One Pearle

Martha and Mary - Luke 10:38-42

2011-12-07T05:35:00.000-08:00

Luke 10:38-42

Martha and Mary lived, probably with their brother Lazarus, in a town called Bethany which
was about 1.5 miles east of Jerusalem on the slope of the Mount of Olives. So I guess it would have been a favourite retreat for Jesus—a place to rest and pray in his favourite place on the nearby Mountain. On this particular day the two women were alone and Jesus calls with his disciples causing Martha to go into panic mode. What happens during the course of Jesus’ time there is a studyin contrasts between the two sisters Martha and Mary.

First contrast, Martha opened her home but Mary opened her heart. Verse 38: “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.” Martha’s focus was on the preparations and getting everything right and ready. And in normal circumstances with everyday guests that would have been fine. But this guest is different. It’s Jesus—the Saviour of the world, God incarnate, the Son of God and Mary recognized that this was an important moment to probably join with the other disciples and listen to Jesus’ teaching. She “opened her heart” which is another way of saying that she gave herself completely to listening to all that Jesus was saying. By contrast Martha was much
too busy in the kitchen.

I think sometimes busyness and service—even service for God - can be another way of closing God out of our lives– a means of running away from God. In Psalm 46:10 the words come as a command “Be still—and know that I am God..” Or “cease striving and be aware of me”. Or the Message: “Step out of the traffic and take a long loving look at me.” Each translation is a cry from God to stop what we are doing and take time to just be with him so we can be open to all he wants to say to us. Martha opened her home but Mary opened her heart.

Second, Martha was distracted while Mary was focussed. Verse 40: “Martha was distracted by
all the preparations that had to be made.” I heard a quote the other day which goes: “Don’t let the urgent get in the way of the important”. It’s from a book on management and it goes on to say that often you find that the things that seem to shout the loudest for out attention—the urgent—are often just that. Loud. Whereas the important are usually a lot quieter and get easily overlooked. The “still small voice” or whisper that Elijah heard after the earthquake etc..
Luke talks here about “all the preparations that HAD to be made.” And anyway who decided that these HAD to be done and done then? Martha probably. And in deciding and committing
herself to them you have to wonder what made them so urgent? Had she planned something
over-elaborate to impress Jesus a sort of showing off how good she was? Perhaps she was one of these people who like to organise everybody and be in charge? Which is fine—to a point - but what happens when something really important happens? Well it just has to wait. So Martha was distracted “by much serving” the KJV puts it when it wasn’t serving but being still that was needed. Mary, by contrast was much more focussed and therefore knew that the urgent needed, for now, to be laid aside in order to be with the Master. Verse 40 “but only one thing is needed” said Jesus.

Thirdly, therefore Martha worried while Mary trusted. Worry comes sometimes from a feeling that we are not in control. That things are getting out of hand or are overwhelming us. Jesus wasn’t worried about the preparations and could easily have waited or eaten something more simple. His calmness was reflected in Mary who sat with Jesus, tuned Martha out and Jesus in.
Trust comes from stillness. Blaise Pascal once wrote: “All the troubles of life some upon us
because we refuse to sit quietly for a while in our rooms.”

Sometimes hyperactivity is a form of running away from something. Or a means of closing our ears to something we don’t want to hear. Perhaps we are afraid that if we heard God he would ask us to do something we didn’t want to do. Or that our life would change too radically? No wonder C.S. Lewis said that “Busyness isn’t OF the devil it IS the devil!” The last thing he wants us to do is be still and listen to God, because by being still we would come to trust him. So Martha was content—wrong word - committed to worrying away at what she was doing, shutting
out Jesus in the process.

Finally, as a result Martha was chastised and Mary commended: “Mary has chosen the good or best portion and it will not be taken away from her.” There seems to be a subtle reference to
a well-known passage about the need to listen and listen well. It’s from the parable of the Sower
where Jesus is explaining what it means: “Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what He has will be taken from him” (Luke 11:12)
The commendation of Jesus was that because Mary had given herself to listening she what she had would not be taken away from her. What better encouragement then to become focussed, to open our hearts, to be still and listen to Jesus than to be assured that what we then receive
from him, we will not lose.

So we need to learn from Mary and Martha the lessons God wishes to teach us which will remain with us always.

Disciples and witnesses - Acts 1:7-8

2011-12-07T05:27:00.000-08:00

One of my favourite quotes is from St. Seraphim of Sarov a nineteenth century Russian Saint. He says: “Acquire the Spirit of peace and a thousand souls around you shall be saved.”

In these days of frenetic activity and frantic busyness one of the first casualties of the Christian’s life - let alone the priest’s life—is that of spending quality time in the presence of God. I don’t mean saying the offices or attending services—although they are, I believe, the minimum requirement of the Christian’s life—I mean silent engagement with God in a way which enables us to meet Him at the very deepest levels of our existence. It is this engagement that enables us, says Seraphim, to acquire the spirit of peace which will itself have an impact not only on our own lives but that of others around us.

As one who has made Jesus’ call to “make disciples of all nations” his own personal mantra, evangelism has for much of my ministry been one of concentrating on the outward activity of setting up and running various courses from Emmaus to Alpha, or Christianity Explored to Saints Alive, any tool that would help me fulfil the charge that Jesus has laid at my feet and the feet of His Church. But those words of Seraphim have caused me to re-visit the scriptures and look again at what else Jesus said with regard to this calling to make disciples of all nations.

It was in Acts 1:8 that I discovered how the words of Seraphim fit in so perfectly with Jesus’ plan for taking the message of the Good News and making it known to a needy world. Here Jesus reminds the disciples that taking the message out from Jerusalem and into the ends of the earth should not become a human resourced activity, but like any other God-directed work, be dependant on the power of God manifested in and the through the presence of the Holy Spirit. It is in this context that Jesus adds a further comment which suddenly gelled with the words of St.
Seraphim. He tells them: “and you will become my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”. And it’s that word ‘witness’ that suddenly struck me. It is not just the witnesses words that are important in a court of Law but whether:

First, whether his/her words can be corroborated with that of other witnesses or pieces of evidence; and,
2. Whether the character of the witness is such that he/she can be deemed trustworthy when
considering what they say. The point is that in terms of evangelistic outreach of any sort, the medium is the message. It is the quality of our Christian character that ultimately gives the message of the Good News both legitimacy and power. No wonder Jesus tells the disciples to wait until the Spirit comes—the same Spirit that produces the fruit of love, joy and peace etc—so that by continual contact with Him we may be ready to take a more holistic approach to evangelism and mission.

So to come back to St. Seraphim of Sarov, his message is a soundly biblical one. That if we do take the time to spend with God and acquire the spirit of peace then in and through the same Spirit we will be able to do as Jesus has called us to do and be His instruments in the salvation of many souls.

O heavenly King, O Comforter, the Spirit of truth who art everywhere and all places, come and abide in us. Cleanse us from all impurity and of thy goodness, save our souls.

Baptism talk - Mark 10:13-16

2011-12-07T04:58:00.000-08:00

Props—sweet bars wrapped as presents for the children.

1. God loves to give (verse 13).
In our reading the people knew that God, in Jesus, would bless their children. So they brought them to him. We can have that confidence too that God wants to give us good things.

2. But often human beings get in the way of that (verse 13b) and the disciples didn’t want Jesus bothered. And tried to stop them. But Jesus told off his disciples and told them allow the
children to come to him for a blessing.

3. God loves to give but the thing about gifts is that in order to be something good they need to be received.

4. Here are some presents for the children—imagine they are God’s blessing for them. (Give out presents - but don't open).

5. Now what happens if you never open them? Every year £68 million pounds of lottery money is left unclaimed. 1000’s of pounds of unclaimed parcels are auctioned off by the Post Office.
It’s crazy—but there are lots of people out there who are missing out on gifts they have been given but have never opened.

6. Baptism contains within it a gift to us from God. In it He gives us Himself. But like any gift we need to ‘open it’ as well as receive it. Lots of baptised people who have been given, never opened this gift from God.

7. But what is this gift? It’s God giving Himself to us.

8. What is God like? He is—the Bible tells us—love. When we look at Jesus we see the most loving person who ever lived. Everyone wants to be loved. God wants to give His love to us.

9. God is also perfect peace. The one thing you notice about Jesus is that whatever situation he finds himself in, he is at peace. Who else could sleep in a boat when there’s a storm going on
and the boat is near sinking!

10. God is also eternal, and by giving us Himself He offer us His life so that we can live forever when this life is over.

11. Love, peace, eternity, these are just a small part of God’s gift to us through baptism and the great tragedy—for me –is that so very many people are failing to understand, investigate and open this precious gift from God to us. Just think what they are missing.

12. Baptism is about God giving himself to us. Will we open it?

Now open your gifts and enjoy them. Amen.

St. Illtyd - November 6th

2011-11-08T03:06:00.000-08:00

Like many of the early Celtic saints of the dark ages, details of Illtyd’s life are at best, sketchy. There is a 12th century ‘Life of Illtyd’ written in Latin which draws from and expands on earlier details of his life, emphasizing the miraculous nature of some of the things he did.

Sceptics will say that much of this is a work of fiction as miracles underline his authenticity as a true saint of God and worthy of veneration. Believers would say that there is no smoke without some fire and point to the existence of an age which was more believing and comfortable with the miraculous than today’s scientific age. So more faith, more miracles, less faith, less miracles.

As a Christian I will always lean towards belief in miracles for several reasons. First, Jesus performed miracles during his life, and his disciples after him. Second, Jesus clearly dead, rose again from the dead. Lastly, Jesus promised his Church: “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” John 14:12

These words were fulfilled after the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples following Jesus’ Ascension —when he went to be with the Father - and as the church began to expand. Since then it has always been accepted that those who were true to Jesus would, like them, see similar miracles during their life.

Early accounts of Illtyd claim that he was originally from Brittany, the son of a minor Breton prince named Bican Farchog. He began a career as a skilled warrior serving his cousin King Arthur and others until his wild ways brought him into trouble with one of the early welsh saints, St, Cadoc at Llancarfan Abbey (West of Barry near Cowbridge). According to one account he attempted to raid the abbey with his warband, but was driven off by the monks and was pursued into a treacherous bog where all but Illtyd perished in the deep mud.

When rescued by the monks, Cadoc, their abbot, is said to have spoken to Illtyd about the Christian faith, leading a humbled Illtyd to repent, give up his weapons and his warlike ways, give life to Christ and become a monk. Cadoc then was the right man, at the right time, pointing Illtyd in the right direction.

Illtyd went on to become renowned as the most learned Briton in the study of scripture and philosophy, later becoming abbot of his monastery in Glamorgan and being responsible, in turn, for the discipling of other welsh saints including Pol Aurelian, Samson of Dol, Gildas and of course, David himself.

His monastery attracted hundreds of monks and many churches were subsequently dedicated to him across South Wales includingSt. Illtyd’s Church, in Llanilltyd Fawr or as we know it LLantwit Major.

There is a simple cross at LLantwit—thought to date back to the 6th century and on the site that was once the monastery—which bears the inscription: “Samson placed his cross here for his soul, for the soul of Illtyd, Samson, Rhain, Sawyl and Ebisar”

Of the miracles associated with Illtyd one involves the land on which the cross now stands. In his days it was originally a small waste island, but through the saints intercession it was miraculously joined to the land and used for the building of his school.

What lessons can we learn from his life?
First, about his conversion. It was whole-hearted. After his brush with death, Cadoc became God’s instrument to share the good news about Jesus with him, leading him to give up his life of violence and the instrument of death, his sword, only to take up another instrument of death, the cross, which he then carried into a peaceful life of self-denial and prayer to the end of his life.

Conversion is about what the French call a “volte-face” - a complete “about turn” - a change of life and direction. Nothing less than this would have made Illtyd the man which we remember and who, with others, turned Wales Christian.

Second, it’s interesting that the most commonly attested miracle associated with Illtyd had to do with the ground, just as David’s great miracle also had to do with the ground as it raised him up to preach to the crowd. The early Celts had a deep affinity with nature and worked hand in hand with it to serve God. We have largely lost touch with creation and the result we see is this ongoing battle between the two—nature and man. Paul talks in Romans of creation “groaning as in the pains of childbirth” Romans 8:22. I wonder how much “groaning” is down to this disconnect between the two today?

Lastly, again we find the Celts a people soaked in the scriptures. St. Illtyd’s reputation was as a man who knew his scriptures inside out. As a result he was able to pass on his faith and knowledge to others and raise up saintly men and women to, like him, follow Jesus. Someone once wrote that knowledge of the Bible is knowledge of Christ, for Christ is to be found in all the scriptures—Old and New. In other words if you want to know Christ better, read your bible more. And if you want to get closer to Christ, get more familiar with the scriptures.

Illtyd did and churches dedicated to his name are living a legacy of his faithfulness to Christ, His word and His church.

St. Cyprian - died September 14th AD 258

2011-09-13T02:06:00.000-07:00

Cyprian was born in Carthage, N. Africa from a wealthy pagan background. Before becoming a Christian he was an orator and a teacher of rhetoric. We don’t know the date of his conversion but two things stand out when we consider his change of heart. First, after his baptism circa 245-8 he gave away a portion of his wealth to the poor in Carthage, and second, he took the additional name of Caecilius in memory of the presbyter to whom he owned his conversion (a presbyter was the ancient and original title of what we now call a priest).

Not long after his baptism he was ordained deacon and soon after presbyter and some time between 248 and 249 he was elected bishop. He was a popular choice among the poor although there was opposition among the church hierarchy.

His election was followed by what has become known as the “Decian persecution” when
pressure was put on all bishops and church officers to sacrifice to the emperor. On the face of it, it would have been a simple thing just to do what was expected, make the sacrifice, and get on with it, but to the Christians such as Cyprian, this was unthinkable. There is only one Lord and one God, and to acknowledge the Emperor as God—which was what the sacrifice meant - was to deny God. So rather than do that Cyprian, with others, fled Carthage.

But the persecution divided the church between those who resisted and those who capitulated. Because Cyprian ran away it was seen as cowardice and Cyprian’s enemies in the church accused him at Rome. Cyprian’s defence was that he ran away because he had received various visions
and commands from God to tell him to, but I obedience to Rome he returned after 14 months and stayed faithfully serving his people until another persecution flared up under Emperor Valerian and both Pope Stephen 1st and Pope Sixtus 2nd were martyred in Rome.

This time Cyprian stayed and refused to sacrifice to the pagan deities and firmly professed Jesus as Lord. He was banished to Curubis where he continued to encourage his flock through various writings and epistles. In a vision he saw his approaching fate and after a year he was recalled
and put under house arrest in his own villa. On September 13th 258 he was imprisoned he returned to his villa where he was cross examined and sentenced to die by the sword. His only answer was “thanks be to God”. The sentence was carried out in an open place near the city in front of a large crowd. After removing his own garments he knelt down and prayed and after blindfolding himself he was beheaded. His remains were buried near the spot and later various churches erected although Charlemagne is said to have had the bones transferred to France.

There are a few lessons we can draw from his life:

1. Although Cyprian later refers back to his baptism as the moment he received grace from God to believe and live the Christian life he also acknoweledges that baptism alone is not enough—there has to be a corresponding change of heart leading to a change of life. God’s grace must
be met with man’s—and woman’s—willingness to believe and trust in Him on a daily basis.

Second, Cyprian was known in his lifetime as a defender of the faith. In his writings and in his preaching he vigorously defended Christianity against the pagan world. And even though he was
gifted as a speaker and thinker, he still had to learn about his faith so that he knew enough to “give a reason for the hope that was within (him).” (1 Peter 3:15.) So must we all, now more than ever, be ready to speak for Christ, when the time comes or the opportunity arises.

Lastly, Cyprian was a realist about the world and it’s problems. Listen to this extract from one of his writings to a pagan called Donatus:

"This seems a cheerful world, Donatus, when I view it from this fair garden under the shadow of these vines. But if I climbed some great mountain and looked over the wide lands, you know very well what I would see. Brigands on the high road, pirates on the seas, in the ampitheatres men murdered to please the applauding crowds, under all roofs misery and selfishness. It is a really bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. Yet in the midst of it I have found a quiet and holy people. They have discovered a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure
of this sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are the Christians… and I am one of them.

Louis Armstrong was right that this is sometimes a wonderful world but it is not perfect- far from it - and we need to keep on working with God to make it better.

Barabbas

2011-08-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

Barabbas is referred in some of the Gospels as man who was freed by Pilate in place of Jesus when the crowds demanded that he observe a custom of allowing someone to be set free in place of the accused. There is no extra-biblical reference to such a custom but that does not mean it did not exist because we often find that the Bible records something history has overlooked or not thought
appropriate to mention.

He is described in Mark as a “notorious prisoner” and John fills out that description by calling him a bandit a word Josephus the historian uses to describe a freedom-fighter or a revolutionary. This would account for his popularity with the crowds.

Some other interesting details emerge: his name means: “Son of the Father” which draws
an interesting parallel with Jesus who is the true “Son of the father”. In fact some translations refer to him as Jesus Barabbas! And other writers speaking about Barabbas, also draw our attention to the Old Testament practice of taking two goats, sacrificing one and releasing the other as a scapegoat, introducing Barabbas as the scapegoat set free while the other, Jesus, is sacrificed.

Apart from that information later traditions tell that Barabbas after his release followed Jesus to the cross and watched him die curious about the character of the person who, effectively, took his place. Still other traditions tell us that after his release Barabbas went back to his old ways and was killed in another rebellion against the Romans.

What can we learn?
1. Like Barabbas we are guilty of our sins but Jesus “took our place”. Maybe Peter was thinking
of Barabbas when he wrote in 1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” Like Barabbas we deserve punishment for our sins
but Jesus takes our place on the cross and recieves the consequences of our sins.

2. Barabbas’s story is not a happy ending and there is no record of a 'St. Barabbas' who turned from his life of sin to follow Jesus. Some do reject God and die in their sins. God desires that all be saved but He never allows that desire to infringe our freedom to say 'no' to him.

3. Jesus’ commitment is so great however that “God demonstrates his love for us in this: even while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:8) As bad as Barabbas clearly was, Jesus loved him and desired his salvation. No sin is too great that Jesus can't save us.

Hilda, Abbess of Whitby

2011-08-08T18:08:00.000-07:00

Hilda was born in 614, the daughter of Edwin, King of Northumbria. She was baptized at a young age through the preaching of St. Paulinus, one of the first missionaries sent from Rome to the British Isles.

At the age of thirty-three, she renounced the world and entered monastic life. At first, she sought to enter a monastery near Paris, but she was called back to her homeland by St. Aidan, Bishop of Lindisfarne, who, discerning her already-apparent spiritual gifts, assigned her as the Abbess of a small monastery. As her gifts of spiritual guidance became more widely-known, she led larger monasteries, finally establishing the Monastery of Whitby in 657. She spent the next thirty-three years directing the monastery, which became a beacon of Christian life throughout the British Isles and beyond. The monastery was unusual by modern standards in that it contained both a women’s and a men’s monastic house, with Mother Hilda as spiritual head of both. The community became a training-ground for priests and bishops who went on to spread the Gospel of Christ throughout Britain.

Commoners, kings and Bishop Aidan himself came regularly to Mother Hilda for spiritual counsel, and she was in her own lifetime regarded as the mother of her country. For the last six years of her life, she was afflicted with an unremitting burning fever, but continued her holy work undeterred until her repose in 680. At the moment of her death, St. Begu was awakened by a vision of Hilda’s soul being borne up to heaven by a company of angels.

Reflection

On the surface of it what relevance has a seventh century abbess to do with us sophisticated people of the 21st century? They were very different times – dark ages – where life was not as technologically advanced and the average life expectancy was probably in the mid-thirties. England was divided into nine different kingdoms and large parts of the British Isles was pagan. What bearing then has Hilda on us today?

First, underneath the animal skins and the chain mail people were essentially the same as today and like us needed to hear the good news of the gospel that would set them free from sin, death and the prospect of an eternity without God. Hilda’s task was the same as ours – to win people for Christ.

Second, society was fragmented. Nine different kingdoms in a religious landscape that was a mixture of different faiths where Christianity was in the minority has a familiar ring to it, doesn’t it.

Third, England was moving into a very uncertain period of history where it would have to withstand invasion after invasion of angles, jutes and Vikings. Uncertainty about the future is not something particular only to us.

Finally, the challenges that faced the Christian Church of the day was not only one of evangelization but preservation. For the message to retain it’s power to transform it had to be the same faith that was imparted to the apostles and handed down to each succeeding generation.

How did Hilda and her contemporaries face these challenges?

First, they recognized the importance of building communities of Christians who could pray and work with each other. Jesus set the precedent when he gathered around him twelve disciples and taught them all they needed to know and do. This community formed the ‘base camp’ from which they set out on their mission to evangelize the world “beginning in Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria and the ends of the world” (see Acts 1).

Second, they had a strong devotional life which was undergirded by a rule of life. A rule of life gave their lives a shape centred on prayer and bible meditation. They fasted on certain days (Wednesday and Friday) and at certain times of the year (Lent and Advent) and they lived lives of simplicity and generosity.

Third, they preserved the scriptures not only by copying them by committing them to memory and living them out in life.

Hilda, and the work she did, is as contemporary now as she was then. We need more people like her today, willing to give their all to Christ, his CHurch and His cause. Is God calling you?

Fruitfulness of life with Christ - Philippians 1:1-26

2011-07-26T14:40:00.000-07:00

When Paul wrote this letter he was under house arrest in Rome, attached to a Roman soldier by three feet of chain. He was unjustly accused and awaiting trial and possible execution. Yet, he believed that his life in Christ meant ‘fruitful labour’ for him (v.22).

When Paul says, ‘I have you in my heart’ (v.7), he is expressing his deep love for the people of Philippi. He has already spoken of their ‘partnership in the gospel’ (v.5) and now he speaks of sharing God’s grace with them (v.7). There is such a close bond between those who work together for Jesus Christ. There is an even closer bond when one is responsible for the conversion of the others. It says that he longs for all of them ‘with the affection of Christ Jesus’ (v.8).

His prayer for them was that they might be even more fruitful. He prays for:

• Growth in love
He prays that their ‘love may abound more and more’ (v.9). The Greek word means literally ‘overflow’. Presumably he is thinking of their love for God and their love for one another. The two are inextricably linked both in the New Testament (see 1 John 4:7-21) and in Christian experience.

• Growth in knowledge
Paul’s prayer is not simply for growth in love, but that their ‘love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that [they] may be able to discern what is best’ (vv.9-10). Their love was to be more than an emotional experience; Paul prayed that it would be rooted in knowledge. Again, presumably this is both knowledge of God and of one another.

• Growth in holiness
Paul prayed for growth in holiness of life. He prayed that they ‘may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God’ (vv.10-11). The Greek word for ‘pure’ means ‘unmixed’. It describes an inner purity in which even our motives are unmixed. The Greek word for ‘blameless’ means without giving offence and refers more to the outer way of life. So Paul prays that they may be holy both inwardly and outwardly.

Paul was relatively unconcerned about his chains, because they gave him an opportunity to preach the gospel and to encourage others to ‘speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly’ (v.14).

Paul also seemed unconcerned about people’s motives for preaching the gospel: ‘Some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry’ (v.15). They do so out of ‘selfish ambition’ (v.17). Others do it out of love (v.16). However, Paul didn’t seem to think it mattered very much as long as Christ was preached (vv.17-18).

Victory over the devil's schemes - Eph 6:1-24

2011-07-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

Relying on God’s victorious power does not mean that we are passive or inactive. Paul insists that, in order to win the battle, we need to take responsibility for our lives and ‘be strong in the Lord’ (v.10). We need to take action. Paul uses phrases like ‘put on’ (v.13a), ‘stand your ground’ (v.13b) and ‘stand firm’ (v.14). We need to be active, replacing bad habits with good habits. Paul outlines seven good habits we should adopt:

• Focus on the truth of Jesus
‘With a belt of truth buckled around your waist’ (v.14a).

We need to focus on truth of heart. Transparency and authenticity are the opposite of hypocrisy. We also need to focus on the truth of doctrine as revealed in Scripture. Both are personified in Jesus who said, ‘I am the truth’ (John 14:6).

• Keep short accounts
‘With the breastplate of righteousness in place’ (v.14b).

Jesus died so that we might have the righteousness of God. When we fall, we need to get up quickly. We need to keep in right relationship with God and with others.

• Get actively involved
‘With your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace’ (v.15).

Here Paul may have had a verse from our Old Testament reading for today in mind: ‘Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace!’ (Nahum 1:15).

The devil hates the gospel – because it is God’s power to change lives.

• Trust God in difficult times
‘In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one’ (v.16).

The arrows are such things as: false guilt, doubt, disobedience, lust, malice, and fear.

• Win the battle of the mind
‘Take the helmet of salvation’ (v.17a).

The battle is won or lost in our minds, so it is essential that we ‘take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

• Soak yourself in the word of God
‘The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God’ (v.17b).

We need to use the Bible when we are under attack, just as Jesus did when he was tempted in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11).

• Keep praying
‘Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests’ (v.18)

As the hymn ‘Exhortation to Prayer’ by William Cowper goes, ‘Satan trembles when he sees the weakest on their knees.’

The love of Jesus Ephesians 4:17-5:7

2011-07-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

‘Be imitators of God, therefore,’ St Paul writes, ‘as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God’ (5:1-2).

To imitate God is to live a life of love. Jesus Christ set the supreme example of love by giving up his life for us. It is from the cross that we know that we are loved by God. What does this life of love look like?

• Knowing Christ
Paul writes, ‘You, however, did not come to know Christ that way’ (4:20). Jesus Christ is a supreme example of holiness. He was set apart from God. He was totally sinless. It is not just a matter of following his example but of knowing him. It is about spending time in his presence. As St Paul writes, we ‘are being transformed into his likeness’ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

• Like God
Paul calls people ‘to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness’ (4:23). The writer of Hebrews speaks about ‘sharing in his holiness’ (Hebrews 12:10). St Athanasius said, ‘God became like us in order that we might become like God.’

• The Holy Spirit living within us
Paul writes, ‘do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption’ (4:30). How do we become holy? By having the Holy Spirit living within us. He is the Spirit of holiness. The evidence of the work of the Spirit in a person’s life is the fruit of the spirit.

The apostle Paul then gives five practical examples of holiness – five marks of a holy church (4:25-32):

i. Authenticity

‘Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body’ (v.25).

This is a life of integrity. We must be realistic. We are not perfect. In this life, we will never be perfect. We must not pretend we are. The danger of talking about ‘holiness’ is that it leads to intensity. There is a narrow line between holiness and being ‘holier than thou’, between being pious and ‘poisonous’! St Paul says put off falsehood. Falsehood comes from thinking we cannot admit to any fault or difficulty or problem in our lives. This leads to hypocrisy.

ii. Passion

‘ “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold’ (vv. 26-27).

Although anger is not intrinsically sinful, it often leads to sin. It is important to keep anger under control. The devil will take the slightest opportunity to get a foothold in our lives. What starts as a foothold can easily become an addiction. Anger is an emotion that we need to handle with care.

On the other hand there is a positive side. Anger is not intrinsically evil. Anger is a God-given emotion. God expresses anger, but of course under control. Jesus was angry. He has a passionate hatred of sin. It was Wilberforce’s passionate hatred of slavery that led eventually to the abolition of the slave trade. We need people today who are passionate about the breakdown of family life in our society. We need people who feel passionately about the unborn child. We need people who feel passionately about the crime rate and the prison population and want to see a change in our society. We need people who feel passionately about third world debt, the AIDS crises and the thousands of people dying of starvation. We need people with a holy anger.

iii. Work and generosity

Holiness does not necessarily involve withdrawal from the world. Some people think ‘If I’m going to be holy I really do not think I can go to work because the people at work are very un-holy. If I mix with them I’ll become un-holy like them.’ Paul’s point is very different, he writes: ‘Those who have been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need’ (v.28).

Interestingly, this suggests that some members of the early church were ex-offenders. Paul finds it necessary to say do not steal any longer. Some were labourers who stole what they handled. Others were shopkeepers, overcharging to sustain their lifestyles and their families.

St Paul writes, in effect: ‘Do not steal any longer but get a job if you can.’ Work is part of being holy. Work in itself is good for the satisfaction that it brings but there is also toil, struggle and effort. So why do people go to work in the morning? One answer is: in order to be holy.

iv. Encouragement

This is the fourth practical example that Paul gives and it must be taken together with the first example. He writes, ‘Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen’ (v.29).

Words matter. What we say is of vital importance. It can either build people up or drag them down. St Paul writes that we should not use our mouth negatively, for evil. Unedifying language grieves the Holy Spirit. Rather, positively we are to use our mouths for good – for encouragement and for building each other up.

v. Grace

Sometimes we have a picture of a holy community being a place where all the people are walking around looking holy and not really wanting anyone who is not holy among them. But Paul’s picture is far from that. He writes, ‘Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you’ (vv.31-32).

We need to get rid of all ungrace. We need to get rid of all bitterness (longstanding resentments, brooding over insults and injuries). We need to get rid of rage and anger (shouting and abusive speech). We need to get rid of brawling and slander and every form of malice.

A holy community is ‘kind, compassionate and forgiving’. The word forgiving means literally ‘being gracious’. In other words he ends this section by saying be gracious to each other just as in Christ, God was gracious to you.

Paul’s vision of a holy church is a community that welcomes those who are ex-offenders, those struggling with lifestyle issues, those who are divorced, those who have messed up. It welcomes everyone, because it is kind and compassionate and gracious at the same time. We are called to live lives of holiness without ‘even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people’ (5:3).

Imitators of God - Ephesians 5:1

2011-07-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

Be ‘imitators of God’, writes the apostle Paul (Ephesians 5:1). The goal of the Christian life is to become more and more ‘like our Lord’. The aim is that, through the great and precious promises of God, we ‘may participate in divine nature’ (2 Peter 1:4).

