Unemployed? (an article for Spotlight - the Christ Church Monthly magazine)

Many of you will already know that my job at CSC Computer Sciences was moved to a cheaper location on 17 March 2008. As a result, I am no longer in paid employment, but am living on the proceeds of redundancy pay. It is also common knowledge that I was licensed as a Reader in October 2007. Reader training takes, altogether, four years. It starts with attending the Course in Christian Studies for two years, and then moves on to Reader training for a further two years.

Working at CSC – a very large global company – is to experience constant change. There is always the possibility that a reorganisation, or a change of client will mean that your job becomes more difficult, or easier, or even disappears. It is something that you learn to live with. In 2003 the major projects I was working on had completed, and my team was cut down to 3 as the work was reorganised and re-aligned. I was assigned to a different part of the organisation, and began to get involved in different work. My workload had reduced significantly. My responsibilities were no longer quite so close to the front line. During late 2004 and early 2005 I completed the transition into the role I have been working in since.

When my employment was put “at risk”, I was speaking to someone in the office, and closing down some of the issues I had asked him to look at for me. I happened to have my Bible open on my desk. I was using it to change my password – I use the initial letters of a verse of scripture, and needed a new verse as my passwords had expired. He asked me about the Bible, and told me he was a Christian. We had quite a long chat, and he reminded me of Romans 8:28.

Paul Hinckley use to say that you can often only see what God has done, not what he is doing. As I look back over the years of training I now see that some of the more difficult and demanding parts of my job disappeared, and provided me with a little extra time to get on with the study that I needed to do to complete my course and get to licensing.

Then less than six months after licensing the job comes to a complete end, and I have to start looking for another one. Had that happened during the training, I may not have finished the course. With Warner being unwell, I have had very little time to put my feet up and enjoy my time off. That would probably not be something I would enjoy anyway – I like to be busy, and have plenty of things to do.

What has God got planned for my future? - Well, or course, I don't know. I believe that I have been called to be a Reader, and that so far as I am aware at the moment that is my only calling. What I can testify to is “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” I believe I can see that evidence in the things that have happened in the last few years. So I know that God has His plans, and all I can do is to follow them as faithfully as I can, as I continue to search for some new paid employment – whatever form that may take.

Luke 24:13-35 - 6:30pm Communion by Extension

Our reading today describes an incident where a couple of people were walking home to the village of Emmaus. The Crucifixion was a few days ago. We don’t know if it was two men or a man and his son or perhaps a man and wife. We know they were followers of Jesus, but not how closely they were involved – they were not counted in the disciples. We do know one was named Cleopas, a man’s name.

They had left the dispirited and confused band of disciples with the events of Good Friday fresh in their memories. They can only just have heard the news that the body was missing. We can sympathize with their bewilderment. They had left without even waiting to find out what had happened to the body.

The reading tells us they were discussing all that happened, when Jesus joins them. It adds that they were kept from recognizing Jesus.

Why were they kept from recognizing him? Why wouldn't Jesus want them to know who he was? Perhaps we guess that it was to be a teaching experience. He wanted to teach the scriptures and not have them distracted by that amazing fact that he was alive.

Jesus asked, “What are you discussing?” That question surprised them. They stop and look depressed and ask Jesus if he is just passing through and not heard all the news…

What news?

They tell him about Jesus of Nazareth, how he was a great a prophet, and how the authorities had arranged his death. They had thought he was to be the one who would redeemed Israel. Then they shared how the women found an empty tomb and others verified it. They did not have any idea what was going on. They have finished with it all. Jesus was a prophet, we expected great things of him, but now he's dead. Time to go home. Time to put that behind us and move on.

Jesus calls them foolish because they don’t understand or expect the descriptions of the messiah to come true. How slow they are to believe. And then over the next few miles he explains from Moses through all the prophets and how they relate to Jesus the Christ.

Jesus reminds them about the scripture related to the prophecies of the messiah. If Jesus was recognized or had revealed who he was he would have been explaining scriptures with his personal authority. He would have been speaking as the son of God, which would be pretty powerful, but his identity would carry weight in their eyes, and that is not His purpose. So He could not let them know who he was.

When he reminds them of the scriptures He is allowing the scriptures to speak with their own authority. His identity does not influence the hearers; in fact how they see him now may even be a negative influence since he seems to be a person that is out of touch with what has happened.

