Breaking Down the Barriers

Colossians 3:5  Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). 6  On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. 7  These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. 8  But now you must get rid of all such things--anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. 9  Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices 10  and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. 11  In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all! 12  As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13  Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14  Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossae, located about 100 miles east of Ephesus, was a Graeco-Phrygian city in the Roman proconsular of Asia Minor. Colossae, Hierapolis, and Laodicea were three cities located in the Lycus Valley that formed an important trade route at what became a meeting point between east and west. This was a melting pot of cultures and languages, some of which found its way into the town’s fledgling Christian community. The divisions and jealousies that simmered under the surface prompt this letter’s injunction that the followers of Jesus are to renew their minds so that there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all! This letter then goes on to suggest that the only way diverse communities can outgrow their divisions is to take on the qualities of Jesus – clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.  

Followers of the way of Jesus ought to intentionally model love and mutual respect as a hopeful example to a divided world. For this reason South African Christ-followers need to repent of the way we cling to our racially and culturally separated congregations. As a matter of conscience we must refuse to belong to homogenous churches and commit ourselves instead to being part of culturally and racially diverse congregations.

Song:

He is breaking down the barriers,
  He is casting up the way;
He is calling for His angels to build
  up the gates of day;
But His angels here are human, not
  the shining hosts above,
For the drum-beats of His army are
  the heart-beats of our love.
Henry Burton 1840-1930

Seventh  Sunday of Easter

Life Together

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 178.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

A Faith that can Transform Cultural Practices

Romans 12:1  I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3  For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4  For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5  so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6  We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7  ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8  the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. 9  Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10  love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. 11  Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12  Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13  Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. 14  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16  Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17  Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18  If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19  Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." 20  No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." 21  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Paul writes to the Jesus-followers of Rome, who are struggling with the thorny issue of culture. Most of them come from a Jewish background, but as non-Jewish people choose to follow Jesus, the Jewish-originated Christians became become uncomfortable with people who have different cultural practices. Paul points out that all culture is subservient to the call to follow Jesus: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

We who live in South Africa embrace eleven different languages, and at least as many different cultural practices. While there is no denying the value of culture in providing identity and affirming a sense of community, all culture is temporary, and constantly in flux. The one constant is that which is offered by Jesus: an unwavering commitment to overcome evil with good. Paul offers many different examples of how this might be done, ranging from blessing those who persecute you and weeping with the sorrowful, to living peaceably with all people. And the kind of moral characteristics required to achieve this include humility, patience, love, and compassion.  

All of these run counter to our prevailing human nature. Human culture is self-preserving, other-denying, defensive of the resources of the culture and unwilling to share anything with people of other cultures – unless there is benefit in it. For this reason we who follow Jesus aspire to more than cultural-preservation. We long instead for a Christ-transformed world of justice and love.

Challenge: ask the Holy Spirit to transform your cultural habits that are selfish and cruel.

Song:

What shall our greeting be:

sign of our unity?

‘Jesus is Lord!’

May we no more defend

barriers he died to end:

give me your hand, my friend –

one church, one Lord.

Frederick Pratt Green  1903-  © Stainer & Bell Ltd.

Seventh  Sunday of Easter

Life Together

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 178.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

   

Team Work

1Corinthians 3:5  What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 6  I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7  So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8  The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. 9  For we are God's servants, working together; you are God's field, God's building. 10  According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. 11  For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. 12  Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- 13  the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. 14  If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15  If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire. 16  Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17  If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple. 18  Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. 19  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness," 20  and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile." 21  So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, 22  whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future--all belong to you, 23  and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

This Christian life is not a solitary journey. We who follow Jesus live in community. This means that no one achieves goals on individual merit – “for we are God's servants, working together .“ One lays a foundation, another builds on it, and a third completes the project. All of us work by the Grace of God, and achieve the purposes of God. “So let no one boast about human leaders.... --all belong to ...Christ, and Christ belongs to God”.

Ascension Day is an apt moment to remind ourselves that we submit to the authority of Jesus – as stated in the Christian creed: “he is seated on the right-hand of God the Father.” In a culture that idolises individuals and relentless promotes the cult of celebrity, we who follow Jesus choose to step back and point beyond ourselves to the Grace of God. 

