Field of Blue 2022

Towards the end of April, it is time to visit the bluebells once again.  Since my last visit in 2019, a lot has happened in the woods.  There has been a lot of thinning out and in some areas it doesn't look much like a wood, more like a wasteland.

I tried to generate a wide picture from three that I'd taken, but the scaling is all wrong, that's what you get for using an automatic camera, I guess. 

However, there are some good bluebells in other parts of the wood.  Here are two patches where the blue field can be easily seen.

This year, the wood anemones are still in bloom, so there are places where the white is more visible than the blue.

It's the first year in quite a while that we haven't had a dog to distract us on our walk, and it's the first year I've come without Jo, who is currently recovering from a calf strain.  That means I can combine the visit with my morning walk.

Unusually, it is morning and the light is different, so the bluebells look paler this year, or perhaps there's another explanation.

I tried a few close-ups, these are the best: 

Forget-me-nots also provide a field of blue, there are small clumps around the building, but none elsewhere.

I zoomed in to this little clump from quite a distance.

These were not drooped over, like most of the clumps, so it's a chance to get a close up and see how 'macro' mode is working.

I've been visiting Norsey Wood at this time of year almost every year since 2008, here's the original post https://3cephas-notes.blogspot.com/2008/05/field-of-blue.html.

Violence in the Crucifixion

Preached at Christ Church, Billericay, 15 April 2022 (Good Friday)

Reading John 18:1-19:42 (Isaiah 52:13-53:12)

Crucifixion

Crucifixion is, perhaps, one of the most horrible ways that mankind has invented to kill someone. It is designed to be painful – very painful and slow. To cause as much suffering as humanly possible. This is the final act of violence that Jesus suffers on Good Friday, but there are many others also the way.

Where we are going

So, I’m going to look at the various acts of violence and calls for violence in the gospel reading and reflect a little on each of them. Human beings, it seems, have not changed. We hear of awful acts of violence every day. But maybe we should have, and we’ll look at that at the end.

Betrayal (18:3)

The betrayal is the first potentially violent act. Judas brings a detachment of soldiers. They are, of course, armed. It would be interesting to know what the chief priests and Pharisees were expecting. But here we get one of the main causes of violence – the soldiers are afraid of Jesus. They draw back, and become submissive. They have heard things about Jesus, but probably not the truth.

Let them go (18:8)

Jesus’s concern is that His disciples should not be arrested at the same time. This is to fulfil what He said in 6:39 “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me” and of course, if they are arrested they will not be there to build the church.

Ear (18:10)

In 18:10, Peter is the first perpetrator. He attacks one of the soldiers, Malchus, and cuts off his ear. Peter is his usual impulsive self and at this point has not really learnt much from Jesus. Only Luke, tells us that Jesus healed the wound. This one rash act could easily have led to an escalation, but the Roman soldiers are a disciplined force.

Arrest

Without further actual violence, the arrest is completed in 18:12. But use of force is there, it could so easily have gone another way.

Interrogation

Now we skip over Peter’s story and look at the so-called interrogation. In 18:22, we see the reaction of a brutal regime, to a simple, straight forward answer that does not fit their own narrative.

When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.

This is not the Romans, this is one of the officials of the high priests.

Right of execution

The interrogation proves exactly what they had already decided it should prove. They have already judged Jesus and that justifies, in their own minds, that His death is necessary. They have a problem - the occupying force reserves the right to commit executions, presumably under penalty of death. So they have to plead and manipulate the system. They will end up denying their own beliefs to get their way.

Servants would fight

This leads to a further interrogation, where we learn from Jesus in 18:36, that His servants would fight, he says:

“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

Pilate is getting out of his depth, but at least he knows that this particular fight has been avoided.

Flogged / Crown of thorns

He has Jesus flogged in 19:1-3. That’s a default punishment, and he’s hoping it will be enough to get rid of the Jews. The soldiers have flogged many people, they know how far to go to cause serious pain and enough injury so that there is not too much permanent damage. While they’re at it, they might as well have a bit of fun – so there’s a crown of thorns and a royal robe. He is struck on the face again. After all it’s probably the first time they’ve flogged someone whose claims to be king were taken even slightly seriously.

Crucify!

In 19:6, Pilate brings Jesus to the chief priests to show what he has done, but it is not enough, and they shout for his death. “He’s broken our laws, He must die” they say.

Pilate is a politician, he has bigger things than one death to think about, the constant chants of “Crucify!” finally win the day.

Carrying the Cross

When we say “We all have our cross to bear”, I doubt we are thinking of such an extreme situation. Having been flogged, which would mainly damage the flesh on your back, and then being asked to carry two large pieces of wood, that you could barely lift when normally healthy, just adds to the sadistic approach of the death that Jesus endured. We know from the other gospels that this was too much for Jesus, and one of the crowd was forced to help out.