The imitation of God is something that is particularly stressed in the Orthodox Church, going back to Athanasius and Clement of Alexandria who wrote, ‘God became man in order that man might become God.’

Of course, the Eastern Orthodox Church does not teach that people literally become ‘gods’ (that would be polytheism). Rather, like many of the church fathers, they teach that people are ‘deified’ in the sense that the Holy Spirit dwells within them and transforms them into the image of God in Christ. The Eastern Church emphasises the idea of union with God and divine transformation. It sees it as God’s greatest gift to humanity and the ultimate goal of human existence. Whilst the emphasis might be different in other branches of the church, all Christians believe that God’s power transforms humanity to be more and more like him.

What does it mean to become ‘imitators of God’? Paul writes in Ephesians that it means to ‘Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you’ (4:32). We should ‘live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us’ (5:2). What God has done for us in Christ becomes both the basis of how we should act towards others, and the reason why we should act in that way. Rather than treating others in the way they treat me, I treat them the way God has treated both them and me. This is the foundation for a radical Christian ethics.

Lifestyle of the Spirit - Proverbs 23:19-28

2011-07-26T14:30:00.001-07:00

The writer of Proverbs says, ‘Listen, my child, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path’ (v.19). He goes on to further explain what a wise lifestyle looks like. Living according to the Spirit of wisdom and understanding means re-evaluating:

• What we eat and drink
He warns against the dangers of drunkenness and gluttony (vv.20-21).

• Whom we listen to
‘Listen to your father’ (v.22).

• How we live
He urges us to live a life of truth, wisdom and discipline (v.23).

• What we think about
‘My child, give me your heart’ (v.26a).

• What we look at
‘Let your eyes keep to my ways’ (v.26b).

Jesus satisfies our thirst - Isaiah 55

2011-07-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

Billy Graham has often said, ‘The Bible is one long invitation to come to God.’ In the opening chapters of Genesis, after Adam’s rejection of God’s perfect plan, God calls to Adam with an anguished cry, full of love and anger, ‘Where are you?’ The book of Revelation ends with the invitation from the Spirit and the Bride who say, ‘Come!’ Jesus often invited people: ‘Come to me’ (Matthew 11:28), ‘Come to the wedding banquet (Matthew 22:4), ‘Come to me and drink’ (John 7:37). In this chapter God once again issues an invitation. The word ‘come’ appears four times in the first verse.

The invitation is urgent and universal. It is addressed to those who are unsatisfied. The New Testament sees it as referring to Jesus (see Acts 13:34-35). In this chapter Isaiah gives four reasons why we should come to Jesus.

• Jesus alone can satisfy the hunger in our hearts (55:1-3a)
Without Jesus we are thirsty (v.1). We labour for what does not satisfy (v.2). The opening verses echo the cries of those selling their wares in Babylon, the centre of commerce in the ancient world. The message is this: material things do not satisfy. Without God we are always partly empty, experiencing a lack of fulfilment and a feeling of dissatisfaction.

The offer of Jesus is free. It is to ‘you who have no money’ (v.1). It is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). The promise is that as we come to Jesus ‘your soul will delight in the richest of fare (v.2) … your soul will live’ (v.3). Those who come to him are deeply satisfied. God does not offer us junk food, but a feast.

• Jesus has a purpose for our lives (vv.3b-5)
God’s blessings were never intended to be enjoyed selfishly. They were to overflow to others. We can’t offer to others what we have not received ourselves. But when we have enjoyed a blessing, we need to pass it on.

• The greatness of Jesus’ love and mercy (vv.6-9)
Repentance is necessary in order to enjoy God’s presence fully. It involves turning away from sin: ‘Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts’ (v.7a). It involves turning to God: ‘Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon’ (v.7b). No matter how far we have fallen, God will forgive us.

• The transforming power of Jesus (vv.10-13)
‘You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thorn bush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow’ (vv.12-13). The immediate application of this passage was to the departure of the Jews from Babylon. Israel was to ‘go out’ from Babylon and go back to Jerusalem in ‘joy’ and ‘peace’. However, the prophecy will not reach complete fulfilment until the return of Jesus Christ. Then, nature itself will be renewed and restored. We have a foretaste of this now, in this life, but the ultimate fulfilment of these verses will come when Jesus returns, in the new heaven and new earth. The Bible is not only the story of the human race, but is the story of the whole of creation – although the human race plays a central and crucial role.

This is yet another passage which the New Testament sees as referring to Jesus. In Acts 13:34-35, Paul, preaching about the resurrection, says, ‘The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words: “I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David” [Isaiah 55:3]. So it is stated elsewhere: “You will not let your Holy One see decay” [Psalm 16:10].’

God once made this promise to David: ‘I will raise up your offspring to succeed you … I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son … my love will never be taken away from him … Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever’ (2 Samuel 7:12-16). What was promised to David is also promised to Israel. But just as David failed to fulfil his calling because of sin, so did Israel – with one exception. There was one true Israelite, but only one: the servant of the Lord. Hence, Paul sees this passage as referring primarily to Jesus (Acts 13:34-35).

Jesus is our saviour, reconciler and cornerstone Ephesians 2:1-22

2011-07-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

What difference does Jesus make?

• Before
Paul describes life without Christ in these terms:

- ‘you were dead in your transgressions and sins’ (v.1)
- ‘you followed the ways of the world’ (v.2)
- ‘gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts’ (v.3a)
- ‘objects of wrath’ (v.3b)
- ‘separate from Christ’ (v.12a)
- ‘excluded from citizenship in Israel’ (v.12b)
- ‘foreigners to the covenants of the promise’ (v.12b)
- ‘without hope’ (v.12c)
- ‘without God in the world’ (v.12c)
- ‘far away’ (v.13)
- separated by the ‘dividing wall of hostility’ (v.14b)
- ‘foreigners and aliens’ (v.19)

• After
Paul describes life with Christ in these terms:
- ‘raised up with Christ’ (v.6)
- ‘seated with him in the heavenly realms’ (v.6)
- ‘God’s handiwork’ (v.10)
- ‘created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do’ (v.10)
- ‘brought near through the blood of Christ’ (v.13)
- ‘reconciled to God through the cross’ (v.16)
- ‘access to the Father by one Spirit’ (v.18)
- ‘fellow-citizens with God’s people’ (v.19)
- ‘members of God’s household’ (v.19)
- ‘a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit’ (v.22)

The contrast between the alienation before – alienated from ourselves and from God – and the peace and reconciliation which Jesus brings, could not be greater. It is Jesus who makes the difference. We are made alive with Christ (v.5). We are raised up with Christ (v.6). We are saved through faith in Christ (v.8). It is in Christ Jesus that we are brought near (v.13). It is through Jesus that we have access to the Father by one Spirit (v.18). Jesus Christ himself is the chief cornerstone of the new temple, the church.

Every blessing in Christ

2011-07-26T14:21:00.000-07:00

Many years ago I read Colin Urquhart’s book In Christ Jesus. I had never realised before how significant that little word ‘in’ is in the New Testament. Understanding that as Christians we are ‘in’ Christ Jesus revolutionises how we see ourselves and our identity.

Many of us struggle, for understandable reasons, with a low self-image. The New Testament answer to this problem is to comprehend who we are in Christ Jesus. We need to understand what our identity is in Christ and realise all the blessings that we have received in him. God has blessed us ‘with every spiritual blessing in Christ’ (Ephesians 1:3).

This doesn’t necessarily mean every material blessing. Paul was in prison – in chains – stripped of everything most of us value. He had no material possessions. He had lost his job. He had lost his ministry. He was away from his family and friends. He had lost his freedom and his comforts. Yet, in spite of all his suffering, he wrote about how extraordinarily blessed he was.

In Christ, we have received every spiritual blessing. All of the blessings that the Old Testament speaks about are ours in Christ.

Keep trusting in God's love - Isaiah 49:8-51:16

2011-07-26T14:18:00.000-07:00

The prophet says that, ‘The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught’ (50:4). Each morning, Isaiah waited on God to speak to him and to instruct him, so that he would know the right words to ‘sustain the weary’ – to encourage those who were tempted to give up.

In this passage, the way he did this was by speaking to them about God’s love for them. He spoke of God’s compassion (49:10-13), and he used five analogies of God’s love.

• The shepherd (vv.9-13)
This is a picture of God’s provision – ‘They will feed beside the roads’ (v.9).

It is also a picture of the shepherd protecting the sheep – the shepherd guides the sheep (v.10b).

God, as the shepherd of Israel, will lead his people back out of exile. In his love, he will make even obstacles serve his purpose. ‘I will turn all my mountains into roads, and my highways will be raised up’ (v.11, see Romans 8:28).

Jesus picks up the picture of the good shepherd and applies it to himself (John 10:3-15).

• The parent (vv.14-15)
The objection was raised that God would not restore his people (v.14). The prophet replies, ‘Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!’ (v.15).

The Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit of this love of God, which is like a parent for a child (v.18).

• The engraver (vv.16-23)
The Lord says, ‘See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands’ (v.16). The Babylonians used tattoos to remind them of the person they loved. This demonstrated commitment. God’s love and commitment to us is demonstrated by his engraving of us on the palms of his hands. It is difficult to read this without thinking of the cross, the hammer and the nails. Jesus’ love and commitment to us was (and is) total.

• The conqueror (vv.24-26)
Another objection is raised that even God is not strong enough to bring about restoration (v.24). To this objection, the prophet replies that God’s love is like a conqueror (vv.25-26). He is quite strong enough to carry out his purposes. He will fight on behalf of his people. ‘I will contend with those who contend with you’ (v.25). God is committed to his people and will fight against those who oppress them.

• The husband (50:1-3)
The first objection was that God would not do it; the second was that he could not. The third objection was that he should not. The people were saying God had divorced them because of their sins. They felt they had been sold to their creditors.

God replies through his prophet that although it was their weakness and their sin that caused the exile, God is able to restore them. He has not divorced them or sold them into slavery (v.1). No one is too far out of God’s reach. He is married to his people. Paul speaks of marriage and of the husband’s love for his wife as an analogy of Christ’s love for us (Ephesians 5:22-33). The church is described in the book of Revelation as the bride of Christ (Revelation 21:2).

The prophet urges people to keep on trusting in the Lord: ‘Those who hope in me will not be disappointed’ (49:23). God will rescue them through his suffering servant. ‘I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, have I set my face like flint’ (50:6-7). Jesus, knowing that he was going to be mocked and spat upon, set his face like flint and went to Jerusalem knowing that he would be crucified there. He was utterly determined. He did not give up.

God vindicated him (v.8). The result was a great victory and a great harvest.

The restoration from exile that Isaiah foresaw and prophesied is only a foretaste of the great restoration and return which Jesus brings. ‘The ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away’ (51:11).

Freedom 2

2011-07-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

The word ‘freedom’ is often misunderstood and abused. True freedom does not come from Karl Marx or any political ideal. Nor does it come through being rich or being a member of a particular race or social class. According to Paul’s teaching in today’s passage, freedom comes through Jesus Christ. His message is that we are not ‘born free’ but that in order to be free, we must be ‘born again’. True freedom is found in a life of faith in Christ.

True freedom cannot be found outside of this rebirth. Other ideas of freedom fail because they fail to realise the true nature of our captivity. A belief in freedom as the birthright of a particular group of people has often given birth to malignant nationalism and racism. It has produced some of the gravest evils of recent times, including Nazism and the apartheid. In reality, we need to be born again to be truly free.

Despite this failure to understand what freedom really is, the world does indeed long for freedom. The title of the film Cry Freedom expresses something we all long for. Whether it’s racial and political freedom (as in the case of this film), free speech, free assembly, free worship, a free conscience, or economic freedom and individual freedom, the whole world cries out for freedom.

All of these forms of freedom are important, but you can have them all and still be in slavery. Alternatively, you can have none of them but still be free.

Jesus Christ is the supreme liberator, and becoming a Christian is the supreme act of liberation. ‘Freedom’ is the word that best sums up the Christian life. It is also the word that Paul used to encapsulate the gospel: ‘It is for freedom that Christ has set us free’ (Galatians 5:1). The gospel contains within it the promise of other forms of freedom, but it begins with a freedom that is more profound than any other.

Pictures of God -Isaiah 30:19-32:20

2011-07-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

The prophet Isaiah seems to have caught a glimpse of the day of Pentecost when ‘the Spirit is poured upon us from on high’ (32:15a). It is the result of Pentecost that the Spirit of Christ comes to live within each of us. It is his Spirit who gives us the realisation that we are children of God, and Christ lives in us.

In this passage Isaiah sees five pictures of God:-

• Teacher
The Lord is our teacher. He teaches us through ‘the bread of adversity and the water of affliction’ (30:20).

• Judge
The Lord is our judge (vv.27-33)

• Wisdom
He is the source of our wisdom (31:1-3). Isaiah warns against trusting in our own strength rather than looking to the Holy One of Israel and seeking help from the Lord (v.1).

• Shepherd
The Lord is our shepherd (31:4)

• Mother
He is like a mother bird who will shield Jerusalem and deliver it (31:5; see Luke 13:34).

It may be that Isaiah, in this passage, gets a glimpse of the coming Messiah. ‘A king will reign in righteousness’ (32:1a). He certainly seems to get a glimpse of Pentecost: ‘The Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest. Justice will dwell in the desert and righteousness will live in the fertile field. The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling-places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest. Though hail flattens the forest and the city is flattened completely, how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free’ (vv.15-20).

The outpouring of the Spirit leads to great fruitfulness, righteousness and peace (quietness, confidence, security and rest). It leads to generous sowing and freedom.
Nicky Gumbel: Bible in a year 2010

Thank God for grace by our giving 2 Cor 9:6-15

2011-07-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

In this passage Paul gives us ten reasons to give generously.

• Generous giving is the best investment you can make (v.6)
He points to the principle of the harvest. Giving is planting seed. The farmer is investing for the future by sowing seed. He will reap far more than what was sown.

This applies to everything in life. What we give to the Lord he multiplies – our time, our gifts, ambitions and money.

• God loves people who give generously (v.7)
Our giving should never be formulaic or compulsory. Rather, it should be voluntary and cheerful. ‘Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver’ (v.7). The transliteration of the Greek word for cheerful is hilaros. That is why we always quip at HTB that our giving should be hilarious. Sandy Millar always used to say, ‘Whistle while you write your cheque!’

• Generous giving frees us from financial worry (v.8)
Paul writes, ‘and God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work’ (v.8). Giving does not mean handing over financial responsibility to God – but it does mean handing over the worry and the burden of it.

• Generous giving is a virtuous circle:
‘As it is written: “They have scattered abroad their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion’ (vv.9-11a).

Great generosity in giving is well worth while. When God invites us to give, he is pleading to our reason, not to our emotions. First, ‘you will be made rich in every way’ (v.11). Materially, we will have enough to give away generously (v.11). Our characters will be enriched (v.10). God will be praised (v.11).

• Generous giving transforms our character
Paul speaks of ‘the harvest of your righteousness’ (v.10b). Giving purges the character from the constricting grip of materialism that destroys lives.

• Generous giving leads people to give thanks and praise to God
‘Your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but it is also overflowing in the many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service of which you approved yourselves, people will praise God’ (vv.11b-13a).

We are cups filled from a spring. Others drink from us. They praise not the cups but the spring when they see what God does.

• Generous giving meets genuine needs and blesses other people (v.12)
Paul writes that the service that you perform supplies ‘the needs of God’s people’ (v.12).

• Generous giving is part of being a Christian (v.13)
Generous giving is an act of obedience which should accompany our conversion. As the apostle Paul puts it, ‘Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, people will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ’ (v.13). Generous giving is the evidence of faith.

• Generous giving is the way to become members of the church (v.13b)
Paul speaks of ‘your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else’ (v.13b). The word Paul uses for sharing is koinonia which can also be translated: fellowship. In the same way as when we share a flat or apartment we share in the bills, as we share in the needs of the community we reap the benefits of that community. For example, every time someone comes to know Christ through the community we share in the blessing.

• Our generous giving is the right response to his generosity (v.15)
Our giving is a response to God’s amazing grace. His ‘indescribable gift’ (v.15) is the gift of his Son to die for us. ‘God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son’ (John 3:16). If God gave his only Son, we know that he will give us everything else (Romans 8:32). This is the ‘surpassing grace God has given [us]’ (2 Corinthians 9:14). ‘God is able to make all grace abound to [us], so that in all things at all times, having all that [we] need, [we] may abound in every good work’ (v.8).
Nicky Gumbel

Know the Lord in relationship - Isaiah 10:20-13:22

2011-07-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

The expression ‘The Lord’ appears at least eighteen times in this passage alone. God calls his people into a relationship with him. The prophet Isaiah foresees a time when ‘the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea’ (11:9b).

• Relationship based on faith
First, knowing God involves faith. The prophet Isaiah looks forward to a time where his people ‘will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel’ (10:20). He goes on to say that in that day they will say ‘Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation’ (12:2-3). Here, the heart of the Old Testament, we see that faith (‘I will trust’) and salvation are strongly linked. The New Testament makes it abundantly clear that we are saved by our faith in the Lord (Jesus).

• Relationship based on respect
Second, knowing God involves holy respect for him. Isaiah speaks of ‘the fear of the Lord’. ‘The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord – and he will delight in the fear of the Lord’ (11:2-3). If we fear God (in the biblical sense of holy respect) we need fear nothing and no one else. Isaiah calls the people of God to fear God but says ‘do not be afraid of the Assyrians’ (10:24). As Edmund Burke once said, ‘Those who truly feared God (which is of course quite a difficult thing to do) feared nothing and nobody else.’

• Relationship brought about by the Holy Spirit
Third, knowing God involves God’s Spirit – the Holy Spirit. Isaiah speaks of ‘the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of council and of power, the Spirit of knowledge’ (11:2).

When the Holy Spirit comes to live in our lives he brings us into a relationship of knowing God. For me, it was only when I experienced the Holy Spirit that the expression ‘the Lord’, instead of sounding weird, became amongst the most precious expressions in the world.

Isaiah is looking forward to a second exodus. The people of God are going into exile (as they did in 597 BC). But the Lord will bring them out (as he did in 538 BC). As they were brought out of Egypt, so they will be brought out of Babylon (Isaiah 13). Babylon itself will be judged.

Once again, as Isaiah speaks into Israel’s immediate historical situation, the prophet (inspired by the Spirit of God) sees something far greater. Prophecy often has several levels of fulfilment.

His words of chapter 11 were fulfilled in Jesus: ‘A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord – and he will delight in the fear of the Lord’ (11:1-3). The shoot is Jesus (see Isaiah 53:2).

He goes on to speak about how he will be the perfect judge: ‘He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth (11:3b-4b) … Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist’ (v.5).

He will usher in a reign of justice and of peace. ‘The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. Infants will play near the hole of the cobra, and young children put their hands into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea’ (vv.6-9)

The Prince of Peace will reign and reverse the results of the fall (see Romans 8:19-22).
Nicky Gumbel

Isaiah and Immanuel - Isaiah 5:8-8:10

2011-07-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

Isaiah announces a six-fold woe. Woe to the greed of land speculators (5:8-10). Woe to the self-indulgent (vv.11-17). Woe to hypocrisy and blasphemy (vv.18-19). Woe to the morally perverted (v.20). Woe to pride (v.21). Woe to drunken and unjust judges (vv.22-23).

But what authority does Isaiah have to speak to the society in this way? During a dark period in Israel’s history, God called him. He describes the vision he had around 740 BC, in the year that King Uzziah died (6:1):

• He saw God in a new way
He describes an overwhelming sense of the presence of God – his majesty, holiness, glory and power (6:1-4). He tries to describe it in language which seems foreign to us. The key words are ‘I saw the Lord’ (v.1). The key to his call was an encounter with the living God. It was not just a nice experience; it was a life changing encounter.

• He knew he was forgiven
He saw the holiness of God and said, ‘Woe to me ... I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty’ (v.5). The closer we are to the light the more it reveals our sin. It is important to see our guilt, but God does not want to leave us there.

God took the initiative and provided a means of cleansing. He sent a seraph to touch his mouth with a live coal and say ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and you sin atoned for’ (v.7).

We now know that it is through the cross of Christ that our guilt is taken away and our sin atoned for. We do not need to go around loaded by guilt, but rather we can be filled with a sense of God’s love for us.

• He surrendered his life
He responded to God’s call. God asked him the question – I have done all this for you, now will you go for me? Your whole life is before you, what are you going to do with it? He said, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ (v.8a).

Isaiah responded, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ (v.8b). He saw there was a desperate need. He made no excuses. He did not delay. God used him greatly.

This was nothing compared to the one whom Isaiah prophesied about. He says, ‘the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel’ (7:14). This had a historical fulfilment in the birth of Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (8:1). However, Matthew sees that the ultimate fulfilment of this prophecy was in Jesus Christ, who is Immanuel, God with us (8:8,10 – see also Matthew 1:23).
Nicky Gumbel: Bible in a Year 2010

The ministry brings reconciliation 2 Cor 5:11-6:2

2011-07-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

Paul, as an ambassador of Christ, seeks to ‘persuade people’ (5:11) about the truth of the gospel. God makes his appeal through us. Paul writes, ‘We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God’ (v.20).

• The motive is love
Paul writes, ‘For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again’ (vv.14-15). We are called to live a life of love. First, for Jesus, who died for us so that we should no longer live for ourselves but for him (v.15). Second, for others, because we are convinced that Jesus died for them (v.14).

• The message is love
The message is all about reconciliation (vv.18-19). Reconciliation is about restored friendship in a relationship of love – with God and with one another. It is made possible through Jesus’ death and resurrection: ‘God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God’ (v.21).

As a result, ‘if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!’ (v.17)

• The means is love
We should never pressurise people. Rather, we try to persuade them (v.11) because we love them. We implore them on Christ’s behalf (v.20). Jesus always acted in love and as his ambassadors we need to represent this love.

He anoints us - 2 Chronicles 29:1-31:1

2011-07-26T13:11:00.001-07:00

When Paul writes ‘he anointed us’ (2 Corinthians 1:21), what does he mean? We know that ‘God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power’ (Acts 10:38). What is so amazing is that the same Spirit who anointed Jesus, has anointed us.

In the Old Testament, three groups of people were anointed: kings, priests and prophets. In our passage for today, we see all three in operation.

• Kingly anointing
Hezekiah was the anointed king. The king was to lead the people in all their struggles and battles. Hezekiah was one of the best. ‘He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done’ (29:2). He led the people in such a way that the ‘service of the temple of the Lord was re-established. Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly’ (vv.35-36). ‘There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem’ (30:26).

As Father Raniero Cantalamessa writes, ‘Jesus fulfils his kingly mission, in that he overthrows the kingdom of Satan and establishes the kingdom of God’. Kingly anointing means that the Holy Spirit ‘urges Jesus and the Church on in [its] struggle against Satan’. All of us have this anointing. The Holy Spirit urges each of us on in our battle against sin and evil.

• Priestly anointing
The priests in the Old Testament, and in this passage in particular, were anointed to be the mediators between God and human beings. We see here that they made sacrifices of bulls, lambs, goats, and so on (29:20 onwards). They sprinkled the blood of the bulls and lambs on the altar. They laid their hands on the goats and sacrificed them. These were offerings to atone for sin.

Jesus fulfilled this priestly anointing by dying as the lamb of God whose blood was shed to take away our sins. This was a unique and final sacrifice for sin. There is another sense in which the priestly anointing comes on us, the church.

We share in Jesus’ priestly anointing: ‘you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood’ (1 Peter 2:9). The Spirit urges Jesus and the church to pray. In our prayers we have a priestly ministry as intercessors for the people before God.

• Prophetic anointing
The chronicler refers to ‘Gad the king’s seer and Nathan the prophet’ (v.25). The prophets in the Old Testament were anointed to speak the word of the Lord. The Spirit anointed Jesus at his baptism to preach good news to the poor. This same Holy Spirit anoints us to speak his words today.

Victory over death - 1 Corinthians 15:50-16:4

2011-07-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

‘Victory’ is a word Paul uses three times in this passage: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory … Where, oh death, is your victory? Where, oh death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (15:54-57).

Jesus, through the cross and resurrection, has defeated sin, the law and death. As a result, one day we will be raised ‘imperishable’ and ‘immortal’ (vv.53-54).

It is interesting to note, in passing, that the immortality mentioned here appears to be a gift. Paul does not seem to believe in the natural immortality of the soul (as the Greeks did). Rather, immortality seems to be conditional on being ‘in Christ’.

There are three things we can give in response to this amazing gift of victory through our Lord Jesus Christ:

• Give yourselves
Paul writes that the appropriate response is, ‘Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain’ (v.58).

We need to get on with ‘the work of the Lord’ (v.58) that is, the work that the Lord has called us to do. We should not be overly concerned about what others are up to in different ministries. Different people have different callings. It is not for us to judge. They are seeking to serve God, possibly in a different way. Each of us should follow God’s call in our own lives.

We need to give ourselves fully to whatever it is God has called us to do. Because of the resurrection we can stand firm and know that our labour in the Lord is not in vain.

• Give money
Part of giving ourselves is giving our money (16:2). We see here a number of principles of Christian giving. First, it is primarily ‘for God’s people’ (v.1) that is, the church. Second, it should be regular, ‘on the first day of every week’ (v.2). Third, everyone should be involved. Fourth, it should be proportionate, in keeping with their income (see Deuteronomy 16:17).

• Give thanks
Paul writes, ‘But thanks be to God!’ (15:57a).

Certainty of resurrection - 1 Corinthians 15:1-34

2011-07-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

Here, the apostle Paul tells us what was at the heart of his preaching; ‘The gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand’ (v.1). This is the gospel whereby they are saved if they hold firmly to it.

The resurrection is of ‘first importance’ (v.3). It is a very simple message, ‘that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures’ (vv.3-4). This is the certainty of our hope for the future. Jesus died for our sins. Therefore we can be forgiven. He was buried. One day we will be buried. He was raised. One day we will be raised. The message we preach is not irrational. The gospel is true and reasonable. In Acts, Paul ‘reasoned’ with people in the synagogues and marketplaces (Acts 17:17). He spoke of the future in light of what God had done: ‘He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead’ (17:31). Faith is not irrational. We are not required to take a blind leap of faith but a reasonable step of faith based on good historical evidence.

Paul gives some of the evidence for the resurrection. He points to Christ’s appearances to Peter, to the twelve, to 500 others, to James, all the apostles, and finally, to Paul himself (vv.6-8).

It really matters that Christ was raised from the dead. If he was not raised, six terrible consequences follow:

• ‘not even Christ has been raised’ (v.13)
• ‘our preaching is useless and so is your faith’ (v.14)
• ‘we are … false witnesses about God’ (v.15)
• ‘your faith is futile’ and ‘you are still in your sins’ (v.17)
• ‘those who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost’ (v.18)
• ‘we are to be pitied more than all people’ (v.19)

‘But’ (v.20), in fact Christ has indeed been raised from the dead. ‘The firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep’ (v.20). Therefore the resurrection is certain. One day all those who are ‘in Christ’ will be raised from the dead. Then death will be destroyed (v.26). One day God will be all and in all (v.28).

Because the resurrection is certain, Paul writes, we endanger ourselves every hour (v.30): ‘I die every day’ (v.31). He is 100 per cent fully committed to the Lord. He even fought wild beasts in Ephesus (v.32). He was willing to risk his life because of the certainty of the resurrection.

This is the reason why Paul urges us to ‘stop sinning’ (v.34). Satan’s tactics often start with doubt. If he can make us doubt, then next he will tempt us to sin. In one sense, all sin stems from unbelief.

Peace in the land - 2 Chronicles 13:1-15:19

2011-07-25T12:37:00.001-07:00

One of the great themes of the chronicler is ‘peace’. When Asa became King of Judah, ‘the country was at peace for ten years’ (14:1). Under his rule, ‘the kingdom was at peace’ (v.5), ‘for the Lord gave him rest’ (v.6). Asa said, ‘the Lord our God … has given us rest on every side’ (v.7), ‘So the Lord gave them rest on every side’ (15:15). ‘There was no more war’ (v.19).

How did this peace and rest come about? The answer, which the chronicler gives in this passage and in the whole of 1 and 2 Chronicles, is at least three-fold:

• Seek God wholeheartedly
It was when they ‘cried out to the Lord’ (13:14) that God ‘delivered them’ (v.16). Asa ‘commanded Judah to seek the Lord’ (14:4). The prophet Azariah says, ‘If you seek him, he will be found by you’ (15:2). ‘In their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them’ (v.4). ‘They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul’ (v.12). ‘They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side’ (15:15).

• Obey God fully
Incidentally, in the light of the New Testament teaching about prophecy, it is interesting to note when Asa heard the prophecy ... ‘he took courage’ (15:8). Asa said to Judah, ‘Obey [God’s] laws and commands’ (14:4). The prophet Azariah said, ‘If you forsake him, he will forsake you’ (15:2).

• Rely on him totally
‘The men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the Lord, the God of their ancestors’ (13:18). ‘Asa called on the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you” ’ (14:11).

This is what it means to be fully committed to the Lord (15:17). The result was that Asa’s work was rewarded (v.7) and the Lord his God was with him (v.9). There was peace and rest.

Listening through the gifts of the Holy Spirit 1 Corinthians 14:1-19

2011-07-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

As we saw yesterday, by exalting love Paul is not in any way downplaying the importance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He is stressing both: ‘Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy’ (v1).

Prophecy is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit through which the Spirit speaks to the church. In this passage Paul stresses the importance of this gift for the church. Indeed, he said that it is even more important than speaking in tongues: ‘I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy’ (v.5a).

Although Paul was speaking into a situation where the gift of tongues was in danger of misuse, he was still remarkably positive about the use of the gift of speaking in tongues. He wrote, ‘I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you’ (v.18). Paul says that those who pray in tongues edify themselves (v.4). It is a good gift for everyone (v.5). Tongues is a way of praying in the Spirit (v.14) and is primarily thanks and praise (vv.16-17).

