tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5273693697502431632023-11-16T05:36:58.008+13:00St John the Evangelist, WaikouaitiSunday Services: 10.00am
2nd and 3rd Sundays of month; Priest Enabler:
Rev Juan Kinnear;
For more details contact: Jude 465 7146Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.comBlogger173125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-84397227534116362022014-08-28T15:42:00.001+12:002014-08-28T15:42:03.198+12:00Notes for Reflection<div dir="ltr"><br clear="all"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">August 31<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION</span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></b></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts: </span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Jeremiah 15:15-21; Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16: 21-28</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>It's hard to go past the gospel passage for a theme this week.<span> </span>Here we are, almost 5 months past Good Friday 2014 and 7 months away from Good Friday 2015, on the verge of spring and all that goes with that, and suddenly before us is The Cross!<span> </span>So perhaps something like "The Cross, Already".<span> </span>Or for those who remember the great songs of the past, what about "Lay Down Your Arms and Surrender to Mine"?<span> </span>No, perhaps not.<span> </span>"Standing at the Cross Roads" has some appeal to me; but my choice this week is "The Appeal of Jesus".</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We know the mood is darkening when Jeremiah replaces Isaiah at the top of the batting order.<span> </span>If we are not already depressed we soon will be as he shares his depression with us.<span> </span>Fortunately for him (and for us) the Divine Therapist has a plan for his recovery (and ours).<span> </span>And we need to be strong and healthy before we turn to St Paul's lesson this week.<span> </span>Rightly does the NSRV give it the heading "Marks of the True Christian": why did it immediately make me think of stigmata?<span> </span>Perhaps to prepare me for the gospel passage where we are jolted out of any idea that being a disciple of Jesus is a nice idea with no contra-indications.<span> </span>Even the shadow of the Cross, cast for the first time today in the gospel narrative, should be enough to remind us of that.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>The great thirteenth century Sufi mystic known in the West as Hafiz had a wonderful ability to say very simple things that slip easily into my mind and set up camp there.<span> </span>A recent example is this: to give thanks to God is basically saying "I'm glad things are no longer as they were."<span> </span>There is so much power in that statement, I think, because of what it leaves out.<span> </span>There is no theological correctness.<span> </span>There is no intellectual analysis.<span> </span>It is a simple statement about how we are feeling about something that is, in our eyes, better than it was.<span> </span>And that means we stop and give thanks.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">I thought about that this week when, for a moment at least, things were better than they were in Gaza and in Eastern Ukraine.<span> </span>No sooner had a truce in Gaza been announced, and a meeting between the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine taken place, than the commentators and pundits started their analysis of the chances of anything good lasting in either of those places.<span> </span>Of course, they might well prove to be right; but right at that moment I experienced a sense of gladness that things were better than they were.<span> </span>A day without any casualties is always better than a day with one or more.<span> </span>It was good to be thankful for a moment.<span> </span>It was a welcome respite.<span> </span>In a world of darkness we look for glimpses of light, or we surrender to the darkness.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">It's always a struggle.<span> </span>This morning (Thursday) came news from the USA that a nine-year-old girl had shot and killed her GUN INSTRUCTOR.<span> </span>Her parents had brought her along to learn how to fire a sub-machine gun; but the recoil was too strong for her, she lost control of it and a bullet struck the instructor in the head, killing him.<span> </span>What possible response can there be to that story but to cry out to the Lord, "Lord save us – we are sinking!"</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Last Sunday I heard part of an interview on the radio with an Australian historian called Henry Reynolds (I think).<span> </span>He is the author of a book called <i>The Forgotten War</i>, which has made him very unpopular in some quarters of the Australian population.<span> </span>Coming in half-way through the interview I guessed that it was about the Boer War (do you remember New Zealand's commemorations of that war?<span> </span>Do you know when it started and when it finished?<span> </span>Do you know how many New Zealanders were killed or injured in that war?<span> </span>No, nor do I.)<span> </span>But as the interview went on I discovered that his book was about the war White Australian settlers (Dr Reynolds called them "invaders") had waged against the Aborigines.<span> </span>And while I was still digesting that, he moved on to the present commemorations, on both sides of the Tasman, of the First World War, and he asked an explosive question.<span> </span>Do we know how many Turkish youth were killed by the invading forces from Australia and New Zealand?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">How do we feel about that question?<span> </span>How do we respond to it?<span> </span>Are we outraged?<span> </span>Then how do we respond to this week's readings – particularly to the second lesson and the gospel?<span> </span>Which is really to ask, how do we respond to the cross?<span> </span>Because on the cross violence and non-violence met, and non-violence was declared the winner by God.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">As an antidote to the election campaign I have been wondering what Team Jesus' election manifesto might look like.<span> </span>It would probably have some good stuff in the area of social policy, but there would be some fairly large gaps compared to those of our present political parties.<span> </span>I'm not sure there would be an economic policy at all.<span> </span>Nothing about becoming more competitive, nothing about accumulating more wealth, nothing about building bigger barns, or "banks" as we call them today.<span> </span>Could "giving it all away" really be called an economic policy?<span> </span>How can an economic system based on scarcity possibly work if Jesus insists on multiplying food recklessly and feeding people for free because they are hungry? Then there is the difficulty of justice policy: would 77 strikes and you're still forgiven be a goer, do you think?<span> </span>Isn't forgiveness the death-knell of any good law-and-order policy?<span> </span>If they wrong us shall we not be avenged?<span> </span>[Shut up, St Paul!]</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">As for a defence policy, the central plank of which is to love our enemies...!!<span> </span>Who's going to vote for that?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And yet, and yet, polls come and go, and the appeal of Jesus remains, and has remained for 2,000 years.<span> </span><span> </span>Daily we pray for his kingdom to come – for his manifesto to be adopted.<span> </span>And there's no point in doing that unless we agree with it, is there?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Jeremiah.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>The NSRV heading to this part of chapter 15 is "Jeremiah Complains Again and is Reassured".<span> </span>Don't you think that's a bit harsh?<span> </span>Okay, he wears his emotions on his sleeve a bit much for our taste, and he is inclined to wallow in self-pity, but he does have some legitimate grounds for complaint, doesn't he?<span> </span>Following God's commands has come to Jeremiah with a pretty hefty price tag, and with the best will in the world it can be hard to take sometimes.<span> </span>And in this psychologically astute passage we see his inner turmoil: he wants to serve God through his prophetic ministry – on good days he delights in it – but he is being worn down by the opposition he faces from those who don't want to hear what God wants him to say.<span> </span>And as is so often the case, such bitterness towards others has as a subtext an anger with God.<span> </span>In effect, Jeremiah feels that God is not doing his bit, not fulfilling "his side of the bargain".<span> </span>Jeremiah has withdrawn from the frivolity of others and kept himself apart for God, but the resulting suffering and insults he has borne show no signs of abating.<span> </span>He begs God to "bring down retribution for me on my persecutors", and then he lets slip what he really feels about God at this time: he feels God has deceived him: for him, God is "like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail".<span> </span>Wow!<span> </span>How's that for theological incorrectness! (Or should that be, honest prayerfulness?)</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">But God sees things differently.<span> </span>Jeremiah needs to "turn back", to repent.<span> </span>He needs to wash his mouth out, to use one of my Mother's favourite expressions: he needs to "utter what is precious, and not what is worthless".<span> </span>As St Paul put it in last week' reading, he should not think more highly of himself than he ought to think.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Do you feel sorry for Jeremiah, or does he irritate you?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">What sort of impression do you get of him from verse 17?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">What about verse 18?<span> </span>Have you ever felt wounded by God?<span> </span>Have you ever felt deceived or let down by God?<span> </span>Have you ever told God so honestly what you felt about God at that time?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Imagine that Jeremiah has come to you for counselling and advice, and has outlined his "issues" along the lines of this passage.<span> </span>What would you say to him?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Romans.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Last week St Paul wrote about the "New Life in Christ": this week he tells us what a truly Christian community of disciples would be like – not to look at but to participate in.<span> </span>Perhaps the first three verses aren't too bad because they are cast in more general terms.<span> </span>It's when he becomes more detailed that they begin to bite.<span> </span>Contributing to the needs of the saints, and giving hospitality to strangers, are a little more challenging, and it gets worse from then on.<span> </span>For some reason, St Paul is rarely dismissed as a hopeless idealist in the way that Jesus is; yet there is nothing in this passage that isn't entirely consistent with Jesus' own teaching.<span> </span>In fact, this passage could be seen as an explication of what Jesus means in this week's gospel passage when he calls upon his would-be followers to pick up their cross.<span> </span>That can only mean dying to self, and embracing a life that mirrors his, in a community of like-minded others.<span> </span>The sort of community of faith that St Paul is describing for us.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">A good passage for a spiritual stock-take.<span> </span>Make a list of the "marks" identified by St Paul, then work slowly and prayerfully though the list.<span> </span>Which challenge you the most?<span> </span>Which challenge you the least?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">How well does your local community of faith show these "marks"?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Spend some time with verse 13.<span> </span>Which of the two "commandments" challenges you the most?<span> </span>How much of its budget does your community of faith spend on the needs of the saints, and how much on its own needs?<span> </span>Does it welcome strangers?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">What do you really feel about the teaching in verses 14-21?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Is there anything in this passage that is simply too high a price to pay for being a disciple of Christ?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Matthew.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>St Matthew clearly has in mind his account of the temptation of Jesus: Matthew 4:1-11.<span> </span>At the end of that account, "the devil left Jesus, and suddenly angels came and waited on him."<span> </span>Notice that the angels were not there earlier when they might have offered resistance to the devil.<span> </span>Fast forward to Matthew 26:53 and we find the reason for that.<span> </span>And fast forward to the end of the age when "the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of the Father": then and only then will justice be done.<span> </span>Peter's behaviour this week is yet another example of the way in which evil attempts to pursue its ends by using good people to act for it unwittingly: good people who set their minds on human things instead of divine ones – good people who prefer to do whatever it takes to save their own lives rather than accept God's free gift of salvation.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Remind yourself what has preceded this new teaching.<span> </span>Think how excited the disciples must have been when Jesus confirmed that he was indeed the Messiah.<span> </span>With that in mind, enter into the shock of hearing Jesus' prediction of what is going to happen to him in Jerusalem.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Listen as Peter protests at the very thought.<span> </span>What motivates him at that point? Love? Horror?<span> </span>Do you share it?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Jesus says Peter is being used by the devil.<span> </span>How do you feel about that?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">If you have a cross or crucifix handy, pick it up, hold it, think about what it really symbolises.<span> </span>Take your time.<span> </span>What is Jesus asking you to do through this passage?<span> </span>How do you respond?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">At the end of your prayer time, are you aware of anything that is better than it was?<span> </span>Give thanks.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><span> </span></font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><br> </div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-38575452997318476162014-08-21T15:21:00.001+12:002014-08-21T15:21:52.264+12:00Notes for Reflection<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">August 24<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION</span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></b></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"> Isaiah 51:1-6; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:13-20</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Obviously something about identity this week.<span> </span>Not, perhaps, so much about Jesus' identity – WE KNOW who he is, don't we?<span> </span>But in the light of his identity, who are we?<span> </span>That is, who do we claim to be?<span> </span>So perhaps a catchy theme might be "Who Do We Say We Are?"<span> </span>(And to whom do we say it?)<span> </span>A variation on this theme, with particular reference to our second lesson, might be "Whose Thoughts Are Our Thoughts?"<span> </span>A slightly different approach might come from our first lesson: as I reflected on it I found a sort of mantra forming in my mind – "Yes, But God".<span> </span>Yes, a lot of terrible things are going on around us, and even within us, and yes they are important, but underneath it all, and above it all, and within it all is God.<span> </span>And somehow that simple fact means that, contrary to all appearances, there is love in this world and there is hope for it.<span> </span>So perhaps our theme should be "Yet Shall We Love and Hope".</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Isaiah speaks to a frightened people, in danger of losing their faith as well as their hope.<span> </span>(We can't lose the former without also losing the latter.)<span> </span>Know your origins, know from what you are made and by whom you are made, and listen to the promises of your Creator for a better future.<span> </span>Salvation is assured and eternal. <span> </span>St Paul has finished his three-chapter interlude on the special position of Israel and now returns to his main theme of the universal love of God as manifested in Jesus Christ.<span> </span>Once again the key word "therefore" reminds us that, because of what has already happened (because of God's love for us), our response is now under consideration.<span> </span>What follows is NOT a prerequisite for salvation, but an appropriate way of expressing our thanks for salvation.<span> </span>The gospel passage returns us to the basic underlying truth on which all else rests: only if Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, or as we would say today God Incarnate, does anything else we affirm in faith makes sense.<span> </span>[Translation: a non-divine Jesus is incompatible with the Christian faith.]</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>It's been another horrendous week, at home and abroad, perhaps best encapsulated by that chilling phrase "remember, the rule is give back double".<span> </span>That quote, of course, comes from THE BOOK, but our Minister of Justice is certainly not the only one who believes that the principle of an eye for any eye should replaced by a rule requiring two eyes for an eye.<span> </span>Only total blindness is sufficient punishment for those who dare to see things differently from the way we want them seen.<span> </span>Rightly do we speak of blind fury: blinded by the wrongs we believe have been done to us we seek to blind others, whether or not they are responsible for those wrongs.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">A few weeks ago in these notes I wrote about the way evil works, drawing people into doing its work and fulfilling its purposes.<span> </span>THE BOOK gives a fascinating (and appalling) example of that.<span> </span>The whole thing started with someone questioning the right of the Minister of Finance, Bill English, to claim a housing allowance even though his permanent family home was then in Wellington.<span> </span>It was arguable either way, and a perfectly legitimate question to raise.<span> </span>To his great credit, Mr English reflected on the issue himself and decided that, whatever the technical rights and wrongs of the issue might be, it was not the right thing to do and gave up the allowance.<span> </span>(His comments this week show, once again, he is a man of personal integrity shaped by the Christian faith he professes.)<span> </span>There the story should have ended.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">We now know it didn't.<span> </span>Apparently incensed by someone daring to criticise a National Minister a blogger, using information supplied to him by the Minister of Justice, launched an attack on a public servant whom he believed (wrongly, it now seems) to have leaked information to the Opposition about the housing allowance, even giving the personal contact details of the public servant.<span> </span>That person then received a flood of abusive emails and letters, including even threats of death or injury.<span> </span>So what began as a question about the eligibility or otherwise of one person to a housing allowance had somehow metamorphosed into a lynch-mob hounding a public servant.<span> </span>Such is the power of evil to spread, step by step, person by person, gaining in strength as more and more people are so blinded by their fury that they lose their ability to see what they themselves are doing and becoming.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">I suppose that this particular instance has so rattled me because of my previous life as a public servant working in Parliament and specialising in the Justice portfolio.<span> </span>I found myself thinking back to some of the Ministers of Justice of the past, men like Ralph Hanan, Martyn Finlay, David Thompson and Geoffrey Palmer, incidentally two from the National Party and two from the Labour Party; all of them men of personal integrity, who did not simply administer the Justice portfolio but believed in and upheld in their own lives the fundamental principles of justice.<span> </span>None would have dreamed of having anything to do with the sort of scurrilous activities laid bare in THE BOOK.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And then there is the issue of faith.<span> </span>Two of those men were self-professed non-believers; I do not know whether the other two were Christians or not.<span> </span>But the present Minister of Justice has publicly described herself as an Anglican.<span> </span>She did so when criticising the Bishop of Wellington for holding a seven-day prayer vigil in a small container on the steps of his cathedral.<span> </span>She said she was "speaking as an Anglican myself", and said that the Bishop's behaviour was a perfect example of the sort of thing that is causing people to leave the church in droves.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And so for all these reasons I have been really stirred up this week.<span> </span>I have found myself mentally conducting interviews (or cross-examinations) of the present Minister of Justice, or hoping others would, challenging her to explain how her attitudes and conduct are consistent with her faith; how she had the gall to criticise Bishop Justin at the very time that she was behaving in such a manner.<span> </span>I found myself hoping that someone in the media would at least ask her the direct question, is there anything in the disclosures of which she is personally ashamed, or which she considers unethical?<span> </span>I found myself hoping that the Prime Minister would sack her, or that she would finally do the decent thing and resign.<span> </span>I found myself...</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And there we have it, don't we?<span> </span>There is the power of evil blinding me to what I am doing and becoming.<span> </span>I am wanting to "give back double": I am forgetting the principles of justice for which I worked for 20 years and still believe in to this day.<span> </span>Worse, I am betraying the one I call Lord and Saviour.<span> </span>I found that I had lost myself.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">St Paul has the perfect penance for me.<span> </span>I am to learn BY HEART Romans 12:2: <i>Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.</i></font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Isaiah.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>This passage is addressed to the people of faith – "those who pursue righteousness and seek the Lord".<span> </span>We are to "listen" (verses 1 and 4) and to "look" (verses 2 and 6): that is, we are to give our total attention to the word now being addressed to us.<span> </span>We are to remember our past, our origin, in both the material and spiritual sense.<span> </span>We are made from the earth, hewn and quarried from the physical creation.<span> </span>We are descendants of Abraham and Sarah.<span> </span>We are part of them and they of us.<span> </span>Secure in the truth of who we are, we can now hear the promises made to us for the future.<span> </span>God's salvation will come forth in teaching and justice.<span> </span>Nothing is more certain than that.<span> </span>It will outlast even the created universe from which we have come.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">A good passage for <i>lectio divina.</i><span> </span>Read it slowly, word by word, phrase by phrase, waiting for the Spirit to prompt you to pause and reflect.<span> </span>What is the Spirit saying to you through this passage?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">How would you identify the feelings this passage arouses in you?<span> </span>Does it calm or even heal you in some way?<span> </span>Does it reassure you and strengthen your hope?<span> </span>Does it annoy you, perhaps, describing a situation so different from your own reality at this time?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">What do you make of verse 6?<span> </span>Is it hopeful or depressing?<span> </span></font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Romans.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>The expression "body and soul" comes to mind as I read this passage.<span> </span>St Paul exhorts us to offer our "bodies as a living sacrifice" to God, and then describes such an offering as our "spiritual worship".<span> </span>Then he turns to our minds.<span> </span>I had this verse 2 in mind (sorry, unintentional!) when I suggested as a possible theme "Whose Thoughts Are Our Thoughts?"<span> </span>We are all influenced for good or ill by the thoughts of others, not just the thoughts of other individuals, but the thoughts of our society as a whole.<span> </span>The defence of, "So what?<span> </span>That's the way we do politics" is just one more example of this, but there are countless others.<span> </span>"That's just human nature", or "I'm only human"; Shane Jones said he watched blue movies because he was a red-blooded male; and so it goes on.<span> </span>We must grow more, earn more, have more, and consume more because that's the way the economy works.<span> </span>"There is no alternative" was Treasury's mantra during the major economic policy changes of the 1980's.<span> </span>And, of course, if anyone challenged such group-think – they were dismissed as idiots, communists or whatever.<span> </span>St Paul would not have fared well in New Zealand at that time, or even today.<span> </span>Yet we believe that there is a different way, and a different truth, and a different life and his name is Jesus the Christ.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">By whom or what are you most influenced in the views you hold and the opinions you express on issues that concern you?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">What effect, if any, do opinion polls have on your views and opinions?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Do you consider yourself a natural conformist?<span> </span>Or would you be offended if someone said you were?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Consider verse 3.<span> </span>Do you tend to consider yourself more highly, or less highly, than you should?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">How well do verses 4 and 5 describe the reality of your local faith community?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">In the light of verses 6 to 8 what are your particular gifts; are you offering them fully and generously to your faith community?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Did you include in your answer to the first question in this section the name of Jesus of Nazareth?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Matthew.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>This passage needs little explication, surely?<span> </span>Standing in a town reeking of political power Jesus asks first about the talk on the street: who do people think he is?<span> </span>Then comes the all-question to the disciples: Who do you day I am?<span> </span>Peter speaks up, given the answer by divine inspiration.<span> </span>Perhaps the real importance of this episode is the context in which it is set in the gospel narrative.<span> </span>It is immediately preceded by yet another instance of misunderstanding and confusion among the disciples over what Jesus has said to them about the "yeast of the Pharisees".<span> </span>It is followed by a whole new direction in Jesus' teaching, as for the first time Jesus starts to speak about his forthcoming passion.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Who do you say Jesus is?<span> </span>And to whom do you say it?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Do you agree that public figures should be challenged to reflect on their actions from an ethical perspective?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Do you agree that, in the case of such figures who have publicly professed a religious belief, it would be appropriate to challenge their conduct in terms of that belief?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">What do you make of verse 19?<span> </span>In the last week or so, what might you have "loosed" on earth?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><span> </span></font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><br clear="all"><br></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-52530393643363150142014-08-14T16:49:00.001+12:002014-08-14T16:49:27.803+12:00Notes for Reflection<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">August 17<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION</span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></b></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Isaiah 56:1, 6-8; Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32; Matthew 15:21-28</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>I'm tempted to be thoroughly outrageous this week and suggest "Open Your Eyes, Lord", but fear that people will just assume it is a misprint and take no notice.<span> </span>Perhaps I can convey the same thought in a less provocative way by suggesting "Our Kind of People".<span> </span>Other thoughts include "An Unholy Mountain", or "Buddy, Can You Spare a Crumb?"<span> </span>As my temper is showing no signs of improving, I'll offer one more suggestion, and then do some deep breathing.<span> </span>What about, "Who Gets our Droppings?"</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We begin once more with Isaiah, whom I always think of (probably wrongly) as the great prophet of monotheism, and of the natural concomitant of that, universalism.<span> </span>Today it is hard for us to understand how outrageous today's passage would have sounded to his contemporaries.<span> </span>Several centuries later, St Paul was still trying get his people to grasp it; and (it is my contention) today's gospel passage shows us that even Jesus, so often the great expositor of Isaiah's teaching, had failed to understand this part of it until challenged by a woman – and she a Gentile!</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>My guess is that I am not the only one in this country who, until a few days ago, had never heard of the Yazidi people, or of the Sinjar Mountain on which thousands of them are trapped in the most desperate circumstances imaginable.<span> </span>What is to be done and who is to do it?<span> </span>Already the tired arguments have started.<span> </span>It's all President Obama's fault.<span> </span>He should never have pulled his troops out of Iraq, or he should have armed and assisted the rebels trying to oust President Assad in Syria.<span> </span>Or perhaps it's Saudi Arabia's fault because that country is arming and financing the Islamist State terrorists.<span> </span>Or perhaps it's the international community's fault (if only there was such a community!) and their ineffectual bunch of talking heads who believe that summoning an emergency meeting of the Security Council and talking to each other for hours (even late into the night) is a proper response to any humanitarian crisis.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And the questions remain, what is to be done and by whom?<span> </span>Dropping food and other aid? Tick.<span> </span>Creating a (relatively) safe escape route?<span> </span>Tick?<span> </span>Backing those initiatives with the military necessary for those forms of assistance to be rendered?<span> </span>Er, um?<span> </span>It's questions like this that really get to me because, in principle, I don't believe bombing our enemies is consistent with Christ's call to love them.<span> </span>But then, doesn't this leave me in the same position as all the other talkers and hand-wringers who prefer debate, analysis and coronial examinations to actually doing something, anything, to respond to the cries of even one desperate mother, <span> </span>whose child is being tortured by the demons who seem to have control over vast swathes of land, our own included?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And as I ponder this challenge to my faith, my ethics, and my so-called principles I realise that this one desperate mother – representative of so many desperate mothers all over the world – is crying out in a language spoken by the people of Syro-Phoenicia in Jesus' time.<span> </span>And she is crying out to him, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon."<span> </span>So, seeking to grow in our own discipleship, we turn to look at Jesus to see how we are to respond to the cries of a desperate mother.<span> </span>And we get a horrible shock, don't we?<span> </span>We find ourselves looking at a Jesus we've never seen before.<span> </span>A Jesus who has a darker side to his character, it appears.<span> </span>He who has, until now, made himself available to all who were in need – a Jesus who has just fed a multitude of people without any security checks, or requiring proof of Jewish identity, is now shunning this woman, claiming he has no mandate to assist her. <span> </span>"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel", he says, and even that legalistic justification for his apparent indifference to her suffering is addressed to the disciples instead of her.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">At this point, of course, the defence counsel and the spin doctor in us are working overtime to be heard.<span> </span>Jesus is teasing – Jesus is bluffing – Jesus is simply testing her faith to see if it is real, and not just a ploy to win his support.<span> </span>You have probably heard these "explanations – and others of the same ilk – many times.<span> </span>But have you ever thought what image they give of Jesus?<span> </span>Personally, I would find it easier to love a Jesus if his Team Jesus people explained that Jesus was very tired, he had low blood-sugar, or was carrying quite a heavy cold, or just needed a break.<span> </span>Anything along those lines I could accept as a reasonable explanation of his below-par response to this particular woman on this particular occasion.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">But a Jesus who is confronted by a desperate mother, out of her mind with worry over the state of her daughter, and who then decides to play a game with her, who pretends, or teases, or even tests her faith?<span> </span>Maybe it would be better if we reminded ourselves that Jesus is not answerable to us for his acts and omissions, and leave it at that.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">But let's be clear about one thing.<span> </span>To exclude this woman because she is not of the house of Israel - because she is not one of us – is no different in principle from excluding Yazidi because they are not Sunni.<span> </span>And we can see where that gets us in Iraq, Gaza and goodness knows where else today.<span> </span>Wherever there are people who are described by anyone else as "not one of us" there are people in danger.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">It is fashionable these days to remember that Jesus was a Jew.<span> </span>This gospel passage shows exactly that.<span> </span>As a Jew he believed in the Holy One of Israel.<span> </span>So did Isaiah.<span> </span>So did St Paul.<span> </span>But all three of them came to an understanding that God was even more than that.<span> </span>He was and is the Holy One of all peoples, including Syro-Phoenician women.<span> </span>Perhaps the real importance of this gospel story today is to warn us, as disciples, that we are all prone to the demonic allure of sectarianism, and to be constantly alert, for that particular devil prowls the world like a hungry lion seeking to devour us.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">One final thought.<span> </span>I have lost count of the number of times some good soul in pain has said to me, "Well, there's always somebody worse off than me."<span> </span>But this story prompts me to wonder if we more often believe that there is always somebody better off than us.<span> </span>Those people who have so much food on their table that dogs feast on the crumbs that fall to the floor.<span> </span>Where are we in this story – feasting at the table or grateful for falling crumbs?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Isaiah.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>What a wonderful passage this is – and how important it is today, in Israel and elsewhere!<span> </span>Why is it that we so easily overlook wrongs committed by Israel, and notice only the wrongs committed against Israel?<span> </span>Could the message be any clearer – that the test is not ethnicity or nationality – but faith in God?<span> </span>Faithful "foreigners" will be gathered, along with Israel's outcasts, and made welcome on the holy mountain and joyful in God's temple.<span> </span>All completely counter-cultural, of course, then and now.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Suppose a person is suddenly taken ill in Dunedin and requires expensive medical treatment.<span> </span>This, however, is refused on the ground that the person is a Moslem.<span> </span>How would you feel?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Would you feel any different if that person was denied medical treatment because he or she was not a New Zealand citizen or a resident of this country?<span> </span>Why?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Would you vote for a party in the coming General Election who promised to impose "a justice and development tax", in addition to ordinary income tax, to enable New Zealand to increase its humanitarian aid to other countries?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Romans.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>St Paul continues his examination of the special position of Israel in salvation history.<span> </span>If I've understood his argument, it goes something like this.<span> </span>The starting-point is the Abrahamic covenant between God and Israel.<span> </span>Because God is always true to his word, it is, as far as God is concerned, irrevocable.<span> </span>So can Israel rely on it, regardless of its own gross and ongoing breach of it?<span> </span>Well, yes and no.<span> </span>God will not rescind it – he will, in the strict legal sense, forgive their breach of it, but in doing so he is changing the nature of the relationship enshrined in it.<span> </span>Instead of granting Israel the benefits of the covenant as a matter of contract, God will grant Israel those benefits as a gracious act of mercy.<span> </span>And that is the mercy that God has chosen to extend to the Gentiles as well.<span> </span>St Paul sums this argument up in verse 32: <i>For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.</i></span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">How might we apply this teaching to the situation in Iraq or in Gaza?<span> </span>Are all parties "imprisoned in disobedience" and equally in need of God's mercy?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Does it then make sense any longer to talk of "parties"?<span> </span>Are we not all one party?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Spend some time reciting/chanting/praying the Agnus Dei.</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Matthew.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Whatever else we might think of this episode, one other thing should be noted.<span> </span>Its inclusion strongly argues for its authenticity.<span> </span>It may be that neither Matthew nor Mark saw it as raising the sort of objections it raises for us, but it must surely have struck a discordant note among Gentile converts in the early church.<span> </span>Is there a clue here, perhaps – that it was intended as a caution to those converts not to get above themselves, or, to be more precise, not to get above Jewish Christians?<span> </span>Perhaps the "New Israel" was beginning to make the same mistake the original Israel made, and was taking salvation for granted.<span> </span>The emphasis in the story, of course, is not on the miraculous healing of the daughter, which is treated almost as a footnote to the main text.<span> </span>The story is about the inclusion of this Gentile woman within Christ's healing love because of her great faith.<span> </span>The setting – Tyre and Sidon – is interesting bearing in mind Christ's earlier comments in Matthew 11:21.<span> </span>But perhaps it is when we put this story alongside the story of Jesus walking on the water that its full impact is felt.<span> </span>Peter calls out, "Lord, save me!"<span> </span>This woman's second plea is "Lord, help me."<span> </span>The Lord responds instantly to Peter, but then berates him for his "little faith".<span> </span>The Lord remains reluctant to help the woman but then lauds her "great faith".<span> </span>There are obvious echoes too of the attempts to shoo the little children away and silence the cries of blind Bartimaeus; and of the parables of the friend at midnight and the unjust judge.<span> </span>Some commentators make much of the fact that the crumbs fall from the rich man's table; the rich man does not deliberately take some of his food and share it with his dogs, the inference being that nothing is taken away from Israel and given to the Gentiles.<span> </span>To me that's a bit of a stretch.<span> </span>However, there might be something of an echo here of the twelve baskets of food left over after the feeding of the multitude.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">This is an excellent story to use for Ignatian prayer.<span> </span>Put yourself in the action.<span> </span>How does this woman strike you? <span> </span>Is she well-dressed or scruffy?<span> </span>Is she determined, pushy, humble, or desperate?<span> </span>How do the disciples react when they see her?<span> </span>What do you feel as Jesus ignores her, and then is rude to her?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Are you tempted to act as Jesus' defence counsel or spin doctor?<span> </span>Go ahead, then.<span> </span>Are you able to convince yourself?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Do you agree or disagree with my view that this encounter widened Jesus' understanding of his divine mission?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">How do you react to beggars?<span> </span>Does that term mean something other than "people who ask for help"?<span> </span>Would you call the woman in the story "a beggar"?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">In a desperate situation, are you most likely to ask for help from a family member, a close friend, a member of your local church, a neighbour, or some sort of agency?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Would you consider your request for help begging?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-42712139693688523152014-08-07T14:51:00.001+12:002014-08-07T14:51:27.129+12:00Notes for Reflection<div dir="ltr"> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">August 10<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION</span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></b></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>1 Kings 19:9-18; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme: </span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>For all sorts of reasons it has to be<i> </i>something about "Peace and Quiet" or the converse "War and Noise".<span> </span>There is something very attractive to me about the phrase "The Sound of Silence".<span> </span>If the worry with that is that it leans too much on our first lesson rather than the gospel reading, we could go to the other extreme with "Get Up and Walk".</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>No grounds for complaint this week, with two of the most evocative, powerful and dramatic stories in the whole of Scripture.<span> </span>We begin with Elijah, prophet, mass murderer, rebel, political refugee, and quite possibly manic-depressive, on the run from Ahab and Jezebel, God, and himself and suffering an acute attack of self-pity.<span> </span>Called out of a cave he hears the sound of sheer silence and is restored.<span> </span>That complete restoration is what the New Testament writers call "salvation", and St Paul assures us that what Elijah received that day is offered to all humanity, Jew and Gentile; we have only to ask and we shall receive.<span> </span>We finish this week with one of a biblical classic that has entered the language, and is used by many who have no idea of its origins: "he thinks he can walk on water".<span> </span>That, of course, is only the surface issue (sorry, I should have resisted that); at a much deeper level, it is a perfect illustration of what St Paul is writing about.<span> </span>Peter calls upon the Lord who reaches out his hand and saves him.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>It's not often that I am struck in a positive way by anything said by the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Netanyahu, but he surprised me this week.<span> </span>He assured the world that Israel would cease its military operations in Gaza when it had achieved its aim of "restoring quiet to Gaza".<span> </span>Yes, all sorts of emotional reactions could be made to that particular person making any such claim in the particular circumstances, but once I had got over all that I kept coming back to that word "quiet".<span> </span>Whether or not Mr Netanyahu meant it or realised what he was saying, he was linking "quiet" with the absence of war, conflict, argument, destruction – in short, "quiet" describes the absence of everything that is harmful to human life.