The Crucifixion and Death

The final act of violence is the crucifixion itself. John spares us the gory details, and concentrates on other things. Being nailed to the cross, having the cross dropped in the hole and then just hanging there, each breath causing pain, but your body compels you to take them.

With what Jesus had been through it is no surprise that he was already dead when the soldiers came to break His legs, so they didn’t bother, but to be sure they pierced his corpse. That leaves us with some important testimony, to prove his death.

Necessary

Experiencing all this suffering and violence was somehow necessary for Jesus to complete His mission. It is the only way that He can pay for our sins, and set us free from them. He went through it for us, that decision was made in Gethsemane the night before.

What has changed?

So, we have been put right with God and have access to him, you’d think that might make a difference to us. It’s there at the end of the reading from Isaiah:

he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the LORD'S will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

But what has really changed for us?

It seems that the very early church, the generations immediately after these events, took non-violence seriously, and preferred to imitate Jesus’s sacrificial life. This must have led to many deaths. It was only after Constantine that the church developed concepts like “Holy War” and “just war”.

Today

Where do we stand today? After all we have heard, and the horrors brought to us in the daily news, what should our approach be

Have we overcome the fear?

Have we overcome the impulsiveness?

Have we overcome our sense of judgement?

Do we prioritise peace and life over getting our own way?

Tweet

I’d like to leave you with this tweet from the Rev. Benjamin Cremer

We want the war horse. Jesus rides a donkey.

We want the eagle. The Holy Spirit descends as a dove.

We want to take up swords. Jesus takes up a cross.

We want the roaring lion. God comes as a slaughtered lamb.

We keep trying to arm God. God keeps trying to disarm us.

Amen

Devotion

 Preached 3 April 2022 at Christ Church, Billericay

Video sermon here: https://youtu.be/q9xq9XPIVFI

Purpose: Are we as devoted as Mary? As the pilgrims?

Reading: Psalm 126; John 12:1-8

Introduction

I’m going to look at both passages, starting with the Psalm, and then look at a common theme that they both, at least, allude to.

Psalm 126 (ascents)

Psalms 120 to 134 are each labelled as ‘A song of ascents’. Some of them, including 126 that we are looking at today, are thought to be written by the returning exiles, but this is by no means guaranteed.

These songs, it is believed, were used on the long journey up the hills to Jerusalem that the people made three times a year, in accordance with the law in Deuteronomy 16.

¹⁶ Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the LORD empty-handed: ¹⁷ Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you.

Ascent

Jerusalem in on a hill, and it's a long way up. It is 803 metres / 2634 feet above sea level, but many of the pilgrims on the route would have come from Jericho and that’s below sea level −258 m (−846 ft). There was a Roman road that covered part of the journey, which would have made the climb easier, but remember they still have all their food and water, tents and gifts to carry.

Singing these Psalms would not only have helped them stay together, but also to stay focussed, and begin to get into the right spiritual mindset for the celebrations ahead.

Even today, on some Christian coach tours, these psalms are recited as the coach makes its way up the hills into the city. A poor imitation of the dedication of the Israelites, I’m sure, but better than nothing.

Psalm 126

Our Psalm this morning remembers the return from exile. It happened, relatively speaking, quite suddenly, as though it were happening in a dream, it didn’t feel quite real to them. One minute they are prisoners living in exile, the next they are going home.

Berlin Wall

The nearest modern equivalent is the fall of the Berlin Wall, when after 28 years, the city of West Berlin was once again part of the city of Berlin and families could cross freely to meet with each other. It all happened so suddenly, something that had no doubt been seen as a permanent fixture was not there any more. For us, I’m sure the TV pictures showing people dismantling it, helped us believe it, even then it didn’t seem quite real. What an amazing thing the Lord had done.

Return

Return from exile cannot have been easy, but seeing God at work rescuing them and bringing them back to His holy city meant that the difficulties were put out of their minds. The only thing that mattered was the celebration. The second stanza of 4 lines (in Hebrew) continues the theme of celebration, reminding the singers that the Lord has turned their tears of sorrow into joy.

John 12 – Intro to family

In our New Testament reading, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem for the passover. He arrives at Bethany, just a couple of miles outside Jerusalem, to stay with His friends – Lazarus, Mary, and Martha.

Jesus has stayed with them before, we have the story of the conflict between the sisters in Luke 10. Mary is only interested in listening to what Jesus has to say, while Martha is busy preparing the meal for Jesus and frustrated with her sister for her lack of involvement in the duty to her guests.