This reading is an important illustration of the relevance and authority of scripture and how we should weight it’s use in our relationship with God. Scripture contains the information we all need to understand God and his purposes. If we have trouble reading and understanding the bible we need to continue to read and pray that the Holy Spirit will aid our understanding like Jesus did for the travellers that day.

The scripture that Jesus is talking about would have been much better known to travellers than they are to us. Each of the stories that he told them they would recognise, they'd heard them hundreds of times before. Most of them they could re-tell from memory, but here they had a new twist. They all lead to Jesus. They all relate in some way to His mission and ministry.

These would not be just the familiar prophesies,

• Isaiah 53:3-7 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. By oppression and judgement he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

or the verses that Jesus spoke from the cross

• Ps 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?

• Ps 22:16-18 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

This would cover the whole story, from Moses onward. Let me read you a short paper which gives some of the flavour of the things that Jesus might have been talking about.

Read: Jesus: The new Moses.

After Jesus has expounded the scriptures for a while they come to the end of their journey.

The travellers have not had enough though, they invite him to stay with them. Have they perhaps started to recognise him through all that he has been saying. Certainly something has gone in, something of what he has been saying has stuck. Their hearts are burning, they have seen some truths that they had missed before. They cannot leave it at this. They must hear more. This is no polite request for an encore, although it is issued politely.

Jesus agrees to stay and eat with them. The food is brought, and Jesus does a remarkable thing. He takes the bread and breaks it. In that action they suddenly realise who it is.

That's because it is time for Jesus to reveal Himself. He has performed at least part of the last supper ceremony that He has passed on to them. Their eyes are opened.

Its the same ceremony that we are here to celebrate today.

Do you remember the first time you took part in the Holy Communion ritual? For me it was at Spring Harvest. I had been coming to church for a while by then, and was already on the list of those due to be confirmed. I had so far refused to say the words “Though we are many we are one body because we all share in one bread”. How can you say those words when you cannot share in the one bread? - I don't know, and I couldn't.

At Spring Harvest they welcomed all to communion who were regular members in good standing with their churches – no mention of needing to be confirmed. I decided that I would receive the elements when it was my turn. So when the bread was offered, I accepted, and likewise with the wine. After the service someone said “That meant a lot to you didn't it Pete”. I could only agree. Through partaking in the ritual I had met Jesus in a way that I had not met him before. There was something new in our relationship. I had a new experience of the presence of God. We were closer, because I had obey this command. I could see Jesus more clearly.

There have been other times when communion has been special – but none have yet been like the first time. Perhaps you have similar recollections of particular services where you found that communion meant something extra special. Perhaps it was your first communion that was special.

Tonight as we approach the table, try to recall, or if there have not been any special times, consider that through this act you will meet with Jesus, perhaps more closely than you do on a daily basis, perhaps more closely than you ever have before. At least be prepared for it to happen.

Through the word, and through the meal we meet with Jesus.

Through the word, and through the meal we meet with the Risen Christ.

Meeting with Jesus is a good thing to do, but it is not enough. When the two travellers realised who it was he immediately disappeared from their sight.

Why did Jesus have to leave at that point?

He left because the lesson that he is trying to teach is the same lesson that was spoken to Thomas.

Jn 20:24-29

^{Jn 20:24} Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.
^{Jn 20:25} So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
^{Jn 20:26} A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
^{Jn 20:27} Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
^{Jn 20:28} Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
^{Jn 20:29} Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The disciples have got to learn the lesson that Jesus is not going to be with them physically any more. It's a lesson that He has tried to teach before “Jn 16:7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”

Now, of course the lesson is a practical one, rather than simply a spoken one. He has shown them that they do not need him there. At last they believe! At last they have started to understand.

When I spoke about meeting with Jesus earlier, I was not expecting him to be there in the flesh, saying “The peace of the Lord be with you”, but I knew nonetheless that I had met with him.

Theses two followers who were so caught up in his words as he walked along have finally got it.

Their reaction is to return to Jerusalem, to tell the disciples what they have seen, what they have experienced. The journey back is a lot quicker than the journey out had been, but I bet it seemed longer. When they arrive back, they find that their exciting story is old news. Jesus has appeared to Peter.