But here he makes a distinction between the use of the gift in private (which he generally encourages) and the use of the gift publicly in the church. If one speaks in tongues in church there needs to be an interpretation (vv.5,18-19). When it is used together with the gift of interpretation it becomes the equivalent of prophecy: ‘Those who prophesy are greater than those who speak in tongues, unless they interpret, so that the church may be edified’ (v.5b).

The gift of interpretation enables the church to be edified after a tongue has been given publically (v.5). All those with the gift of tongues should pray for this gift also so that the church can be edified.

Prophecy is of very high importance in the church, and should be eagerly desired (v.1), because it:

• strengthens (v.3)
• encourages (v.3)
• comforts (v.3)
• builds up the church (v.4)

The Greatest Thing in the World - 1 Corinthians 13

2011-07-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

Today I tried following the example of a missionary I once heard about, but I did not get very far.

This missionary decided that every day of her life she would read the four verses from our New Testament passage for today, which lists the sixteen characteristics of love. For the word ‘love’ she would substitute her own name and see how far she could get with the list. The moment she reached a characteristic that she knew was not true of her she had to stop. Her aim was, one day, to get through the whole list.

The four verses (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) start with ‘love is patient’. So today I substituted my own name and started with ‘Nicky is patient’. I do not think it will come as any surprise to those who know me well that I am afraid I had to stop there!

The great evangelist D.L. Moody was once staying with a party of friends in England. On Sunday evening as they sat around the fire they asked him to read and expound on a portion of Scripture. He was tired after all the services of the day and told them to ask Henry Drummond, who was one of the party. After some urging he drew a small New Testament from his hip pocket, opened it at 1 Corinthians 13 and began to speak on the subject of love. D.L. Moody wrote in response:

‘It seemed to me that I had never heard anything so beautiful, and I determined not to rest until I brought Henry Drummond to deliver that address. Since then I have requested the principles of my schools to have it read before the students every year. The one great need in our Christian life is love, more love to God and to each other. Would that we could all move into that love chapter and live there.’

Henry Drummond begins his book, The Greatest Thing in the World ‘everyone has asked himself the great question of antiquity as of the modern world: what is the summum bonum – the supreme good? You have life before you. Once only you can live it. What is the noblest object of desire, the supreme gift to covet? In the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul takes us to Christianity at its source; and there we see ‘the greatest of these is love’.

Love is, indeed, the greatest thing in the world. It is, in the words of St Paul, ‘the most excellent way’ (1 Corinthians 12:31)

Worshipping God in 'meetings' - 1 Corinthians 11:2-34

2011-07-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

First, Paul addresses the issue of propriety in worship, and in particular he looks at the role and place of women in worship. A huge amount of ink has been spilt discussing what this passage means. There is general agreement that much of it is cultural – few churches today expect women to cover their hair, for example.

What is clear is that both men and women were expected to pray and prophesy in services (vv.4-5). It is also clear that there is an equality and mutual dependence (vv.11-12).

Next, Paul goes onto discuss the ‘Lord’s Supper’ (v.20), or ‘the Eucharist’ as he calls it elsewhere (Eucharistéō is a Greek verb meaning ‘to thank’). In the Anglican church we call it ‘Holy Communion’. This is probably the earliest account of this element in our services of worship. Again, a huge amount of ink has been split and great debate and controversy has taken place over what exactly Paul means. However, it seems to me that from the text itself a number of things are said:

• It was frequent
There is a clear expectation that when they ‘come together’ in their ‘meetings’ (vv.17,20), the Lord’s Supper will take place.

• It was important
The consequences of not doing it properly were very serious (v.27 onwards).

• It was proclamation (v.26)
It is one of the ways in which we proclaim the gospel.

• It involved both remembering Jesus (vv.24-25) and ‘recognising the body of the Lord’ (v.29)

• It is a participation in Christ’s body and blood (10:14 onwards)

• It is a form of thanksgiving (v.16)

• It is an expression of unity (v.17)

• It anticipates the Lord’s return (v.26)

The bread and wine are the body and blood of Jesus (vv.24-25). What exactly this means, of course, has been the subject of great speculation, debate and controversy. One approach might perhaps be simply to accept it as it is and not go behind Scripture and speculate too much about how exactly it works.

Advantages of singleness 1 Corinthians 7:17-35

2011-07-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

Paul wants to spare people the ‘many troubles in this life’ (v.28).

His overriding concern, as he looks at the questions of marriage and singleness, is ‘undivided devotion to the Lord’ (v.35) – the supreme aim of our lives.

He starts the passage for today with a digression from the main theme (vv.17-24). A Christian should not seek to dissolve any existing relationship, says Paul. They should stay as they were. He gives three examples: marriage, circumcision, slavery (historically, the first Christians were in no position to abolish slavery at that time, an institution upon which the Roman Empire depended). This has a wide application. Those who become Christians should not simply leave their job unless they receive a clear call into some new occupation. (Unless, of course, their occupation involves doing something illegal or immoral.)

As Sandy Millar often used to say, ‘God calls us in to things, not simply out of them.’

He then goes on to speak of the advantages of singleness. Jesus himself was single, and he spoke of three different types of singleness (Matthew 19:12). Some are single by birth (‘eunuchs because they were born that way’ (v.12), that is, with a congenital condition). Some are made single by society (by human beings). For others still it is a choice for the sake of the kingdom. He is not speaking here of involuntary singleness. This is a difficult and painful subject, but it is not what Jesus was speaking about in Matthew 19, nor is it what Paul is speaking about here. Paul is speaking about singleness for the sake of the kingdom. This could be permanent. It is more likely to be temporary.

The disadvantages are obvious. Perhaps the three hardest things for single people are first, missing out on companionship and the loneliness that can result. Second, a lack of sexual fulfilment. Third, not having children.

However, the apostle Paul here also gives three reasons why it can be an advantage.

• Times of persecution (vv.25-28)
He writes, ’Because of the present crisis … Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned … But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this’ (vv.26-28).

This, of course, applies particularly in times of persecution. However, Paul’s point is that marriage can be a distraction from the ‘undivided devotion to the Lord’ (v.35), which is life’s central pursuit.

• Transient nature of the world (vv.29-31)
He writes that ‘time is short’ (v.29), therefore ‘those who have a husband or wife should live as if they did not; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away’ (vv.29-31).

He is not forbidding marriage any more than he is forbidding laughter, mourning or shopping. Rather he is saying that everything pales into insignificance besides the glory of being a Christian. We need a detachment from the things of this world. This may be easier if a person is single.

• Undivided devotion to the Lord (vv.32-35)
He writes, ‘I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs – how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world – how he can please his wife – and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world – how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord’ (vv.32-35).

Paul is saying that we have a limited amount of time, energy and money. There is no doubt that there are many demands in marriage. Paul calls for a positive view of singleness – whether permanent or temporary. He is saying it can be fulfilling and liberating – as it was for Jesus.

Elsewhere he writes that marriage itself is only a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church (Ephesians 5). The reality is found in Christ. Both marriage and singleness are gifts. What really matters is undivided devotion to the Lord.

Unity in the church - 1 Corinthians 1:1-17

2011-07-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

Paul starts this letter with an ‘appeal’ for unity (v.10). However, before he starts his appeal we can see in his introduction and greetings how the theme of unity runs deep in Paul’s thinking.

• Basis of our unity
The church is united around the person of Jesus.

- Relationship with Jesus
Paul writes, ‘To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ – their Lord and ours’ (v.2).

He goes on, ‘God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful’ (v.9).

Every other Christian in the world is someone who calls on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is their Lord and ours. We are all called into fellowship with Jesus. The word for fellowship used here is koinonia. It is the deepest and most intimate relationship possible. It is the word used of the marriage relationship. We all love Jesus deeply and intimately. This is the supreme basis of our unity.

- Grace of Jesus Christ
Paul writes, ‘Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus’ (vv.3-4). To be a Christian is to experience the grace of God given to us in Christ Jesus. Grace means undeserved love. It is supremely shown in and made possible through the death of Jesus Christ for each one of us. Every other Christian in the world is someone for whom Jesus died. His grace is the basis of our unity.

- Spirit of Jesus
Paul writes to the Corinthians, ‘Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift’ (v.7a). The Spirit of Jesus Christ lives in every Christian (see Romans 8–9). Paul goes on to expound in this letter how each of us has spiritual gifts, because we have the Holy Spirit living in us. Every other Christian in the world has the Holy Spirit living in them just as he lives in us. This is the basis of our unity.

- Return of Jesus
Paul goes on to say, ‘as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (vv.7b-8).

We all await the return of Jesus. One day we will be completely united in him. In the meantime, our common hope is the basis of our unity.

• Importance of unity
Paul is passionate about unity. He writes, ‘I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought’ (v.10).

He is not happy to settle for a superficial unity. He appeals for perfect unity: ‘invisible unity’ is not enough. Some have argued that it does not matter that we are visibly disunited because in some spiritual way we are all invisibly united. This would not do for the apostle Paul – he wanted them to be ‘perfectly united’. Surely, this must involve visible unity. Anything less is imperfect. We may not succeed in our lifetime in seeing the complete unity of the church. However, we should never settle for less. We should pray for it and seek to do all we can to bring it about. Jesus prayed that we might be brought to complete unity (John 17:20-21).

Sadly, we see here that disunity began very early in the church’s history. Paul writes, ‘My dear friends, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptised into the name of Paul?’ (vv.11-13). Partisan behaviour and the taking of sides was there from the beginning. It is still around in the church today. But we must resist it. We must follow Jesus and the apostle Paul in pursuing the complete and perfect unity of the church.

Avoiding trouble: Advantages of 'the fear of the Lord' Proverbs 19:23-20:4

2011-07-25T12:03:00.000-07:00

The answer to trouble according to the writer of Proverbs is, ‘The fear of the Lord’ (19:23) – that is, living in a relationship with God, trusting in him, respecting and honouring him. He writes, ‘The fear of the Lord leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble’ (v.23).

He goes on to speak of some of the causes of trouble:

• Laziness (19:24,20:4)
‘Sluggards do not plough in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing’ (20:4).

• Cynicism (19:25,29)
Mocking is a form of cynicism. It is very common in the media today. It can even infect the church, but it is not a good thing. It leads to trouble.

• Dishonesty (19:26,28)
Dishonesty is another cause of trouble. Robbery leads to ‘shame and disgrace’ (v.26).

• Substance abuse
‘Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise’ (20:1). So much trouble is caused by people getting drunk on wine or beer. Many of the crimes that occur in society are committed under the influence of alcohol.

• Strife and quarrelling
‘It is to one’s honour to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel’ (20:3).
Nicky Gumbel: One Year Bible 2010

Anxiety of meaninglessness Ecclesiastes 1:1-3:22

2011-07-25T12:01:00.001-07:00

The writer of Ecclesiastes says, ‘What do people gain from all their labours at which they toil under the sun?’ (1:3) ‘All their days their work is pain and grief; even at night they do not rest. This too is meaningless’ (2:23).

Ecclesiastes is the story of one person’s search for meaning. The writer, in the shoes of King Solomon 3,000 years ago, searches in various areas.

• Stage 1: Enlightenment (1:12-18)
He begins by chasing after ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ (v.18), but this only leads to ‘much sorrow’ and ‘more grief’ (v.18). Accumulating wisdom and knowledge does not deal with the ultimate cause of anxiety – meaninglessness.

• Stage 2: Enjoyment (2:1-3,8,10)
The next thing he tries is hedonism – the doctrine that pleasure is the chief good or proper aim. He tries escapism through ‘laughter’ (v.2). He tries stimulants – ‘cheering myself with wine’ (v.3). He then turns to music, ‘men and women singers’ (v.8). He tries sexual pleasure, ‘and a harem as well’ (v.8b). Solomon in fact had 700 wives and 300 mistresses. All this still does not satisfy.

He concludes, ‘Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind’ (v.11). He experiences the paradox of pleasure – the law of diminishing returns. The more people seek pleasure, the less they find it.

• Stage 3: Enrichment (2:4-11)
He tries materialism – ‘The tendency to prefer material possessions to spiritual values’ (Oxford English Dictionary). He tries various ‘projects’ (v.4). He obtains property (vv.4-6). He has people working for him, ‘male and female slaves’ (v.7). He has many possessions, ‘herds and flocks’ (v.7b). He acquires money: ‘I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces’ (v.8). He achieves greatness, success and fame (v.9). He has a successful job and career (v.10b). Yet death makes it all ‘meaningless’ (vv.16-18).

He never sees beyond this life: ‘the few days of their lives’ (v.3).

He never looks beyond this world. The expression that occurs throughout is ‘under the sun’ (vv.17-18). It comes twenty-eight times in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes raises the questions which the New Testament answers. Meaning is found not ‘under the sun’, but in the Son.

At peace with our situation - 1 Corinthians 7:1-16

2011-07-25T11:59:00.000-07:00

‘God has called us to live in peace’ (v.15c). How do we find this ‘peace’? In this chapter Paul sets out how we find peace in relationships, marriage, singleness and separation.

In this passage, Paul is dealing with two opposite dangers; he is waging war on two fronts. On the one hand, he is dealing with the ultra liberals. These libertines say that anything goes, ‘all things are lawful’ (see chapter 6). This leads to immorality.

On the other hand, he is dealing with the super spiritual – the ultra conservatives. These ascetics deny the body totally. They argue that if someone is really going to be a Christian then there should be no marriage and if married, either they should get a divorce or at least stop having sex.

The super spiritual doubted Paul’s credentials. But Paul had good credentials. He knew all about singleness (vv.7-8). He also had authority. Paul distinguishes when he receives a direct word from the teaching of Jesus – ‘Not I, but the Lord’ (v.10) – and when he does not – ‘I, not the Lord’ (v.12). Nevertheless, he speaks as one inspired by the Holy Spirit with apostolic authority, as he points out with heavy irony in verse 40, ‘and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.’

In this passage, Paul answers a number of vital questions about marriage, relationships and singleness:

• Is marriage God’s general will for his people? (vv.1-2) Marriage is the norm for all men and women: ‘each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband’ (v.2). God’s general will is for people to get married. Singleness is the exception. It is a special call.

The reason Paul gives here is because there is ‘so much immorality’ (v.2). He is dealing with his opponents on their own terms. They were reacting against immorality and arguing for no sex and no marriage. Paul replies that, on the contrary, the temptation to immorality is a good reason to get married. It is not that Paul does not have more positive reasons. He holds, like the rest of the Bible, a high view of marriage – for partnership (Genesis 2:18), for children (Genesis 1:28) and for pleasure (1 Corinthians 7:1-5).

• What is the Christian attitude to sex within marriage? (vv.3-6)
There is no such thing as a spiritual marriage as his opponents suggest. Within marriage there is sexual freedom and sexual equality (vv.3-4). The only reason to abstain is for short periods of prayer, if mutually agreed and that is a concession not a command (vv.5-6).

• Is it better to be single or married? (vv.7-9)
Paul writes that both are gifts from God. They are both good (vv.7-9). In a way, it is best (for reasons to be given later) to be single. As marriage is a gift, so is singleness (v.7). But it is not wise to abstain from marriage out of choice for spiritual benefits when it is not your gift (v.9).

• Should a Christian ever seek a divorce from another Christian? (vv.10-11)
The general principle of this passage and the rest of the New Testament seems to answer this question, ‘no’ (see vv.10-11, Mark 10:2-12 and parallels).

Of course, there is a great deal more to be said on this issue. (I have tried to look at this question in more detail in Challenging Lifestyle, chapter 6).

• What about relationships with people who are not Christians? (vv.12-16)
Paul does not encourage a Christian to marry someone who is not a Christian (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, 1 Corinthians 7:39). However, if they are already married that is quite different. They should not seek to dissolve any existing marriage relationship.

Paul’s opponents were worried that being married to someone who was not a Christian would pollute the marriage. Paul’s response is that the opposite is the case. ‘For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband’ (v.14). If the person who is not a Christian insists on leaving, and clinging to the marriage would lead to nothing but frustration and tension, then the Christian should let them go for the sake of ‘peace’, not purity (see v.15).

Kindness to the poor Proverbs 19:13-22

2011-07-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

The book of Proverbs does not seem to regard ‘wealth’ as something bad.

‘Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord’ (v.14). There is nothing wrong with houses or wealth, it is just that there are more important things in life. Finding the right marriage partner is far more important than having lots of money.

Wealth is not the most important thing in life. Nor is poverty the worst thing that can happen to us, ‘What a person desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar’ (v.22). We need love far more than we need riches. Integrity of character is far more important than money. It is ‘better to be poor than a liar’.

On the other hand, this passage does not exalt poverty as a virtue. Sometimes poverty can be self-inflicted: ‘Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless go hungry’ (v.15).

Nevertheless, whatever the reason may be for a person’s poverty, we should be kind to the poor: ‘Those who are kind to the poor lend to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done’ (v.17).

This is an extraordinary and wonderful promise. God is no person’s debtor. Every time we do anything kind for a poor person we are lending to the Lord and he will repay with interest. ‘He will reward them for what they have done’ (v.17).

There is nothing more rewarding in life than ministry to the poor.
Nicky Gumbel: One Year Bible 2010

St. Laurence

2011-07-25T11:50:00.000-07:00

Laurence was the principal financial officer in the church. He was a deacon. There was a great revival taking place all around him. It was said that ‘All of Rome were becoming Christians’.

As a result persecution broke out under the Emperor Valerian in around the year 250 AD. Christians who owned property distributed all the church’s money and treasures to the city’s poor.

Valerian ordered all bishops, priests and deacons to be arrested and executed. He offered Laurence a way out if he would show where all the church’s treasures were located.

Laurence asked for three days to gather it into one central place. He brought together the blind, poor, disabled, sick, aged, widows and orphans. When Valerian arrived he flung open the doors and said, ‘These are the treasures of the church’.

Valerian was so angry that he decided beheading was not enough. He ordered that Laurence be roasted on a gridiron. That is how he died on 10 August 258 AD. Apparently, this courageous man even joked with his executioners ‘You may turn me over. I’m done on this side’. His courage made such an impression that the revival in Rome only increased with many people becoming Christians including several senators who witnessed his execution.

St Laurence had a profound understanding of poverty and riches. He understood that the poor were the true treasures of the church.

What should our attitude be to the poor? What about the rich? Is poverty a blessing or a curse? Are riches a blessing or a curse? Does the gospel promise prosperity?

With us in trouble - Psalm 91:9-16

2011-07-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

This psalm is all about God’s protection and encourages us not to be afraid. ‘If you make the Most High your dwelling – even the Lord, who is my refuge – then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent’ (vv.9-13).

This might appear to be the recipe for a trouble-free life. However, the psalmist goes on, ‘ “Because you love me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue you; I will protect you, for you acknowledge my name. You will call upon me, and I will answer you; I will be with you in trouble, I will deliver you and honour you. With long life will I satisfy you and show you my salvation” ’ (vv.14-16).

It is clear from this that those who love the Lord will not avoid trouble. God does not promise a trouble-free life. Rather, he promises that he will rescue us and protect us and answer our prayers. More than that he promises, ‘I will be with you’ in trouble. This is what makes all the difference. Even in the darkest times, he is with us. We are never alone.
Nicky Gumbel: One Year Bible 2010

Hope of the resurrection - Psalm 89:46-52

2011-07-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

The psalmist is wrestling with the reality of his own situation.

• Suffering and despair
‘How long, O Lord?’ (v.46) is a rhetorical question. It is a cry of despair. Will this suffering go on forever?

• Brevity of life
Life is so short: ‘remember how fleeting is my life’ (v.47a). If death is the end then there is no ultimate meaning or purpose, ‘For what futility you have created all humanity!’ (v.47b).

• Inevitability of death
No one can raise themselves from the dead. ‘Who can live and not see death, or who can escape from the power of the grave?’ (v.48).

But the psalmist does not rule out the hope of the resurrection. He knows human beings cannot save themselves. He looks to the Lord, ‘O Lord, where is your former great love, which in your faithfulness you swore to David … your anointed one’ (vv.49-51). The psalm ends on a note of hope, ‘Praise be to the Lord forever! Amen and Amen’ (v.52).

Two Sides of Government

2011-07-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

Recently, David Cameron announced the government’s plan for the ‘Big Society’. They want to work more closely with voluntary groups to see the transformation of society. The church is, of course, one of those voluntary groups. How are we to respond? As Christians what should our attitude be to government, local authorities and to authority in general?

On the one hand there is a good side to government. We see that in the New Testament passage for today. ‘Everyone must be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God’ (Romans 13:1). This is in accord with what the apostle Peter writes, ‘Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right’ (1 Peter 2:13-14).

On the other hand, there is a bad side to human government. At worst, it can even be demonic. Revelation 13 was written at the time of the persecution of Christians under the Emperor Domitian. The state is seen as the ally of the Devil (pictured as a red dragon) who has given his authority to the persecuting state (pictured as a monster emerging out of the sea). In both of today’s Old Testament passages we see examples of where authority starts to go wrong.

Both Romans 13 and Revelation 13 are true. According to whether ‘the state remains within its limits or transgresses them, the Christian will describe it as the servant of God or as the instrument of the Devil’ (Oscar Cullmann, The State in the New Testament, p.86).

Sacrifices that please God - Romans 11:33-12:21

2011-07-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

Although no further sacrifice is required for our sins, the New Testament tells us that there are sacrifices which we can make that please God.

• Sacrifice of our praise

Much of the first eleven chapters of Romans are about the sacrifice of Jesus for us. Paul, having set out all that God has done for us, responds with a sacrifice of praise: ‘Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counsellor?” “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay the gift?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen’ (Romans 11:33-36).

The writer of Hebrews says, ‘Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name … for with such sacrifices God is pleased’ (Hebrews 13:15-16).

Lord, we worship and praise you for your amazing goodness to us. For the profundity and immensity of your wisdom and knowledge and greatness of your plans for us. Thank you that it is impossible for us to put you in our debt. Thank you that you are our Creator and Sustainer. You are the ruler and the goal of everything we do. Lord, I come before you in worship and adoration and praise.

• Sacrifice of our lives

This is another sacrifice we can make in response to Jesus’ sacrifice. Paul writes, ‘Therefore [because of all that Jesus has done for us], I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship’ (12:1).

Lord, today I offer you my body as a living sacrifice. I am available to you. I give everything I have to you again – my life, time, money, ambitions, plans, hopes and desires. Help me not to conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of my mind so that I will be able to test and approve what your will is – your good, pleasing and perfect will (12:2).

• Sacrifice of our service

In the rest of chapter 12 Paul gives many examples of what it means to do good and share with others.

The writer of Hebrews says, ‘do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased’ (Hebrews 13:16).

Israel's salvation and ours - Romans 9:22-10:4

2011-07-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

The apostle Paul continues to unfold God’s plan of salvation. His plan for Israel (the Jews) and the rest (the Gentiles) is inextricably linked.

God had a plan ‘to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory – even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles’ (9:23-24). His plan of salvation is wider than just the nation of Israel.

Salvation is based:
• On faith, not works
• On mercy, not justice
• On call, not birth

Paul goes on to demonstrate this by appealing to words of Hosea. God had said that he would call people who were ‘not my people’ – that is, the Gentiles – ‘my people’, ‘my loved one’ and ‘children of the living God’ (vv.25-26).

Not only would salvation extend beyond Israel, but also the mere fact of being part of the nation of Israel would not be enough. He quotes Isaiah, ‘Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved’ (v.27).

Under the new covenant, no one is excluded. Everyone can be saved. God has made possible, through Jesus, a righteousness by faith (v.30).

Jesus is the way of salvation. Some will stumble over him, but ‘the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame’ (v.33).

Paul loves the people of Israel. They are his people. He longs for them to be saved. He intercedes fervently for their salvation. ‘Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved’ (10:1).

There is only one way that they will be saved, and that is by faith, through ‘the righteousness that comes from God’ (v.3). This righteousness comes through Christ. ‘Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes’ (v.4).

There has been great debate about what Paul meant when he said ‘Christ is the end of the law’. What is clear is that he has set us free from seeking salvation through the law. Christ has set us free from the burden and condemnation of the law (8:1). He set us free from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13). The law no longer acts as a disciplinarian (Galatians 3:24). We are no longer held as prisoners by the law (Galatians 3:23). As far as all these matters are concerned, Christ is the end of the law.

God's children: Led by the Spirit - Romans 8:1-17

2011-07-25T10:45:00.000-07:00

The moment we come to Christ we receive complete forgiveness. The barrier between us and God has been removed. Paul writes, ‘There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (v.1). We are set free from the law of sin and death (v.2). Although the law was good, it was powerless to save us because of our sinful nature (v.3a). So God sent Jesus to die for us as a sin offering (v.3b). Jesus took all our sins – past, present and future. Not only does he wipe the slate clean, but he also brings us into a relationship with God as sons and daughters. Not all men and women are children of God in this sense, although all of us were created by God.

It is only to those who receive Jesus, to those who believe in his name, that he gives ‘the right to become children of God’ (John 1:12). Sonship in the New Testament (which is used in the generic sense to include sons and daughters) is not a natural status, but a spiritual one. We become sons and daughters of God. Not by being born, but by being born again by the Spirit.

The book of Romans has been described as the ‘Himalayas’ of the New Testament. Romans 8 is ‘Mount Everest’, and verses 14-17 could well be described as the ‘summit’: ‘because those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory’.

First of all, there is no higher privilege than to be a child of God. Under Roman law if an adult wanted an heir he could either choose one of his own sons or adopt a son. God has only one begotten Son – Jesus, but he has many adopted sons. We have been adopted into God’s family. There could be no higher honour. Once we know our status as adopted sons and daughters of God, we realise that there is no status in the world that compares with the privilege of being a child of the Creator of the Universe.

Secondly, as children we have the closest possible intimacy with God. Paul says that by the Spirit we cry ‘Abba, Father.’ This Aramaic word ‘Abba’ is not found in the Old Testament. Jesus used this word in speaking to God in a distinctive way. It is impossible to translate it, but the nearest equivalent translation for this intimate term is probably ‘dear Father’ or ‘Daddy’. Jesus allows us to share in that intimate relationship with God when we receive his Spirit: ‘you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption’ (v.15).

Thirdly, the Spirit gives us the deepest possible experience of God. ‘The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children’ (v.16). He wants us to know, deep within, that we are children of God. In the same way that I want my children to know and experience my love for them and my relationship with them, so God wants his children to be assured of that love and of that relationship.

Fourthly, Paul tells us that to be a son or daughter of God is the greatest security. For if we are children of God we are also ‘heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ’ (v.17a). Under Roman law an adopted son would take his father’s name and inherit his estate. As children of God we are heirs. The only difference is that we inherit, not on the death of our father, but on our own death. We will enjoy an eternity of love with Jesus. Paul adds, ‘if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory’ (v.17b). This is not a condition but an observation. Christians identify with Jesus Christ. This may mean some rejection and opposition here and now, but that is nothing compared to our inheritance as children of God.
Nicky Gumbel: One Year Bible 2010

Crying out for help - Romans 7:7-25

2011-07-25T10:43:00.001-07:00

The apostle Paul cries out to God for help in his struggle against sin. ‘What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?’ (v.24).

Much ink has been spilled over this passage. The main debate is whether Paul is referring to his Christian or pre-Christian state. It is clearly autobiographical, but he is also talking generally about the condition of human beings living under the law.

Throughout Christian history, great theological minds such as Augustine, Luther, Calvin and Karl Barth have argued that Romans 7:14-25 refers to the Christian state. The case for this view runs roughly as follows.

• Firstly, they observed that whereas vv.7-13 are in the past tense, vv.14-25 are in the present tense. This suggests that they describe Paul’s present experience.

• Secondly, they argue that chapters 5-8 all describe the Christian life: chapter 5 describing deliverance from wrath, chapter 6 dealing with deliverance from sin, chapter 7 with freedom from the law and chapter 8, finally, with the overcoming of death. Reversion to non-Christian existence would destroy the whole sequence.

• Thirdly, the description of conflict within the Christian life is consistent with what Paul says elsewhere (for example, Galatians 5:17).

On the other hand, Origen, John Wesley and the majority of modern commentators argue that Romans 7:14-25 refers to the pre-Christian state. They do so as follows:

• Firstly, there is a contrast between chapters seven and eight. The two cannot be a description of the same life.

• Secondly, Paul describes himself as ‘set free from sin’ (6:22) as a Christian. It would be inconsistent to say that as a Christian he was still ‘sold as a slave to sin’ (7:14) and a ‘wretched man’ still needing deliverance (7:24).

• Thirdly, when Paul does speak of the Christian life in this way, generally he describes it as a struggle, but a victorious struggle, whereas in Romans 7;7-25 he describes it as a defeat.

The arguments are fairly evenly balanced. It certainly describes the pre-conversion state, but it is only with the light of coming to Christ that the slavery of the past is recognised. Equally, Christians can live as though they have not been set free and are still a slave to the law of sin and death: ‘Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?’ (Galatians 3:3).

Perhaps we should see this passage as describing the Christian not living in the fullness of the Spirit’s power, even though he or she desires to do so. It can be read as the human cry to live in the Spirit, heard again in the lives of Christians through the ages. We know that God’s law is holy, righteous and good (v.12). We know that it is spiritual (v.14). Yet we find ourselves failing; ‘I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do’ (vv.14-15).

We find ourselves torn. ‘When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members’ (vv.21-23).

As Paul cries out for help he already knows the answer to the question, ‘Who will rescue me from this body of death?’ ‘Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!’

Perhaps, the key to understanding this passage lies in the two words ‘I myself’ (v.25b). On our own we are slaves to the law of sin but this is not the end of the story. Paul is going to go on to speak about the great liberation that the Holy Spirit brings to our lives.

Are you saved?

