I'm assuming that you all know the story, so if you don't see the film (or better, read the book) then return.
My recent experiences of Cinema attendance meant that it was quite a long time since I was last at a Film Theatre. We again attended the 'Empire' in Basildon. It was not quite as bad, still popcorn on the floor. How about not filling the buckets to overflowing? Being boxing day there were not that many people there. No box office either, so if you went without credit/debit cards you would not have got in! We had deliberately avoided the 3D option. Screen 8 is an odd shaped theatre. I must have been in it before but I don't remember the screen seeming to be set at an angle, so the right side is further away than the left side - a very strange experience, especially during the sailing scenes.
The film itself was better than the cinema experience. A long time ago I read the book and my memories of the story are not that clear. Eustace I remember, and the general plot, but Eustace as a dragon I don't. However, Will Poulter who plays Eustace is undoubtedly the star of the show. I began to dis-like him almost immediately. Watching his transformation from a horrid little boy always relying on his doting parents to someone of more mature character, indeed even courageous was the best part of the film. The cause of the change is 'the annoying glass is always half full person', as he is described by Eustace, of Reepicheep. An animated mouse, voiced by Simon Pegg, whose tail was given to him by Aslan. Which brings me to the special effects. Always unobtrusive they, in many ways, bring the film to life, but that is what they are for - magic can only occur this way. I'd like to know how real the Dawn Treader was. If it was part of the special effects it was VERY good. Some were a little tired though. When the invisible mansion appears, it seems to build itself, like so many reconstructions of the Colosseum or similar ancient building you may watch a documentary on.
The story is better, on film, than Prince Caspian - much better. It moves at a constant pace, sometimes forgetting to pause for thought as we move from island to island and closer to the source of all evil. It does though slow for the final (well until the last book) goodbye to Narnia for the Pevensy Children, and also the parting of Reepicheep and Eustace.
The story has a clear Christian basis and this is not eroded by the film. The morals are still there, some easier to see than others, but all still intact.
My verdict: Well worth a visit to the cinema to see it.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Joseph, an obedient servant
Joseph @ the school Nativity - illustration
At the school nativity play a boy desperately wanted to play the role of Joseph. He didn't get the part – he was to be the inn keeper. Instead the part of Joseph went to his greatest rival in the class. He was very upset. All through rehearsals he was planning what he would do. On the first night of the play when Joseph knocked on the door, the Inn keeper opened it. Joseph asked if they had any room. The Inn keeper said “Of course, there's plenty of room, come in.”. There was a bit of a silence and you could see the confusion on Joseph's face. Finally he moved forward, looked in the Inn and said to the Inn keeper “Never mind, no wife of mine is staying in a dump like this!” Turning to Mary he said “Let's see what's round the back”. The nativity was back on track.
Introduction to Joseph
It seems that there's something special about playing Joseph. Sure, Joseph's part is probably seen as the staring role for boys in the Nativity play. Although he is in many of the scenes, his only lines are with the Inn keeper – who has a similar number of lines.
Perhaps there is something deeper going on. Could it be that playing the role of the father is still seen as important. Perhaps it is something about being the father of God that makes the role attractive.
Last week Jo and I went to the Baptists Church to see Star Wise – the story of the Visit of the Magi set in a science fiction genre. There the star ship captain, who represented the modern sceptic, got to play hide and seek with the baby Jesus. Quite a lot was made of it, as it was the point in the play where the Captain began to change his mind. What was it like to play with Jesus as a toddler?
I'm sure Joseph enjoyed playing with the young Jesus as much as any father enjoys playing with his son. The reality though is that in the Bible Joseph has a bit part. The focus is on Jesus – exactly where it should be, of course. Joseph doesn't have a single word recorded. He is a silent witness but we do have a record of his actions. As my mother constantly reminded me “Actions speak louder than words”. Lets take a look through Joseph's story to see what he did, to see what we can learn about him and from him.
1st Century BC marriage
When we meet Joseph he is already being described as Mary's husband. In the first century BC the Jewish marriage process was nothing like ours. The system was based on arranged marriages. Joseph's parents and Mary's parents would have made an arrangement between them. When Joseph was old enough and established enough to support a wife the wedding would take place. This would probably have been the first time the couple met. After the wedding celebration the couple would return to their own homes. The period known as betrothal had started. During this time Joseph and Mary would get to know each other and begin the process of learning to live together. From the point of view of the Jewish law they were married. If anything happened – such as the death of one of them the other would be a widow, or widower. The divorce law also applied.
One of the most serious sins a woman could commit was to be involved with another man during the time of betrothal. The penalty was death by stoning.
Deuteronomy 22:23-24
If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.
We have no idea what Joseph thought of Mary – we cannot tell whether he was in love, or whether he even liked her, but the reading tells us that he was a righteous man (v19). So when it became clear to him that his wife was pregnant and he knew that he couldn't be the father, he knew he must end the marriage.
Joseph righteous
Joseph was righteous – meaning that he kept the Law as best he could. So he could not complete the betrothal. He could not be married to someone who did not start out a virgin, and especially someone in a relationship with another man.
By Jesus time the practice of stoning was not so common, although it was still an option. He could have called for the full force of the law to be applied and made a public denouncement of Mary. Being righteous does not mean you lack compassion. Psalm 112:4 links the characteristics together:
Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.
Well Joseph was certainly in a time of darkness – perhaps as dark as it gets. His decision was a compassionate one. He will just get Mary out of his life by getting a certificate of divorce and then start again on finding a wife. After all there was plenty of evidence.
The plan is made, but before it can be put into action God intervenes.
V20 “... an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
Is this one of the things we can learn from Joseph – always act on your dreams? Does God still guide through dreams?
There are some significant differences of opinion. One preacher says “If you remember your dreams then God is trying to speak to you” I can't agree with that. Most of the dreams I remember are nightmares that wake me up and make getting back to sleep difficult. They are disjointed and frightening and do not seems as though God is there in any way.
Others will tell you that the promise in Joel 2:28-29 that Peter quotes in Acts 2:17-18, is not for our time, but for the time of the apostles or the time after Jesus return.
Here's what Joel says:
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”
Neither position really makes sense to me. It's true, of course that God will not and cannot act in ways that He has said He will not act in. It's also true that the prophesies are hard to understand, and can be looked at in several ways.
All I can say is that in the one or two cases where my dreams may have come from God the message has not contradicted my understanding of scripture and has reminded me to help people or pray for them.
Joseph clearly knew the difference between a dream sent by God and an ordinary nightmare. To him this message is clearly from God – it fits with prophecy:
Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Remember the words from the dream:
“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Who is the father?
OK, the baby is God's and that's very important, but there is still an earthly cost to consider. Families with bastard children were considered to be evil. They had broken the law and would be shunned. It would affect Mary as she brought up the family, and it would affect Joseph and his business. People may have thought that they just couldn't wait. People may have asked who the real father was. Channel 4 made a whole program on a rumour that starts around 150 AD that a Roman soldier called Panthera was the real father. There was speculation even before Jesus was born, and there has been ever since.
If Joseph had heard and believed the rumours things would be very different. Mary would have been divorced and unmarryable. Jesus could not have been David's descendant and the prophesies would not have been fulfilled. If Joseph heard the gossip he certainly didn't give it any value.
Joseph is not only a believer, but he is also faithful and obedient. Once he knows that the message is from God, he obeys. I'm sure he considered the cost. Righteousness goes deeper than simply following instructions. For Joseph righteousness means being open to follow God's commands as they arrive, it means knowing God's voice and following what it says.
Jesus says in John 10:3-5
“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
I wonder if he got that idea from Joseph?
We see how obedient Joseph is after the visit of the Magi, where another dream tells him to take his family to Egypt. In Matthew 2:13-14 Joseph wakes from his dream and the family leave immediately.
If you are to know someone’s voice then you must spend time with them. Dogs are generally reckoned to be more intelligent than sheep. Some of you will know we got a dog in June. He was about 18 months old, and it took him a few weeks to get used to our voices. Even a couple of months ago he wasn't entirely sure and went chasing after someone else whistling for their dog. If it takes the dog months, how long will it take the sheep.
Conclusion
Joseph is an excellent example of the character God is trying to develop in each of us.
If we are to be obedient to God, in the way that Joseph was obedient we must get close to God and listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to us. We will then be prepared to understand not just the message, but the urgency of it too. That way we can respond accordingly. We also learn from Joseph that our response to situations in the world must be loving and compassionate, just as God is loving and compassionate with us.
Joseph has a lot to teach us, not bad for the Bibles Silent Witness, Joseph son of David, the man who taught God.
At the school nativity play a boy desperately wanted to play the role of Joseph. He didn't get the part – he was to be the inn keeper. Instead the part of Joseph went to his greatest rival in the class. He was very upset. All through rehearsals he was planning what he would do. On the first night of the play when Joseph knocked on the door, the Inn keeper opened it. Joseph asked if they had any room. The Inn keeper said “Of course, there's plenty of room, come in.”. There was a bit of a silence and you could see the confusion on Joseph's face. Finally he moved forward, looked in the Inn and said to the Inn keeper “Never mind, no wife of mine is staying in a dump like this!” Turning to Mary he said “Let's see what's round the back”. The nativity was back on track.
Introduction to Joseph
It seems that there's something special about playing Joseph. Sure, Joseph's part is probably seen as the staring role for boys in the Nativity play. Although he is in many of the scenes, his only lines are with the Inn keeper – who has a similar number of lines.
Perhaps there is something deeper going on. Could it be that playing the role of the father is still seen as important. Perhaps it is something about being the father of God that makes the role attractive.
Last week Jo and I went to the Baptists Church to see Star Wise – the story of the Visit of the Magi set in a science fiction genre. There the star ship captain, who represented the modern sceptic, got to play hide and seek with the baby Jesus. Quite a lot was made of it, as it was the point in the play where the Captain began to change his mind. What was it like to play with Jesus as a toddler?
I'm sure Joseph enjoyed playing with the young Jesus as much as any father enjoys playing with his son. The reality though is that in the Bible Joseph has a bit part. The focus is on Jesus – exactly where it should be, of course. Joseph doesn't have a single word recorded. He is a silent witness but we do have a record of his actions. As my mother constantly reminded me “Actions speak louder than words”. Lets take a look through Joseph's story to see what he did, to see what we can learn about him and from him.
1st Century BC marriage
When we meet Joseph he is already being described as Mary's husband. In the first century BC the Jewish marriage process was nothing like ours. The system was based on arranged marriages. Joseph's parents and Mary's parents would have made an arrangement between them. When Joseph was old enough and established enough to support a wife the wedding would take place. This would probably have been the first time the couple met. After the wedding celebration the couple would return to their own homes. The period known as betrothal had started. During this time Joseph and Mary would get to know each other and begin the process of learning to live together. From the point of view of the Jewish law they were married. If anything happened – such as the death of one of them the other would be a widow, or widower. The divorce law also applied.