Song:

The church is much more than an organization, 
It's Christ's living body, which needs no adaptation. 
So we will not look to our own imagination.
For we are builders together with God.

Copyright Bob and Kathy Stenson,

Seventh  Sunday of Easter

Life Together

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 178.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

Faith & Justice

1Corinthians 6:1  When any of you has a grievance against another, do you dare to take it to court before the unrighteous, instead of taking it before the saints? 2  Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3  Do you not know that we are to judge angels--to say nothing of ordinary matters? 4  If you have ordinary cases, then, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church? 5  I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to decide between one believer and another, 6  but a believer goes to court against a believer--and before unbelievers at that? 7  In fact, to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? 8  But you yourselves wrong and defraud--and believers at that. 9  Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, 10  thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers--none of these will inherit the kingdom of God.

The Jesus people in Corinth are urged to live in a way that is different from their society. While the world might solve its grievances though the courts, the followers of Jesus are urged to develop conflict-resolution systems within their Christian community. The issue at the heart of this letter is not a lack of trust in human legal systems. Rather – it is driven the vision of a community that works hard at resolving conflict in ways that lead to healthy relationships.

Our Christian faith can model healthy ways of conflict-resolution that leads to just and loving communities. But this asks us to live with a determined commitment to integrity, compassion and justice.

Challenge for the day: to treat other people with the same dignity and justice that we desire for ourselves.

Song

For the healing of the nations,
Lord, we pray with one accord,
for a just and equal sharing
of the things that earth affords.
To a life of love in action
help us rise and pledge our word.

Lead us forward into freedom,
from despair your world release,
that, redeemed from war and hatred,
all may come and go in peace.
Show us how through care and goodness
fear will die and hope increase.

Words: Fred Kaan © 1968 by Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL 60188. 

Seventh  Sunday of Easter

Life Together

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 178.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

     

Bring Back our Girls

Philemon 1:1  Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, 2  to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: 3  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4  When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God 5  because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. 6  I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ. 7  I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother. 8  For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, 9  yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love--and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus. 10  I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. 11  Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me. 12  I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. 13  I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; 14  but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. 15  Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, 16  no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother--especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. 17  So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18  If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19  I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. 20  Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. 21  Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22  One thing more--prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping through your prayers to be restored to you. 23  Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24  and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. 25  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

A first glance this is a truly perplexing letter. The Apostle Paul finds himself incarcerated in prison with Onesimus, a runaway slave. They spend time together, resulting in Onesimus’ decision to follow the way of Jesus. This leads to such a close relationship with Paul that he is described as “my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment.”  Paul then writes to Philemon, Onesimus’s master. It would seem that Philemon is known to Paul, who then asks him to take his slave back. What is startling is that this letter does not protest the inhumanity of slavery; it does not point out that one disciple of Jesus owning another is incompatible with being one in Christ; it does not even suggest that Philemon think of setting Onesimus free.  Instead Paul assures Philemon that he is gaining a slave who will become as loyal as a brother.

So what do we make of this? This story becomes a useful cameo to remind us that we cannot ‘lift’ stories from the Bible and literally apply them to our time. Two thousand years, and a great cultural gulf separate us from this events in this story. And many, many generations since then have allowed the Holy Spirit to enable reflection on the tradition laid down by Jesus. We are constantly prompted to ask “What would be the most loving, Jesus-like action I can take?” It is to be noted that while neither Jesus nor Paul condemned slavery, our modern understanding of human dignity demands that followers of Jesus condemn slavery today.

Join me is the call to return the nearly 300 girls held captive – and threatened with a life of slavery – by Boko Haram. Followers of Jesus join with all other loving, compassionate, justice-loving humanity in the cry “Bring back our Girls”. And join me in opposing slavery in all its forms, wherever it is to be found.

Song

Starry-eyed an’ laughing as I recall when we were caught
Trapped by no track of hours for they hanged suspended
As we listened one last time an’ we watched with one last look
Spellbound an’ swallowed ’til the tolling ended
Tolling for the aching ones whose wounds cannot be nursed
For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones an’ worse
An’ for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe
An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

Bob Dylan Copyright © 1964 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1992 by Special Rider Music

Seventh  Sunday of Easter

Life Together

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 178.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

      

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism.

