Follow Jesus

Preached: 9 May 2021 at Christ Church, Billericay (recorded version for video service: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97AR7n8TQMA&list=PLAiDlfqEeOxU0tFmOCQCTiNQ0518mL2bQ at 11:55 into the video)

Readings: Acts 10v44-48; John 15v9-17

Purpose: to see how the Holy Spirit led Peter away from his traditional view to change the world.

Peter’s Character

Peter has been being prepared for this very carefully. In him, God has chosen someone who is not afraid to speak out and to say what he is thinking. This quality, that has got him into difficulties before – remember he told Jesus that going voluntarily to his death was not the way to go, and Jesus responded “Get behind me, Satan.” When Jesus was arrested, Peter was the one who was most scared of what was happening and denied ever knowing Jesus.

Both those sins have been forgiven now, and Peter is doing the job he was chosen to do. He is leading the church, and learning on the job.

Flashback to Pentecost

We are not following the story as it happened, we will celebrate Pentecost in a few weeks time, but for Peter, in our reading today, it has already happened. There they all were in the upper room, scared to make any sort of move at all, but knowing that something very special had happened. Then the Holy Spirit arrived. “A sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house” and “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

It caused a commotion, as all the foreigners present heard their own language and wondered what was happening. So Peter got up and told them. As a result, the church was born.

That day about 3000 were added to the church, and each of them was baptised. All of them were Jews, so at this point, a new Jewish sect is formed.

Church takes shape

Peter is, of course, a Jew (and always will be) so his focus is on the Jewish nation. He is doing the right thing and the church begins to take shape. They begin to understand how people should live together under God, not holding on to possessions, and praying and healing people.

They soon come to the notice of the Jewish authorities, who thought they had cured the ‘Jesus problem’ by crucifying Him, so they suffer some persecution, but undeterred continue with their mission.

Peter like Jesus

Peter has asked himself the question “What would Jesus do?”, and is now, travelling around the country, preaching and healing people, he’s also in the habit of taking time out of his busy schedule, away from the people he’s ministering to, and spending it in prayer - just as Jesus did.

Vision on the Roof

He goes up on the roof, because roofs in their houses are flat, there are usually steps up the side of the wall, and it’s a good place to get some privacy. While he’s up there, he falls into a trance and sees a vision.

It’s disturbing, he’s being told to violate the Jewish food laws and eat unclean animals. He doesn’t like the idea, but the vision occurs three times. The Holy Spirit is preparing Peter for the next step that he is to take in building the church.

Visiting Cornelius - with a team

Then he’s told by the Holy Spirit to go with the three men who’ve just arrived. They’ve come to take him to see a Roman Centurion - Cornelius. He hasn’t even worked out the meaning of the vision yet, but ever obedient, he gets a few of the believers together and off he goes the next day. That he takes a team with him is important for what happens next, the team will be his witnesses and will back up his story to a sceptical church in Jerusalem.

Jewish restrictions

The journey to Joppa is a day’s walk. It, no doubt, gives Peter time to reflect on the vision on the roof and to make some sense of what the Holy Spirit is saying.

When they arrive, there is quite a gathering at Cornelius’s house, he has invited friends and family to hear what the young prophet has to say.

Peter enters the house. That may not sound strange to us, although in these times perhaps it does. Just by stepping across the threshold, Peter has changed things forever. He says, “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.” Now we can see what Peter has made of the vision, and how he has applied it to his ministry.

Important Act

For us, as gentile believers - because that’s what we are, this is the most important thing that Peter has done so far. Without being inside the house, Peter would have had no opportunity to speak the message God had taught him in the three years he had spent with Jesus.

Peter makes sure his host is aware of this and ends with “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.”

Message

He then goes on to tell them about Jesus and all that He did, and especially His death and resurrection. That all who believe in Him receives forgiveness of sins.

Holy Spirit Arrives - Baptised

While he is saying all this, the Holy Spirit arrives and the hearers begin speaking in tongues and praising God. Because of this, Peter orders that they be baptised, as they have received the Holy Spirit, just as he and his team have.

Second important act

This is the second important act that Peter does, and by this he has opened the church up to all gentile believers everywhere. The followers of the way are no longer exclusively Jewish - but they are all exclusively already sympathisers and have some belief in God.

Effect of the Message

Peter’s acts have paved the way for others, who spread the belief in Jesus across the world. Many taking His name to difficult to reach people in various situations. Here are a few examples:

Hudson Taylor, who went to China and founded the China Inland mission. To help the Chinese know Jesus, prompted by the Holy Spirit, he abandoned western dress and dressed like a local. This was a radical thing to do at the time.

Jackie Pullinger, who, again prompted by the Holy Spirit, went to Kowloon Walled City to minister to those who were in the grip of Heroin. She saw many miraculously healed without any withdrawal symptoms.

Peter and Alison Roots, who, prompted by the Holy Spirit, spent many years in Tanzania, bringing the word of God to the people there and supporting the church to make their world a more Godly place.

There are countless other missionaries who, prompted by the Holy Spirit, visited remote areas in Africa and South America, many giving their lives in the process, so that the Gospel was spread and Christianity became the largest religion in the world.