In reality, of course, the appearance to the two travellers is a very important event. There are two of them, and as such this is a valid testimony in Jewish eyes. There must be two witnesses for the testimony to be up-held – and here they are. They are telling their story to the disciples, who will later pass it on to others and eventually to us.

Their story, their witness, because that's what they have become – witnesses, will help to convince many that Jesus has indeed risen from the dead. The report of their journey will be written down, and will become part of the scriptures for us. Part of the amazing story of the God's plan to redeem the whole world, not just the city of Jerusalem, the home of the Jews.

For us this is now an important part of scripture as we seek to obey the Lords final command

^{Mt 28:19} Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
^{Mt 28:20} and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Luke 24:13-35 - 10am Service of the Word

Alleluia Christ is Risen!

He is risen indeed Alleluia.

We are still looking at the events of Easter Day. This one of the last of Luke's stories about Jesus and his disciples.. He uses it to summaries many of the messages in his book, but most importantly as a 'proof' of the resurrection. This morning we are going to take a closer look at how we understand the story. What the story means for us. How each of us thinks about it. Lets take a quick tour of the story, because we must have the story clearly in our minds for the next part.

Two 'volunteers' mime the story, to my direction.

As I was preparing for today's talk I came across a series of pictures inspired by the story. They are interpretations from the great artists in our past. Some of them depict scenes that are nothing like what I imagined – and of course what I imagined may not be anything like the reality that existed when these two friends travelled on their 7 mile journey. We've already seen one interpretation in the re-enactment, and, I have no doubt, that some of you will have seen things in the story differently because of that. I'm now going to run the sequence of pictures, they should continue to cycle through as I move on with the sermon.

Run Picture sequence through once

The question I was left with was “How do I see the events of the journey?” and “What impact does that have on my relationship with Jesus?”

Now we are going to look at the story again, and try to imagine it in your own way. I will take us through the events, and make some suggestions and ask us some questions on route.

At the end we will be back here together.

Imagine it - The following is read slowly, with sufficient gaps for people to think.

You're in a busy city

Something happens – a disaster of some sort – your friend is arrested and put to death.

• What had you been expecting?

• What had he promised?

Your group of friends is in disarray. No-one can agree on anything.

You just want to go home. Two of you decide to leave together.

• It takes some careful planning to get out of the city unnoticed, and avoid being arrested yourself.

• Maybe the route is not direct, perhaps you have to walk through some narrow back streets.

• Are people watching, or are you left alone?

• Is there any sign of the temple police, do you have to avoid them.

It's a long walk home, but there is no other way – there is nothing to go back for. Everything you had there has come to an end.

You're depressed, and despairing.

What are you talking about?

• The strange things that have happened

• The expectations you had –

  • What were you expecting as you entered the city – not the welcome you got?

  • Were you expecting a revolution?

  • What were you expecting when you were in the olive groves? When your leader just wanted to pray.

• Are you talking about the way you reacted?

  • How did you react when he was arrested?

  • Did you get involved in the fight? - Are you proud of that?

  • Did you follow the temple police into the city?

  • Did you see where your leader was put, how he was treated?

  • Would you have preferred not to come into the city at all, would it have been safer to stay outside?

  • After all that's happened what could you have done differently?

Two of you leave the city at last, and onto the road to your village.

• Take a look back at the city

• Think again of all that has happened in the last few days

What is the road like?

• Maybe its dusty and deserted, is it hot, can you see the heat haze in the distance

• What can you see to either side?

• Are there other travellers in the distance?

• Is it a difficult walk, up-hill, or down hill?

• Is the road in a good condition?

Now in about two hours you'll be home – it may take longer today – there's not much enthusiasm for anything, not even getting where you want to be.

• Does the scenery change as you walk?

• Will you have to pass through any villages on the way?

While you're walking, someone comes along and walks in the same direction. Perhaps they join from another path, or catch you up.

• Somehow you strike up a conversation.

• The stranger seems unaware of your disaster

• The stranger doesn't even seem to know what's been happening

• but they have a listening ear.

Tell them about all that has happened to you, to your friends, describe your situation.

• From the highs of the entry in Jerusalem to the lows of the arrest and crucifixion

• Does it sound different now you're telling someone else?

Then the stranger starts to respond – they seem to know your whole life story. They know more about your past than even you do!