Ephesians 4:1  I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2  with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3  making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5  one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6  one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. 7  But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8  Therefore it is said, "When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people." 9  (When it says, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10  He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 11  The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13  until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14  We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15  But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16  from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.

Written 60 years after Jesus, this letter encourages new Greek disciples in Ephesus[1]. Paul insists that they are an integral part of the body of Christ, because there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism”   into one body through the one Spirit.  Forty years later John’s Gospel will repeat this in its insistence that Jesus prayed for his disciples “that they may be one, as we are one”.[2]   The undeniable fact is that Jesus, and the followers of Jesus, believed that Christianity was a faith that called people out of our human divisions into a new community: In this all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

The invitation of our faith is to ask the Holy Spirit to overcome the divisions of culture, class, education gender and sexual orientation and draw us into a new community of Jesus-followers.

Song

All praise to our redeeming Lord,
Who joins us by His grace;
And bids us, each to each restored,
Together seek His face.
Words: Charles Wesley, Hymns for Those That Seek and Those That Have Redemption in the Blood of Jesus Christ, 1747.

Seventh  Sunday of Easter

Life Together

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 178.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

---

[1] an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia

[2] John 17:11

The Blessing of God

Psalm 67:1  To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, [Selah]

Psa 67:2  that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.

Psa 67:3  Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

Psa 67:4  Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. [Selah]

Psa 67:5  Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

Psa 67:6  The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us.

Psa 67:7  May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.

This is the Psalm set for tomorrow (Easter 6). It is a song of praise, to be sung responsively between a leader and a congregation. The song opens with a summarised version of the benediction of Numbers 6:24-26, which invokes God’s blessing. Then the request is repeated in closing “May God continue to bless us”.    

The idea of God blessing us is an important (if greatly misunderstood), teaching of our faith. We all ask for God’s blessing – with little thought about what we are asking. We assume our right to ask God for blessing, and assume that God ought to bless us! In fact, we get annoyed when we see other people appearing to be ‘more blessed that me’.  We might even be tempted to complain ‘Why her?’

So here’s the thing: God is God, and we cannot prescribe to God. If God chooses to bless, or God chooses not to bless – that is a Godly prerogative. The first lesson to be learned is that God blesses whom God chooses, when God chooses, for the reasons God chooses.

The second lesson is one of extravagance: We are blessed, not because we have deserved it, but rather we are blessed in spite of our unfaithfulness. The surprising thing is that God chooses to bless at all. God's blessings are gracious, surprising, unexpected gifts.  

So the invitation for today: read through the above Psalm. Read it aloud, slowly and with gratitude. It will be even better if you can find another person to share this experience with you. And go into Sunday with a spirit of gratitude for blessings you have experienced.

May God continue to bless us!

1. There shall be showers of blessing:
   This is the promise of love;
   There shall be seasons refreshing,
   Sent from the Savior above.
• Refrain:
  Showers of blessing,
  Showers of blessing we need:
  Mercy-drops round us are falling,
  But for the showers we plead.
•  
2. There shall be showers of blessing,
   Precious reviving again;
   Over the hills and the valleys,
   Sound of abundance of rain.
3. There shall be showers of blessing;
   Send them upon us, O Lord;
   Grant to us now a refreshing,
   Come, and now honour Thy Word.
4. There shall be showers of blessing:
   Oh, that today they might fall,
   Now as to God we’re confessing,
   Now as on Jesus we call!
5. There shall be showers of blessing,
   If we but trust and obey;
   There shall be seasons refreshing,
   If we let God have His way.

Daniel W. Whittle, 1883

Sixth  Sunday of Easter

Chosen by God

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 173.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

Locusts In The Past Or Lush Crops In The Future?

Joel 2:18 Then the LORD became jealous for his land, and had pity on his people. 19  In response to his people the LORD said: I am sending you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a mockery among the nations. 20  I will remove the northern army far from you, and drive it into a parched and desolate land, its front into the eastern sea, and its rear into the western sea; its stench and foul smell will rise up. Surely he has done great things! 21  Do not fear, O soil; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things! 22  Do not fear, you animals of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit, the fig tree and vine give their full yield. 23  O children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the LORD your God; for he has given the early rain for your vindication, he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the later rain, as before. 24  The threshing floors shall be full of grain, the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25  I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent against you. 26  You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. 27  You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the LORD, am your God and there is no other. And my people shall never again be put to shame.

