Are you the One?

Mat 11:1  Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities. 2  When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples 3  and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" 4  Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5  the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. 6  And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me." 7  As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? 8  What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. 9  What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10  This is the one about whom it is written, 'See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' 11  Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12  From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 13  For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; 14  and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15  Let anyone with ears listen!

Many people were watching Jesus: his disciples, John the Baptist, John’s disciples, and the crowds all ask this question of Jesus: “Are you the One?” This question speaks of the need of the people of the rural areas, and especially John the Baptist, for a Messianic hero.  Jesus, on the other hand, speaks of himself as “more than a prophet”  - one who comes to resist the violence that seek to take the kingdom of heaven by force.

Violence is often the tool used when people want to get rid of the old order and begin a new society. This is the choice currently evident in Syria and Egypt. The way of Jesus is different: he suggests the “way of Elijah” – which is the tougher, long term commitment to building the kingdom of God by means of justice, mercy and obedience to God.

Ordinary 21 / Pentecost +14

43 Jesus is the Way

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 266.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

Let not your hearts be troubled....

John 14:1  "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2  In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4  And you know the way to the place where I am going." 5  Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" 6  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7  If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." 8  Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." 9  Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10  Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11  Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12  Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13  I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14  If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

This is a passage of many well known Scripture texts:

·         "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me”

·         “I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also”

·         "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”

·         “If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”

These texts have been lovingly passed down from one generation to the next. They have brought comfort to people who have lost a loved one, they have offered hope of salvation to those who thought that they were rejected by God, and they have offered courage to people who are praying for help.

   

Unfortunately these texts have also been used to suggest that Christ-followers can claim special favour from God; and to teach that Christ-followers alone are to occupy the “many rooms” that Jesus is preparing; and that adherents of all other belief systems – and of no beliefs at all – will be damned for all eternity.  This is nothing more than selective “proof-texting” in order to justify a prejudice about people of other faiths.

It is time to resist self-serving Christians who use the words of Jesus to claim that the love of God is reserved only for Christians. In the same way that Jesus welcomed anyone and everyone, so we too need to learn how to offer God’s love to all who come our way.

   

Ordinary 21 / Pentecost +14

43 Jesus is the Way

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 266.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

Power and the Authority of God

Rev 11:15  Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever." 16  Then the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17  singing, "We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty, who are and who were, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. 18  The nations raged, but your wrath has come, and the time for judging the dead, for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints and all who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying those who destroy the earth." 19  Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

The writer of Hebrews pens this at a time when the Roman Empire reigned supreme. Not only did the Emperor demand human submission, but he also claimed that the gods of the conquered nations were subservient to his power.  Hebrews Ch.11v15 offers a rebuttal to this: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever."    

The kings, and the kingdoms, of this world are subservient to a much larger Divine Authority – whether they recognise this or not! No one can stride this earth as if their authority is beyond question. All power, whether political or spiritual, belongs to God; and all who exercise power must remember that power is on temporary loan and is to be used with wisdom and care.      

Ordinary 20 / Pentecost +13

42 The Kingdom Comes

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 261.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

Jesus says: Follow me....to the sick and wounded

Matthew 4:18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea--for they were fishermen. 19  And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fish for people." 20  Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21  As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22  Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. 23  Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. 24  So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. 25  And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Matthew links following Jesus with acts of compassion for the most marginalised people in society:   “he said to them, "Follow me ... and they brought to him all the sick.....”  The link is unmistakable – if we follow Jesus we will find ourselves amongst those who are most vulnerable: people “afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics”.

Today our news reminds us of such people: In Egypt there countless families mourning peaceful political protesters who have been shot by the military; closer to home we in South Africa mourn the protesters who were shot by the police exactly a year ago at the Lonmin mine in Maricana. Both contexts arose from groups of people whose marginalisation from society led them to believe that public protest was their only recourse. And I suspect that the voice of Jesus can be heard echoing through the mists of time “Follow me to those who are wounded, and those who have died, and to those who are mourning”.  Our challenge is both to bring comfort to those who are hurting, and to address the causes of social exclusion.     

Ordinary 20 / Pentecost +13

42 The Kingdom Comes

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 261.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

The Fire of God.....

Heb 12:18  You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 19  and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20  (For they could not endure the order that was given, "If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death." 21  Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I tremble with fear.") 22  But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23  and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24  and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25  See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! 26  At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven." 27  This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of what is shaken--that is, created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28  Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; 29  for indeed our God is a consuming fire.

This is poetry. It is an invitation to set aside reasoned, logical thinking and instead allow the words to light up the imagination. This is the language of grandeur, and angels, and assemblies, and of a heaven-and-earth-rattling voice. Such words are essential if we want to encounter Divinity that is beyond human description. This is a God who cannot be controlled, and instead is worshipped “with reverence and awe”.

There are moments when we need to pause in the presence of the Divine. This is a moment when “all our strivings cease”., and we allow the “consuming fire” of God to strip away that which is false and expose life-sustaining truths.

 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.

Text: John Greenleaf Whittier, 1807-1892 

Ordinary 20 / Pentecost +13

42 The Kingdom Comes

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 261.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

This is my body...

Luke 22:14  When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. 15  He said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16  for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." 17  Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18  for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." 19  Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 20  And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 21  But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. 22  For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!" 23  Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this. 24  A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25  But he said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26  But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. 27  For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28  "You are those who have stood by me in my trials; 29  and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, 30  so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Here we have people gathered for a meal exhibiting uneasiness about the order of seating at the table, a suspicion of betrayal, and intervention from a peacemaker.  This is the story of many, many communities. We all wish to be part of a community that offers love and acceptance, and are troubled by the suspicions and betrayals - both received and given.

Human life is an annoying mixture of loyalty and betrayal; of deep passion and petty bickering. The one overriding assurance is of a God who sacrifices his own essential love to benefit humanity – despite our failure and fragility. When we are faced with suspicion and betrayal, we can do nothing less than offer the same God-modelled response.       

Ordinary 20 / Pentecost +13

42 The Kingdom Comes

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 261.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.

The Kingdom of God is Near....

Luk 10:1  After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2  He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. 3  Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4  Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5  Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house!' 6  And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 7  Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8  Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9  cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' 10  But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11  'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.' 12  I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.

The Kingdom of God comes near when the followers of Jesus say, 'Peace to this house!' and “eat what is set before you” and “cure the sick who are there”.  What exactly does this mean?

This is about disciples of Jesus

·         who refuse to be part of the division of clan, class & race, and instead are committed to peace;

·         who do not shop around for the finest host in town, but instead are content to eat even the humblest plate of food;

·         and who choose to give up the company of the strong and successful to sit with the sick and the weak.

Those who follow Jesus discover that the Kingdom of God comes near when we hang out with the poor, the sick, and the marginalized.  

Ordinary 20 / Pentecost +13

42 The Kingdom Comes

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 261.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.