But when they speak about the scriptures, they speak with wisdom, authority and with real insight.

• Ps 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?

• Ps 22:16-18 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

• Isaiah 53:3-6 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

You're caught up in what they are saying – YES – you do know all of this

This is really how it should be -but is this really how it IS?

You come to your village. Are we really here already, it seems like we only started out a few minutes ago.

The stranger says good bye, but you ask them to stay and eat with you.

Why do you ask him to stay?

• For his well being? - It's dangerous out there at night

• Out of politeness?

• Because there is something about what he is saying, and you really want the conversation to go on forever.

Who is in your house when you get there?

Who will serve you food?

What sort of greeting do you get?

You sit to eat, perhaps at a table, perhaps somewhere else

It's a simple meal – perhaps bread and soup,

The food is brought, and placed on the table

Your guest takes on the role of host and begins to share out the food.

What is it that you see that you haven't seen before?

• Is it his actions, the way he does things

• The way he holds the bread, the particular way he breaks it

• Is it his hands and his arms – do you see his wounds?

• Is it just in the fact that he has taken over, taken charge, as you have relied on him to do for the last few years

It's Jesus, Its Jesus, Its Jesus

• What happens now?

  • Are you literally dancing with joy?

  • Are there tears of joy?

• What are the thoughts in your head? Which ones come through above the emotion?

  • The women were right?

  • The resurrection is true?

  • Salvation?

Where's Jesus?

• Where did he go?

• How could he have left us so soon

• It was really Him – wasn't it?

• Yes, of course, of course, who else could speak like that, who else could make us hang on His every word?

• Who else would break bread like that?

We MUST tell the others

We must go back to Jerusalem.

Its colder outside now, it may even be dark.

Retrace your footsteps urgently

Soon you will see lights in the distance – Jerusalem is minutes away

You burst into the room that you had left a little over four hours ago. The disciples and some others are still there.

They have their own exciting news. - It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.

Tell your story to the disciples

How do they react?

What is the mood of the meeting now?

Conclusion

Cleopas and his friend were not in Jesus inner circle. They are not listed in the 12 (now the 11). Nevertheless Jesus chose these two to make one of his final appearances to. This is the final lesson that Jesus has to teach. There are two important things that his followers have to learn:

He taught them how to find him in the Old Testament – the Jewish Scriptures. Starting with Moses – the person the Jews look back to as the founder in many ways of their beliefs, and the person God used to rescue Israel for the first time. Then using ALL the prophets He taught them about the prophecies, not that he hadn't before, but in that hour or two that he was with then he put it all together in a way they had not heard before.

He emphasised the new ceremony that he had created, he showed them by His actions that he was to be found in the breaking of the break. A reminder to them of the last supper, the meal they had shared together just a few days ago.

Both of those are lessons that we too should learn, but there is another lesson for us too, and its from the reaction of the two followers when they saw the risen Jesus for the first time. The realization that Jesus has risen from the dead – that it is really true – not just a story, but a real event, something that happened in history, as certain as the fact that you were born, that realization is a powerful thing – it changes peoples lives forever. You may not understand all the implications, I certainly didn't, but it is life changing. It is exciting, and exciting news leaks out – you MUST tell someone – maybe you just must tell anyone. As a last piece of imagination – remember back to the first time that you recognised Jesus as a living (living NOW) person.

How did you react?

What did you do next?