<span> </span>It brought back to mind one of my mother's sayings when I and one or more of my sisters were having a full and frank exchange of opinions – "Hey, let's have some peace and quiet, please!"<span> </span>Peace and quiet – war and noise; there is something there to ponder, I think.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">On a similar theme, Tuesday's edition of the <i>Otago Daily Times</i> had a front page item under the heading "Ceremony for fallen promotes peace", and began with a very striking paragraph: <i>They were there to honour the fallen, but there were no brass bands, no 100-gun salutes, no nationalism and no xenophobia at the Cenotaph in Dunedin's Queen's Gardens last night.</i><span> </span>Presumably, the reporter was not intending to be offensive, though some might find the use of that word "but" heading in that direction.<span> </span>He was describing a "peace rally" which left First Church on a candlelit walk to Queens Gardens "to honour the dead of World War 1 by making efforts to ensure there are no more wars.<span> </span>It was led by Professor Kevin Clements, head of the University's Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.<span> </span>The report included two brief quotes from the Professor's speech to the gathering: we must find "totally different ways" to stop war occurring; and "We haven't learned our lesson – slaughter generates slaughter".</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">But it seems that what really struck the reporter was not so much what was said, but those periods of time when nothing was said. The fourth paragraph of the report read thus: <i>[At Queen's Gardens] Prof Clements called for a full 10 minutes' silence, before speeches, followed by another three minutes of silent contemplation.</i><span> </span>Here, surely, is a much more challenging contrast with our usual practices.<span> </span>Before international rugby games, for example, we have occasionally been asked to stand in silence for a minute as a mark of respect to those who have died in recent tragedies, or on the anniversary of some terrible event.<span> </span>More in point, we usually do the same at Anzac Day Services.<span> </span>For all our promises to "remember them", one minute of silence seems enough.<span> </span>Professor Clements' call at the peace rally suggests that it is not.<span> </span>If we truly want peace and quiet to be restored to the world perhaps we need to embrace, and be embraced by, longer periods of silence.<span> </span>[This Sunday, when we pray for peace, could we do it without using words?]</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">When we recall the story of Elijah hiding in his cave, and then emerging to hear "a sound of sheer silence" [kudos to the NRSV for this wonderful expression!] we probably contrast that with the immediately preceding natural phenomena of wind, earthquake and fire.<span> </span>But for the full impact I think we need to go back to the story of the "battle of the bonfires" in chapter 18.<span> </span>The bellowing bulls as they are slaughtered; the partisan crowds roaring on "their side"; the increasingly desperate prayers of the prophets of Baal; the shrill mockery of Elijah; followed by the cries of the four hundred "losers" as they are slaughtered.<span> </span>Noise, more noise, and still more noise.<span> </span>And through it all, Elijah, the adrenaline-junkie, revelling in it, convinced that he is doing the Lord God's will.<span> </span>How could he – how could anyone – hope to hear "a sound of sheer silence" in those sorts of circumstances?<span> </span>Peace and quiet, war and noise.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">There is a similar contrast at work in this week's gospel passage.<span> </span>In place of the triumph of the battle of the bonfires we have the miracle of the feeding of the multitude.<span> </span>We can imagine the noise of that crowd, particularly when it dawns on them what has happened among them.<span> </span>We can imagine the high of the disciples as they once again bask in the reflected glory of "their champion."<span> </span>Perhaps that was why Jesus ordered them out on the lake when the experienced fishermen among them knew it was risky to go.<span> </span>And here they soon are in the midst of a very different set of noises, the noise of the wind and the waters, the noise of their own arguments over what should be done, and the noise of their increasingly desperate prayers.<span> </span>The noise of their shrill cries when they think they are seeing a ghost; and of the shouted conversation between Jesus and Peter, reaching a crescendo when Peter cries out to be saved.<span> </span>Then, when Jesus (and Peter) is in the boat, the wind "ceased".<span> </span>And with it, we can assume, the noise.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Kings.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>This whole chapter 19 is a spiritual masterpiece, even though it begins on a somewhat bizarre note.<span> </span>Why would Queen Jezebel go to the trouble of sending a messenger to Elijah with a note advising him of her intention to end his life within 24 hours, when she could have simply sent an assassin to do the job without giving prior written notice?<span> </span>Anyway, the point is that Elijah now fears for his life – so what does he do?<span> </span>Calls on the name of the Lord?<span> </span>No, he scarpers, and only stops running when he's exhausted.<span> </span>But his exhaustion and depression gives rise to an interesting prayer.<span> </span>He asks to die, recognising that "I am no better than my ancestors".<span> </span>Whatever he has in mind when he utters those words they constitute a humble admission before the Lord of his own human failings.<span> </span>From that flows his restoration, physical and spiritual, and in that order!<span> </span>Then follows his own journey of forty days and forty nights until he comes to a cave where he spends the night.<span> </span>The dark night of the soul?<span> </span>Then the word of the Lord comes to him with an interesting question: "what are you doing here, Elijah?"<span> </span>It is the classic "<a href="http://3.am">3.am</a> question".<span> </span>What's it all about?<span> </span>What am I on earth for?<span> </span>Is there a purpose to my life?<span> </span>His immediate reply shows that he is wallowing in self-pity – we can almost hear the violins playing in the background.<span> </span>The Lord God is not impressed: he orders Elijah to get up and leave his hiding-place – to stand before the Lord God who is about to pass by.<span> </span>But first Elijah has to do some unlearning: he has to learn to stop looking for God in terms of absolute and irresistible force, like wind, earthquake and fire, - subtext, in the humiliation and slaughter of our enemies.<span> </span>Instead, he has to learn to listen for and to God.<span> </span>God is found in silence not in noise.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Do you relish quiet?<span> </span>Do you seek the sound of sheer silence?<span> </span>If this is not your usual practice, try for a week to follow Professor Clements' example: open your prayer time with "a full 10 minutes' silence", and, after your spoken prayers, close with "three minutes of silent contemplation".</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Are you better than your ancestors?<span> </span>What might that question mean for you?<span> </span>What can you learn from them?<span> </span>What do you know of them?<span> </span>As we begin to commemorate World War 1 what are your thoughts about that?<span> </span>Is it more important to remember those who died in war than those who died as a result of influenza epidemic, for example<span> </span>Why?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Is your local church good at using silence in its services?<span> </span>Have a look through one of our liturgies; notice how many times the rubrics suggest a time of silence.<span> </span>How often does your community of faith follow those suggestions?<span> </span>How would you feel if the Minister announced that you were going to observe a ten-minute silence in remembrance of all those who have died on our roads in the last 100 years?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Imagine that Elijah has asked you for a character reference for him.<span> </span>What would you write?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Romans.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"> St Paul is now well into his reflection on the difficult issue of the special election of Israel in the light of the universal offer of salvation in Christ.<span> </span>Basically he seems to see the latter as a "divine blossoming" from the one rootstock, rather than the cutting down of the original tree and its replacement with another.<span> </span>Israel is still beloved of God, but so is everyone else.<span> </span>This has been revealed through Israel, and in that sense Israel will always retain its primary place in salvation history, but not through any merit of its own (observance of the Law), but through the grace of God alone.<span> </span>Thus we do not have to strive to bring God near to us, or win his attention in some way, but to recognise that he is already with us.<span> </span>That recognition is the opening of our hearts and minds in faith, and when we accept its truth in our innermost being (in our hearts) and express it in our lives (our lips) we are saved, whether Jew or Gentile.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Focus on verse 13.<span> </span>Have you ever called on the name of the Lord?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Now move to verse 14.<span> </span>To whom have you passed on this message?<span> </span>Have you got beautiful feet?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Matthew.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>The mass feeding is over, the ablutions have been completed, and Jesus, the presiding priest, moves to the Dismissal.<span> </span>First, he sends out his liturgical assistants, then the congregation.<span> </span>The liturgical assistants, it seems, are reluctant to go.<span> </span>They feel safe in the assembly, with their Priest still with them; but out there, crossing over to the other side, lie danger and uncertainty.<span> </span>Out there in the storms of life their own resources are soon exhausted.<span> </span>Do they call upon the name of the Lord, or do they start fighting among themselves?<span> </span>The Lord appears to them walking on the water and they are terrified: apparently a ghost is more frightening to them than anything the wind and sea can conjure up between them.<span> </span>Jesus' words are short, clear, and intended to be reassuring:<span> </span>"Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."<span> </span>As always it is Peter who speaks before he thinks: uncertain as to whether or not to accept that it is Jesus, he comes up with a test that will surely end badly if it is not!<span> </span>That it is Jesus means that for Peter it ends in mixed results: a good soaking, utter humiliation, a strong reprimand, but at least he lives to tell the tale.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Do you behave differently "in the boat" (your local church) from out of it?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Recall a time of serious danger to yourself.<span> </span>At what stage (if any) did you call upon the Lord?<span> </span>What was the outcome?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Do you admire Peter's nerve?<span> </span>Do you think the Lord was too tough in questioning his faith?<span> </span></font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Finish in quiet meditation of verse 32.</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-80549794304404176412014-07-31T14:40:00.001+12:002014-07-31T14:40:34.834+12:00Notes for reflection<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">August 3<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION</span></b></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"> Isaiah 55:1-5; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:13-21</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>I was going to suggest "A Free Lunch" this week, even though the purists among us might immediately suffer an acute attack of pedantry and insist that the mass meal (interesting expression, now I come to think about it) took place in the evening.<span> </span>Well, "A Free Evening Meal" doesn't really work as well, does it?<span> </span>Staying with the lunch motive, I wonder about "A Lunch Break".<span> </span>For the last few weeks there has been a real sense of teaching and learning through the kingdom parables: as disciples we are being taught by the Master.<span> </span>This week feels different: this time we are being taught about the Master and through him about God.<span> </span>Anyway, our theme this week is about the Grace of God, however we want to express that in a pithy theme.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.<span> </span></span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Once again we start with Isaiah at his musical best: it is near-impossible to read the first few verses of this passage without bursting into song: and why not?<span> </span>The great prophet is calling us to praise the graciousness of God, whose bounty knows no limits.<span> </span>We then turn to St Paul, who is now making a somewhat slow start to his next argument as he turns to the "problem" of Israel, the chosen people, who are proving to be far more resistant to Christ than are the Gentiles.<span> </span>Given the daily tragedy of Gaza, St Paul's words seem to take on a stronger meaning this week.<span> </span>Then we finish with the well-known story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand (Matthew Edition).</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>This week Trish and I had a very pleasant evening with some friends who had invited us to their home for dinner.<span> </span>Another couple (mutual friends of ours and our hosts') were also there, which added to the pleasure of the whole evening.<span> </span>Conversation flowed as we settled in, sipping and nibbling the first offerings, until our hostess announced that all was now ready and invited us to come to the table.<span> </span>We took the food, looked up to heaven and asked God to bless it and us.<span> </span>Then we tucked in and delighted ourselves in the rich food on offer.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Of course, the time passed quickly, and all too soon it was time to go.<span> </span>The familiar ritual of finding and sorting out our coats and finding our car keys was well underway, when our host asked if we would like to settle up with one bill or separate ones.<span> </span>As we had all had pretty much the same meal (albeit, perhaps in varying quantities) we elected one account, which we would split between us.<span> </span>But when we saw the bill we were quite shocked at the amount.<span> </span>Granted GST had contributed to it, the total still seemed excessive so we asked the hosts to itemise it.<span> </span>The amount for materials (food and drink) seemed reasonable, but the labour charge was excessive, and the surcharge for power (including heating and lighting) bordered on the outrageous.<span> </span>And as for the charge for off-street parking!</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">I have, of course, made up everything in the last paragraph.<span> </span>What I have been trying to do is to find out how Jesus' parables work so powerfully in us; and it seems to me that one of the elements in this technique is to take an ordinary situation and open our eyes to its real meaning.<span> </span>The real meaning of the wonderful hospitality given to us by our hosts is that it brings us into the very presence – into an actual experience – of the grace of God.<span> </span>And perhaps it is only when we imagine what we would think and feel on such an occasion if our hosts suddenly produced a bill and asked for payment that we can be jolted awake enough to see God in the generosity of our gracious hosts.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Let's try the same exercise on the all-too familiar story in the gospel passage.<span> </span>Let's add to the end of verse 19 the words, "charging each of them one denarius".<span> </span>Then we might reconsider verse 20.<span> </span>Who, exactly, took up the twelve full baskets of leftovers and what happened to those leftovers?<span> </span>Perhaps some of the crowd felt that, as they had been charged for their meal, they should have a discount, or a say in the disposal of the leftovers.<span> </span>A doggie-bag each for the children at home?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Perhaps we miss something here if we take this event purely as a sign of Jesus' divine power, though it is certainly that.<span> </span>But is it also another opportunity to repent, to change our mindset, to see another way of living?<span> </span>Perhaps we need to challenge ourselves and others to accept that the old saying "there is no free lunch" is essentially a political slogan – when was the last time you heard it said by a hungry, disadvantaged person?<span> </span>Every time we contribute to a food bank – or volunteer at a soup kitchen – or support "Food Share" programmes like the one run in Dunedin – we are offering an alternative way of thinking and acting, one that is much more in line with the readings we have before us this week.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And perhaps that issue of who is doing the talking is enough of an excuse to get something else off my chest this week.<span> </span>When I was praying about the ghastly events in Gaza it suddenly came to me that this isn't a war between Israelis and Palestinians, this is a war between adults and children – (or, at the risk of sounding like David Cunliffe, a war between men and women-and-children).<span> </span>Adults are doing the talking, and justifying, and explaining, and firing the life-defying weapons; children are doing the suffering and dying.<span> </span>Israel's adults insists that it is seeking only to protect its citizens from rockets fired from Gaza; the Palestinian adults insist that they have no other way of defending themselves from the crippling blockade they have suffered for so many years.<span> </span>There may or may not be some merit in those adult claims.<span> </span>But (Palestinian and Israeli) children are suffering and dying because of them.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">So let's change the storyline for a moment and think about an alternative set of news headlines.<span> </span><b>ADULTS DECLARE WAR ON CHILDREN!<span> </span>KINDERGARTENS AND SCHOOLS REDUCED TO RUBBLE! <span> </span>BEACHES AND PLAYGROUNDS NO LONGER OFF-LIMITS!<span> </span>KIDNAPPING AND MURDER THREAT!<span> </span>NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND!</b> </font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Parables have the power to change the way we think.<span> </span>So do news stories.<span> </span>So do questions – such as who is doing the talking and who is doing the suffering and dying.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Isaiah.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span><span> </span>I love the heading to this chapter in the NRSV edition I am using: "An invitation to Abundant Life".<span> </span>(It almost makes up for the ridiculous choice of "Ho" with which to open verse 1: to my ear it makes God sound like a cross between a rapper and a very shy Santa.)<span> </span>The first thing I like about the heading is that word "Invitation" – what follows is not a command or summons – but a gracious invitation.<span> </span>Come, my people, come to receive my heavenly food!<span> </span>That's really what God is saying here as he stands behind the Holy Table.<span> </span>And what he is offering is not the minimum he can get away with – it is "Abundant Life"!<span> </span>And notice how easily the passage moves between eating and listening – both forms of receiving and taking into ourselves, of receiving nourishment, of being built up and made strong.<span> </span>To what end?<span> </span>So that we can become truly God's people, an attractive example to others, the people that witness to other peoples, passing on God's invitation to them, by what we say and do and become.<span> </span>(It is against this backdrop that St Paul's comments in our second lesson should be read.)</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">This Sunday pay particular attention to the "The Invitation" to receive Communion.<span> </span>If you are administering the bread, perhaps use the words "Receive abundant life, and be thankful", or something similar.<span> </span></font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">As you prepare for worship this Sunday (or, in fact, any Sunday), repeat to yourself the words from verse 2b: "Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good".</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Reflect on your past week.<span> </span>What has given you the most satisfaction "without money and without price"?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Have you spent money or time on something that brought you no satisfaction?<span> </span>Why?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Are you spending enough time listening to God (verse3a)?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Romans.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>How moving these words of St Paul are at this present time!<span> </span>It is all too easy for people to assume that anyone who criticises Israel is anti-Semitic, if not a fully fledged Nazi-sympathiser.<span> </span>No one could accuse St Paul of that.<span> </span>It is precisely because, in the flesh, he is himself a Jew that he is heartbroken by Israel's failure to recognise the Messiah.<span> </span>It is precisely because he accepts the "exceptionalism" of Israel's position in salvation history (how many nations falsely claim that for themselves today!) that he has "great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart" at the failure of his own people to see the new thing God is doing among them in Jesus Christ.<span> </span>The point is, not that Israel is worse than any other people, but that it is failing to be better.<span> </span>Today Israel is acting like any other state, perhaps, using its power to defend its interests, and seeing no reason to apologise for doing what every other state would do in the same circumstances if it had the power to do so.<span> </span>But Israel has not been called by God to be like any other state: it has been called to be a light to the Gentiles.<span> </span>And what is true of Israel is equally true of the New Israel, of which you and I are citizens, aren't we?</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 45.75pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Have I been unfair to Israel?<span> </span>What do feel at this moment?<span> </span>Is St Paul being unfair to his people?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 45.75pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">How do you feel about the idea that the "New Israel" (that is, Christians) are called to be an example to others, and not behave just like others?<span> </span>If "Moslem extremists" blow up our churches, is it okay to blow up their mosques?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 45.75pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Is bombing, etc a form of "child abuse"?<span> </span>What about imposing a blockade, restricting the supply of food, water, and medical aid to children?<span> </span>Would changing the language in this sort of way help or hinder the search for peace and justice?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 45.75pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">As a citizen of the New Israel, how might you change your own language when talking about the situation in Gaza with your friends or family?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 9.75pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 9.75pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Matthew.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>This is one of those very difficult stories to get congregations to listen to (including us!) because of the tendency to switch off as soon as it starts, not because it is alarming, but because it is so familiar that we think we have heard it all before.<span> </span>The best approach may be to start with the issue of Jesus' mental and emotional condition at the start of the episode.<span> </span>Even in a world of ever-increasing horrors there is still something particularly shocking about beheadings, surely!<span> </span>Jesus has just been told about the beheading of his cousin John.<span> </span>He immediately withdraws, seeking "a deserted place by himself".<span> </span>But his cover is blown and soon vast crowds have walked miles to find him from surrounding towns.<span> </span>How easy it would have been to hide, or to lose his rag and tell them in the Aramaic equivalent of Anglo-Saxon to "depart from this place".<span> </span>But, of course, he did not do this.<span> </span>He set aside his own need for time and space to grieve – and, perhaps, to consider his own safety – and he gave himself in ministering to their needs.<span> </span>Then the disciples turned up – where had they been?<span> </span>Had they been enjoying time off?<span> </span>Anyway, they bring the practical mind into play.<span> </span>Okay, Lord, it's nearly closing time.<span> </span>These guys must be famished – send them off to the nearest takeaway or hot-bread shop, so they can BUY REAL FOOD.<span> </span>(Cue to preachers, a chance for comic irony here!) <span> </span>But Jesus turns it back on them – you feed them!</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 9.75pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 9.75pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 9.75pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 45.75pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">So this is about learning how to be a disciple after all!<span> </span>Another reason to review your past week.<span> </span>In what way(s) have you helped to feed others this week?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 45.75pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">In what way(s) have others helped to feed you this week?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 45.75pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">What sort of "food" are you thinking about?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 45.75pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Reflect on the words of The Invitation at your local church this week.<span> </span>Are all truly welcome to participate?<span> </span>How might you encourage others to come?<span> </span>Is Communion more important or less important than the cuppa afterwards?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-52113778818011900652014-07-29T08:35:00.001+12:002014-07-29T08:35:25.750+12:00Notes for Reflection<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">July 27<span> </span></span><font size="3">NOTES FOR REFLECTION<span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts: </span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">1 Kings 3:5-12; Romans 8:26-39; Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"> We have a sort of "residual estate" gospel reading this morning: after the great gifts of individual parables, we get the remainder collected together as one lot.<span> </span>But for me one shines out from this collection (no pun intended) – it is the Pearl of Great Value.<span> </span>It fits nicely with our first lesson – the gift above all gifts chosen by Solomon.<span> </span>So a theme that reflects the idea of the "all-surpassingness" of God/Christ/Spirit would seem to be called for.<span> </span>Perhaps "Before All Else" or "Above All Else" would do.<span> </span>Or, for those with one eye on Glasgow for the next few days, we might choose "In First Place".</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We begin this week with the inspired choice Solomon makes when offered a divine gift of his choosing.<span> </span>He chose the gift of wisdom, the ability to discern good and evil, so that he may govern God's people.<span> </span>Our second lesson is the conclusion of the great chapter 8 of St Paul's Letter to the Romans, which also fits well with our theme of the all-surpassing greatness of Christ.<span> </span>There is also a sense of this in the gospel reading this week: I get the feeling that, after chapter 13, Jesus "goes up a gear", both in his teaching and action.<span> </span>There is far less of the class-room flavour of his later teaching, much more a feeling of "field work", integrating his teaching and his practical ministry in one seamless life of instruction.<span> </span>And the common theme that threads through chapters 14-25 is about seeking and discerning the will of God in all circumstances.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>I wrote last week about the complexity of life in the "real" world, and how we are called to seek the Spirit's guidance in all circumstances, including those where we are pretty sure we know what to do.<span> </span>For me this issue – which is essentially about a real, robust spirituality that makes sense in the world as it is – was taken to a whole new level by two snatches of music that featured within one five-minute news bulletin on National Radio this morning (Thursday).<span> </span>First, there was a wee bit of stirring Scottish pipes to introduce an item about the City of Glasgow and how excited everybody was as the Games were at last about to begin.<span> </span>Then came another item from Europe, this one introduced by a lone bugler playing the Last Post, as the first of the caskets carrying victims of the downed plane were brought back to Holland.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">What are we to make of that?<span> </span>Is it enough to wear black armbands, and to have a minute's silence, before we turn our attention to watching sportsmen and sportswomen strutting their stuff?<span> </span>However dramatic the image, are two wreaths on otherwise empty seats in a soccer stadium enough to allow the rest of us to enjoy watching a game of football?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">I had not got very far with that issue when the newsreader went onto others.<span> </span>Pita Sharples was insisting that it is not enough to preserve Te Reo as a language – it's important to ensure that local dialects are preserved as well.<span> </span>And, while he was on the air, could he also say how absolutely disgusting it was for people in Auckland to burn an Israeli flag at a protest about the situation in Gaza?<span> </span>Important to preserve differences?<span> </span>Disgusting to burn a flag in protest against killing people?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And the servants said, "Master, do you want us to go and...?"<span> </span>And what?<span> </span>Stop the Games?<span> </span>Learn a new Maori dialect?<span> </span>Ban protests – at least, by people who burn flags?<span> </span>Or none of the above?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Perhaps we could start with prayer, and what better way than to pray with Solomon, "Give your servant an understanding mind...able to discern between good and evil."<span> </span>And to acknowledge with Solomon our own incapacities: "I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in."<span> </span>And perhaps the Spirit will start interceding for us (translation: on our behalf) because we do not know how to pray as we ought.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">There was one voice of reason on the programme just after that news bulletin.<span> </span>He was talking about the situation in Gaza, and he said all violence must stop: the only way to achieve peace is for all sides to come together and talk to one another.<span> </span>He was a member of the Jewish Christian Council, soon to be expanded to include Moslems and become the Abrahamic Faiths Council.<span> </span>But he started his argument by saying, "As a Jewish person myself..." and he lost me at that point, as he would have done if he had said "As a Palestinian myself..."<span> </span>Only a person who says, "As a human being myself..." will hold my attention now.<span> </span>Only a person who understands what it means to believe that in the New Creation, in the world as God intends it to be, there is no such thing as Jew or Palestininan, as Ukranian or Russian.<span> </span>Whatever our native tongue or regional dialect, there is only one language God has blessed and it is called the language of love.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">What can we do in this sort of world?<span> </span>We can examine ourselves.<span> </span>On any ongoing issue do we instinctively take sides?<span> </span>Do we "understand" Israel's position, and accept that Hamas must be doing the Enemy's work?<span> </span>Do we side with Kiev against those "pro-Russian rebels"; do we condemn Russia for supplying sophisticated weapons to rebels in the Ukraine without wondering which European countries manufacture and export the most sophisticated weapons to virtually anyone who has the money?<span> </span>Or do we remember the lesson from last week's readings – that the work of the Enemy is to seduce (deceive) well-meaning servants of the Master to achieve the Enemy's purposes? <span> </span>Hamas and Israel, Ukraine and Russia, all believe that they are fighting for justice – for their own people.<span> </span>It is when they have the wisdom of Solomon they will realise that to create enmity, to increase the numbers of those who have reason to hate them and to want revenge against them, cannot bring them peace.<span> </span>It is when they realise that there is only one people, to whom all human beings belong, that they and all of us will says with St Paul, "Now in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">May the Games in Glasgow show us that whatever our sport and whatever our national origins, we are capable of transcending our differences and celebrating our shared humanity.<span> </span>We owe nothing less to the 298 fellow human beings who died on MH 17, and to the countless others who have died and are dying in the Gaza Strip, Israel, and all the other parts of the world where men and women still claim separate identities for themselves and others.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Kings.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>How's this for political spin!<span> </span>No wonder the creators of the Lectionary thought they should protect our tender ears and minds from the first few verses of this chapter!<span> </span>But even so!<span> </span>A king can perhaps be forgiven an arranged marriage – "a marriage alliance" – to promote good relations between his nation and a powerful neighbour; and we do understand that to praise one's deceased father might be helpful to soothe feelings in a somewhat mixed (reconstituted) family; and, with Christchurch still fresh in our minds, we can readily accept that in the absence of a temple Solomon (and the people) would have had to use less desirable places of worship.<span> </span>But to claim that King David "walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart" is surely going a tad outside the bounds of truthfulness and accuracy. <span> </span><span> </span>But that's the point, surely.<span> </span>There is no super-class of human beings, a kingly caste, who are immune from all the sins and weaknesses found in the rest of us.<span> </span>Kings are as human as we are, no better, no worse, essentially no different.<span> </span>All the more remarkable, then, that this human being, known to us as King Solomon, when offered whatever he wanted, chose wisdom.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">What would you have chosen?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Spend some time reflecting on your present circumstances.<span> </span>What one gift do you most seek from God at this time?<span> </span>Ask God for it.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Are you "instinctively biased" towards one "side" or the other in situations such as the Israeli-Palestinian<span> </span>conflict or the Ukrainian-Russian one?<span> </span>Do you apportion blame to one or the other?<span> </span>On what basis?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Romans.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"> <span> </span>St Paul rounds off his great argument to show that, in Christ, EVERYTHING is changed.<span> </span>The old understanding, the old identities, the old hostilities, the old values, and the old ways of life are all renewed, not because we have decided to do things better, but because the Spirit of God has chosen to reside in us and transform us from the inside out.<span> </span>Of course, all this is baffling and difficult for us to comprehend, but we don't have to.<span> </span>What we do have to do is yield control of our lives to the indwelling Christ.<span> </span>Let the Spirit do our praying for us, as we learn to live as one great family.<span> </span>God is on our side because there is only one side – who then can be against us?<span> </span>And who or what can ever come between us and God?<span> </span>Everything else is relative, everything else is of lesser value than our relationship with God in Christ. <span> </span>His is the victory over the Enemy in which we participate – in that sense, and only ever in that sense, can we claim to be victors, whatever may happen on the battlefields of the world.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Start with verse 26.<span> </span>Bring to mind some situation that is concerning you, such as the conflict in Gaza.<span> </span>Do you know what to pray for?<span> </span>If so, pray for it.<span> </span>If not, acknowledge that before God and remain silent.<span> </span>Let the Holy Spirit do your praying for you.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Read through the rest of the passage slowly and prayerfully.<span> </span>What particular words strike you?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Stay with verse 36 for some time.<span> </span>Is it defeatist?<span> </span>Or should we read it as the prelude to verses 37-39?<span> </span>How do those verses strike you?<span> </span>Empty rhetoric?<span> </span>Rampant triumphalism?<span> </span>Or reassuring and comforting, a sure ground for hope?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Matthew.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Perhaps this somewhat motley collection of small sayings is the perfect conclusion to this week.<span> </span>The image that comes to my mind is that of the crash scene strewed over such a wide area of productive farmland, rich in beautiful sunflowers.<span> </span>Somewhere in that twisted, burnt metal – such a graphic icon of the work of the Enemy – there are human bodies hidden there, whose value is beyond price because they were and are precious to God.<span> </span>Their presence makes the whole area sacred, and in doing so overcomes the worst that that the Enemy has done.<span> </span>A scene created by sin and death is now glowing with the glory of God.<span> </span>The people looking for them may be compared to a merchant looking for the finest of jewels and discovering that each one is as fine as every other.<span> </span>The<span> </span>kingdom of heaven is like this Ukrainian field, full of such hidden treasure.<span> </span>The dead will be collected and honoured and commended to the mercy and love of God.<span> </span>The wreckage will be taken away and disposed of appropriately.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And Jesus asks all of us as we look at that scene:<span> </span>"Have you understood all this?"</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Have you?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Which of these parables speaks most directly to you?<span> </span>What is the lesson in it for you?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Hold a seed in your hand. <span> </span>Gaze at it.<span> </span>What will it become if it completes its life cycle?<span> </span>Now re-read verses 31-32.<span> </span>Give thanks for the mystery of life and growth.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Pray for the growth of new life Gaza, In Israel, and<span> </span>in Eastern Ukraine.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Pray for new life in your heart, in your faith community, in our Diocese and in our country.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><br clear="all"> </div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-10221163362860718162014-07-17T12:40:00.001+12:002014-07-17T12:40:47.779+12:00Notes for Reflection<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">July 20<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION</span></b></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts: </span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Isaiah 44:6-8; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"> The subject is surely clearer this week, even if finding a pithy theme to encapsulate it is no easier.<span> </span>Good and evil co-exist, both in our human nature and in the whole of creation.<span> </span>That's the fact we asked to confront this week, isn't it?<span> </span>So perhaps a safe choice might be "The Need for Discernment" or "The Gift of Discernment".<span> </span>For fans of Thomas Green, S.J. we could simply plagiarise the title of his book "Weeds Among the Wheat" – a little alliteration often helps to give a short motto a bit of bite.<span> </span>(On a similar topic he also wrote "Darkness in the Marketplace", but that may be more confusing than helpful on this occasion.)<span> </span>The need is to focus on seeing this as a practical problem – not an interesting theological issue.<span> </span>So perhaps "Practical Discernment 101" might appeal.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We begin again this week with Isaiah; and the theme of the moment for him is the need to turn away from falsity to truth – from idols to the One True God.<span> </span>That surely is the solid foundation on which to base all true discernment.<span> </span>And the fundamental test here is to look at the divine track record: what God says will happen, does happen: what idols and false gods promise is not fulfilled.<span> </span>Go, figure!<span> </span>St Paul is coming to the same point through his long argument of which our second lesson is a part.<span> </span>We know we have the Spirit within us by what we say and do.<span> </span>On the basis of the inner transformation which we have experienced and are continuing to experience we can have hope for a better future, not only for our species, but for the whole of creation.<span> </span>In our gospel passage we are shown the world as it is now – and how we are to live in it.<span> </span>Wisdom, not direct action, is called for.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Three things to chew on this week, in ascending order of seriousness and importance.<span> </span>First, a quote from Dr Don Brash.<span> </span>A few weeks ago he was interviewed by Kim Hill on National Radio.<span> </span>When she got on to the issue of his marital infidelity she expressed, with her usual delicacy, not any ethical denunciation of his actions, but her sheer astonishment that HE, famous for his unworldly intellectualism, should have engaged in something so carnal.<span> </span>How could that be?<span> </span>His response was immediate and simple:<span> </span>"Well, Kim, there is such a thing as evolution, you know"<span> </span>If you are one of those who is still trying to get your head around chapters 7and 8 of St Paul's Letter to the Romans I commend the good doctor's comment to you.<span> </span>What St Paul calls life in the flesh is the product of evolution: it is our animal life that has evolved over millennia to meet our basic needs, including primarily our need to survive as a species.<span> </span>What our faith tells us is that Christ has inaugurated a new stage of evolution – he calls it the new creation – a stage of spiritual evolution, in which our physical instincts and appetites (the evolutionary imperative) can be brought under our control, if we choose to do so.<span> </span></span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">The second issue that is occupying my mind this week concerns the proposal to establish a memorial to conscientious objectors in Dunedin.<span> </span>The spokesperson for the R.S.A. is treading carefully in her opposition, keeping her argument to the issue of the appropriate site.<span> </span>She does not want it on Anzac Avenue, which has special significance to the troops of the First World War, and alongside which trees have been planted in their memory.<span> </span>The latest reports suggest that the trustees for the proposed memorial have been offered an alternative site and are considering it.<span> </span>All sorts of issues arise from this argument.<span> </span>Were our troops not fighting for our freedoms, including our freedom of conscience?<span> </span>Is it not agreed that our treatment of Archibald Baxter and others like him was so outrageous as to be a serious blot on our war record as a nation?<span> </span>Do our returned servicemen men and women have a strong view on this issue, or is this the view of the professional employees who presume to know better?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">But what particularly interests me at this moment is the light this parable can shed on the issue.<span> </span>Master, did you not designate this avenue to be a memorial to the good seed of New Zealand youth who went to the Front in World War I?<span> </span>How is it then that there is also a memorial to weeds like Archibald Baxter? ... Do you want us to go and knock it down?<span> </span>No, because in doing that you might injure the very people whose memory you are trying to honour.