2011-07-25T10:39:00.001-07:00

Bishop B F Westcott was once asked, ‘Are you saved?’ He replied using three Greek words – the past, present and future tense of the verb ‘to save’. He said, in effect, ‘I have been saved’ (in the past) from the penalty of sin by the crucified Saviour, ‘I am being saved’ (in the present) from the power of sin by the living Saviour, and ‘I shall be saved’ (in the future) from the presence of sin by the coming Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. In this passage we see all three tenses of salvation.

• We have been freed from the penalty of sin
Paul writes in the past tense that ‘our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin’ (vv.6-7).

Through the death of Jesus on the cross for us the past is totally forgiven. Our guilt has been removed. The penalty for sin has been paid. We have been freed.

• We will be freed from the presence of sin
Paul writes, ‘If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection’ (v.5). Our salvation is not yet complete. There is a future tense to salvation. One day we will be united with him in his resurrection. Then we will forever enjoy the presence of God. We will forever be freed from the presence of sin.

• We are being freed from the power of sin
Paul writes, ‘In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace’ (vv.11-14).

Jesus has set us free, not only from the guilt of sin but also from its addictive power. We do not need to sin anymore – ‘sin shall not be your master’ (v.14). We are to count ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. We should not let sin reign in our mortal bodies. We do not need to obey its evil desires. This is the present tense of salvation. We are being set free from the power of sin as we offer the parts of our body to Jesus as instruments of righteousness.

Justfication by grace - Romans 5:12-21

2011-07-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

In this passage Paul begins to unfold more of the wonders of grace.

Sin entered the world through Adam. As a result, death came to all people, because all sinned (v.12).

Paul compares the death that came through Adam with the life that came through Christ. In some ways they cannot be compared, ‘the gift is not like the trespass’ (v.15).

Irenaeus, the second-century theologian, described what Jesus accomplished for us in his life, death and resurrection as ‘recapitulation’, or in Greek, anakephalaiosis. He was drawing on Paul’s comparison of the lives of Adam and Christ. The events of the life of Adam were paralleled in the life of Jesus. Yet where Adam’s life ends in failure, Jesus’ ends in glorious success: fulfilling God’s will for human life. Jesus Christ’s life and obedience ‘recapitulates’ Adam’s life and disobedience, reversing its dire consequences.

Both Adam and Christ came into the world sinless. Whereas the disobedience of a woman named Eve brought about the fall, the obedience of Mary brings about the incarnation.

Whereas Adam disobeyed when faced with temptation, Christ was obedient to God. During his earthly life Christ shared successfully in every part of human experience. It is so important that Christ has shared every aspect of our human nature and life experience, since as Gregory of Nazianzus puts it, ‘the unassumed is the unhealed.’ Irenaeus thought that our salvation comes about not just through Jesus’ death, but also through his life in general.

Certainly there is support for Irenaeus’s idea in this passage, but there is also emphasis on the one moment that brings salvation. It was one trespass that resulted in condemnation and it was Jesus’s one act of righteousness that brought justification and life to all people (v.18). It was the disobedience of one person that brought condemnation. It was the obedience of one man through which many will be made righteous (v.19).

Jesus, through his death on the cross, has made God’s grace and his gift possible (v.15). The result of our sin is judgment and condemnation (v.16). If we relied on justice and justice alone, that is what we would receive. But since Jesus died in our place we can receive the gift of justification. God can be just and still acquit us. Jesus made possible God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness (v.17). We receive justification that brings life (v.18). We are ‘made righteous’ (v.19). We receive eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (v.21).

All this is by grace (vv.15,17,20-21).
Nickey Gumbel: One Year Bible 2010

Righteousness from God - Romans 3:9-31

2011-07-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

Paul continues his argument that no one is righteous on their own. ‘There is no one righteous, not even one’ (v.10b). Righteousness is the way to peace, ‘the way of peace they do not know’ (v.17).

Paul concludes his argument in this section: ‘Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin’ (v.20). The two little words that follow are of huge significance: ‘But now…’ (v.21). Having set out the problem, Paul now moves on to describe God’s amazing solution – ‘a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify’ (v.21). This righteousness from God cannot be achieved through the law because no one (apart from Jesus) has ever kept the entire law. The Old Testament (the Law and the Prophets) testifies about this and points towards God’s solution.

‘This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe’ (v.22). This righteousness from God cannot be earned. It is a gift that we receive ‘through faith in Jesus Christ’. It is a gift ‘to all who believe. There is no difference between Jews and Gentiles (as far as this is concerned), ‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (v.23).

Paul then uses three images to describe what Jesus’ death on the cross has achieved. Each is like a facet of a diamond. Each image is intertwined with the others:

• Image of the law court
We ‘are justified freely by his grace’ (v.24). Justification is an expression from the law court. God is a just judge. He could not ignore our guilt. He came in the person of his son Jesus Christ to die for us: ‘He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus’ (vv.25-26). He paid the penalty himself. Jesus was not just an innocent third party. God was in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:19).

We are justified ‘freely by his grace’ (Romans 3:24). Grace means undeserved love. It is free. There is no merit on our part. We cannot earn it. It is a gift. Therefore, there is no room for boasting (vv.27-31).

Through his death on the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for our every wrong action, word and thought. The moment we put our faith in Jesus the judgment day is brought forward. We are justified. We are declared righteous. We have nothing to fear. The penalty has been paid. We have received the righteousness from God.

• Image of the market place
The second image Paul uses comes from the market place: ‘through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus’ (v.24).

Debt is not a problem confined to the present day; it was a problem in the ancient world as well. If someone had serious debts, they might be forced to sell themselves into slavery in order to pay them off. Supposing a person was standing in the market place, offering themselves as a slave. Someone might have pity on them and ask, ‘How much do you owe?’ The debtor might say, ‘£10,000.’ Suppose the customer offers to pay the £10,000 and then lets the person they’ve paid for go free. In doing so, they would be ‘redeeming’ them and paying a ‘ransom’ price.

In a similar way for us, ‘redemption … came by Jesus Christ’ (v.24). Jesus, by his death on the cross, paid the ransom price (Mark 10:45). In this way we are set free to have a relationship with God. Our relationship is restored. We receive a righteousness from God.

• Image of the temple
‘God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood’ (v.25). The Greek word translated ‘sacrifice of atonement’ is ‘hilasterion’. It is sometimes translated expiation (RSV, NEV) and sometimes propitiation (AV). It was used to translate ‘mercy seat’ in the Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Old Testament). The ‘mercy seat’ was the place of propitiation in the temple. Jesus is the sacrifice of atonement presented by God. It is faith in his blood that cleanses us and deals with the results of sin.

In the Old Testament very detailed laws were laid down regarding how sin should be dealt with. There was a whole sacrificial system which demonstrated the seriousness of sin and the need for cleansing from it.

In a typical case the sinner would take an animal. The animal was to be as near to perfect as possible. The sinner would lay their hands on the animal and confess their sins. Thus the sins passed from the sinner to the animal, which was then killed.

The writer of Hebrews points out that ‘it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins’ (Hebrews 10:4). The sacrificial system in the Old Testament was only a ‘shadow’ (Hebrews 10:1) of what was to come. The reality came with the sacrifice of Jesus. Only the blood of Christ, the ‘once for all’ (Hebrews 10:10) sacrifice of atonement, can take away our sin. This is because Jesus was the perfect sacrifice since he alone lived a perfect life. Through his blood we receive a righteousness from God.

Prayer changes events Acts 16:16-40

2011-07-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

From Nicky Gumbel notes from One Year Bible 2010

What made the early church so powerful? Surely, part of the answer is the prayer lives of those first believers. We see in this passage:

• Pray regularly
It appears from this passage that prayer was a regular habit. ‘Once when we were going to the place of prayer …’ (v.16). This suggests they did not only pray on their own, they frequently met together to pray.

In Acts 2:42ff the plural, ‘the prayers’, is very significant. The Jewish people were committed to a rhythm of twice- or three-times-a-day prayer – praying the Shema and Tephillah (a collection of 18 short prayers). This Jewish prayer rhythm was the river flowing through the heart of Jewish spirituality – the stories of the New Testament often simply assume it is going on, as Acts does here. When we see Jesus and the early Christians praying at other times of the day, we are meant to take notice: this is something special, spontaneous and unusual

• Pray in the name of Jesus Christ
Paul was followed around the town of Philippi by a fortune teller, who was clearly under demonic influence as a result of her involvement in the occult, and who kept on saying, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved’ (v.17). Finally, after several days of this, Paul could take her endless repetitions no longer. He turned around and said, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!’ (v.18). At that moment the evil spirit came out.

The name of Jesus is so powerful. The only way to deal with demonic power is through the name of Jesus. No demon is a match for Jesus. Jesus sets us free from demonic forces. He utterly transformed this young woman’s life.

The Jewish people already knew how to pray. But they were taught to pray now in the name of Jesus. They were recommissioned as new intercessors – just as the prophets were sometimes called to intercede. They were invited to pray under a new covenant to see the Kingdom of God, that he had initiated, come in power.

• Pray and worship in all circumstances
The woman was a slave and her owners were furious that she had lost her supernatural powers. They seized Paul and Silas and hauled them up in front of the authorities. They whipped up the crowd against them. The magistrates bowed to the pressure and ordered that they should be stripped, severely flogged and thrown in to prison.

In prison, with their feet in stocks, Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns to God. They had seen God’s power to change the direction of Lydia’s life and to bring her whole family to faith. They had seen God’s power in setting free a slave afflicted by an evil spirit. Now they saw God’s power at work in another miraculous way. An earthquake shook the prison and every door flew open. The prison officer in charge was about to commit suicide as he thought all his prisoners had escaped and he feared the consequences. Paul, faced with freedom, chose instead to stay, and bring his jailor to Christ. When Paul assured him that all the prisoners were still there he asked, ‘What must I do to be saved?’ (v.30). This is what might be called ‘an evangelistic opportunity’! Paul explained what the prison officer had to do and thus he, and immediately afterwards his whole family, came to Christ and were baptised.

These events were so clearly supernatural that Paul saw the astonishing power of God behind the human agency of his words.

Prayer has the power not just to change our own lives but also circumstances, events, and the lives of others. From this passage, it appears there is great power in this combination of prayer and worship.

Sports channel

2010-12-26T05:05:00.001-08:00

Seeking the lost - finding Jesus and ourselves

2010-06-22T01:11:00.000-07:00

They say that familiarity breeds contempt and I think that is true of many things, particularly teachings of Jesus. Which is why we need to constantly keep faith fresh and open to Holy Spirit. We read/hear the Gospels so often that we fail to see just how radical and shocking His teachings were to the original hearers.

First shock—the prejudices of the Pharisees.
They looked down on those who did not keep the Law and labelled them 'sinners'. They categorized them as “The People of the land” and there was a complete barrier between them and the Pharisees and religious leaders. To marry a daughter to one of them was like exposing her bound/helpless to lion. The Pharisaic regulations laid it down that you were not to entrust any money to them, take no testimony from them, trust them with no secret, nor appoint them guardian of orphan. You were not to make them a custodian of charitable funds or accompany them on journey. The Pharisee was forbidden to be guest of any such person or have him as a guest. You were even forbidden—so far as possible-to have business dealings with them. It was a deliberate aim to avoid every contact with those who not observe petty details of law, the majority of which man-made.

Second shock—Jesus’ identification with these “irreligious” people
Some years ago the then Bishop of Liverpool, David Shepherd, wrote book “Bias to the poor”. Here he argued that Jesus, although He loves everyone equally, has a special love/bias to the poor of society. Mother Teresa recognised that in Calcutta, and India and wherever she went. She even took it a step further and saw Jesus present in the poor. Jesus shows same bias to
those who on the ‘outside’ of faith or the religious establishment. Of course the shocked Pharisees saw this as a sign that he was a fraud or an imposter. How can he be true Messiah when he refuses to maintain his religious purity? And yet Jesus saw His mission to be a doctor to those who were sick and not those who saw themselves as well. And so we find him in the synagogues and with religious leaders, but mostly with prostitutes, tax-collectors and the “People of the Land.”

If Jesus were here physically on earth, where would we find Him? In church some of time,
but mostly outside. The “Son of Man come to seek and save the lost” and the lost is anyone who does not yet believe and trust in God, anyone not yet a worshipper of God, who does not know rules we make or the standards of behaviour we set, or the religious niceties associated with true worshippers or the code of dress. In other words those who don’t yet attend church.

In Matthew 28:19 Jesus gives His commission to "Go and make make disciples" This includes everyone but especially, surely, those who have not yet heard that God loves them—the nations.
Interesting thing is last line which we often miss. It is the promise that if we go we will
not only find the lost, but in new way find him - and maybe our own true selves in Christ - too,
“Go and make disciples of all nations… and lo I will be with you always.”

Jesus continues to call us to follow him in seeking and saving the lost: “As you sent me into the world” He prays to His Father in John 17, “so I have sent them into the world.”

If we want to be close to Jesus we will find Him in church, yes, but also and particularly out there in world looking for his lost sheep. We should do all we can to join Him, for we will not only find them, but Him and us as well. (Trinity 3 - 1984 BCP)

Psalm 121

2010-04-22T02:21:00.000-07:00

Psalm 121 (KJV)
1. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help?
2. My help cometh even from the Lord: who hath made Heaven and earth.
3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: and he that keepeth thee will not sleep.
4. Behold, he that keepeth Israel: shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5. The Lord himself is thy keeper: The Lord is thy defence upon thy right hand;
6. So that the sun shall not burn thee by day: neither the moon by night.
7. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: yes, it is even he that shall keep thy soul.
8. The Lord shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming in: from this time forth forever more.

Our reading from Psalm 121 represents in the first line, the kind of prayer many have prayed as they try and come to terms with grief, or loss or disaster. It's a rhetorical question because the writer already knows and has discovered the answer. So the rest of the psalm is his offering to future generations and us, what he has personally discovered when he has called out to God in his pain and suffereing.

And the answer is simply this, that God is never far away, and, as another part of the Bible tells us: "If we will draw near to Him, He will draw near to us." (Letter to James chapter 4 verse 8).

And if we do we will discover that the psalmist's experience can be ours too. That God will somehow and in some way keep us (verses 4-5), defend or protect us (verse 5), preserve us (verses 7-8) and in that wonderful last line but one "keep our soul" (verse 7). And you get that sense there of God holding us or enfolding us with His presence and His love: "even he that shall keep thy soul."

So my prayer for you today as you grieve the loss of N is that you will know God's presence and comfort as you reach out to Him for help.

Discipleship

2010-04-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

Discipleship
The Archbishop of York in his inaugural address asks the critical question of our time; Who is Jesus and what does he mean for those who put their trust in him?

Victor Hugo said that, "There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world: and that is, an idea whose time has come". Corporate-discipleship: fraternal-belonging was Jesus' big idea, and plan for the renewal of society; a catalyst and engine for building God's Kingdom. His idea, which has lasted over the centuries, was simply this: a mixed community of sinners called to be saints, a divine society where the risen Christ in the midst of it is grace and truth, and the Holy Spirit is at work within it.

An inclusive and generous friendship, where each person is affirmed as of infinite worth, dignity and influence. A community of love, overflowing in gratitude and wholehearted surrender, because it participates in the life of God.

This corporate-discipleship, we call the Church, worships God and infects the world with righteousness

Being a Disciple
Canon David Watson, who was Vicar of St Michael-le-Belfry in York, said twenty-four years ago:
"Christians in the West, have largely neglected what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. The vast majority of Western Christians are church-members, pew-fillers, hymn-singers, sermon-tasters, Bible-readers, even born-again believers or Spirit-filled Charismatics – and we have got some those here this morning - but aren't true disciples of Jesus Christ. If we were willing to learn the meaning of real discipleship and actually to become disciples, the Church in the West would be transformed, and the resultant impact on society would be staggering."

This is no idle claim. It happened in the first century when a tiny handful of timid disciples began, in the power of the Holy Spirit, the greatest spiritual revolution the world has ever known. Even the mighty Roman Empire yielded, within three centuries, to the power of the Good News of God in Christ.
"Corporate-discipleship: fraternal-belonging was Jesus' big idea, and plan for the renewal of society; a catalyst and engine for building God's Kingdom."

The Scandal and Glory of The Church
It's a scandal of the Church in England that in the past decades it has tried everything except to stick to Jesus' plan for the world: Corporate -discipleship: fraternal-belonging.

Che Guevara once said, "If our revolution isn't aimed at changing people then I'm not interested." The trouble with virtually all forms of revolution and modernising strategies is that they change everything – except the human heart.

And until that is changed corporately, nothing is significantly different in the long run.

The scandal of the church is that the Christ-event is no longer life-changing, it has become life-enhancing. We've lost the power and joy that makes real disciples, and we've become consumers of religion and not disciples of Jesus Christ.

You see, the call to corporate discipleship is a call to God's promised glory. For Christ did for us that which we couldn't do for ourselves.

God's acceptance of us just as we are, enables us to overcome our alienation and to experience the joy and the fulfilment of personal communion with God.

The Transforming Power of Christ

Through the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ there came into the world a new power that transforms human character and human communities; and liberates us from anxiety, fear, meaninglessness, transience, evil, ignorance, guilt and shame. Created humanity, in need of salvation, must realise that the culture and institutions they create are also in need of redemption, not simply of modernising.

God's Good News isn't for the chosen few: it is for everyone, whether they hear it or whether they don't; and I shall regard it as the first priority of my ministry, as a 'Watchman for the North', to take a lead by preaching, by public address and by informal discussion, in sharing this Good News of God with the people of England.

For me, the vital issue facing the Church in England and the nation, is the loss of this country's long tradition of Christian wisdom which brought to birth the English nation: the loss of wonder and amazement that Jesus Christ has authority over every aspect of our lives and our nation.

There is nothing more needed by humanity today than the recovery of a sense of 'beyond-ness' in the whole of life to revive the spring of wonder and adoration.

So the call is to live and be good news to everyone. It would be fantastic if people not only said of Jesus Christ, "What sort of man is this?" but said of us, his followers, "What sort of people are they? Their gracious actions, and the language on their lips is of God's goodness and love. Let us get to know them. There is something extraordinarily normal and wonderful about them."

A Vision for England
As a 10-year-old it was Christians like that who created in me a thirst for Christ, the living water. 'I stooped down and drank, new life flooded my whole being'. Forty-six years later, I am still amazed by God's constant love and forgiveness.

For the Church in England must once again be a beacon by which the people of England can orient themselves in an unknown ocean by offering them the Good News of God in Christ in practical and relevant way to their daily lives. Having shed an empire and lost a missionary zeal, has this great nation, and mother of parliamentary democracy, also lost a noble vision for the future?

We are getting richer and richer as a nation, but less and less happy. The Church in England must rediscover her self-confidence and self-esteem that united and energised the English people those many centuries ago when the disparate fighting groups embraced the Gospel.

The Venerable Bede in his Ecclesiastical History tells not only of how the English were converted, but how that corporate-discipleship, the Church, played a major socialising and civilising role by uniting the English and conferring nationhood on them.

The history of the See - or Diocese - of York tells a wonderful story of York's part in the conversion and civilisation of the English. In 627 Paulinus converts the King of Northumbria, Edwin, and baptises him on Easter Day. Paulinus is allowed to build a little wooden church, the first church on the site of this Minster. And it wasn't easy country. The Venerable Bede tells us that there were villages in these mountains and forests rarely visited by a Christian minister. The first three archbishops were driven out because of war and revolution.

But the small band of Christians, like a tiny acorn, courageously stood their ground. Aidan, a monk from the monastery in Iona, came to the rescue, and extended the Christian presence in the north of England, which radically transformed the existing social order as well as in the South.

The Impact of Discipleship
In our time, this socialising and transforming power of corporate-discipleship is illustrated further by three Christian men at the University of Oxford: Richard Tawney, William Beveridge and William Temple, who were challenged to go to the East End of London to "find friends among the poor, as well as finding out what poverty is and what can be done about it".

In the East End their consciences were pricked by poverty: visible, audible, smellable. After university, Tawney worked at Toynbee Hall, creating a fraternal community; William Beveridge paved the way for the Welfare State in his report which for the first time set out to embody the whole spirit of the Christian ethic in an Act of Parliament. And William Temple, as Archbishop of York, and then Canterbury mobilized the church support for a more just, equal and fraternal Britain. His book Christianity and Social Order is one of the foundation pillars of the welfare state as we know it today.

Responding to Christ
The Jesus who calls us to follow him is saying to us today:
"Hear, O England, the Lord our God is the only Lord,
Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
With all your soul, with all your mind
And with all your strength
Love your neighbour as yourself".

And the only fitting response for me is this:

Lord take my heart from me,
For I cannot give it to thee
Keep it for thyself,
For I cannot keep it for thee
And save me in spite of myself.

Friends, let us do it and let us do it now! God help and bless us all.

This is an edited extract from the Archbishop's Inauguration Sermon Delivered at York Minster on 30 November 2005

Believing in the Resurrection

2010-03-15T11:46:00.000-07:00

"With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all." Acts 4:33

There is a story told about Talleyrand. He was a leading statesman during the French Revolution. He was once approached by adejected friend who wanted some advice. He had tried to start a new religion. Initially he was exited because he believed that his new religion was a big improvement on Christianity. But try as hard as he could no one seemed to want it - he'd failed to get people interested. So he'd come to his friend for some advice. What should he do?

Talleyrand thought for a minute. He agreed with his friend that the difficulties were enormous - so big he didn't know what to do. "Still", he said, "there is one plan which you might at least try. Why don;t you get yourself crucified and then rise again on the third day."

Now that might sound a little flip but the point he was making was a good one. If you want to start a new religion you have to go a long way to beat what Christianity claims for its founder Jesus - that not only did He rise from the dead, but He promised that those who believe in Him will also rise again.

Professor Sir Norman Anderson was a distinguished lawyer in his day. He was also a Christian - someone who made a special study of the evidence for the resurrection and come to believe in it. His faith was sorely tested. He and his wife Pat lived to see their three adult children die. one of them, their son Hugh, was a brilliant student at Cambrideg University. He died aged 21 from cancer. A few days later Professor Anderson gave the thought for the Day talk on Radio 4. Giving the talk he explained that he was convinced that God raised Jesus from the dead. And he added these words:
"On this I am prepared to stake my life. In this faith my son died after saying: "I'm drawing near my Lord." I am convinced that he was not mistaken."

Both Hugh and his father understood not only the truth about Jesus' resurrection, but what that implied for them and every othjer Christian who believed and was willing to stake their life on that belief.

In the New Testament the resurrection of Jesus is described as "the firstfruits" of a great harvest of those who died believing in Jesus and who woudl rise again. If Jesus really did defeat death, then Hugh's life, and Professor Norman Anderson's did not end, but have made a glorious new start.

But it's a big step to believe in something so fantastic and incredible. What made the professor and his son, both intelligent people, believe in the resurrection when they were not present at the event?

They weren't like Simon Peter who ran with John to investigate Mary Magdalene's claim that the stone had been rolled away and the tomb empty. They had found it just as she had said with the graveclothes empty and the napkin neatly folded and set to one side. (John 20:3-7)

They weren't like Mary Magdalene herself who was so distressed by her discovery that she initially failed to recognise Jesus until he called her name. (John 20:16)

They were not like Thomas either, who refused to believe in Jesus' resurrection until he could physically touch the wounds of Jesus, which the risen Lord invited him to in the Upper Room. (John 20:24-28)

So what convinced Hugh, his father and me? Well it was not, as with Simon Peter, John, Mary Magdalene and Thomas, because I had seen or observed the resurrection. It was not proved to me in this way.

I remember doing physics at school - I tried my O'level four times and failed (once in school and three re-sits). Part of the course was about experiments. An experiment went something like this. We were given a statement e.g. water boils at 180 degrees fahrenheit. We were then presented with a bunsen burner, a glass container, some water and a thermometer and told to conduct an experiment to verify if that statement was true or not. So out came the bunsen burner on went the glass container filled with water and as the water started to boil the temperature was measured using the thermometer and sure enough the statement was true. Water does indeed boil at 180 degrees fahrenheit.

But the resurrection of Jesus is not proven to be true or false on the basis of an observable experiment. It won't work taking an individual and crucifying him - following the exact sequence of events as the death of Jesus - and observing whether they rise again from the dead. In fact it was the inability to prove Jesus' resurrection that initially put me off Christianity. In fact my stock answer to any Christian who tried to share their faith with me was "prove it". "Show me the evidence." And because they couldn't - at least not in a way that satisfied my reasoning - I remained an agnostic.

And it seems that with Thomas he was of like mind. Those disciples who had seen the risen Jesus naturally were convinced that He was alive. But Thomas was not convinced. They may be wrong. Mistaken. So he wanted proof. "Show me" was his challenge, "and I will believe." And graciously that is what Jesus did. But as He shows Thomas His wounds He makes it clear that this is not the means by which the rest of us are to believe. Listen to what He says:

"Because you have seen me you believe; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed!" (John 20:29)

Why is Jesus no critical of this need for physical evidence and so encouraging of the need to believe without seeing? It's because you believe with your heart and not with your mind. Our minds sift the evidence of our senses but our senses are no guarantee that we will believe. There are many of example of this in the Bible. For example how many people observed the miracles of Jesus - including the religious and devout Pharisees - and yet they did not believe in Him. In fact Jesus warns that even the Resurrection will not convince some. In the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus the rich man, who is in torment, calls on Abraham to warn his brothers of the dangers of rejecting God and ignoring the poor:

"..if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent". Abraham replies: "if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even is someone rises from the dead." (Luke 16:30-31)

Seeing is not always, as the saying goes, believing. Why? because we don't believe in our minds but with our hearts.

Paul, an experienced evangelist and proclaimer of the Gospel knew this. Listen to what he says to the Romans:

"If you confess with your mouth 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified." (Romans 10:9-10)

And in Jesus' explanation of the Parable of the Sower He says of the seed falling on good soil:

"But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart who hear the word, retain it and by perseverance produce a crop." (Luke 8:15)

That is not to say that there is no evidence of Jesus' resurrection or no proof that He is alive and the various courses that are run in this and other parishes - the Alpha Course, Confirmation classes etc - present very plausible arguments for the reliability of the eye-witness evidence of Jesus' resurrection which we find contained in the New Testament. However at the end of the day it is not the evidence that will lead you to believe. It is the reality of Jesus' 'aliveness' and presence that will enable a person to become convinced that the resurrection is true. Paul knew all about this from his own experience: Listen to these words of his in his letter to the church in Rome:

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."(Romans 1:16-17)

In the gospel message itself there is a power - the power of God - that will enable all those who come searching for God to believe. That is what happened to Norman Anderson and his son Hugh, to myself and many many others. And this is what can happen to anyone who seeks God with an open mind, and more importantly, an open heart.

Baptism talk 1

2010-02-24T23:27:00.000-08:00

Why do we christen or baptize (basically same thing) babies or anyone? Very simply because Jesus tells us to. One of His last comands before returning to His Father was: "Go...to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples; baptizing them in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19 GNB)

So ever since that is exactly what we have done. It's a way of people 'signing up' for the Christian Faith. As a soldier 'signs up' to serve his country, so we sign up, through baptism, to serve Jesus Christ.

CHristians are literally 'CHrist-followers', people who are actively seeking to live their lives in relationship with Him and following His teaching and example.

But why this Way - this faith?
First because it is true and right. There really is a God and His Son is Jesus. He loves us and has given us a way to live that will, if followed, draw us closer to Him and closer to one another giving us a deep sense of peace and fulfilment. His teaching is the best the world has heard: "Love your neighbour as you love yourself" and "forgive one another as I have forgiven you." WHat better way for us to live and encourage our children to to live?

Second because if we don't live His way then life just won't work properly as it should. My son is learning to drive. He's been at it for months now. In the beginning he very little clue about road signs, speed limits or how to steer without damaging other cars or knocking pedestrians over. Now after listening to and following the directions of his instructor he is beginning to enjoy driving and the chances of him hurting others let alone himself (or his instructor) are now considerably reduced.

Just as there is a right way to drive and a wrong way, so there is a right way to live and awrong way. God designed life to be lived His way and the Christian faith puts us into contact with God and His teaching. Moreover He gives us an instructor to help us which we call the Holy Spirit. He is, the Bible tells us, God "in us" and He will help us steer through life and teach us what God wants.

Lastly we can of course reject all of this. God has given us many gifts and one of them is free will. This means we can choose which way to live our lives but there are consequences. All of us follow some one or someone's teaching whether we are aware of it or not. None of us lives in a vacuum and are exposed to different influences on our lives. So God says "follow me" and I will give you peace and promises. If we reject His call we will have to live our lives in the best way we see fit. But we can't then blame God if things don't work out.

So baptism or christening is about us saying, in effect, I want to live God's way and I want this for my child or children and for me too.

Do I believe in angels?

2010-02-24T12:20:00.000-08:00

The following is the script for a broadcast I did for a local radio station called Tircoed Radio:

Well any visit to an Anglican church usually brings us into contact with a stained glass window or two depicting angels either praising God in some heavenly choir or appearing to an individual like Mary. Also just a glance at the Bible will reveal angels everywhere fulfilling God’s will in some way or other. Angels appearing the Abraham, before the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah, bringing an answers to prayer or protecting God’s people in some way or other.

But what about today? Leaving aside the various books written on the subject by those who have tried to jump on the Christian bandwagon, angels are still a real part of people’s lives even if they tend to be rather reticent to talk about them

Take one old lady who was a member of one of my congregations and sadly passed away just over a year ago. Once when I visited her to take her Holy Communion, after we’d finished, I sat and chatted with her over a cup of tea. The conversation somehow or other touched on the subject of angels and I shared with her my experience of meeting with the author of a book on the subject, who was married to a vicar and had come and spoken recently in the Deanery. Quietly she shared with me her experience as a young teenager when, whilst living in Skewen she was walking home from Chapel one evening when she saw an angel passing over the building. She was with her parents at the time but because it was so unbelievable and she was so young she kept it to herself not telling anyone until that moment when she confided in me.