Everyone

Each one of us, who has been involved in church life in any way, will have received the prompting of the Holy Spirit, many in small ways that are never recorded, but all in ways that will have brought someone closer to God, or closer to a commitment to follow Jesus.

The Holy Spirit’s promptings never end, while we remain in His love. We just have to make time to listen and be receptive to what He is saying and, loving the people around us, act on those promptings.

We may not change almost the whole world as Peter did, but we may change almost the whole world for someone else.

Truth

Preached: 2 April 2021 (Good Friday)

Readings: Isaiah 52v13-53v12; John 18v1-19v37

​Introduction

Well, that was a couple of looong readings! But it’s appropriate on Good Friday that we get the whole story, and we pretty much have. I probably have less time than those readings took, so I can just concentrate on one small aspect of them. As you listened to them, I wonder what stood out for you? Perhaps take some time over the holiday weekend to look deeper at that. For me, it was Pilate's question “What is truth?”, so I'm going to offer some thoughts on that this morning.

“What is truth?”

So, “what is truth?”. Let’s start with the simple truths first and work towards the more complicated ones.

Tell the truth

When we say to very young children “just tell the truth”, we are usually asking them to give an account of their actions that will incriminate them. Children will often say what they believe the parent or adult wants to hear. “I was a good girl, I didn’t eat the cake.” the little girl said to the researcher, but the icing around her mouth told another story altogether. Each child had been left alone in a room and told not to touch the cakes and sweets. Some found temptation impossible to resist, most of those that succumbed told some sort of lie.

Adults too

This is simply asking someone to relay an accurate, complete and pure record of some events that have taken place. We ask adults in court to “tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”. But who takes any notice of that declaration any more! Or do I just watch too much crime drama?

In the reading

We find this type of evidential truth in our reading, when John writes in 19:35 “The man who saw it (the sudden flow of blood and water) has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.”

John’s telling of his truth has a purpose – ‘so you may believe’, just as this type of truth told in a court has a purpose – to get justice for someone.

Simple Truths

These are simple truths, if we want to get to more wider truths, we will have to look elsewhere.

​Science

Perhaps science has the answer, after all describing the world we live in ought to be pretty straight forward, didn’t it?

Well, it turns out that this is not the case. Scientists have a concept known as ‘lies to children’ to explain science to either children or non-scientists to give them just enough to gain an understanding and encourage them to look deeper.

Electricity

Let me give you an example. You can think of an electric current like water flowing through a pipe. The idea works well enough to explain volts and amps at a basic level, but when you begin to look at what’s happening to the electrons in the wire, the story is completely different – an electric current is not like water in a pipe at all.

Professor Kathy Sykes, of the University of Bristol said '...science is not about truth, but is about trying to get closer to the truth. This is important because, too often, people look to scientists as having the "truth". What we have is wrapped in uncertainties, caveats, and simplifications.'

Other types of truth

So, science doesn’t really help us to get to the indisputable facts that easily. Perhaps we should be wary of bringing science into the discussion at all, there is no evidence that Pilate was specially interested in the natural world. Anyway, there are other truths that we need to think about.

Definition

One definition of truth, with a capital T, is an “ideal or fundamental reality apart from and transcending perceived experience”. This is getting closer to what Pilate was asking, I suspect.

Psychology Today

The Psychology Today website tells us: “Truth is a property not so much of thoughts and ideas, but more properly of beliefs and assertions. But to believe or assert something is not enough to make it true, or else the claim that ‘to believe something makes it true’ would be just as true as the claim that ‘to believe something does not make it true.’”

​Answering Pilates question

This begins to bring us closer to providing an answer for Pilate, because his question is in response to Jesus’ claims to be a king, but in a kingdom not of this world. Here’s what Jesus said, from 18:37

“You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

Did Pilate really listen? We’ll probably never know. But we can see from his reaction that he does have an understanding of truth. He’s still prepared to tell the Jews that there is no basis for a charge against Jesus. Next, he makes a politically expedient decision and hands Jesus over to be flogged. One more step and he has given up on the truth that Jesus has not committed a crime worthy of crucifixion, or any other punishment.

Value of truth?

Perhaps the question Pilate should have asked is “What is the value of truth?” because for now at least, ignoring the higher truth and sticking with the truth that he’s in a difficult situation and need to preserve the peace, and with it his career is more important to him.

He is in essence behaving just like a small girl who failed to resist a cake.

An Answer?

So, can we provide an answer? The Psychology Today website article starts with the sentence, “Truth tends to lead to successful action.” The apostle John, also, has other things to say about truth—8:32 “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free”

The Truth

Jesus came to proclaim the truth, and that truth sets us free from our greatest fear – death and oblivion – our own end, which we know will inevitably come.

Freedom from that fear leads to many positive outcomes. Look at the progress humanity has made since belief in Jesus became widespread.

We’ve still got a long way to go. I’ve just completed safeguarding training, so I’m more aware than ever just how far we have to go. But progress has been made.

Today

Perhaps today, we can reflect on the times when we have ignored the truth and made our selves and our reputations more important.

It’s time for us to be on the side of truth and to listen to Jesus.

Amen.