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Thirdly, and most importantly, is the tragedy of Gaza.<span> </span>Who is right and who is wrong in that terrible situation?<span> </span>And the only possible answer from a Christian viewpoint must surely be that all those whose actions are causing, directly or indirectly, suffering to others are wrong.<span> </span>But let's focus on the application of this week's Parable to the situation, and, in particular, to Israel's attempts to go and uproot the Hamas rocket-launchers.<span> </span>If it were possible to do only that without causing any "collateral damage" (the language of war is truly ghastly) it would be hard to deny the justice of Israel's cause.<span> </span>But, of course, it is not, and despite all possible counter-accusations and official spin, the Israeli Government knows it is not.<span> </span>So the punch-line in this parable is exactly in point again.<span> </span>No, do not try to destroy the rocket-launchers because in doing so you will destroy the innocent as well as the guilty.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">One of my favourite commentators on the parables of Jesus is the American Episcopal priest, Robert Farrar Capon, whose trilogy comprises <i>The Parables of the Kingdom,</i> <i>The Parables of Grace, </i>and <i>The Parables of Judgment.</i><span> </span>He is particularly good on this Parable of the Weeds.<span> </span>He points out that that what the enemy has done (sown weeds among the wheat) is not what damages the wheat: the master's response only makes sense if the wheat can nevertheless grow to maturity.<span> </span>Any damage to the wheat will be done by the well-meaning servants.<span> </span>Thus, the "enemy" (evil) is not effective or powerful in itself: it can only achieve its aim by deceiving (tempting) people into doing its work.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">The outcome of Don Brash giving into temptation was the destruction of his marriage, which he deeply regrets.<span> </span>The outcome of the stoush over the site of a memorial to conscientious objectors is likely to be a far more prominent position for the memorial and a lessening of respect for the RSA for its ungracious attitude.<span> </span>The outcome of the Israeli bombing of Gaza is likely to be an increase in support for Hamas and international opprobrium for Israel, perhaps the real reason why Hamas keeps firing rockets that do comparatively little harm to Israel's citizens.<span> </span>Those with evil intent achieve their aims by tempting their targets to harm themselves.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Isaiah.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>This part of Isaiah seems to date from the time that monotheism is becoming mainstream in Jewish religious understanding, but, of course, not without some resistance.<span> </span>In chapters 40 and 41 Isaiah exposes the folly of idolatry by contrasting it with the glory of God.<span> </span>In chapters 43 and 44 he reverses the order, but the point is the same.<span> </span>It is absurd to believe in idols we have made ourselves – how can they have power that we do not have?<span> </span>But the most important point Isaiah is now making is that it is not an issue of theological debate: it is a matter of practical observation or, we might say, of historical record.<span> </span>What does our experience tell us?<span> </span>God has spoken the truth: what he has foretold from the beginning has come to pass.<span> </span>Who or what can match that?<span> </span>Who or what can compare with him?</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Are you sure you are a monotheist?<span> </span>Are you convinced of the reality of God as the sole source of life, goodness and everything else?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Is God your primary source of identity?<span> </span>Do you place your identity as a Christian ahead of all other identities, such as gender, race, or class?<span> </span>What does that mean for you?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Looking back, how would you summarise God's "track-record" in your life?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Is God the rock on which you are building your house?<span> </span>Does your faith in God enable you to make right decisions in the "real" world of your everyday life?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Focus on verse 8.<span> </span>Are you one of his witnesses?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Romans.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>There is so much in this passage that it is impossible to do it justice in one lesson.<span> </span>(Whole books have been written just on chapter 8!)<span> </span>And, of course, each passage is carefully linked by St Paul, with what precedes it and what follows is; he is after all developing an argument.<span> </span>For me the best place to pick up the argument this week is back at verse 9; verses 9 to 11 comprise one of his key points, which he then elaborates in verses 12 to 17, before broadening it out in verses 18-25 to apply to the whole of creation.<span> </span>As mentioned above, our modern understanding of evolution fits well with what St Paul is talking about here.<span> </span>Something new and extraordinary has "intervened" in the evolution of our species, and through our species the rest of creation.<span> </span>The Spirit of Christ has been released into the universe and seeks to be incarnated in the material of created matter, our own first and the rest following.<span> </span>It is not an instant, immediate and universal transformation, but one that is slow, gradual, and ultimately all-embracing.<span> </span>We are caught up in that process.<span> </span>How do we know?<span> </span>By our own experience.<span> </span>Do we experience God as "Abba" – do we experience the reality of being children of God – not in some esoteric moment of supposed spiritual rapture – but in the tough, gritty world as it really is at this moment?</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Well do you?<span> </span>Does this passage accurately describe your relationship with God as you experience it?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Do you fear God?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Do you address God in your prayers as "Abba"?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Does the understanding that God is creating all things through evolution appeal to you at all?<span> </span>Does it help or hinder your understanding of the state of the world today?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Do you live in hope for the future?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Matthew.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>At first glance, this is an odd parable.<span> </span>It does not seem to be drawn from actual practice, in the way that the Parable of the Sower could well have been.<span> </span>After all, it is unlikely that a neighbour really did hop over the fence and broadcast weed seeds willy-nilly in a paddock of freshly sown wheat.<span> </span>Nevertheless, it is a wonderfully clear story with a very important point to make.<span> </span>Which raises the obvious question, why did it require such a laboured (we might say "corny") explanation?<span> </span>One clue might be found in verses 34 and 35, which precede the explanation, and seem quite superfluous given that they cover the same point that has already be dealt with at much greater length in verses 10-17.<span> </span>Perhaps in the early church there was a real issue with this form of teaching, particularly among Gentile converts.<span> </span>They weren't used to it and didn't get it.<span> </span>Today our mistake may be in assuming that this parable is really one of judgment, designed to assure us that the bad guys will get what's coming to them eventually.<span> </span>Remembering that this teaching is for those who wish to be or become disciples of Christ, it is surely about how we deal with evil when we encounter <span> </span>it.<span> </span>And then we remember that the one who is instructing us is the one who accepted death on the cross rather than a sword fight to the death.<span> </span>God's wisdom is different from ours; hence the daily need for discernment guided by the Spirit.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Read slowly through the parable several times.<span> </span>Don't be in a hurry to go past the opening words "The kingdom of heaven may be compared..."</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Think about the expression "cutting off your nose to spite your face": is that a useful summary of this parable?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Can you recall an occasion when, with the best of intentions, you took action only to discover that you made things worse?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">How might you respond to a similar situation in the future, guided by this parable?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Is Jesus advocating an acceptance of evil in this story?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-12266948358955008772014-07-10T15:45:00.001+12:002014-07-10T15:45:46.417+12:00Notes for Reflection<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">July 13<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></b></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Isaiah 55:10-13; Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Theme:<span> </span>Another hard week!<span> </span>For some reason I keep coming up with phrases that look more like a clue for a cryptic crossword than a theme for a service!<span> </span>But something around sowing (or being sown?), receiving, growing, or harvesting, perhaps.<span> </span>As usual, it's a bit of a stretch to find something that would bring in the second lesson, but perhaps "Sown with the Spirit of God" might do it.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We start with Isaiah at his musical best – it is almost impossible to read chapter 55 without bursting into song.<span> </span>[The NRSV edition I am using has a heading for this chapter reading "An Invitation to Abundant Life".<span> </span>Amen to that!<span> </span>I wondered whether to suggest that as this week's theme, but then a thought struck me: isn't that the theme of the whole Bible?]<span> </span>Today's verses may not have quite the same effect on us in mid-winter as they would have had to desert-dwellers of Isaiah's time, but they still must rank among the most uplifting and inspiring in our Scriptures.<span> </span>St Paul, too, has switched into a more positive mood this week as he continues to build up his argument that we have been rescued from our powerlessness (we might even say, rescued from ourselves) and are now free to live the life intended for us by our Creator, guided by the Spirit rather than by our natural appetites and instincts.<span> </span>And we close this week with one of Jesus' most important parables as we continue to reflect on what it means to follow Christ, to be a disciple, or, more simply, to be a Christian.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Three things are buzzing around in my head as I come to my encounter with this week's readings.<span> </span>First, an image from Brazil, but not from the field of play.<span> </span>The day before their semi-final there was a brief news item about how the whole country was going mad over football and, of course, over their national team; and one example of this was a local priest or shaman, or whatever he was, offering supplications to the gods, spirits or whatever it is in his belief system that can be relied upon to influence the outcome of football matches.<span> </span>He had a little altar on which were some effigies, some wearing Brazilian colours, and some wearing German colours.<span> </span>Of course, he prayed different prayers over those effigies.<span> </span>The tone of the news reporter was that of a curious and rather superior tourist inviting us viewers to laugh with him at this poor deluded primitive man.<span> </span>Instead, I found myself wondering about the content and purpose of my own prayers sometimes.<span> </span>And about what would happen if a local commentator drew attention to the number of times we see rugby players, football players, and even tennis players praying, pointing to heaven or signing themselves with the cross before or during a match.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">More importantly, I'm thinking about David Cunliffe's so-called "apology for being a man", and the reaction to it.<span> </span>Personally, I think it might have been better phrased: I take it that what Mr Cunliffe meant to say, in the context of domestic violence, was that sometimes he felt ashamed to be a man.<span> </span>Whatever his political opponents might make of that (and early responses have been all too predictable) St Paul would be leading the cheering.<span> </span>For whether Mr Cunliffe realised it or not (and as the son of a Presbyterian minister it is just possible that he did) his remark is classic Pauline theology.<span> </span>It illustrates the idea of solidarity: all men do not commit sexual assault but all men are capable of doing anything that any man does.<span> </span>And, of course, we can (and must) extend that to all human beings.<span> </span>To hold otherwise would be to assert that only some men (or some human beings) needed to be set free by Christ; the rest of them are inherently good and can and do always make the right choice in all circumstances.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Incidentally, one of the reasons why I have been enjoying the drama series <i>Boadchurch</i> on T.V. One over recent weeks is that it showed that many of the people in the little town were guilty of all sorts of things, quite unrelated to the murder that was at the heart of the serial; but that, of course, did not stop them turning on someone they suspected of paedophilia and driving him to suicide.<span> </span>Who in that little town did not need Christ's liberating grace?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Which gets me to the third thing that is buzzing around in my head this week.<span> </span>Recently I found a reference to a novel by John Updike called <i>A Month of Sundays</i>, and the reference said enough to motivate me to go to the local library to track it down.<span> </span>(It was published in 1975, and so had been consigned to the dreaded "Stack Room"; but three days later it was in my hands.)<span> </span>It is told in the first person, that person being an Episcopalian priest who has been given a choice by his bishop: he can either go to a place for erring priests and get sorted out or he can be unfrocked and dismissed from the ministry.<span> </span>So he is at this strange "rehabilitation centre" for fallen priests, where all talk of God is banned, no Bibles are allowed on the premises, and the "guests" (he prefers the term "inmates") are not even supposed to know what day of the week it is (in particular, when it is Sunday.)</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">The idea seems to be that the erring priest is to confront his own failings, and not hide from himself in theology, Scripture, or any other religious safe haven. <span> </span>(Think about that for a moment.)<span> </span>I am only half way through the book, but it has certainly shaken me up!<span> </span>As the hero begins to tell his story it becomes clear that he has committed adultery with the organist, and may be other women, too.<span> </span>So far, so trite and obvious.<span> </span>But Updike is far too good a writer to deal with this theme superficially – <i>Peyton Place</i> this ain't (though it is much more explicit than I was expecting)!<span> </span>And one of the gifts of this book is how theologically educated Updike obviously was.<span> </span>He uses his learning to show how easily the hero can live in his head one minute and his flesh (back to St Paul) the next.<span> </span>And when the hero works out that Sunday has dawned, he preaches to himself two of the most brilliant, enthralling sermons I have ever heard or read, and certainly more compelling than any I have ever preached.<span> </span>Suffice it to say, on the first such occasion he takes as his text "Neither do I condemn thee", spoken by Jesus to the woman caught in adultery.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">But here's the thing.<span> </span>Despite his rhetorical brilliance, and his insight into the (male) human condition, the sermon has one major flaw.<span> </span>It is completely contrary to the teaching of Christ.<span> </span>It is self-justifying heresy – wonderfully funny in places, but outrageously untrue.<span> </span>And why I think it matters is precisely here: I am tired of hearing people knocking the idea of "orthodox belief", whether in the form of the historic creeds, the Scriptures, or our prayer books.<span> </span>Yes, we can go too far in turning Christianity into a set of abstract beliefs or propositions to be memorised and trotted out when occasion demands.<span> </span>And yes, we should always recall St James satirical attack on those who talk the talk but fail to walk the walk.<span> </span>But walking the talk without knowing the way (and the truth and the life) is not discipleship or Christianity either, however many good deeds we might do.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">I've gone on too long, I know, but what I'm trying to say this week is this.<span> </span>Discipleship for me has three strands.<span> </span>First, it involves learning what Christ has taught and is today (through the Spirit) still teaching.<span> </span>Secondly, it involves putting the teaching into practice.<span> </span>And thirdly, and perhaps most importantly of all, it involves accepting that none of that can happen without opening ourselves up to the transforming power of God so that we become disciples in ourselves, capable of learning and doing just what that means in our lives.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Isaiah.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>And here is our first reminder that it all begins with God.<span> </span>Any other approach is simply a self-improvement programme devised by humans for humans, and doomed to ultimate failure.<span> </span>This lesson is an apt choice to accompany the Parable of the Sower, of course, but equally it could go with John's account of the meeting between Jesus and Nicodemus: John 3:3, and so on.<span> </span>As mentioned already, this is not the best time of the year for us to get the full impact of these verses, but we can imagine a time of drought, or a time spent in desert country – a time of frustration for a farmer or gardener desperately waiting for rain to save her crops and help them grow.<span> </span>And the great relief, the great joy, when the rain finally starts to fall.<span> </span>Translate that into your prayer life and what <span> </span>doyou get?<span> </span>Those arid times, those times when God seems to have gone into hiding, when your prayers seem as fruitless as the Brazilian gentleman's proved to be; pray for the rain of grace to start falling and know the joy when it finally does.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Reflect on the Brazilian man offering his prayers.<span> </span>What do you think about that?<span> </span>What does it tell you about your own prayers?<span> </span>Have you ever prayed for a successful outcome to a competition, for the All Blacks, perhaps, or Team New Zealand?<span> </span>What about the outcome of a General Election?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Is there a difference between those sorts of prayers and praying for the successful outcome of an operation?<span> </span>What is the difference?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">What about praying for rain?<span> </span>Or for a fine day?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Do you agree or disagree that knowing what we believe as Christians is important?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Do you agree or disagree with the concept of solidarity as outlined above?<span> </span>Are you sometimes ashamed of being a human being, or a man or a woman?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Reflect on this passage from Isaiah.<span> </span>Imagine a day of steady gentle rain.<span> </span>Is that a helpful image of God's grace watering your life?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Romans.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>St Paul has reached a turning-point in his long argument.<span> </span>Having wrestled with the paradox of being unable to do our own will, and stating emphatically his belief that Christ has broken the power of sin over us, he now turns to the question of how we might live out our new-found (or new-given) freedom in accordance with God's will.<span> </span>It is not by using our freedom to comply with the specific provisions of the Law (the Maker's Handbook form of Christianity) but by becoming attuned to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in all the circumstances of our lives.<span> </span>This is what he calls "life in the Spirit" in contrast to "life in the flesh" (whatever feels good is good).<span> </span>Perhaps the biggest difficulty with this reading is the impression it might give that our conversion from life in the flesh to life in the Spirit is instantaneous and complete.<span> </span>Experience suggests that such conversion is a life-long process for most of us, with many missteps along the way.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Try to recall a choice or decision you made in the last month of some consequence.<span> </span>What motivated you in the choice or decision you made?<span> </span>Custom or habit?<span> </span>The expectations of others?<span> </span>A desire for the approval of others?<span> </span>Your perception of your own best interest, needs or wants?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Did you seek, or were you aware of, the leading of the Spirit?<span> </span>Is it your practice to seek spiritual guidance from others when facing an important decisions?<span> </span>Has anyone else asked you for such guidance recently?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Meditate on verses 9-11.<span> </span>Write your own summary of them in your own words.<span> </span>How do you feel about this teaching?<span> </span>Does it ring true to your own experience?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Are you convinced that Christ is in you?<span> </span>What does that mean for you?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Matthew.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Here surely we have the foundation of a life of discipleship.<span> </span>Unless we receive the Seed of Life no growth is possible; and healthy growth is only possible if we are receptive to that seed, and consciously nurture and nourish its growth.<span> </span>That perhaps is where the analogy begins to fall down.<span> </span>Even good soil requires someone to tend it.<span> </span>We must do our part, first in preparing our own "tilth" so that the Seed of Life can enter into us; and then we must tend the plant that grows from that seed.<span> </span>Apart from anything else, we must ensure that it does not become choked by weeds.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">An excellent passage for a thorough spiritual stock-take.<span> </span>What is the present state of your soil?<span> </span>Are there any weeds that need to be removed?<span> </span>Are you watering it regularly with prayer?<span> </span>Are you feeding it regularly with the Bread of Heaven?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Are there any changes you need to make in your present practices?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-46618600581838346792014-07-03T15:48:00.001+12:002014-07-03T15:48:09.673+12:00Notes for eflection<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">July 6<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION</span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></b></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Zechariah 9:9-12; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>A bit of a challenge this week – an even race with no obvious favourites, we might say.<span> </span>But as I've been pondering these readings, looking for a common theme, the idea of "looking" or "seeing" keeps coming to me.<span> </span>On our spiritual journey what are we looking for?<span> </span>Why can't we see it?<span> </span>These are perhaps the sort of questions these readings throw at us this week.<span> </span>So perhaps a theme such as "Open our Eyes, Lord" might do it.<span> </span>Or given the presence of children in our gospel reading, perhaps "Hide and Seek" might be better.<span> </span>I'm leaning towards something more obscure, such as "Hidden In Plain Sight".</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We start with a bold and joyous proclamation from the prophet Zechariah: in a reading more often associated with Palm Sunday, he announces that the king is coming to his people, bringing peace and freedom for them all.<span> </span>It all sounds clear and transparent – beyond debate; but one little strange detail should alert us that it's not going to be quite as simple as that.<span> </span>How many conquering heroes arrive on a donkey?<span> </span>We follow that with this famous, psychologically astute passage from St Paul on the human phenomenon of seeming to be unable to do our own will, let alone God's.<span> </span>And we close with one of those "hamper packs", where the gospel writer (in this case, Matthew) seems to collect together a few tasty morsels and package them together without any obvious connecting thread.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>It's been a tough week or two on the world scene, perhaps dominated in our neck of the woods with the guilty verdicts against Rolf Harris.<span> </span>Even now, it seems, many who worked with Harris for decades in the entertainment industry are refusing to believe it, convinced that the jury got it wrong, even as more and more complaints against him are now arising.<span> </span>We are, of course, used to the idea that wrong-doers, particularly abusers of women and children, usually go to great lengths to hide their offending behind closed doors, so that when the truth comes out those who know them are astonished because they had never seen or heard anything that might raise suspicion.<span> </span>But one particularly shocking aspect of Harris' conduct (and even more so, of Saville's) is how much of it occurred in public, even on television.<span> </span>And yet nobody saw anything – or, if they did, they could not or would not believe what they saw.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">We see what we expect to see, or want to see; we do not see what we don't expect or want to see.<span> </span>Perhaps that explains how millions of people, particularly in Italy, saw Uruguayan Luis Suarez bite an Italian opponent in the World Cup football match, but neither the President of Uruguay nor most of his compatriots saw anybody bite anybody else!</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">The great priest and prophet, Fr Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, often wondered how it was that so few people could see what he saw; in fact, his aim in writing his spiritual masterpiece, <i>The Divine Milieu, </i>was to help people to SEE.<span> </span>One who could see was his fellow Jesuit priest and poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins: Teilhard often quoted the famous first line from Hopkins' wonderful poem, <i>God's Grandeur – </i>"The world is charged with the grandeur of God".<span> </span>Teilhard could see that grandeur shining through wherever he looked, but most of us see it, if at all, in brief glimpses of exceptional beauty and/or power.<span> </span>The burning question is why?<span> </span>Are people like Teilhard and Hopkins deluded, seeing things that aren't really there?<span> </span>Are they gifted with abilities denied to the rest of us?<span> </span>Or is it the case that all human beings have the latent capacity to see the grandeur of God, if only we weren't blinded by other things, things interior and exterior?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Told to look out for a king coming to them "triumphant and victorious", would the people of Zechariah's time recognise such a king if he chose to appear among them "humble and riding on a donkey"?<span> </span>Told to look out for the Saviour of the World, who would recognise him hanging on a cross between two criminals?<span> </span>Assured that he is with us always even to the end of the age, how do we recognise him today?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">I suspect that these sorts of musings might help us to find a common theme in this apparently motley collection of bits and pieces in Matthew's 11<sup>th</sup> chapter.<span> </span>The chapter opens with a summary of what Jesus has been doing (teaching his disciples) and what he now starts to do (teaching and proclaiming his message to the public); and then we go straight to the story about the imprisoned John the Baptist sending messengers to inquire of Jesus, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?"<span> </span>But notice what Matthew has done in verse 2.<span> </span>Having told us in verse 1 what Jesus had been doing and was about to do, Matthew says John sent his messengers after hearing what "the Messiah was doing".<span> </span>In other words Matthew makes it clear to us that Jesus is the Messiah even as he introduces John's question that can only be understood as doubting that very thing.<span> </span>Even the great prophet and forerunner is having difficulty seeing that Jesus is "charged with the grandeur of God".</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">The theme of seeing the true identity of someone continues in the following verses.<span> </span>Who did the crowds go out to see in the wilderness (and who did they see)?<span> </span>Why did people reject <span> </span>John for eating and drinking very little, and Jesus for eating and drinking too much?<span> </span>In other words, they didn't recognise John as a prophet because he didn't fit their preconceived notion of what a prophet should look like, and they didn't recognise Jesus as the Messiah for much the same reason.<span> </span>And whole cities, Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum among them, failed to see who Jesus really was despite witnessing his miraculous deeds.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">I find myself once again pondering the purpose of the traditional spiritual practices.<span> </span>Sometimes teachers of the past have suggested that they are ways of "pleasing" God, in return for which God will graciously grant us one or more "spiritual experiences" – God will, as it were, "put in an appearance", albeit tantalisingly brief.<span> </span>But these passages suggest that God's "default position" is not that of "Hidden – Find me if you can", but of "Here I am – click here to open your eyes."<span> </span>The spiritual exercises, like their physical counterparts, are designed to develop our abilities – in this case, to see the grandeur of God.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">So what stops us?<span> </span>The short answer, based on the Beatitudes, would be a lack of purity of heart.<span> </span>I think what St Paul is wrestling with in this classic passage from Romans is another way of expressing the same truth.<span> </span>It's a lack of will.<span> </span>We don't truly want to see God because to see God is to die: to see God is to die, that is, to self.<span> </span>It is to lose all excuses – to lose all our hiding places.<span> </span>Isn't that really something close to truth?<span> </span>While we can believe that God hides from us, we can convince ourselves that we are hidden from God, which we prefer to be at all times other than dire emergencies.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Zechariah.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>This week an organisation we had barely heard of had the audacity to proclaim a new caliphate over large areas of what Western nations once proclaimed were separate countries called Syria and Iraq, and to call upon all Moslems worldwide to recognise a man whose name we cannot pronounce as the Caliph to whom they all owe allegiance.<span> </span>That news story provides an interesting back-drop to this short passage from one of the so-called minor prophets.<span> </span>How might this passage sound to people with whom Israel was at war?<span> </span>Who is this king of Israel who has the audacity to "command peace to the nations", and to claim "dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth"?</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Who do you say he is?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">How can we proclaim Christ's universal reign in a world of other faiths without sounding like "Western imperialists"?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">What evidence do you have in support of your belief that Christ is with you at this time?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Moses famously asked God to let him see God.<span> </span>Have you ever made such a request?<span> </span>Would you like to see God?<span> </span>Why or why not?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Romans.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Anyone who has ever tried to commit to a new diet, or a new exercise regime, will know at some level what St Paul is on about in this passage!<span> </span>Everyone who has ever resolved to give up a bad habit, or turn over a new leaf, or be more patient, or less judgmental, or [<i>fill in the blank for yourself</i>], will likewise be nodding at this point.<span> </span>It is very much part of the mystery of being human, isn't it?<span> </span>Whether we like it or not, sometimes we do not seem able to execute our own will, not because of any outside restraints, but because our will suddenly countermands our own intentions.<span> </span>We may not feel comfortable with St Paul's choice of language here – we might not accept that we are slaves to sin – or like the Augustinian doctrine of original sin – but there sure is something pretty weird about our own failure to carry out our own fixed intentions. <span> </span>The point is, of course, that no amount of intellectual study or struggle, or psychological analysis or counselling, can free us from this condition.<span> </span>It is a spiritual problem, and only Christ can set us free from it.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Recall a few examples from you own experience of this phenomenon.<span> </span>Be specific.<span> </span>Can you see any common thread that links these instances?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">How do you feel about them?<span> </span>Frustrated?<span> </span>Annoyed or disappointed with yourself?<span> </span>Laid-back, understanding and forgiving?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">When you think about your own examples, do you feel more compassionate towards other people who have failed to follow through on commitments made to you?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">If Christ has set us free from this condition, why do you still suffer from it?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Next time you form an intention to do something, pray for the grace to carry through with it no matter what and, when you have done it, give thanks for that grace.</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">End with a period of chanting, "Lord, strengthen my will to do your will."</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Matthew.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>The first little passage this week, featuring the children's game emphasises, the blindness of the people.<span> </span>Neither in times of joy (music, wedding dance, etc) nor in loss (wailing, funeral, dirge, mourning) are they aware of God's presence with them.<span> </span>As already noted, they do not recognise John as a prophet because of his extreme asceticism, and they do not recognise Jesus as the Messiah because of his openness to parties and celebrations.<span> </span>The second passage is interesting first of all because verses 25-27 seem out of place in this gospel.<span> </span>If someone had read them to me and asked me which gospel they were in I would have unhesitatingly chosen St John's gospel.<span> </span>(Wouldn't you?)<span> </span>That aside, they continue with an exploration of how the true identity of Jesus is to be recognised.<span> </span>Again, the answer is that there is no intellectual answer to that question: Jesus is only finally known through revelation – through our capacity to receive spiritual truth.<span> </span>We finish with a very interesting image from the agricultural world of Jesus' time.<span> </span>Apparently, when a new ox was "in training" it would be yoked to the most experienced ox of the team, and would learn it's duties from that senior.<span> </span>Yokes have a bad image for us, yet Jesus invites us to be yoked to him.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Should spiritual leaders follow some sort of ascetical discipline?<span> </span>How would you react if a bishop or priest had the reputation of being a bit of a part animal?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Reflect on that image Jesus used about a yoke.<span> </span>Would you like to be yoked to Jesus?<span> </span>Are you yoked to him?<span> </span>Have you asked him to let you be yoked to him?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Spend time slowly re-reading verses 29-30.<span> </span>When you are ready pray to Jesus about these verses.<span> </span>Tell him what you feel about the idea.<span> </span>Be completely honest with him.<span> </span>Why might you be hesitant to accept his yoke?</font></span></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-1715929231191943742014-06-26T16:05:00.001+12:002014-06-26T16:05:54.824+12:00Notes for Reflection<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">June 29<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION<span> </span></span></b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"> Jeremiah 28:5-9; Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Nothing strikes me as obvious this week.<span> </span>However, as we are now in the second half of our liturgical year when the emphasis is on discipleship, perhaps something like "The Proof of the Pudding" might be a good way to start.<span> </span>More hazardous, but just as catchy, would be "Doing Is Believing", but on the feast day of St Peter and St Paul that might be going too far.<span> </span>(Perhaps file it away for the feast day of St James, whenever that is.)<span> </span>What we need to highlight is that, Christ having done all that is necessary for our salvation, it is time for us to show the fruits of his work in our lives.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>In the brief but rather subversive little passage from St Matthew this week Jesus assures those who welcome a prophet will receive a prophet's reward.<span> </span>Just in case that sounds warm and encouraging, our first lesson is from the Book of Jeremiah.<span> </span>Are you with me?<span> </span>The reward for welcoming a Jeremiah into your home is to receive what Jeremiah received?<span> </span>And it doesn't get any better if we run from Jeremiah to St Paul.<span> </span>He demands of us a righteous life, which again sounds okay until we go back to the gospel.<span> </span>The reward for welcoming a righteous person is to receive the reward of the righteous.<span> </span>Well, Peter and Paul were righteous, and today we remember them as martyrs.<span> </span>Do you see how modern the idea of providing the right incentives really is!<span> </span>In short, once again we are offered an opportunity to reflect on the difference between worldly and spiritual values.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Over the last two or three weeks I have been reading a remarkable book with a remarkable title by a man with a remarkable name: <i>The Solace of Fierce Landscapes</i> by Telden Lane.<span> </span>It was recommended to me several years ago by my then spiritual director, but at that time it was only available in hardback at a remarkable price.<span> </span>Now, <i>Kindle</i> has come to my rescue.<span> </span>I was about to note that I'm not making much progress in reading the book, before it suddenly dawned on me that such a comment would perfectly illustrate the theme I am trying to work with this week.<span> </span>What I had in mind, of course, was that, after two or three weeks, I am still well short of half-way through.<span> </span>It has been slow going.<span> </span>That is not because of any defect in the writing: the author writes very well.<span> </span>It is because the book has so many profound insights into subjects such as suffering and loss, silence and withdrawal, and the presence and absence of God, that I am constantly stopped in my tracks by a need to pause, ponder and reflect.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And that means that in the truly important sense I am making progress.<span> </span>I am learning things about my faith, my understanding, and above all about my own lack of deep seeing that I have not managed to learn on the journey so far.<span> </span>For instance, I am a coastal person.<span> </span>I was born and bred on the wild northern coast of Cornwall, and I do not thrive if I do not have ready access to a beach.<span> </span>Particularly, I need to walk on the beach when things have gone wrong: it's not simply that physical exercise helps me to unwind – a walk anywhere else does not have the same effect.<span> </span>It has to be the beach, but why?<span> </span>What is it about a beach that I find so healing?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Thanks to this book I am beginning to discover the answer to that question.<span> </span>The author refers to a short quote that he picked up from someone else (whose name I have forgotten):<i> We are saved in the end by the things that ignore us.</i><span> </span>For some reason that simple little phrase has become one of my most important eureka moments.<span> </span>When we go out into the desert, or up in a mountain range, or in my case, down on the beach, we are in the presence of indifference on a huge scale.<span> </span>The desert neither welcomes us nor objects to our intrusion: it simply doesn't notice us.<span> </span>The mountains have been there for eons before our unheralded arrival and will be there for aeons after our departure.<span> </span>The sea's tides will continue their ebb and flow, with no sign that our presence on the beach has the slightest effect on their coming and going.<span> </span>We simply don't matter a jot.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And that is the beginning of the healing process.<span> </span>Gradually we realise that our focus has been far too much on ourselves and our petty problems.<span> </span>We have been living in a world of our own creation.<span> </span>Because we are troubled we believe that the world is a hostile one, hostile, that is, to us.<span> </span>And when we stand up and recite the creed on a Sunday morning, talking about a God who created all things, and about his Son through whom all things were created, those words crash upon the rocks of our real belief that this world is one of hostility and grief.<span> </span>Why, then, should we praise the God who created it?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">The first stage of the healing is to rid ourselves of the belief that "all the world's agin us" by recognising that it is no such thing.<span> </span>All the world is indifferent to us.<span> </span>We are just not that important.<span> </span>And curiously, once we have gone through that deflationary process, it frees us to focus on God the Creator: it frees us to marvel at the creation, and to recognise that to be alive in such a wonderful world is an enormous privilege, a gift beyond price.<span> </span>And it does something more: it gives us a desire to know this God, this Creator, who is the source of all there is, seen and unseen.<span> </span>It allows us to read the wonderful closing chapters of the Book of Job and understand them; and to grasp at new depth what the author of Psalm 8 was saying, particularly in verses 3 and 4.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">It gives new meaning to the theme of dying to self, and to the related one of humbling ourselves and being exalted.<span> </span>If "repentance" really is about a change of mindset, then it is no wonder that it was from a desert that John the Baptist emerged with his call.<span> </span>"Fierce landscapes" strip away all falsity, and confront us with searing truth – about ourselves and about God.<span> </span>Jeremiah was in constant battle against false prophets, prophets who told the people (and their leaders) what they wanted to hear.<span> </span>False prophets were always politically correct.<span> </span>Jeremiah told them God's truth.<span> </span>He received, no doubt, a prophet's reward – eventually.<span> </span>In such landscapes we learn what it truly means to be a creature, wholly dependent on the Creator of all.<span> </span>St Paul writes this week about slavery: we recall that it was in fierce landscapes of wilderness and mountains that God's people learned what it meant to be truly free.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Jeremiah.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Give yourself a treat – start reading at verse 1.<span> </span>Suddenly we have before us a sort of Oxford Union debate – we can almost see the participants wearing dinner suits and black bow-ties..<span> </span>Hananiah speaks first.