John 20:19-31 - 10am Cafe Style Communion by extension

The disciples were meeting together on the first day of the week. That's today – Sunday. It was late in the evening, so they had finished their day's work, or not yet started their night's work. They were scared - scared of the Jewish Authorities – the temple guard. They were expecting someone to come and arrest them. More than that they were worried about the strange things that had happened. The missing body that Mary had reported, and the very much alive Jesus that she had told them about a little later. What was happening? Imagine it. There you are having followed this prophet for three years – having given up you livelihood to do so, in some cases. Then your leader, or teacher (rabbi) is been arrested by the temple guard and handed over to the Romans to be crucified. That is a difficult enough situation, but now there are reports that he has come back from the dead. What to do.
Have you watched the BBC series “The passion”. The discussion at this meeting was very enlightening. Some simply didn't believe that Jesus was alive. They wanted to go home, and restart their lives. They were afraid of arrest either there in the room, or on the way, and were planning how they could best get home. Some of them were starting to believe, but were not sure, the suddenly, among them – not walking through a door like some 19th Century ghost – just there in the room was someone who talked in the same way that Jesus did, about the same things. There was something extraordinarily familiar about him. As the discussion goes on some of them start to see that its Jesus.
Thomas, who's not there, famously will not believe until he sees evidence, but none of them are really that certain.
Jesus has come to see them, but being Jesus, He is not there for a coffee and chat, or simple to provide re-assurance. He has a very specific reason for appearing to them all at the same time. His first words tell us what that purpose is.
“Peace be with you! l As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
What Jesus, what are you saying? You want us to take over your ministry?
Music interlude 1
They must have had 100's of questions, not least worries about getting arrested, and sent for crucifixion.
This is what Jesus had been preparing them for. All their experiences over the last three years were leading to this.
Can you think of some of your favourite stories about Jesus and his disciples, and what the disciples might have learnt through them?
Training and testing
Favourite Stories of Jesus and the disciples
Include Feeding 5000, Matthew 14:13-21
Learning to rely on God rather than yourselves, your abilities and your assets
Raising Lazarus, John 11:1-16
A demonstration of God's power, and a taste of things to come
Driving out demons, the ones the disciples can't do. Luke 9:37-45
Practical experience, proving that some things are harder than others – a test failed?
The response of the 72. Luke 10:1-20
The joy of a successful mission “Even the demons obey us”
The betrayal, arrest and crucifixion. Luke 22:1-23:49
The hardest lesson of all – The things of God are more important that life itself.
All these things were training for the disciples. Jesus has used many different techniques to help them learn, he has shown them what he does, told them stories, sent them out to practice, and tested their learning.
It is fashionable today to talk about whole life learning, and it is true that we are always learning, and that many of us are undergoing some form of training, a lot of the time. Those of us who are still at school, or university are in full time training. As part of any training there will be tests of your success in learning whatever it is you have learnt. Sometimes the tests will be formal exams, at other times they will take the place of observed practice.
What tests do we face in our lives, at school, at work, or in the church?
SATS
Exams
Driving test
Professional Qualifications
Other training courses – Management training

Many years ago people from this church started going out to visit couples who wanted to have their children christened. The material was called “Good News down the street” and took the form of six evenings spent with the couple discussing the Christian faith. Perhaps there are some people here now who joined the church as a result of one of these courses. I was on several teams in the early days, and I know that some of you have done many more that I will ever manage. The idea of these teams was that as the teams became more experienced their members would become team leaders, and others would join the teams. Eventually after some experience those new people would also become team leaders, and take on the role of making contact with the couple, agreeing the dates, and who on the team would lead a particular session. We can see that Jesus had been doing similar things with his disciples for the last three years. Some of the stories have tests – as in the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus asked the disciples to feed the crowd. He wanted to see how much they'd learnt – who would they rely on in a crisis – themselves and their worldly abilities, or their heavenly father. When he sent out the seventy two, they had no choice but to rely on their heavenly father, you can't drive out demons with money!
Up to last summer I was in part time training to become a reader. Reader training is all about continuous assessment. Each task results in a piece of written work, or a presentation, or a sermon. There is a mixture of the academic and the practical. To pass the course, I have to be able to demonstrate that I meet a certain standard. So if you don't think my sermon today is up to standard, I suggest that you speak to the Bishop about how the training works, and who they let pass their courses.
At some point the training must come to an end, and the real work must begin. For me that happened last October, when I was licensed as a Reader. There was a special service in Chelmsford Cathedral, and I was presented with a certificate and a bible, and a blue scarf, as a recognition of what I had achieved, and so that others could recognise what I have become.
Now, when I prepare a sermon there is no more worrying about making sure I stick to the script I write for a sermon. If I deviate, all I have to worry about is getting back on track. Now in many ways I was fortunate, because I didn't have to go solo, after having lots of support and review, both Paul, and Warner are very supportive, but have let me do whatever I have come up with. For some of those on my training, though, once the course had finished they had their first experience of preparing a sermon on their own, and delivering it unaided, without any sort of review occurring.
Not all pieces of learning are completed with a special ceremony, mostly though you will get some form of recognition, a certificate, or a licence that allows you to do something, like drive a car, or fly a plane.
Do you remember your first time out in a car – without any passengers? Were you the sort of person who was looking forward to that experience, or were you the sort of person who was dreading it.
His can apply to anything that you do after training.
Ask the question again – get a story or two.
 