600 years before Jesus the prophet of God speaks a word.

Joel, which is a combination of two Hebrew “God” words meaning Yahweh is God, speaks in poetic language of things that are to come in the future. These things will not come soon, because the conflict between Babylon and Egypt will prove to be disastrous for Judah. Joel urges the people to hold onto their faith in God, who will see them through the tough times. The promise is of a restoration of the years that the locust has eaten (Joel 2:25). This is a celebration of the presence of God “in the midst” of the people.

I want to invite us to learn from Israel, and look for the presence of God amongst us. All too easily we spend our time complaining about the years “eaten by locusts”, instead of seeing that which God has already restored to us! We look over our shoulders and complain about the past, instead of looking to the future that God has prepared for us. In many ways our hurts of the past prevent us from trusting God with our future.

Choose today to trust God with your future.

O God, our help in ages past,
  Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while life shall last,
  And our eternal home.
Lyrics: Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

Sixth  Sunday of Easter

Chosen by God

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 173.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

Stop Trying So hard!

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2  through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3  And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4  and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5  and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. 6  For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7  Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8  But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. 9  Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. 10  For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 11  But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

We can so easily spend our lives seeking an inner satisfaction in the wrong places: some think meaning in life is found through achievement of career goals; some see money and possessions as a guarantee of personal contentment; while some seek the attainment of inner peace through personal moral and religious discipline. Paul disagrees: since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ . 

The invitation for today is for us to stop trying so hard! Let go of the compulsive striving. The great Reformation watchword was “sola fide” – justification by faith through Grace alone.  Allow space for God to love you as you are. Be open to peace being a consequence of a prior decision to entrust your life into God’s care. Having chosen to trust the One who made you – get on with living the life God has given you. Work hard, play much and laugh from your belly.

Clement of Rome (d.110), "And we who through his will have been called in Christ Jesus are justified, not by ourselves, or through our wisdom or understanding or godliness, or the works that we have done in holiness of heart, but by faith, by which all men from the beginning have been justified by Almighty God, to whom be glory world without end. Amen." (First Clement, 32-33)

Song:

Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm.

Words: John G. Whit­ti­er

Sixth  Sunday of Easter

Chosen by God

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 173.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

Over the Rainbow

Genesis 9:8  Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9  "As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10  and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. 11  I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." 12  God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13  I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14  When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15  I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16  When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." 17  God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.

Human beings have, through the generations, been awed by the rainbows that span our sky. The rainbow has significance in most of the cultures on earth, ranging from the Greek explanation of Iris taking messages between earth and heaven, the Hindu bow of the thunder god Indra, to the Irish leprechaun's secret hiding place for his pot of gold. The Judeo-Christian tradition has held that this is a sign of God’s promise that “the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. (Gen 9:15). All of these explanations have value for the cultures that have used them, and have no use for those outside of the culture: Iris only took messages in Greco-Roman mythology, Indra devotees alone believe that he holds up the sky, and all of us have failed to discover the gold at the end of the rainbow.

But what of God’s promise of “no more floods”? Because there have been countless floods since then, some have suggested that this is a promise that there will never again be a global, world-covering flood. This kind of reductionism diminishes the central message of the love of God. This passage was never about flooding the earth, and always about hope-filled signs in the world around us. It is an invitation for us to open our eyes and see evidence of God at work within our world. It challenges those who would understand God as one who sits ‘out there’ in the universe glaring at the earth in dismay to. Instead, find God ‘in here’ with us. God is as close as the beauty of the nearest rainbow – or the lilting sound of a bird, or the caress of a breeze on our skin.

The covenant is not that God will refrain from punishing humanity in a flood (but will punish us in another way!) The covenant is that God loves us, and is living here on earth alongside of us. The invitation for today is to live in a constant awareness of God at work in our world, and in our lives.

Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.