Fool for Christ

Preached: 7 March 2021

Readings: Exodus 20:1-17;1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Foolishness

We all do foolish things sometimes, locking ourselves out of the house, getting scammed by poorly written email, loosing our wallet or purse, forgetting to take change to pay for parking. They’re annoying, but they’re not intentional. They happen to us because our concentration is elsewhere – on something we perceive as more important, or nowhere, because something has distracted us. Everyone would agree that these things are just silly mistakes, and not a way of life.

As a way of life 

Those who choose to follow Christ, though, have fallen for a foolish message, Paul says in our reading today. I don’t know how often you encounter people who are perishing, and how often you hear them express their thoughts on the message of the cross, but I can assure you that foolishness is a very mild term compared to what I read and hear. 

Foolish things we have done.

So, that set me wondering what foolish things we may have deliberately done because of the foolish message of the cross we have decided to follow. Here are some examples from me and some from the Bible. After that, we’ll have a look at some other characters who have taken foolishness to a higher level.

​So mine:

Many years ago I decided I needed saving from this life and all its horrible ways, so I put my trust in a Jew who was executed around 2000 years ago, for stirring up trouble amongst the crowds. He said He could save me from death and hell, and I believed him. He said He came to die for my sins, and I believed Him. His followers said He came back to life, and I believed them.

I believe that I am in regular communication with Him.

That has led to other foolish things – I talk to him often, I help to pay for the upkeep of his organisation, and I help that organisation make fools of others.

But, as I said, I’m really only an amateur.

​From the Bible

Here are some from the Bible. There’s King David dancing before the Lord, and making a fool of himself in the royal palace – I guess kings can do whatever they please, even if it is foolish.

There’s all those rules, how could you possibly be expected to follow all of them, do not murder, do not steal perhaps, but there are even rules about how to think.

Finally, how about remaining faithful to someone who has promised to look after you when you have contracted a horrible disease and all your children have been killed. If you don’t recognise that one, I’m talking about Job.

Let’s have a look at some historical characters now, who took this foolishness up a notch or two.

Jackie Pullinger

I’ll start with Jackie Pullinger, who, I suspect, most of you have heard of. When she was barely a young woman she decided to go to where ever God wanted her, and stuck a pin in a map, it ended up in a place called the forbidden city, part of Beijing. On arrival, she believed that she could cure the people of their heroin addiction. How foolish is that?

St. Basil

Then there’s St Basil, who lived in Red Square in Moscow in the early 1500s. He’s not to be confused with Basil the Great, who lived about a millennium earlier. This St. Basil wore no cloths, - remember how cold it gets in Moscow!!! He would regularly give any money he was given to the poor and would often disrupt the main market when he knew that the stallholders were cheating their customers. He was well known by all in Moscow, including Tsar Ivan – yes, that Ivan, who he regularly chastised for his appalling behaviour. It is said that the only person the Tsar was afraid of was Basil.

​Jacqueline de Decker

The last example of a fool I want to mention is Jacqueline de Decker. She was born in Belgium in 1913 to a wealthy family. She wanted to join Mother Teresa, but was unable to due to a chronic, debilitating illness that affected her spine. She spent her time, hardly able to move and in a specially adapted car, in Antwerp’s red-light district looking after prostitutes. She never received a diagnosis for her condition and called it GGD ‘God-Given Disease’ as a recognition that God used her through her weakness.

​Wisdom of the World

By the standards of the wisdom of the world, all these people are foolish some of them seem to be dangerously foolish, not caring for their own well-being, or putting themselves in dangerous situations.

But Paul says:

“Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.”

​Fool on the Hill

We, the foolish, see differently. As the Beatles demonstrated in their song, “The Fool on the Hill”, fools have a different view. Remember the chorus:

But the fool on the hill
Sees the sun going down
And the eyes in his head
See the world spinning round

The last verse contains the lines:

“He never listens to them
He knows that they're the fool
They don't like him”

​Who is the fool?

So, who really is the fool, the wise man, the scholar, the philosophers? Because we share God’s wisdom, because we are called by Him:

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

Let’s look again at our example, fools.

Jackie Pullinger did see people healed from drug addiction, they came off their highly addictive drugs without withdrawal symptoms, and lived a new life in Christ.

Basil, the fool, was the ONLY one who could speak honestly to the Tsar, we cannot tell what effect he had, but speaking truth to power is needed in every generation, and is always a force for good.

Jacqueline de Decker spent what little ability she had looking after people who rarely got help from anywhere.

Now we can see the trait that God planted in each of them – their concern, their love for those who are the lowest of the low in society, who are ignored or even abused by the so-called wise people of the world.

​Wisdom personified

When I spoke last month, I spoke a little on wisdom personified in Proverbs 8. Verses 30 and 31 particularly spoke to me:

Then I (wisdom) was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.

I remember thinking that I don’t delight in mankind very often, our three example may not ever have expressed what they do like that, but I believe they show us what delighting in mankind really means. It means loving them. How could anyone delight in mankind and not try to relieve their sufferings?

​Good Samaritan

In the parable of the good Samaritan, the expert in the law identified the Samaritan as a neighbour to the man who was robbed. When he had done, so Jesus said, “Go and do likewise”

That is what he says to us this morning when we consider our three fools, “Go and do likewise”.

