New Testament what did Jesus say?

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them”. (Matt 5:17). Do we than accept that the law given to the Israelites remains extant, I can’t believe that Jesus would be telling us to abandon our families due to racial difference or nationality. I appreciate that sometimes so called ‘mixed marriages’ can cause religious or cultural difficulties in families and communities, but the norm is for ‘love to overcome’ and most such unions are successful and happy.

The book of Ezra highlights for me the importance of interpretation of scripture in it’s time, place and context and not to seek to apply it literally to our own context in the 21^st Century. We must seek to see what lessons might be drawn from particular texts.

The evidence for me in this book and the events depicted are repentence and unswerving faithfulness of those who sought to follow God’s law, whatever the consequences for them (and others).

I pray that I might be given such a depth of faith, albeit, not in the context of abandonment or divorce.

 This post originally featured on the www.bigbible.org/digidisciple site on 10 March 2014