Commissioning
Few of us though will be asked to complete 3 years training, and then be sent on the same mission that resulted in our leader and teacher being arrested and killed. That is what the disciples are being asked to do, although not in those words. It is not lost on them, though I'm sure. In the BBC mini-series “The Passion” Jesus repeatedly says to his disciples “Spread my message”. That is what He is doing here. “As the father sends me, so I send you”. They have had the training, they have watched the role model, they tried it in practice, they've had the feedback, and now – it's time to get on with the work. Jesus has commissioned them to do the same work that he was sent by his Father to do.
Music 2
So here we have the disciples finishing their course, and being commissioned to go and do the real work. The work they had been training for, for the last 3 years. They have no idea at the moment how they are going to spread Jesus' message. They are too scared even to think about it, but seeing Jesus is changing them. His next action is the greatest confirmation of their mission that they could possibly have received.
He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”. This is more than a certificate, or a licence, or even a Blue Scarf, this is recognition and acceptance by God. The apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 “Now it is God who makes both us, and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” We know that the Holy Spirit does not arrive until Acts Chapter 2, some 50 days from the events of today, but we see here Jesus preparing his disciples for this momentous event. They are ready for the mission, at least all but one of them is ready.
Peter's re-instatement is in the next Chapter.
In the Church of England the Confirmation Service is the special service that the church uses to recognise that people are ready to do the work of the church. The bishop will say to each candidate “Confirm, O Lord, your servant with your Holy Spirit. “. That is just us doing our best to understand what God is doing in his relationship with that person. Each of us must always answer the question for ourselves. Have we received the Holy Spirit? Are we ready to do the work of spreading Jesus' message? Or perhaps are you ready to continue to do the work of spreading Jesus' message?
OIL
In the early church people were anointed with oil as a symbol recognising their commitment and readiness to join with the disciples in the work they had to do.
Announce the oil, and give the option.

Good Friday Sermon

Introduction
Have you ever been in a position where you had to do something that you were not looking forward to? That may be something that you have to do regularly, but that you don't like, perhaps cleaning the drains or visiting the dentist. Well that's going to be an unpleasant experience, but it has to be done, and in both cases some good will ultimately come of it. No-one wants to suffer from overflowing drains, and no-one wants to suffer from tooth ache. I suspect that like me many of you may try to put these jobs off for as long as you can, before finally getting them done.

Linda's Story
Of course, the thing that you are not looking forward to may be something that life throws at you in the normal course of events. When I was at sixth form I had a friend, I'll call her Linda. Now when Linda was seven she had left the infants school, and was preparing to go to Junior school. That's into year 3 in the current way of measuring school years. Linda was not looking forward to this, in fact she was dreading it. For her it was a different school, with different teachers, and even some different pupils. Linda wasn't ready to make the change, so one morning, probably in early September, she decided that she could not go through with it. As her parents were no help, and were insisting that she must go, there was only one alternative. At the age of seven, Linda decided it was time to leave home. She packed her satchel, yes, the one she had been given for junior school, with some sweets, and some bread, she went up to her room and and changed into some warm cloths, put on her best coat, picked up all of her pocket money and all of her savings, and headed for the front door. All was quiet, so she left. Closing the door behind her she strode purposefully for the front gate, opened it and walked down the road. Fortunately for all of us, Linda's mother heard her leave the house and caught up with her a brought her home. If she hadn't who knows what could have happened. Linda did survive junior school, and senior school, but the point of the story is that she knew there was something going to happen – she had to go to a new school. She could not accept what life had put in her path and decided that the only option was to run away.

My Employment
Some of you may know that I am currently looking for a new job after my job was moved off-shore (to India). I have had to spend sixty days handing over everything I know about my job to other people, while the management sort out a successor on the sub-continent.
To help with the handover I was asked to prepare a Knowledge Transfer document. There would be a bonus paid for the completion of it, so I had some motivation to get on and produce a good result. The handover was not something I wanted to do, at first. I decided that although the process is an unpleasant experience, the best thing to do was to continue to take a professional approach, and to do the best job that I could under the circumstances. The approach of my management, which had until the sixty days been very hands-off, had suddenly become very intense. They wanted to know, and have justified, pretty much everything I was doing. Keeping my head down and getting on with my work – my usual approach was impossible – I had to do my job, hand it over to others, and document it, under the watchful eye of my manager. I am happy to report that I have come through it, and received the maximum available bonus.