Writer(s):Harburg, E Y / Arlen, Harold

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Sixth  Sunday of Easter

Chosen by God

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 173.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

God of the foreigners

Isaiah 45:1 Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to open doors before him--and the gates shall not be closed: 2  I will go before you and level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, 3  I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. 4  For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me. 5  I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides me there is no god. I arm you, though you do not know me, 6  so that they may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is no one besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. 7  I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the LORD do all these things. 8  Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation may spring up, and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also; I the LORD have created it.

The Persian King Cyrus the Great ended the exile of the Jews and helped them rebuild their temple. Isaiah marvels at how, although Cyrus did not worship God in the Jewish way, this foreign ruler was known to God: “I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me...I arm you, though you do not know me”.

God is not bound by our religious boundaries. Although we might want to designate some as “friends with God” and others as “strangers to God”, God’s sovereignty is such that God can choose to know anyone. Just as God knew the Persian King Cyrus, so God can choose to know the Muslim, or the Hindu, or the person of no recognisable faith at all. Let us who follow Jesus get beyond our need to place labels on people, and offer the same loving acceptance to everyone – irrespective of their culture, religion, sexual orientation or nationality.

Sixth  Sunday of Easter

Chosen by God

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 173.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

Count your Blessings

Monday

Isaiah 63:7  I will recount the gracious deeds of the LORD, the praiseworthy acts of the LORD, because of all that the LORD has done for us, and the great favor to the house of Israel that he has shown them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. 8  For he said, "Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely"; and he became their savior 9  in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

As I read the words of Isaiah 63:7 I am challenged to ask of myself: how often do I give thanks for the blessings in my life – and how often do I complain about the things that do not go my way. I ruefully answer that it is easy to allow ‘complaints mode’ to overshadow the gratitude for my life. So here is my invitation: let us choose to “recount the gracious deeds of the Lord” as a spiritual discipline for this week.

Song:

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1897

Sixth  Sunday of Easter

Chosen by God

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 173.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

Following other gods.....

Deuteronomy 7:6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession. 7  It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you--for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8  It was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestors, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9  Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10  and who repays in their own person those who reject him. He does not delay but repays in their own person those who reject him. 11  Therefore, observe diligently the commandment--the statutes and the ordinances--that I am commanding you today. 12  If you heed these ordinances, by diligently observing them, the LORD your God will maintain with you the covenant loyalty that he swore to your ancestors; 13  he will love you, bless you, and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock, in the land that he swore to your ancestors to give you. 14  You shall be the most blessed of peoples, with neither sterility nor barrenness among you or your livestock. 15  The LORD will turn away from you every illness; all the dread diseases of Egypt that you experienced, he will not inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you. 16  You shall devour all the peoples that the LORD your God is giving over to you, showing them no pity; you shall not serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.

This passage represents all that is difficult about the Old Testament writings: it seems to suggest that God ‘plays favourites’ with humanity. Some are “a people holy to the Lord” and others are designated to be “devoured” by them. Here is a limited theological understanding that turns God into a monster who urges his followers to “show no pity”. Jesus comes as the necessary corrective to teach about a God who wants his “holy people” to love their enemies, and to do good to those who persecute them.[1] 

That said, let us not overlook the important commandment in the passage: you shall not serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you” (Deut 7:16). In other words – beware of those things that would distract us from a single minded obedience of God. Anything that takes us away from God’s call on our lives is a “god” that ensnares us. This can even be good things like our work, sport, house maintenance, or a favourite hobby. One this becomes more important than a faithful following of God, then it is to be abandoned.

 Challenge:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Helen H. Lemmel, 1922

Fifth  Sunday of Easter

Love is the Sign

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 167.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

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[1] Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27, Luke 6:35.

Intentional living

Hebrews 13:1  Let mutual love continue. 2  Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3  Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. 4  Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. 5  Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." 6  So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?"

Followers of Jesus live with clear intent. These are stated as values to aspire towards: “Let...Do not neglect...Keep...be” These are verbs, or ‘doing’ words. No one can be a Christian through intellectual agreement. This is a life that moves beyond a good idea, to a life that is lived, every day, in every way.

This does not mean that Christ-followers are perfect. Our Christian prayers acknowledge our shortcomings. It does mean, however, that we will not water down our expectation of ourselves. We will begin each day with fresh expectations of ourselves being better than the day before: “So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid’.”

Fifth  Sunday of Easter

Love is the Sign

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 167.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.