One of the most serious sins a woman could commit was to be involved with another man during the time of betrothal. The penalty was death by stoning.
Deuteronomy 22:23-24
If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.
We have no idea what Joseph thought of Mary – we cannot tell whether he was in love, or whether he even liked her, but the reading tells us that he was a righteous man (v19). So when it became clear to him that his wife was pregnant and he knew that he couldn't be the father, he knew he must end the marriage.
Joseph righteous
Joseph was righteous – meaning that he kept the Law as best he could. So he could not complete the betrothal. He could not be married to someone who did not start out a virgin, and especially someone in a relationship with another man.
By Jesus time the practice of stoning was not so common, although it was still an option. He could have called for the full force of the law to be applied and made a public denouncement of Mary. Being righteous does not mean you lack compassion. Psalm 112:4 links the characteristics together:
Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.
Well Joseph was certainly in a time of darkness – perhaps as dark as it gets. His decision was a compassionate one. He will just get Mary out of his life by getting a certificate of divorce and then start again on finding a wife. After all there was plenty of evidence.
The plan is made, but before it can be put into action God intervenes.
V20 “... an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
Is this one of the things we can learn from Joseph – always act on your dreams? Does God still guide through dreams?
There are some significant differences of opinion. One preacher says “If you remember your dreams then God is trying to speak to you” I can't agree with that. Most of the dreams I remember are nightmares that wake me up and make getting back to sleep difficult. They are disjointed and frightening and do not seems as though God is there in any way.
Others will tell you that the promise in Joel 2:28-29 that Peter quotes in Acts 2:17-18, is not for our time, but for the time of the apostles or the time after Jesus return.
Here's what Joel says:
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”
Neither position really makes sense to me. It's true, of course that God will not and cannot act in ways that He has said He will not act in. It's also true that the prophesies are hard to understand, and can be looked at in several ways.
All I can say is that in the one or two cases where my dreams may have come from God the message has not contradicted my understanding of scripture and has reminded me to help people or pray for them.
Joseph clearly knew the difference between a dream sent by God and an ordinary nightmare. To him this message is clearly from God – it fits with prophecy:
Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Remember the words from the dream:
“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Who is the father?
OK, the baby is God's and that's very important, but there is still an earthly cost to consider. Families with bastard children were considered to be evil. They had broken the law and would be shunned. It would affect Mary as she brought up the family, and it would affect Joseph and his business. People may have thought that they just couldn't wait. People may have asked who the real father was. Channel 4 made a whole program on a rumour that starts around 150 AD that a Roman soldier called Panthera was the real father. There was speculation even before Jesus was born, and there has been ever since.
If Joseph had heard and believed the rumours things would be very different. Mary would have been divorced and unmarryable. Jesus could not have been David's descendant and the prophesies would not have been fulfilled. If Joseph heard the gossip he certainly didn't give it any value.
Joseph is not only a believer, but he is also faithful and obedient. Once he knows that the message is from God, he obeys. I'm sure he considered the cost. Righteousness goes deeper than simply following instructions. For Joseph righteousness means being open to follow God's commands as they arrive, it means knowing God's voice and following what it says.
Jesus says in John 10:3-5
“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
I wonder if he got that idea from Joseph?
We see how obedient Joseph is after the visit of the Magi, where another dream tells him to take his family to Egypt. In Matthew 2:13-14 Joseph wakes from his dream and the family leave immediately.
If you are to know someone’s voice then you must spend time with them. Dogs are generally reckoned to be more intelligent than sheep. Some of you will know we got a dog in June. He was about 18 months old, and it took him a few weeks to get used to our voices. Even a couple of months ago he wasn't entirely sure and went chasing after someone else whistling for their dog. If it takes the dog months, how long will it take the sheep.
Conclusion
Joseph is an excellent example of the character God is trying to develop in each of us.
If we are to be obedient to God, in the way that Joseph was obedient we must get close to God and listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to us. We will then be prepared to understand not just the message, but the urgency of it too. That way we can respond accordingly. We also learn from Joseph that our response to situations in the world must be loving and compassionate, just as God is loving and compassionate with us.
Joseph has a lot to teach us, not bad for the Bibles Silent Witness, Joseph son of David, the man who taught God.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Star Wise @ Billericay Baptist Church
The whole performance is backed by video clips, showing the controls of the ship, recorded messages (captains log ..) from the chief of Magi - Melchior, and outer space. The programme contains a list of the films and TV series that the ideas came from, and there are a few tributes to shows whose ideas have not been used - 'Blakes Seven' even gets a mention. The songs are mostly very clever. One I particularly likes was about faster than light travel and contains a line something like 'go out in the morning, come back the night before'. Scientific rubbish, of course, but entirely true to the genre.
Remembering that the cast are complete amateurs and most (if not all) are not regularly involved in drama they did a very good job. The few minor glitches and hesitations are easily forgiven. The show is quite long at around 2 hours, but there is an intermission when refreshments are served. The baptist church itself was really too small as a venue, but I doubt they had much option.
Star Wise was put on to raise money for "Door of Hope".
Jo and I had an enjoyable evening. Our thanks go to Peter White, the author, the cast and crew and the Baptist Church down the road.
I hope that this was a very successful outreach activity. It had all the main points of the story, and the script showed some attempt to explain who the Magi were and where their beliefs came from. God is referred to as 'The Uncreated Creator' most of the time and our captain gets to play hide and seek with the son of God. Even the captain has the dream warning of the danger of returning to Herod. At least it should certainly produce lots of questions for any who saw it and were not believers.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Keep Calm and Carry On - a sermon for Remembrance Sunday 2010
“Keep Calm and Carry On” This poster was initially produced by the Ministry of Information in 1939. It was intended to strengthen morale in the event of a wartime disaster – an invasion. Two-and-a-half million copies were printed, although the poster was distributed only in limited numbers. Quite what the reaction to it was in 1939 I have no idea. It was rediscovered in Barter Books, a second-hand bookshop in Alnwick, Northumberland in 2000. While never intended for this age it seems to have captured the imagination of the British people. Perhaps they have recognised something in their character.
[Slide 5 – Keep Calm and Carry On Products]
There are T-Shirts, mugs and posters and much more. I don't believe this is all marketing, after all if you make these things and don't sell them they soon disappear.
Its pretty much the same message that Jesus is giving his disciples as he talks about the End Times. He is saying that nothing much has changed in the world as we moved from BC to AD. There are still going to be Wars and revolutions, just as there had been in the past. Nations will fight and try to destroy each other. It was not new then and it is not new now. There are still going to be earthquakes. There are still going to be famines, There are still going to be epidemics or even pandemics.
[Slide 6 – Shoemakerlevy hits Jupiter]
There are still going to be great signs in the heavens. This picture shows the comet Shoemakerlevy as it collides with Jupiter. In Jesus time the interpretation of comets and other events in the night sky was very different from the interpretations we have now. Something like this would have been seen as a sign of something important happening on earth. Just like the star (whatever it was) that led the wise men to the new king of the earth shortly after his birth. In the mind set of the people of the time you could not have such an important person born without there being a sign in the sky.
All these things must happen before the end comes. Jesus' disciples are not to be frightened by any of this, but are to accept it calmly as inevitable and part of the process that God is going through in order to complete His redemption plan.
Perhaps we could put it another way:
[Video – Corporal Jones – Don't Panic]
Jones, of course is talking to himself as much as those around him. The message remains the same from popular culture whether you are in the seventies or the eighties.
[Slide 7 – Hitchhikers Guide – Don't Panic]
“Don't Panic”
Its an important message for for people to receive in times of disaster. When a bomb lands on the bank during the war, or when your world is being destroyed panic will only cause things to get worse.
I'm sure there have been many times throughout your life when it has looked as though your world is falling apart. Sometimes that has been at a personal level – when you loose someone important and don't know how you can continue to cope without them. Sometimes that will have been at a national level, when you see a threat to your whole nation.
Some of you here will remember and have been involved in WWII. You will have been through the times when it looked like the Germans might bomb London to a pile of rubble.
[Slide 8 – St Pauls, Blitz]
You will remember the heroic efforts to keep St Pauls from being burnt down. You will remember the famine that resulted from the war, rationing and the fears that you might starve to death. You will remember friends and family who gave their lives in the fight, or who were killed by enemy action over our heads. These were no doubt some of the low points of the war for you.
I've recently finished a book called 'Bomber Boys' about the young men who volunteered to fly in the RAF bombers that bombed Germany. The statistics are appalling:
2/3 of Allied bomber crews were lost for each plane destroyed, it was higher for the RAF, who flew the more dangerous missions.
6 bomber crewmen were killed for each one wounded
Tour Of Duty% KIA or MIA
Fighters (300 combat hours) 24%
Medium bombers (50 missions) 48%
Heavy bombers (30 missions) 71%
Many of them, whose writings are recorded, believed in what they were doing, and believed in the ultimate success of the whole venture.
There have been other wars since, of course. Most notably for me the Falklands war. I remember thinking at the time that it was nothing more than a skirmish and would be over in a few days. How could a country like Argentina defeat Britain – with its professional, well trained and equipped military services. So imagine my shock when I heard on the radio of the sinking of the HNS Sheffield by an Exocet missile.
[Slide 9 – HMS Sheffield, burning]
It took me a while after that to regain my composure, to calm down and to carry on. There was a real chance that the task force could be defeated and I had to come to terms with that.
It was the low point of the conflict for me.
There have been other wars since, and I know that I am very fortunate. I have not been involved in a war in my life time. I sincerely hope that I never am, and the same goes for my children.
[Slide 10 – Black]
We must remember though that although we are not involved in a physical war, we are most definitely involved in a spiritual one. When Jesus is talking about the end times He did not start by saying that war is a normal state of affairs on the earth. He started by warning us not to be deceived by the many who will come in his name claiming to be the Messiah. Many have come, here just a few that are recent:
David Koresh - Born Vernon Wayne Howell, was the leader of a Branch Davidian religious sect, proclaimed that he was "the Son of God, the Lamb."
Ariffin Mohamed – Also known as "Ayah Pin", the founder of the banned Sky Kingdom in Malaysia. He claims to be the incarnation of Jesus, as well as Muhammad, Shiva, and Buddha.[1]
Laszlo Toth – Hungarian-born Australian who vandalised Michelangelo's Pietà in 1972.
Arnold Potter - Schismatic Latter Day Saint leader; called himself "Potter Christ".
Thomas Harrison Provenzano[4] – convicted murderer who possibly was mentally ill. Provenzano compared his execution with Jesus Christ's crucifixion.
Georges-Ernest Roux – Founder of the Universal Alliance, claimed to be Jesus, then God, called the "Christ of Montfavet" or "Georges-Christ".