 

What if God was one of us?

 Preached at Christ Church, Billericay in church and on-line on 7 Feb 2021

The on-line service is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4tbSVndlBE

Story

This is the story of our world, where we came from and how we got to where we are today.  Obviously we’re going to miss a few things out, or our story would take a very, very long time indeed.  But our story will cover the important events and help to explain why we think of God the way that we do.  I’ll concentrate on those things mentioned in our readings today.  I will tell it from my understandings of theology and physics (both of these are limited, but I’ll do my best), and a few other things as well.
So let’s begin.

Difficulties with Words

Once upon a time ...
Oh, no that’s not right, we need to start before “a time”, what would we call it.
“Before time began”, yes, that’s better, but still not quite right.  I think it’s probably as good as I’ll get it.  Finding the right words to explain what we think we understand, is an important theme in the story.

“In the beginning”

The apostle John’s words are translated “In the beginning …” echoing the first words found in the Bible, in the Book of Genesis, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  If we were speaking to people today we might say “In the beginning God split the nothing into positive and negative and the ‘big bang’ occurred, light was produced and eventually galaxies and solar systems and the planet earth was among them”.

John’s beginning

John’s beginning though requires a little more scene setting than the beginning in Genesis.  “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God”
Or we could say “When the beginning began the Word was already there with God, and the Word was God”.  

Wisdom

Then there is that part of the lovely poem about wisdom to consider, we only heard a small part of it this morning.  It seems to suggest that wisdom is a created thing.  It can be confusing, and it can be translated other ways, we’ll come back to that.  But first, let’s fast-forward in time for a minute and meet a guy called Arius.

Arius

Arius was a priest in Alexandria in modern day Egypt. He lived from about 250 to 336 at a time when the evil empire (the Roman Empire) was suddenly and miraculously converted.  That happened in 312, because the Emperor was converted at that time. Arius taught that Jesus was God’s son, in the same way that Andy and Mike are my sons.  He liked the idea that wisdom was in fact Jesus, or the Word, and he based that idea on this part of the poem.
            ? Teaching
His teaching was gaining ground and was beginning to cause a split in the church, as many of the other leaders did not agree with him.  All this happened at a time when the Emperor wanted a peaceful religion to spread around the empire.  The bishop did not take any steps to stop Arius from spreading his teaching, and the church leadership at the time seemed happy to let the controversy ramble on.  Nothing changes does it?  So Constantine ordered them to sort it out.

Nicea

A meeting was arranged at Nicea in 325 and discussions got underway.  Discussions might be a little of an understatement, as there seems to have been physical fighting too.  Athanasius, another priest, was sent by his bishop.  He had the job of putting the case that Jesus, the Word and God are one, as John’s translation says today.
Eventually, Arius lost the battle and a creed was agreed that spelt out the true nature of Jesus the Word as God.
We’ll be saying that creed later, so I don’t have to include it here.
As we do look out for the lines that say …
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.

Wisdom?

And Wisdom? Well there are several reasons why it doesn’t work to assume that wisdom and the Word are the same.  Firstly, wisdom is presented as a woman.  Secondly, you can’t really create wisdom, that’s just a poetic device.  If you look at the footnote you will see that ‘brought me forth’ can also be translated as ‘possessed me’.  So wisdom was possessed by God before the beginning.  Look how that reading ends
“I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.”
Wisdom delights in mankind – just let’s pause to take that in – because there are too many times when I don’t.
Wisdom delights in mankind.

Back to John

Let’s go back to see what John is saying next in his story of the beginning.
He tells us that Jesus, the Word is the maker of all things, everything that appeared after the Big Bang, right until today was made by the Word, and is sustained by the Word.  Hebrews 1:3 agrees:
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
The Word is also the source of our life, His life is the light of mankind and the darkness has not overcome it.

Words of misunderstanding

Oh, is that not what it says – look in the footnotes again, there is an alternative translation.  Words convey important concepts, but sometimes different languages do not have exactly the right word to express the idea.

John the Baptiser

The John goes on to introduce John, the baptiser.  John, the apostle never refers to himself by name, so whenever you see the name John in this gospel, it is always John the baptiser.  John’s job was simple.  He was a messenger.  He came to prepare people for the light of life, the word of God arriving in our world, and to identify Him when he arrived.
John, as you already know, identified Jesus, as the Word of God.  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us – literally ‘pitched his tent’ among us.  That image would have taken his Jewish hearers straight back to the Exodus.

World’s reaction.

So how did the people react?  What would you expect?  Perhaps there would be some sort of welcome, some type of celebration?  At least an official welcome by the Chief Priest, and perhaps the Emperor?
No, quite the reverse.  “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”
In fact “his own” – the Chief Priests and the Pharisees, decided that it was far too dangerous having ‘God’ around, and had him killed.

Some are different

A few, though, were different.  They recognize who He was, or they were at least interested in finding out. To those a most amazing thing happens: “to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”.  
The Word became flesh and in the person of Jesus, God walked the earth for 30 odd years.