I immediately recalled an incident from my own youth when I had climbed a tall aging tree only to step on a rotten branch near the top. The branch gave way and I fell all the way from the top – some 20 or more feet up – all the way to the bottom. I say ‘fell’ but in effect I sort of floated as if cushioned on something, landing on my feet without a scratch. I thought nothing of it at the time until I became a Christian and then a phrase from the psalms caught my attention. It’s from Psalm 91 verse 11-12 and is quoted by Jesus as he resists the temptation of the devil in the desert. It says: “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
That was my experience although I saw nothing or felt nothing at the time. Why should that happen to me? I don’t know. It may be that God wanted to preserve me for the ministry? I honestly don’t know. And I can’t categorically say it was an angel. But I believe in angels and I believe they are much more involved in our lives than we realise.

As I was thinking about this in relation to my talk today I came across a recent report based on research carried out by Bishop Grosseteste University College in Lincoln into children’s spirituality. The report suggests
that not only do children see angels but that most adults dismiss such claims as “just imagination” so that children tend to keep their experiences to themselves.

Take Jonas aged seven. He recalled how two years before he and a teenage cousin saw an angel in the park. She was, in his words “pretty big” with white wings and silver spiky shoes and she spoke in a gentle voice. She was visible for half an hour before she went “straight back up to heaven.”
Or what about Sophie also aged seven who sees an angel at the side of her bed each night and feels comforted by the presence? But her parents’ response was: “Oh, that’s just your imagination darling.”

Jenny, aged nine, drew a picture of God standing on a white cloud , which looked like steps, set in the midst of black clouds. God’s hands were “tucked into His dress”; His hair was “grey, and it had blond bits in it”. This was Jenny’s description of a dream she had:

She explained: “I was at school. Then someone just came and took me out and took me up to heaven, and I was really scared. I saw all the people who had died and all the animals…It was flashbacks of when I was with them…I was scared, but I felt like someone was holding my hand every time I was scared.”

This dream was important for Jenny, because it represented a reunion with her two pet rabbits who had died, and it reassured her that they were alive and were being looked after in heaven. We were the first people Jenny told about her dream, “because some adults don’t understand what we’re feeling.
Her classmate Laura said: “I sometimes tell my Gran about my religious dreams, ‘cos she believes in God and goes to Church, but I won’t tell my Mum, ‘cos she doesn’t believe it’s true.”

In 2007 there was an article in one foreign newspaper which told of how “an angel with flowing red hair saved a terminally-ill child from certain death in a hospital cancer ward with no more effort than a hug, a kiss and the tenderly-whispered words: “God wants you to get up. You are healed … ” – but that’s just half the miracle.”
The article continues: “Within seconds of realizing what had happened, the 7-year-old girl’s father, an avowed atheist and best-selling author who once told Pope John Paul II that “God, if He exists at all, ought be shot” and called Jesus Christ “a third-rate carpenter with a first-rate lie” fell to his knees in full view of shell-shocked doctors and nurses, professing a new and undying belief in both God and Christ.
To ice the cake, Jean-Philip DeMarcourt is now preaching the gospel to anybody who will listen and openly wonders why The Man Upstairs chose to save his daughter from certain death and him from eternal damnation.
“Why us? Why did He save us?” Delacourt asked in a telephone interview from his office in Jerusalem. ”All my life I have done everything in my power to discredit even the idea of God.
“I made a mockery of the Bible. I said God was dead. I said if God weren’t dead, then He should be. And yet, He sent His angel to lift my own daughter up from death and restore her to health, not through a medical procedure, not through the handiwork of a doctor or a nurse, but through His infallible power alone.
“I saw the miracle unfold with my own eyes. I saw the angel with my own eyes,” he continued. “God is real.”

And the stories continue. In Haiti one man was discovered under the rubble of a collapsed building over a month after the earthquake. His rescuers could not believe how he had lived all this time without food or water. When they questioned him he told them that daily a person in brilliant white clothes came and fed and watered him.
Speaking to the Vicar’s wife who came to talk about her new book on angels, she told me that once she put an advert into a magazine to get in touch with her about any experiences of angels people may have had she was inundated with letters containing accounts of real-life encounters with angelic beings. Many of them had until then remained silent for fear of being thought insane but now, many with relief, they could share their experiences with someone who understood.

So do I believe in angels? Well I did anyway but these and other experiences related me across a ministry that has lasted 22 years have reinforced that belief and so whenever anyone tells me about one I give a knowing nod. There is more to this life than what we can see. But do we have the eyes and the faith to see it?

Eating pork and the homosexual lifestyle

2010-02-06T09:58:00.000-08:00

Today I would like to start looking at the first of the questions that have been handed in by members of the congregation.

The first question takes us to the Book of Leviticus which the questioner states has 88 commandments. The question is:

"If we can now eat pork due to the coming of Jesus, where does that leave the other commands such as "man must not lie with man as he lies with a woman"? (Leviticus 11:13) Does that mean we can pick and choose which commands to live by?"

Its a good question and one which is exercising the church as it faces a lot of hostility with regards to its stand on homosexual sex. In a recent survey on attitudes in Britain the majority of people now believe that sex between members of the same gender is perfectly acceptible. There have also been moves to force the church to change it's stance on the issue through various new anti-discriminatory laws. The pro-gay lobby therefore are homing in on texts such as found in the Book of Leviticus to argue for a re-interpretation of the prohibition of same-gender sex. So it is a subject that I for one wishes would go away. But as a priest and as someone who has to faithfully teach the timeless truths of the Bible and the Faith I can't shy away from it. So thanks for giving me an opportunity for returning to it.

At the heart of this question is the question of interpretation. How does the Old Testament relate to Christians? Why is it that some laws we keep and some we ignore. Isn't that inconsistent and confusing?

For example we would take the ten commandments and say that these apply to every age and culture. Whether you live in the first century or the twenty first, "You shall not kill" still applies. And whether you live in Outer Mongolia or Lower Cwmtwrch, it still applies. It is timeless and transcends every culture, as do the other nine.

But if that is true of the Ten Commandments, what about the lesser commandments as found in the Book of Leviticus? Don't they have the same force? Like eating pork. Christians eat pork. They have their bacon sandwiches, parma ham and gammon. Last night I ate some chinese spare ribs. And yet clearly and plainly God says in Leviticus 11:8:

"Of their flesh - i.e. pig, the rock badger etc - you shall not eat and their carcasses you shall not touch, they are unclean for you."

You can't get plainer than that. You shall not eat. And yet we do. Has the commandment been revoked or superceded? Are we being disobedient? And if that is the case why is the Church still insisting that the commandment about homosexual sex still stands when we one about pork doesn't?

The answer lies in the coming of Jesus. As the Son of God He has brought us a new understanding of the purpose of the Old Testament Law. In Matthew's Gospel he tells His disciples about His attitude to the Old Testament which He refers to as the Law and the Prophets:

He begins: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets."

In other words you know He is going to say something different or controversial, that He is going to change the way people look at or interpret the Old Testament.

"I have not come to abolish/do away with them but to fulfil them." i.e. to accomplish their purpose. What was that purpose? To reveal God to us and to prepare the world for the coming of Jesus. In Galatians 3:24 Paul puts it like this: "The Law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ."

Jesus continues: "I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."

With the coming of Jesus some things were obviously accomplished. For examle with the coming of Jesus there is no need to offer sacrifices anymore. When you read the Book of Leviticus you read a lot about what sacrifices are made - whether a bull, a goat, a sheep; and the reason why these sacrifices are made - to atone for sin. But Jesus is "the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world!" says John the Baptists in John 1:29. So the sacrifices stipulated in Leviticus no longer apply. They have been fulfilled in Jesus. That is why when the wardens prepare the altar for worship every Sunday they don't have to lay out the meat cleavers and the bowls for catching the blood!

The same could be said of many of the ceremonial laws about what festivals we keep and the various rules about what priests can or can't touch which can make them unclean.

What about the laws about what we can/can't eat? The answer to this also lies in the pages of the New Testament. In the Book of Acts Chapter 10 God sends an angel to a Gentile convert to Judaism called Cornelius, an officer in the Roman army, and tells him to send for Peter one of the apostles. At the same time God speaks to Peter who has gone onto the roof of the house belonging to Simon the Tanner in afternoon to pray. He falls asleep and in a vision he sees a sheet being lowered from heaven and contained in the sheet is a collection of all sorts of unclean creatures - four-legged animals, reptiles and birds - the very sort that Leviticus tells the people of Israel they must not eat. At the same time a voice - the voice of God - says: "Get up Peter, kill and eat." Peter is horrified. "Surely not Lord, I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." (Acts 10:14). But God replies: "What God has made clean, you must not call unclean." (Acts 10:15)

Clearly then here in the New Testament God has revoked His earlier command to avoid eating certain foods and treating them as unclean. With the coming of Jesus this has changed. We could ask why were these laws made in the first place? Here are a few possible explanations for this:

1. God's original prohibition was meant to protect His people from the dangers of eating pork etc in such a hot climate. For example - and shut yo0ur ears if pork is on the menu today -many diseases can be carried from swine to humans including parasite infestations. A recent message from the Health Corporation of Singapore warned about the bad effects of pork consumption. "Pork contains many toxins, worms and other latent diseases. This is because pigs like to scavenge and will eat any food including dead insects, rotting carcasses, excreta including their own and other pigs". Flu is one of the most famous illnesses which pigs share with humans. It lives in the lungs of pigs and was particularly lethal in those days. There is also a website which tells you that if you pour coke on a peice of fresh pork you will see worms wriggling out of the flesh, although I don't fancy trying that! So it is for the benefit of the Israelite's health that God prohibits eating pork etc.

2. God wanted His people to be distinctive from every other nation. He called them to be holy. "Consecrate yourselves, and be holy because I am holy." (Leviticus 11:44) In giving His people these various commands, apart from the practical reasons for doing so, God was giving His people a clear message that they were to be different. Other nations were particularly barbarous and lived lifestyles that were impure and sinful. God wanted His people to keep apart from them as much as possible and so He gave them laws that underlined that distinctiveness.

3. God, being God, didn't and doesn't have to give any justification for giving us commands. He wants us to trust Him, and trust does not require explanation.

But the eating of pork had come to mean a sign of spiritual uncleanness and that was wrong. In Mark chapter 7:19 Jesus says: "Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Mark adds, Jesus declared all foods "clean").

So pork may be something that we may want to avoid because of hygiene but eating is does not make you unholy or spiritually unclean.

What has this do with homosexuality? Well if we turn to the New Testament there is nothing in its pages to suggest that, like pork, that prohibition has been overturned and there are several passages that reinforce this particular teaching - Romans 1:21-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9 and i Timothy 1:10 - and although there have been many attempts to re-interpret them none of them are satisfactory. I could go through them but we will have to leave them for another day. But let me just add one thing. In his book "Money, sex and power" Richard Foster says two things I wholeheartedly agree with on the subject:
1. I too genuinely wish I could avoid the subject altogether, for as much as I can talk about it I am not a homosexual and therefore don't fully understand their experience. I, like many of my fellow Christians have to struggle with this and show compassion and understanding even if, at the end of the day, I am bound to disagree with the homosexual and lesbian lifestyle. And,
2. All those who are caught in the middle of this issue and have suffered from the the bigotry and hatred of some religious people. That has to be acknowledged and repented of. We must disassociate ourselves from those with extreme and violent views who regularly condemn and vilify homosexuals and lesbians. God loves them too and we must avoid labelling them as greater sinners than ourselves. "All have sinned and fall short of then glory of God" Pauls reminds us in Romans 3:23.

I deeply regret any hurt that may have been caused by the way some have worked out this prohibition but as a priest I am called to be faithful to the Word of God and His commandments. I can’t pick and choose. Because I don’t like some of the things God asks me to do I can’t reinterpret them to suit myself or others. This is, I believe, part of the cross Jesus asks us all to bear. We all have different crosses in that sense – different challenges to face.

So we differentiate between eating pork and practising a homosexual lifestyle on the basis of the fatc that God has declared the one prohibition ended while the other still stands.

I hope this goes some way to answering the question.

How to live forever

2010-02-01T14:24:00.000-08:00

Someone once wrote: "One of the great pretentions of human existence is that this mortal life lasts forever." Although young people/teenagers know, in theory, that life will come to an end, eventually, they talk and act as if they will never die. Decades later they begin to discover - as I did - that it doesn't. But even then they carry on as if their families will inevitably continue or their culture or nation will.

But mighty empires come and go, and no one will remember us beyond 2-3 generations. Nothing is changeless, nothing endures. As Peter writes, quoting Isaiah the prophet: "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers, and the flowers fall." (1 Peter 1:24)

But there is one more line in the quotation from Isaiah 40:6-8 and its this: "..but the word of the Lord stands forever." (1 Peter 1:25). It follows from this that human beings who long to be eternal, who hunger for the transcendent, can do no better than align themselves with God's unchanging and enduring word.

There are several hints in this chapter as to what it means in practical terms:
1. "And this is the word that was preached to you." (1 Peter 1:25)
The very Gospel that was declared to Peter's readers is the Word of the Lord that stands forever. Adherence to the Gospel is adherence to that which endures forever. The same can't be said of adherence to a political system or an ecomonic theory or professional advancement.

2. More precisely, Christians have been "born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." (1 Peter 1:23) That which was transformed us and granted us new life from God Himself has not been physical impregnation, but spiritual new birth, brought about by the enduring Word of God.

3. The word mediated through prophets before Jesus looked forward to the revelation that came exclusively with Him (1 Peter 1:10-12). That means it was all one: this was always the plan, however much those Old Testament prophets had or had not grasped it.

4. The "new birth" (1 Peter 1:3) that we experience by the action of the enduring Word of God introduces us to "an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power." (1 Peter 1:4-5)
(from D.A. Carson: For the love of God Volume 1 - November 24th)

Holy Cross Day 2 - September 14th

2010-02-01T13:51:00.000-08:00

The earliest Christian symbol was not the cross, it was in fact the fish. Early Christians under persecution used the sign of the fish to identify one another secretly without raising the suspicians of the authorities. The Greek letters of the word for fish - Ichthus - are an acronym for Jesus-Christ-God's-Son-Saviour (in Greek Iesus Christos theos uios soter).

Early in the 4th century after the perscution of Christians came to an end and pilgrims began to travel to Jerusalem and the Holy Land to visit and pray at the places associated with Jesus. One of them, Helena the mother of the new emperor Constantine, and a devout Christian, visited Jerusalem to oversee the excavations at one of the sacred sites. There, it is said, she uncovered a cross which she and many believed to be the actual cross on which Jesus was crucified. Whether it was or not, she believed and ordered that a basilica be built on the site of the Holy Sepulchre and dedicated it, on this day, in the year 335.

It is fitting that the cross should come to be considered the universal Christian symbol because the crucifixion is at the very heart of what Jesus came to do. His whole life led up to His death on the cross and many times He gave hints about this, talking about His need to go to Jerusalem and for those who wanted to become His disciples to take up their own crosses, as He must take up His. So we are to look at the cross and see Jesus crucified for us. We are to take up our cross in order to follow Jesus. And we are to trust in the work of the cross as it became for us the means by which our sins are forgiven and we are saved from death and the Devil.

Holy Cross Day calls us again to consider the cross and remember and give thanks for Jesus who died for us.

Saint Bartholomew - Apostle

2010-02-01T12:33:00.000-08:00

Bartholomew and Nathaniel are thought to be one and the same person. So when we read John 1:43-51 he is the person Jesus describes as "a true Israelite in whom there is no guile" after Phillip had brought him to see the Lord.

He was probably a close friend of Phillip as their names are mentioned together in the Gospel listing of the disciples (Phillip AND bartholomew). He may also have written a gospel although where it is mentioned in the fathers it is usually condemned as gnostic and thus heretical.

Bartholomew is said to have preached in Asia Minor, Ethiopia, India and Armenia where he died a martyr's death being flayed alive. Some of his relics are kept in Canterbury (an arm), and Frankfurt (head). He is venerated as patron saint of Armenia and bookbinders.

The story of how Bartholomew/Nathaniel came to faith is an interesting one. When Phillip first told him about Jesus of Nazareth, his response was one of scorn. He was from Cana, another Galillean town, and there were local jealousies and rivalries between the two. So he responded negatively: "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?"

But Phillip persisted, not arguing or trying to persuade his reluctant friend, but gently suggesting that he "Come and see."

The simple lesson from this is that not many people are ever argued into becoming Christians. In fact in some cases arguments do more harm than good. Much better is the simple message about the cross.

At the end of the 19th century the great agnostic Huxley was at a house party. On Sunday most of the members prepared to go to church but, naturally, Huxley stayed behind. Before the time came however he went up to a man who he knew had a simple radiant Christian faith and said: "Don't go to Church today. Stay behind and tell me what your faith means to you. Why are you a Christian?

"But," the man replied, "you'd demolish all my arguments in a moment. You are much cleverer than me."

But Huxley told him: "I don't want to argue with you, I just want you to tell me simply what Christ means to you."

The man stayed behind and told Huxley very simply about his faith. When he finished Huxley was moved and said: "I would give my right hand if only I could believe that."

It wasn't a clever argument that touched Huxley's heart - he could have argued with the best of people. It was just a simple telling of what Jesus meant to that person. In effect he was invited, like Bartholomew, to "come and see."

That's what led Bartholomew to Christ and, no doubt, that is how Bartholomew led others.

Questions of life

2010-01-24T15:46:00.000-08:00

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach Good News to the poor." Luke 4:18

In a recent article on the Beatles I read that at the pinacle of tehir fame they were agnostic with regards to religion.Religion, said Paul in 1963, was something he didn't think about. "It doesn't fit in with my life." And in 1964 John Lennon admitted "none of us believe in God (although) we are more agnostic than atheistic."

But things changed. Having made so much money at an early age they started to ask themselves what was left to look forward to. Since their teen years they'd been motivated by the possibility of wealth, sex and fame. But now they had these things. Ringo said: "The four of us have had the most hectic lives. We have got almost anything money can buy. But when you can do that, the things you buy mean nothing after a time. You look for something else, for a new experience."

As a group they began to question things and talk more openly about God. But it was George Harrison who put his finger on the nature of the search. He said that the only worthwhile pursuit was the search for the answers to three questions: "Who am I? Why am I here? Where I am going?"

When Jesus walked into the synagogue, sat down and was invited to read and comment on the Scriptures, he was handed a scroll containing words from the prophet Isaiah. As he was handed it he found the place where the following words were written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor."

And it seems to me that if what Jesus offers IS indeed good news, then in order to meet the criteria of 'good' it has to be able in some way to answer each of these three fundamental questions posed by George. "Who am I? Why am I here? and "Where am I going?"

Let's look at each of them in turn:

1. "Who am I?"

In John 3:16 Jesus makes this statement: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life."

For God so loved the world. Who am I? You and I are the objects of God's love. God loves us no matter what our status in society. It is we who like to categorize people in different categories - the acceptable and the unacceptable, the ones we would like to have as friends and those who we wouldn't be seen dead with etc. Not God. No matter what our intelligence or lack of it, no matter what our religious affiliation, colour, perfection or imperfection, God loves everyone. That is what the word 'world' means. Everyone without exception.

Of course people like to make exceptions - surely not the terrorists, Osima Bin Laden and his cronies, and not the murderers or child-molesters, not my enemy, surely not Hitler, Stalin or Pol Pot? Yes everyone. "God so loved the WORLD."

And God shows this love for us no more vividly than by coming among us not as some disembodied being or angel, but by taking on our very flesh. That is wht the greatest miracle is the Incarnation. The fact that God, in Jesus, gave up all power and authority and became weak like us. So weak that we can arrest Him and put Him to death. We can nail God to the cross and watch Him slowly die!

Who am I? I am the object of that love which was willing to die for me.

There is a song which we sometimes sing and which could be termed a 'children's song'. It says it all:

I'm special because God has loved me
for He gave the best thing that He had to save me
His own Son Jesus, crucified to take the blame
for all the bad things I have done.
Thank You Jesus, thank You Lord
for loving me so much
I know I don't deserve anything.
Help me feel Your love right now
to know deep in my heart
that I'm Your special friend.
2. Why am I here?

I think this question lies right at the heart of what I see as a sort of listlessness in people's lives, a lack of purpose, this underlying question remaining unanswered - why am I here? what's the point of it all? Carl Jung the famous psychiatrist and pupil of Sigmund Freud once reported that a third of his cases suffered from no definable neurosis other than what he termed "the senselessness and emptiness of their lives." And I think that word 'emptiness' points towards something of an answer to that question "why am I here?"

In Jesus' 'sermon' in Luke 4 he takes the words of Isaiah's 500 year old prophecy and applies them to him. He was in effect doing something that could be termed ego-centric. "See these words? They are all about me." And as we later on follow him around in the gospels we see that he keeps on pointing to himself:

"I, when I am lifted up from the earth will draw all people unto me." (John 12:32)

"Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

"Come and follow me." (Luke 18:22)

And so it is not surprising that Jesus addresses this sense of emptiness with the promise of afulness that only he can provide:

"I have come that you may have life in all its fulness." (John 10:10)

"Why am I here?" To discover God and in doing so enter into life in all its fulness.

In Thornton Wilder's play Our Town, the main character, Emily, discovers the joy of being fully alive. After she dies, she pleads to be allowed to return and look in on one day of her life, one last time. She picks her twelfth birthday. During the play, Emily becomes dismayed as she recognizes how little the people she loves comprehend the joys of life or experience them with any depth of awareness. She cries out to be taken away, so that she does not have to witness how little her family and friends pay attention to the preciousness of life. Listen to Emily's words:

"Goodbye, Grover's Corners....Goodbye to clocks ticking...and mama's sunflowers - and food and coffee - and new-ironed dresses and hot baths - and sleeping and waking up! Oh earth, you're too wonderful for anyone to realize you! Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it - every, every minute?"

Commenting on this Christian writer and preacher Tony Campolo writes in his superb book "The God of Intimacy and Action":

"One of the marks of...Christianity is a growing awareness of the wonders of our everyday, ordinary experiences, which leads to a greater sense of how precious the ordinary - food, coffee, new-ironed dresses and hot baths etc - really is. As writer and minister Frederick Buechner once said, "There is no event so common place but that God is present within it, always hidden, always leaving you room to recognize Him or not to recognize him."

Why am I here? To discover God and how to live the life He has given you to the full. Which leads us to our last question:

3. Where am I going? because this, surely, has an impact on whether we are able to live life in all its fulness. Why? Well if I am anxious or uncertain about the future, about what, if anything, lies beyond death, then how can i fully enter into and enjoy life in all its fulness?

Phillip Yancey the Christian writer tells in one of his books about the time he had a very serious car accident, when his car left the road and he became trapped inside. Luckily for him someone was on hand to help him and call an ambulance. Reflecting on the incident later he writes:

"Recently a spate of authors have been trumpeting a kind of triumphant atheism. I can understand why someone should chose atheism, but I cannot understand why sucha stanec might seem like good news, something worth trumpeting. Lying helpless, strapped to a body board, I would have felt utterly and inconsolably alone, except for my faith that I lay in the hands of a God who loves me and promises a future beyond death."

It was this belief ina future beyond death that kept so many of the african slaves going through the hard times of their captivity and enslavement. They would look to the future, a future promised to them by God, which they had read about in the scriptures. And so their songs were full of the imagery of heaven, crossing over the Jordan into the Promised Land etc. One of my favourite negro spirituals is 'Steal Away' which beautifully captures the hope they had which lay beyond this life:

Steal away, steal away, steal away to Jesus
steal away, steal away Lord,
I ain't got long to stay here.

My Lord, He calls me
He calls me by the thunder
the trumpet sounds within-a-my soul
I ain't got long to stay here.

Now they may be slaves and life was hard and cruel, but their hope lay in the promises of God, that beyond death there would be no more crying, pain or sorrow. Beyond death they would be free.

So the three questions have three answers in the Good News of Jesus.
Who am I? Someone loved, loved by God.
Why am I here? To discover God, and in discovering Him life in all its fulness>
Where am I going? If you believe and trust in Jesus, life in all its fullness.

Homily on the Holy Apostle Andrew - St.John Chrysostom

2009-12-05T13:07:00.000-08:00

Strong is the net used by the apostles to fish, wondrous the memory of Andrew, and marvelous the commemoration of the net he employed to catch the nations and to lead them to faith in Christ! The seine of those deathless mortals, the apostles, can never be torn by forgetfulness, nor can time destroy their fishing tackle, made not by the art of man but by the grace of God. The fishermen themselves have departed from us, yet neither their gear nor the sweep-net with which they ensnared the world have fallen into decay. They cast and pull in their net invisibly, but the net is clearly seen to be full. They do not make use of a rod that time decays, nor do they let down into the water flaxen cord, which rots with time. No hook that rusts away have they fashioned; no bait have they prepared for a hook with which to catch fish. They do not sit upon a rock washed by waters, nor in a ship that may be sunk by a tempest do they sail. Indeed, it is not fish, by nature irrational, that they catch. Astonishing are the methods of which they make use; new and previously unseen their gear. With them, preaching replaces the rod; their recollections of Christ, the fishing-line; the might of grace, the hook; miracles, bait; and the heavens, from which they cast their line, the rock at the water's edge. Their ship is the holy altar; instead of fish, their catch is kings. They do not spread a net but the Gospel. Their work is guided by divine grace, not by the rules of the fishing trade. They are not helmsmen of ships on the sea but men's guides in life; and the seine, the sweep-net they always employ, is the Cross.

Who has ever seen fisherman from the dead catch living men like fish? O, great is the power of the Crucified One! Wondrous is the beauty of the divine! Mighty are the deeds of the Apostles! Nothing in this life is as great and lofty as the grace given them!

The history of mankind has seen much that is marvelous and surpasses understanding; it has seen spilt blood cry, murder call out as though with a tongue, nature divided and turned against itself in jealousy, brother slay a brother born of the same womb, and the door of death opened by rancor. It has seen Noah's ark remain afloat while the whole world was submerged by the flood and the human race destroyed. It has seen an old man, because of his faith, arm himself against his own son, the offspring of his loins, and take him to sacrifice, although the son was not put to death. It has seen a blessing stolen and God the Creator wrestle with His servant. It has seen envy arise between brethren and slavery lead to dominion over a kingdom. A throne it has seen prepared by a dream and those who betrayed their brother compelled by famine to return to him. It has seen a rod work miracles and a bush covered with flames as if with dew. It has seen Moses the lawgiver give commands to nature. It has seen water made hard as a rock, the bottom of the sea laid bare, a path suddenly opened, and a pillar of cloud by day and one of fire by night serve as guides for a host of people. It has beheld a rod blossom, although the rod was not planted in the earth, and seen manna given as bread from heaven. It has seen the sun halted in its course by a man's prayers and a prophet conceived through the supplications of a barren woman. It has seen a handful of meal made greater than the contents of a granary and a cruse of oil steam forth more abundantly than a spring. It has seen a chariot ascend through the air, carrying away a prophet, and the bones of the dead become a life-giving potion. The history of mankind has seen many great and marvelous things, but all of them pass away and are extinguished like a lamb put out at the rising of the sun. Never has there been anything or anyone like the apostles.

As servants of God the Word, they touched the Incarnate One, Who as God has no form. They followed after Him Who is everywhere present and reclined with Him Who cannot be contained in any place. They heard the voice of Him Who created the world by a word, and caught the world with their tongues as if with nets. Their travels took them to the ends of the earth. Error they rooted up like thistles, and they levelled heathen places of sacrifices like thorns cut down to the ground. They utterly destroyed idols as if they were wild beasts, and drove off demons as though they were wolves. They assembled their flock, the Church, and gathered in the Orthodox like a crop of wheat. But heresies they cast away like tares, while they caused Judaism to whither up like grass and destroyed paganism as if by fire, reducing it to ashes. The Cross was the plough with which they cultivated human nature, and they sowed on that ground the seed of the word of God.

Their deeds shone like the stars; therefore the Lord said of them, "You are the light of the world" (Matt. 5). The eastern horizon is for the Christian man the Lord, born of a Virgin; morning, Him Who gave an example to all by being baptized. The light of the sun is the grace of Christ crucified; its rays the wondrous tongues of fire that appeared at Pentecost. Morning is the age to come; midday, the time when the Lord hung on the Cross. The western horizon is the grave; evening, death, which quickly passes away at the rising of the sun, the resurrection of the dead. "Ye are", it is said, "the light of the world." Let us gaze upon these stars and marvel at their brilliance!

When Andrew, whom we commemorate today, found the Lord of all, he cried to his brother Peter, "We have found the Messiah!" (Jn. 1) O brotherly love that surpasses measure! O good reversal of nature's order! Andrew was born after Peter, but it was he who lead Peter to the Gospel, catching him by the word, "We have found the Messiah!" Joyfully did he exclaim these words:

"We have found a treasure!" Andrew cried. "Flee, O Peter, the poverty of circumcision; strip yourself of the ragged cloak of the Law, and cast off the yoke of its written ordinances. Count all things temporal as of little importance. Regard your present life as a dream, and flee Bethsaida, the wretched dwelling of outcasts. Forsake your nets, the gear of impoverished men; your boat, refuge from deluge; fishing, an occupation for times of flood; fish, gluttony's merchandise; the people of the Jews, a nation ever in revolt against God; and Caiaphas, the father of a rebellious nation. 'We have found the Messiah' Whom the prophets foretold and Whose coming the Law heralded like a trumpet. We have found the treasure hidden in the Law. Flee, O Peter, the famine of the written statutes! 'We have found the Messiah', foreshadowed in ancient wonders, Whom Micah beheld sitting upon a throne of glory, Whom Isaiah saw surrounded by seraphim, Whom Ezekiel saw amid the cherubim, Whom Daniel beheld sitting upon the clouds, Whom Nebuchadnezzar saw in the furnace, Whom Abraham received in his tent, Whom Jacob would not release until he had received his blessing, Whose back parts Moses beheld as he stood upon a rock. We have found Him Who was begotten before time and appeared in the last times. Great is this treasure, which can never be exhausted! The riches thereof are not subject to the laws of nature; they exist eternally although they are newly revealed. 'We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.'"