<span> </span>Wrapped up in prophetic language he predicts the come-uppance of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, with the consequential release of all the exiles and the return of the treasures looted from the Temple.<span> </span>Cries of "hear, hear" (rather than Alleluia or Amen) ring out from the appreciative audience, and then all eyes turn to Jeremiah, eager to see how he will go against such a wonderful debater.<span> </span>Jeremiah shows his mastery of such debate.<span> </span>Tempted though he must have been to lean toward Hananiah and exclaim, "I can smell falsity on your breath", he restrained himself.<span> </span>How wonderful it would be, he proclaimed if Hananiah's prediction should come to pass, but history cautions us not to bet the camels on it.<span> </span>In the past, most prophets have forecast war, famine and pestilence rather than peace.<span> </span>That doesn't mean only such prophecies can be genuine – but the odds are against it.<span> </span>Let's wait and see: only if peace breaks out as predicted will we know that God has truly sent the prophet who predicted it.<i></i></span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Put yourself in the audience.<span> </span>Who would you have voted for?<span> </span>Are you more inclined to listen to people who tell you what you want to hear and believe?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Ask yourself that question in the context of issues facing New Zealand and the world today.<span> </span>How do you react to forecasts about climate change, the creation of an underclass, or an obesity epidemic?<span> </span>Are those sounding warnings speaking the truth to us, or are they prophets of doom seeking a headline?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Do you form your own view on such issues, or do you seek guidance from the Holy Spirit?<span> </span>What role is there (if any) for spiritual discernment in deciding how you will vote in this year's general election?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Does the Church have a prophetic call?<span> </span>Is there any evidence that it is exercising that call?<span> </span>Who should speak for the Church on such issues of the day?<span> </span>Should we rely on motions from Synod, or should we seek those with a prophetic gift?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">In ordinary social situations do you attempt to contribute to discussions from a faith-perspective, or are you inclined to bite your tongue?<span> </span>If someone says something that is unfair, or disparaging, or otherwise ungodly, how do you react?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Romans.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Again, it would be helpful to start reading at the beginning of chapter 6, although verse 15 captures much the same point as verse 1; and both show human nature as it really is!<span> </span>Can't you just hear someone saying, ah, well, if God loves us anyway, and if Christ died for me while I was yet a sinner, I can do whatever I like and I still get the same deal, regardless!<span> </span>That's really the problem with what I tend to think of as forensic Christianity.<span> </span>A sin has been committed, the culprit must be identified and held to account, and the punishment will be applied unless the culprit pleads "no contest" and plays the "get-out-of-hell-free" card which comes with membership of the Church.<span> </span>That approach fails to recognise that we are called to follow the way of spiritual growth, pioneered and made possible for us by Christ.<span> </span>Sin is not so much a particular act or omission that offends God, but a step backwards that slows or even reverses our spiritual progress, or perhaps a symptom of such spiritual regression.<span> </span>For St Paul, the essence of Christ's work is that he has set us free from the compulsion of sin: how we use that freedom – to progress or regress – is now our choice to make.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Start by reading the passage through slowly.<span> </span>How do you feel about it?<span> </span>How do you feel about Paul?<span> </span>Be honest with yourself.<span> </span>Do you find yourself switching off, or challenged, or something else?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Focus on verse 17.<span> </span>To what extent have you "become obedient from the heart" to Christ's teaching?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">How do you feel about verse 19a?<span> </span>Does it strike you as understanding or condescending?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Are you seeking ever greater "sanctification"?<span> </span>What does that mean for you?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Paul writes often about "righteousness".<span> </span>How do you feel about that term?<span> </span>Is there a better way of putting it without using that word?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Matthew.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>This is getting monotonous, but you really do need to go back to verse 1, even if you can't bring yourself to read the whole chapter.<span> </span>This teaching is at the heart of what it means to be a disciple in the real world.<span> </span>Jesus wants his disciples to be under no illusion: it has echoes of the great debate in our first lesson.<span> </span>(It also reminds me of the nonsense the US authorities told their troops as they prepared to invade Iraq: "you will be greeted as liberators!")<span> </span>In this short passage Jesus prepares them for a variety of "welcomes".<span> </span>In effect he is saying, give your time and attention to those who welcome you, who recognise that you come bearing the word of God, and who offer you hospitality, not out of general cultural practice, but precisely because you are my disciple.<span> </span>Those are the ones who are on the way, and will receive their (spiritual) rewards.<span> </span>But what about the others?<span> </span>He does not tell us what to do about the mockers, the violent, or even the plain apathetic.<span> </span>We are to look for those who are receptive to the gospel.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">What lessons might there be here for the outreach of your local faith community?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Is there a distinction between social work, and Christian social outreach?<span> </span>When you offer help to another, do you do it "as a disciple"?<span> </span>What does that mean for you? </font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-27144747707376430562014-06-19T15:41:00.001+12:002014-06-19T15:41:00.710+12:00June 22 NOTES FOR REFLECTION Te Pouhere Sunday<div dir="ltr"><br clear="all"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">June 22<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Te Pouhere Sunday</span></b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Isaiah 42:10-20; 2 Corinthians 5:14-19; Matthew 7:24-29*</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">[*The Lectionary offers four possible gospel readings for this Sunday, none of which seem to me to give grounds for celebrating the Constitution.<span> </span>But to be fair, I can't think of any alternatives: it's almost as if theCconstitution has no biblical basis at all.]</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Fortunately I'm not preaching this Sunday.<span> </span>If I were I would be tempted to choose as a theme something like "This is the Good News?" or "So St Paul Got It Wrong?" or "The Church's One (New) Foundation".<span> </span>Privately, just between you and me, I'm going to follow Fiona Bruce's example and go for "Basic, Better, Best".<span> </span>(If you don't watch the <i>Antiques Roadshow</i> ask someone who does.)<span> </span>The safest option, of course, is to toe the party line and simply go for "Te Pouhere Sunday".<i></i></span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>I noted last week that when <i>The Lectionary</i> has difficulty in finding relevant readings we know we're heading into troubled waters.<span> </span>I was then referring to Trinity Sunday, of course, but the comment is even more apposite this week.<span> </span>We begin with a typically brilliant passage from Isaiah which comments, among other things, on the unmatched blindness of Israel's leadership, which, given that Israel was what today would be called a theocracy, means its religious leaders.<span> </span>So as we are commanded by General Synod (our religious leaders) to celebrate their masterpiece, we can only wonder if the choice of this lesson has its roots in humility or irony.<span> </span>The second lesson seems a little more on theme:<span> </span>Te Pouhere is a new creation, and was intended as a way of reconciliation with Maori who had every right to feel aggrieved by much that was done and practised by what was to all intents and purposes The Settler Church.<span> </span>We finish with a gospel passage, the choice of which for this "celebration" must border on the blasphemous if the inference is that Te Pouhere is the rock on which our church is built.<span> </span>Hopefully this Sunday in many congregations we will be singing Samuel John Stone's great hymn "The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord".<span> </span>May we sing it loudly and defiantly on this occasion!</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Yes, I'm feeling very grumpy this week, but it's not just my annual outbreak of PTPT (Pre-Te-Pouhere-Tension): there has surely been a great deal to be grumpy about this week.<span> </span>If the brief media reports of the findings of the Glenn Inquiry are in any way accurate, we have in this country a horrendous amount of violence towards women and children, highlighted, sadly, by yet another infant dying from head injuries inflicted by an adult male living at the same address in Hamilton.<span> </span>This follows on from a murder of a dairy owner by a 13-year-old boy and his even younger accomplice.<span> </span>Meanwhile Iraq falls apart with ever greater atrocities committed by young men shouting "Allah is Great" as they massacre their prisoners and, far from trying to hide their crimes, boast about them on the internet.<span> </span>Brief publicity is given to the scourge of elder abuse, and yet another of our fellow Kiwis is imprisoned for child pornography.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">So, about three months out from an election, what are our politicians, and their playmates in the media, focused on?<span> </span>A letter written by an electorate MP on behalf of a constituent 11 years ago!<span> </span>I wonder how those brave women and men who told their stories to the Glenn Inquiry feel about that?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">After such an appalling week we need as people of faith somewhere to go and be healed, to have our hope renewed, to be strengthened to carry on, to be empowered, to be recalled to our mission of reconciliation – above all to re-learn the fundamental truth that flows from our faith in the one true God, the one we in our national anthem address as "God of Nations", but whose greatest apostle insists calls us in his Son to transcend all supposed differences of gender and ethnicity.<span> </span>There is only one God and only one human species.<span> </span>All wars are civil wars and equally repugnant to the God of us all: all violence is domestic violence for we all belong in the one household of God.<span> </span>Is that truth revealed in or contradicted by Te Pouhere?<span> </span>After such a tough week as this, is there anything in that document that even remotely sounds like the Good News we so desperately need to hear?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">This year General Synod met in Waitangi.<span> </span>On the same day that I read our Bishop's blog on the subject I heard an item on the radio about the dissension and division among Nga Puhi over their long-awaited negotiations with the Crown seeking a Treaty settlement.<span> </span>Was General Synod a beacon of light in that dark and troubled land, or was it a meeting of the blind and the deaf completely unaware of the pain and suffering of the people all around them desperate for some really good news?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">So what do we celebrate today?<span> </span>A constitution that is better than the one it replaced?<span> </span>In theory, certainly, but in practice?<span> </span>One of the people who made a strong impression on me years ago was a South African priest who was asked if Apartheid was wrong in principle, or only in practice.<span> </span>If each "racial group" had been treated fairly, would it still be wrong to enforce separation?<span> </span>He was very clear.<span> </span>It was wrong in principle because it constituted "otherdom".<span> </span>What he meant was that to stick any label on someone – whether that label was about colour, or ethnicity, or faith, or whatever – was to designate that person as "other" than the people who wore any other label.<span> </span>Worse, he said, to do that was blasphemous, for God alone is Other.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><span> </span>Perhaps that's why those who worked on the new Constitution for South Africa did not adopt a three-tikanga model – Tikanga White, Tikanga Black, and Tikanga Coloured.<span> </span>That would have been better than the old constitution; but it wouldn't have been the best.<span> </span>So they gave their people instead a one-Tikanga model, which we might term Tikanga Rainbow.<span> </span>One advantage of that is that it sounds and is so much more biblical.<span> </span>I can already think of an Old Testament lesson that would be spot on!</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">So perhaps 1-2 cheers for Te Pouhere today, recognising, in the words of that great modern seer, S. Hansen, "we're getting there but there's still a lot we can improve on".<span> </span>We will reserve the third cheer for the next constitution that recognises that in Christ there is no longer Maori or Pakeha or Pacifika.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Isaiah.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>The passage opens with a call to worship by all creation, coupled with an image of God that is as far removed from that of a sort of divine constitutional lawyer as it's possible to imagine.<span> </span>This is an active God who psyches himself up with load cries not usually heard today outside of sporting contests.<span> </span>It is an eclectic image, to put it mildly, embracing both a mighty warrior and a woman in labour.<span> </span>Perhaps there is something there about fighting to bring new life, the very opposite of complacency or indifference.<span> </span>This is a God who's had enough: he's through with patience and understanding.<span> </span>His people have let him down; very well, he will take action himself.<span> </span>In a world of deafness and blindness what good are leaders who are also deaf and blind?<span> </span>Israel, the Lord's chosen servant, is as blind and deaf as everyone else.<span> </span>And it is a spiritual blindness, perhaps even a wilful blindness, as verse 20 makes clear.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Is it too late for the Church, the new Israel?<span> </span>Has God lost patience with it?<span> </span>Is there any evidence that God is still working through the Church, or do you think it is much more likely that God is now working around the Church?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">What new song should we sing to the Lord?<span> </span>Is worship the most important thing we can do, or is it a form of escapism by which we avoid dealing with real issues?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Meditate on verses 12 and 13.<span> </span>How do you feel about the images of God in these verses?<span> </span>Are they attractive to you, or off-putting?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">What do you know about Te Pouhere?<span> </span>Is it really modelled on the Trinity?<span> </span>Were you ever consulted before the adoption of Te Pouhere?<span> </span>Do you feel free to criticise it or is it now "official doctrine" to be accepted without question?<span> </span>Does it owe more to the Treaty or to the Bible?<span> </span>Is it essentially a political or a religious document?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Ponder verse 20.<span> </span>Does it speak to you?<span> </span>Is it challenging you in some specific way?<span> </span>What might you change to meet that challenge?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Corinthians.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>This lesson, too, raises difficulties if we try to read Te Pouhere in its light.<span> </span>What should motivate us in all we do is not social justice, or a desire to implement the Treaty, or any other worthy but secular goal; what should urge us on is the love of Christ, an ambiguous phrase perhaps because it could mean his love of us or our love of him – or both.<span> </span>But Paul is quite clear about one thing: it all starts at Golgotha, not Waitangi.<span> </span>Because Christ has died for us all, all have died, he says.<span> </span>What does that mean?<span> </span>It means we have died to ourselves, to our own agendas, our own individual egos, our own wishes, desires, wants and whims.<span> </span>We now live only for him.<span> </span>We no longer look upon Christ in human terms, as male, or Jewish, or tall or dark.<span> </span>Now all is made new in him.<span> </span>In him God has reconciled us to him.<span> </span>That is the message and the ministry which are now entrusted to us.<span> </span>We are now ambassadors for Christ, proclaiming his message to others so that they too might be reconciled to God.<span> </span>The whole focus is to be on God, not on Synods, and Constitutions, and other purely human concerns.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Are you at peace with God?<span> </span>How would you describe the present state of your relationship with God?<i></i></font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">How are you fulfilling your role as an Ambassador for Christ?<i></i></font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">How do you regard Christ?<span> </span>Is your predominant image of him pre-Crucifixion or post- Ascension?<i></i></font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Do you live your life primarily for Christ, for yourself or for your family?<i></i></font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Matthew.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Surely one of our Lord's clearest and most graphic pieces of teaching.<span> </span>One of the saddest aspects of the terrible slaughter that took place some years ago in Burundi was the fact that it followed so soon after a great spiritual revival when millions of people embraced the Christian faith.<span> </span>Their new-found faith proved so fragile that in the face of ethnic tension it collapsed entirely, and even priests and people in religious orders joined in the slaughter.<span> </span>As followers of <i>Grand Designs</i> can attest, the most important work often goes on below ground level.<span> </span>If our faith is all about looking good and impressing the neighbours it will not stand very long.<span> </span>Only if it is connected at the deepest level to Christ our rock does it have a secure future.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">What sort of foundations is the house of your faith built on?<span> </span>Are they well embedded in solid rock, or high on stilts to get a better view?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Can you recall a time when you felt the storms of life might bring your faith crashing down around you?<span> </span>What happened?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Are you a doer as well as a hearer of the word?<span> </span>Can you recall an occasion when you heard something read to you from the Bible that challenged you to go and do something?<span> </span>Did you do it?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Take time to review the foundations of your faith.<span> </span>Do they require strengthening?<span> </span>How might you do that?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-80628319958315519632014-06-12T15:15:00.001+12:002014-06-12T15:15:55.440+12:00Trinity Sunday<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">June 15<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Trinity Sunday</span></b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Genesis 1:1-2:4a; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; Matthew 28:16-20</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>By far the safest option this week is to go for the title of the Feast, "Trinity Sunday", or some variation on that theme, such as "The Holy Trinity", "Unity in Trinity", or the slightly more sazzy "The Community of Love".<span> </span>If you're tired of playing things straight, try something like "It's Just the Way it Is – Get Over It!"<span> </span>The middle option might be "Speaking of the Unspeakable".<span> </span>Or if you intend to follow the evasive approach I used when I had to preach on this Feast and use it to summarise the first half of the liturgical year, something fairly innocuous (that is, bland) like "The Story So Far".<span> </span>A final suggestion worth considering might be "The Divinity of Christ", which is, after all, at the heart of the Doctrine of the Trinity.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We know we're entering difficult waters when The Lectionary struggles to find relevant readings.<span> </span>The original "Grace" from the end of Paul's Corinthian correspondence, and the traditional baptismal formula from the end of Matthew's gospel, short and sweet though they are, fit the bill pretty well, particularly as it's hard to think of any alternatives.<span> </span>But we start with the long and beautiful creation hymn from Genesis, which to me anyway is a bit of a stretch if we are claiming it as essentially Trinitarian. <span> </span>The blunt truth surely is that no one had ever, or could ever have, thought of God as triune before the Incarnation; or, to put it another way, God did not fully reveal his Trinitarian nature before the Incarnation.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>I try not to rush off to what other people have preached when I'm preparing a sermon.<span> </span>I prefer to just sit with the readings and wait for something to stir within me.<span> </span>But I must confess that over the years, faced with yet another Trinity Sunday looming on my horizon (does it really only come round once a year?), I have been known to seek someone else's inspiration – when there's nothing new on offer we might as well try <i>Trade Me</i>.<span> </span>I do remember a wonderfully funny story by Adrian Plaas about a preacher resorting to the somewhat corny idea of ice, water, and steam, with a Monty Python-like outcome!<span> </span>But visual aids (not to mention exploding test-tubes) are not really my thing – are they really any more able to convey spiritual truths than the spoken language, despite all its inadequacies?</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">I do remember reading in something a little more high-brow that the Western Church started with a complete conviction that God is One, and struggled with the intellectual problem of how then to explain the divinity of Christ, whereas the Eastern Church started with the experience of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and struggled with the intellectual problem of how to explain the oneness of God.<span> </span>But I have three problems with that.<span> </span>First, I have no idea whether or not other scholars agree with that view.<span> </span>Secondly, even if it is widely accepted, I'm not sure where it gets us.<span> </span>Thirdly, it reminds me of the only thing I remember learning in my first year of law studies in 1963.<span> </span>The lecturer was introducing us to the danger of generalisations, which he described as "shameless hussies ever likely to lead unprepared lawyers into fatal error".<span> </span>The only sure protection against such temptresses, he assured us, was always to remember this simple truth: "All generalisations are more untrue than they are true – (<i>long dramatic pause)</i> – including this one!"</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Which in a strange sort of way gets me to a sermon I have read in the last few days by Barbara Brown Taylor.<span> </span>Her book <i>Home By Another Way</i> is a collection of her sermons following the liturgical year; and in her sermon for Trinity Sunday she refers to the use of koans by Buddhist masters to teach their students how to break out of logical thinking.<span> </span>One of the most famous, of course, is to ask "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"<span> </span>(Incidentally, she closes her sermon with a variant of that question: "what is the sound of three hands clapping?")<span> </span>She also has a lovely little story from her own days in parish ministry.<span> </span>One Trinity Sunday after the service she went out to her car and found "a lumpy envelope" on the bonnet.<span> </span>"Inside was a Three Musketeers candy bar with a note that read, 'All for one and one for three!<span> </span>Happy Trinity!'"<span> </span>It's hard to know what to say about that really, isn't it?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">But I take from all this two key points.<span> </span>First, we believe in the triune nature of God because of our human experience, not because of our human genius for philosophy.<span> </span>Secondly, our attempts to "explain" the Trinity, or (more correctly) to explain our doctrine of the Trinity, suffer from the same difficulty we encounter with an attempt to explain or describe any experience.<span> </span>Those of us who believe that the epitome of sophistication is to drink cider instead of beer love to laugh at wine connoisseurs with their strange descriptions of the taste of individual wines – "a cheeky little wine with just a hint of black-currant that lacks the strength to completely mask the undertone of silage".<span> </span>But one of the few sermons on the Trinity that I remember hearing began: "I am small, round and bright orange, covered in peel with an inner lining of pith enclosing my evenly segmented flesh.<span> </span>Yes, I am an orange, and I have just told you enough to recognise me when you see me.<span> </span>But as to my taste, there are no words to describe it.<span> </span>Only by tasting me can you know my taste, and then you will know how impossible it is to describe it to someone else.<span> </span>That, my friends, is true of an orange, and is equally true of the Holy Trinity."<span> </span>Or words to that effect.<span> </span>And the strange thing is, 23 years later I can remember very clearly who preached that sermon and where, but I have never been able to recall anything the preacher said after that opening paragraph.<span> </span>It may even be possible that she simply added "Amen" and left it at that.<span> </span>What else was there to say?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Back to Barbara Brown Taylor.<span> </span>In her sermon on the Trinity she talks of some of the various ways we experience God – as comforter, as encourager, as helper, as judge, and so on.<span> </span>But that seems to me to raise more questions than it answers.<span> </span>If we believe in God as Three Persons because of our experience of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, why don't we believe in God the Many More, including all those different "identities" just mentioned?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">And what is the sound of three hands clapping?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Genesis.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>I'm beginning to think that perhaps this passage was chosen for Trinity Sunday precisely to challenge us to abandon our obsession with rational analysis; because that approach trips up right away.<span> </span>Just stick with the first two verses for a moment and try to analyse what they are telling us.<span> </span>Does verse 2 describe how things were before God started to create, or did he start by creating things as they are described in that verse?<span> </span>Secondly, what purpose was achieved by the Spirit/Wind of God sweeping over the face of the waters?<span> </span>Thirdly, what was the origin of those waters?<span> </span>Shall we give up now and accept that we are never going to get anywhere with a rational approach to this passage?<span> </span>Now to the issue of whether or not this passage is Trinitarian – at least with the benefit of hindsight.<span> </span>The key insight here, of course, is that God created all things by speaking them into existence.<span> </span>While we might have a childhood vision of God in his shed knocking up wonderful creations, or shaping things on a potter's wheel, the Hebrew genius was to see creation as being brought into existence by language.<span> </span>And, of course, that opened the door for Christian interpretation – Christ the Word is the medium through which all things were created.<span> </span>However, as has so often been the case, the Holy Spirit has been left to hover around the edges.<span> </span>Apart from sweeping over the face of the waters, what else did the Spirit contribute to the creation of the heavens and the earth?</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Perhaps we should ponder the origin of this passage.<span> </span>We are so used to this passage being at the beginning of the Scriptures that we might forget that the idea of God as the Creator of all thing came quite late to the people of Israel.<span> </span>After all, monotheism came quite late to the people of Israel.<span> </span>For centuries they worshipped the god of Israel, accepting that other nations worshipped their own gods.<span> </span>Only when it dawned on them that there is only one God was it possible to recognise that all thing had their source in that one God.<span> </span>And when they realised that they expressed that new belief, not in a scientific monograph, but in this glorious hymn of praise to God the Creator.<span> </span>It is as a great piece of doxology that we should approach it, rather than a somewhat over-stretched basis for the Doctrine of the Trinity.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Notice the recurring "creative formula" beginning with the word "Let", as if creation is effected by granting permission.<span> </span>See, for example, verse 24: "Let the earth bring forth..."<span> </span>Could it be said that creation occurs by divine permission to fulfil inherent potential?<span> </span>What do you make of that?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Contrast that with the creation of humankind in verse 26: God seems to grant permission to himself.<span> </span>What do you think?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">God created humankind in his own likeness/image.<span> </span>What does that tell us about ourselves, given that God is triune?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">In what sense might we see God's gradual self-revelation as a parallel to evolution?<span> </span>Could we understand human beings as evolving from the purely physical, through the psycho-physical, towards the spiritual?<span> </span>Is our triune nature best described as physical, psychological and spiritual?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Corinthians.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Paul brings his long and sometimes acrimonious correspondence with the church at Corinth to an end with a plea for unity: "agree with one another, live in peace".<span> </span>He even seems to imply that only as they manage that will the God of love and peace be with them, which doesn't sound quite right, does it?<span> </span>Perhaps we should put it down to tiredness.<span> </span>What is most important for us is the very last verse.<span> </span>It is sometimes argued that the Doctrine of the Trinity has no biblical basis.<span> </span>On the contrary, this verse shows that the concept was already present in the early Church by the time of this letter.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Remember that this correspondence is very much addressed to the local church, rather than to any individual believer.<span> </span>What things need to be put in order (verse 11) in your local church?<i></i></font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">To what extent do members of your local church agree with one another and live in peace?<i></i></font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Meditate on the Grace/Blessing in verse 13.<i></i></font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Pray for your local church using this lesson as a guide.<i></i></font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Matthew.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>This is Matthew's version of the Ascension without any actual ascension.<span> </span>But that's not the important thing about it.<span> </span>Its real interest is threefold.<span> </span>First, of the eleven disciples (the original 12 minus Judas) present, "some doubted" (verse 17).<span> </span>Secondly, Jesus uses the words 9in verse 18) associated with the vision of the one like a Son of Man in Daniel 7:13-14.<span> </span>And thirdly, and most importantly for present purposes, we have the baptismal formula already firmly in place by the date of this gospel, again showing that the Doctrine of the Trinity is already in gestation.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Read slowly and prayerfully through the passage.<span> </span>How do you feel about some of those disciples "still doubting"?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Notice that, despite that, all of them are commissioned for ministry to the world.<span> </span>Certainty of conviction is not a pre-requisite for discipleship and mission.<span> </span>How do you feel about that?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Reflect on your own baptism, recalling that the words used by the priest on that occasion have been used from the very beginning of the Christian Church.<span> </span>How do you feel about that?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Remember that Christ is with us to the end of the age and give him thanks and praise today!</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-56634875814469297892014-06-06T08:41:00.001+12:002014-06-06T08:41:35.734+12:00Day of Pentecost<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">June 8<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Day of Pentecost</span></b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"> Acts 2:1-21; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13; John 20:19-23</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>It picks itself really, doesn't it?<span> </span>Of course, there are a number of variations on the general theme that might tempt you.<span> </span>I seem to recall that early on in my ministry I went for "A Tale of Two Pentecosts" (one from Luke and one from John) which certainly got the (somewhat unloving) attention of the more charismatic members of the parish.<span> </span>With my inability to keep up with the speed of the Easter Season this year, I'm still about a week from being ready for Pentecost: I'm still on Christ's instruction to wait.<span> </span>So I'm going with "Life on Hold".</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We begin this week with Luke's classic account of that first Pentecost experience, and we end with John's very different account of the giving of the Holy Spirit.<span> </span>(More about that later.)<span> </span>Sandwiched in-between is part of St Paul's careful instruction to the Corinthians on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, a teaching often misunderstood or even ignored in our churches today.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We often hear people quoted in the media saying something like, "Until this is over my life's on hold".<span> </span>The "this" being referred to may take many forms.<span> </span>Think for instance of long-running court trials.<span> </span>In South Africa Oscar Pistorius, in London Rolf Harris and Rebecca Brook and her co-accused, and in New Zealand the directors of South Canterbury Finance may well feel that until the outcome of their trials their lives are on hold.<span> </span>(I was going to include Kim Dotcom in that list but it's hard to see any evidence that he has put his life on hold!)</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">People facing serious threats to their health – awaiting tests or treatment – may feel that until they know where they are – until the results are in, decisions made, chances assessed, and treatment undergone, their lives are on hold.<span> </span>Less traumatic but often equally dramatic are students awaiting the results of important exams.<span> </span>Have they passed – have they got the all-important qualification that would enable them to move on to the next stage of their lives?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Others may be stuck in the world of not knowing what has happened to their loved ones, like the families and friends of the passengers and crew of the missing aircraft; while others know only too well what happened but cannot move on until they know why it happened, who was responsible, and how those responsible are to be held to account.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And among all those who, for whatever reason, have put their lives on hold there will be some who are praying, waiting, hoping to receive power from above.<span> </span>Waiting for their own personal Pentecost experience that will bring them new life where none seems possible.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">At least people facing awful circumstances like those know what it is they are waiting for, know why they have put their lives on hold.<span> </span>But as Harold Pinter, Ionesco, and other dramatists of a few decades ago so brilliantly illustrated, there is a sense in which we can all live our lives as if they are permanently on hold – as if we are waiting for our own "Godots". <span> </span>I have often commented on that fascinating word "pastimes", which are things we do to pass the time – between what and what, we don't always know.<span> </span>Those things we will do one day may simply grow old with us because we have never quite got around to doing them before it is too late.<span> </span>Someone said recently that there is one thing we can say for pessimists – they are far more likely to actually do the things on their bucket lists – optimists always believe there's plenty of time for all that!</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">As I have continued to reflect on Christ's instruction to wait until you have received power from above, it has struck me that there is a much broader sense in which we as a society (in fact, as a world) seem to be in a holding pattern on so many fronts.<span> </span>Individually and collectively we know what we should do but often seem powerless to do it.<span> </span>Just this week we had another contribution from Professor Jim Mann, a modern-day prophet if ever there was one, urging better eating habits for our own good; yet another group is pushing us to face up to the problems associated with the over-consumption of alcohol; and the ongoing issues surrounding environmental degradation and climate-change continue to be debated endlessly.<span> </span>We are aware of the problems we face; we agree that something needs to be done; yet as individuals we continue to eat the wrong stuff and in the wrong quantities, and we continue be too busy for exercise, let alone for such time-consuming practices as prayer and meditation; and as a society we continue with policies and practices that are contrary to our own long-term interests, and even threaten the lives of our grandchildren and succeeding generations.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Are we all on hold?<span> </span>Are we waiting for something?<span> </span>Could it be that the prophets and mystics of the past were right – that at base all our problems are rooted in our spiritual malaise and are curable only by the power of love – the power that we are instructed to wait for until we have received it from above?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Which is a very roundabout way that has led me to think about the nature of the "power" that Christ told his disciples to await.<span> </span>Perhaps that's where we need to start our Pentecost ponderings.<span> </span>Too often it seems that we focus on the "miraculous" manifestations of the Spirit, the things that the Spirit enables us to do, the spectacular and exciting things.<span> </span>I once had a doctor who was widely esteemed as a brilliant diagnostician, but with the worst 'bedside manner' imaginable.<span> </span>I mean, we are talking Doc Martin in real life here.<span> </span>One of his other patients said to me one day, 'I don't care if he hates me, as long as he gets me well'.<span> </span>Would we think the same about the Holy Spirit?<span> </span>So long as I'm healed, that's all I ask of God?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">No!<span> </span>and for a very good reason, as St Paul's teaching makes clear.<span> </span>Healing is not contagious.<span> </span>The man born blind could not "pass on his healing" and cure others born blind.<span> </span>But what he could do is love others with the love he had himself received.<span> </span>And ultimately that power to love is the one we need to transform the world.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Here's a little example of this I heard on the radio last Sunday.<span> </span>A black South African man was responsible for ordering the bombing of a pub even though Nelson Mandela had been released and genuine elections had been announced, and a truce was supposed to be in force.<span> </span>The reason for ordering the attack was an attack on a house three days earlier by South African security police in which some schoolchildren had been killed.<span> </span>One day this black South African was speaking at a public meeting when he was challenged by a white woman whose daughter had been killed in the attack on the pub.<span> </span>He asked if she would meet with him after the meeting, and she agreed.<span> </span>She told him her story and he told her his.<span> </span>Since then they have campaigned together for peace and reconciliation.<span> </span>She said it was her Christian faith that enabled her to forgive him – not out of obedience to Christ's teaching but out of love that she had received from Christ and was now able to pass on to him.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Think of Syria, or the Holy Land, or of any other land devastated by war, ethnic violence, and a history of hatred.<span> </span>Is there are any other remedy?<span> </span>Don't they all need that power from on high?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Acts.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>For all those present the waiting was over – they received power from above.<span> </span>Verses 1-4 show the inadequacy of human language to describe the actual spiritual experience they had at that time.<span> </span>Nor should verses 5-11 be treated as an invitation to geography buffs to play smart games.<span> </span>The key idea is that of understanding: somehow those that never quite "got" Jesus when they travelled with him for three years are suddenly able, not only to understand what he was on about all that time, but also to explain it to others despite all possible language barriers.<span> </span>Unity is the first fruit of the Spirit – the unity that was at the heart of the last prayer Jesus prayed on the night before he died, according to St John.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And even Peter, who so often got things spectacularly wrong, is now able to explain from the Scriptures (the same Scriptures that the Risen Christ explained to the disciples on the Road to Emmaus) what exactly is going on.<span> </span>God is beginning to fulfil his promise to pour out his Spirit upon all flesh, so that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Is there any sense in which your life is on hold?<span> </span>What are you waiting for?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Do you agree or disagree that the "power" of the Holy Spirit is the power to love others?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Are you more likely to pray for the Holy Spirit to come down to heal you (or others), or to empower you to love others more?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Would you like the Holy Spirit to come in power on your local faith community in some sort of spectacular manifestation?<span> </span>Have you prayed for that?<span> </span>What do you think might happen to your community in the wake of such a manifestation?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt 41.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Does the whole idea of the Holy Spirit make you rather nervous?<span> </span>Is the Holy Spirit scarier to you than the other two Persons of the Holy Trinity?<span> </span>Why?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Corinthians.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>It is clear that the church at Corinth has experienced all sorts of manifestations of the Spirit, so much so that the members of that church have lost sight of its all-embracing mandate to build them up in unity and mutual love into one body.<span> </span>For me there are three main points that we need to grasp clearly in this passage.<span> </span>First, it is through the Spirit that we know and proclaim authentically that Jesus is Lord.<span> </span>Secondly, that there are different gifts, and they are distributed to various members of the congregation as the Spirit determines.<span> </span>Any attempt to assert that all Christians should have this or that gift (a heresy most often associated for some reason with the gift of tongues) clearly contravenes this Scripture.