Ahn Sahng-hong – South Korean man worshipped by World Mission Society Church of God
John Nichols Thom - Cornish-man who claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and his body temple of the Holy Ghost. He was killed by British soldiers at the Battle of Bossenden Wood, on May 31, 1838 in Kent, England.
Sergei Torop – a Russian who claims to be "reborn" as Vissarion, the returned Jesus Christ. He founded the Church of the Last Testament and the spiritual community Ecopolis Tiberkul in Southern Siberia.
Ernest Norman, founder of the Unarius Academy of Science, was allegedly Jesus in a past life.
And that takes no account of the Moonies and other such sects. People are easily deceived and there are plenty of people ready to deceive them. Jesus tells his disciples not to be one of them. Whatever they say, Jesus' instructions are “Do not follow them”.
How not to be deceived?
That's the first and perhaps the most important thing. Then at the end of today's reading is a section where Jesus talks to his followers about what their life will be like. He starts in v12 with “But before all this”. Before there are wars, natural disasters, pandemics and famines there are more immediate problems that you will have to overcome.
Persecution.
Persecution can be very minor, like the rather ridiculous attack on Ian Duncan Smith for using the word 'sin' in a speech. Mostly though it is far from minor, and as Jesus says here it often involves the courts. In many countries courts are not involved at all, the targets of persecution are beaten up, and their churches or houses burned. None of the persecutors cares if some of them die as a result – there is no justice.
How many Christian Martyrs do you think there are in a year?
[Slide 11 – The Christian Martyrs last prayer]
[get some answers]
Perhaps your view of Christian martyrs is shaped by stories from Nero's Rome, and that leaves you with the impression that it doesn't happen today.
According to one estimate it is about 171,000 per year world wide.
[Slide 12 – Christian Martyrs of the 20th century]
In 1998, 10 Statues were added to Westminster Abbey. (Yes, I know there are only six in the picture!) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/129587.stm)They commemorate 10 Christian Martyrs from the 20th century. You may recognise some of the names and know their stories. Some you may not have heard of – neither had I. Each lost their life because of their faith in Jesus Christ. They are only 10. There are thousands that we will never know anything about who have made the same sacrifice. Jesus predicted as much in His words to the disciples (v 16).
Today, as we remember those who have given their lives to fight for our country, let us also remember those who have given their lives to fight for our faith. They died so that we may live our lives in peace and in freedom.
Perhaps the most shocking persecution of Christians that is happening today is causing Christians to leave the middle eastern countries in droves. It is being described as a new exodus. Christians in the past few years have left Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, and The Lebanon. In the case of The Lebanon they were not that long ago the majority population, now they are down to under a third. Islamic fundamentalism often gets the blame but the causes of this are unclear. The disruption and hardship caused to the thousands of families forced to leave their homes is obvious.
Will you or I end our lives as martyrs? - It's possible. I have no idea where Jesus will take me next, and I doubt that you do either.
If we do have to face the ultimate sacrifice, or any kind of persecution Jesus says that we should not worry about what we will say beforehand. His promise is that the Holy Spirit will give us the right words when the time comes. Verse 15 “For I will give you words of wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict”.
Keep Calm and Cary On.
We know that many awful things must happen before the end comes. We are not allowed to know when that will be, but we are given some clues and told to watch for signs. Jesus warned his disciples to leave Jerusalem and head for the hills when they saw the armies advancing. In AD 66 Titus Flavius Vespasianus led the Roman army against Jerusalem. By AD 70 the seige of Jerusalem was broken and the vast majority of it's inhabitants slaughtered by angry Roman soldiers. Josephus estimates that 1.1 million were killed, while only 97,000 survived. If only they had followed Jesus' advice and fled. Instead they followed the common wisdom of the time – that it was safer inside the walls of the city than outside.
Keep calm and Carry on does not mean that you ignore the signs that are so carefully put there as a warning for you.
Peter, one of Jesus' three closest disciples says in chapter 4 of his first letter “7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” and in Chapter 5 “8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
Our reading today ends with the line “but not a hair on your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life”. He says this immediately after telling the disciples that some of them will be put to death. This ONLY makes sense if you are expecting another life after this one. Jesus had not demonstrated Eternal Life when he said this. Now he has!
Now we have so much more than the disciples had, but like the people Peter is writing to we must be alert to the signs and stand firm in the faith.
[Slide 13 – Keep Calm and Carry On]
Keep Calm and Carry On
Carry On deepening your faith, be alert look carefully for signs, be sure you know how to read them. Some of them will be awful and may disrupt life as we know it. Some of us may end our lives as martyrs. We cannot correctly interpret and respond to signs – even if they are as clear as an unexploded bomb, if we are in a state of panic.
Carry On standing firm and you will gain life.
[Slide 5 – Keep Calm and Carry On Products]
There are T-Shirts, mugs and posters and much more. I don't believe this is all marketing, after all if you make these things and don't sell them they soon disappear.
Its pretty much the same message that Jesus is giving his disciples as he talks about the End Times. He is saying that nothing much has changed in the world as we moved from BC to AD. There are still going to be Wars and revolutions, just as there had been in the past. Nations will fight and try to destroy each other. It was not new then and it is not new now. There are still going to be earthquakes. There are still going to be famines, There are still going to be epidemics or even pandemics.
[Slide 6 – Shoemakerlevy hits Jupiter]
There are still going to be great signs in the heavens. This picture shows the comet Shoemakerlevy as it collides with Jupiter. In Jesus time the interpretation of comets and other events in the night sky was very different from the interpretations we have now. Something like this would have been seen as a sign of something important happening on earth. Just like the star (whatever it was) that led the wise men to the new king of the earth shortly after his birth. In the mind set of the people of the time you could not have such an important person born without there being a sign in the sky.
All these things must happen before the end comes. Jesus' disciples are not to be frightened by any of this, but are to accept it calmly as inevitable and part of the process that God is going through in order to complete His redemption plan.
Perhaps we could put it another way:
[Video – Corporal Jones – Don't Panic]
Jones, of course is talking to himself as much as those around him. The message remains the same from popular culture whether you are in the seventies or the eighties.
[Slide 7 – Hitchhikers Guide – Don't Panic]
“Don't Panic”
Its an important message for for people to receive in times of disaster. When a bomb lands on the bank during the war, or when your world is being destroyed panic will only cause things to get worse.
I'm sure there have been many times throughout your life when it has looked as though your world is falling apart. Sometimes that has been at a personal level – when you loose someone important and don't know how you can continue to cope without them. Sometimes that will have been at a national level, when you see a threat to your whole nation.
Some of you here will remember and have been involved in WWII. You will have been through the times when it looked like the Germans might bomb London to a pile of rubble.
[Slide 8 – St Pauls, Blitz]
You will remember the heroic efforts to keep St Pauls from being burnt down. You will remember the famine that resulted from the war, rationing and the fears that you might starve to death. You will remember friends and family who gave their lives in the fight, or who were killed by enemy action over our heads. These were no doubt some of the low points of the war for you.
I've recently finished a book called 'Bomber Boys' about the young men who volunteered to fly in the RAF bombers that bombed Germany. The statistics are appalling:
2/3 of Allied bomber crews were lost for each plane destroyed, it was higher for the RAF, who flew the more dangerous missions.
6 bomber crewmen were killed for each one wounded
Tour Of Duty% KIA or MIA
Fighters (300 combat hours) 24%
Medium bombers (50 missions) 48%
Heavy bombers (30 missions) 71%
Many of them, whose writings are recorded, believed in what they were doing, and believed in the ultimate success of the whole venture.
There have been other wars since, of course. Most notably for me the Falklands war. I remember thinking at the time that it was nothing more than a skirmish and would be over in a few days. How could a country like Argentina defeat Britain – with its professional, well trained and equipped military services. So imagine my shock when I heard on the radio of the sinking of the HNS Sheffield by an Exocet missile.
[Slide 9 – HMS Sheffield, burning]
It took me a while after that to regain my composure, to calm down and to carry on. There was a real chance that the task force could be defeated and I had to come to terms with that.
It was the low point of the conflict for me.
There have been other wars since, and I know that I am very fortunate. I have not been involved in a war in my life time. I sincerely hope that I never am, and the same goes for my children.
[Slide 10 – Black]
We must remember though that although we are not involved in a physical war, we are most definitely involved in a spiritual one. When Jesus is talking about the end times He did not start by saying that war is a normal state of affairs on the earth. He started by warning us not to be deceived by the many who will come in his name claiming to be the Messiah. Many have come, here just a few that are recent:
David Koresh - Born Vernon Wayne Howell, was the leader of a Branch Davidian religious sect, proclaimed that he was "the Son of God, the Lamb."
Ariffin Mohamed – Also known as "Ayah Pin", the founder of the banned Sky Kingdom in Malaysia. He claims to be the incarnation of Jesus, as well as Muhammad, Shiva, and Buddha.[1]
Laszlo Toth – Hungarian-born Australian who vandalised Michelangelo's Pietà in 1972.
Arnold Potter - Schismatic Latter Day Saint leader; called himself "Potter Christ".
Thomas Harrison Provenzano[4] – convicted murderer who possibly was mentally ill. Provenzano compared his execution with Jesus Christ's crucifixion.
Georges-Ernest Roux – Founder of the Universal Alliance, claimed to be Jesus, then God, called the "Christ of Montfavet" or "Georges-Christ".
Ahn Sahng-hong – South Korean man worshipped by World Mission Society Church of God
John Nichols Thom - Cornish-man who claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and his body temple of the Holy Ghost. He was killed by British soldiers at the Battle of Bossenden Wood, on May 31, 1838 in Kent, England.
Sergei Torop – a Russian who claims to be "reborn" as Vissarion, the returned Jesus Christ. He founded the Church of the Last Testament and the spiritual community Ecopolis Tiberkul in Southern Siberia.
Ernest Norman, founder of the Unarius Academy of Science, was allegedly Jesus in a past life.
And that takes no account of the Moonies and other such sects. People are easily deceived and there are plenty of people ready to deceive them. Jesus tells his disciples not to be one of them. Whatever they say, Jesus' instructions are “Do not follow them”.
How not to be deceived?
That's the first and perhaps the most important thing. Then at the end of today's reading is a section where Jesus talks to his followers about what their life will be like. He starts in v12 with “But before all this”. Before there are wars, natural disasters, pandemics and famines there are more immediate problems that you will have to overcome.
Persecution.
Persecution can be very minor, like the rather ridiculous attack on Ian Duncan Smith for using the word 'sin' in a speech. Mostly though it is far from minor, and as Jesus says here it often involves the courts. In many countries courts are not involved at all, the targets of persecution are beaten up, and their churches or houses burned. None of the persecutors cares if some of them die as a result – there is no justice.
How many Christian Martyrs do you think there are in a year?
[Slide 11 – The Christian Martyrs last prayer]
[get some answers]
Perhaps your view of Christian martyrs is shaped by stories from Nero's Rome, and that leaves you with the impression that it doesn't happen today.