Song

In 1995 a song called “What if God was one of us?” sung buy Joan Osborne was in the UK chart.  It reached number 6.  It asks lost of questions about belief, and prompts people to think about who they think God is?
It was written by Eric Bazilian, who does not claim to have a faith of any kind, but it is clearly full of Christian references.
The second verse is:
If God had a face, what would it look like?
And would you want to see?
If seeing meant that you would have to believe
In things like heaven and in Jesus and the saints and all the prophets?
And the Chorus:
What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make His way home?

 Misses the point

In one sense it entirely misses the point. But a faithful Christian should be able to answer most, but not all of the questions it raises.
Because God WAS one of us, and as far as I know, Jesus wasn’t a slob, but He was a stranger to many people.

Why is it important?

I think the underlying questions in the song are “What is God like?” and “Can we relate to Him?”
The answer is also hinted at in the song.  Jesus is God, and we can relate to Him.  That is one of the very important reasons that He came to live among His creation.  And that He gives us the right to become children of God, so that the relationship has a solid footing.

Pay for our sins

He came to live among us to do a job for us, to redeem us, so that we can have that relationship.  He had to pay for our sins, by dying on a cross.  A fellow human cannot pay for our sins, they can only pay for theirs.  It requires at least a god, to pay for our sins, but how many can A god pay for?
To be sure that all our sins are paid for requires THE God to die for us.

One of us, One with Him

God was one of us, so he has experienced the human life He created and knows how we think and feel.  He has paid for our sins too, so we can be one with Him.
 

Amen.
 

New Clothes, New Name, New Hope

 Preached at Christ Church, Billericay in church and on-line on 27 Dec 2020

The on-line service is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxcBnnBdJvo

Introduction

These readings are appropriate for the time of year, not just because they are talking about Jesus’ birth, but because they have lots of new things in them, and we all love getting new things at Christmas. I’m going to talk about new cloths, new names and new or at least renewed hope.

Isaiah

Our reading from Isaiah seems to be split between two voices. Verses 10 & 11 of chapter 61 are spoken by a personified Zion from the point of view of Isaiah’s readers. I’m not going to go into the arguments for or against this in the commentary, as that is too technical for a Sunday morning. In chapter 62 the Lord is talking.

Zion dressed up

Zion, Israel, if you like, it makes no difference for our purposes this morning has been dressed in new clothes. He (Israel, the nation) has been clothed in garments that look like salvation and righteousness.

Effect of Clothes

How we dress has an effect on how we behave.

(It certainly does when I am wearing my robes, because I can’t walk fast without fear of falling over) You can see that from the very early days, when small children dress up in adult clothes, or put on the clothes of their favourite TV character. Then they can ‘be’ the character they’re dressed as. Later on, if they are involved in the theatre at all, they may use the costume to help them become the character they are playing.

This is at the root of the discussion about how we should dress for work – in the office. Very formal dress should make for a very professional approach, or at least a more professional approach. You may think that works or maybe it doesn’t, but it speaks to the understanding that the cloths we wear affect the way we behave.

Wedding Clothes

In our reading the clothes mentioned are those for a special occasion – a wedding. Both the bride and the groom are expected to dress a certain way, that’s as true in our culture as it was in Isaiah’s. Once suitable attired they become the person that they desire to be – the bride and the groom.

Now, with Zion correctly dressed, looking to the world as salvation and righteousness, we see the expectation that they will grow into the image they are now portraying. Zion will become a righteousness nation, praising God and all the world will see it.

Bride & Groom Image

The image of the bride and groom is picked up in the next chapter, just after our reading ends, where Hephzibah means “my delight is in her” and Beulah means “married”.

Zion’s Hope

That is Zion’s hope, their expectation about how their fresh start with God will turn out.

Isaiah 62:1-3

Then the Lord replies, supporting everything that Zion has said. He will speak for them and vindicate then. He will be sure that the nations will see what He has done. He will re-brand them – give them a new name, so that the nations can see that there is a difference.

Names

Names are powerful. A name is an indication of a character trait. Choosing a name for a baby is fraught with problems, and most of us parents spent ages looking at name definitions and meanings before we made our final choices, even when those were the ideas we had at the start.

When writers choose names for there characters they are doing essentially the same thing. Trying to understand what the readers will understand about the character. It’s the same for actors picking a stage name.

Names and new names

It’s much more important in the Bible though, where God has a reputation for changing the names of those he calls. Once God calls them and they accept the call, they are new people, so its appropriate to change their name. Think of Abram and Abraham, Saul and Paul. Here the promised new name will change the way the nation is perceived forever, it will play a big part for them in reflecting God’s glory to the world.

Luke

Before we look for similar messages in the Luke reading (and they are there) let’s take a look at some of the details.

Shepherd’s reputation

I expect you all know the story of the shepherds, we only heard the last part of it this morning, the first part starts at verse 8. Shepherds in first century Israel have had a bad reputation among 20^th century preachers, who considered them the lowest of the low, and despised by the good citizens around them. That may be a bit of an extreme picture, the shepherds certainly represent the poor, because they have a difficult job and often live away from the rest of society. In our reading it says “all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them”. It doesn’t say “all who heard it were amazed that the shepherds had such a message”.