<span> </span>Thirdly, all such gifts are given for the common good, so that within the local manifestation of the Body of Christ all such gifts may be present.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">A passage to work through slowly.<span> </span>Start with verses 1-3.<span> </span>Make "Jesus is Lord" your mantra for the next 7 days.<span> </span>What does it mean for you?<span> </span>In what way is Jesus Lord of your life?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Now move on to verses 4-11.<span> </span>Which gifts has the Spirit given you?<span> </span>How do you use them?<span> </span>What gifts do you discern in other members of your faith community?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Meditate on verses 12-13.<span> </span>Do you experience their truth at a deep level?<span> </span>When you gather with others in your local faith community do you feel the unity of the Body of Christ?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">John.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>It is good to have just these few verses today.<span> </span>So often we scuttle past them in our haste to renew our acquaintanceship with Thomas.<span> </span>Once again John shows his mastery, as he has Jesus breathe the Spirit into the disciples as God breathed that same Spirit into Adam.<span> </span>Without ever using the words, he tells us that the new creation, like the old one, is born through the life-giving breath of God.<span> </span>Notice, too, that the gift of the Spirit brings with it the power to forgive, as in the "South African parable", above.<span> </span>Talking of Thomas, did he miss out on receiving the Holy Spirit?<span> </span>Verse 28 (read in the light of 1 Corinthians 12:3) surely shows otherwise.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">A good passage to pray with the imagination.<span> </span>Put yourself in this scene, and see what happens.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Does it concern you that this seems to be an alternative, and even contradictory, account of the coming of the Holy Spirit?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">In what way have you been sent by Christ?<span> </span>How would you describe your mission?<span> </span>How is it going so far?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Are you aware of Christ's peace in your life?<span> </span>Are you at peace with him?<span> </span>Are you at peace with the other members of your faith community?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-28913038068968118092014-05-29T17:03:00.001+12:002014-05-29T17:03:17.283+12:00Sunday after Ascension<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">June 1<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Sunday after Ascension</span></b></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Acts 1:6-14; 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11; John 17:1-11</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Whether you are using these readings, or those set for Ascension Day itself, the theme must surely be something to do with the Ascension.<span> </span>It depends, therefore, on what you make of the Ascension; do you wish to skip quietly around it on the ground that to express belief in it can be almost as embarrassing as professing faith in the Virgin Birth; or having come this far through the Easter Season without flinching over the resurrection, do you intend to stand firm and stick to the doctrines of the faith as this church has received them?<span> </span>Perhaps it would be wise to adopt the phraseology our Lord himself used, and go for "Returning to the Father", or some variation of that.<span> </span>I have more and more a sense of the whole drama of Christ's death and resurrection coming to a final glorious conclusion with the Ascension, and perhaps something like "The Grand Finale" might appeal – although there is a sequel to come, of course.<span> </span>I am taking a slightly different approach: I have spent most of this Easter Season "re-pondering" the Fourth Gospel, and recognising the need for a new term to describe the Christ I have found in that work.<span> </span>So my theme this week is "The Bi-Natural Christ".</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>There is no need to stress again that only Luke has a clear account of the Ascension.<span> </span>We begin this week with his description of the Ascension in the Book of Acts, but it is little more than a re-working of the last few verses of his gospel.<span> </span>Our reading from Peter shows the reality of life for the believers who are suffering persecution for their faith in Christ.<span> </span>John's "Farewell Discourses" reach their own glorious climax with Christ's high priestly prayer, including its astonishing description of the transformed disciples.<span> </span>Once again, if we are to take the encouragement intended to be offered here, we will have to abandon our obsession with chronology.<span> </span><span> </span></span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We hear a lot about biculturalism these days, but very little about what it means.<span> </span>If our aim is to build a "bicultural" society", what would that look like?<span> </span>Is that something different from "bi-ethnic" or "bi-national"?<span> </span>And if we bring it down to the individual level, what do we mean by a bicultural individual (assuming we mean something by that term)?<span> </span>Does it mean a Maori who is thoroughly grounded in Maoritanga and fully at ease in the Pakeha world – or a pakeha who is fully at ease in the Maori world?<span> </span>Or does it mean a person who claims/owns two cultures equally and refuses to identify with only one?</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Well, calm down because this is not the place to pursue such issues, and I'm not going to do so.<span> </span>I'm using the term "bicultural" only to give you some idea of what I mean when I describe the Christ of John's gospel as "bi-natural".<span> </span>It is, of course, orthodox theology to proclaim that Christ has two natures, meaning that he is fully human and fully divine; but where does such theology come alive?<span> </span>Where does it help us to understand Christ better?<span> </span>And my answer to that is in the first half of John's gospel.<span> </span>Think yet again of the marvellous encounters between Jesus and Nicodemus, the woman at the well, and others.<span> </span>Jesus "operates" out of both of his natures – but the person he is talking with does not.<span> </span>He/or she operates only out of his/her human nature.<span> </span>Just as we might say of a bicultural person, that person is at home in both cultures, so we can say of Jesus he is at home in both "realms" – the material and the spiritual.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Perhaps I can make a little clearer what I'm trying to say with another analogy.<span> </span>Think of a person who is bi-lingual: let's say she speaks Russian and French with equal fluency.<span> </span>If she is speaking to a French person she speaks French; if to a Russian person, she speaks Russian.<span> </span>It makes no difference to her, but it would make a huge difference to the person she is speaking to if she suddenly switched to her other language.<span> </span>Now apply that example to Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus.<span> </span>If Jesus spoke only Aramaic and Nicodemus spoke only Greek, they would have great difficulty in understanding each other.<span> </span>In fact, Jesus spoke the language of the Spirit while Nicodemus spoke the language of the world, so they had great difficulty in understanding each other.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Of course, we cannot push the analogy too far.<span> </span>This is not a problem to be solved by translation from one language into the other.<span> </span>The things of the Spirit require their own language: they cannot be communicated accurately in, or translated into, the language of the world.<span> </span>To understand Jesus, Nicodemus would have to learn the language of the Spirit.<span> </span>So, of course, must we.<span> </span>Hence we must look to the Spirit to lead us into all truth.<span> </span>That surely is one thing we can say with confidence as we read these difficult texts: until the Spirit came, Jesus' disciples were no more capable of understanding him than Nicodemus was.<span> </span>There was a "language barrier".</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Now this is where my speculations may plunge into heresy, so brace yourself.<span> </span>The idea of Christ's two natures – or his bi-naturalism, as I am now calling it – may give us a picture of two natures complete and distinct from the beginning subsisting within the one body.<span> </span>But let's think for a moment about his birth, or, more correctly, I suppose, his conception.<span> </span>Is the incarnation to be understood as involving a separate entity (his spiritual nature) being placed alongside his physical nature, or is it the entry of the Spirit into the physical – the material of which his body is being made?<span> </span>Could it be then, as he grows physically, so the Spirit becomes more and more manifested in him – his physical body – the matter of which he is made – becomes more and more "spiritualised"?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Until "a tipping point" is reached at his baptism, symbolised by the descent upon him of the Spirit and the words of divine love from above.<span> </span>Only at that point is he sufficiently bi-natural to undertake the mission for which the Father has sent him into the world, the mission, of course, to bring the whole creation back to God who is Spirit.<span> </span>At his death on the cross he commends his spirit into the Father's hands, and dies.<span> </span>Three days later he is raised (by the Spirit) from the dead, and appears in a very different form which we might well describe as a "spiritualised body".<span> </span>He is then "seen" to ascend to the Father and disappear from our sight.<span> </span>From then on he is with us as Holy Spirit (Paul assures us that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ).</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">So perhaps the Ascension is the "completion" of the incarnation that began with Christ's conception?<span> </span>(Matter is ultimately fully spiritualised: how else could it become one with the Father who is Spirit?)<span> </span>And perhaps it is even more.<span> </span>I have long thought that a better name for the Ascension would be the Transcension, because in it Christ transcends all human particularities.<span> </span>This is definitely heretical – I have that on the assurance of the former Professor of Systematic Theology at Otago University – but I continue to believe it.<span> </span>Briefly, the argument here goes like this.<span> </span>Jesus was a certain height with a certain complexion.<span> </span>We could have said of him that he was, say, 179 centimetres tall, with black hair and beard, brown eyes and a sallow complexion.<span> </span>But can we say the same of the ascended and glorified Christ – the cosmic Christ?<span> </span>Would that make sense?<span> </span>Now comes the tough bit: Jesus was Jewish and male: can we say the same of the ascended and glorified Christ, the cosmic Christ?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">In my view we can't: in the Ascension, in his return to the Father, he transcended all such particularities: male and female, Jew and Gentile, free and slave, all such particularities are transcended in and by the cosmic Christ through whom all things return to the Father.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And a final thought for now: if not the Ascension, what?<span> </span>For the story of Jesus without the Ascension read again the closing paragraph of Matthew's gospel.<span> </span>Is that any easier to explain – whatever your choice of language?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Acts.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Did you notice the wonderful start of this passage!<span> </span>Never mind that there is no suggestion of this conversation in the relevant verses at the end of Luke's gospel.<span> </span>(Perhaps he has done further research.)<span> </span>Here again (verses 6-7) is a reminder that the disciples have still not got the real message.<span> </span>Two other quick observations.<span> </span>Christ has just commissioned them to be his witnesses "to the ends of the earth"; but the angels address them as "men of Galilee".<span> </span>They have a long way to go in both senses of that expression.<span> </span>Secondly, perhaps the message is don't stand there looking at the departing Christ: look forward to the time when he will return.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">What is your take on the Ascension?<span> </span>Do you find it embarrassing?<span> </span>Should the Church "play it down", or should we seek to understand it more?<i></i></font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Does the argument set out above make any sense to you or does it just add to the confusion?<span> </span>Does the meaning of the Ascension have any relevance to your day-to-day life of faith?<i></i></font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Does the concept of "bi-naturalism" have any appeal for you?<span> </span>Does the idea of a different "language" for spiritual truth make any sense?<span> </span>Does it help to explain why the language of the Fourth Gospel is so different from the other three?<i></i></font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Try using this model on one of the stories (Nicodemus, etc) and see if it helps to illustrate what is going on in the story.<i></i></font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Spend some time each day in prayer as you prepare for Pentecost.<i></i></font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Peter.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>This is a very pastoral passage; the emphasis seems to have changed from telling believers how to behave, to reassuring and encouraging them in their sufferings.<span> </span>The idea of sharing in Christ's sufferings may not sound right to us today; perhaps better to say that they are suffering as he did and for the same reason.<span> </span>But they are also reminded that the Spirit of God is resting on them, and ultimately God will vindicate them.<span> </span>On that assurance they must base their hope, and stand firm in the faith.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Have you suffered for your faith?<span> </span>What in this passage would you find particularly helpful in such a situation?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Pray for people who are being persecuted for their faith.<span> </span>Use this passage as a template for that prayer.</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">When have you been most aware of the Holy Spirit resting on you?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">John.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>There is probably no point in denying that this wonderful "prayer" does not sound like a prayer that Jesus would have addressed to Abba on the night before he died.<span> </span>Verses 1-5 sound like a theological statement of John's thinking up to that point.<span> </span>Apart from anything else, Jesus refers to himself as the Son in verse 1, and as Jesus Christ in verse 3, before reverting to the first person plural in verses 4-5.<span> </span>But many key theological ideas are summarised in this passage, including glorification, eternal life, authority, and mission, and ending with the clearest possible assertion of the doctrine of the pre-existent Christ.<span> </span>As mentioned above, verses 6-8 cannot really be a description of the state of the apostles' understanding of Jesus on the night before he died: that has got to be post-Pentecost, to put it very mildly.<span> </span>It is when the prayer becomes noticeably intercessory that it begins to sound more like Jesus – more like the prayer of a Good Shepherd concerned with the welfare of his flock.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">The whole chapter is presented as one prayer, but in the content can be divided into three parts.<span> </span>Jesus prays for himself, then for his disciples, and then for those who will come to faith after them.<span> </span>What do you make of the fact that Jesus prayer for himself first?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Are you more inclined to pray for others before yourself?<span> </span>Why?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Read verse 9 slowly.<span> </span>Notice how the prayer "discriminates" between believers and others.<span> </span>What do you make of that?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Now read verse 11.<span> </span>Jesus asks the Father to protect his disciples, but from what?<span> </span>It appears that he is more concerned about their unity than their physical well-being.<span> </span>What do you make of that?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Do you pray regularly for the protection of your faith community from the threat of disunity?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Right now, what is your most heartfelt desire?<span> </span>Pray accordingly.</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-2190984942147517702014-05-23T08:03:00.001+12:002014-05-23T08:03:16.964+12:00Sixth Sunday of Easter<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">May 25<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Sixth Sunday of Easter</span></b></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"> Acts 17:22-31; 1 Peter 3:13-21; John 14:15-21</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>The idea of preparation is buzzing around in my head this week as we move ever closer to the great climax of the Easter Season, the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost.<span> </span>And as I have been reflecting on this it has occurred to me that we are in a sort of Advent Season; as we need to prepare for the coming of Christ, so we need these last two weeks to prepare for the coming of the Spirit.<span> </span>So I'm going with "Preparing the Way of the Spirit".</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We begin this week with Paul's great effort to tackle the Athenians on their home ground, perhaps to underline that intellectual effort can only take us so far, even if we are as gifted at it as the Greeks were.<span> </span>The resurrection does not make rational sense: evangelism by argument of that kind is never going to be hugely successful, even with a proponent like Paul.<span> </span>Peter advocates a different approach: always be prepared to answer anyone who asks why we place our faith and hope in Christ.<span> </span>Personal testimony, rather than intellectual rigour, makes converts.<span> </span>But first, the Spirit must come, and John shows Jesus trying to prepare his disciples for that very advent.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Last week I must have distracted myself while preparing the Notes.<span> </span>Having made some enigmatic remark about the person whom Stephen saw standing at the right hand of God, I meant to say more about the frequency with which Jesus identified himself – or, more accurately, seemed to refer to himself, as "the Son of Man". <span> </span>In particular, in each of the three explicit cases where he spoke of his coming death and resurrection he used that terminology: the only exception that I can find off-hand is a general reference in Matthew 16:21, and that is not a direct quote from Jesus but an "editorial comment" from Matthew.<span> </span>More typical is this from the next chapter (17:22-23): <i>Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised."</i></span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Three brief points about this usage by Jesus of this term "Son of Man".<span> </span>First, it is so pervasive throughout the gospels (although less frequent in John) that it is most unlikely that it was made up by the gospel writers for some theological reason: we may be pretty confident that Jesus used the term originally.<span> </span>Secondly, nobody else did: apart from Stephen in his death throes, no one ever referred to Jesus as the Son of Man; and the term appears nowhere else in the New Testament (in Revelation 1:13 the reference is to "one like the Son of Man").<span> </span>And thirdly, nobody seemed to ask Jesus who he was talking about when he spoke about the Son of Man except a member of a hostile crowd in John 12:34.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And here's another question the disciples never seemed to have asked whenever Jesus predicted his death and resurrection: then what?<span> </span>"Lord, after you have been raised from the dead, what will you do next?"<span> </span>Wouldn't that have been an obvious question to ask?<span> </span>And if they had asked, the obvious answer would surely have been along the following lines: "Well, I shall appear to you so that you can be assured that I have been raised, and then I shall ascend to my Father in heaven, and we shall send to you the Holy Spirit to guide you until the end of the age."<span> </span>Yet, according to the synoptic gospels the question was never asked and the answer was never given.<span> </span>How the issue is dealt with in the Fourth Gospel we can see in this week's passage; but before that there is one more thing to say about this term "the Son of Man".</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">It seems widely accepted that the term is taken from Daniel 7:13-14.<span> </span>Unfortunately, in our desire to use inclusive language the NRSV somewhat obscures the term by referring to "one like a human being", but the editors partially redeem themselves with a footnote to the effect that in Aramaic the text says "one like a son of man".<span> </span>Whatever term is used, it is clear from the text that this mysterious figure is "eschatological"; and what is even more clear is that the use of those verses has shaped our mental picture of the so-called "Second Coming" of Christ ever since.<span> </span>A classic example is found in Matthew 24:30.<span> </span>In short, the belief in the early church that Christ would return in the immediate future was so dominant that no thought was given to any gap between the resurrection and the end of the age.<span> </span>It would be a terrible but short period of trials and tribulations, after which those who held firm to the faith would be vindicated and raised up to the heavenly realms.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">What then of the Ascension and Pentecost?<span> </span>Despite the fact that all four gospels were written with the benefit of hindsight, there is precious little about these events in the first three gospels.<span> </span>Matthew ends his gospel with the Risen Christ, already imbued with "all authority in heaven and on earth", commissioning the disciples for mission to the world, and promising to be with them to the end of the age.<span> </span>Who knows where Mark finished his gospel!<span> </span>Even in the all-too-obvious "add-on" the reference is to the Ascension only, and an assurance that the Lord continued to work with the church as it went about its mission.<span> </span>Only Luke has anything like a prediction of the coming of the Spirit (24:49), followed by a clear reference to the Ascension, both of which he amplifies in the opening verses of the Book of Acts.<span> </span>But notice the wording in that verse 49: "I am sending you what my Father promised."<span> </span>Assuming that this is a reference to the gift of the Holy Spirit, when did the Father promise it?<span> </span>According to Peter in his famous Pentecost sermon, the promise was made through the prophet Joel.<span> </span>This surely is the clearest evidence possible that nobody thought that Jesus, before his death and resurrection, had made any prediction about the coming of the Spirit.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">So what is John up to in this week's passage, and in the rest of the so-called "Farewell Discourses"?<span> </span>The short answer is that he is clearly wrestling with a rather large gap between what has actually happened in the 60 or so years after Christ's death and resurrection and what believers had thought would happen during that period based on the apostles' teaching.<span> </span>Why hadn't the Son of Man come on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, as they had expected?<span> </span>Why hadn't this present age ended so decisively?<span> </span>Had something gone horribly wrong, or had they misunderstood what was to happen next?<span> </span>John's first answer starts here at 14:15 and runs through to the end of this chapter.<span> </span>But it seems that it didn't satisfy him, and he returned to it in chapters 15-17, a block widely believed to be a later interpolation between 14:31 and 18:1.<span> </span>As I reflect on it, it seems to me that chapters 15-17 can best be understood as John's expansion – the fruit of yet further reflection – on what he has written in chapter 14:15-31.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">And we have only two weeks in which to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Holy Spirit!</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Acts.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Paul has been on the run for some time; hounded out of Thessalonica and Beroea, his security detail has brought him to Athens, and if you read verses 16-21 of this chapter 17 you can see why.<span> </span>For anybody who enjoys a good verbal stoush it sounds an ideal place to visit; and I just love the description of the locals in verse 21!<span> </span>It sounds like the annual convention of the New Atheists Association, except that there were a surprising number of open-minded people in the Areopagus.<span> </span>Not surprisingly, the crunch point came when Paul mentioned the resurrection, but even so only some of the audience scoffed; others asked for a further meeting, and still others were convinced and joined the believers.<span> </span>From Paul's point of view, a pretty good return for his time and effort.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Read slowly though the passage, noting the various steps in Paul's argument.<span> </span>How persuasive do you find his approach?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Paul observes the number of altars and concludes that they are a very "religious" people.<span> </span>Is that the term you would use; or might you use "superstitious"?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">What do you make of verse 24?<span> </span>Why then do we have places of worship?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">What do you make of verse 25?<span> </span>Do we not serve God with our hands?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Now ponder verse 27: leaving aside our modern difficulties with the word "grope", does this describe your own spiritual search?<span> </span></font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Is God near to you?<span> </span>Are you his offspring?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Re-read verse 31.<span> </span>Granted that Paul is trying to be brief, what do you feel about the gist of the gospel being "the judgment of the world in righteousness by a man"?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Peter.<span> </span></span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">The epistles bearing Peter's name are not among the most interesting or entertaining in Scripture; but every now and then they reward the long-suffering reader with a nugget of pure gold.<span> </span>In this week's passage verse 15 surely qualifies for that description.<span> </span>Here is the key to real evangelism – or "faith-sharing" if that sounds less scary.<span> </span>If someone asks us to recommend a film, a book, a car or a breed of dog we usually have no difficulty in explaining our choice: why then should we blush if asked to explain our faith?<span> </span>Peter links our faith back to the resurrection, baptism, and even to the Ascension.<span> </span>But that's all theological wrapping: the gift we offer to those who inquire is our experience of Christ in our hearts.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">What in the manner of your life might prompt someone to ask you why you believe in Jesus?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">On a one-to-one basis, how would you explain your faith to a friend who inquires?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Pray for the opportunity to share your faith with someone this week.<span> </span>Pray, too, that the Holy Spirit will give you the words to say when the opportunity arises.</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">John.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Last week we had the first 14 verses of this chapter 14.<span> </span>It seemed to look backwards towards Easter, rather than forwards to what comes next.<span> </span>Overall the tone was comforting and assuring.<span> </span>Jesus is trying to reassure his disciples that life will go on, despite his forthcoming death.<span> </span>Although the Ascension is not referred to directly, the idea weaves in and out of those verses; but there is no mention of the Holy Spirit.<span> </span>The unity between the Father and the Son is stressed; and there is a possible hint of a future "coming" in verse 3.<span> </span>But the exact relationship between the ascended Christ and his disciples seems a bit blurred.<span> </span>They can ask him for help and it will be forthcoming; but it seems that he will be in heaven while they are here on earth. <span> </span><span> </span>The new stuff begins this week, and it begins with a verse we might not have noticed too much.<span> </span>Verse 15 seems to be a condition precedent for the coming of the Spirit: only if we keep the new commandment to love one another will the Lord ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit/Advocate/Spirit of Truth. <span> </span>He will be with us (believers) for ever; in fact, he will be in us.<span> </span>So far, reasonably clear.<span> </span>But what are we to make of verse 18?<span> </span>Is this "coming" different from the coming of the Holy Spirit?<span> </span>Similarly, in verse 20, will the Lord be in us as well as the Holy Spirit?<span> </span>We are back to the problem Paul faced at the Areopagus: ultimately spiritual truths cannot be comprehended intellectually.<span> </span>John is writing from his own experience of the Risen Christ and the Holy Spirit: we can only hope to understand from our own experience.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Do you agree or disagree that Jesus did not predict, prior to his death and resurrection, the coming of the Holy Spirit?<span> </span>Does it matter?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">What might you do to over the next two weeks to prepare for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">What do you make of verse 15?<span> </span>Does it suggest that the Holy Spirit comes only to believers who love one another?<span> </span>Does your local faith community "qualify"?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">In one sentence, how would you summarise your present understanding of the presence of the Holy Spirit's work in your life?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-76933402135747814372014-05-15T15:36:00.001+12:002014-05-15T15:36:07.391+12:00Fifth Sunday of Easter<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">May 18<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION</span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Fifth Sunday of Easter</span></b></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Acts7: 55-60; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>At the risk of seeming obsessed, I don't think we can avoid returning to the theme of recognition this week.<span> </span>It is obviously at the heart of our gospel passage, and I think our other two readings offer variations on that same theme.<span> </span>So I'm leaning towards something like "Due Recognition", or "Recognising Christ, Recognising Ourselves".</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We begin this week with the famous story of the stoning of Stephen, recognised as the first Christian martyr.<span> </span>In his final moments he looks up to heaven and has no difficulty in recognising the Risen and Glorified Christ "standing at the right hand of God"; at least, that's whom we think he sees, although he gives him a different name/title.<span> </span>Our second reading, continuing on from last week from the First Letter of Peter, identifies Christ in yet another way – he is now "a living stone".<span> </span>What is even more astonishing is the way in which the author describes us: can we recognise ourselves in his words?<span> </span>And finally we have John's version of Jesus' exasperation the night before he dies as he realises that the penny has still not dropped among his chosen disciples; they still do not recognise his true identity.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>"Recognition" is a very hard-working word in the English language, and we are hearing a number of uses of it today.<span> </span>In simple terms it means something like "to know again", or to bring back into our consciousness something that had been there before but was not in our immediate awareness at that moment.<span> </span>We have all had the experience of seeing someone in the street who looks vaguely familiar but whom we can't immediately identify.<span> </span>Then, sometimes, the brain comes up trumps, finds the correct file, and we "recognise" that person.<span> </span>That can be particularly difficult if we "know" that the person we think it is should be overseas or in the North Island or in hospital or something, and so this person cannot be him.<span> </span>Our rational brain tries to refute the messages coming to it from our eyes.<span> </span>This is the sort of thing that was probably at play with the resurrection appearances.<span> </span>His disciples (and Mary) had such difficulty in recognising the Risen Christ, not because he looked different, but because they "knew" Jesus was dead so whomever it was now standing before them could not possibly be him.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">This week I was reading an obituary for an American singer, and the comment was made that, despite his great talent and his long career in the music industry, he never quite received the "recognition" he deserved.<span> </span>Meanwhile, western political leaders, furious with Vladimir Putin for behaving in Crimea and the Ukraine in the way Imperialists throughout history (including Greek, Roman, British, French, German, American and every other brand you can think of), have been insisting that the international community will not "recognise" the annexation of Crimea or the various referenda being conducted in eastern parts of the Ukraine.<span> </span>Presumably in the arcane world of international diplomacy that's considered strong stuff, even though in the world in which everyone else lives it seems more like a wilful refusal to face the facts.<span> </span>[cf. Richard Dawkins (and his many Face Book friends and Twitter followers) in his refusal to accept what is, and has been for 2,000 years, blindingly obvious to millions of people, equally gifted scientists among them.]</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">When I was reading the obituary of the musician I suddenly found myself thinking of our first reading again.<span> </span>Has Stephen received the recognition he deserved?<span> </span>Yes, he is acknowledged as the first Christian martyr, and as a very strong influence in the conversion of St Paul himself.<span> </span>But if you were asked to name the 6 most important people in the New Testament (apart from Jesus himself) would he make your list?<span> </span>Off the top of your head, can you remember anything else about him?<span> </span>Well, go back to chapter 6 and refresh your memory.<span> </span>The happy state of affairs mentioned in our reading from Acts last week has dissolved already; ethnic factionalism, tribalism, call it what you will, has seen to that.<span> </span>Cries of "That's not fair!" now fill the air instead of Psalms and Alleluias!<span> </span>"Our widows are not receiving the same benefit given to your widows."</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">The leadership took a very pragmatic approach: it was a distribution problem, nothing deeper.<span> </span>They assembled a team of deacons to attend to the matter, but with interesting qualifications.<span> </span>They were "seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom".<span> </span>Their task, in the somewhat demeaning words of the apostles, was "to wait on tables", leaving the apostles to "devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word".<span> </span>The people agreed instantly (this was long before Synods had been invented) and they chose Stephen and six others; and just in case we have a short-term memory problem we are again reminded that Stephen was "a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit".<span> </span>Perhaps they should have known that such a man was never going to be content as a volunteer in the foodbank, as verse 8 makes clear: "Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people."<span> </span>In other words, Stephen was a great all-round follower of Jesus, living like him, serving like him, loving like him, tried like him, condemned like him, dying for him, and all because, like him, he was full of the Holy Spirit.<span> </span>So how come he's not in your top 6?<span> </span>Have you given him the recognition he deserves?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And so to the gospel passage.<span> </span>Last week I was rather hard on John, but I suspect I wasn't alone.<span> </span>My guess is that in a large majority of our faith communities last Sunday was still referred to as "Good Shepherd Sunday", even though verse 11 was not included in the reading set for that day.<span> </span>(I would be even more confident that in none of our faith communities was it referred to as "Gate Sunday".)<span> </span>Perhaps the importance of that passage – and the reason for its inclusion in the readings for the Easter Season – was to be found in the need to show that the great dispersal (destruction of fellowship) that seemed unavoidable on Good Friday was averted through the presence of the Risen Christ resuming the divine role of shepherd of the flock; and also on the need of the flock to develop the ability to recognise his voice rather than his face.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">However that might be, it seems clear that John in particular was concerned throughout his gospel with the issue of recognition.<span> </span>Recall the great stories that are unique to this gospel – beginning, perhaps with the calling of Nathaniel and the wedding at Cana, and continuing through the great "dialogue stories" with Nicodemus, the woman at the well, the man born blind, and Lazarus.<span> </span>In all those cases the issue arises at some stage of the play as to who is this man really?<span> </span>A great teacher, yes, but is he more than that?<span> </span>A great prophet, yes, but is he more than that?<span> </span>A great miracle-worker and healer, yes, but is he more than that?<span> </span>The Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world, as Martha puts it?<span> </span>Yes, but what exactly does all that mean?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Put all this together and perhaps we can see that at the heart of the problem of recognition, pre- and post-mortem, is a failure to recognise that Jesus is in every sense fully human AND in every sense fully divine.<span> </span>That, I think, is the conclusion John came to, and that is why he wrote what he did in today's gospel reading – not because it happened the way he describes it but because he is describing the ongoing struggle of Thomas and Philip, and all the others, to recognise Jesus as God Incarnate.<span> </span>Two thousand years later their struggle is ours.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Acts.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>When I was summarising chapter 6 I left out the last verse, verse 15.<span> </span>It's a great verse; have a look for yourself.<span> </span>See what I mean?<span> </span>Stephen has been arraigned before the Sanhedrin, the same dodgy council that purported to try Jesus.<span> </span>The prosecution witnesses have all made their wild accusations against him, and when they had finished, everybody on the Council looked at Stephen, the accused.<span> </span>What did they see?<span> </span>A shifty-looking character?<span> </span>A face red with indignant rage or white with blood-curdling fear?<span> </span>No; "they saw that his face was like the face of an angel".<span> </span>Then he was invited to respond to the accusations, and he "made the same mistake" Jesus had made in his infamous sermon in his hometown – he reminded them of their history.<span> </span>No country likes to be reminded of its history – all of us prefer our sanitised myths.<span> </span>The members of the Sanhedrin were in no mood for self-examination and repentance – and were even less so inclined after Stephen's somewhat injudicious finale.<span> </span>He might have looked like an angel, but he probably didn't sound like one.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Do the six-persons test.<span> </span>Where does Stephen rank?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">What do you make of his behaviour as he was being stoned?<span> </span>Is it credible?<span> </span>How would you defend its credibility against a sceptic?<span> </span>Does it strengthen your own faith?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Does history belong in the past, or should we seek to know and understand the facts of our past, unpalatable as some of them may be? Why?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Peter.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>I have already made passing reference to the image of Christ as a "living stone" – in fact, a cornerstone.<span> </span>But to me the real interest in this passage is two-fold: first his emphasis on spiritual matters; and secondly on his images of the community of faith (the church).<span> </span>If you have been in the church for a few years you will be fortunate indeed if you have managed to avoid those irritating exercises (usually inflicted upon us when we are having a "parish consultation" to consider what we would like in a new vicar) when we are asked to come up with an image of the church.<span> </span>What sort of tree/ship might best represent our little faith community?<span> </span>In that situation, have you ever been tempted to leap up and scream, "We are not a blankety-blank tree or a blankety-blank ship – we are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, - in short, we are God's own people in order that we might proclaim the mighty acts of him who called us out of darkness into his marvellous light!"?<span> </span>No, neither of I, but it's a good job I have retired, so I need never face that temptation in the future.<span> </span>Of course, if you are ever in that situation in the future...</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Does the image of Christ as a living stone or cornerstone do anything for you?<span> </span>Next time you are in your local church take time to gaze at the architecture.<span> </span>Does any particular part of it suggest an image of Christ?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Ponder verse 1.<span> </span>How's the ridding going?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Ponder verse 2.<span> </span>Do you long for pure, spiritual milk?<span> </span>Are you growing spiritually?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Read slowly through verse 9.<span> </span>Do you recognise you and your faith community in this verse?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">John.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Well, if we found last week's utopian vision from Acts a little challenging, this time the challenge is so much harder to avoid because it comes in this passage from John.<span> </span>The passage starts off well enough: the first three verses can always be wheeled out for the most secular of funerals without causing too much fuss: their tone is definitely comforting and reassuring, even if (or perhaps because) their meaning is not entirely obvious.<span> </span>But then Jesus baits them and Thomas takes the bait.<span> </span>Undermining all our well-meaning interfaith dialogue comes verse 6(b): "No one comes to the Father except through me."<span> </span>Wriggle as we might, that is, in the words of one of my mentors, both exclusive and conclusive – or plain wrong!"<span> </span>It gets worse.<span> </span>Jesus sets them up again, and this time Philip is hooked.<span> </span>He has failed to recognise that Jesus is the Father, and vice versa.<span> </span>What?<span> </span>Surely that's not a reasonable summary of verses 9-11?<span> </span>Well, we have a choice: we can believe it because he says it is so, or we can believe it on the evidence of the "works" (read, miracles) that Jesus performed.<span> </span>But wait – there's more.<span> </span>And verses 12-14 tell us what that more is.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">What can we do with this passage?<span> </span>Well, here are some thoughts that might be helpful.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 2.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">It is widely believed among scholars that the community of faith from which this gospel emerged was deeply divided by various controversies, and had lost members as a result.<span> </span>This can be seen, for instance, in chapter 6:66, which seems to refer to a split over the Eucharist, and in the Epistles of John.