According to one estimate it is about 171,000 per year world wide.
[Slide 12 – Christian Martyrs of the 20th century]
In 1998, 10 Statues were added to Westminster Abbey. (Yes, I know there are only six in the picture!) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/129587.stm)They commemorate 10 Christian Martyrs from the 20th century. You may recognise some of the names and know their stories. Some you may not have heard of – neither had I. Each lost their life because of their faith in Jesus Christ. They are only 10. There are thousands that we will never know anything about who have made the same sacrifice. Jesus predicted as much in His words to the disciples (v 16).
Today, as we remember those who have given their lives to fight for our country, let us also remember those who have given their lives to fight for our faith. They died so that we may live our lives in peace and in freedom.
Perhaps the most shocking persecution of Christians that is happening today is causing Christians to leave the middle eastern countries in droves. It is being described as a new exodus. Christians in the past few years have left Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, and The Lebanon. In the case of The Lebanon they were not that long ago the majority population, now they are down to under a third. Islamic fundamentalism often gets the blame but the causes of this are unclear. The disruption and hardship caused to the thousands of families forced to leave their homes is obvious.
Will you or I end our lives as martyrs? - It's possible. I have no idea where Jesus will take me next, and I doubt that you do either.
If we do have to face the ultimate sacrifice, or any kind of persecution Jesus says that we should not worry about what we will say beforehand. His promise is that the Holy Spirit will give us the right words when the time comes. Verse 15 “For I will give you words of wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict”.
Keep Calm and Cary On.
We know that many awful things must happen before the end comes. We are not allowed to know when that will be, but we are given some clues and told to watch for signs. Jesus warned his disciples to leave Jerusalem and head for the hills when they saw the armies advancing. In AD 66 Titus Flavius Vespasianus led the Roman army against Jerusalem. By AD 70 the seige of Jerusalem was broken and the vast majority of it's inhabitants slaughtered by angry Roman soldiers. Josephus estimates that 1.1 million were killed, while only 97,000 survived. If only they had followed Jesus' advice and fled. Instead they followed the common wisdom of the time – that it was safer inside the walls of the city than outside.
Keep calm and Carry on does not mean that you ignore the signs that are so carefully put there as a warning for you.
Peter, one of Jesus' three closest disciples says in chapter 4 of his first letter “7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” and in Chapter 5 “8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
Our reading today ends with the line “but not a hair on your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life”. He says this immediately after telling the disciples that some of them will be put to death. This ONLY makes sense if you are expecting another life after this one. Jesus had not demonstrated Eternal Life when he said this. Now he has!
Now we have so much more than the disciples had, but like the people Peter is writing to we must be alert to the signs and stand firm in the faith.
[Slide 13 – Keep Calm and Carry On]
Keep Calm and Carry On
Carry On deepening your faith, be alert look carefully for signs, be sure you know how to read them. Some of them will be awful and may disrupt life as we know it. Some of us may end our lives as martyrs. We cannot correctly interpret and respond to signs – even if they are as clear as an unexploded bomb, if we are in a state of panic.
Carry On standing firm and you will gain life.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Praying for the Kingdom - Luke 18:1-8
Introduction
What is this passage really about? It seems straight forward enough until you get to that last verse. Until then its simply an illustration of Praying – and never giving up until you get what you're asking for. That's easy – right?
But then we get the last part of verse 8 where Jesus says “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
What does Jesus mean, and how does it relate to the parable?
Looking back to the Chapter before our reading today, Jesus is responding to a question about the Kingdom of God. He uses that question to talk about his return. From chapter 17 verse 30.
“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”
The widow in the parable wants justice. We must ask ourselves why there would be a call for justice at the second coming. Christians across the world are hated by those they live among. As a result they are treated badly – persecuted. Sometimes that is simply a form of discrimination but at other times and in other places it is much worse. We are fortunate because we can worship without threat at the moment. There are many places in the world where just going to a Christian meeting would endanger your life. So we can see that there is a great need for justice.
Revelation 6:10 tells us why. 'They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”' That is the same prayer as the prayer of the widow.
In the parable Jesus is saying that we should be praying for the Kingdom of God – for its establishment, its growth, and finally for justice for its members. He teaches the same thing in Matthew 6, where there is an outline for prayer. Its one of the scriptures that make up the “Lord's Prayer”.
Mt 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “ 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
Mt 6:10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Mt 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.
Notice that praying for the Kingdom is something that is to be done before even asking God to provide for our most basic needs – our daily bread.'
Praying for the Kingdom includes anything that helps to build Gods Kingdom on Earth:
- For people to come to Christ
- For people to grow closer to Christ
- For strengthening and healing those who are already engaged in spreading the gospel.
Ernest Persistent Prayer
For these things we should pray and never give up. I was trying to think of an example of a time when Christ Church has prayed together for the same thing. A time when we had prayed with a similar sense of persistence as shown by the widow in the parable. That was when Warner was off work in 2008. We met together in the church room each week to pray. Not that many of us, it is true, but enough of us to make a difference. Perhaps, if I had held those times in the church, more people would have come. We prayed like this for about three months, if I remember correctly. Then one night we met for a half night of prayer, and stayed in church praying until midnight.
And it worked!
Looking back now, though, we weren't that committed to what we were doing.
Kefa Sempangi lead a church in Uganda during the Amin dictatorship. His church would call the leadership together to pray whenever there was a serious need in the church. They would pray right through the whole night, expecting an answer in the morning.
When was the last time that the leaders of our church were called together to pray?
A look at Prayer
Request
Lets take a look at what these prayers might be like.
First we must remember that we do not make demands of God.
Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
C. S. Lewis wrote: “Prayer is request. The essence of a request, as distinct from a demand, is that it may or may not be granted. And if an infinitely wise Being listens to the requests of finite and foolish creatures, of course He will sometimes grant them and sometimes refuse them.”
Sometimes we are not praying for the right thing, as Ruth Bell Graham, the wife of Billy Graham once said, “If God answered every prayer of mine, I would have married the wrong man seven times!”
Our prayers may not always be the best things for us, or for those we are praying for. We must be sure that we are close to God, so that we do not waste our efforts praying for things that are never going to happen.
John 15:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
We may have to wait what seems a very long time to us. Patience and faith are important.
Patience
2Pe 3:8-9 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
In a German prison camp in WWII, unknown to the guards, the American prisoners managed to build a makeshift radio. One day news came that the German high command had surrendered, ending the war—a fact that, because of a communications breakdown, the German guards did not yet know. As word spread, a loud celebration broke out. For three days, the prisoners were hardly recognizable. They sang, waved at guards, laughed at the German shepherd dogs, and shared jokes over meals. On the fourth day, they awoke to find that all the Germans had fled, leaving the gates unlocked.
God, of course doesn't suffer communications breakdowns, but has His reasons for not answering our prayers immediately. Our patience is required.
Faith
Faith is required too.
English preacher George Mueller wrote these words about praying: “The great point is never to give up until the answer comes. I have been praying for 63 years and 8 months for one man’s conversion. He is not saved yet, but he will be. How can it be otherwise? I am praying.” George Mueller died in 1897 and the man was still not saved. But as they lowered Muller’s casket into the ground, the man repented of his sins and trusted Jesus as his Saviour.
George was famous for his prayer life, and is reputed to have read through the Bible 4 times every year.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Sometimes though our certainty in the things we do not see fails us and doubts begin. This is especially the case when we have been praying the same prayer for a long time, and the person that we are praying for seems completely unaffected by our prayers.
Doubt
When you walk into a room and switch on the light an nothing happens you don't say “Oh, that Thomas Edison had no idea what he was talking about. This electricity thing just doesn't work.”. No, you check that there isn't a power cut, then replace the bulb or the switch.
When doubts occur, don't assume that God isn't listening or isn't going to answer your prayer. There are many reasons why God hasn't answered the prayer right NOW.
Closeness to God
If we can stay close to God it will help us to trust Him, then we will be less likely to doubt. Regularly reading the Bible, (4 times through every year is great, but I don't think I will ever manage that!) and spending time just talking to God about your day will help. John 15:5 says “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” We have to stay connected to God if our prayers are to be any use in building the Kingdom.
Faith on Earth
The parable was told to encourage the followers of Jesus to pray and to keep on praying for the Kingdom of God, and in this case for justice for each of its members. This call for justice is echoed John's vision in Revelation 6:10 where the martyrs question God about how long they have to wait for justice. They have been working for the Kingdom of God against the powers of the world and have made the ultimate sacrifice.
At the end of the parable Jesus wonders whether He will find any faithful followers on earth when he returns. Will He find anyone who can stand up the threats of the world and continue to pray for the Kingdom until it comes, or until their time on earth is complete.
Will that be us, or will we succumb to the world and its enchantments?
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Thankfulness
Boy & Orange Story
A small boy was given an orange, which he took willingly. His mother said “What do you say?”. The boy looked at the orange and though for a moment, then said “Peel it.”
That wasn't what his mother wanted or expected. When Jesus healed the lepers he didn't get what he wanted or expected either. Maybe you can easily forgive a child, but with adults you expect a better understanding.
I will be Concentrating on Gratitude this morning. I hope we can get a better understanding of what it means to be thankful.
Background to passage
First though we must take a look at the scene we are presented with and understand what is happening here.
Verse 11 says that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. We are approaching passover, but there is a long journey yet, and lots of teaching to get through before we arrive. He would be travelling roughly southbound, from Galilee to Jerusalem, but Sameria is between the two. Jesus was going around the region of Sameria, instead of through it. Jews and Samaritans have a common ancestry, but separated after the Babylonian exile. Both sides believed they held the truth about God. Under normal circumstances they do not mix, but leprosy is a special case.
As he was entering a village some lepers called out to him. They had to call, they were not allowed to get too close. They had been excluded from their villages and were not allowed to make contact or come within a certain distance of the healthy population. That meant they were not allowed in the Temple or any other place of worship. It meant they were not allowed at a place or work. All they could do was beg. It was a sensible public health measure. Leprosy was (and still is) a horrible disease, and only since the 1930's we have had a cure. The description of Leprosy in the Bible covers many different types of skin disease – but you couldn't be too careful.
The rules for determining what is and is not a skin disease that makes someone 'unclean' are set out in Leviticus 13.
They asked Jesus to take pity on them. Leprosy was seen in Jesus' time as a punishment from God. They believed that God's mercy would make them clean again.
Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests. Jews and Samaritans had similar rules and systems for determining if someone had recovered. It was the priests job to examine the person and determine if he was well. As they obeyed Jesus they all realised that they were cured. Their skin became normal.
One of them, just one, turned back to thank Jesus for the miracle. It turns out that he was a Samaritan.
What of the other nine? Why didn't they come back? Here's one preachers ideas:
- One waited to see if the cure was real.
- One waited to see if it would last.