How to approach an unpleasant task
It seem that we have three example of how we can approach a difficult and unpleasant task. If the option is there we can put it off, but many things in life do not fit with our timing, but with someone else's. We can run away, or at least we can try to run away, but there is plenty of evidence from life that running away doesn't actually achieve what it is designed to. The problem, task, or job to do will still be there when you get back. Perhaps the best approach then is to embrace the task, and make the best possible job of it.

Before our reading today Jesus had prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, Here's the story from Luke 22:
'Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, Pray that you will not fall into temptation. He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”
Following that prayer Jesus had decided to go through with the difficult job that he had been given by his father. Now what Jesus had to do was to die for the sins of the world. That really makes anything that we might have to face seem fairly insignificant by comparison. In our passage today we see Jesus accomplishing the task, and I am going to look at some of the aspects of how successfully that was carried out.

God had been speaking to the Jews through the prophets for many years, almost throughout their entire history. God had told the Jews why he had chosen them, how they were to live together and relate to other peoples who lived around them, and how they were to worship Him. The Jews had struggled with this, what God was asking was not easy. God had also told them many of the things that the Messiah would do, and many of the things that would happen in the Messiah's life. Three times it says “So that scripture would be fulfilled”. Lets take a look at each of them, and see what Jesus did, and the events that occurred around him as he went to do the job that God had placed in front of him.

First Prophecy
The first prophesy involves the Roman soldiers who were there to follow their orders and crucify the prisoners handed to them. They themselves were not involved in the process of justice, like a prison warden today does not appear at the court hearing, he is just responsible for executing the sentence passed by the court. That's what the Roman soldiers were doing - following the instructions of the court, and the Roman legal system. Each prisoner would have four soldiers to accompany him. As part of that system, when someone was handed over for execution the soldiers who performed the act would keep all the worldly goods of the person who they were crucifying. In Jesus' case, as in the case of most Jews of his day there would likely be five pieces of clothing – shoes (or sandals) turban, girdle, tunic, and robe. So the soldiers shared these out amicably enough, 1 piece each, but what to do with the fifth item. The undergarment had been woven in one piece. It was a special piece of clothing. It was customary for Jewish mothers to present such a garment to their son's as a gift when they entered adult hood – like a traditional coming of age birthday present today. When adult hood began at 21 the tradition was to give the key to the door – something small but very significant. For a Jewish mother the traditional gift was a tunic woven as one piece.

So there were the soldiers wondering what to do with this piece of clothing. To cut it into quarters would be to destroy it, so what better to do than to draw lots to see who gets it. At least then someone would get something of value. So the prophecy in Psalm 22:18 has been fulfilled. “They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.”

OK, Pete, lots of interesting things about Roman Soldiers and Jewish clothing, but what part did Jesus take in all this? Surely he's just the victim here?

Well, yes, at this point Jesus has submitted himself to the Roman authorities, but he was also responsible for dressing himself. He chose to wear that tunic – knowing what was about to happen he could easily have swapped for something of little or no value, but he didn't. Perhaps you could say “What a waste letting the Romans have something that good – couldn't it have been used to help the poor?” May be it could have, but it was the only thing of real value that Jesus had, if prophecy were to be fulfilled, it needed to be put in front of the soldiers so that they could agree to draw lots for it.
The robe has another potential significance to. A seamless tunic was worn by the high priest, partly as a symbol of who he was, but also because it would be much less likely to tear than a regular tunic. So here we see some symbolism of Jesus as God's new high priest. That may seem to be stretching a point here, but it would not have been lost on the Jews.

Jesus' Mother
Before we look at the second and third prophecies, it is worth noting that Jesus is still behaving like the Jesus we are so familiar with in the Gospels. He makes arrangements for his mothers long term care – asking his closest disciple John, the author of our reading to take care of her as though she were his own mother. At this point it is possible that John took Mary back to his home, where she would have stayed for the rest of the day. John would have returned to the scene of the crucifixion. That would be one possible explanation for the narrative appearing to skip forward slightly, missing some of the details from the other gospels.