Many were they whom God anointed, but all were subject to death. Abraham He anointed, but he moulders in the grave; Isaac He also anointed, but his bones lie in a sepulchre. Jacob He anointed, but he was mortal, and Moses as well, whose body lies in a place known to no one. David was also anointed, but like the others he was death's prey. All alike were captives of death. Only Christ is by nature God. Yet in His compassion He became man, leaving sealed the virginal womb from which he appeared and making of fisherman springs of healing; for His are dominion and the kingdom, and unto Him, together with His blameless and consubstantial Father and the Holy Spirit, are due glory and worship, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

This homily by Chrysostom is to be found in St. Symeon Metaphrastes' "Lives of the Saints".

Holy Cross Day - September 14th

2009-09-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

Holy Cross Day is a feast celebrated by the whole of Christendom. In Greek is is called, literally, "Raising aloft of the Precious Cross" or in Latin 'Exaltatio Sanctae Crucis' meaning "The Raising aloft of the Holy Cross."

The True Cross - i.e. the original cross on which the Saviour died - is said to have been discovered in 326 AD by Saint Helena (250-330), the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine I who is venerated in the the Eastern Church as Saint Constantine. Helena is said to have discovered it during a pilgrimage she made to Jerusalem, an obsession of hers since converting to Christianity. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was then built at the site of the discovery, by oredr of Helena and Constantine. The Church was dedicated nine years later, with a portion of the cross inside it.

In 614, that portion of the cross was carried away from the church by the Persians and remained missing until it was recaptured by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in 628. The cross was returned to the church the following year after initially been taken to Constantinople by Heraclius.

The date used for the feast marks the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 335 AD. This was a two-day festival. Although the actual consecration of the church was on September 13th, the cross itself was brought outside the church on the 14th so that the clergy and faithful could pray before the True Cross, and all could come forward to venerate it. In some churches there are a number of fast days observed before the actual feast day.

But the whole point of all of this is to recognise the central importance of the cross as God's instrument in bringing a wayward mankind back to a loving God. We see this in a number of places in the scriptures, not least in the Book of Numbers, chapter 24:1-9. Although this incident records an incident from Israel's wanderings in the desert hundreds of years before Christ, Christians, and indeed Christ Himself, sees in it a prefigurement of His own work on the cross. In the Book of Numbers an infestation of poisonous snakes has broken out amongst the people of Israel as a result of their rebellion against God. Moses prays for help and God tells him to make a serpent/snake out of bronze and place it on a pole. God then instructs Moses to tell the people that if they then look on it - and in Hebrew 'to look' also means to trust/believe - they shall be saved.

Centuries later, in John's Gospel, Jesus draws a parallel between the bronze snake on the pole and his work on the cross: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man (i.e. Jesus) be lifted up , that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." (John 3: 14)

Here the serpent represents the serpent i.e. the devil; the bite/poison is sin, and of course, Christ's death on the cross is the cure. If we 'look to'/believe in Christ, we will be saved from the effects of sin's poison and be given - not earn - the gift of eternal life.

Of course, writes Paul (1 Corinthians 1:18ff) this all may seem very foolish to those who don't or won't believe. In this way we are the the Jews who demand signs or proofs, or the Greeks who seek wisdom i.e. intellectual or philosophical reasoning. But, he adds, "we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles." In the end this is God's way of doing things. Christ is "the power of God and the wisdom of God". There is no other way to salvation and reconciliation with God. So it is good today to celebrate the work of the cross. But lets not stop with celebration.

In 1928 bacteriologist Alexander Fleming made a chance discovery from an already discarded, contaminated Petri dish. The mould that had contaminated the experiment turned out to contain a powerful antibiotic, penicillin. Later this was used for the treatment and cure of many fatal diseases. But as important as it is to celebrate this wonderful discovery it is far far more important to use the discovery to heal disease.

Jesus died on the cross not so we can celebrate what He has achieved but to use it as a cure for our sins.

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

2009-09-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

The Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been celebrated in the Church at least since the 8th Century. The Church's calendar observes the birthdays of only two of its saints: Saint John the Baptist (June 24th) and Mary, the Mother of Jesus (September 8th).

Most Christians know of the miraculous nature of John the Baptists' birth to Elizabeth - previously barren - and Zachariah as it is recorded in scriptures, but for information about Mary's birth we have to rely on tradition and extra-biblical documents. In a recent book called "The Lost Gospel of Mary" Frederica Mathewes-Green, the wife of an Orthodox parish priest, presents three ancient texts which help fill in the blanks with regards to Mary's early life. Although not as reliable as the scriptures - some scholars cast particular doubt on the authenticity of one of the texts - they do make us think about this special person who was called to be the 'Theotokos' or 'God-bearer'.

The first text, the “Gospel of Mary,” shows us Mary as an adorable little girl, and then as a teenager coping with a “crisis pregnancy” that could cause her execution as a suspected adulteress. This was an extremely popular work among Eastern Christians (that is, Asian, African, and Middle-Eastern) in the second century. Many of the stories here made it to Europe, but the intact text did not. A 16th century scholar who translated it into Latin named it “the Protevangelium of James;” this is how scholars know it today, but it’s not the original title. In this work, Mary is steadfast under this trial, and teaches us much about courage. It names Mary's parents as Anna and Joachim. My first church was St. Anne's in Penparcau on the outskirts of Aberystwyth named after Mary's mother. St. Anne was sometimes disparagingly referred to as "Holy Annie, God's granny" or "Holy Anna, God's gramma".

The account tells how both of them were getting on in years and were without children. As this was perceived to be a sign of God's disfavour both parents prayed fervently for a child but for years received no answer. Finally on one feast day Joachim went to the Temple to make his offering but was turned away and told he was not allowed to make an offering because he had no offspring. The account tells us that Joachim was cut to the heart but instead of returning home went up to a mountain alone to pray and weep. At the same time, unknown to him, Anna too was crying and praying to God, fervently imploring God for help.

Next we are told that God heard their prayers and the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Anna and announced that although she was old she would bear a child who would be the praise of the whole earth. Anna was overwhelmed, just as her daughter would be years later, and is said to have exclaimed: "As the Lord my God lives, whether the child I bear be a son or a daughter, I will consecrate it to the Lord my God to serve Him all the days of its life." Joachim was also visited by the angel and told to return home because God had heard his prayer.

The other two texts illuminate other aspects of Mary’s role. The second is a very short prayer that was found on a scrap of papyrus in Egypt in 1917, and dated 250 AD; it is the earliest prayer to Mary. It is still in use East and West. This second text shows us that early Christians believed that she (like all the saints) is not dead, but alive in Christ’s presence and continually in prayer, so Christians can call on her as a prayer partner. Here is one english translation of the prayer:

We fly to thy patronage,
O holy Mother of God;
despise not our petitions in our necessities,
but from all dangers
deliver us always,
O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.

The third text is a beautiful and intricately complex “sung sermon”, written around 520 AD, which explores the mystery of the Incarnation and all the ways that Mary’s role is foreshadowed in Scripture.

So what are we to make of these texts? How reliable are they? How do they help us, if at all?
First, there are two usual approaches to such texts. One is to dismiss them completely as being completely unreliable made-up and fanciful stories. The other is to simply and uncritically take them at face value as reliable and true. But there is one more approach however and that is to try and read them with an open but nonetheless cautious mind asking questions such as: " Why were these texts written? Are they based on some kind of residual social and ecclesiastical memory? Can they add anything to our reading of the biblical story?"
Second, given the subject matter, in this case 'Mary', is the story consistent with the person and life of Mary that we know from the scriptures? Is there a 'ring of truth' about what is being written?
Third, is it 'biblical' in the sense that it 'fits' into the biblical narrative even if it is not actually found there? For example what is interesting in the account of Mary's parents is the way it is consistent with the kind of stories we find about other barren women in the scripturese.g. Hannah and the birth of Samuel.
Fourth, the story of Mary helps us in that it underlines the 'special-ness' of Mary showing us the hand of God working in her life before her birth. Given that Mary was to become the bearer and birther of Jesus, it makes perfect sense that her own birth should at least rival that of the greatest of the prophets, John the Baptist.
Fifth, according to St. Gregory Palamas (14th century) the story of Mary's birth underlines the holiness of marriage and the sanctity of the marriage bed. Mary, the mother of Jesus, appeared as the fruit of married life. This is further underlined later by Joseph's decision to marry Mary once he was reassured by the angel that no man had laid with her.
Lastly, Mary's birth was as a result of her parents prayers and God's grace - a telling combination. Surely a much needed lesson for a nearly barren church today?

St. Tydfil the Martyr died c.480 AD

2009-08-24T03:12:00.000-07:00

Tydfil gave her name to Merthyr Tydfil (Merthyr meaning martyr in the Welsh language). Her martyrdom took place during a pitched battle between her family and a band of marauding Picts during the fifth century AD. Although much of what is known about her comes from monks writing long after she was supposed to have lived, evidence shows that she did exist and that she did meet with a violent end.

Tydfil was the daughter of King Brychan, the half-Irish, half-Welsh ruler of Garth Madry (Brecon today). Brychan had four wives and several concubines and was said to have had 11 sons and 25 daughters. Tydfil was his 23rd daughter by his fourth wife. Most of Brychan's children were well educated, girls and boys, at a school in Gwenddwr on the Wye and went on to live deeply religious lives. They founded churches all over Wales, Cornwall and Brittany and were known as the "wandering saints".

Tydfil chose as her home the Taff River valley, sparsely populated by Celt farmers and their families. She became known for her compassion and healing skills as she nursed both sick humans and animal. She established an early Celtic monastic community, leading a small band of men and women. She built a "llan" or enclosure around a small wattle and daub church, much as other "saints" of the time. Her home included a hospice, outhouses and a scriptorium. There she lived quietly, bringing hope and support to the people of the Taff valley.

In his old age, King Brychan decided to visit his children one last time. He took with him his son Rhun Dremrudd, his grandson Nefydd and Nefydd's own son, along with servants and warriors. They visited his third daughter, Tanglwstl, at her religious community at Hafod Tanglwstl, what is now known as the village of Aberfan, south of Merthyr Tydfil. Brychan wanted to stay with his daughters a little longer, so he sent most of his warriors and Nefydd on ahead, along the homeward journey. The king went on to Tydfil's home while Rhun and Nefydd's son were still at Hafod Tanglwstl.

So the party was spread out along the Taff Valley; a distance of about seven miles and all uphill. Wales at this time was suffering from raids from Scottish Picts free to roam around now that the Romans had long gone. Some had even settled at South Radnorshire, near Brychan's kingdom. Perhaps the news of the king's absence had reached the Pict settlement and they decided to take advantage of the king's vulnerability. In retrospect, Brychan would appear to have made a very foolish decision in allowing his party to split up.

Rhun Dremrudd was attacked by a raiding party, a mile from Hafod Tanglwstl and he died defending a bridge over the river at what is now the village of Troedyrhiw. The bridge gave the Picts free access to the King's party and Rhun Dremrudd put up a good fight. The Picts then split into two groups: one devastated the Hafod Tanglwstl community and the other pursued the king.

The king and his followers were robbed of their jewellery, money and clothes. Servants and family were all cut down. While the others ran and fought and panicked, Tydfil knelt and calmly prayed, before she too was brutally slain. Then the Picts retreated over the Aberdare mountain. By then, Nefydd and his warriors caught up with them and avenged the deaths of his family at "Irishman's Hill" before returning to bury their dead.

Tydfil was buried within the church she founded, amongst the people she had cared for. A Celtic Cross was put up in a clearing near the Taff which became a meeting place for the people of the valley. In the 13th century the cross and wattle and daub church were replaced by a stone church dedicated to Saint Tydfil the Martyr. This was in turn replaced in 1807, and rebuilt again in 1894. The church still stands at its place by the River Taff and is one of the first things the tourist sees as he or she enters the town centre from the south side.

When the Norman church was demolished, a stone coffin was found, forming part of the foundations. Also, there were two stone pillars, one of which was dedicated to Brychan's son Arthen, who also died in the battle. The site was probably still being kept sacred to the memory of Tydfil and her murdered family.

What contributed to the veneration of Tydfil as a saint?
1. First of all her quiet witness. Tydfil was not an abbess although she did lead a community of Christian men and women who were probably living under some kind of semi-monastic Rule. But it was never a big community just a small group of people comprised of farming families with a few monks and nuns serving the local people in whatever way they could through works of mercy. Jesus called his disciples to be lights in a dark world (Matthew 5:14-16) but he didn't say how big those lights should be, just that they should shine. Tydfil certainly lived in dark times but her 'good deeds' (verse 16) and those of her community, attracted people like moths to a flame. And although her individual 'light' was extinguished by death, she lit a fire that burnt on throughout those dark and difficult times, showing others the way to God.

2. Second her great faith and dignity in the face of death. She did not resist or run but 'turning the other cheek' she awaited her death with quiet courage and a sincere belief that she would go to be with Jesus in the place prepared for her (John 14:1-7).

In the Letter to the Romans Paul, himself awaiting martyrdom, writes that "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers. nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39 NEB) Nice words which we all believe in the comfort and safety of our peaceful, ordered and affluent society. But it is in the heat of battle and in the face of suffering or death when that belief is truly tested. Tydfil faced that test head on and passed. She is rightly remembered both here and in heaven as a consequence.

3. Thirdly her love and compassion towards others - human and animal. For those of us living in a 'Christianised' society we very much take those qualities for granted as they are built into the very fabric of our society after centuries saturated in the teachings of Christ. And so they can come across as no big deal. We take as read the fairness of our laws, the peace we enjoy and the great benefits of a National Health Service which provides us with such wonderful care. We forget that no such things existed in Tydfil's day. Christianity was still trying to win the Celts, never mind the Saxons, Jutes, Picts and others. There was very little law in Tydfil's time other than the survival of the fittest. Love and compassion no doubt were seen as a sign of weakness in a disordered and fragmented society where the power went to the strongest. In such a time Christians inevitably stood out and the teachings of Christ must have seemed counter-cultural with its insistence on love, meekness and humility. Tydfil lived those qualities out in a society starved of love and compassion, and her example is needed as much as ever today as more and more people are distancing themselves from their Christian past. And in that sense - as well as the fact that she continues to live with the saints - Tydfil will always be our contemporary.

Peace with God

2009-08-19T10:10:00.000-07:00

"Since we are justified by faith, let us have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1)

What is this peace Paul is talking about? St. John of Kronstadt writes:

"Peace is the integrity and health of the soul; to lose peace is to lose spiritual health."

Peace then, according to St. John, is two things:
First it's integrity. The dictionary defines integrity as 'an adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character, honesty, a state of being whole.'

Being at peace means then being a whole and integrated person. It means that you are living in sucha way that your words, actions and thoughts are all consistent with each other. That your actions match your words and your words do not contradict your thoughts. This, says Paul, comes through faith in God, through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Second, it's health. Health in the Bible is measured principally in terms of the condition of the heart. Not the fleshly pump that circulates blood around the body, but the spiritual centre of each individual. A healthy 'heart' is a heart that is whole and undivided. When it is focussed solely on God the object of true worship. Our hearts are unhealthy when our loyalties are divided between God and other gods - whether those gods be money, possessions, ambition or self-worship.

“Teach me your way O Lord", prays the psalmist, "and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” Psalm 86:11

As well as divided the heart can also be corrupt or unclean. Jesus says in Matthew's Gospel:

"The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean" (Matthew 15:18)

How do we react to criticism? Do we tell lies, slander our neighbours, gossip, swear etc? All these are signs that your heart is not whole or healthy. As continual sneezing betrays the fact we have a cold or infection, so what comes out of our mouths can betray another form of illness - a bad 'heart'.

How then do we find this peace - this integrity and wholeness of heart? Well they are gifts from God. "Being justified by faith, says Paul, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ".

"The greatest gift of God, which we mostly need and which we very often obtain from God, through our prayers, is peace or rest of heart. As the Lord Himself says: "Come to me all you who that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11: 28). Therefore having obtained this rest, rejoice and count yourself as rich and possessing all things."
St. John of Kronstadt

Obtain this peace and it will lead to greater and more effective evangelism as people 'see' this peace you have found with God and His creation:

"Acquire the spirit of peace and a thousand around you will be saved." St. Seraphim of Sarov

Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr 258 AD

2009-08-17T03:38:00.000-07:00

Laurence (or Lawrence) has been one of the most venerated martyrs of the Roman Church since the fourth century. He was buried in the cemetery of Cyriaca 'in agro Verano' on the Via Tiburtina in Rome. This is the spot where the Christian Emperor Constantine built the first chapel on the site of what is now the church of St. Lawrence-outside-the-Walls.

The earliest document commemorating his martyrdom is found in a hymn written by Aurelius Prudentius Clemens published in 405 - 147 years after Laurence's death. Prudentius visited Rome between 401-403 and made pilgrimages to the tombs of the martyrs and read the inscriptions in the catacombs and basilicas.

He tells us that Laurence was one of seven deacons of Rome serving under the then Bishop of Rome Pope Sixtus II. Why seven? Sozomen, a Greek historian, writing in the middle of the fifth century, mentions the curious fact that the Roman Church never had more than seven deacons as this was the ruling of the Apostles. Laurence was the chief deacon and with the others was in charge of administering the church budget particularly with regard to the care of the poor. In 257 the EMperor Valerian, a pagan, began a persecution aimed chiefly at the clergy and the laity of the upper classes. All Church property was confiscated and meetings of Christians were forbidden. The bishop of Rome, Sixtus II, and most of his clergy were arrested and executed - Sixtus was "martyred in the cemetery... and with him four deacons" on 7 August 258, and Laurence four days later on the 10th.

Prudentius reports that the Roman prefect, knowing that Laurence was the principal financial officer, promised to set him free if he would surrender the wealth of the Church. Laurence agreed, but said that it would take him three days to gather it. During those three days, he placed all the money at his disposal in the hands of trustworthy stewards, and then assembled the sick, the aged, and the poor, the widows and orphans of the congregation, presented them to the prefect, and said, "These are the treasures of the Church." The enraged prefect ordered him to be roasted alive on a gridiron. Laurence bore the torture with great calmness, reportedly saying to his executioners at one time, "You may turn me over; I am done on this side." The spectacle of his courage made a great impression on the people of Rome, and made many converts.

Some reflections:
1. Laurence lived at a time where to be a Christian was a dangerous undertaking. You had to be sure of your faith because you knew that at any moment it could face the supreme test. What is striking about Laurence and the others was the calmness with which they faced their deaths. Prudentius captures this in his hymn:

When slow, consuming heat had seared
the flesh of Lawrence for a space,
he calmly from his gridiron made
this terse proposal to the judge:

'Pray turn my body, on one side
already boiled sufficiently,
and see how well your Vulcan's fire
has wrought its cruel punishment.

The prefect bade him to be turned.
Then Lawrence spoke: 'I am well baked,
and whether better cooked or raw,
make trial by a taste of me.'

He said these words in way of jest;
then rising shining eyes to heaven
and sighing deeply, thus he prayed
with pity for unholy Rome.

Thus ended Lawrence's fervent prayer,
thus ended, too, his earthly life:
with these last words his eager soul
escaped with joy from carnal chains.

Some noble Romans, who were led
by his amazing fortitude
to faith in Christ, then bore away
the hero's body from the scene.

Even allowing for some poetic licence here it is possible to read between the lines and see that it wasn't just Laurence's willingness to die for his faith that left such a deep and lasting impression on the onlookers, but the way in which he died, as his Saviour did, praying for his persecutors.

2. Prudentius notes that the "martyr's face was luminous" and that "round it shone a glorious light" but noted that this phenomenon was only visible to the baptized. Here we see something of the uncreated light that shone on and through Jesus at His transfiguration. Light has always been associated with the presence and holiness of God and where it is seen on the faces of the saints it is a reminder of their devotion and love for God , and their willingness to give their all for Him.

3. Laurence took his role as 'treasurer' seriously. The money he had charge of was not his own. It was the church's and therefore God's. How it was used was of great importance. We are all treasurers of money that ultimately is not ours but God's.

There's something about Mary

2009-08-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

Sadly talk about Mary has attracted controversy over the last few centuries especially in Protestant circles. For example Protestants tend to accuse Roman Catholics and others or worshipping the Father, the Son and the Virgin Mary. Some even use Mary and a person's beliefs about her as a sort of litmus test of whether that person is 'sound' or orthodox or not. So for example when a Roman Catholic (or Orthodox) Christian calls her the Mother of God, protestants tend to run a mile crying 'heretic'.

And yet for the first 15-16 centuries the very opposite was true and unless you could and did call Mary the Mother of God then you were seen to be decidedly flaky in your Christian faith to say the least.

We need to look again at Mary because she is much more important than we realise. To quote Billy Graham, that protestant of protestants: "We evangelical Christians do not give Mary her proper due." So we ask the question as we look at Mary: "What is her 'proper due? Just how important is she for us Christians?" Let's try and peel back the slightly hysterical rhetoric that tends to fly around whenever her name is mentioned and try and understand what the fuss is all about.

When we look at the New Testament and what it teaches about Mary there are four crucial things we need to think about (my thanks to Peter Gilquist and his chapter "Facing up to Mary" from his book 'Becoming Orthodox'.)

First, Mary is the greatest woman who ever lived.
In Luke 1:28, 42 both the Archangel Gabriel and Elizabeth confess to Mary: "Blessed are you among women." What is behind that accolade? Among other things she conceived , carried, gave birth to and nurtured Jesus the very saviour of our souls. The One who is God Incarnate. She was chosen by God the Father to bear His Only-Begotten Son.

And so in this role Mary was the first person in history to receive and accept Christ as her saviour, something we are all called to do. We are to enthrone the Lord in our hearts and lives. To follow Mary's example. That is why from the earliest history of the Church she is called "the first of the redeemed."

Peter Gilquist an evangelical turned Orthodox writes about his visit to a church in Chicago where there is a large painting or icon of Mary behind the altar. She is there with open arms and over her heart is superimposed a picture of Jesus. His first instinct was to wonder why Mary was there in that central position and not Christ? When he asked a Christian scholar about why she was so prominant the man replied: "This is one of the greatest evangelistic icons in the whole church. What you see is Christ living as Lord in Mary's life and her outstretched arms are an invitation to you and me to let Him live in our lives as He has in hers." Mary has set the example for all of us to personally give our lives over fully to Jesus Christ.

Second, Mary is our model for the Christian life.
She is the supreme example or prototype of what happens to a person who fully places their trust and faith in God. We are all invited to 'receive Christ' (John 1:12). Mary was the first to do so and having done so she, among other things, became a model of obedience. The angel told her: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Highest (i.e. God) will overshadow you and therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:34 NKJ)

Mary had a decision to make. Was she willing? Listen to her answer because its the "doorway to the life and spiritual service for all of us": "Behold the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your Word". (Luke 1:38) And we see this willingness to obey/submit to Jesus later in the miracle at a wedding at Cana. When they had run out of wine she goes to her son for help telling the servants: "Whatever He says to you, do it." (John 2:5) All Christians are called to follow her example and "do whatever He says".

Thirdly, and this is where some have taken fright, she is the Mother of God.
If we look at the text of the New Testament this is what is told us in Luke 1:43. When Mary greeted her cousin, Elizabeth called her blessed and said: "Why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me." Elizabeth knew that her Lord, the Messiah of Israel, was God. She knew from childhood: "Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is one". (Deuteronomy 6:4) And she knew that her Lord was in the womb of Mary.

This title 'Mother of God' took on great importance in the 4th century when a heretic named Nestorius - a bishop - claimed that the one in Mary's womb was certainly a man, but he was not God. He called Mary the 'Christotokos' (Gk. 'Christ-bearer'). The Church cried foul. To see Jesus as less than God in the flesh was sub-Christian. Unless the one in Mary's womb was and is God, then we are all dead in our sins. Jesus could not save us as man only as God. To safeguard the full deity of Christ, the Church has always insisted that Mary be rightly called - as Elizabeth discerned her to be - the Mother of God or, in Greek - Theotokos, the one who bore God, the God-bearer.

When a farmer buys a large plot of land and puts cattle out to graze in it he also erects a fence to protect them, stop them wandering off and discourage rustlers. The Church does the same and sets doctrinal fences around its foundational truths. Nothing is more important and basic to us than the deity of Christ. Because He is God we set a firm and non-negotiable fence around His divinity by calling Mary the Mother of God.

Of course Mary is not greater than God nor is she before God but she did bear Christ who is God and therefore it is totally accurate to do what the Church has done from the earliest days and call her Theotokos, the Mother of God.

Finally, we are to honour Mary and call her blessed.
This is a tough test for some because, quite rightly, they want to ensure that no one gets the same degree of honour or attention as God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And, yes, the impression is sometimes given that Mary is the third or fourth member of the Godhead. But the way to correct abuse is not disuse but right-use (to quote David Watson). Again the Holy Scriptures. In Luke 1:48 Mary in the 'Magnificat' prophesies that "henceforth all generations shall call me blessed". And that is what all generations of Church history have done until the last few centuries.

The following is an ancient hymn still used today in the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom which dates back to the 400's AD:
"It is truly right to bless you, O Theotokos, ever blessed and most pure, and the Mother of our God. More honourable than the cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the seraphim. Without corruption you gave birth to God the Word. True Theotokos we magnify you."

Notice how the hymn sums up for us all that we have spoken of in relation to Mary. Notice too that Mary is honoured not worshipped. Perhaps we struggle with that today because our generation seems to struggle with honouring anyone. Just watch the news and look at the attitude of children towards their parents. Yet the Bible tells us clearly (1 Peter 2:17) to honour the king and to give honour to whom honour is due (Paul in Romans 13:7). Of all people Mary is surely in that category.

Of course there are dangers when some get carried away in honouring Mary before or above God. But is the answer to give her no honour at all? Don't forget Mary was Jesus' mother. To dishonour her runs the real risk of dishonouring Him. "Love me - love my mum."

So lets make sure we don't forget Mary. She is much much more important to us than we realise.

Ann Griffiths 1776 - 1805

2009-08-12T01:00:00.000-07:00

Ann Griffiths (née Thomas) was a Welsh poet and writer of Methodist hymns. She was born to a tenant farmer from the village of Llanfihangel - yng - Ngwynfa, near Llanfyllin in the old county of Montgomeryshire in Powys, mid-Wales. She was brought up in the Anglican Church, but joined the Calvinistic Methodist movement after hearing the preaching of Rev. Benjamin Jones of Pwllheli, in 1796. Her brother John was the first to be converted and initially Ann's attitude was one of scorn and contempt. But on Easter Monday 1796 whilst listening to a sermon by Rev Benjamin Jones she was spiritually awakened. Unfortunately the curate of her local church was unsupportive and she left the Anglican Church and joined the Methodists. By the end of the year her father was also converted and the home became a place of hospitality for visiting itinerant preachers and local Christians. Her brother John became a leader of the Christian cause locally and eventually a figure of national importance.She began writing hymns in 1801-2 with her maid Ruth commiting her mistress's stanzas to memory.

Following the deaths of both her parents, she married Thomas Griffiths, a farmer from the parish of Meifod and an elder of the Calvinistic Methodist church. He helped make written copies of Ann's poetry during her lifetime. She died following childbirth aged 29 not long after her baby, and was buried on 12 August 1805 at Llanfihangel-yng-Ngwynfa.

She left behind a handful of stanzas in the Welsh language which were preserved and published by her mentor, the Calvinistic Methodist minister, John Hughes of Pontrobert, and his wife, Ruth, who had been the maid at Ann Griffiths' farm and a close confidante. Ann's poems are an expression of her fervent evangelical Christian faith, and reflect her incisive intellect and thorough scriptural knowledge. She is the most prominent female hymn-writer in Welsh and her work is regarded as a highlight of Welsh literature. Her longest poem was described by the dramatist and literary critic, Saunders Lewis, as 'one of the majestic songs in the religious poetry of Europe'.

The service of enthronement of Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury in February 2003 included Williams' own translation of one of her hymns: "Yr Arglwydd Iesu" ("The Lord Jesus").

1. Ann had a very powerful conversion to the Christian faith. We are told that she completely surrendered herself to God and experienced mystical states which she called 'visitations' during which she might experience great bliss or an outpouring of tears and be completely lost to the outside world. What are we to make of these experiences? On the one hand we could argue that they were artificially and emotionally induced by the powerful preaching of the visiting preachers. We could also argue that maybe she was someone who may have been highly strung or prone to a kind of auto-suggestion. It is always wise to bear these things in mind and not place too much emphasis on experiences as a test of true faith. Having said that there are penty of evidences of such phenomena among the saints, beginning with St. Paul who himself talks about being caught up in a mystical vision or experience in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 where he tries to explain what happened to him. He writes: "Whether in the body or out of it, I do not know--God knows." He then goes on to talk about being caught up as far as "the third heaven," where he "heard words so secret that human lips may not repeat them."

After years of intense labour writing his massive compilation of human knowldge about God, Thomas Aquinas had a direct vision of God that made him consider all his vast learning as mere "straw" by comparison.

The Bible is also filled with 'visitations' by angels with the Virgin Mary leading the way. So we must not be too quick to dismiss or claim authenticity for such experiences . Certainly they profoundly affected Ann and inspired the very evocative poetry she wrote.

2. It is not just the way she was converted that should interest us either but the subsequent fruit it bore. As we know anyone can, and many do, claim to be a Christian, but it is, at the end of the day, how it affects that person's life. Do they change for the better? Do they love God more than they did previously? Do they evidence the fruit of the Spirit's presence within them (Galatians 5:22-23: "Love, joy, peace, patience etc..)? Ann clearly did and it's on that basis - not her unusual experiences - that we know her conversion to be genuine.