- One said he would see Jesus later.
- One decided that he had never had leprosy.
- One said he would have gotten well anyway.
- One gave the glory to the priests.
- One said, "O, well, Jesus didn’t really do anything."
- One said, "Any rabbi could have done it."
- One said, "I was already much improved."
May be. May be they did think like that. It's almost impossible for us to know how we would have reacted. All I can say is that, for me, I think I would have been so excited about being able to go back to my family, back to my community, to live my normal life that I may well not have thought about my duty of thanks. Of course I would be thankful, but would not have expressed it to the very person that I should have expressed it.
Parallels to our situation
The social effects of Leprosy has parallels with the effects of sin. As Leprosy separates people from their community so sin separates us from God. It puts us outside the community that we would prefer to be inside. It breaks our contact, and leaves us in a position where we can only beg for mercy.
Gratitude
So we have a lot to be thankful for. Jesus has already answered our call for mercy. Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Before any of us had any concept of our need Christ had already died for us, so that we may not be separated from God.
What do we have to be thankful for?
There's much more than that to be thankful for though.
Rudyard Kipling
“Rudyard Kipling lived from 1865 to 1936. He was English, yet born in Bombay, India. He wrote poetry and is the author of books like Captain Courageous, How the Leopard Got His Spots, and The Jungle Books.
Kipling’s writings not only made him famous but also brought him a fortune. A newspaper reporter came up to him once and said, "Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over one hundred dollars a word.”
The reporter reached into his pocket and pulled out a one hundred-dollar bill and gave it to Kipling and said, “Here’s a one hundred dollar bill, Mr. Kipling. Now you give me one of your hundred dollar words.”
Rudyard Kipling looked at the money, put it in his pocket and said, "Thanks!"
Some things to be thankful for.
I'd certainly say “Thanks” for £50, and I bet most of you would too.
Here are some other things that you might be thankful for:
-If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.
-If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish somewhere, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.
-If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week
-If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
-If you can attend church meetings without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than three billion in the world.
-If your parents are still alive and still married, you are fairly rare.
[What else might we be thankful for?]
A different perspective
Perhaps we just need to change our perspective to see what we can be really thankful for.
Jewish Story – (of the goat)
There is an old Jewish story that illustrates this point. There is a man who goes to the rabbi and complains, "Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?" The rabbi answers, "Take your goat into the room with you." The man in incredulous, but the rabbi insists. "Do as I say and come back in a week." A week later the man comes back looking more distraught than before. "We cannot stand it," he tells the rabbi. "The goat is filthy." The rabbi then tells him, "Go home and let the goat out. And come back in a week." A radiant man returns to the rabbi a week later, exclaiming, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there’s no goat -- only the nine of us."
The situation was the same as at first, but now his perception had changed. He realized that he was blessed to begin with.
Why be grateful?
Does that help to make you think of the things you can be thankful for?
Sometime though, it takes a doctor or an expert to tell us what to do, before we will change our habits.
because it's good for you!
Here's and extract from a book called “Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier”
By Robert A. Emmons
"We discovered scientific proof that when people regularly engage in the systematic cultivation of gratitude, they experience a variety of measurable benefits: psychological, physical, and interpersonal. The evidence on gratitude contradicts the widely held view that people have a "set-point" of happiness that cannot be reset by any known means: in some cases, people have reported that gratitude led to transformative life changes. And, even more important, the family, friends, partners, and others that surround them consistently report that people who practice gratitude seem measurably happier and are more pleasant to be around."
Now Robert is saying that you actually have to do 'being thankful', not just think about what you might be thankful for. He's saying that the act of thanking changes your life.
That is surprisingly exactly what the Bible says.
Philippians. 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
Colossians 2:6-7 "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Part of living with Christ, of being a Christian is that we practice thankfulness.
Farmer and Pig Story
An old farmer once had an ungodly relative visit him. After the farmer had bowed his head and thanked God for the food they were about to eat, the relative rudely said, "What did you do that for? There's no God. We live in an age of enlightenment." The old farmer smiled and said, "There is one on the farm who doesn't thank God before he eats." The relative sat up and said, "Who is this enlightened one?" To which the farmer quietly replied, “My pig.”
Let's end with a prayer
"Thank you, dear God
For all You have given me,
For all You have taken away from me,
For all You have left me."
(unknown)
For all You have given me,
For all You have taken away from me,
For all You have left me."
(unknown)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Time for a Celebration - Luke 15:1-32 @St John the Divine
Lost
[Act Lost Credit Cards]
Oh, the last time I did that was on the morning we were to go on holiday. What a panic! I looked everywhere for hours and hours. Eventually I gave up and phoned all the companies to cancel the cards. When you have joint credit cards they cancel both of them, so even Jo's were no good. It's horrible being on holiday and having nothing spend. When we got home from holiday the cards were waiting for me on the dining table. I had dropped them in my son's car while moving it off the drive the night before!
When you loose something, especially something important a horrible panic sets in and you search wildly trying to find it. When its a person – a friend or relative the sense of anxiety is much stronger and in some cases searching will do you no good at all.
While we're talking about loosing people, do you remember being lost as a child. Try to remember the panic and fear of it for a moment. We will come back to that later.
While we're talking about loosing people, do you remember being lost as a child. Try to remember the panic and fear of it for a moment. We will come back to that later.
Nature of God
We are created in the image of God, so its no surprise that God also keenly feels the sense of having lost someone. You wouldn't expect God to panic, but you would expect him to search. We can see from the stories that Jesus told in our reading today that God does search.
God searches urgently: The shepherd leaves his sheep to search for the one that is lost.
Would you? Would you leave 99 healthy sheep out in the wilderness, where wolves and bears could easily find them? Would you leave 99 sheep out in the wilderness where any number of them could wander off? Just to find only one that was missing?
We may answer 'Yes' quickly to this question, that's because you know the passage, but it's likely that Jesus hearers would not have been quite so positive. Jesus is showing us that God exceeds human expectations.
God searches diligently: A peasants house would have had a low door and no windows, so the woman who lost her coin would have needed a lamp to have any chance of seeing a coin on the floor. Her best chance, even with the lamp lit was to sweep the earth floor carefully until she spotted something move that was not dust. The coin may have been part of her dowry and would have been very valuable.
God waits patiently: Just like the father waiting for his son to return home God waits for his lost people to return to him. When someone has left of their own accord there is not much point in searching, they probably don't want to be found and would just go further away if you did find them. It is better to wait patiently, always on the lookout for the person to return. Just like the father is our passage today.
The Ungrateful Scorpion (found on http://desperatepreacher.com/bodyii.htm)
This is the story of an old man who used to meditate each day by the River. One morning he saw a scorpion floating on the water. When the scorpion drifted near the old man, he reached to rescue it but was stung by the scorpion. A bit later he tried again and was stung again. The stings made his hand swell up and gave him much pain. Another man passing by saw what was happening and said to the Old Man, "What's wrong with you? Only a fool would risk his life for the sake of an ugly, evil creature. Don't you know you could be killed trying to save that ungrateful scorpion?"
From desparatepreacher.com
From desparatepreacher.com
The old man calmly replied, "My friend, just because it is in the scorpion's nature to sting, does not change my nature to save."
It is God's nature to save. We are his treasures – He does not want to loose us. Despite all our best efforts to get ourselves lost God is always there ready to save us.
Urgently looking for an opportunity to rescue us. Diligently searching for a way to make us turn to him.
Patiently waiting for us to respond.
Celebration
When we do there is a celebration. Did you notice that each of the three stories ends with a celebration – a party to mark the occasion.
I heard on the TV the other day that the average wedding costs £17,000. It scared me a little as Karen is talking about getting married. It's an important day in anyone's life. What you do on that day changes you life, so it's worth making an occasion of it.
I've heard that some Jewish families preparing for a Bar Mitzvah have the whole house redecorated and then have a huge party. It must cost a fortune, but marking you son's move from childhood to adulthood is important. His life will change from that point onwards.
There's even a huge party after a christening – when we thank God for the arrival of a new life and commit to bringing the child up in the Christian faith.
What do we do when someone who we've been praying for for absolutely ages becomes a Christian? How do we mark the day when their life changes, indeed when their life really begins?
Our Response
That's all very well, you say, but I've been a Christian for ages, and I didn't get a party! Well if you are thinking like that, let me remind you of the lost son's brother. He is usually condemned for his churlish attitude.
The real question you should be asking is what these stories mean for us as Christians. How should we respond to Gods searching for the lost people in our world?
We are supposed to be God's agents on the earth, so we should join in with his efforts. I'm really assuming that you know that and already have relationships with non-Christians and are praying for them.
Take a moment to remind yourself who they are.
[pause]
The first thing to do is to make sure that no-one else gets lost. I was in a meeting with Warner the other day when someone said they hadn't seen one of our parishioners for a couple of months. Other said the same. He wrote the name in his diary and said he would give them a call to see how they were.
Is there someone who you haven't seen in a while? - Give them a call when you get home and tell them they're missed.
So the first response we can have is to keep in touch.
Remember that feeling of being lost as a child. People are lost in the big wide world. They may never have known anything else. So often people are looking for something more in their lives and don't even realise that it is available. Until they meet someone who has that something. Perhaps someone like my daughter Liz, who some of you may know. When she was at University the people she was living with refused to play games of chance with her. She kept winning and they believed that God was on her side, so they didn't stand a chance. They could only make this assumption because Liz was very open about her faith and didn't compartmentalize it. She talked quite naturally about her relationship with Jesus.
So the second thing we can do is be natural. Peter calls it being prepared to give an answer for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15).
Think carefully about those you are in touch with. What would make them more interested in God. What can you DO to show them who God is and how much He loves them. Be sure it's something that will help them, and not just you.
So the third thing we can do is work diligently at showing people who God is.
A guy’s car was stalled at a green-light. Cars behind him would honk and honk. Out of frustration, the guy got out of his car, tapped on the window of the person behind him and said,"My car will not start, would not mind trying to start it, while I will sit back here and honk your horn for you"
I've been told that the average time taken from first interest to full conversion is three years. That is certainly true for me. I also know that a number of people were praying for me long before I showed any interest.
So the fourth thing we can do is be patient. Don't try to hurry people, trust that God is more concerned about their salvation than you are.
Finally, when they have accepted Christ, make a thing of it, hold some sort of celebration. Make the occasion important for them and for you. Something to remember to mark the start of a new life. You'll just be mirroring what's happening in the heavenly realms.
Friday, September 10, 2010
The Shack by William P. Young
So many people (well, OK, one or two, but that's unusual) have asked me about it I thought I should get a copy and read it. As usual I read it mainly on the bus to and from work. The loss of a child is a difficult subject to think about and read about. The emotional reaction that results is not really suitable for the bus. There are plenty of those too if you follow the story through.