<span> </span>We might therefore expect the author to be determinedly exclusivist – you are either in or out.</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">It is also widely believed that this is a very late gospel, written somewhere between 90 and 110 A.D, perhaps by a very old, wise man who had spent decades reflecting on the Jesus stories.<span> </span>Perhaps he was struck by the inability of the disciples to recognise Jesus after the resurrection, and realised that it was a continuation of their inability to "recognise" him while he was still with them.<span> </span>Related to this was their astonishment: had he not told them at least three times that he would suffer death and then on the third day be raised from the dead?<span> </span>And yet, on those occasions Jesus had talked about these things happening to "the Son of Man".<span> </span>Could it be that their real difficulty had arisen from their failure to recognise that Jesus himself was "the Son of Man"?<span> </span></font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Another approach might be to focus on the fact that Jesus is using the term "Father" rather than "God".<span> </span>"Father" denotes a particular relationship, that which Jesus himself had with God and into which his followers are admitted through him.<span> </span>It does not rule out the possibility that others may have a different relationship with God.</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">A further option sometimes suggested is the so-called anonymous Christ; that is, that whenever anyone comes to faith in God it is done through Christ even though the person concerned has never heard of Christ, or has heard of him but does not believe in him.</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 38.25pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Personally I prefer to hang my hat on a very generous interpretation of John 21:22.<span> </span>If we ask, "Lord, what of Moslems or Hindus or atheists?" we are likely to receive the reply, "what is that to you?<span> </span>Follow me."</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Are you uncomfortable about the "exclusive tone" of this passage, or doesn't it worry you?<span> </span>Do any of the points suggested above help or not?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Consider Thomas's contribution here, and compare it with his famous "doubts" after the resurrection.<span> </span>What does John want us to take from the whole "Thomas" thing?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Some scholars believe that this passage owes much to St Paul's teaching, particularly in his Letter to the Colossians.<span> </span>Does that get you anywhere?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Are you (as I am) more troubled by verses 12-14? <span> </span>Do they ring true to your own experience?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-31578470046879464002014-05-08T16:09:00.001+12:002014-05-08T16:09:41.636+12:00Fourth Sunday in Easter<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">May 11<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION</span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Fourth Sunday of Easter</span></b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts: </span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Acts 2:42-47; 1 Peter 2:19-25; John 10:1-10</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Yes, well, good luck with choosing a theme this week!<span> </span>I've had to reject a few ideas because they all fell somewhere on the spectrum between rudeness and blasphemy.<span> </span>Having complained last week that the Easter Season is passing too quickly, one look at this week's readings made me wonder if it's already over.<span> </span>However, reflection is a wonderful thing, and after a while some sort of link with the resurrection stories began to emerge.<span> </span>If Thomas' absence might be thought of as an illustration of the breakdown in fellowship caused by the death of Christ, could we not see in the resurrection stories as a whole the restoration of fellowship flowing from Christ's resurrection?<span> </span>So my pick for this week's theme is "The Shared Life".</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We start with one of the most challenging little passages in the New Testament.<span> </span>Go back a few verses and recall that in response to Peter's "Pentecost Sermon" "about three thousand persons were added" to the 120 or so believers at the start of the day.<span> </span>And now we are given a summary of how those 3,120 spent their time and resources, which led to daily increases in their number!<span> </span>Feeling challenged yet?<span> </span>Perhaps the second reading will make you feel better?<span> </span>Suffering for your faith is good for you; and we're not talking mickey-taking, scorn, or even downright hostility here.<span> </span>We're talking physical violence all the way up to martyrdom.<span> </span>And there's not a lot on offer in the gospel reading by way of soothing balm, is there?<span> </span>To be blunt, I'm not sure what there is in our gospel passage today.<span> </span>When I got to verse 6 I found myself muttering "I'm not surprised."<span> </span>We have to wait until the very last sentence of this week's passage to find anything that sounds like the Good News we are called to proclaim.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Still struggling to keep up with the pace of the Easter season, I found myself this week going back to the question the Risen Christ first asked the disciples on the road to Emmaus: "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?"<span> </span>At one level, of course, that's a pretty obvious question, an opener to get the whole encounter under way.<span> </span>But Jesus so often asked apparently simple questions that turned out on reflection to be far more profound, and I suspect that this one may belong to that genre.<span> </span>If the journey to Emmaus is, as is so often claimed, a model of the faith journey, then perhaps all us on that journey need to address that question from time to time.<span> </span>What are we discussing with one another as we continue the journey?<span> </span>When we gather for a cuppa after the service – when we gather in our Vestry meetings or AGMs – whenever we are with our fellow believers - what are we discussing? <span> </span>Our faith?<span> </span>The hope we have in Jesus Christ?<span> </span>How best to share that hope with others?</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And so to this week.<span> </span>What is the link between the readings we have before us now and those we have worked through over the last three weeks?<span> </span>Starting with the gospel passage, in what way is that a particularly appropriate reading for the Easter Season?<span> </span>Well, I began with John 21 in mind (particularly as I had rather thought we might have something from that chapter somewhere in the Easter Season).<span> </span>That's very definitely a "resurrection appearance" chapter, of course, with at least two of the familiar elements in it.<span> </span>First we see the problem of recognition, and then we have another example of the Eucharistic motif we had last week.<span> </span>But I'm thinking particularly of verses 15 to 19, with its unmistakeably pastoral language.<span> </span>The threefold "re-instatement liturgy" with Peter is almost like a new and converse version of the Kyries elieson – "Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep."<span> </span>And taking the passage as a whole, the fact that Peter does indeed love Christ is the basis for his vocation to shepherd the flock.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">But what does it mean to "shepherd the flock"?<span> </span>For "John" anyway, the answer to that question is to be found in chapter 10, hence the link to this week's gospel passage.<span> </span>But there is a fundamental problem here.<span> </span>In chapter 10 Jesus is addressing the hostile Pharisees, not his disciples; and in the course of his argument with them he changes his imagery sharply.<span> </span>Although not very explicit, in verses 1-5 he appears to place himself in the role of the shepherd, and refers to someone else as the gatekeeper who opens the gate for him.<span> </span>But when he meets with blank faces all round (verse 6) he tries another tack, this time describing himself as the gate; before returning much more explicitly in verse 11 to his self-identification with the good shepherd.<span> </span>Once we get to that verse, perhaps, we feel more comforted, more at home.<span> </span>I have seen a few stained glass windows depicting Christ the Good Shepherd; I can't recall ever seeing one depicting Christ the Gate!</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Yet I do think these first few verses have something important to say if we will take the time to listen, and "listen" is the right word to use here, because of central importance is once again the theme of recognition.<span> </span>The sheep need to be able to recognise the shepherd, and they do so by recognising his voice.<span> </span>Similarly we need to be able to discern his voice among all the other voices with which we are bombarded today and which threaten to lead us astray.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And now to my chosen theme of "The Shared Life", about which I will have more to say when I get to our first reading.<span> </span>But as a general introductory comment, I think we can discern a pattern in the resurrection stories of the slow rebuilding of fellowship. <span> </span>Even though the stories tend to start with individuals, Mary at the tomb being the classic example, what follows is a sharing of the good news, and even (often) some sort of fellowship meal. <span> </span>Thomas is brought back to the fellowship; Peter, too, and when he shows an unhealthy interest in the fate awaiting the other disciple he is immediately corrected.<span> </span>There is to be no jealousy or rivalry in the restored fellowship.<span> </span>This week's passage, perhaps, is intended to underline that a shepherd is there for the entire flock, and the well-being of each sheep is only ensured if the whole flock sticks together and follows the one shepherd.<span> </span>The flock that grazes (eats) together, stays together.<span> </span>Which leads us rather nicely to our first reading.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Acts.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Could this really be historically true?<span> </span>Personally I find it harder to believe than the resurrection stories!<span> </span>Maybe it was true just for a very short period of time; the beginning of chapter 6 sounds much more like human nature in action to me.<span> </span>The more interesting question might be, would we like it to be true?<span> </span>Could we live out our faith in a community of like-minded people following an agenda such as the one outlined here?<span> </span>And if the honest answer to that question is no – and if the number of intentional faith communities that have arisen, flourished briefly and then collapsed in acrimony over the years is anything to go by, no is the honest answer – what does this reading have to say to us this week?<span> </span>Should we blush with embarrassment, avert our glance and hurry on to the next reading?<span> </span><span> </span>Perhaps the middle course is to focus on the principle of cooperation, which after all is really fellowship in action.<span> </span>Every time I hear one of our politicians insisting that we must build a more competitive society I want to scream: personally I want us to build a more co-operative society.<span> </span>One where we believe in feeding the sheep because they are hungry, not because the market demand for "sheep fodder" ensures high profits for us.<span> </span>In a week when our news media were full of awful images of addicts focused on their need for legal highs (the ultimate image of the death of any form of fellowship is surely the addict focused exclusively on himself/herself)), the one bright spot I found was an article in the ODT on the Food Share organisation, founded and managed by Dunedin lawyer, Deborah Manning.<span> </span>Begun just 18 months ago, "she and her team of mostly volunteers collect about two tonnes of good, edible food a week [<i>from supermarkets and other retail outlets]</i> for redistribution back into the community".<span> </span>I have no idea whether Ms Manning or her team are motivated by Christian belief; but I do know that what they are doing is a wonderful example of our Lord's teaching put into practice.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Read slowly through these verses.<span> </span>Which verse do you find the most personally challenging?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Have you ever sold something in order to donate the proceeds to a charity?<span> </span>As a Christian, do you prefer to give to a Christian rather than a non-Christian charity?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Does your local faith community collect food for distribution through a food bank or similar outlet?<span> </span>If not, consider suggesting it to your Vestry.<span> </span>If so, do you contribute regularly?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Focus on verse 46.<span> </span>Do you eat your food with a glad and generous heart, pausing to remember those who do not have enough to eat?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Peter.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Things get no less challenging when we come to this reading.<span> </span>To accept suffering is counter-cultural in our community today.<span> </span>If we are unwell, we must throw everything act it, take something to take away the symptoms, and in the worst case scenario bravely fight it to the bitter end.<span> </span>If we are injured, someone must be held accountable, and justice (code-name retaliation/vengeance) must be pursued at no matter what cost.<span> </span>And if we are accused of something...<span> </span>So when we are told of Christ that "When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten", what are we to do when we are also told that he did all this "leaving [us] an example, so that [we] should follow in his footsteps"?<span> </span>And in case we have already forgotten the teaching of the last few weeks, the passage ends with two very clear and important verses.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">How accepting of pain and suffering are you?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">When you feel unjustly accused of something, how do you react?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Do you agree there is a difference between "being a doormat" and choosing not to react in kind?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">We are now about half-way through the Easter Season.<span> </span>Take some time to reflect on verses 24-25, lest you forget.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">John.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>As I have already noted, it is important to remember that this teaching is primarily aimed at the Pharisees, and purports to be a continuation of the debate with them that Jesus was having in the context of the healing of the man born blind.<span> </span>But as seamless transitions go, this is not one of the author's finest examples; and it is not made any clearer with the rather muddled use of different images.<span> </span>It seems that the first few verses have in mind a sort of sheep-motel, where sheep of different flocks (owned by different people) are penned together overnight, with a keeper at the gate.<span> </span>When morning comes, an owner calls and his sheep respond to his voice, thereby satisfying the gatekeeper that the claimant is in fact entitled to those sheep.<span> </span>(Rustlers and thieves have to try their luck at climbing over the fence and grabbing a sheep or two the hard way.)<span> </span>So Jesus is the shepherd who calls his sheep out of the pen, leaving behind those who do not belong to him, and therefore do not recognise his voice (that is, the Pharisees).<span> </span>But then, when that failed to get through to them, Jesus claimed to be the gate (the means of access) through which those who enter will be saved, and may then go out to find pasture.<span> </span>With great respect, I'm not sure this works any better than the first part.<span> </span>And the reference in verse 8 to "all who came before me" being "thieves and bandits" is surely problematic.<span> </span>Presumable that is not intended to include the prophets up to and including John the Baptist; but to whom does it refer?<span> </span>False Messiahs, perhaps, or false teachers of the law, scribes and Pharisees?</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">If you understand this passage better than I do, work with your own understanding.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">I can only suggest you focus on verse 10.<span> </span>In what way(s) do you feel that your life is "abundant" because Christ has come to you?<span> </span>Give thanks.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-80136815314656599192014-05-01T13:34:00.001+12:002014-05-01T13:34:08.146+12:00Third Sunday of Easter<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">May 4<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION</span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Third Sunday of Easter</span></b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Acts 2:14a, 36-41; 1 Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:<span> </span></span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">This week we have one of the three great "resurrection appearances" in which one of the key elements is the apparent difficulty intimates of Jesus had in recognising him after his resurrection.<span> </span>So perhaps something along the lines of "Who is this Really?"<span> </span>Or something shorter and snappier like "The Identity Crisis".<span> </span>Alternatively, we might take a lead from the reading from Acts and go for "What then should we do?", which is a question we should constantly ask ourselves as we attempt to follow the Spirit's leading. </span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Our first reading, from Peter's "Pentecost sermon", picks up where we left off last week.<span> </span>He repeats his charge that his hearers are guilty of killing the Messiah, the Son of God.<span> </span>Now we have their extraordinary response: they accept their guilt and ask what they can do about it.<span> </span>The answer is equally straightforward: repent, be baptised, and receive the Holy Spirit.<span> </span>Our second reading also continues on from last week, but with the unfortunate omission of some key verses.<span> </span>We seem to have an aversion to long lessons, but an exception could well be made in this case.<span> </span>At the very least we should start with verses 13 to 16 to remind ourselves that we have a role to play in working out our own salvation.<span> </span>And we finish with the mesmeric story of the Risen Christ on the road to Emmaus.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>I have had a refrain running through my head for the last few days – the only words I can remember are "slow down, you go too fast; you've got to make the moment last", or something like that.<span> </span>Perhaps my problem is that I am slowing down, but it feels to me that the Easter Season is going too fast.<span> </span>I can't keep up.<span> </span>I'm still having flashbacks, still needing time to ponder Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and already feeling that I need a lot more time for Easter Day.<span> </span>So I'm starting this week with a few fairly random "catch-up" thoughts.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">First about Good Friday.<span> </span>Where are we in that drama – on the Cross with Christ, running away with his disciples, weeping with the gutsy women who stuck it out to the end, or in the middle of the mob chanting for blood?<span> </span>It's a very disturbing question, isn't it?<span> </span>I suspect that St Paul may have something to answer for here, or, at least, are understanding of his teaching.<span> </span>He says we died with Christ, and even that we were crucified with him; and there is a profound truth in that, of course.<span> </span>The difficulty is that it is only an "ex post facto" truth:<span> </span>it wasn't true at the time Jesus was actually being crucified.<span> </span>Yet perhaps at some level St Paul's masterful baptismal theology has helped us to put ourselves in the role of victim, and therefore exclude ourselves from those who killed Christ.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And while I was pondering this thought another line from St Paul drifted into my consciousness.<span> </span>He says "Christ is my life".<span> </span>If that is true, then to kill Christ is also to kill myself: we are, as it were, "suicide-crucifiers", spiritual forbears of today's suicide bombers.<span> </span>Indeed, perhaps it is true that to kill another person is to kill ourselves spiritually, even if we do not physically die in the assault.<span> </span>Does any of that make sense?<span> </span>I don't know – I need more time to reflect.<span> </span>The Easter Season is going too fast.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And then we come to Holy Saturday.<span> </span>What's that about?<span> </span>Is it just the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday or does it have some greater significance?<span> </span>Yes, I know we have some vague idea that the Spirit of Christ descended and harrowed the depths of hell on that day; but such an "event" surely happened outside of time, so "to date it to Holy Saturday" doesn't seem to make much sense.<span> </span>So I suspect the reason why Jesus could not be raised immediately after death was that we needed the time in between to begin to reflect on the horror of what we had done.<span> </span>Do we do that?<span> </span>Does the Church encourage us to do that?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And so to the discovery of the empty tomb.<span> </span>More and more I have felt the need to focus on the emptiness of the tomb, rather than the "mystery of the missing body" – to enter into the nothingness that is found wherever Christ is not.<span> </span>That was my first thought as I stayed with the empty tomb.<span> </span>But then another question came to me: <span> </span>who is this Christ who is now nowhere to be seen?<span> </span>The true Christ, the true Son of God, or the false Christ, the one whom we wanted him to be and thought he was – the one of whom Cleopas says "we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel" (that is, our pet saviour there to look after us and do our bidding – and to hell with everyone else)?<span> </span>So perhaps the tomb was empty in one sense because every false understanding of Christ had been demolished on the Cross and the empty tomb underlined that all such understandings had gone for ever.<span> </span>Could that help explain why it was that when the true Christ was raised from the dead his closest followers had such a hard time recognising him?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">More about the issue of recognition shortly, but a related issue for me is what light this whole Easter experience sheds on the idea, central to so much of Jesus' own teaching, that to follow him we must "die to self".<span> </span>Just as we have false images of Christ so we each have a false self which we present to others and try so hard to believe in ourselves.<span> </span>(Thomas Keating is particularly helpful on all this.)<span> </span>Is it not to this false self that we are called to die; and when we do that, when we strip away every last bit of self-delusion, what are we left with?<span> </span>Perhaps we need to look inside the tomb and see for ourselves: is one day enough to see the emptiness that is all that remains?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">What then should we do?<span> </span>Like Peter (and Paul) we know the answer, don't we?<span> </span>We need to receive the Holy Spirit, a.k.a. the Risen Christ, and let him be our true self, our life.<span> </span>Isn't that what it means to be raised with Christ?<span> </span>Isn't that what it means to be Easter people? <span> </span>Well, maybe, but I need more time.<span> </span>The Easter Season is going too fast.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">We must hurry on to confront the problem of recognition.<span> </span>At the heart of the three great stories involving resurrection appearances we find the common theme of the difficulties those who should have known Jesus best had in recognising the Risen Christ.<span> </span>Mary at the tomb thinks he is the gardener; the disciples on the road to Emmaus walk for some miles with him and assume he is some sort of visitor to Jerusalem out of touch with what's been happening there; and in the so-called Galilean fantasia in John 21 the stranger on the shore is not recognised by the disciples until he repeats his guide to good fishing.<span> </span>What is the problem here?<span> </span></font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">In one sense nothing has changed.<span> </span>Think for a moment of the episode on the lake when Jesus stood up and calmed the sea.<span> </span>Do remember what the disciples said? "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"<span> </span>And, of course, there are other instances in the gospels when they struggled to work out who Jesus was – usually when he had done something "miraculous".<span> </span>So there always was a problem in recognising the Son of God rather than Jesus of Nazareth.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">But, of course, with the resurrection everything has changed, and our thinking and understanding, our "spiritual seeing" struggles to keep up.<span> </span>Yes, we know that the one who was dead is now alive.<span> </span>But as to how it is that he is now alive...ask him.<span> </span>He is of the ages.<span> </span>He will speak for himself.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Acts.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Now to give credit where it's due, <i>The Lectionary</i> starts this reading in exactly the right place: <i>Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.</i><span> </span>As the great comic books of my past would put it </span><b><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt"><span> </span>POW!!</span></i></b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt"><span> </span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">When have you heard preaching that comes anywhere close?<span> </span>And that's what makes their response all the more wonderful.<span> </span>No attempt at evasion, self-justification, dissembling or downright lying.<span> </span>No sending for the lawyers – not even a plea of lack of knowledge or intention.<span> </span>They plead guilty to all charges; and because of that there IS a way forward.<span> </span>Their remorse is genuine – "they were cut to the heart" – and their desire to do something (to make amends) is clear.<span> </span>They want a fresh start and that is all that is needed: Peter shows them the way (and the truth and the life).</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Start with a period of self-examination and confession.<span> </span>Try to recall a specific occasion on which you said something, did something, or thought something that was unloving.<span> </span>As you replay it, monitor your feelings, and be particularly alert to any attempt to shift the blame or evade responsibility.<span> </span>(It might take two to tango but you are only responsible for your missteps.)</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Focus on verse 41, and particularly on the words "those who welcomed his message", implying that some who heard him did not welcome the message.<span> </span>Re-read verse 36, hearing it as addressed to you.<span> </span>Do you welcome it?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Tough as his message was, 3000 were converted that day.<span> </span>What does that tell you about the "secret" of evangelism?<span> </span>How does the proclamation and teaching in your community of faith measure up?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Read verse 42.<span> </span>How do you measure up?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Peter.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>As stated above, we really need to read the whole of this first chapter.<span> </span>Notice how it is balanced between the work of Christ and the work of us as believers.<span> </span>The NRSV brings this out nicely with its subheadings of "A Living Hope" for verses 3-12, and "A Call to Holy Living" for verses 13-25.<span> </span>Of course, Christ's work comes first, but it is completed in our response of faith.<span> </span>The unifying element throughout this chapter is the work of the Holy Spirit.<span> </span>Indeed, the letter is addressed to those who have been "sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ".<span> </span>In other words we are only capable of "holy living" because we have received and been empowered by the Holy Spirit.<span> </span>Perhaps verses 22-25 should be treated as a summary, or a bringing together, of the two parts of the chapter.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Start with verses 13-16; and slow down – don't go too fast!<span> </span>Ask the Spirit to guide you through this passage.<span> </span>What changes may the Spirit be asking you to make?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Move on to verses 17-21.<span> </span>How personally do you take these verses?<span> </span>What were some of the "futile ways inherited from your ancestors" from which you have been set free?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Close with reflection on verses 22-23.<span> </span>Notice the past tense.<span> </span>How true are they of you?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Luke.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Luke must surely have been Shakespeare's favourite gospel writer!<span> </span>The hidden identity leading to high comedy that is always on the very edge of farce is shown at its most dramatic and effective in this wonderful story.<span> </span>It works so well in this way that we can easily overlook the fact that it is one of the most theologically crafted stories in this gospel.<span> </span>It is a road story (read "spiritual journey"), as so many other great stories are; and, although two men are walking along the road, only one has a name; the other could be you, me, or anybody else who has difficulty in seeing Christ even when he's at our side.<span> </span>In verse 9 Cleopas even calls the Risen Christ a "stranger".<span> </span>Next comes a brilliant summary of the story so far: in just 6 verses Cleopas recounts the story from Jesus' ministry right through to the empty tomb.<span> </span>Then the Risen Christ – the real Jesus as opposed to the "gentle Jesus meek and mild" beloved of Christian children of all ages – challenges them head on.<span> </span>They have understood nothing: they have got the Scriptures – they have got him – all wrong.<span> </span>Had they really been open to what the Spirit had been saying for centuries through the Scriptures they would have known all that happened had been foreseen by the prophets.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Notice how Jesus was walking on ahead, and appeared to be continuing on.<span> </span>This is another motif we find in Matthew – "he is going ahead of you to Galilee".<span> </span>Always the journey home to God continues, but with pauses along the way.<span> </span>Here is one such pause Luke shows us as the Christic apparition gives way to the Sacramental Christ.<span> </span>We have a new way to recognise Christ is our midst.<span> </span>May we do just that every time we gather at the Holy Table.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Pray your way slowly through this story.<span> </span>Are there any particular words or phrases that strike you.<span> </span>Stay with them until they have said all they have to tell you.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Notice how the disciples first have to surrender their false understanding of Jesus (as restorer of the nation's freedom and fortune) before they are open to the real truth of his identity.<span> </span>What false understanding of Christ may you have hindering your openness to the inflowing Spirit?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">How much does this story help you to go deeper into the mystery of Holy Communion?<span> </span>Do you recognise the Risen Christ in the bread and wine?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">This Sunday, put aside you prayer book for the Great Thanksgiving.<span> </span>Let others give the congregational responses.<span> </span>Focus on the paten and chalice.<span> </span>Listen to the words spoken by the priest.<span> </span>Watch the elevation, fracture and other movements of the priest.<span> </span>Ask the Spirit to open your eyes that you may truly recognise the Risen Christ as the bread is taken, blessed, broken and given.<span> </span>And slow down – make the moment last – even if you might be holding somebody else up!</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">When you return to your pew spend time in reflection on the Emmaus experience you have just had, and be thankful.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-90426379307766381072014-04-24T08:59:00.001+12:002014-04-24T08:59:33.925+12:00Second Sunday of Easter<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><font size="3">April 27<span> </span></font><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION<span> </span></span><span><font size="3"> </font></span><font size="3">Second Sunday of Easter</font></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"> Acts 2:14a, 22-32; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>All sorts of possibilities this week, some more obvious than others.<span> </span>The very brave might want to make something of the fact that this week Anzac Day (and all that that involves) falls exactly one week after Good Friday (and all that that means).*<span> </span>A safer option may be something like "No Turning Back" for reasons that may become clearer in these notes.<span> </span>I'm leaning towards "This Man and No Other", if only because it seems to capture the essence of Peter's message in our reading from the Book of Acts.<span> </span>In fact, a direct quote from the end of this passage may be a good choice of theme this week: "This Jesus God Raised Up".</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">[*I noticed a brief reference in the newspaper this week to the death in 1918 of the German flying ace, Manfred von Richthofen, better known as the Red Baron.<span> </span>It said "he was credited with 80 kills of the enemy".</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span><i>Think about that word "credited" – and about the identity of those referred to as "the enemy".<span> </span>Kyrie eleison!]</i></span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>It might seem a little strange to start this week's readings with an extract from Peter's Pentecost sermon, but it fits perfectly with the magnificent passage from John's gospel.<span> </span>The Risen Christ appears to his GUILTY disciples.<span> </span>Only when we grasp this can we hope to understand that, in coming to THEM, he is enacting divine forgiveness in the face of all human failure.<span> </span>Likewise, Peter, having received such forgiveness (and having understood himself as guilty), begins to preach in the same mode: he preaches to the GUILTY, not to condemn them but to open their eyes to their need for that same divine forgiveness.<span> </span>(More about that in next week's readings.)<span> </span>This same Peter may or may not have been the author of the letter from which our second lesson is taken this week.<span> </span>But whoever wrote it, it is surely one of the most positive, uplifting and encouraging passages in the Scriptures: and what a wonderful antidote it is to all the annual nonsense to which we are subjected "in the name of Easter" in the media!</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And as for "Warbirds Over Wanaka"!<span> </span>Could there be a less appropriate time for such an event!</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>In my former existence I was involved for about 20 years in law reform; so perhaps it's not surprising that I find myself every year at this time of the year pondering the reform of Easter – at least, pondering the reform of the observance of Easter in the Church and in our society in general.<span> </span>To start with the easy stuff, I would remove Good Friday and Easter Monday from the list of statutory holidays, and I would apply the same trading laws to Easter Sunday as apply to every other Sunday; and I must confess that I would thoroughly enjoy the uproar that such a proposal would provoke. <span> </span>A major part of my enjoyment would be watching those who would be in the vanguard of the protests.<span> </span>Although most advocates for change from the commercial sector are careful not to spell it out, the subtext seems to be that it is we nasty Christians who are interfering with their basic right to make money whenever they can, and that we have no right to impose our narrow, outdated beliefs on others.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">But, of course, what the garden centre operators, and the so-called hospitality industry, and retailers in areas like Wanaka really want is not the removal of Good Friday and Easter Monday from the list of statutory holidays at all: want they want is to be allowed to trade on those statutory holidays.<span> </span>In other words, they want their customers to observe the statutory holidays, while they themselves do not.<span> </span>So as an non-recovering reformer I hope the Church will take the initiative in seeking the removal of Good Friday and Easter Monday from the list of statutory holidays, and any particular restrictions on trading on easter Sunday, leaving Christians to observe those days as holy days freed (at the very least) from the obscenity of Warbirds over Wanaka, and the State can then decide when to have an alternative long weekend, the principal object of which would be to pay special honour to Mammon in whatever manner (according to whatever rites) that particular god's devotees desire.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Right.<span> </span>That's society sorted, now what about the Church?<span> </span>I ended last week with a grumble about what seems to be a growing trend to drop observances of Holy (Maundy) Thursday.<span> </span>In the same cantankerous mood I want to question what seems to be a fairly common practice these days to have a time of fellowship (translation: a cup of tea and a hot-cross bun) following a Good Friday observance.<span> </span>Surely there can be no fellowship among us while our Lord and Victim hangs on the cross?<span> </span>(And if you were jolted by that word "Victim" read again Peter's sermon and John's description of that Easter evening "re-union".)<span> </span>When I realised that the church I was attending on Good Friday was about to "adjourn to the lounge") I found myself impelled (and I might almost say "propelled") to leave in such a hurry that I dropped first my hat and then one of my gloves!</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">On a more positive note, one thing I learned this time was the importance of our resurrection language.<span> </span>Twice during my sermon on Easter Day I caught myself referring to Jesus being "raised back to life", and had to correct myself.<span> </span>I haven't checked every reference in the Scriptures, but I do think that the word "back" in that phrase is dangerous.<span> </span>The Resurrection did not restore Jesus to his former existence; and it certainly did not erase or nullify the Crucifixion.<span> </span>Jesus was "raised from the dead" precisely as the Crucified One.<span> </span>Forgiveness does not remove the historical reality of our offences: it re-creates the relationship between the offender and the victim.<span> </span>That, it seems to me, is at the heart of John's story about the encounter on the Easter evening.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">But here is one of the most disturbing stories I have ever read, quoted by Rowan Williams in his book <i>Resurrection</i>, and set in Ulster during the time of "The Troubles":</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">A mother noticed that her teenage son was in obvious distress and fear; when questioned, he admitted that he was involved with a (Protestant) para-military group, which had ordered him to perform a killing locally, or else face 'execution' himself.<span> </span>The mother was able to say eventually that being killed was preferable to killing; that night, her son hanged himself.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">By killing himself, the son had not only refused to commit the sin of killing others; he had also refused to allow others to commit the sin of killing him.<span> </span>From Good Friday to Anzac Day, this story speaks to all of us who profess the name of the Crucified and Risen Lord.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And here's a question that occurred to me for the first time ever while I was out for a walk on Wednesday of this week: did the risen Lord appear to his mother?<span> </span>There doesn't seem to be any reference to it in the Scriptures.<span> </span>What do you think?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Acts.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>What we have here purports to be the first Christian sermon ever preached: at the very least, it is an example of the preaching of the Christian community in its earliest years.<span> </span>How different it is from most of the preaching we serve up today!<span> </span>It is direct and confrontational from the first word to the last.<span> </span>Sadly, Peter lapses into some biblical exegesis in between the first word and the last, but even that does little to quell the power of his words.<span> </span>In a word he is personal. He names his audience (target): "You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say": and he names the one about whom, and in whose name, he is preaching – "Jesus of Nazareth".<span> </span>He uses the very name by which he was known to those Peter is addressing.<span> </span>He reminds them of what "you yourselves know" about "this man" – his "deeds of power, wonders and signs"; and then he proclaims the indictment against them: "this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law."<span> </span>And he rounds off this part of his message with his ringing affirmation of faith and personal witness all rolled into one: "This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses."<span> </span>Wow!<span> </span>How did they react to such in-your-face preaching?<span> </span><i>To be continued...</i></span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Notice how Peter stresses "this man" and "you".<span> </span>No principles, no generalisations, no platitudes, and definitely no punches pulled.<span> </span>He is preaching about Jesus to you.<span> </span>How do you react?<span> </span>He is charging you: how do you plead?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Notice the references in verses 24 and 32 to God having "raised him up".<span> </span>Do you agree that this is different from "raised him back to life", or am I just playing with words?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Peter.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Now we focus on the question, what does the Resurrection of Jesus mean for those who believe in him?<span> </span>And here we have, not so much an early Christian sermon, as an early Christian creed.<span> </span>It is a statement of faith.<span> </span>The community of faith of the time this letter was written had already done a great deal of theological reflection on the significance of Christ's Resurrection.<span> </span>It is the bedrock of Christian hope: because of the Resurrection we dare to hope that not even death can separate us from God.<span> </span>Notice how the passage unites the past, the present and the future in our faith: it is rooted in what has already happened; it provides confidence for a glorious revelation in the future; and it gives an assurance that we are already in the process of receiving the outcome of our faith, our salvation.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Ponder this passage prayerfully, phrase by phrase, as you reflect on your own Easter experience this year.<span> </span>Be completely honest with yourself.<span> </span>Are you rejoicing "with an indescribable and glorious joy"?<span> </span>Or are you missing something?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Read the passage again.<span> </span>Any better?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">John.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>There is so much in this amazing passage that we really ought to stretch it over some weeks.<span> </span>We tend to think of this as "the Thomas story", and so skip over the earlier stuff.<span> </span>Let's slow down.<span> </span>Let's take the first verse, then pause and listen.<span> </span>Can we not hear an echo coming to us all the way from Genesis 1:1-5?<span> </span>It was on the first day that God separated darkness and light, night and day; and so into the darkness of that room, the Light of the world suddenly shines forth.<span> </span>Just as the tomb could not contain Jesus, so now locked doors cannot keep him out.<span> </span>He enters the holding cell, full of those who have failed him so miserably.<span> </span>He greets them, not with words of rebuke or vengeance, but of peace.