3. The quality and depth of her poems evidence too, as we have heard, a deep understanding and knowledge of scripture which could only have come after much reading and meditation on its pages. It is this scriptural knowledge that became part of her spiritual DNA and enabled her to express it so powerfully in verse. Unfortunately we who are not naturally Welsh speaking will perhaps not be able to understand this fully, but here is one such poem which has been translated and will give us some idea of Ann's gifts:

His left hand, in heat of noonday,
Lovingly my head upholds,
And his right hand, filled with blessings,
Tenderly my soul enfolds,
I adjure you, nature's darlings,
Beautiful in field and grove,
Stir not up, till he be willing,
Him who is my glorious Love.

The Transfiguration

2009-08-04T06:56:00.000-07:00

"And He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light." (Matthew 17:2)

The Transfiguration is what is called a Theophany - a manifestation of God and especially of the divinity of Christ. In most parts of the Church it is considered a major feast day. There are several key points in the account I want to highlight which underline the truth about Jesus as Messiah and God:
1. 1 John 1:5 tells us that "God is light". Matthew tells us that Jesus' "face shone like the sun" (verse 2) and that there was (verse 5) a bright cloud that overshadowed them. He also points out the whiteness of his clothes which he says "became as white as the light" (verse 2). Both Luke and Mark in their accounts go further. Luke says "His robe became white and glistening" (NKJ) and Mark writes that "His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them." In other words they are all struggling to get across to us what an incredible vision it was of blinding, pure light that seemed to emanate from Jesus and the clothes he was wearing.

Put yourself in their shoes. How would you try and describe what they saw? And given what they had already heard and seen Jesus do, what sort of conclusions would you have come to?

2. This is further reinforced by the voice of God the Father who bears witness from heaven concerning His Son Jesus. And it's important to note what He did not say as well as what He did say. He did not say "This has become My beloved Son," but rather "This is My beloved Son." In other words this divine glory seen by the disciples is Christ's by nature - it's not created. He is God become man not the other way round. This is something that the Nicene Creed drives home in the opening sentences. Jesus is:
"Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten not made; of one essence with the Father.."
One of the reasons this article was inserted was to counter an early heresy called 'adoptionism'. This claimed that Jesus was not born the son of God but became Son of God at His baptism when the Holy Spirit came upon Him. Which is why, they claimed, you hear nothing of His miracles until after this. Reading John 1: 1ff however proves the Creed right and the adoptionists woefully wrong.

3. The Transfiguration not only proclaims Christ's divine sonship, but foreshadows His future glory when He as the Messiah will usher in the long-awaited and promised Kingdom. The bright cloud Matthew mentions is meant to recall the temple worship:
"Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." (Exodus 40:34-35)
It's also a reference to the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, the visible sign of God being extraordinarily present:
"On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped" (Numbers 9:15-17)
Peter sees this as a sign that the kingdom has come, so knowing that the Feast of Tabernacles is the feast of the coming kingdom, he asks to build booths (verse 4) something the Israelites did at that feast, to serve as symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the kingdom.

4. Moses represents the law - the first five books of the Old Testament while Elijah represents the prophets - the rest of the Old Testament. They are there to underline that all the Old Testament points to the coming of Jesus, the Messiah.

5. Lastly, the Holy Trinity is here: Christ is transfigured (verse 2), the Father speaks from heaven testifying to Jesus' divine sonship (verse 5) and the Spirit is present in the form of a dazzling light surrounding Christ and overshadowing the whole mountain (verse 5).

But if we just saw the Transfiguration as only a kind of 'proof' of who Jesus is we would miss the point. It offers us two types of revelation:
1. Revelation in terms of information: This is what happened to Jesus and the Apostles. What do you now think of this person Jesus from what you have heard and read? In other words it is presenting us with evidence - the eyewitness accounts of the disciples, references to the Old Testament and the history of the Israelites in their dealings with God.
2. But secondly, and in a sense more importantly, it is revelation in terms of transformation:
It is given as a means of God opening our eyes to his reality and existence. The Bible talks about us having two sets of eyes - the ones in our heads and the ones in our hearts. The first leads to understanding but the second leads to transformation. The first is hmmm and the second is Ahhh - a kind of Eurekka moment.

Finally the transfiguration gives us a model of what we are to become. If we fully cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit in us we too will become like Jesus, translucent with the divine light of God.

"Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, 'Abba, as far as I can I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?' then the old man stood up and stretched his hands towards heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him, 'If you will, you can become all flame.'" - Sayings of the Desert Fathers.

Germanus of Auxerre c.378-448

2009-08-03T12:11:00.000-07:00

Germanus of Auxerre was a bishop of Auxerre in Gaul (France). He is a saint in both the Roman catholic and Orthodox churches and is commemorated on July 31st. The principal source for the events of his life are an account written in 480 by Constantius of Lyon.

In earlier life Germanus practised law and held a post of provincial governor before being ordained bishop of Auxerre by his predecessor Bishop Amator.

In 429, a British bishop's son named Agricola started leading the native Christians toward Pelagianism (see below). A Gaulish assembly of bishops chose Germanus and Lupus, Bishop of Troyes to visit the island to combat the threat and satisfy the Pope that the British church would not break away from the Augustinian teachings of divine grace.

Germanus and Lupus confronted the Pelagians at a public meeting before a huge crowd in Britain. The bishops debated and despite having no popular support, Germanus was able to defeat the Pelagians using his superior rhetoric.

Germanus also led the native Britons to a victory against a Pictish and Saxon army, at a mountainous site near a river, thought to be Mold in North Wales. After baptising his troops (they were not Christians) he ordered them all to cry 'Alleluia!' The sound apparently so terrified the invaders that they fled before battle could be brought.

Germanus made a second visit to Britain in the 440s, joined by Severus, Bishop of Trier. He met Elafius, described by Bede as 'a chief of that region', and cured Elafius' weak and sickly son. The miracle served to persuade the population again that the Catholic faith rather than Pelagianism was the true faith.

He died in Ravenna while petitioning the Roman government for leniency for the citizens of Amorica who were about to be punished by the Alans. His tomb continues to be venerated in the church of the Abbey of Saint-Germain d'Auxerre.

The cult of Saint Germanus of Auxerre spread in northern France which is why there is a church bearing his name facing the Louvre in Paris. There is a church dedicated to the saint in Adamstown, Cardiff. A few other churches in Cornwall are also dedicated to the saint.

A few thoughts:
1. The name of Pelagius is not one readily known to Christians today and so they could be forgiven for wondering what the fuss is about. Pelagius was a Briton, who lived from c. 354-c. 420/440 AD. According to Pelagius man has the ability in and of himself (apart from divine aid) to obey God and earn eternal salvation while Augustine taught that man cannot save himself because he is fallen and needs divine grace.

Just a superficial reading of the Bible underlines how wrong Pelagius is. Take Jesus' conversation with the rich young man in Luke 18. After the rich young man had turned away from Jesus because he discovered that his love for money was greater than his love for God the disciples ask Jesus: "Who then can be saved?" Jesus' response is: "What is impossible with men (i.e. salvation) is possible with God." (verses 26-27).

We need God - the Bible and the Church tells us - to become whole people. We need all the grace we can get, which is why Jesus came and lived among us and died for us and left the sacraments to provide us with the continued means of grace along with our will/co-operation to work out our salvation. (See Phil 2:2; Eph 2:1-10)

2. When we talk about Germanus and Augustine defending the 'catholic' faith we are not referring specifically to Roman Catholicism but the universal faith of the Christian Church. The Nicene Creed qualifies the word 'catholic' the added words: "I believe in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Faith". 'Apostlic' means according to and not contradicting the faith handed down by the Apostles. 'One' is the one, true, shared faith of the Church from those beginnings. And 'holy' means, amongst other things, that it is inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised in John 14:16-17 would lead us - through the Apostles and their successors - into all truth.

The question that naturally arises from this is whether every church/denomination can meet this criteria? There are over 25,000 denominations today. Are they all part of the 'catholic' faith? Can they trace their origins back through time and apostolic succession to the first Apostles?

3. What Germanus and his contemporaries teach us is that what we believe IS important because it can affect not only how we behave but our eternal salvation. Pelagius seems to imply that Christianity is only for those with sufficient will-power etc to be able to work out their salvation. Equally it could be said that Augustine takes almost the opposite view suggesting that we have little or no part to play in our salvation except to say yes to God. We are either too good (Pelagius) or too bad (Augustine). As usual the truth is somewhere in the middle as we see in Paul's letter to the Philippians:

"...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose." (Phil 2:12-13)

Oswald King and Martyr c. 604 - 642 AD

2009-08-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

Nearly 1400 years ago a boat was heading across the sea from the Island of Mull to the small island of Iona. On board were four children - three boys and a girl. They were the exiled children of Aethelfrith the Anglo Saxon King of Northumbria recently been killed in battle. They were on their way to stay at an Irish monastery although all of them were pagans not Christians. In fact their father was known as Aethelfrith 'the destroyer' who had once massacred 1200 unarmed and defenceless Welsh Christian monks gathered to pray against his victory. The monks received the exiles, guarded them, taught them and eventually baptised them. Oswald's conversion had a powerful effect on his life and by the time of his death gained a reputation as a saintly man, unusual for a king for his time.

Oswald returned to mainland Britain to regian his kingdom. Before one important battle with King Cadwallon of Wales, vastly outnumbered with a small army most of whom were pagans, Oswald set up a wooden cross and asked his soldiers to join him in prayer. This they did promising to be baptised if they won the battle. Oswald won a victory "as complete as it was unlikely" defeating and slaying Cadwallon whom the welsh bards tell us had previously won 40 battles and 60 single combats. The battle site was known thereafter as Heavensfield and Oswald became the most powerful king of the seven kingdoms in England.

One account, incuded in Adomnan's 'Life of Saint Columba', is from an Abbott Segene who spoke to Oswald who told him he'd had a vision of St. Columba the night before the battle and who told him:
"Be strong and act manfully. Behold I am with you. This coming night go out from your camp into battle for the Lord has granted me that at this time your foes shall be put to flight.."

Following his victory Oswald sent to Iona asking for a Christian preacher. The first man they sent was tactless and a failure, but he was quickly replaced by St. Aidan. Because he could not initially speak the Anglo-Saxon language Oswald, who was fully bilingual, had to stand beside him as he preached and interpret the sermon to the hearers. Aidan was soon joined by other missionaries and the church flourished in Northumbria. Oswald went to Wessex the second most powerful kingdom (and largely pagan) and married Kineburga who converted to Christianity along with other members of her family, including her father. The door was opened for the Gospel in southwest England.

Penda, the pagan King of Mercia and an ally of Cadwallon waged war against Oswald and in 642 killed Oswald in a great battle mear Maserfield, in Salop on the border of their two kingdoms. His body was dismembered and its parts set up on stakes as a sacrifice to Odin. The head was later reclaimed by Christians and sent to Lindisfarne and is now thought to rest in a tomb at Durham Cathedral.

What made Oswald someone remembered 1400 years after his death and what was it about him that elevated him to sainthood?
1. He was a man of prayer. The Venerable Bede, writing less than 100 years after Oswald's death, tells us that he used to get up very early in the morning to pray for an hour before dawn. He also tells us that Oswald prayed so much that whenever he sat down his hands naturally rested on his knees in an upturned gesture of prayer and thanksgiving.
2. He was a man who despite being a warrior - all kings were and had to be in those days - loved his enemies. We are told that as he fell dying, Oswald prayed aloud for the souls of his bodyguards, who died with him, and for the salvation of the people of Northumbria as well as for his enemies.
3. He was a man of compassion. One of the best-known stories describes how one Easter, when he was about to dine with Bishop Aidan, a great crowd of the poor came begging alms. The king gave them not only the food but the silver dish it was served on, to be broken up and distributed among them. Aidan was so moved by this generosity that he grasped the king's right hand and exclaimed, "May this hand never perish!" (And Bede tells us that in one sense it didn't, for in his day the king's hand, which had been severed in his last battle, was preserved in Bamburgh church!)
4. He was, after his death, associated with healing. Bede tells of a horse in great pain which rolled in agony on the ground, apparently dying, until it happened to roll over the spot where Oswald had died. It was immediately cured. Those who witnessed it brought a paralyzed girl to the same spot and she was cured too. People began to take earth from the spot to put into water to cure the sick. So much earth was moved that a hole remained big enough for a person to stand in. Other miracles were also recorded adding to the evidence that he was indeed a saint. A sick man in fear for his salvation drank water which contained a chip of the stake on which Oswald's head had been spiked, The man got better and reformed his life. A little boy at Bardney was cured of a fever by sitting by Oswald's tomb. A plague in Sussex was stopped by Oswald's intercession and even in Germany Archbishop Willibrord told St. Wilfrid tales of miracles worked by some of Oswald's relics.

Some have expressed doubt about these saying that it is unbiblical and superstitious, but in the Book of Acts 19:12-13 Luke tells us: "God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them."

God is God and He will use whatever means He choses to heal others. If the prayers of a righteous man can heal the sick (James 5:16), why not the things he has touched or come into contact with?

Living a life worthy of your calling

2009-07-30T07:44:00.000-07:00

"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called." (Ephesians 4:1 NKJV)

When I trained as a bricklayer one of the most frustrating aspects of the training was having to sit in a classroom studying the composition of cement or the different styles of laying bricks - English bond, stretcher bond, English garden wall bond, Flemish bond etc. What I really wanted to do was get out there and lay bricks in the sunshine (you remember sunshine). But the teachers were right - they usually are - and learning the theory was more of a help than I realised.

In the first part of Paul's letter to the Ephesians he has been talking about the work of God in the life of the believer - the theory if you like. How God has "raised us up with Christ"(Eph 2:6), we who were "dead in our transgressions and sins." And he did this, writes Paul, "because of his great love for us" (Eph 2:4) and through grace not by our good works "so that no-one can boast" (Eph 2:9). But unlike the bricklaying, this is not just theory. If it was merely theory rather than the experience of the Ephesian Church, then the second part - the practical part of Paul's letter - wouldn't make much sense.

Look how it starts:
"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called." (Eph 4:1)

Being a Christian is a calling, says Paul. It's not some theory out of a book. The Ephesian Christians were a'called' people. They were Christians as a the result of someone - Christ - addressing them personally. We must not think here of a voice -although some have heard a voice speaking to them - but Christ, by His Spirit - getting through to them that He wants them to follow Him.

Here is what I mean. In the gospels we have recorded the words of Jesus. Although in many cases he is talking to someone or teaching the crowd or the disciples, his words are also meant for the whole world across time and space. They are meant to be general invitations to whoever is willing to listen, to believe in Him and to follow Him.

Take for example these words from Luke 9 where Jesus says "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." That is isn't just Jesus speaking to his disciples, but to whoever is open to listen. It's an invitation to every one of us to follow Him. Whoever is sensitive and seeking that something more that makes life worth living, will find in these words of Jesus something precious beyond words.

When St.Anthony of Egypt was about 20 (about 271 AD), both his father and his mother died, leaving him a good estate and a young sister to raise. One day when he was attending the Liturgy - service like our Holy Communion - he heard read the scripture message in which Jesus tells the rich young man, "Go, sell what you have, and give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven." When Anthony heard those words he heard them as addressed to him and so went and gave away most of his property and belongings to the poor putting some aside for the care of his sister. He then went and lived in the desert devoting his life to God.

Now there were probably dozens or more people in Church that day hearing the same words but Anthony heard them as a particular call to him from Christ and then went, in obedience, and did what he understood Jesus as telling him.

The Ephesian Christians were there because something along those lines had happened to them. They had heard the Gospel message as Christ calling them - individually -out of darkness into his wondrous light and had responded in faith. Now, Paul tells them, live the rest of your life (NIV) or "walk" (NKJ) worthy of that calling you received from Christ. In other words he is asking them to demonstrate their gratitude for what God has done for them in Jesus and to show it by living it out.

How are you living out your gratitude for what God has done for you? Are you grateful? God has done so much for us - but how grateful are we? And do we show it?

How does Paul suggest the Ephesian Christians live out their gratitude? Look at verse 2: "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." (Eph 4:2 NIV) or in short - be like Jesus. Be like the one who saved you. Be like the one who gave His all to rescue you from a life that was literally going nowhere. A life - says Paul earlier - that was "separate from Christ ....without hope and without God in the world." (Eph 2:12)

And this is where we come up against a problem not just with reading Ephesians but any of the New Testament outside of the life of the Church. Because Paul gives what is in effect a command "be completely humble etc.." but he appears to give us no clue about how we are to obey it.

Commands are good as far as they go but unless we have the resources to obey them then they don't really make much sense. It's like me telling someone with absolutely no patience to be patient. It is very very difficult. Don't forget they have had years of practising at being impatient - it has become ingrained - part of their character - who they are. To tell them to suddenly stop being who they are/who they have become is asking rather a lot.

Which is why we have a problem when it comes reading any command in the New Testament. Why? Because all we have in these letters is one writer or another dealing with an issue, or a problem or teaching some truth to counteract an error. Generally they don't teach much about Christian practice. Why? Because it is assumed that this is something being taught and practiced by the Church.

In the last few years one of the real eye-openers for me has been the realisation that the New Testament doesn't say everything about Christianity. In fact Christianity was up and running for nearly 400 years before the New Testament finally reached the finished form we now have. Sure there were manuscripts preserved and being shared around - thousands of them in fact - and there was a Church complete with bishops, priests (presbyters) and deacons as well as a liturgy (Holy Communion). But no-one had a complete New Testament only an Old Testament - and an Old Testament that had more books in it than it has now.

So how did Christians know how to live the Christian life? How did they know how to pray or worship or act? They were guided by the Holy Spirit through the apostles and through those who came after them having received the laying on of hands. And so when Paul writes his letter to the Ephesians around the 60's AD the church is up and running and teaching the people all they need to know how to live the Christian life, and how to do the things Paul is commanding them to do. So Paul does not feel it necessary to tell them how to obey his command to be "completely humble and gentle...patient...bearing with one another in love." because they already know how.

It's the same everywhere you look in the New Testament. For example, take fasting. Jesus says to the disciples in Matthew 6: "When you fast.." In other words he assumes they know the mechanics of how to fast and so he does not say what they should fast from, how long they should fast for or how long the fast should last only that they should keep it secret. Why? Because they already knew how to fast.

For example the didache - a collection of spiritual guidelines written around 70 AD notes that the Jews fast on Mondays and Thursdays but writes "Your fasts should not coincide with those - you should fast on Wednesdays and Fridays". Why? because Wednesday was the day Judas arranged to betray Jesus, and Friday in remembrance of the Crucifixion. This was already the practice of the church but nowhere is it mentioned in the New Testament. So when Paul tells to Ephesians to be gentle, patient and humble, he does not tell them how to do it because already the Church was teaching people how to grow into Christlikeness.

Here is the challenge then form Paul:
1. Is Christ real in our lives? Are we aware that we are called?
2. Are we grateful and what do we do to show that gratitude in how we live for God?
3. Are we changing into Christlikeness becoming completely humble, patient, gentle and forbearing one another in love? Or better still - do we want to?

That's the challenge. That's the call. Are we listening - are we really listening?

St. Asaph 6th Century AD

2009-07-29T04:22:00.000-07:00

St. Asaph, also known as Asa, was the first or second bishop of Asaph in North Wales. Not much is known of his life but local tradition points out his ash tree, his church, his well and his valley. All these sites - Onnen Asa, Ffynnon Asa, Llanasa and Pantasa - are near Holywell in Flintshire indicating probably that the saint once had a hermitage in that neighbourhood. The Bonedd y Saint tells us that he was a son of a King, King Sawyl Penuchel (known as Sawyl the Arrogant) from the Old North (Yr Hen Ogledd).

In the 'Life of St. Kentigern' the story is told of Kentigern - also known as St. Mungo or Cyndeyrn - the founder of the Diocese of Glasgow, who during his exile (c.545) went to Wales where he founded the Celtic Monastery of Llanelwy (church on the river Elwy) which is what the welsh still call the town of St. Asaph. Kentigern had 965 disciples of which Asaph or Asa was one. They were divided into three groups. 300 of the unlettered - those who could not read or write - farmed the outlying lands, 300 worked in the offices around the monastery, and 365 (the number corresponds to the days of the year) attended the divine services. Of these the oldest assisted Kentigern in the government of the diocese, and the rest were subdivided into three choirs. "As soon as one choir had terminated its service in church (quotes the Life, immediately another entering commenced it: and that again being concluded another entered to celebrate." The idea was to offer continual worship to God all day and every day.

The founder Kentigern, after the manner of other saints, used frequently to pray standing in the icy cold river, and once, having suffered very severely under this hardship, he sent the boy, Asaph, who was then attending him, to bring a fagot to burn and warm him. Asaph brought him live coals in his apron, and the miracle revealed to Kentigern the sanctity of his disciple. So when the old man was recalled to Strathclyde after the Battle of Arffderydd in 573 (the only definite date we have in the life), Asaph was consecrated bishop to succeed him, and became the first/second Welsh bishop of the see.

Asaph's relatives, Deiniol, Tysilo, and others were also honoured as saints.

What can Asaph's life - what little we know - teach us today?
1. First, something about the kind of life that makes a saint.
A saint is first of all a follower or disciple himself, as Asaph was of Kentigern. In the New Testament we see this pattern in the life of the twelve Apostles and the other disciples who were with Jesus. It is to these and other would-be disciples that Jesus called to deny themselves, take up the cross and follow after him (Luke 9:22-26). Later we see this pattern continue for example with St. Paul who disciples Timothy.
Secondly, a saint is someone who worships in the sense of giving worth to God through work and prayer.
Third, a saint is someone who is known for his or her sanctity of life, one of the signs of which is the presence of miracles or healings (see above). As Jesus promised his disciples: "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing." (John 14:12)
2. It has been said that in those early days of Asaph everyone was a saint. The comment may arise from the numerous saints that were present in Wales and whose names - ofetn associated with churches or wells or cells - have outlived the information we have of their lives. However the sheer number of those just under Kentigern's rule suggests that although a high proportion of monks and hermits were recognised as saints not everyone was.
3. Asaph and others like him made a huge contribution to the Christian heritage of Wales over the past 1500 years, something we very much take for granted. We must never forget our roots as nation or lose our Christian faith. And the way we do that is follow in his footsteps as he followed in Christ's.

Josephine Butler 1828/30 - 1906

2009-07-28T05:12:00.000-07:00

Josephine Butler (nee Grey) was born at Milfield house, Milfield, Northumberland the seventh child of John Grey and Hannah Eliza Annett. She married George Butler, a scholar and cleric in 1852 and gave birth to four children. In 1863 their only daughter died accidentally aged 6 and Josephine, already someone with strong radical sympathies, threw herself into helping others. Against the advice of friends and family she began visiting Brownlow Hill workhouse, Liverpool (her husband had been appointed as headmaster of Liverpool College) which led to her first involvement with prostitutes. As a passionate Christian, Jospehine abhorred the sin but loved the sinner. She regarded the women as being exploited victims of male oppression and attacked what she saw as the double standard of sexual morality that existed in the society of her day. So when a national campaign was begun in 1869 to repeal the Contagious Diseases Act, she was the obvious woman to lead it.

The Contagious Diseases Act had been introduced during the 1860s as a form of state regulation of prostitution, in order to control the spread of venereal diseases which were rampant especially in the British Army and Royal Navy. This gave magistrates the power to order a genital examination of prostitutes for symptoms of VD and then detain anyone infected in a 'Lock hospital' for three months to be cured. Refusal to consent to such an examination led to imprisonment. An accusation of prostitution by a police officer was sufficient to order an examination. Accused women often lost their livelihoods and in one notorious case one woman committed suicide.

On one occasion at a public meeting Butler referred to the procedure as "surgical rape" causing the Superintendent of the West London Mission who was proposing a formal thanks, to leave the stage in tears - something highly unusual in those days and widely commented on.

Originally the various Acts applied only to certain areas such as ports and garrison towns but in 1869 it was planned to extend their operation over the whole British Isles. This led to growing vigorous support from Christians, feminists and supporters of civil liberty and to the setting up of the Ladies' National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts. Soon after the scope of the campaign broadened to include male supporters. Josephine threw all her energies into the campaign despite vicious verbal, and occasionally physical, assault. The campaign proved successful however and the Acts were finally repealed after a long battle in 1886.

In 1885 she was drawn into another related campaign led by William Stead, editor of the Pall Mall Gazette. He published a series of articles exposing the extent of child prostitution in London. As a result of Butler's involvement in the campaign led by Stead, the age of consent in the United Kingdom was raised from 13 to 16 that same year.

Josephine also spearheaded the campaign internationally travelling to France and Switzerland where she met with much hostility from the authorities as well as strong support from feminist groups. As a result of her efforts international organisations were set up to campaign against state regulation of prostitution and the traffic of women and children. She also led campaigns in British Raj India.

Her husband retired from Liverpool College being made Canon of Winchester Cathedral and died in 1890. Josephine continued campaigning until the early 1900s dying in 1906.

Some thoughts:
1. First, as a passionate Christian Josephine Butler exemplified the teachings of the New Testament, in particular the Letter of James, that faith without deeds is no faith:
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James 3:14-17)
2. Second, Butler was able to use her education and privilege to help others. There is a section of society who like to vilify those who are well off or privileged in some was, however the Bible does not attack wealth or money as such provided it is not loved, selfishly accumulated or exalted and served as an idol. "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." (1 Timothy 6:10). William Wilberforce who shares this day with Josephine Butler is another example of someone who used his wealth and influence to the benefit of others.
3. Lastly, Josephine Butler was able to distinguish between the hatred of sin and the love for the sinner when she worked among the prostitutes of her day. There was no tacit approval of what the women were doing as sometimes seems the case today. In fact sometimes prostitution is referred to as "the oldest profession in the world" as a kind of justification for its continuing existence (usually by men). But the Bible is unequivocal that it is wrong:

"For a prostitute is a deep pit and a wayward wife is a narrow well. Like a bandit she lies in wait, and multiplies the unfaithful among men." (Proverbs 23:27-28) (See also Romans 6:13 and 1 Corinthians 6:13)

However time and again God uses them as part of His plan (e.g. Rahab Hebrews 11:31) and Jesus is never afraid to associate with them or recruit penitent prostitutes as his followers (Luke 7:36-50) Like Jesus Josephine Butler was able to look past the profession and see and love the person, made in the image of God. That way she was able to help them in the way she did.

St.Samson of Dol circa 480 - 565

2009-07-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

St. Samson was born in Glamorgan, Wales in circa 480 AD - although the actual date of his birth is unknown. While still an infant he was dedicated to God and entrusted to the care of St. Illtyd and brought up in the monastery of Llantwit Major. He showed exceptional talent in his studies and was eventually ordained deacon and then priest by St. Dubricius (Welsh: Dyfrig). He went on live as a monk on Caldey Island, eventually becoming its abbot.

After a visit from some Irish monks returning from Rome, Samson was so struck by their learning and the holiness of their lives that he accompanied them to Ireland where he stayed for a period. From there he spent some time as a hermit performing the miraculous cure of one of his fellow hermits Amon. He later founded a new monastery with some companions on the banks of the Severn hoping to retire "far from the haunts of men." But it was not to be and he was compelled to become abbot once again of a monastery formerly ruled by St. Germanus. Here St. Dubricius consecrated a reluctant Samson as Bishop - although without a particular see - but he determined to leave England following a warning from an angel, and went to Brittany where he spent the rest of his life as a missionary founding various monasteries there - in Dol, and in Normandy - Pental.

Several early 'lives' of Samson exist. The oldest is from a manuscript at Citeaux dating to about 600 AD. I have one on my computer which runs to about 26 pages of A4. It tells the life of Samson and records not only some of the miracles he performed but also something of his character. For example in Chapter 13 of Book 1 the writer records:

"In truth his humility, and therefore courtesy and gentleness, and above all his wonderful love, beyond human measure, so to speak, was such that he was regarded by all his brothers with wonderful affection." In fact it was these qualities - plus his "earnestness in the worship of God" that convinced Dubricius to ordain Samson first as deacon, then priest and later a bishop.

In his later years Samson longed to withdraw from the world and spend his time in prayer and worship but time and again God called him back to the task of the gospel which was to "make disciples of all nations". As a result he became one of the foremost evangelizers of his century - albeit little known - and is venerated both in Wales and Brittany.

His feast day is July 28th the day of his death in 585 AD.

A few reflections:
1. Samson and his contemporaries are reported to have performed many miracles of one sort or another. For example Samson is said to have healed one man, a fellow hermit and relative called Amon, from a mortal disease. On the day of his ordination as deacon a dove alighted on his shoulder and stayed there until after he received Holy Communion. What made these miracles more prevalent can be attributed, I think, to a number of different things. First, the grace of God. Second, the presence of faith and a childlike trust in the scriptures as the Word of God. Thirdly, an openness to the miraculous and a belief in the existence of another dimension to the world which goes beyond the material existence we all tend to immerse ourselves in . Fourth, the commitment to prayer as something integral and not peripheral to the Christian's walk. And lastly, the life of self-denial and fasting which produced men and women not only of great sanctity, but of great sensitivity to the presence and power of God.
2. As someone from an evangelical background I have always shied away from praying for the dead, seeing it as a later Roman Catholic addition to Christian belief. Once a person is dead then it is too late to pray as their choices have already been made and they are now living with the consequences. However here in the 6th century we find Samson doing it for one of his fallen brothers who had been demonised:

"Now when morning appeared, St. Samson ordered (the brothers) to carry that poor body outside the gate of the monastery to be buried. For three whole days and as many nights, continuing steadfast at the accustomed prayers, he remained without food and without sleep, beseeching God earnestly and with tears that, for his sake, He would be pleased to admit the soul of this most wretched man...to favour. At length having slept a little, after intense weariness of body, the comfort of God arrived which, both as regards the absolution of the brother's soul at the last, and the return of the body to the monastery, gently arranged all things." ('Life of St. Samson')

This in itself is not proof perfect that prayer for the dead is something that is wholly consistent with the scriptures, but it does raise the question, particularly as archaeological evidence has unearthed inscriptions on early Christian graves that suggest that this is something earlier Christians did. Take for example one from the 2nd century which bears the inscription: "Let every friend who observes this pray for me" found on the grave of one Abercius. Or these from the catacombs of Rome: "May God refresh the soul of..", and "mayest thou live among the saints etc."
3. I am struck by the absemce of ambition in Samson. Despite his obvious gifts and intellect, his eyes were fixed on God and all he wanted was to pray and live a life of devotion. Yet he became, almost reluctantly, a man of great influence who inspired others to take the gospel and evangelise pagan Britain and Europe.