The book attempts to provide personal answers to the problem of human suffering caused by other humans. To meet its purpose the author provides various characterisations of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and uses the parent-child relationship to explain what is going on. Humans have standard reactions to situations, so for example, when they are wronged they want revenge. God, it seems does not have the same reactions, but loves us all - all the time. (This is of course an unreasonably short summary - but it is precisely what I was struggling with as I arrived at work one morning, 5 minutes after getting off the bus.)
Some of the images of God are helpful, some are not. There are a few other books where you can check the theology that The Shack proposes and provide some biblical comparison. Two longer reviews with more on this are:
http://www.challies.com/articles/the-shack-by-william-p-young
http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001788.cfm
I nearly stopped at the start. The forward and early chapters are technically too difficult for a story. Things improve once we get to the centre of what's happening - the encounter with God. The ending is also difficult and the plot device used to 'cover up' God's intervention into his world is not dealt with particularity well. There is a lack of detail and a paling of characterization in the last chapter as we try to understand the visible effects that the encounter has had on the main character and his relationships. For me this should have been the bulk of the story.
After reading it and reacting to it, remember that it is FICTION, and doesn't make a claim to be anything else. The god described in the pages bears a resemblance to the God that I know, but sometimes not a very close one. For me, at the end, it could never be transformational, but it is (mostly) a good, well written story and very thought provoking.
The book attempts to provide personal answers to the problem of human suffering caused by other humans. To meet its purpose the author provides various characterisations of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and uses the parent-child relationship to explain what is going on. Humans have standard reactions to situations, so for example, when they are wronged they want revenge. God, it seems does not have the same reactions, but loves us all - all the time. (This is of course an unreasonably short summary - but it is precisely what I was struggling with as I arrived at work one morning, 5 minutes after getting off the bus.)
Some of the images of God are helpful, some are not. There are a few other books where you can check the theology that The Shack proposes and provide some biblical comparison. Two longer reviews with more on this are:
http://www.challies.com/articles/the-shack-by-william-p-young
http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001788.cfm
I nearly stopped at the start. The forward and early chapters are technically too difficult for a story. Things improve once we get to the centre of what's happening - the encounter with God. The ending is also difficult and the plot device used to 'cover up' God's intervention into his world is not dealt with particularity well. There is a lack of detail and a paling of characterization in the last chapter as we try to understand the visible effects that the encounter has had on the main character and his relationships. For me this should have been the bulk of the story.
After reading it and reacting to it, remember that it is FICTION, and doesn't make a claim to be anything else. The god described in the pages bears a resemblance to the God that I know, but sometimes not a very close one. For me, at the end, it could never be transformational, but it is (mostly) a good, well written story and very thought provoking.
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Matthew 5:17-20 "The Laws of Life", an introduction for Just 10
Reading – Matthew 5:17-20
I'm going to tell you two short stories from my past by way of introduction. Then, I'll tell you why I told them.
Many years ago I was sent on a training course. I was staying is a nice hotel , backing on to a river – probably the Thames – but I don't remember. I met someone there who I hadn't seen since school. He was on the fringe of the group of people I'd done my best to avoid at school, but he greeted me as an old friend. We had a couple of drinks together and at the end he threw his beer glass as far down the river as he could, making some comment like 'beat that'. I said that I couldn't be asked, it was all too much effort, and dumped the glass over the edge of the pontoon we were sitting on. He went one way and I the other. I'd hardly left the pub when a little old lady approached me – caught up with me might be more accurate. She gave me a good telling off for my behaviour, and let me know that she knew I knew it was wrong.
That's the first, now for the second.
I was going to pick up Jo from her job at Marks and Spencer. It was the end of a typically busy Saturday, but by the time I arrived most of the shoppers were long gone. There was a bus stop on the other side of the road where I needed to be, so I nipped across and parked there. I started to look around for Jo. There was a tap on the window from the other side. Turing round I saw a policeman. I wound down the window and received a stern talking to about my driving and parking.
Both those stories are from about 30 years ago, but even then I was used to the pattern. When I decide to do something that I know is wrong, however trivial it may seem to you, there is ALWAYS someone there to tell me that I shouldn't have done it.
I used to think it was a curse before I was a Christian, but now I believe its a blessing. Either way I've learnt that its how my life works. As I grew up I learnt a series of rules that define how my life works. There are probably still many to learn.
The good news is that the rules of life are written down. The Jews call it “The Law”. I'll call it the “Law of Life” just to be clear what we are talking about.
A couple of weeks ago we went to the British Touring Car Championship races at Silverstone. There we found small groups of men doing their very best to understand the laws of Physics. They understand lots about friction – they call it grip when it applies to tyres on the tarmac. They know about aerodynamics, they call it down force, it helps with the grip, but if they have too much down force the car will go slower. If they don't have enough the car won't go round corners. They are working within the Laws of Physics – well most of them. Only one member of each team tries to break the laws of Physics. They have a name for him. They call him the driver.
The Laws of Physics are constant, they do not change with time. The Laws of Life are the same – they do not change over time, that is why Jesus says “not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law”. The I's have been dotted and the T's crossed, there are no more changes needed – the document is perfect.
The Laws of Physics can't be broken. When you try that in a racing car, its the car that gets broken. We saw some spectacular skids, a few collisions and one quite serious crash. The Laws of Life work in a similar way. They cannot be broken. If you try to break the Laws of Life its you that gets broken. Just like the driver in the racing car tries to go too fast, or turn too quickly, we try to do things with our lives that they were never meant to do. That's what Jesus means about fulfilling the Law – he came to show us how to live without trying to break the Law of Life and getting hurt as a result.
In 1687 Isaac Newton published “Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica” which set down some of the very basic Laws of Physics. We've been discovering more laws and more about how they work ever since. The Laws of Life have been around the same amount of time as the Laws of Physics, but we've had much longer to understand them.
I think we've done a worse job understanding the Laws of Life. So starting on September 15 for 10 weeks we've got an opportunity to look at them in a lot more detail.
If you haven't signed up already, it's still not too late. Speak to Warner, or the Office and book your place.
It's an opportunity to learn how to live in harmony with the Laws of Life, or the Laws of Love as J.John calls them, instead of trying to break them all the time.
I'm going to tell you two short stories from my past by way of introduction. Then, I'll tell you why I told them.
Many years ago I was sent on a training course. I was staying is a nice hotel , backing on to a river – probably the Thames – but I don't remember. I met someone there who I hadn't seen since school. He was on the fringe of the group of people I'd done my best to avoid at school, but he greeted me as an old friend. We had a couple of drinks together and at the end he threw his beer glass as far down the river as he could, making some comment like 'beat that'. I said that I couldn't be asked, it was all too much effort, and dumped the glass over the edge of the pontoon we were sitting on. He went one way and I the other. I'd hardly left the pub when a little old lady approached me – caught up with me might be more accurate. She gave me a good telling off for my behaviour, and let me know that she knew I knew it was wrong.
That's the first, now for the second.
I was going to pick up Jo from her job at Marks and Spencer. It was the end of a typically busy Saturday, but by the time I arrived most of the shoppers were long gone. There was a bus stop on the other side of the road where I needed to be, so I nipped across and parked there. I started to look around for Jo. There was a tap on the window from the other side. Turing round I saw a policeman. I wound down the window and received a stern talking to about my driving and parking.
Both those stories are from about 30 years ago, but even then I was used to the pattern. When I decide to do something that I know is wrong, however trivial it may seem to you, there is ALWAYS someone there to tell me that I shouldn't have done it.
I used to think it was a curse before I was a Christian, but now I believe its a blessing. Either way I've learnt that its how my life works. As I grew up I learnt a series of rules that define how my life works. There are probably still many to learn.
The good news is that the rules of life are written down. The Jews call it “The Law”. I'll call it the “Law of Life” just to be clear what we are talking about.
A couple of weeks ago we went to the British Touring Car Championship races at Silverstone. There we found small groups of men doing their very best to understand the laws of Physics. They understand lots about friction – they call it grip when it applies to tyres on the tarmac. They know about aerodynamics, they call it down force, it helps with the grip, but if they have too much down force the car will go slower. If they don't have enough the car won't go round corners. They are working within the Laws of Physics – well most of them. Only one member of each team tries to break the laws of Physics. They have a name for him. They call him the driver.
The Laws of Physics are constant, they do not change with time. The Laws of Life are the same – they do not change over time, that is why Jesus says “not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law”. The I's have been dotted and the T's crossed, there are no more changes needed – the document is perfect.
The Laws of Physics can't be broken. When you try that in a racing car, its the car that gets broken. We saw some spectacular skids, a few collisions and one quite serious crash. The Laws of Life work in a similar way. They cannot be broken. If you try to break the Laws of Life its you that gets broken. Just like the driver in the racing car tries to go too fast, or turn too quickly, we try to do things with our lives that they were never meant to do. That's what Jesus means about fulfilling the Law – he came to show us how to live without trying to break the Law of Life and getting hurt as a result.
In 1687 Isaac Newton published “Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica” which set down some of the very basic Laws of Physics. We've been discovering more laws and more about how they work ever since. The Laws of Life have been around the same amount of time as the Laws of Physics, but we've had much longer to understand them.
I think we've done a worse job understanding the Laws of Life. So starting on September 15 for 10 weeks we've got an opportunity to look at them in a lot more detail.
If you haven't signed up already, it's still not too late. Speak to Warner, or the Office and book your place.
It's an opportunity to learn how to live in harmony with the Laws of Life, or the Laws of Love as J.John calls them, instead of trying to break them all the time.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Eight Bells and Top Masts: Diaries from a Tramp Steamer
by Christopher Lee
published: April 2nd 2002 by Headline Review (first published 2001)
isbn 0747264201
Initially I had a problem with this book. The style is off-putting. The diary entries are interspersed with commentary. The commentary refers to the person writing the diary as 'the lad'. I know when I look back at myself 35 years ago I'm not the same person, but actually I am. The Lad, the author growing up, on his first job chose to work on a tramp steamer as the era of the tramp steamer was ending, to be replaced by containers and bulk carriers. It is (eventually) an engaging tale of growing up, and the diary entries show the development and growth of character as the story progresses.
There's the drama of life aboard, brief visits ashore and the problems of living in very close quarters with strangers.
This type of life can no longer be experienced so it is a view into another world. The author should have been out of place in this world with his bright observations, but he wasn't and we benefit from that.
The book ends with a few pages on the history of British Shipping - very interesting, but I would have preferred a postscript on what the lad did next.
The book ends with a few pages on the history of British Shipping - very interesting, but I would have preferred a postscript on what the lad did next.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Leave here vindicated (Luke 18:9-14)
Introduction
What do you think this passage is about?
Prayer? Well, yes Jesus uses the way people pray in his parable, so there are some important lessons about prayer.
Arrogance? Pride? Humility? There is certainly a lot in the parable about arrogance or pride and humility.
