Joy in the Face of Difficulty

Luke 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 laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3  Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves...

Luke 10:17  The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" 18  He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19  See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20  Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." 21  At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 22  All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." 23  Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24  For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."

Luke is writing this story approximately 30 years after Jesus. While his audience is primarily Greek speaking, the heartache of all who followed this Jewish rabbi is evident: Judea was still under Roman occupation; it was Rome that gave permission to deviate from Roman forms of worship; and all travel was subject to Roman scrutiny. Luke writes to Jesus-believers, reminding them to continue to be faithful, even though the advent of Jesus had not improved their lives economically or politically.

The key word used is “Joy”.  “The seventy returned with Joy” (Lk 10: 17);  “Rejoice” (Lk 10:20); “Jesus rejoiced” (Lk 10:21); “Blessed (happy) are the eyes...” (Lk 10:23).  Luke reminds his readers of an essential quality of discipleship – a joyful life in the face of great difficulty. This is the heart of following Jesus, and this is key to mission.

It would seem that the first disciples were joyful, not because everything went well for them, but rather their joy enabled them to face circumstances when nothing went well! Perhaps we who follow Jesus can also be challenged to discover joy, not as a result of circumstances, but rather as a way of life.

Prayer: Lord, grant me joy that does not depend on getting my own way. Give me peace that does not need everything to be easy. And allow me to laugh in the face of difficulty. For Jesus sake. Amen.  

The first Sunday after Epiphany

7. The Son of God

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), 52.

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

Who is Jesus?

John 5:19  Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.20  The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished. 21  Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes. 22  The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, 23  so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24  Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.

John puts pen to paper after most of the New Testament is written. This is a time when those who followed the way of Jesus were struggling to explain exactly who Jesus was. Was he a prophet in the Jewish tradition? Was he a sophist in the Greek tradition? Was he a god in the Roman tradition? No, says John, he was the obedient Son of the Father.

This is a startling claim. People can deal with a wise man, or a holy man – but it is outrageous to have to accept Jesus as the Son of God. To Jews this is blasphemy, to Greeks it is not rational, while to Romans it is treason - because only the Emperor can use this title.        

Every generation since then have had to struggle with this same question: “who is Jesus in our lives?” In choosing to believe that he is the Son of the Father we must then choose to obey his teaching as if God were speaking. If we have the life and teaching of the Son, we have already glimpsed the will of the Creator. 

The first Sunday after Epiphany

7. The Son of God

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), 52.

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

Free to Affirm Others

John 1:35  The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36  and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, "Look, here is the Lamb of God!" 37  The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38  When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?" 39  He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon. 40  One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41  He first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated Anointed). 42  He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).

John the Baptiser is described by the Roman historian Josephus as “a good man (who) had exhorted the Jews to lead righteous lives, to practice justice towards their fellows and piety towards God , and so doing to join in baptism” (Antiquities 18:116-118).  I am struck by an essential quality of his goodness – John’s willingness to step out of the spotlight.

In John’s day, the quality of a rabbi was demonstrated by the number of followers he had. The more disciples you had – the greater you were as a rabbi. The Bible passage above describes John pointing out another rabbi as being a better teacher, and allowing his students to follow Jesus. John is willing to commit the equivalent of rabinnical suicide! This is the sign of a healthy self esteem. John is able to affirm the work of another without the need to tear this work down.

Here lies a challenge for us all: to learn to affirm the gifts in people around us, instead of being threatened by them. This will only happen when we have discovered that we are loved unconditionally by God. Once I know that I am loved by God, I have no need to grasp at the love of the people around me. Instead I am set free to give love.

Prayer thought: “O Lord: allow me to know that I am loved, so that I am set free to give love”. 

The first Sunday after Epiphany

7. The Son of God

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), 52.

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

Living the Truth in Your Neighbourhood

Mark 1:21  They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22  They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23  Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24  and he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." 25  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" 26  And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27  They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching--with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." 28  At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

Matthew introduces Jesus as a rabbi who is taking up his duties in a new home, on the northern coast of the Sea of Galilee.   Jesus moves his home from Nazareth to Capernaum  (Matt 4:13).   It is here that he collects disciples: Simon Peter and Andrew live near the synagogue in Capernaum – although they are from Bethsaida; James and John are fishing on the shore near the town; Matthew the Tax collector has his office here (Matt 9:9).  Mark’s Gospel records this as the town where the authority of Jesus first becomes evident.