Lazarus resurrected

On another occasion, Jesus was sent for because Lazarus was sick, but by the time He arrived, Lazarus had been dead for 4 days. There were a lot of mourners there, and some of the crowd, knowing who Jesus was, were critical of Him for allowing His friend to die.

Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb, he had been placed in – and out he walked! A lot of people saw what happened and put their faith in Jesus as a result. A side effect of this was that Lazarus became a bit of a celebrity.

Dinner (mood)

Now the family are hosting a dinner for Jesus. It is six days before the passover. His disciples know that He is going to Jerusalem. They also know that the Chief priests are looking for a way to kill Him. In John 11:16 Thomas has said “Let us go and die with him”, so the mood at the meal was not exactly light-hearted.

As usual, Martha serves the meal, and Lazarus, Jesus, and at least some of the disciples are reclining at the table. They are arranged in such a way that their feet are furthest from the table. What happens next is shocking.

Mary’s behaviour

Mary takes an expensive bottle of perfume – nard, breaks it and pours it over Jesus’s feet. Nard is a fragrant oil of light-reddish colour, derived from the spikenard plant. It is not grown in Israel, but imported, probably from east India. Because of the cost, it is often mixed with other cheaper oils, but John tells us that this was pure.

Pouring the oil over Jesus’s feet was one thing, but letting her hair down and wiping His feet with her hair was disgusting and border-line immoral behaviour. If I’d been there, I would have been thinking about having a chat with the safeguarding team. It’s just not an acceptable way to behave.

I would imagine that more than one of the disciples, reclining there, were feeling rather embarrassed and trying to work out what to say. Their nice dinner party in honour of Jesus has been ruined, they’d arrived with heavy hearts, and now this. You could cut the atmosphere with a knife.

Judas objects – the value, the investment.

It’s Judas who breaks the silence. As treasurer of the group, he has a different take on what has just happened. He has already assessed the value of the gift that has been given. It’s worth about a year’s wages for a labourer - that’s equivalent to someone working full-time on minimum wage. That’s about £20,000. It may have been Mary’s life savings. It was common in those days to invest in something like good quality perfume, so it may never have been intended to be used, at all, when it was originally purchased.

Thief

John takes this opportunity to tell us that Judas was a thief, and that his motivation was not to provide for the poor, but to line his own pockets. But this is written after the event, after the death and resurrection of Jesus and the after coming of the Holy Spirit. They did not suspect Judas at the time. They simply considered him as someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Jesus

Jesus is unfazed by all of this, His focus is on what is to come, and the act that has just been performed.

“Leave her alone, it was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

Perhaps he sees this as a prophetic act, a hurried anointing now because there will not be time to do a proper job on his corpse when He dies. He certainly isn’t prepared to allow any criticism of her.

The poor

Neither should we ignore the plight of the poor, but we should recognise that just occasionally there are more important things happening than immediately addressing their need.

Our interpretation

It’s interesting and instructive to put ourselves in the room with Jesus, to ask ourselves how we would react. I’ve already expressed my initial shock at the events that occurred, I wonder what your thoughts were?

Devotion

On further reflection, though, I see Mary’s act as one of pure devotion and worship. We have seen her respond to Jesus like this before, when she upset her sister by simply sitting at Jesus’ feet and ignoring her duty. Now she has gone a step (or two) further and used her life savings (or her ‘pension pot’) to anoint Jesus as he comes to the most critical part of His ministry.

These acts are supposed to make us uncomfortable, they are supposed to make us reflect of the true value of things in the world. They are supposed to make us question our priorities, are we genuinely putting God first.

Pilgrimage

The Israelites leave their homes, their businesses, their old and infirmed loved ones three times a year to go to Jerusalem to worship God. They do it because they are devoted to Him. It may seem strange to us, but we have our own ways of showing our devotion, don’t we?

Or do we?

Think for a minute. Let’s ask ourselves, “How do I show my devotion to Jesus?”

Or do we just take God for granted too much? Are we too like Judas, knowing the price, but not the value?

Amen

 

 

References

https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/devotion-to-the-lord-in-the-house-aubrey-vaughan-sermon-on-christian-love-134595

https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/personally-anointing-christ-as-king-terry-laughlin-sermon-on-easter-palm-sunday-105226

https://thebiblejourney.org/biblejourney1/1-the-world-of-the-new-testament-journeys-b/major-jewish-religious-festivals/

https://www.gotquestions.org/Songs-of-Ascent.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_of_Ascents

https://www.israelanswers.com/blog/going-jerusalem

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jericho

https://www.israelanswers.com/blog/going-jerusalem

https://www.wherewebe.com/index_2013_05-31a_jerusalem_ascent.html

https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/bible-glossary/nard/

https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-stories/lazarus-raised-from-the-dead-bible-story.html

https://biblehub.com/topical/n/nard.htm