Final judgement? The previous parable is certainly about justice, and notice how this one ends – The tax collector 'went home justified before God'. His sins had been forgiven.
Pharisees
The Pharisees had grown up as a response to Helenism – the spread of the Greek empire. They were Jews who were keen to make the point that they were different and hold to the ancient traditions. They were responsible for the traditions that were later written down as the Mishnah, which is a commentary on the Talmud.. They separated themselves from the rest of Judaism and dedicated themselves to living life as they believed the Torah said it should be lived. There is nothing wrong with their aims. In Jesus' time they were generally looked up to by the rest of the Jewish people. “I'd love to have a faith like theirs”. The description of the Pharisee in the parable is fairly typical of Pharisees. They gave a tenth of everything they received, not just everything they earned. It was said of them that “they even tithe their herbs”. The Torah calls for fasting only on special festivals, but the Pharisees fasted twice a week – on Monday's and Thursday's. They have been described as the keen church goers of their day, the equivalent of attending every Sunday, Monday Prayers, a home group every week, never missing any of the courses, always helping with Alpha and giving 12% from gross (before deductions) income.
Tax Collectors
At the other end of the religious scale were tax collectors. They made their money by collecting as much as they could in taxes from the people. Each had an area and a target amount to be returned to the Roman Revenue service. They also had to live, and any extra they collected they kept as their pay. No-one likes paying tax, but paying it to a foreign government that is occupying your country is even worse. They were the Muslim Jehadists of their day. Don't associate with them, or even go near them, unless you absolutely have to. They have no respect for you. You are just one of their targets.
What went wrong with Pharisees
These are the stereo-typical views that would have been in people's minds as the parable was told. We know that stereo-typical views are not always realistic views. People do not conform. They don't behave the way you expect and believe that they will. Many Pharisees had become proud that they lived their lives to the difficult rules that their religion demanded of them. As a result they considered themselves better than other people who they thought didn't even try to follow God or keep to His law.
What goes wrong with Church people
It can happen to us too. We go to church regularly. We follow the law of the land. We pay our taxes. We follow the rules of the Church. It's easy to see that we're better than all those skiving benefit fraudsters who we're subsidising, isn't it!
White Cottage
A man bought a cottage in Scotland on the side of a glen, in the middle of nowhere. The cottage was painted white. Where ever he was in the glen the owner could always see the white walls of the cottage gleaming in the sunlight. Even on dull days the cottage stood out against the dark greens of the hillside. He was very proud of his cottage. Then winter came and the snow fell transforming the glen into pure white undulating slopes. When the man looked back at his cottage he realised how dingy it was against the brightness of the snow.
White Cottage Interpretation
The snow was whiter than white. The colour of the snow represents Gods standard. By that standard none of us are white enough. None of us are able to blend in with God.
All of us have our own colourful personalities. These colours make us anything but pure white, anything but holy. Rather we like to do our own thing, and run our own universe.
Planet Pete – The lie
On Planet Pete things would be very different, I can tell you. There are so many things I wouldn't put up with. My justice would be so much swifter, and the punishments would fit the crime. So we wouldn't have to put up with all these drug addicts and thieves. I would be in charge and I would be GOOD!
That's essentially the same lie that Eve swallowed and Adam accepted willingly. I can be like God – I can do a better job.
That's where the Pharisee was. He was so taken up with his own goodness that he had forgotten what goodness really is. Instead of loving God and his people he was boasting to God of all the good things he does for his religion, and then just to be sure God got the point, comparing himself to the tax collector. In the process of the comparison the tax collector was rubbished.
It's so easy for us to become like the Pharisee.
Pharisaical Traits Check list
Here's a brief check list to see if you're on the slippery slope.
Prayer Life – How will you know Jesus if you don't speak to him regularly. If your prayer life is intermittent you could be in danger of becoming like the Pharisee.
Tiredness – If you're too busy and always tired, ask who you are doing it all for. It probably isn't God.
Anger – If you loose you temper with people you could be trying to take over how they run their lives, something that even God wouldn't do.
Criticism – Are you critical of others? Does that make you look better?
Defensiveness – How do you react to criticism, are you defensive or dismissive. If you can't laugh at you mistakes and failings with someone else. You could be in danger of becoming like the Pharisee.
Success – Is the success you have all yours, or is it attributed to the God who gave you your abilities and supports your life?
Impatience – at having to listen to, or wait for others because your time is too important to waste.
Exclusivity – Unwillingness to associate with people you consider lower than you.
Any of these thing could indicate that you are on your way to becoming like the Pharisee.
[pause]
What went right with the tax collector
The tax collector on the other hand would not even look at God. He hung his head in shame at the way his life was lived. He beat his chest, as if to punish himself, and begged for mercy.
The tax collector knew that he was not whiter than white, that he was not even white at all. He knew that the only approach to God was to admit his failings and ask for mercy.
It is a very biblical approach:
Pr 20:9 Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”?
Ps 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Jer 9:24 but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.
These the tax collector would have known, these have been written for our benefit since:
1 Jn 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
Jas 4:6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
The tax collector knew God and had the right sense of perspective, as it says in
Isa 57:15 For this is what the high and lofty One says — he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.
The result
Now we come back to the theme of justice. The right attitude to have before God is to recognise that you are guilty and your only hope is that the judge will be merciful.
If you plead for mercy and nothing happens then you've wasted your time, but it was still worth the effort. It isn't like that with God. Those who are repentant – truly sorry for their failings and determined to do better will be the beneficiaries of God's mercy. Those who plead with God will be forgiven.
Like the tax collector they will leave the court vindicated and fitted for eternal life.
Turn with me to Psalm 51, and lets say the first six verses together.
Page ____ in the Red Bibles
Page ____ in the Black Bibles
Before we say these verses think back to any of the check list that caught you ear and determine with God to put them right. [pause] Then you too can go home justified before God. Vindicated in your plea for righteousness.
Lets say together:
Ps 51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Ps 51:2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
Ps 51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Ps 51:4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
Ps 51:5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Ps 51:6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Guard against Greed (Luke 12:13-21)
I wonder what you're thinking right now?
I hope you're quite relaxed and are ready to listen to the things I am going to say and hopefully listen also to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as I speak. Perhaps though it's not quite like that. Perhaps you're thinking 'How long is he going to go on this morning?' or you're thinking about what you will do this afternoon, or tomorrow. Those thoughts can be quite fleeting – gone in a few seconds, but perhaps you have something more pressing on you're mind. What ever it is has become an obsession. It's all you can think about. That's the problem that one of Jesus' hearers had at the start of our reading today. He hadn't listened to a thing Jesus had been saying, instead he had been thinking about his brother. No that's not fair. True his brother was the obstacle, but what he had really been thinking about was his inheritance. Why else would you say “Teacher tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me?”
There's clearly a sense of injustice here. The Jewish law is quite clear.
[Slide 3] – Law on inheritance (Deut 21:16-17)
“when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the first-born to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual first-born, the son of the wife he does not love.
He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the first-born by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father’s strength. The right of the first-born belongs to him.”
So if there are three sons the eldest gets half and the other two get a quarter each.
We do not know anything about the man who is trying to get his inheritance. If the inheritance was very small it was normal in Jesus time not to split it up, but for the brothers to continue to work the farm as their father had done – with the eldest in charge.
Whatever the arrangement this man was involved in Jesus is not going to be drawn into his problem. When he says “Who appointed me judge or arbiter over you?” he is not denying that he is God, just recognising that the legal role that is required is not one that he has or wants. Village elders had the job of resolving these types of disputes. Jesus mission is to teach the people about the Kingdom of God and how to live in it, and that is just what he does with the story he tells next.
Helpfully for us, he introduces the parable by telling us what it is about.
[Slide 4] – Mr Greedy
when he says “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Jesus then goes on to tell the parable.
[Slide 5] – Head Line - God calls time on Barns Plan
“The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
[Slide 6] – What the parable Doesn't say:
Wealth is bad
There are some very good examples of wealthy people who are generous towards God. The most notable example that I can think of is the Viz-a-viz barn. It's an old barn that is converted to be a training centre for young people. It is a very nice place to be and has its own car park. As far as I'm aware the owner has given it free of charge.
Growth is bad
God is not against growth in business, indeed it was seen as a blessing in the old testament.
Investment is bad
God is not against investment in the future. In the story of Pharaoh's dream in Genesis 41 where the 7 thin cows eat the 7 fat cows the interpretation is that the Egyptians should save the excess in the good times so that they do not starve in the bad times. There is no reason why the same cannot be true for us. I have seen this parable used to say that paying for insurance and saving for pensions is unchristian. That is definitely not what the parable is about.
Comfort is bad
God is a God of love. That is central to Christian belief. God would not wish an uncomfortable lifestyle on any of his people.
[Slide 7] – What the parable does say ..
The parable tells us that greed is a sin. The greedy put themselves first, to the exclusion of everyone else. God is not considered, his people are not considered, his creation is not considered. It is not the activities that the farmer plans because he has such a good crop that are sinful. It is the attitude behind them that is sinful.
[Slide 8] – Types of greed.
Greed for money and greed for food are the types of greed we most readily think about.
Lets take a look at the video clip from “The Robin Hood Gang”. This guy has just completed a bank robbery lets see his reaction …
http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/the-robin-hood-gang/love-of-money
I love that last scene where he kisses the case full of money and shows what he really loves. That scene is a very typical view of greed, but greed can cause serious problems:
She owns a string of hotels. She owns the Empire State Building. She is a billionaire. Yet, in September 1989 Leona Mindy Rosenthal Helmsley was convicted of 33 counts of tax evasion, for which she spent time in prison. According to Time magazine, she emerged as a penny-pinching tyrant who tried to stiff just about everybody. No amount of money was too small to fight over. After the sudden death of her only son at age 40 in 1982, she sued and won the lion's share of his estate, $149,000, leaving his four children with $432 each and his widow with $2,171.
Greed affects us all.
What would you be willing to do for a very large sum of money, they say that everybody has their price, so £5 million? What would you do for £5 million? Or do you need even more?
[Slide 9] What are you willing to do for $10,000,000?
Two-thirds of Americans polled would agree to at least one, some to several of the following:
Would abandon their entire family (25%)
Would abandon their church (25%)
Would become prostitutes for a week or more (23%)
Would give up their citizenships (16%)
Would leave their spouses (16%)
Would withhold testimony and let a murderer go free (10%)
Would kill a stranger (7%)
Would put their children up for adoption (3%)
OK, those were Americans, but they're not so different from the rest of us.
When you've finished being shocked ask yourself “Would I do any of those?”
Now we are beginning to see the destructive nature of greed.