Excited Shepherds

Like pretty much everyone in Israel, the shepherds were expecting the Messiah, that doesn’t mean that when the angels appeared with the announcement they weren’t terrified, but the message that they were given meant that something they had hoped for for generations was now beginning. The baby is the sign of that beginning. So it is understandable that they are getting excited.

The Angels leave

After delivering their message the angels go back into heaven. This is a similar description to the ascension, where Jesus is taken up into heaven. They didn’t just fade away, they went back where they came from.

Now, the shepherds have to find the baby. Bethlehem is a small village in the first century, the likely population is in the low hundreds. It’s unlikely to have an inn for general travellers because almost all the people who visited would be related to residents.

Inn or guest room

The word translated as Inn is the same word used as guest room in Mark 14:14

“Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’”

So the new baby would be in the house of His earthly relatives. When they arrived it was already full of other visiting relatives due to the census. Mary, Joseph and the baby would be in the room normally reserved for the animals – hence the feeding trough used to put the baby in.

Finding the baby

All the shepherds had to do was go from house to house, looking for the full and busy ones to see if there was a new born in the manger.

Jesus may well have been the only new born in the town.

However difficult or easy it was they found the baby – and the sign was confirmed. Now their excitement goes to another level. They go about telling everyone what they have seen, at every opportunity, for at least the next few days, and probably much longer. It’s easy to imagine that they lived off this experience for the rest of their lives.

Hope of redemption

God has come to earth to make peace with His people, redemption is at hand. They have seen evidence that their hope is not misplaced, and now it is strengthened.

You probably wouldn’t have wanted to meet any of those shepherds more than once.

Mary

Mary was not able to get up and be excited and announce her baby to the entire world. According to Jewish law she was unclean, and would have to self isolate for the next 41 days, with the exception of 1 day (the eighth day) for the circumcision. So, Mary takes it all in, and tries to make sense of it all. This time and these memories will serve her well when things get difficult later on.

Eighth day

When the eighth day arrived, the baby was taken to the temple, and circumcised and named Jesus, just as Mary had been instructed.

Renewed Hope.

Jesus is the Greek equivalent of the name Joshua which means “the Lord saves”. Much is expected of this baby, but for now He simply renews the hope that the Israelites have that God will intervene and rescue them.

Hope delivered

We know that Jesus, when he was fully grown, shook up things in Israel, spent 3 years teaching 12 disciples and gave His life for the sins of all of us, so that we could have peace with God. He completely fulfilled the hope that the shepherds had put in Him that night when they were visited by a heavenly host.

Our Hope

Our hope is in Jesus’ promises that our sins are forgiven, and that we will spend eternity with God, because we have accepted what Jesus has done for us. Part of that hope is also a new name and new cloths.

In revelation 2:17, He says “To the one who is victorious I will give a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” and in revelation 6 the martyrs are given a white robe (new cloths) while they wait for more martyrs to join them.

Remember / renew our hope

So lets remember the hope that we have, and looking at the events of that first Christmas night more carefully, renew our hope. All things will pass, but the hope we have, is based on the unshakeable promises of Jesus.

Amen

Point to Jesus

Preached at Christ Church, Billericay and on-line 13 Dec 2020 

Video: https://youtu.be/dl4Ni4tXPDg

Reading: Isaiah 61v1-4;8-11;John 1v6-8;19-28

When does Christmas start?

When does Christmas start? Is it when the first adverts appear on TV? Immediately after bonfire night? The start of Advent? The 1^st of December?

For us Christmas starts in June, because that’s usually when our main holiday is, and we’re looking for a vineyard to buy some English wine as Christmas presents.

Preparation

Oh, but I’m asking the wrong question really, aren’t I? - Because that’s PREPARATION for Christmas, that’s not Christmas itself. Christmas really starts on December 25^th as we try to time the singing of “O Come all ye faithful” to just after midnight, so we can sing the Christmas day verse.

Advent

We are in the season of Advent, at the start of the church year. It is described as a season of expectant waiting and preparation, not just for the coming birth of Christ, but for the year ahead and also for the return of Jesus at the second coming. Both our readings today have that sense of looking ahead, but they are not necessarily looking at the same things.

Isaiah Reading

Let’s look at the reading from Isaiah first. The Israelites have been through a lot. They have been defeated and exiled from their country. Eventually, 70 year later, they are allowed back.

Chapters 60 and 61 look forward to a better future now that they have repented of their sins. Once again, they can take their place as firstborn among the nations. Once again, they can become priests to the world, and to be a blessing to all nations. All the peoples of the world will see this and acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.

It’s just what a defeated people need to hear. Their God is on their side and has great plans for them.

The year of the Lord’s favour (verse 2) relates to the laws of jubilee in Leviticus 25, when slaves were freed and land returned to its original owners. Things are set back the way they ‘should be’. Justice will prevail, the Lord will have vengeance against His enemies (Isaiah 1:24).

Jesus is speaking

The first verse of our reading starts “The Spirit of the Lord is on me”, so we have to ask who the 'me' is. It is likely that the original readers of Isaiah saw this as Israel personified, but with the benefit of hindsight and a few additional centuries, we know differently.