<span> </span>Then comes the all-important verse 20: "After this, he showed them his hands and his side."<span> </span>Time for another pause.<span> </span>So often we seem to assume that he does this to convince them that it really is him, and not some "random apparition"; but surely there is more to it than that.<span> </span>After all, there is no reference to his wounds in the other resurrection stories.<span> </span>Is he not preparing the ground for what is to come in verse 23?<span> </span>He is showing them the reality of his suffering, the suffering they and all humanity have heaped upon him, so that, when he gives to them the power to forgive or not to forgive, they are aware of the enormity of the forgiveness they have themselves received.<span> </span>[Yes, it's the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant Mark II.]<span> </span>It is also the practical demonstration of Christ's extraordinary prayer on the cross: "Forgive them, Father, for they do not know what they are doing."</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Which gets me to Thomas.<span> </span>Here again there is so much in this short passage that we can only begin to scratch the surface.<span> </span>His mere absence speaks to me of the breakdown of fellowship that inevitably flows from the death of Love on the cross.<span> </span>That breakdown is underlined when Thomas refuses to believe the testimony of his former associates.<span> </span>However, during the week that follows Thomas thaws a little, symbolised, I suspect, by that reference to the doors.<span> </span>Last week they were locked; this week they are merely closed.<span> </span>In the same way Thomas is now not quite so closed off – he is open enough to the possibility of the Resurrection to come along to the meeting with the others.<span> </span>But he remains to be convinced.<span> </span>What is it he wants to see and touch for himself?<span> </span>The very wounds that he and all humanity have inflicted on Jesus; but when the Risen Christ offers him the opportunity to do just that, he doesn't need to accept. <span> </span>"My Lord and my God" says it all. </font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Pray through this passage using your imagination.<span> </span>Place yourself in the room with them.<span> </span>Experience the darkness, the desolation, the fear, the emotional exhaustion, the emptiness, the shattered hopes and dreams, the disillusionment.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">How do you feel about Jesus now?<span> </span>Are you angry – do you feel let down?<span> </span>After all you have given up, after all you have committed to his cause?<span> </span>Did he bring it on himself?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Or do you feel guilty – guilty for running away, for not being there for him in his hour of need?<span> </span>What about these others in the room?<span> </span>Are they any better than you – or any worse?<span> </span>Look at Peter; did you use to look up to him?<span> </span>What about now?<span> </span>Can you still look to him for leadership – or to any of the others?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And then – suddenly Jesus is here standing among you.<span> </span>What is your immediate reaction?<span> </span>Once the initial reaction has worn off, how are you feeling?<span> </span>Embarrassed?<span> </span>Relieved?<span> </span>Overjoyed?<span> </span>Or just plain washed-out?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Is there anything you would like to say to Jesus?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">When you are ready, come back to the present moment.<span> </span>Read verse 31.<span> </span>Do you really believe that Jesus is "the Messiah, the Son of God"?<span> </span>If so, tell him.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">End with a time of praise and thanksgiving.<span> </span></font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-38143216301386394012014-04-17T15:33:00.001+12:002014-04-17T15:33:57.027+12:00Easter Day<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">April 20<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION</span></b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt"><span> </span></span><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Easter Day</span></b><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></i></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"> Acts 10:34-43; Colossians 3:1-4; Matthew 28:1-10</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>I'm preaching at St Barnabas, Warrington on Sunday and I have already chosen my theme: it is "The Easter Experience".<span> </span>And I have already come up with a little introductory prayer: "Send your Holy Spirit that Easter may be for us the personal experience of the Risen Christ, and that we, filled with his Spirit's grace and power, may be renewed for the service of your kingdom."<span> </span>I have, of course, pinched most of that from the epiclesis on page 423 of our Prayer Book, so feel free to pinch it from me.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span><i>The Lectionary</i> offers us some choice of readings for Easter Day, insisting only that we use the passage from Acts as one or other of the Lessons.<span> </span>That requirement means that we must choose between Jeremiah 31:1-6 and Colossians 3:1-4 for the other Lesson.<span> </span>Jeremiah would be an interesting possibility, concerned as it is with the return of the exiles.<span> </span>No doubt, the idea here is about the ultimate vindication of the people of faith; but if you were choosing this reading it might be worth exploring the application of the theme of the returning exile directly to the Resurrection.<span> </span>Who is the returning exile – Christ or the believers?<span> </span>Similarly, we are offered a choice of two gospel passages, the other option being John 20:1-18.<span> </span>As a preacher I would have been tempted to go with John: as with everything in this gospel his account of the resurrection is profound, nuanced, the product of years of prayerful reflection and thought.<span> </span>More than enough material for a good sermon!<span> </span>Put Matthew's version alongside John's and the contrast could hardly be more stark.<span> </span>Matthew's version is raw, uncooked, even jumbled.<span> </span>And therein lies the reason that I am glad the choice wasn't left to me; for it is precisely in its rawness that this earlier account strikes its note of authenticity.<span> </span>It reads like a stunned attempt to describe the unimaginable event of the Resurrection.<span> </span>Reflection on its significance comes later, and John provides it.<span> </span>But first, let us try to savour the experience as the earliest witnesses did.<span> </span>That seems to me what Matthew is trying to help us do.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">There's that word "experience" again; and here surely is the reason why we need this reading from Acts to get us under way.<span> </span>What we have is a brief homily from Peter, but one borne out of his own experience.<span> </span>And what a pity we always stop at verse 43.<span> </span>Why not continue through to the end of the chapter (only 5 more verses, after all): isn't that precisely the sort of response we should expect when the gospel is preached well?<span> </span>And here we need the short sharp lesson from Paul's great letter to the Colossians.<span> </span>To experience the resurrection means to enter into an entirely new life – to adopt an entirely new outlook – to put everything else in a new perspective.<span> </span>Of course, it doesn't happen overnight: it will always be a work in progress: even the great mystic who wrote the Fourth Gospel had only got so far along the road.<span> </span>Paul assures us that there is so much more yet to be revealed.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>One of Bishop Kelvin's great gifts is an ability to speak about his own spiritual experiences in a humble, almost self-deprecating way.<span> </span>I have seen and heard him preach in this way on a number of occasions, the latest being at the Te Harinui Regional Event held recently at St John's, Waikouaiti.<span> </span>He spoke about "a chance" meeting with 2 young men who "happened" to arrive in Dunedin one day and turned up in the Cathedral, where they met Kelvin's wife, Clemency.<span> </span>On learning that they had nowhere to spend the night, Clemency invited them home to the Vicarage in Roslyn, even though the Wrights were already late shifting out of the Vicarage following his appointment as Bishop.<span> </span>As the story unfolded it became a wonderful account God's providential care and guidance of the young men and of the Wrights, and of how slow Kelvin was to recognise God's involvement in the whole thing. Kelvin described himself at this point as "not the sharpest knife in the draw"!</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Doesn't that exactly fit St Peter throughout the whole wonderful tenth chapter of the Book of Acts?<span> </span>And doesn't it exactly fit so many of us who either do not notice what God is doing all around us, or only notice when God is gracious enough to keep at it until we finally do?<span> </span>One thing that perhaps distinguishes the Bishop's stories from those surrounding St Peter is their ordinariness.<span> </span>Peter's vision is pretty overwhelming: at least, it would be for most of us.<span> </span>Far from being overwhelmed by it, Peter entered into a debate with God about the orthodoxy of its message!<span> </span>But look what is happening on the periphery.<span> </span>While Peter is still trying to get his head around the vision, three strangers turn up at the house where Peter is staying, with a somewhat improbable story.<span> </span>Who were they?<span> </span>Should Peter have been more prudent – checked them out before letting them in, and certainly before heading off with them?<span> </span>Should Clemency and Kelvin have been more careful with the strangers who "found" them in the cathedral?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">That was the fun part of the Bishop's proclamation.<span> </span>Then came the more disturbing part.<span> </span>We all have experiences like this from time to time, don't we, he said in a cheery offhand way, and we all suddenly found the ground deeply fascinating.<span> </span>We have them but we don't want to talk about them, do we?<span> </span>In fact, one of the reasons why I have been struck by Bishop Kelvin's willingness to talk in this way is that in my experience he is almost unique among clergy, including bishops.<span> </span>Some have been great raconteurs, always ready with a story drawn from their time in ministry.<span> </span>But most of their stories are about human foibles, their own included.<span> </span>I can't recall an occasion when a bishop or priest referred in a sermon to a personal experience of God in the sort of way that Bishop Kelvin does.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Yet isn't this what Easter is all about?<span> </span>I was astonished to read an article by Ian Harris the other day that I agreed with: even he says that "something must have happened" to transform the disciples from a bunch of scared failures into apostles of such power that their message still reverberates around the world 2,000 years later.<span> </span>So please join me in my Easter prayer this Sunday: "Send your Holy Spirit that Easter may be for us the personal experience of the Risen Christ, and that we, filled with his Spirit's grace and power, may be renewed for the service of your kingdom."</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Acts.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We really do need to read the whole chapter to get what's going on in this extract.<span> </span>Notice how the story is "worked up" from both sides of the great divide – Gentile and Jew.<span> </span>Cornelius is a soldier and a devout man of prayer.<span> </span>Peter is, well, Peter!<span> </span>But each is given a vision, and a set of instructions.<span> </span>Cornelius obeys without question – Peter argues; but in the end God brings them together.<span> </span>And here is a classic example of theology in action.<span> </span>Blessed be Christ the prince of peace, who breaks down the walls that divide, as our liturgy puts it; and of course St Paul has much to say about "making the two, one".<span> </span>But here is all that theological and liturgical stuff worked out at ground level.<span> </span>And both sides know that something momentous is going on.<span> </span>And so Peter starts there, in verse 28, identifying the elephant in the room.<span> </span>He then hands over to his "co-presenter": perhaps at this point each is really speaking to his own constituency.<span> </span>So when Peter starts his homily, he can assert that God shows no favouritism, not as something he has been taught by a theologian, but as something that he and Cornelius have experienced.<span> </span>Having established that common foundation, the rest is pretty simple and straightforward – a brief summary of the story so far.<span> </span>But please read verses 44-48 as well: in particular, note verse 45.<span> </span>Despite all that has already happened, and what Peter has just said, the support team still hadn't understood the message!<span> </span>Clearly, they were not the sharpest knives in the drawer.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Recall one of those experiences where you became aware that God was up to something in your life.<span> </span>How long did it take for the penny to drop?<span> </span>Have you ever told anyone about such an experience?<span> </span>Why might you be reluctant to do so?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Has anyone told you about such an experience of theirs?<span> </span>How did you react?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">How would your local church react if, while the preacher this Sunday was still speaking, "the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word"?<span> </span>How would you react?<span> </span>Would you be thrilled, or would you prefer the Holy Spirit to fall somewhere else?<span> </span>Why?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Colossians.<span> </span></span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">The first two chapters of this epistle are always worth reading; but if you really are pushed for time (even in Holy Week) at least spare a few minutes to read verses 20-23 of chapter 2 by way of introduction to today's brief passage.<span> </span>Now notice the past tense in this passage, which is such a feature of this letter, and indeed of so much of Paul's writing.<span> </span>We have already died; we have already been raised with Christ; our life is already hidden with Christ in God.<span> </span>Only the final and full revelation of the completed Body of Christ still remains in the future.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">There is so much in this little passage, it is hard to take it all in.<span> </span>It might be time to head for the bathroom mirror and tell yourself, phrase by phrase, what Paul is saying to the church at Colossae.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And what about extending the traditional Easter proclamation, thus:<span> </span>Christ is risen!<span> </span><b>He is risen indeed!</b><span> </span>And we have been raised up with him!<span> </span><b>Alleluia!<span> </span>Alleluia!</b></font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Then set your mind on things that are above.<span> </span>What might that mean for you in this coming week?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Matthew.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>As I said earlier, this is a very jumbled account of that first Easter morning.<span> </span>Here the women are not going to anoint the body but simply to see the tomb; they are not going under cover of darkness but as dawn is breaking.<span> </span>Suddenly there is an earthquake, not noted in the other gospel accounts, and rather surprisingly attributed to the angel.<span> </span>It is the second strong earthquake in three days (27:51), but this time there is no report of tombs opening up.<span> </span>The guards are so terrified they become catatonic, but the women hold it together well enough to hear the angel's instructions to them.<span> </span>Do they take up his invitation to have a look inside the tomb?<span> </span>We're not told.<span> </span>They set off to find the disciples, only to be intercepted by the Risen Christ.<span> </span>They prostrate themselves, taking hold of his feet, and worship him.<span> </span>Then he gives them the same instructions the angel had already given them.<span> </span>Matthew seems rushed, anxious to get on to his account of the chicanery and corruption of the guards (verses 11-16).<span> </span>Perhaps he suspects that it is not the empty tomb that is of primary importance: it is the encounters with the Risen Christ that will kick-start the whole mission and ministry of the Church.<span> </span>Those encounters could have worked without the tomb being empty: the reverse is not the case.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">What importance do you attach to the fact that the tomb was empty?<span> </span>Do you agree or disagree that that would give rise to questions rather than answers?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Notice the involvement of three senses through which the women experienced the Risen Christ – they saw him, they heard him, and they touched him.<span> </span>Why is touch so important here?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">When you next receive Communion, how many of your senses will be involved?<span> </span></font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Pray that this Sunday you will truly be aware of the Risen Christ in your midst and within you.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Who will you run to tell?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">And a final grumble.<span> </span></span></b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Fewer and fewer of our churches seem to be holding Maundy Thursday services.<span> </span>The Triduum seems to have become the Biduum.<span> </span>Can we no longer spare the time to pray with Christ in Gethsemane?<span> </span>Will we soon give away Good Friday as well?</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><span> </span></font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-20177531246813101512014-04-10T09:44:00.001+12:002014-04-10T09:44:02.603+12:00Psalm Sunday<div dir="ltr"><br clear="all"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">April 13<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION</span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Palm Sunday</span></b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>[Liturgy of the Palms] Matthew 21:1-11; Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29:<span> </span>[Liturgy of the Passion] Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 26:14-27:66 (or Matthew 27:11-54)*</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">[*Note.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span><i>Those responsible for shaping a service for Palm Sunday have some difficult choices to make here.<span> </span>I must confess that my practice has been to cut to the chase, omit the Liturgy of the Palms, omit the lesson and the psalms, omit the sermon, and have the full Passion narrative read in three or four distinct “blocks”, interspersed with periods of silence or suitably quiet music or hymns.<span> </span>Generally, people have found this helpful, and it does serve as a useful entree to Holy Week.<span> </span>But now I think this has gone too far. <span> </span>There is great value, I think, in the contrast between the razzmatazz of the Triumphal Entry and the agony of the Passion.<span> </span>And nowhere is that contrast brought out better than in the two psalms set for today.<span> </span>So while I’m not generally an advocate for the widespread use of the psalms in our worship services (except where they are to be sung or chanted), I’m inclined to think using both of them in a fairly short time span could be helpful this Sunday.<span> </span>The difficulty is to avoid burdening the service with yet more words, when our services are already rather wordy.<span> </span></i></span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">My suggested solution is as follows.<span> </span>Have the Liturgy of the Palms before the service, preferably with procession.<span> </span>If for any reason the procession is impracticable, I would still use the readings for that liturgy before the start of the service.<span> </span>When we get to the Proclamation, I would have someone read psalm 31:9-16, and then follow that with the full Passion narrative, either as a continuous reading, or in blocks.<span> </span>I would have no other readings, and no sermon.<span> </span>I am a strong advocate of the importance of preaching, but there is simply nothing to be said about the Passion.<span> </span>The story speaks for itself and anything a preacher might say is likely to detract from it.<span> </span>Of course, if for some reason (and I personally can’t think of a good enough one) the intention is to use the shorter gospel option it might be that the lessons, or even a short sermon, could be included.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>As regular readers of the ODT will already know, we had two visitors from York join us for our parish Eucharist three weeks or so ago at St Barnabas, Warrington.<span> </span>We didn’t know they were coming; they just turned up as visitors do from time to time.<span> </span>They had been invited by one of our younger members, who had met them over breakfast where they were staying in Dunedin.<span> </span>So it was that the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, and his wife, Margaret joined our usual congregation for worship, and, of course, for a cuppa after the service.<span> </span>John was dressed in “civvies”, and Margaret in a dress.<span> </span>I must confess I can’t remember if she was also wearing a hat; but if she was we had not been given due warning so none of our women parishioners had been urged to do so.<span> </span>And for the same reason, there was no one at the service who had come to catch a glimpse of our distinguished visitors: all who were there were there to worship God.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">It reminded me of an occasion some years ago when I attended Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral in Wellington.<span> </span>As I came in I noticed a man in a smart suit sitting towards the front.<span> </span>I thought I knew him from somewhere so I gave him a slight nod and carried on.<span> </span>Part way through the service I suddenly realised who it was: it was the then Governor-General, Sir Michael Hardie-Boyes.<span> </span>What was he doing there?<span> </span>Nothing official; he was simply attending Evensong, as many Anglicans still do when given the opportunity.<span> </span>I have no idea whether protocol required advance notice to be given to the Dean, but there was certainly no advance publicity, no crowds, no indication that regular non-attenders had suddenly had an overwhelming desire to worship God in that place that evening.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Contrast that with what will happen at St Paul’s Cathedral, Dunedin this Palm Sunday.<span> </span>It was reported that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had expressed a desire to attend an “ordinary” Palm Sunday service.<span> </span>What a pity they hadn’t expressed that desire to John Sentamu who could have recommended a nice little church just 20 minutes or so north of the city, where they could have shared in an ordinary service with committed worshippers and been assured of the same warm welcome we give to all our visitors.<span> </span>As it is they will attend a ticket-only service with a large number of people who (in most cases) have not attended a worship service for many years, or who usually attend ordinary services in their ordinary local churches, but have abandoned them this Sunday in the hope of catching a glimpse, not of the divine mystery at the heart of all our worship, but of the royal couple.<span> </span>Oh, and by the way, ladies a small hat or a fascinator, please<span> </span>- we wouldn’t want the Duchess to feel conspicuous, would we?<span> </span>(No, I haven’t made this up – it’s in the latest email from the Diocese: besides, I heard St Paul himself laughing uproariously at our sudden desire to adopt his teaching on head covering for women!)</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Could there be a more wonderful modern parable for Palm Sunday?<span> </span><i>Look, your (future) king is coming to you...</i>says Matthew the royal commentator quoting the prophet Zechariah.<span> </span>He also tells us that a very large crowd had gathered to welcome this celebrity as he came into their city.<span> </span>Who were they – what or who had they come to see?<span> </span>Part of the rent-a-crowd that assembles whenever they think something is going on? How many of them came to pay him homage, how many of them understood who he was or what he had come to do?<span> </span>How many cared?<span> </span>How many had any intention at all of listening to his message, much less following in his footsteps?<span> </span>One percent, do you think?<span> </span>Less than that, maybe?<span> </span>About the same percentage of those who will line the streets outside our cathedral?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?”<span> </span>The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>At least they allowed him in.<span> </span>This Sunday he would need a ticket to enter our cathedral.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">The Liturgy of the Palms.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>There is a carnival atmosphere about this celebration.<span> </span>Think bands, buskers, cameras and cell-phones, bewildered little children in Plunket-approved strollers and sunhats, waving little flags, and hoping for ice-creams, lollies, and other treats.<span> </span>And then there’s that dear little donkey – don’t you just love donkeys?<span> </span>Who cares who this guy is, or what he’s really up to!<span> </span>We need some excitement every now and then.<span> </span>And the verses from Psalm 118 capture the mood very well: this is a psalm of victory, over what we may not be too sure, but it feels good to shout and dance and let ourselves go for a time.<span> </span>(Maybe that’s what celebrity visits are for.)<span> </span>The people of Israel knew what tough times were like; and so when things went well for them it was worth celebrating.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Are you a natural crowd-joiner?<span> </span>Have you ever waited for hours to catch a glimpse of some important or famous person? Why?<span> </span>What did you go out to see?<span> </span>Was it a thrill or a disappointment?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Who would you most like to see in person?<span> </span>Why?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Are you good at celebrating the goodness of God?<span> </span>Is your local church good at celebrating the goodness of God?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Read these verses from psalm 118 through slowly and prayerfully.<span> </span>Do they express your feelings, or are you aware of a “disconnect”?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">As you prepare for Holy Week, do a spiritual stock-take.<span> </span>How different from any other week will it be?<span> </span>Have you truly let Jesus into your life?<span> </span>Have you welcomed him joyfully?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Are you now one who comes to others “in the name of the Lord”.</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Isaiah and Psalm 31:9-16.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>The contrast is shocking, isn’t it?<span> </span>On the one hand, a rock-star welcome: on the other, verse 6 of this passage from Isaiah.<span> </span>Whether we are thinking of the welcome Jesus received on Palm Sunday, or of the welcome our royal visitors receive wherever they go, the words of this one verse are literally shocking.<span> </span>And the shock is made all the greater by the verses that preceded it, as we realise that the “Servant” is one of great faith, who starts each day by listening to God, learning from him, understanding that we cannot teach others until we ourselves have first learned.<span> </span>And it is all God’s doing; God has given him a teacher’s tongue, after opening his ear.<span> </span>His ability to listen to the word, and to teach it, is all the gift of God.<span> </span>And even though he suffers grievously for his ministry of proclamation, he knows that God will vindicate him in the end.<span> </span>Both these extreme are underlined in these well-chosen verses from psalm 31, which clash so violently with the victory chant from psalm 118.<span> </span>Now we have a personal lament of great torment (verses 11-13), followed by a staunch declaration of faith in the goodness of God.<span> </span>Both these passages, then, look forward to the horror of Good Friday and the glory of Easter Day.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">How much of your daily quiet time is spent in listening rather than talking to God?<span> </span>Can your practice be best described as “morning by morning” or “occasional”?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Do you know how to “sustain the weary with a word”?<span> </span>Can you recall an occasion in the last week or so when you felt that something you said to someone might have sustained them in that way?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Can you recall an occasion in the last week or so when someone sustained you in your weariness?<span> </span>Have you thanked God for that?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Have you been hurt, insulted or abused for your faith at any time?<span> </span>Do you tend to “keep your faith to yourself” for fear of a hurtful response?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Read through this passage from psalm 31.<span> </span>Are there any points of contact between the experiences described by the psalmist and your own experiences?<span> </span>Call each such experience to mind, then close with a slow reading of verses 14-16.<span> </span>Make those words your own.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Philippians.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>I’m not sure that this reading “fits” on this day.<span> </span>It is, after all, a reflection on the Passion rather than an anticipation or a description of it.<span> </span>There are so many other days when it could be set down.<span> </span>Perhaps its value here is to emphasise the corporate nature of our faith.<span> </span>This is a plea to the whole body of believers to grow in unity with one another, to leave behind our own egos and agendas.<span> </span>It is not a plea to each one of us to follow Christ’s example of humility and self-sacrifice in a sort of one-to-one private arrangement with him: rather we are to seek with all our fellow believers to be of one mind with them and they with us.<span> </span>As we prepare to follow Christ to the cross this coming Holy Week perhaps that is the greatest challenge we face.<span> </span>Kneeling before the cross we might ask ourselves how we “measure up” in the light of verses 3 and 4 in particular.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">So how do you measure up in the light of verses 3 and 4?<span> </span>Are you aware of anything you have done in your local church “from selfish ambition or conceit?”</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Do you honestly “regard (all) others as better than [yourself]”?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Do you really “look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others”?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St Matthew.</font></font></span></i></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Take a small section of the narrative each day in the week.<span> </span>Pray with your imagination, putting yourself in each scene.<span> </span>Monitor your feelings.<span> </span>Look at each of the people concerned.<span> </span>Do not judge them.<span> </span>Just observe them.<span> </span>Try to understand them.<span> </span>Which of them is most like you; which of them is least like you.<span> </span>What do you learn about yourself by the end of this exercise?<span> </span>Pray about it accordingly.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><span> </span></font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-69300044365546767892014-04-03T14:55:00.001+13:002014-04-03T14:55:45.194+13:00Fifth Sunday in Lent<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">April 6<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Fifth Sunday in Lent</span></b></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Ezekiel 37:1-14; Romans 8:6-11; John 11:1-45</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We could play it safe this week and go for something like “The Resurrection and the Life”, so long as we remember that Lazarus was resuscitated rather than resurrected.<span> </span>A variation on that theme, entirely in keeping with John’s gospel, would be “From Darkness into Light”.<span> </span>But I’m going for “Coming Out for Jesus”, not because I want to be provocative, but because that is the phrase that came into my mind as I started to think about this week’s readings, and I heard again those astonishing words “Lazarus, come out.”</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We begin this week with the extraordinary vision given to the prophet Ezekiel of a valley of dry bones, relics of a vast defeated people of long ago.<span> </span>No one could be “more dead” than these people; yet the Living God can restore them to life whenever he wills to do so.<span> </span>In the same way he will raise up the people of Israel by breathing his Spirit into them.<span> </span>St Paul develops the concept of life in the Spirit, and of the Spirit living in us.<span> </span>And he reminds us that it is this very Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, and will do the same for us.<span> </span>We finish this week with the fourth of the great stories around which the first half of St John’s gospel is structured.<span> </span>The Word of God reaches even those who lie entombed and brings new life to them.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>As I have continued to ponder these four great stories in the Fourth Gospel I have become more and more convinced that they are to be understood as a short course (in today’s terms, perhaps, a mini-series) on spiritual growth.<span> </span>The similarities in style, structure and narrative technique have long been noted.<span> </span>Their symbolism, particularly the use of darkness and light, is another link; but the thing that clinches it for me is what I might call the gradation in the series, the increasing “degree of difficulty”, as we might put it.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">We start with an intellectual discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus.<span> </span>Yes, Nicodemus is challenged very strongly to change his thinking, but not really much more than that.<span> </span>The woman at the well is challenged to do the same, but in her case the challenge becomes much more personal.<span> </span>She is “fully seen and fully known” by Jesus, in a way that has never happened to her before; and in that process she is fully revealed to herself.<span> </span>If spirituality is in part about being true to ourselves, then this encounter is a bigger, deeper step onwards from that between Jesus and Nicodemus.<span> </span>In terms of today’s theme, Nicodemus is called out of his rationalism and conviction that his faith can be developed exclusively through further study and thought.<span> </span>The woman at the well is called out of her present self-understanding, out of the role imposed on her by her culture, the neighbours, and the succession of men who have used (and probably abused) her over the years.<span> </span>She is called to a new vision, a new recognition of her true dignity and worth as a human being, so that she no longer needs to lead the lie others have imposed on her for so long.<span> </span>Jesus has revealed to her the divine truth about himself so that she can see the divine truth about herself.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">There’s something else here, too, I think, beginning to develop in this series.<span> </span>The whole encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus remains private, between just the two of them, from start to finish.<span> </span>In this second story with the woman at the well we start to see the wider implications of the encounter.<span> </span>The disciples are drawn into the story in a way that shows that they are just as much entangled in their cultural prison as the woman is herself.<span> </span>And, of course, at the end of the story the woman who was probably ignored or even despised by her neighbours is transformed into an evangelist of great persuasive power. <span> </span>The healing of the woman leads to the healing of her neighbourhood.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">The third encounter, the one between Jesus and the man born blind, takes us yet further along these different tracks.<span> </span>In one sense we can now see the increase in the degree of difficulty applies to Jesus’ actions.<span> </span>With Nicodemus Jesus “spars” intellectually with a learned man; with the woman at the well he shows prophetic insight into the personal history and circumstances of the woman; and then he restored the sight of a man born blind.<span> </span>It would be easy to overlook the degree of difficulty now experienced by that man, compared to that faced by Nicodemus and by the woman at the well.<span> </span>This man has always been dependent on others; he is still, it seems, in the care of his parents.<span> </span>He has known no other reality, and expected no other reality for the rest of his life.<span> </span>But now, suddenly, he moves from blindness to sight, from reliance on others to independence, and perhaps for the first time he experiences open criticism and aggression.<span> </span></font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And we see how widely the ripples reach out from this encounter.<span> </span>The impaired vision of the disciples is there from the very beginning of this story; the crowds cannot agree among themselves as to what has happened, much less how it has happened.<span> </span>And, of course, the religious experts are driven into paroxysm of fury.<span> </span>The man has not only be called out of blindness, but also out of years of fantasy and wishful thinking and a false belief in how wonderful the world would be if only he could see.<span> </span>He is shown the truth of the human condition; but he is also shown the truth of Jesus’ identity.<span> </span>It is in the light of that truth, that he is empowered to begin his new, very different life.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And this week we have this extraordinary finale of our miniseries.<span> </span>Lazarus is quite literally called out of his tomb into the presence of Jesus himself.<span> </span>What is this story about?<span> </span>Again we are given at least some of the context in which this encounter takes place, some of it more implicit than explicit.<span> </span>What sort of life was Lazarus leading before he took ill and died?<span> </span>Was he perhaps entombed in that life, a comfortable no-risk existence looked after (grudgingly or otherwise) by his two sisters?<span> </span>Were all three of them co-dependent, as we might put it today?<span> </span>Certainly this story shows Jesus at “his Father’s work” with the sisters just as much as with their brother.<span> </span>In fact, Lazarus speaks not one word in this long narrative.<span> </span>He is the passive one; everybody else seems to have plenty to say and do.<span> </span>Is this story about Lazarus, or is it about all of us who are entombed in some sense or another?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And again we can see that the “degree of difficulty” has increased from the previous story, not only in the obvious sense of bringing a dead man back to life, but in the sense that Lazarus is called out of his old, comfortable, limited life into the true freedom of a child of God.<span> </span>I find myself thinking again of the paralytic at the pool whom Jesus asked, “Do you want to be made well?”<span> </span>Did Lazarus want to be made well?<span> </span>Did he want to be called out by Jesus?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Which gets me to one last general thought.<span> </span>I seem to remember reading somewhere that the word “ecclesia” means “those who are called out”.<span> </span>Originally it had a political meaning; people were called out to be members of the council or ruling body.<span> </span>But I like the idea of remembering that Christians are those whom Jesus, “in a loud voice”, has called out of whatever entombed life we may have created for ourselves, or been imprisoned in by others, into the fullness of life always intended by God for all his creatures.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Ezekiel.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>I doubt whether the Book of Ezekiel is anyone’s favourite book of the Bible; and if it is I rather hope I never meet that person.<span> </span>But this story has got it all – including an insidious soundtrack that has invaded my mind from the Black and White Minstrel Show, or something of that ilk, so that I can’t read this passage without hearing “dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones”!<span> </span>[And now you can hear it, can’t you?]<span> </span>It is clearly presented (in verse 1) as a “vision” or a “spiritual experience”, not a literal report sent back by a party of archaeologists or palaeontologists.<span> </span>And just in case we miss that point, and the constant reference to God speaking to Ezekiel (the mortal), the analogical significance of the vision is made clear in verses 11-14.<span> </span>The whole passage is a wonderful assertion of the creative, restorative, healing power of God, drawing perhaps on the story of the creation of Adam from the dust of the earth, and looking ahead to the resurrection to come.<span> </span>Is it embarrassingly naive for modern tastes?<span> </span>At Warrington, we walk through the graveyard to get to St Barnabas Church, in which we affirm our belief in “the resurrection of the dead”, and we are not at all embarrassed to do so.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">At one level this valley can be seen as an image of hopelessness.<span> </span>Can there be any hope left in such a situation?<span> </span>That is essentially the question God puts to the prophet, whose answer is remarkable.<span> </span>We might expect the answer to be “No”.<span> </span>But the prophet rules nothing in or out, leaving the answer to God.<span> </span>What does that tell us about facing a “hopeless” situation?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Can you recall experiencing “utter hopelessness?<span> </span>How did you get through it?<span> </span>Is hopelessness ever objectively real, or is it a label we use to describe our feelings about something?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">If God is real, can there ever be a situation that is truly hopeless?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Romans.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>St Paul draws the distinction between the physical and the spiritual aspects of our human life.<span> </span>He reminds us that the Spirit of Christ (the Holy Spirit) dwells in us; and, even more importantly, he reminds that that this Spirit is the one who raised Jesus from the dead.<span> </span>We have that Spirit, that power of resurrection, living in us NOW; and it is on that basis that we can be assured NOW of eternal life.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Romans.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>For some reason, as I read this little passage a vision came into mind of a plain weatherboard cottage sandwiched between two towering, important buildings.<span> </span>We might be inclined not to notice this reading, overshadowed as it might seem by the famous vision of the first lesson, and that magnificent story in the gospel reading.<span> </span>But that would be sad: this little passage goes to the very heart of our Christian faith, and St Paul pulls no punches.<span> </span>The Holy Spirit is not a sort of optional extra, to be acknowledged on the Day of Pentecost, but then put back on the shelf for the rest of the year.<span> </span>The Holy Spirit is the means by which the Father and the Son gather us up and bring us into the unity of the Holy Trinity.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Read slowly and prayerfully through this passage.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Give thanks for indwelling Spirit of Christ.<span> </span>When are you most aware of the Spirit dwelling within you?<span> </span>When are you least aware?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Ponder verse 6.<span> </span>Are we too much concerned with physical health (our own and that of others) and not concerned enough about spiritual health?<span> </span>When did you last go to your doctor?<span> </span>When did you last talk to anyone about your spiritual well-being?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">John.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>All the elements we have seen in the first three stories are here again.<span> </span>Once again the disciples seem no closer to understanding Jesus than anyone else.