Saint Columba 521 - 597 AD

2009-06-08T01:55:00.000-07:00

Columba was one of the greatest Celtic saints. He was born in Gartan near Lough Gartan in County Donegal, Ireland. On his father's side he was great-great-grandson of an Irish High king of the 5th century.

Columba became a pupil at a monastic school at Clonard Abbey which was situated on the River Boyne in what is modern County Meath. It was a time when Latin learning and Christian theology flourished. During Columba's time some of the most significant names in the history of Irish Christianity also studied in the same school. Columba was one of twelve exceptional young students who studied under St. Finnian (there were some 3000 under instruction) and these twelve became known as the Twelve Apostles of Ireland (others included St. Brendan and St. Finnan). Columba became a monk and was ordained as a priest.

Tradition has it that around 560 Columba got into a quarrel with Saint Finnian over a psalter. Columba had copied the manuscript at the scriptorium under Saint Finnian with the intention of keeping it. St. Finnian disputed this and the dispute escalated into a pitched battle at Cul Dreimhne in 561 during which many men were killed. A synod of clerics and scholars met and threatened to excommunicate Columba for these deaths but St. Bendan of Birr spoke up on his behalf and instead Columba was exiled. He decided to work as a missionary in Scotland to help convert as many people as had been killed in battle.

In 563 he travelled to Scotland with twelve companions. There he was granted land off the island of Iona off the west coast of Scotland which he used as a centre for his evangelising mission to the Picts. His reputation as a holy man soon led to his role as a diplomat among the tribes and there are also many stories of miracles he performed and which played a large part in his work to convert the picts. He played a major role in the politics of the country making many friends, including the pagan king Bridei, king of Fortriu. He was also very energetic in his evangelistic work and founded several churches in the Hebrides. He turned the monastery at Iona into a school for missionaries.

He was a renowned man of letters writing several hymns and being credited with having transcribed 300 books. He did once return to Ireland where he founded a monastery at Durrow. He died on Iona and was buried in the abbey he created, his relics finally being removed in 849 and divided between Alba and Ireland. Relics of St. Columba were carried in a relinquary called the Brecbennoch helping the scots to defeat a vastly superior English army at Bannockburn.

A few thoughts:
1. Columba was no plaster caste saint as the battle with one of his fellow monks demonstrates. However his willingness to make amends in volunteering to spend his exile in evangelising the warlike Picts shows the depth and sincerity of his repentance. He went on to live up to his other name of Colum Cille which means "dove of the church". If we live the Christian life as it is meant to be lived, then like Columba, the person we are at the end of our life will a different and better person than we were at the beginning. To walk with Christ, as Columba did, is to live a life of continuing repentance, changing, as St Paul did, "from one degree of glory to another"(2 Corinthians 3:18). Columba went on to achieve a reputation as a holy man, known for his diplomacy and tact. He'd come a long way from those early days.

2. It is interesting to note the part played by miracles in Columba's evangelism. In the "Life of St. Columba" St. Adomnan of Iona, his biographer and successor as Abbot, claims that Columba performed around 100 miracles during his life including walking on the water, raising the dead and prophesying future events. Sceptical historians have described these as embellishments and exaggerations of natural events that can be explained in more rational ways. But:
i. Surely this is to read into the past our scientific and rational presuppositions. Are we being a bit arrogant to suggest that we always know better than our unsophisticated ancestors? In relation to the miraculous modern man doubts before he believes, while our ancestors believed before they doubted. We should not be surprised therefore that they have seen more miracles than us as even Jesus could do few miracles where faith was lacking. (Mark 6:5)
ii. It is also to question the integrity of saints who made their reputations by their godly lives.
iii. You cannot exaggerate something that did not happen. Something clearly did over 100 times! Were they all untrue?
iv. If Columba was a follower of Jesus who himself performed such miracles, then it is not inconceivable that he should perform similar ones as he sought to proclaim the same gospel (See Mark 16:17-18). Unless of course we question Jesus' miracles too.

Bishop Hannington 1847-1885

2009-06-03T01:10:00.000-07:00

Today the Church in Wales calendar invites us to remember Bishop Hannington a nineteenth century Anglican bishop who was martyred in Kenya.

James Hannington was born on 3rd September 1847 at Hurstpierpoint, Sussex (known as Hurst today). He was brought up in a Christian home under the influence of a devout mother. He was known as "Mad Jim" because he never thought of danger, narrowly escaping death a few times and having his thumb blown off trying to blow up a wasp's nest with gunpowder. He was not very good in school and left at fifteen to work in his father's Brighton counting house (somewhere where accounting work took place - usually a room or office of the business in question). However after six years working with his father it was evident that this was not for James Hannington and at 21 he decided to enter the ministry and went up to Oxford to train but not before having travelled extensively across Europe - a sign of things to come.

There was no particular driving force behind this decision at the time, Hannington describing himself as "a mere formalist and fast drifting into ritualism". On the 1st March, 1874, he was ordained to the curacy of Martinhoe in North Devon. "So I am a parson," he writes in his diary, "and the world has to be crucified in me. Oh, for God's Holy Spirit, without which I must fall--I must perish."

Hannington had a college friend, the Rev. E. C. Dawson who kept in contact with him, writing to him a few months after his ordination, telling him of his own conversion experience, and begging him to accept the way of peace through Jesus Christ, which had so changed his own life. Hannington did not answer the letter, but he could not forget it; he was under strong conviction and ill at ease. At last he wrote and begged his friend to come and see him. Mr. Dawson couldn't get there but sent him a book with the request that he would read it. It was called "Grace and Truth." by a Dr Mackay.

Hannington read the preface, didn't like the look of it and threw the book one side. After a while he took it up again and got through the first chapter, but that was all and a second time gave it up. Once more he felt compelled for his friend's sake to return to it. "Well," he writes "I must read it to tell Dawson about it," and there, in his home at Hurst, he did read it. It was the turning-point in his life.

"I took up the old thing," he says, "and read it on till I came to the chapter called 'Do you know your sins are forgiven?' by means of which my eyes were opened. I was in bed at the time reading. I sprang out and leaped about the floor rejoicing and praising God that Jesus died for me; and from that day to this I have lived under the shadow of His wings in the assurance of faith that I am His and He is mine."

Everything changed, motivated by his new found faith, the burden of sin gone and true rest found, James Hannington with all the characteristic energy of his nature, lived and laboured for Jesus who had done all this for him.

Meanwhile, the chapel which his father had built in his own grounds at Hurst had been made over to the rector of the parish as a chapel-of-ease to the church, and in 1875 Hannington was appointed to take charge of it. And there, amongst his own friends, in his home town, the young clergyman settled down to his work for God. It is said that "a prophet has no honour in his own country", and generally that is true, but it was not the case for Hannington. He was the living example of the power of grace. He lost his quick and hasty temper, his need to be always first and always in charge. "Instead in everything" one writer remarks, "he was content to be led like a little child. Nobody could fail to see the change, and the influence of his personal character greatly helped his Sunday sermons."

His ministry at Hurst was much blessed by God. People crowded in from the neighbouring villages to his fervent Gospel preaching, and many conversions were the result. He held Bible-classes for young men, founded a temperance society (being himself the first pledged abstainer in Hurst), and founded many similar agencies.

In 1882 Hannington, after hearing of the murder of two missionaries on the shores of Victoria Nyanza, felt the call to overseas mission work and joined CMS. He sailed with five other missionaries for the east coast of Africa, in May, 1882, and in the following month they left Zanzibar for the interior.

It was not such an easy life and before long he was stricken down with fever, and after vainly struggling against it with iron will and determination, Hannington had to to allow himself to be carried back to Zanzibar. But he was not downcast, instead he held on to one of God's promises "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee." (Isaiah 26:3) He returned to England, and soon regained his health so that he was told he could return to Africa. Very soon after this he was chosen by the Church Missionary Society to be the first missionary bishop of Equatorial Africa. In November, 1884, he sailed a second time.

After arriving in Freretown near Mombassa, Kenya, he decided to focus on opening a new route to Uganda. Together with his team he safely reached a spot near Victoria Nyanza on 21 October but his arrival had not gone unnoticed and under the orders of King Mwanga II of Buganda Hannington and his companions were iimprisoned in Busoga.

After eight days of captivity, by order of King Mwanga II, Hannington's men were killed, and on 29th October 1885, Hannington himself was stabbed in both sides. As he died, his alleged last words to the soldiers who killed him were: "Go, tell Mwanga I have purchased the road to Uganda with my blood."

Joseph Mukasa, a Roman Catholic priest and an official at Mwanga's court rebuked the king for his deed and was beheaded for it. Hannington and his friends were among the first Martyrs of Uganda. A dedication stone, erected in his memory along with Bishop Hannington Memorial Church in 1938 (in Brighton) bears the inscription: "Thou hast turned my heaviness into joy."

A few reflections:

1. Character - When God calls a person he either changes them to fit the calling or the calling to fit the person. In Hannington's case it was the latter. He was strong, fearless and determined. He loved a challenge and with his new found faith was prepared to meet whatever demands were put upon him for the sake of the God who, in Christ, took away his sins.
2. Conversion - However without heart set on fire for love of God, character is not enough. Hannington went into the ministry prepared to serve a God he did not personally know. As a result he could have languished in a parish for the rest of his working life. But set on fire for God, he burst into flame, and although the fire was put out so tragically young, it lit a fire that helped set Kenya alight.
3. Companions - Hannington was fortunate to have a friend who knew God and, more importantly, wanted to tell his friend about it. No doubt Dawson prayed for him, but he did more. He told him the Good News about Jesus and when through personal circumstances he was unable to see him face to face he did the next best thing, he encouraged him to read a book about it. The book may have long been forgotten (although I traced it on the internet) but it did the job. If we are good friends and we know the Good News oursleves, then as good friends and companions we should do all we can to share it with those we know are close to.
4. Calling - Hannington's own particular calling was to go to Africa as a mission worker to serve God there. But every Christian has a calling to be a mission worker wherever they find themselves - in hospitals, schools, workplaces etc.. Whatever God has given us to do, we must take the opportunity afforded.

Rogation Days

2009-05-26T06:53:00.000-07:00

In the Western Calendar the Rogation days are four days traditionally set apart for “solemn processions invoking God’s mercy” (Dictionary of the Christian Church). Traditionally they are April 25th – the Major Rogation falling on St. Mark’s day – and the three days before Ascension Day, called the Minor Rogations.

The first Rogation was introduced originally as a Christian substitute for the Roman pagan celebration Robigalia which was a special celebration to pray for the crops. In Roman mythology Robiga – meaning green or life – along with her brother Robigus were the fertility gods of the Romans. Her festival was April 25th. When Christianity came along it took the idea and christianized it.

The second set of Rogation days was introduced in AD 470 by Bishop Mamertus of Vienna and are the three days – Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday – that lead up to Ascension Day

The word ‘Rogation’ comes from the latin verb ‘rogare’ meaning ‘to ask’ underlined by the Gospel reading from the previous Sunday from John 16:24: “Ask and you shall receive.”

Traditionally Rogation Sunday marked the start of a three day period when clergy were not allowed to marry anyone. Priests were invited by local farmers to go and bless their crops. Violet vestments were worn and on the three days before Ascension Day Christians were required to fast in preparation for the feast.

A commn feature of Rogation days in the past was the ceremony of “beating the bounds” in which a procession of parishioners, led by the priest, churchwarden and choir would proceed to the boundary of their parish and pray for its protection for the coming year.

A few comments:
1. We should not be disturbed by the fact that the origins of Rogationtide were pagan. Human beings were created with the capacity and the need to worship God and if they don’t know or reject the notion of God, so powerful is this inbuilt instinct that they will either pray to or worship someone or something else instead. By taking over the pagan festival that preceded it the Church is taking hold of that basic need and redirecting it towards its true location – God.

2. Having Rogation days in the calendar of holy days is a good idea but like all good ideas it loses the notion of good if it remains only an idea. It’s a ‘good idea’ to believe in a loving and gracious God, but as long as it remains on the level of an idea, no matter how good, it is meaningless. If we are to keep Rogation days then we really need to think about using them as they were intended or stop them altogether.

3. “Beating the bounds” – walking the whole length of the parish and praying for its people is an interesting notion and has been to a certain extent taken up by our free-church brothers and sisters-in-Christ with their Jesus marches or prayer-walks. I am not saying we reintroduce walks with robed choirs and churchwardens – which would attract attention for all the wrong reasons – but praying for the parish while walking its outer edges would at the very least add a sense of perspective on our responsibilities as churches. Worth a look.

4. Rogation at the very least reminds us that God encourages us to always be unafraid to ask Him for things. There are so many passages in the scriptures that underline this: Luke 11:9-10; John 16:23-24, 11:22, 14:13-14, 15:7,16 etc. Even if God will not always grant our requests because of reasons that seem best to Him, the fact that He encourages us so many times to ask Him suggests to me that in some way, some of the time, He intends to answer. If that’s not an encouragement to pray then I don’t know what is.

So Rogation days are worth another long hard look with a view to using them again perhaps.

Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist

2009-05-26T06:51:00.001-07:00

Today is the Feast of St. Mark, a day when we remember and give thanks for the life of the writer of the second of the four gospels in the New Testament. I want to give a brief overview of what we know of Mark’s life and try and draw out a few things that will hopefully help us on our own Christian walk.

There are several sources to draw on in putting together a picture of Mark’s life. Primarily of course there is the New Testament itself but there is also history and tradition.

First the New Testament which has a good deal to say about him. He was the son of a well-to-do lady in Jerusalem whose name was Mary (Greek) or Miriam (Hebrew). Acts 12:12 tells us that her house was an important meeting place in the early church. Luke records, in the story of Peter’s miraculous escape from prison, that when it had “dawned on Peter (that an angel had led him to safety out of prison) he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.” (Acts 12:11-12)

So from the beginning Mark was brought up in an environment of prayer and Christian fellowship.

It is also thought – interestingly – that this same house was the very house whose upper room was the very same one in which Jesus and his disciples gathered for the Last Supper and also where the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples on the Day of Pentecost. So it ws the holiest house in the world! What a wonderful place to be brought up in.

Mark was also the nehpew of St. Barnabas and when Paul and Barnabas set out on their first missionary journey they took Mark along with them as their secretary and attendant.

In acts 12:25 after Peter’s miraculous release from prison we are told by Luke:
“When Barnabas and Saul (Paul) had finished their mission, they returned home from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.”

Incidentally Mark has three names:
1. Mark, which comes from the Latin name Marcus – which tells us that although he was Jewish he must have had a Roman connection.
2. Johann or John, which means ‘God has shown grace’ – so often he was called John Mark.
3. His third name which historical tradition refers to as ‘Colobadactolus’ which is a Greek nickname for him meaning ’stubby fingered’ referring to the fact that his fingers were disproportionate to the rest of his body. So the gospel of Mark was written by someone with stubby fingers!

To return, this first missionary journey with Barnabas and Paul turned out to be a disastrous one for Mark for when they reached Perga instead of taking the safe route to the next stage of their journey Paul decided to turn inland causing Mark to decide to leave the exhibition. We don’t know the reason why but there have been a few educated guesses.

Some have speculated that Mark was still too young and experienced for the rigors of the journey and the challenges it threw up. Others conjecture that there was a personality clash with Paul – not totally unsurprising as he comes across as a strong personality. It may have been that Mark had taken exception to Paul’s assumption of the leadership role instead of the quieter and humbler Barnabas, his uncle (cousin?), and he did not like it?

It may have been that he was afraid because the road chosen by Paul was renowned for being one of the most dangerous roads in that part of the world inhabited by robbers and murderers? Or it may have been much more simple and St. John Chrysostom writing in the fourth century suggests that it may have simply been that Mark was missing his mother (awwww).

Either way he left them and when Paul and Barnabas eventually completed their journey and it was decided to start another one Paul refused Barnabas’ suggestion that they give Mark another chance and take him with them. This time Barnabas disagreed and he and Paul, Luke tells us, had a “sharp disagreement” (Acts 15:39), parting company with Paul taking Silas to Syria and Cilicia and Barnabas taking Mark to Cyprus.

Then the New Testament is silent for a time regarding Mark until his name pops up three times in Paul’s letters:
1. In a letter Paul wrote to the Church in Colossae. In Chapter 4 verse 10 he writes:
“My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas, (you have received instructions from him (i.e. Mark); if he comes to you welcome him).”

So whatever differences there had been between the two there has been a reconciliation and they were back on very good terms again.

2. In another prison letter, written this time to Philemon, in verses 23-24, Paul writes:
“Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow-workers.”

So here again Mark is mentioned, only this time as a “fellow-worker”, surely a sign that not only was all forgiven but that Mark was considered integral to the work of the Church.

Lastly, and perhaps more poignantly, Paul is awaiting his execution at the hands of the Roman authorities and he writes to his right-hand man Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:9-11:
“Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you because he is helpful to me in my ministry.”

And so in the end, whatever differences there may have been in the past between Paul and Mark, these have been resolved and Christ’s love has triumphed.

Turning to history and tradition some of the gaps in our knowledge are filled in a little, although it is difficult to conclusively verify the information.

For example Mark tells us possibly something of himself in Mark 14:51-52 which is not included in the other gospels. Jesus is being arrested in the garden of Gethsemane:
“A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.”

What an odd thing to include. Why? Mark’s gospel is renounced for being very sparse and compact and does not include anything that does not need to be include. What then , if anything, does this contribute, unless it is an autobiographical detail referring to him. And that would make sense too of what we know about Jesus’ words in the garden as he wrestled with the fate that awaited him. Having told Peter and the others to stay behind, who else would have heard Jesus’ pleas to the Father to have this ‘cup’ taken from him, unless someone had eaves-dropped in on what was happening and later written it down for us to understand what Jesus went through for us.

Other stories tell us that Mark acted as personal assistant to Peter and when some members of the early church, worried about impending persecution, asked for a record of Peter’s sermons lest they be lost should he be arrested, Mark wrote them down. Again this makes sense of the theory that Matthew and Luke (and Mark’s own gospel) made use of Mark’s material as the basis of their own ‘lives’ of Jesus.

Tradition also tells us that Mark went on to become one of the early bishops of the Church at Alexandria and when a crowd took exception to his preaching to them to turn away from their false Egyptian gods in AD 68, they tied him to several horses which dragged him around the streets until he died. Today his head is preserved in the Coptic Cathedral of St. Mark in Alexandria.

Finally, what lessons can we learn as we look at St.Mark’s life and witness?
1. No church is perefct and the greatest of saints fall out with one another from time to time, as Mark and Paul did. I know many people who have left their respective churches because they have become disillusioned with the bickering and quarrels that sometimes take place amongst the family of God. But we should all remember two things in this respect:
(i) It is inevitable. WHen we are baptized and confirmed or come to faith at some stage in our lives, we do not immediately become the finished product. In fact the challenge of the Christian life is to so co-operate with the Spirit of God within, that we will, with his help and God’s grace, change and become more and more like Jesus. But we are ALL a work in progress and there will be peaks and dips, twists and turns along the way as we wrestle with our sinful- selves.
You only have to glance through the pages of the New Testament and you will soon find splits in Corinth, naked ambition in James and John, personality flaws in Peter and others and flashes of anger in Paul. These are real people, who, just like us, need much grace from God in order to move forward.
(ii) When you do decide to leave one church because it is imperfect, where are you going to go? Scratch the surface of any if them and you will find the same kind of flaws and imperfections. Why do you think the greatest passage ever written about love was aimed at a church in 1 Corinthians 13? Every church I know has more than its fair share of selfish, moody, inconsistent and imperfect Christians.

2. Mark is a powerful illustration of the need to give people a second chance. I like Barnabas because he was someone who understood this one crucial important truth. WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES. None of us has the right to expect perfection of others because none of us is perfect. And the one who is perfect – Jesus – is actually the one who shows the most grace and forgiveness. I love that verse from Romans 5:8 in this respect: “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS.” While we were in a state of rebellion and opposition to God (and how many times have we rebelled against God?). That’s the very time Jesus died for us. This applies AFTER we met Christ as well as before.

3. Finally Mark show us what potential there is in our young people if only we learn to show the patience and encouragement needed to tease it out and bring it to fruition. Barnabas was able to see that in Mark, making plenty of allowances for his youthful exuberance and impetuous promises which sometimes did not lead anywhere. And because of that Mark was able to have the space and time to mature and grow, learn from his mistakes, and take his place as one of the important early leaders of the growing church, recording for us important information about Jesus to be handed down to us today. He also became a bishop in Alexandria, dying the life of a martyr for Christ and leaving a wonderful legacy which still lives in the Coptic Church in Egypt today. Not bad then for a stubby-fingered flasher from Jerusalem?

Catherine of Sienna

2009-05-26T06:50:00.001-07:00

Catherine Benincasa was born in 1347 as one of 25 children (the 23rd). Her father was a wealthy dyer of Sienna. At the age of six she had a vision of Christ in glory surrounded by his saints. It had such a profound effect on her that from that time on she spent most of her life in prayer and meditation. This didn’t please her parents who wanted her to live the ordinary life of a girl of her social class. Eventually however, seeing how serious she was, they gave in and at the age of 16 she joined the third order of St. Dominic (first order = friars, second order = nuns, third order= laypersons). Here she became a nurse and cared for patients with leprosy and cancer, doing the jobs the other nurses did not like to do or tried to avoid.

As she grew in her faith she began to acquire a reputation as someone of spiritual insight, wisdom and sound judgement, and many people from all walks of life came to her for spiritual advice, either personally or through correspondence. There is a book containing 400 of her letters to bishops, kings, scholars, merchants and obscure peasants. She also persuaded many priests who had become corrupt and compromised by wealth and luxury to give away their goods and live more simply.

She also became involved in some of the church politics that were damaging the Church at that time. For example the popes – bishops of Rome – had been living for many years in Avignon in France rather than Rome under the political control of the King of France. (The Avignon Papacy is sometimes called the Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy). The whole thing began when King Phillip the Fair of France captured Rome in 1303 and took the then Pope away and put him in Avignon. Catherine visited Avignon in 1376 aged 29 and told Pope Gregory XI that he had no business living away from Rome. He listened to her advice and moved back to Rome. She then acted as his ambassador to Florence and was able to reconcile a quarrel between the Pope and the leaders of that city. She then returned to Sienna where she wrote a book called The Dialog which contains an account of her visions and other spiritual experiences as well as advice about how to cultivate a life of prayer.

Things went wrong again in the papacy when Gregory XI died and the cardinals elected the Italian Pope Urban VI. When he attained office he turned out to be arrogant, abrasive and tyrannical. The cardinals then met elsewhere and declared the first election invalid on the basis that they had made it under severe duress from the Roman mob. They elected a new Pope, Clement VII who then lived in Avignon. Catherine could not stand by and see the Church rip itself apart and she became involved again and worked very hard to try and persuade Urban (the arrogant Pope) to mend his ways and then persuade the others that the peace and unity of the Church required the recognition of Urban as the lawful Pope. Catherine’s letters were remarkable for being both respectful yet severe and uncompromising, one historian stating that she had perfected the art of kissing the Pope’s feet whilst at the same time twisting his arm behind his back.

This time however Catherine failed, dying in the process on April 29th aged just 33. The Papal Schism continued until 1417 greatly weakening the prestige of the Papacy and paving the way for the Protestant Reformation which split the Church a century later.

Catherine was a truly remarkable woman and will be remembered for many things during her short life:
1. As a mystic and contemplative who devoted herself to prayer. However instead of this leading her to step away from the world it had the opposite effect as she became more and more involved with others through her political interventions, her concern for the church and the poor and sick. Through prayer she glimpsed the heart of God – as all true prayer should – and God’s tenderness and love for His creation became hers too.
2. As a councillor and adviser who always made time for whoever came to her, the troubled and uncertain, those with large problems and those with trivial ones, those with religious concerns and those with secular ones. No one was turned away.
3. As an activist who fought tirelessly for the renewal of Church and Society and was unafraid to take a strong stand on the issues affecting society in her day. She never, in the words of the Quakers, hesitated to “speak truth with power” whenever she thought it necessary.

Pope Pius II canonized St. Catherine in the year 1461 and in May 1940 Pope Pius XII made her a joint Patron Saint of Italy along with Saint Francis of Assisi.

PRAYER

Everlasting God, who so kindled the flame of holy love in the Heart of blessed Catherine of Sienna, as she meditated on the passion of your Son our Saviour, that she devoted her life to poor and sick, and to the peace and unity of the Church: Grant that we also may share in the mystery of Christ’s death, and rejoice in the revelation of His Glory, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me?

2009-05-26T06:49:00.001-07:00

From a short talk I gave on Monday of Holy week. “My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1) There are various reasons given for what happened to Jesus on the cross when he felt so abandoned by God that he cried out, using the words of the psalmist, “My God, my God, wht have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1) Let’s consider a few this evening: One reason that is given is that God could not bear to look on Jesus because, in taking on himself the sins of the world, he became an offence to God’s purity and perfection. The reasoning is based on logic. If God is light and in Him is no darkness (1John 1:5) – the light referring to God’s perfection and the darkness to sin – then God’s ‘abandonment’ of Jesus is His distancing Himself from the sin Jesus had taken upon himself. For a long time I accepted this argument but now to me it is a bit too clinical. It is also far from fair or loving. It’s not fair because in 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul tells us that: “God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” If God made Jesus ’sin’, it seems far from just to then go and abandon him. And its not loving either. If God “so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life”, then to send him and then abandon him for doing what he was sent to do just makes no sense – not to my definition of love. Another reason I have heard used is that Jesus was so badly bloodied and beaten that God could not bear to look on him. If our children were in such a state we would find it hard to look on them too – we would want to look away. God turned away because it was too painful for him. But God turning away from His Son and Jesus feeling abandoned are two different things. To be abandoned is to be bereft, cut off, ignored and forgotten. Its more serious than the mere averting of the eyes. I think the real reason is something much more straight-forward. What Jesus was experiencing was what it was like to be fully human. In his letter to the Philippians Paul quotes an early hymn or creed: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-8) One translation renders verse 7 as “he emptied himself of everything of what it meant to be God”. In other words he experienced the full gamut of what it is to be human including what it is to die. Not just to die physically, but to die spiritually, to experience separation from God which is far, far worse. And as someone so familiar with the language of the psalms it is natural that as he suffered in agony of the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” I can identify more with a saviour who rescues us from below rather from above. Someone who is not immune and unsullied by what I, the object of his salvation, suffers. Jesus is such a saviour. His agony is ours, his death is ours, his abandonment is ours, and therefore his resurrection is ours.

Ezekiel 34:11-16

2009-05-26T06:47:00.000-07:00

Along the corridors of Cefn Coed Mental health Hospital where I work as part-time chaplain, are a series of paintings by different artists. Some, no doubt, are painted by the patients themselves. I was walking along the corridor with a patient one day when we stopped before one of them. It was the colourful picture of flowering bushes and dense foliage. The patient asked me how many birds I could see in the picture. I looked hard. I had passed the picture many times in the last six years glancing at it every now and again never even noticing one bird let alone others. At first I thought I could count five. But then I looked harder and after several minutes got up to twenty one. The patient told me she had once counted 27! I was amazed. It’s amazing what you can see if you give enough time and concentration to something.

What is true of that picture is true of the scriptures. A cursory glance or a quick run through may tell you something, but is is only by spending time and looking more closely that we see that there is much more to it than meets the eye.

Our reading this morning is from the prophet Ezekiel. Lets have a clsoe look at it and see if we can identify who the prophet is talking about.

Look at verses 11-12 (from the Church in Wales Book of Common Prayer 1984). At first glance it seems obvious that it is God:

“Thus says the Lord God: “I, I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some of his sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep.”

Looking at it closer there are echoes here, surely, of one of the psalms, psalm 23 where David, talking about God,writes:

“The Lord is my shepherd, therefore can I lack nothing. He makes me to lie down in green pastures.” (Psalm 23:1-2)

Look again at verse 14:

“I will feed them with good pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on fat pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.”

So quite clearly it is God, promising to be the shepherd of his people. But can we identify anyone else in the passage? Look at verse 16:

“I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the srippled, and I will strengthen the weak.”

Does any of this sound familiar? Listen to these words from St. Luke’s Gospel:

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

Who is this Son of Man? It is Jesus. And in those whords from Luke he has just emerged from the house of one Zaccheus whom he has ‘found’ and brought back to God. Here is the full quote:

“Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:9-10)

So we have identified two individuals being referred to in this passage from Ezekiel. God and Jesus. But let’s look still closer and think about what is being promised here in verse 11. god sasy: “Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep.”

“I, I myself” means God personally. Not someone else, a substitute of representative, but God. But how is this possible? How can God, in person, come and search for his sheep? To answer that question we need to go to the beginnng of the New testament and the birth of Jesus where thses words were written of him:

“All this took place,” writes Matthew, “to fulfill what the Lord has said through the prophet: “the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” – which means, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:22-23)

It’s amazing what you can see if you look closely enough.