Jesus uses these verses to announce Himself in Luke (4:19-20), so these verses look forward to the Messiah, and beyond.

Justice

Jesus, too, promises justice in the parable of the persistent widow he says:

Luke 18:7-8a And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?
I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.

So there is no conflict between Jesus and this passage.

But remember vengeance is not our job, that is God's exclusive domain as Paul reminds us in Romans 12:19:

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.

Isaiah – a distant future

While the Isaiah reading looks forward to the distant future and the far distant future, pointing to Jesus, the Messiah, and events that have not happened even in our time, the reading from John looks to the very immediate future.

John the Baptist

John, Jesus’ cousin, was sent by God to identify Jesus to the people. He is by any standard a very strange man. He lives in the desert, wears camel hair clothes and eats locusts and wild honey. Collecting that must have had its dangers.

His Ministry

He starts a ministry of baptism for the forgiveness of sins. Now you might think that someone who lives in such a strange way, and begins a new religious ceremony might be shunned by most of the population.

This is not the case for John, many people are coming to hear him and to receive his baptism in the Jordan River. Too many in fact, for the religious leaders of the day. They want to know what he’s up to, and probably more specifically, whether he is a threat to the established order.

Delegation

So a delegation is assembled and sent out into the desert to find out who he was. They confront him while he is baptizing.

“Are you the Messiah?”

“No, I’m not the Messiah”, there’s no hesitation, he knows what he’s about, but as yet is giving nothing away. The Jews were expecting a Messiah (or Christ, if you’re a Greek) to come and rule over them, to free them from the oppression of the Romans, and return Israel to glorious independence – the sort of thing that Isaiah was talking about.

“Then are you Elijah?”

“No”

Elijah the prophet was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, so there is no record of a conventional death. Malachi, the prophet, says that Elijah will return before the “great and dreadful day of the Lord comes” (4:5-6). Jesus identifies John with Elijah in Matthew 11 (12-13). Maybe John could not admit to this because of the expectations that went with it, we will never know for sure.

“Are you the prophet?”

“No”

When the Israelites become fearful of their all powerful God, in Deuteronomy (18:15-19), Moses says “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.”

It would have been simple for John to make that claim, but that is not who he is.

Final Question

Frustrated, they finally ask an open question.

“Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

Now the pressure is off, and they think the worst fears of the leaders are not going to be recognized. But they have no idea what is to come.

“I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ”

They seem to miss the significance of the full quote:

Isa 40:3-5 A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

God, in all His glory is coming, and things are going to be arranged in such a way that you cannot miss it.

Having missed it, (the significance of the quote, not God arriving) they move straight on to what he is doing. You can just hear the petty officialdom in the question (or is that just me):

“Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

It seems that John’s baptism was similar to proselyte baptism. That makes sense. When we sin we put ourselves apart from God, so one way of getting back is to do the same thing as those that have always been apart from God have to do.

Then comes the bad news for the delegation, but John is vague enough for them not to get it.

“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

John puts himself in the position of the lowest servant in a household, the one who washes visitors feet, and says that compared to the person he is speaking about he is not worthy of even that lowly role. Surely this can only be the Messiah.

John has pointed them at Jesus. He will go on to point all his own disciples at Jesus and encourage them to follow Jesus instead of him.

Passages have in common

That’s what these passages have in common for me, from different distances in time and from different view points they point their readers towards Jesus. That is all we are asked to do. John is called a witness – someone who give evidence of something they have seen.

That is the same thing I am doing here this morning, just reporting what I have seen, in my case for this morning's message mainly in print. But it doesn’t matter.

That is the thing we are asked to do as we prepare for and then celebrate the birth. Just point people towards Jesus.

It sounds easy, but it isn’t. The prophets suffered and died for it, John died for it, the disciples, mostly, died for it.

Point people towards Jesus, it’s all we have to do.

The Day of the Lord

Preached on-line 8 Nov 2020 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyYwLpIIFgk
and just the sermon is here.

 Reading Amos 5v18-24; Matthew 25v1-13

Introduction

This morning we have two quite controversial passages to look at. By controversial, I mean that their interpretation is disputed, with different commentators proposing different understandings. So, I’m going to look at each passage separately and then try to see if there is a common thread and what that might mean for us.

Amos’ Prophecies

I’ll start with Amos. Before we look at the passages itself, it’s a good idea to put some context around Amos, as I guess that most of us are not that familiar with him.

Amos’ prophecy comes from about 750 BC at a time when the kingdoms were split, with Judah in the south centred on Jerusalem, and Israel in the north centred on Samaria. This prophecy is aimed at the Northern kingdom.

Amos was a farmer from the southern kingdom, he lived in Tekoa, a wilderness town on the top of a hill about 10 miles south of Jerusalem.

Assyrians

The area had been ruled by the Assyrians, but their empire was coming to an end. The local power Damascus had recently been defeated by the Jews, so for a while there had been peace. Jeroboam II led the northern kingdom and Uzziah the southern. Both were brilliant military leaders.

Peace & Prosperity

The period of peace and the recent military victories had given both kingdoms greater influence in the region and led to a golden age of prosperity. They were nearly back to the level they had experienced under King Solomon.