[Slide 10] - Blank
Leo Tolstoy once wrote a story about a successful peasant farmer who was not satisfied with his lot. He wanted more of everything. One day he received a novel offer. For 1000 rubles, he could buy all the land he could walk around in a day. The only catch in the deal was that he had to be back at his starting point by sundown. Early the next morning he started out walking at a fast pace. By midday he was very tired, but he kept going, covering more and more ground. Well into the afternoon he realized that his greed had taken him far from the starting point. He quickened his pace and as the sun began to sink low in the sky, he began to run, knowing that if he did not make it back by sundown the opportunity to become an even bigger landholder would be lost. As the sun began to sink below the horizon he came within sight of the finish line. Gasping for breath, his heart pounding, he called upon every bit of strength left in his body and staggered across the line just before the sun disappeared. He immediately collapsed, blood streaming from his mouth. In a few minutes he was dead. Afterwards, his servants dug a grave. It was not much over six feet long and three feet wide. The title of Tolstoy's story was: How Much Land Does a Man Need?
Not only can greed harm others, it can also harm the greedy person, but some would say that there is a positive side to greed. The following quotes come from http://www.philforhumanity.com/Greed_is_Good_and_Bad.html
He says “For instance, greed is good, because it is the most important incentive for people to work hard, get a good education, start a business, or invest in a company. This makes people productive and contributing members of society. And in return, people are paid a salary, become more educated, and (hopefully) build wealth so that they can in return live a prosperous, more comfortable, and full life.”
I have to completely disagree. The incentive he is speaking of has nothing to do with greed. Greed is characterised by the accumulation of wealth, or whatever, for its own sake and to the exclusion of all else as indeed he says towards the end of his article:
“Greed is typically considered the accumulation of wealth for personal satisfaction. It has no useful purpose except to become rich and to continue getting more wealthy. It is a strong desire in each and every one of us that is extremely difficult to overcome. Only through continuously contributing and donating to society can we find true rewards that are far greater than the illusion that greed provides.”
Well the first part is fine and he is right that greed is difficult to overcome. He doesn't expand on the 'true rewards' which make it difficult to understand just what he might receive if he overcomes his greed.
It's a secular web site, so I can't expect him to get the point. His thinking will be along the lines of the worlds thinking in general - “get as much as you can while you can – because you can't take it with you”.
Or as Malcolm Forbes is supposed to have said “He who dies with the most toys wins.”
That is Jesus' main point in the parable. “You can't take it with you”. Who will get all your riches after you're gone?
If someone asks at your funeral “How much did (s)he leave?” The answer will always be “Everything”.
[Slide 11] - Ecclesiastes 2:13-23
Ecclesiastes puts it this way:
For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.
What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labours under the sun?
All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
The problem has been clearly stated, but so far we haven't looked at any alternative. Here are some passages that give us a clue to attitudes that might help us avoid being greedy. Of course, they are all about putting God and his people above your personal desires.
Prov 11:24-26
24 One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. 25A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. 26People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell.
Prov 11:4
Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
James 4:13-16
13Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.
Conclusion
Jesus said “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” We have seen how catastrophic it can be for us and those around us if we fail, and give in to the temptations that world offers. We have seen that it is ultimately of no benefit. If we succeed and keep ourselves free of greed, then there may be something left of value that we can take with us into eternity.
I hope you're quite relaxed and are ready to listen to the things I am going to say and hopefully listen also to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as I speak. Perhaps though it's not quite like that. Perhaps you're thinking 'How long is he going to go on this morning?' or you're thinking about what you will do this afternoon, or tomorrow. Those thoughts can be quite fleeting – gone in a few seconds, but perhaps you have something more pressing on you're mind. What ever it is has become an obsession. It's all you can think about. That's the problem that one of Jesus' hearers had at the start of our reading today. He hadn't listened to a thing Jesus had been saying, instead he had been thinking about his brother. No that's not fair. True his brother was the obstacle, but what he had really been thinking about was his inheritance. Why else would you say “Teacher tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me?”
There's clearly a sense of injustice here. The Jewish law is quite clear.
[Slide 3] – Law on inheritance (Deut 21:16-17)
“when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the first-born to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual first-born, the son of the wife he does not love.
He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the first-born by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father’s strength. The right of the first-born belongs to him.”
So if there are three sons the eldest gets half and the other two get a quarter each.
We do not know anything about the man who is trying to get his inheritance. If the inheritance was very small it was normal in Jesus time not to split it up, but for the brothers to continue to work the farm as their father had done – with the eldest in charge.
Whatever the arrangement this man was involved in Jesus is not going to be drawn into his problem. When he says “Who appointed me judge or arbiter over you?” he is not denying that he is God, just recognising that the legal role that is required is not one that he has or wants. Village elders had the job of resolving these types of disputes. Jesus mission is to teach the people about the Kingdom of God and how to live in it, and that is just what he does with the story he tells next.
Helpfully for us, he introduces the parable by telling us what it is about.
[Slide 4] – Mr Greedy
when he says “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Jesus then goes on to tell the parable.
[Slide 5] – Head Line - God calls time on Barns Plan
“The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
[Slide 6] – What the parable Doesn't say:
Wealth is bad
There are some very good examples of wealthy people who are generous towards God. The most notable example that I can think of is the Viz-a-viz barn. It's an old barn that is converted to be a training centre for young people. It is a very nice place to be and has its own car park. As far as I'm aware the owner has given it free of charge.
Growth is bad
God is not against growth in business, indeed it was seen as a blessing in the old testament.
Investment is bad
God is not against investment in the future. In the story of Pharaoh's dream in Genesis 41 where the 7 thin cows eat the 7 fat cows the interpretation is that the Egyptians should save the excess in the good times so that they do not starve in the bad times. There is no reason why the same cannot be true for us. I have seen this parable used to say that paying for insurance and saving for pensions is unchristian. That is definitely not what the parable is about.
Comfort is bad
God is a God of love. That is central to Christian belief. God would not wish an uncomfortable lifestyle on any of his people.
[Slide 7] – What the parable does say ..
The parable tells us that greed is a sin. The greedy put themselves first, to the exclusion of everyone else. God is not considered, his people are not considered, his creation is not considered. It is not the activities that the farmer plans because he has such a good crop that are sinful. It is the attitude behind them that is sinful.
[Slide 8] – Types of greed.
Greed for money and greed for food are the types of greed we most readily think about.
Lets take a look at the video clip from “The Robin Hood Gang”. This guy has just completed a bank robbery lets see his reaction …
http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/the-robin-hood-gang/love-of-money
I love that last scene where he kisses the case full of money and shows what he really loves. That scene is a very typical view of greed, but greed can cause serious problems:
She owns a string of hotels. She owns the Empire State Building. She is a billionaire. Yet, in September 1989 Leona Mindy Rosenthal Helmsley was convicted of 33 counts of tax evasion, for which she spent time in prison. According to Time magazine, she emerged as a penny-pinching tyrant who tried to stiff just about everybody. No amount of money was too small to fight over. After the sudden death of her only son at age 40 in 1982, she sued and won the lion's share of his estate, $149,000, leaving his four children with $432 each and his widow with $2,171.
Greed affects us all.
What would you be willing to do for a very large sum of money, they say that everybody has their price, so £5 million? What would you do for £5 million? Or do you need even more?
[Slide 9] What are you willing to do for $10,000,000?
Two-thirds of Americans polled would agree to at least one, some to several of the following:
Would abandon their entire family (25%)
Would abandon their church (25%)
Would become prostitutes for a week or more (23%)
Would give up their citizenships (16%)
Would leave their spouses (16%)
Would withhold testimony and let a murderer go free (10%)
Would kill a stranger (7%)
Would put their children up for adoption (3%)
OK, those were Americans, but they're not so different from the rest of us.
When you've finished being shocked ask yourself “Would I do any of those?”
Now we are beginning to see the destructive nature of greed.
[Slide 10] - Blank
Leo Tolstoy once wrote a story about a successful peasant farmer who was not satisfied with his lot. He wanted more of everything. One day he received a novel offer. For 1000 rubles, he could buy all the land he could walk around in a day. The only catch in the deal was that he had to be back at his starting point by sundown. Early the next morning he started out walking at a fast pace. By midday he was very tired, but he kept going, covering more and more ground. Well into the afternoon he realized that his greed had taken him far from the starting point. He quickened his pace and as the sun began to sink low in the sky, he began to run, knowing that if he did not make it back by sundown the opportunity to become an even bigger landholder would be lost. As the sun began to sink below the horizon he came within sight of the finish line. Gasping for breath, his heart pounding, he called upon every bit of strength left in his body and staggered across the line just before the sun disappeared. He immediately collapsed, blood streaming from his mouth. In a few minutes he was dead. Afterwards, his servants dug a grave. It was not much over six feet long and three feet wide. The title of Tolstoy's story was: How Much Land Does a Man Need?
Not only can greed harm others, it can also harm the greedy person, but some would say that there is a positive side to greed. The following quotes come from http://www.philforhumanity.com/Greed_is_Good_and_Bad.html
He says “For instance, greed is good, because it is the most important incentive for people to work hard, get a good education, start a business, or invest in a company. This makes people productive and contributing members of society. And in return, people are paid a salary, become more educated, and (hopefully) build wealth so that they can in return live a prosperous, more comfortable, and full life.”
I have to completely disagree. The incentive he is speaking of has nothing to do with greed. Greed is characterised by the accumulation of wealth, or whatever, for its own sake and to the exclusion of all else as indeed he says towards the end of his article:
“Greed is typically considered the accumulation of wealth for personal satisfaction. It has no useful purpose except to become rich and to continue getting more wealthy. It is a strong desire in each and every one of us that is extremely difficult to overcome. Only through continuously contributing and donating to society can we find true rewards that are far greater than the illusion that greed provides.”
Well the first part is fine and he is right that greed is difficult to overcome. He doesn't expand on the 'true rewards' which make it difficult to understand just what he might receive if he overcomes his greed.
It's a secular web site, so I can't expect him to get the point. His thinking will be along the lines of the worlds thinking in general - “get as much as you can while you can – because you can't take it with you”.
Or as Malcolm Forbes is supposed to have said “He who dies with the most toys wins.”
That is Jesus' main point in the parable. “You can't take it with you”. Who will get all your riches after you're gone?
If someone asks at your funeral “How much did (s)he leave?” The answer will always be “Everything”.
[Slide 11] - Ecclesiastes 2:13-23
Ecclesiastes puts it this way:
For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.
What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labours under the sun?
All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
The problem has been clearly stated, but so far we haven't looked at any alternative. Here are some passages that give us a clue to attitudes that might help us avoid being greedy. Of course, they are all about putting God and his people above your personal desires.
Prov 11:24-26
24 One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. 25A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. 26People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell.
Prov 11:4
Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
James 4:13-16
13Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.
Conclusion
Jesus said “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” We have seen how catastrophic it can be for us and those around us if we fail, and give in to the temptations that world offers. We have seen that it is ultimately of no benefit. If we succeed and keep ourselves free of greed, then there may be something left of value that we can take with us into eternity.
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