<span> </span>There is another, strange enigmatic “explanation” from Jesus about the real purpose of Lazarus’ illness (verse 4), similar to the response he gave to the disciples’ question about the “cause” of the man’s blindness from birth.<span> </span>We see Jesus and the disciples talking past each other: Mary and Martha seemingly knowing the theology, but not able to believe it can apply in practice.<span> </span>Perhaps the new bits are the most appealing: Jesus weeps with those who are grieving; and Martha’s wonderful warning about the stench likely to come out of the tomb keeps everyone grounded!<span> </span>(Jesus might be the resurrection and the life, but dead bodies still smell awful by the fourth day!)<span> </span>And what a climax to the story!<span> </span>“Unbind him, and let him go.”</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">A perfect story for the use of imaginative prayer.<span> </span>Put yourself in the scene; listen; watch; experience.<span> </span>Monitor your feelings, particularly when Lazarus emerges.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">We can be entombed in many ways; by our fears, by our personal history, by the expectations of others, by our beliefs and convictions.<span> </span>What is your tomb made of?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Now hear Jesus call to you in a loud voice, [<i>your name], come out!</i> How will you respond?<span> </span>And then the words <i>Unbind him/her, and let him/her go.</i><span> </span>Are you willing?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-88910084208293960322014-03-27T17:57:00.001+13:002014-03-27T17:57:06.537+13:00Fourth Sunday in Lent<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">March 30<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Fourth Sunday in Lent</span></b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"> 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41*</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">[Alternatively, The Lectionary offers a choice of readings for Mothering Sunday, as if anyone would seriously chose something other than these wonderful readings set for the Day.<span> </span>No disrespect to mothers, of course.]</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>I’m tempted to go with “Seeing is Believing”: an oldie but still a goodie.<span> </span>However, the grown-up inside me is pointing out that the whole thrust of these readings is that what we believe often prevents us from seeing clearly; so if you have a stroppy grown-up inside you it may be better to go with something a little more adult, like “Fifty Shades of Blindness”.<span> </span>Bartimaeus, and the guy in this week’s gospel passage, would encourage us to keep it simple.<span> </span>Something like from “Blindness to Sight” would fit the bill.<span> </span>Whatever you choose the gradual hymn/song should be “Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus”.<span> </span>(No. 532 in “Complete Anglican Hymns Old & New”, if that’s any help.)</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.<span> </span></span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">We start with a biblical version of American Idol, with one very reluctant judge, as Jesse’s sons are paraded before Samuel who has the unenviable task of trying to discern which one God has already chosen as the winner.<span> </span>The difficulty faced by Samuel is made all the greater because he has the very human habit of judging by appearances, whereas to be a real prophet he has to learn to look at the inner person.<span> </span>St Paul uses the concepts of darkness and light (blindness and sight) to exhort the new believers in the church at Ephesus to continue to walk in the light of Christ.<span> </span>Darkness, he says, is favoured by those who are intent on doing evil, but all will be exposed by the light of Christ.<span> </span>We finish with another of those wonderful narratives that form the first half of St John’s gospel, featuring a dramatic dialogue between Jesus and those who just don’t “get” him.<span> </span>This time (as in last week’s example) even his disciples struggle to get on his wavelength; but the real fun comes in the interchange between the man born blind but then healed and the Pharisees who were born sighted but just don’t want to see the obvious, giving rise to surely one of the great comedic gems in the Scriptures as the healed man becomes a clown of Shakespearean quality.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Here’s a profound thought that came to me as I mused on my reaction to the Russian moves in Crimea.<span> </span>How I see the events that have enfolded there over the last few days, and how Vladimir Putin sees them, has nothing to do with my eyesight or his.<span> </span>In each case the way each of us sees those events depends far more on our nationality than our eyesight.<span> </span>Although I know that Argentina has a very strong claim to the Falklands/Malvinas, I supported the argument that the overwhelming wish of the residents of the islands to remain British should decide the matter.<span> </span>The same argument looks right to me in respect of Gibraltar.<span> </span>So if the large majority of the residents of Crimea wish to join leave the Ukraine and rejoin Russia...?<span> </span>Why does that look so bad to me?<span> </span>And then there’s the forthcoming referendum in Scotland.<span> </span>Should I see that as a similar case to the Falklands and Gibraltar, or should I stick that in the same basket as Crimea?<span> </span>(The expression “a point of view” is an interesting one in this sort of context, isn’t it?)</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">So one of the things that may affect our ability to see straight (there’s another interesting expression!) is our own cultural tradition and upbringing.<span> </span>Or do I mean our own personal prejudices and presumptions?<span> </span>Recently the ODT’s in-house cartoonist provoked a few letters to the editor by drawing two scruffy male youths covered in tattoos and body piercing, sharing their surprise that they never seem to have a successful outcome to a job interview.<span> </span>Sure enough, the letter-writers slammed the stereotyping, and insisted that young people should not be judged on their appearance, etc.<span> </span>But come on!<span> </span>What then are we to make of a young man, interviewed recently about his tattoos, clothes, and hairstyle (all highly fashionable and rather “out there”) who said, “This is how I choose to express myself – this is saying to the world, this is who I am”?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Samuel made the opposite mistake, or, more probably, two mistakes.<span> </span>First, his cultural expectation would be that the eldest son, the all-important first-born, would have seniority over his younger siblings – a sort of skewed version of primogeniture.<span> </span>If the winner is to be crowned king it would have to be the oldest one – a king can’t have older brothers, can he?<span> </span>Secondly, Samuel was confirmed in that instinctive choice by looking at the first-born, Eliab; he just looked the part!<span> </span>He apparently had the strength and bearing of a king.<span> </span>But the Lord told Samuel not to judge by appearances.<span> </span>(We must not reject anyone for tattoos and body piercings, or appoint someone who looks just the sort of person we had in mind.)<span> </span>And yet... when young David is brought in as a somewhat late entrant, what are we told about him?<span> </span>“Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes and was handsome”!<span> </span>[An awkward moment for the biblical literalists, perhaps; but presumably we are to understand that David’s outward appearance ‘happened to be very beautiful’, but that had no bearing on his choice as king.] </font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">So we can fail to see properly for all sorts of reasons that have nothing to do with physical blindness; and the gospel story this week should remind us as people of faith that one of the most dreadful forms of spiritual blindness occurs when we refuse to see something that conflicts with our present belief.<span> </span>Think of St Peter and his vision of the ‘unclean creatures’ in Acts 10: his “biblical understanding of the will/Law of God made it very difficult to “see” what God was now showing him. In this week’s gospel passage we have two groups of people who fail to see what has clearly taken place before them, even though the principal eye-witness (sorry, but I didn’t even try to resist that one) kept insisting that he had had his sight restored.<span> </span>I’ve commented before on the reaction of the crowds who witness the impossible tricks modern magicians like Dynamo perform in front of them.<span> </span>In this passage the crowds react in a very similar way.<span> </span>They try to find an “explanation”: it can’t be the same man, but one who looks like him.<span> </span>And when the guy insists that he is the same man, they demand to know “how the trick was done”.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">The religious observers, on the other hand, started off by seeking to establish the facts: they made inquiries.<span> </span>But when they couldn’t shake the testimony of the man, supported in part by his nervous parents, they used theology, wrapped in issues of credentials and pedigree, to blind themselves to reality.<span> </span>God does not act through sinners; this man [Jesus] is a sinner, therefore, whatever has happened to you is not of God.<span> </span>But the man is not going to be defeated by any such head stuff: he knows what has happened and that is all that matters to him.<span> </span>St Paul had the opposite experience, of course, but it was just as convincing. <span> </span>When you’ve been blind, whether from birth or temporarily, and had your sight restored you know what has happened, and no amount of scientific or theological argument is going to convince you that it is impossible. <span> </span>As I said last week, experience trumps theology every time.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Samuel.<span> </span></span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">There is an obvious reason for the choice of this passage in relation to the gospel, and, I think, a less obvious one.<span> </span>I have already touched on the obvious one.<span> </span>But now let’s think about Samuel for a moment.<span> </span>The Boy Wonder, Eli’s little helper, has grown up and become, what?<span> </span>A great Elder, a Prophet, a devoted servant of the Lord High God who called to him all those years ago before he had learned to recognise God’s voice? <span> </span>That is the Samuel of faith as presented to us in the Scriptures.<span> </span>But there is, of course, another way of looking at what is going on here.<span> </span>Again those familiar with Shakespeare might see in Samuel one of those Machiavellian characters skilled in the art of sniffing political winds and riding them to personal survival and advancement.<span> </span>Saul is clearly losing it, has been for some time now, and a lame-duck king is a risky one to follow too loyally.<span> </span>Thoughts turn to questions of succession.<span> </span>Who is best able to succeed, in both senses of the word?<span> </span>And whoever it is, wouldn’t he be most grateful to anyone who made it possible for him to ascend to the throne?<span> </span>Was Samuel in practice a highly skilled king-maker with nerves of steel?<span> </span>It all depends on our point of view, doesn’t it?</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Are you inclined to judge by appearances?<span> </span>Can you recall an occasion when your first impression of someone proved subsequently to be wrong?<span> </span>How do you feel about the ODT cartoon?<span> </span>If you were interviewing a person for a position involving the giving advice on dietary matters, would you reject an applicant who was clearly obese?<span> </span>Or too thin?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Focus on verses 2 and 3.<span> </span>Notice how God suggests a ruse (a cover story) designed to keep Saul from learning what Samuel is really up to.<span> </span>What do you think of that?<span> </span>Is such deception consonant with your understanding of the absolute holiness of God?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Ephesians.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>This is another reminder that the early Church had its struggles, even when the apostles were still on the job!<span> </span>Conversion is not a one-off event, but an ongoing process, with progress interrupted from time to time by slip-ups.<span> </span>St Paul constantly urges the new converts to stand firm and hold tight, all too aware of the ease with which they can slip back into old habits.<span> </span>Egypt never looks so bad in retrospect as it did at the time: the appeal of new life shines brightest when it is still but a distant hope.<span> </span>Reality can soon cause it to fade.<span> </span>When we are in darkness we may yearn for the light, but sometimes the light can reveal something about us we would rather not show!<span> </span>Darkness is the state preferred by evildoers, says St Paul; but in the light of Christ all stand fully revealed.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Darkness can also be an apt way of describing tough times in our lives, when everything seems to have gone wrong.<span> </span>Looking back, have you experienced a dark time of that kind?<span> </span>Who or what brought light back to you?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Reflect on the need for light for virtually all forms of life; and yet life itself begins in darkness.<span> </span>What do you make of that?<span> </span>Life seems to be a journey from darkness to light in the physical world; is that how you have experienced it in your spiritual life?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">What would you say to a friend who is in a “dark place” at this time?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">John.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We shouldn’t be in too much of a hurry to skip through the early verses of this passage – or cut them out of the reading because it’s too long.<span> </span>The teaching starts at the beginning at it says something about the disciples.<span> </span>They see a blind man who does not excite their compassion, but arouses their curiosity.<span> </span>For them he is not a person but a debating point.<span> </span>Jesus’ answer does not seem to help matters.<span> </span>But then Jesus attends to the man’s needs.<span> </span>He does so in a somewhat elaborate and drawn out process.<span> </span>I wonder if much of this is for the disciples’ sake rather than the man’s: after all he couldn’t see what Jesus was doing.<span> </span>I’ve already commented on the reaction of the crowds, the nervousness of his parents, and the wonderful exchanges between the man and his “religious superiors”.<span> </span>The man grows in confidence as the dialogue develops, but for me the classic moment comes with that simple, incontrovertible statement in verse 25b: “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”<span> </span>The one who was physically blind becomes the one who tries to bring sight to those who are spiritually blind.<span> </span>Verses 35-41 are a wonderful little addendum, a reminder that spiritual experience can lead to theological understanding.<span> </span>From “I do not know whether he is a sinner” (verse 25a), he now comes into a full belief in who Jesus is (verse 38).<span> </span>The miracle of physical sight has led to the even greater miracle of spiritual sight.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Read through this passage slowly, prayerfully, over and over again.<span> </span>Let the story carry you along the same path the man travelled.</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Give thanks for the gift of physical sight.<span> </span>Pray for an ever greater gift of spiritual sight.</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Imagine meeting this man.<span> </span>What would you most like to ask him about the whole experience, and why?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-80897587220823460432014-03-20T15:18:00.001+13:002014-03-20T15:18:55.553+13:00Third Sunday in Lent<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">March 23<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Third Sunday in Lent</span></b></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"> Exodus 17: 1-7; Romans 5:1-11; John 4:5-42</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"> There are some obvious front-runners this week: “The Water of Life”; “The Source of Life”; “Water and the Spirit”.<span> </span>Take your pick.<span> </span>Perhaps “The Well of Life” may capture it better.<span> </span>To remind us that what Christianity is really about is encountering Christ – experiencing his presence – we might prefer something like “Encountering Christ”.<span> </span>But this week I want to focus on that woman who had that experience; and for reasons that will become clearer later I’m going for “Becoming the Best We Can Be”.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Whatever else the Season of Lent is, it is a period of great readings, and this week exemplifies this.<span> </span>We start with the drama of real basic human thirst, and the natural human reaction when faced with difficulty.<span> </span>The people grumble, lose their confidence in their leaders and in God, and demand some accountability.<span> </span>Moses passes on their complaints, if only to save his own skin.<span> </span>His own faith is being tested.<span> </span>St Paul takes the opposite approach: our relationship with God has been healed – we are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.<span> </span>But does that solve anything in the “real” world?<span> </span>And we meet a woman whose mind is also on the basic need for water, yet is open to the possibility that there is more to life than can be hauled up in a bucket.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Is it just me, or has this been a particularly depressing week?<span> </span>A large modern airliner disappears with nearly 300 people on board and no one has any idea where it is?<span> </span>At least, no one who is prepared to say anything that might disclose their surveillance networks.<span> </span>Russia takes possession of the Crimea and is criticised by countries like the USA and the United Kingdom, whose own recent past hardly gives them grazing rights on the moral high-ground.<span> </span>Another child-porn ring is uncovered involving people from many countries including our own.<span> </span>In London the phone-hacking scandal trundles on, revealing ever greater depths to which the greet Fleet Street media, apostles of the Fourth Estate, were prepared to sink in order to make ever greater profits for their shareholders; and from South Africa an even greater horror unfolds as a man tries to excuse the shooting of one person the ground that he thought he was shooting someone else.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">For some reason, from all this two, perhaps, more trivial matters have particularly set me off this week.<span> </span>The first was a radio interview with a spokeswoman for some dog-owners, who was asked about the difficulty in complying with recent legislation relating to the classification of certain breeds of dog as dangerous.<span> </span>Apparently the owners of such dogs are lying on their application forms for the registration of their dogs, describing them as “Labrador-cross”, for example, rather than as “pit-bull”.<span> </span>According to this woman the owners have no other choice; if they were honest about the breed, the dog would be recorded as dangerous, and would be subject to all sorts of restrictions.<span> </span>In some cases the dog would have to be neutered.<span> </span>So, the real culprits are the fools who passed the new laws, and or the local councils who do not check that the applicant is telling the truth.<span> </span>The idea that the owner might tell the truth because it is the honest thing to do never seemed to cross this woman’s mind.<span> </span>Who is going to tell the truth if, in doing so, it might cost them money?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And secondly, the ODT published an article by Sue Foley,a Westpac executive, commenting on the findings of a “Women of New Zealand Survey”.<span> </span>Ms Foley did not, of course, want “to impose my own approach to life on anyone else”, and then proceeded to do just that.<span> </span>Ms Foley’s main gripe seemed to be that only 12% of New Zealand women “aspire to being the CEO/boss”; and “only 33% viewed a career as a way to test themselves or be the best they can”.<span> </span>It’s that expression “to be the best they can” that really pressed my button.<span> </span>The assumption underlying Ms Foley’s entire article is that we can become the best we can only through climbing the career ladder (and certainly not stopping half-way up).<span> </span>Ms Foley offered no comment on what to me was the most distressing finding in the survey: when asked “What aspect of New Zealand needs most improvement” only 25% opted for “more social equality and equal opportunity”.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">All of which led me to pondering again this wonderful story of the woman at the well.<span> </span>What were her aspirations for her life?<span> </span>Did she dream of one day having power and prestige?<span> </span>A chance to test herself and be the best she could be? Or was she destined to become one of those “women to cringe in later life at the thought of those two horrible words – if only?”<span> </span>We know the answer, but it is one that would seem to make no sense to Ms Foley or those involved in the survey.<span> </span>We know that the woman was simply doing her tiring chore, trudging to the well to get water for her household, before trudging all the way back now burdened with the weight of her pitcher.<span> </span>It was noon, the hottest part of the day.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">When she arrives at the well she notices a man resting there.<span> </span>He was tired out by his journey.<span> </span>There are all sorts of barriers between the two of them, barriers of gender, history, culture, and, above all, of understanding.<span> </span>One by one Jesus breaks down these walls that divide.<span> </span>And we watch as she becomes in his presence the best that she can become.<span> </span>From silent water-gatherer, she blossoms into cautious but curious questioner, and then into dialogue-partner, and then into evangelist to her people.<span> </span>She leaves her water-jar, symbol of her career, centre of her daily life, and calls the people of her city. “Come and see for yourselves; come and make up your own minds.”<span> </span>And they heeded her call in large numbers, men as well as women.<span> </span>Not everyone, of course; many stayed in their offices, factories and other work-places, testing themselves and striving to be the best they could be.<span> </span>Some of them might even have become CEO/boss in years to come.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And some of them noticed something that worried them a lot.<span> </span>They noticed that those who had downed tools and followed that crazy woman out into the wilderness to listen to some ne’er-do-well from Nazareth seemed changed somehow.<span> </span>They seemed happier, more contented with their lot, kinder, readier to help others, more confident and less liable to worry about the future; more committed to helping their neighbours instead of spying on them or gossiping about them; more committed to telling the truth even when it could cost them their lives.<span> </span>And one or two or more of them, in older age, found themselves muttering to themselves those horrible words – if only – “if only I had followed them – if only I had listened to that crazy woman – if only I had met that man from Nazareth when I had the chance.”</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Exodus.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>I’ve always struggled with passages like this.<span> </span>I hate being hot, tired and thirsty; and when I am I look for someone to blame for my predicament.<span> </span>Whose idea was it that we should go for a walk?<span> </span>So I’m instinctively with the grumblers in situations like this.<span> </span>I forget all the times when things went wonderfully right; the beauty of the surroundings, the pleasure of the walk, the gentle, cooling breeze.<span> </span>I don’t so much enjoy their presence as lament their absence. <span> </span>The people turn on Moses, but, of course, they are really complaining about God.<span> </span>Moses knows that, and refers their complaint on to God.<span> </span>Not in so many words, of course: he wraps up his complaint to make it look like a plea for wisdom or guidance.<span> </span>“What should I do?” really means, “You got us into this, now do something to get us out of it.”<span> </span>God gives him what he wants – a plan of action.<span> </span>It is a plan to journey on, to go forward, not to retreat.<span> </span>God will be there to meet them and to meet their needs.<span> </span>We notice that Moses does as he is commanded.<span> </span>We are not told what God does: that goes without saying.<span> </span>Notice, too, that the place is to be remembered, not as the place where God provided water to drink, but as the place where the people quarrelled and tested the Lord.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">In times of difficulty, the people lose faith.<span> </span>Can you relate to that?<span> </span>Or has it been your experience that times of difficulty strengthen your faith?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Are you inclined to blames others at such times?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Are you inclined to look back to the good old days?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Notice the question the Israelites ask at the end of this passage: “is the Lord with us or not?”<span> </span>That’s the real issue, isn’t it?<span> </span>Have you ever asked yourself that question?<span> </span>How would you answer that question now?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Romans.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>St Paul proclaims what for him is the one unassailable fact as he ponders the work of Jesus Christ: as a result of that work we are reconciled to God – our relationship with God has been healed.<span> </span>In the light of that, even the terrible times we experience from time to time can be accepted (if not welcomed) as opportunities for new spiritual growth.<span> </span>And all this is God’s gift to us, not because we have cleaned up our act and become worthy of God’s love, but precisely so that we might clean up our act and become worthy of the love we have already received.<span> </span>“While we were yet sinners...” is not for St Paul an astute piece of theological exposition, or a nice piece of liturgy: it is breathtakingly wonderful good news!</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><span> </span></font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Notice how balanced the two halves of this passage are.<span> </span>What saves the first half from becoming a sort of self-improvement guide?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Are verses 3-5 true to your own experience or not?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">What does it mean for you that you are reconciled to God?<span> </span>Do you feel at peace with God?</font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">John.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Another of the wonderful dialogue narratives through which John teaches us the spiritual life within the context of the everyday world.<span> </span>Today we have an unnamed woman – she stands for all of us (men as well as women) who have basic needs that have to be met if life is to continue.<span> </span>Water, I guess, is second only to air in our list of the necessities of life.<span> </span>And yet, in surely the most telling phrase in this whole wonderful story, in the wake of her encounter with Jesus “the woman left her water jar and went back to the city”.<span> </span>She forgets even her need for water in her excitement.<span> </span>Feminist theologians might want to make something of the fact that she does not have a name; but surely we cannot doubt that Jesus treats her as a person in her own right.<span> </span>He is patient with her (more patient than he was with Nicodemus) leading her from one insight to the next, one step to the next on the spiritual journey.<span> </span>More, he makes himself vulnerable in her presence.<span> </span>He asks her for help, which she could have refused; he reveals his true identity to her, which she could have ridiculed.<span> </span>And when it was over she thought only of her neighbours.<span> </span>Had she taken back her pitcher of water she might have shared it with her own household: what she had received from Jesus was more than enough for everybody in the city to share if they wanted to.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">A wonderful passage for Ignatian prayer, using your imagination.<span> </span>Place yourself at the well.<span> </span>Watch and listen as the drama unfolds.<span> </span>Notice how the woman gradually grows in confidence.<span> </span>But notice, too, how Jesus becomes energised in this episode.<span> </span>He starts “tired out by his journey”.<span> </span>By the end he is ready for the curious crowds coming to him.<span> </span>What do you make of that?<i></i></font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Jesus reveals to the woman that he knows her through and through.<span> </span>What might Jesus know about you that you would rather he didn’t know?<i></i></font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Suppose your neighbour came to you to ask for some water – would you give him/her some?<i></i></font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 41.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Symbol;font-size:12pt"><span>·<span style="font:7pt/normal "Times New Roman";font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri">Now suppose your neighbour comes to you for help to meet Jesus.<span> </span>What would you say or do?<i></i></font></span></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt 5.25pt" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><span> </span></font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-527369369750243163.post-87955891854589374422014-03-13T15:58:00.001+13:002014-03-13T15:58:11.290+13:00Second Sunday in Lent<div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">March 16<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:14pt">NOTES FOR REFLECTION<span> </span></span></b><b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Second Sunday in Lent</span></b><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Texts:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"> Genesis 12:1-4a; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; John 3:1-17</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Theme:</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>As we walk to the Cross it becomes ever more urgent to reflect on the fundamental question, why are we going this way?<span> </span>Surely there’s got to be a better way than this?<span> </span>That’s at the heart of the struggle Jesus faced in the wilderness last week.<span> </span>So something in the nature of a question might be a suitable theme for this week.<span> </span>Perhaps “Are We Sure this is the Right Way?”<span> </span>Or something equally all-embracing like “Three Good Questions”, based on the recent series by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (and who isn’t a fan of his?), but more importantly recognising that each of our readings this week has a question at the heart of it.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Introduction.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>We start with the call of Abram this week.<span> </span>In this passage the question is shouted from off-stage, “Are you out of your mind?”<span> </span>[Come on!<span> </span>The guy is 75; and suddenly he has decided to up sticks and everything else he owned and head off to start a new life in a land somewhere – but he has no idea where!<span> </span>You don’t think Sarai was likely to respond, “Are you out of your mind?”]<span> </span>In the gospel passage Nicodemus, earnest, well-meaning, and essentially a good man of faith, has an equally sincere question to ask: a rough translation might be, “What on earth are you talking about?”<span> </span>Both of those questions are good questions and the Season of Lent is a good time for us to reflect on them again.<span> </span>But for me, this week’s prize for the best question goes to St Paul, as he reflects on Abram’s big move.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Background.<span> </span></span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">St Paul’s question in a nutshell is this.<span> </span>What did Abram get out of it?<span> </span>What did he gain from it?<span> </span>So often, particularly perhaps in the Season of Lent, we place the emphasis on cost; what do we have to give up to be a disciple?<span> </span>There’s nothing wrong with that question in prospect; Jesus urges would-be followers to think very carefully before committing themselves to him: Luke 14:25-33.<span> </span>But somehow the question never arises that way in retrospect.<span> </span>With the benefit of hindsight we see the blessings, and forget the anxieties that plagued us before we set out.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">A few years ago I was having a bit of a chat show with a large crowd of people who attended our carol singing before our Christmas Eve Eucharist service: we tend to have a burst of 3 or 4 carols, and then a breather, and during the breather I talk with the people, greeting visitors, asking about their year, and so on.<span> </span>On this particular occasion I asked an immigrant from the United Kingdom what he missed most from the old country to which he replied with considerable fervour, “Absolutely nothing!”<span> </span>I must confess I was taken aback, and suspected that he was being more tactful than truthful.<span> </span>But when I thought about it, and about my own feelings as an immigrant, I realised what he meant.<span> </span>Of course, we could isolate some things to grumble about – the standard of the New Zealand press, the difficulty in finding really good sausages, or whatever.<span> </span>But overall, life for us here is so much better n so many ways – and let’s use the religious word “blessed” to make this point – that to think of what we have lost just doesn’t seem to make sense.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">I feel just the same about my other great “act of migration” from a well-paid career in law to the somewhat more financially challenging world of semi-stipended ministry.<span> </span>What have I lost – what did I give up – just doesn’t make sense in retrospect, however troubling such questions might have been for me when I was struggling with the issue of my call.<span> </span>Of course not every single day since has been an unmitigated joy – some of them have involved vestry meetings and sittings of Synod; there have been days when the darker side of human nature (including my own) has been all-too evident.<span> </span>And yet, and yet... “Blessing” is the only word that comes close to describing the years that followed my decision to leave my profession and follow those simple words “Come, follow me” that I somehow heard deep within me.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Of course, such calls are individual cases, and for most followers of Christ there is no such dramatic break of domicile or occupation involved.<span> </span>But this week at St Barnabas we have started a series on “Spirituality & Liturgy”, designed to help us reflect more intentionally on our worship and its role in our spiritual growth.<span> </span>My basic thesis is that the process of worship is a “recapitulation” of the spiritual journey, and so we began this week thinking about the intention we form each Sunday (or whenever) to “go to church”.<span> </span>(Note: I want that phrase banned for the whole of Lent (and for ever afterwards): instead, of asking ourselves “do I want to go to church today?” I should ask “do I want to worship God today?”] <span> </span>That process is a microcosm of the decision to start on a spiritual journey.<span> </span>In the words of our economists it has a “lost opportunity cost”: if I attend a service in my local church during a certain period of time I lose the opportunity to use that period of time to do anything else – not, of course, something wicked or sinful, but something good in itself – gardening, cooking, taking the dog for a walk, visiting family or friends, or whatever.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">So it is with our commitment to the spiritual journey.<span> </span>It involves a “lost opportunity cost”.<span> </span>It is not something that we can tack on to everything else we are already doing in our busy lives.<span> </span>It takes time and patience and commitment.<span> </span>Like the athlete who must train even when she doesn’t feel like getting out of bed, or the musician who must practise even when he would rather be listening to someone else playing, we must pray even when we don’t feel like it and worship even when it’s raining, if we are to grow spiritually.</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">And as St Paul’s great question reminds us this week, the question “how much is this going to cost?”, is soon replaced by a joyous exclamation: “look how much I’ve gained!”<span> </span>[Those who remember Helen Reddy’s great feminist anthem may recall a couplet that goes something like, “Yes, I’ve paid the price, but look how much I’ve gained.”<span> </span>Sorry, that just popped into my mind for some reason.]<span> </span>Why in this Season of Lent are we walking the path that leads to the Cross?<span> </span>Ask me that question on Easter Day and I’ll sing you the answer: “Christ has risen!<span> </span>Look how much we’ve all gained!” So it doesn’t scan – but it’s still great news, isn’t it?</font></font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Genesis.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>Here’s a trivial pursuit question to begin with, one that quite a few people who ought to know better get wrong.<span> </span>From whence was Abram called?<span> </span>If you think the answer is from Ur of the Chaldees, think again.<span> </span>His father brought the family out of that great city heading for Canaan, but got as far as Haran and decided that would do.<span> </span>Abram is called from Haran.<span> </span>The simplicity of this short passage is the key to its strength.<span> </span>God calls, Abram, promising him great blessings.<span> </span>Abram obeys.<span> </span>That’s it: no request for I.D. (how do I know you’re God – you could be a scammer.) No asking for more time to consider and to consult the other stake-holders.<span> </span>No requests for insurance or guarantees.<span> </span>Not even the obvious question, “Go where?”<span> </span>Sometimes people ask me how they can know God’s will for them.<span> </span>I always answer that that’s God’s problem, not theirs.<span> </span>If God has not chosen to make his will clear to us we’re free to choose for ourselves.<span> </span>The Bible shows that that is rarely the problem: it is when we know what God’s will is and we don’t want to do it that things become more difficult.<span> </span>Ask Moses.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Put yourself in Abram’s shoes.<span> </span>He has heard God calling him to journey off into the unknown.<span> </span>How will he convince Sarai?<span> </span>What will the neighbours think?<span> </span>Does he attempt to construct a logical explanation for what he is about to do; or does he simply state that it is God’s will and therefore is not open to discussion?<span> </span>Is he excited at the prospect, or dismayed, or indifferent?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Can you recall an occasion when your faith led you to make a decision that your nearest and dearest found inexplicable?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Now put yourself in Sarai’s shoes.<span> </span>How would she respond to Abram’s news?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Can you recall an occasion when one of your nearest and dearest planned a course of action based on faith that you thought imprudent? How did you react?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Romans.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>St Paul’s great question offers him another opportunity to develop his favourite theme of God’s grace.<span> </span>Whatever Abram received, and Paul will come to that shortly, it wasn’t by way of reward for past good works.<span> </span>Abram had not earned God’s favour.<span> </span>In fact we know very little of Abram’s character, except for one extraordinary characteristic.<span> </span>He was open to God – in other words, he was a great mystic.<span> </span>He heard God speak to him on a number of occasions and his response was always the same: obedience.<span> </span>Not obedience in the sense of grudging compliance with come provision of law backed by threat of penalty. <span> </span>(Nor simply a “doormat” response, as the powerful narrative of the near-sacrifice of Isaac brings home to us.) As Paul makes clear, Abram’s calling preceded the coming of the law; so this has nothing to do with good and evil, it is not a matter of ethics.<span> </span>What this story is about is spiritual formation writ large; a recognition of God, a willing surrender to God, resulting in spiritual growth and much blessing.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">Taking It Personally.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"></span></font></font></p> <font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">What have you gained from your faith in God?<span> </span>Take some time to ponder that question.<span> </span>Make a list.<span> </span>How many items are on your list after 15 minutes?<span> </span>Give it another 5 minutes.<span> </span>Now how many items are on your list?<span> </span>Give thanks for each one of them</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Keep your list with you all week.<span> </span>Add to it as other items come to mind.<span> </span>Give thanks for each new addition.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Take your list with you to the service on Easter Day.<span> </span>Do the same on Pentecost.<span> </span>Reflect on the difference a practice such as this can make in your awareness of God’s goodness and grace.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt">John.</span></i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><span> </span>In this great narrative we see the two worlds in which we live with extraordinary clarity.<span> </span>Again we notice that Nicodemus is not one of those tiresome know-alls who were for ever trying to entrap Jesus or trip him up.<span> </span>This man is a genuine seeker after truth, but he has made the mistake that so many intelligent, well-educated people make.<span> </span>He believes he can think his way to the spiritual truth.<span> </span>Jesus teaches him differently.<span> </span>We have two natures, born in two different ways.<span> </span>We have our human nature acquired in the usual way from our human parents.<span> </span>But we also have a spiritual nature, which can only be born in and through the Spirit.<span> </span>The passage ends with two verses that have had very different “careers”.<span> </span>Verse 16 has achieved superstar status, perhaps the most memorised verse in the whole of Scripture.<span> </span>Verse 17 is widely ignored, particularly by the evangelical wing of the Church.<span> </span>Jesus came to save the world, not to condemn it.<span> </span>And on a related theme, verse 16 says the alternative to eternal life is not eternal punishment but extinction.<span> </span>If we do not accept the gift of life we perish (cease to exist), we don’t fry for ever and a day.</span></font></font></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">Taking It Personally.</font></font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri"> </font></span></i></p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Read slowly through this passage, preferably aloud.<span> </span>This is a passage to be listened to.<span> </span>Try with Nicodemus to grasp what Jesus is saying to you.</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Focus on verse 8, phrase by phrase.<span> </span>Follow the analogy with the wind.<span> </span>We feel it, we know its reality, even if we have no idea what has caused it to suddenly “get up”.<span> </span>So it is with the Spirit, says Jesus.<span> </span>What do you make of that?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">How might we apply this teaching to Abram’s experience as recorded in our first lesson?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font face="Calibri"><font color="#000000">Now focus on verses 16 and 17.<span> </span>Notice that they are a couplet, not two separate ideas.<span> </span>How would you summarise Jesus’ teaching in these verses?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font><li style="margin:0cm 0cm 0pt;text-align:justify" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-size:12pt"><font color="#000000"><font face="Calibri">What insights have you drawn from this passage to help you towards spiritual growth?</font></font></span></li><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></ul><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div> Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06650704525966776652noreply@blogger.com0