There were now more people who were well-off, and all those who were rich lived very comfortably for the times.

In one way, at least it was like our times, the rich were getting richer and the poor were exploited.

In verses 11 and 12, Amos states the problem as God sees it:

You trample on the poor and force them to give you grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine.

For I know how many are your offences and how great your sins.

Religion not Covenant

Aside from human greed there were other causes for this. They had forgotten their covenant with God. They were worshipping Baal. The religious ceremonies that they performed and the ones that Amos is concerned about are simply ceremonies. Belief in Baal does not require a moral code, as belief in Yahweh does.

The Day of the Lord

Yet they still held to the belief that they were blessed by God, that they were the chosen people. That God would never abandon them. Perhaps, because things were going well, they believed that the day of the Lord was approaching, that there would only be a short wait. The day of the Lord, whatever that really meant – we can’t be sure, but whatever they were expecting it would be a great blessing.

Darkness

Amos says that the Day of the Lord will not be a blessing, but a time of darkness and terror. Imagine escaping a lion and running into the path of a bear. Imagine returning to your home, your place of safety, only to relax, lean on the wall and get bitten by a snake. Both these images appear to end in death.

Hate

The religious feasts are hated because they are not really worshipping God, violating the first commandment :

Dt 5:7-9a “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God ...”

… and most of the others as well. So, the day of the Lord, will not be a day of blessing, but a day of judgement. Their guilt is clear, any expectation that God would overlook their sin because they are the chosen people is misplaced. So this day, for them, will be a dark day indeed.

What is Important to God

Verse 24 looks like a way out, but God does not say, “Turn away from Baal, purify your religion and worship Me only because I’m a jealous God.” It seems God has something more important in mind.

“let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream”

If there is a way out, it starts with justice, and justice must go on continuously and must not be interrupted like the flow of water when a stream dries up in the summer.

Justice

Jeremiah 22:3 tells us what justice means:

“This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.”

Micah, about 30 years later, has the same message:

Mic 6:7-8 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Parallels with our times

We can see some parallels with our times and those of Amos. Justice is limited and the poor are exploited. Our religion is all too often simply a ceremony or a festival, with little real worship taking place, because we are focussed on the activity to the exclusion of our God.

Matthew – 10 virgins

I’m now going to look at the parable of the 10 virgins from our reading in Matthew. Studying parables should always come with a health warning. Parables are told to deliver a single point, we should not try to draw too much from them for fear of losing that point.

The coming of the Son of Man

Jesus is talking to His disciples about the coming of the son of Man. In 24:42-44, we have the thief in the night, telling us that the coming of the Son of Man will be unexpected. Jesus says we must be ready. In 24:45-51 we have the wise and foolish servants, telling us that we must behave properly, as though He is already here, or when he comes unexpectedly we will be cut to pieces and, much worse, assigned a place with the hypocrites.

Then we have the parable of the kingdom of heaven being like 10 virgins going to meet the bridegroom.

1st century weddings

To understand what is happening, we need to know how weddings worked in the 1^st century. The bridegroom would come to the brides home and collect her. He would then take her back to his home and the celebrations would get underway – normally lasting 3 or more days. And we think weddings today are expensive! On odd occasions, when the bridegroom lives a long way away, the celebrations would start at the brides house, and that seems to be the case here.

Identifying Characters

Not all commentators agree that Jesus is the Bridegroom, but they usually end up missing the point of the parable, so that is where I will start. The 10 virgins may be bridesmaids, but the parable would work just as well if they weren’t.

Interpreting the story

The point is that they have to meet the bridegroom, and they aren’t sure exactly when He will arrive.

They take with them oil lamps, and five take extra oil. It would work just as well now, with torches and spare batteries, or even mobile phones and battery charging packs. Five of them are prepared for the long haul, and five of them are only prepared for the expected schedule.

Delay

It’s a long wait, it’s dark, and no doubt they have had busy days, so they all sleep. This is not a ‘last person touching the car wins it’ game.

Then finally, at midnight, the bridegroom arrives – much later than expected. The virgins wake up and trimmed their lamps, but for some, it’s bad news. There is not enough oil and they must get some more.

The wise virgins cannot share, or they would not have enough for themselves, so the foolish virgins must go and buy oil.

“Who is the 1^st century sold oil at midnight?” I asked myself, before remembering that that would be pushing the parable too far.

By the time they get back, the doors are locked, and the party is in full swing. There is no way in.

Meaning

When Jesus returns, He will not be late, his timing is perfect, but we cannot know when that will be, therefore as Jesus says we must keep watch – not stay awake!

Matthew Henry, in his commentary said:

“Those will see their need of grace hereafter, when it should save them, who will not see their need of grace now, when it should sanctify and rule them.”

The rejection of the five foolish virgins, is the rejection of those who looked ready and appear to be part of the kingdom, but in reality were not. There are ways that we are to prepare for the Kingdom, for the arrival of the bridegroom, for the Day of the Lord.

We’ve heard the requirement before:

And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Justice must flow like a river all the way to the coming of the son of Man, and must not dry up like a stream in summer. That way we build up treasure in heaven and will be ready when the day of the Lord comes, or the bridegroom arrives.

Amen.