Of interest is the way Jesus settles into his new town: he gathers a support group; he attends the local synagogue; and he confronts that which is evil.  There is no Grand Scheme to change the country. There is no Master Plan to change the world. There is just a rabbi teaching the truth in a local community.

Perhaps the truth is that the best leadership is local: if you and I were more faithful in speaking and living the truths of Jesus in our local community, God’s reign would take root more effectively than all the international treaties and conventions signed by governments.  Pray that Jesus might find you a useful presence in your neighbourhood this year.

The first Sunday after Epiphany

7. The Son of God

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), 52.

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

God’s own people.

1Peter 2:1  Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. 2  Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation-- 3  if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4  Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and 5  like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6  For it stands in scripture: "See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." 7  To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner," 8  and "A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10  Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

This is a letter written to people on the fringes of Roman society. It is believed to have been written at the end of the first century in Asia Minor, where followers of Jesus were being persecuted for their faith. The message is one of encouragement -  it urges the readers to believe that “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people”. These are not words for people who want to claim that they alone are special to God. It is, instead, an invitation to marginalized people not to accept their inferior persecuted status as the will of God.

Many people still find themselves on the fringes of society, excluded because of factors such as sexual orientation, nationality, or economic disadvantage. The words of 1 Peter 2 hold the same invitation for those who are marginalized today – do not accept the rejection and exclusion shown to you by the powerful. Instead discover that you too are God’s own people.

The week of New Year’s Day

6. Chosen to be God’s children

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), 46.

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

Nothing will separate us from the love of God.

Romans 8:35  Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36  As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered." 37  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39  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.

At the end of AD56 St Paul spent three months in Corinth (Acts 20:2-3), before starting his final trip to Jerusalem in the beginning of AD57. Paul is dealing with serious conflict between Jesus-following Jews and Christians of Gentile background. The Jews were expelled from Rome by order of the emperor Claudius in about A.D. 49, and although later allowed to return, they were the recipients of prejudice by Gentile Christians. In addition to this Paul has received a death threat (Acts 20:3), and knows that his time in Jerusalem will not be welcomed by his fellow Pharisees. So when he refers to “hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword”, he speaks from personal experience.

There are many who expect that following Jesus will result in “wealth, health and happiness”.. This certainly is not the experience of Paul. Instead, Paul promises that the love of God will accompany us through hardship – and not help us to avoid it! The invitation for each generation of Jesus-followers, is to discover that hardship is not a sign that we are separated from God. As we face the struggles of this new year, let us be reminded that no person, and no hardship, “will be able to separate us from the love of God”.    

The week of New Year’s Day

6. Chosen to be God’s children

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), 46.

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

A Covenant of Peace

Ezekiel 34:25  I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild animals from the land, so that they may live in the wild and sleep in the woods securely. 26  I will make them and the region around my hill a blessing; and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. 27  The trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase. They shall be secure on their soil; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke, and save them from the hands of those who enslaved them. 28  They shall no more be plunder for the nations, nor shall the animals of the land devour them; they shall live in safety, and no one shall make them afraid. 29  I will provide for them a splendid vegetation so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the insults of the nations. 30  They shall know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord GOD. 31  You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture and I am your God, says the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel is a 6^th Century priest and prophet to the children of Israel, who are exiled in Babylon. As he witnesses the destruction of Jerusalem in 586BC he has a series of visions. Ezekiel 37 is part of a vision of restoration that invites those who follow the Lord to look beyond their present predicament to a future promise of salvation and blessing. This requires his listeners to trust the Lord as a sheep trust the shepherd.

This passage has been passed down to us by our spiritual ancestors as encouragement for succeeding generations. As we go back to work / school / the daily grind / let us learn to trust the Lord as our Shepherd. We are challenged to look beyond the limitations of our present life to see that we are part of a bigger plan – a Covenant plan of God. Therefore let us pray each day for the wisdom to live a life that connects us to all of Creation – trees, vegetation, and people – so that we can be part of God’s “showers of blessing” in our community.  

The week of New Year’s Day

6. Chosen to be God’s children

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), 46.

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