Second Prophecy
The second prophecy is in verses 28 and 29
“Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.”
Even now, after being scourged and beaten and nailed to a cross Jesus is still fully aware of what he is doing, here by asking for a drink, he picks up the prophecy from Psalm 69:21 “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.” Gall is also known as wormwood, a bitter tasting herb that dulls pain and the senses with it. Jesus has already refused to drink the vinegar when it contained the drug. He needs to keep his head clear for all that is going on around him. Here though he accepts the vinegar. This is, of course, wine vinegar, not malt vinegar, not the sort you would put on you chips. It is the common drink of Roman soldiers, and does not contain much alcohol at all – just enough to make the water safe to drink. Even today's binge drinkers would stay reasonably sober drinking this – not that they would, it does not have a very pleasant taste.
As you leave today, take with you the smell of the wine vinegar, use the smell to remind you of the actions of Jesus on the cross fulfilling the prophesies from hundreds of years earlier.

Third Prophecy
The third prophecy again involves the Roman soldiers, but this time includes the Jews. As the crucifixion was held on the day before the Sabbath – Friday, the Jews were concerned about the criminals being left on the cross, so the Romans agreed to break their legs. This has the effect of speeding up the death, and would not have been something that the Romans would normally have been prepared to do. So one of the soldiers is asked to go and break the legs of those on the crosses. When he comes to Jesus, he can see no sign of life, so to prove to all those present that death has really occurred his spear is stuck into the side of the body. The blood has separated out and is seen as blood and water confirming to the Roman that he is dead. In verse 30 we hear Jesus say “It is finished” , by which he means that he has done all that is to be done. Everything that God has asked of him has been completed. These things happened so that a number of scriptures would be fulfilled
Ps 34:20 he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.
From Numbers, the rules for passover say of the lamb that was eaten:
Nu 9:12 They must not leave any of it till morning or break any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all the regulations.
Jesus is the Lamb that God provides for the required sacrifice for this most special passover. The regulations for passover must be followed – if not by God, who else would follow them.
In Zec 12:10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a first-born son.”

Had Jesus not died when he did, the scriptures could not have been fulfilled. John says “he gave up his spirit”, in other words he deliberately allowed himself to die at that moment, any later and there would have been a different outcome.

Conclusion
Everything that Jesus did in the passage we read today was either to directly fulfil the scriptures, or to make circumstances where their fulfilment was the most probable outcome. Everything he did was intended to demonstrate who he was, and that he was on the path chosen by God, quite deliberately taking all the steps that would lead to his Death, and so to our restoration with God.

Alpha Vision Day - Holy Trinity Brompton – 29 Feb 08

My vision for Alpha had been flagging. I had only ever been involved in doing live talks, and have seen the number of Alpha courses we run in the town reduce and reduce. It seems to me that the format is beginning to come to the end of its useful life, and I was starting to wonder what could replace it. So, when I was asked if I was interested in the day, I at first said 'yes' because I was really more interested in seeing the church than I was in hearing about Alpha.

So, on Friday morning we set out, for me with less anticipation than was healthy. We arrived at the church by a less than direct route, and went in the tradesman's entrance. Still, never mind, we were soon registered, given a folder (just like the Christ Church weekend away!) and directed to coffee. Then the feel of the church began to percolate its way into my system. We were sat in regions, so it was just us up in the balcony for a while. I looked around at the screens and the floor that can be changed into terracing. I looked at the part of the church that seems unused – but that may just be today.

The proceedings started with worship, some of the songs were new to me, but not to Liz. After four or five songs we heard many stories of how Alpha is operating in various places. We heard about companies putting all their staff on the Alpha course, a course in a room at a shopping centre, one at Old Trafford (home of Manchester United football club), and a street party that barbecued half a cow, as an Alpha launch event, among other things.

Now it was Nicky Gumbel's turn to speak. His vision for Alpha is that it is time to Accelerate. He spoke about Matthew 11:12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” saying it is not what we would expect – and he was right. Worldwide one some 11 million people have been through an Alpha course, of which only about 200,000 are in the UK. There are over 6,790 million people in the world. There were more Alpha courses in 2007 that there have been since 2000. Nicky's vision is to plant 20 churches a year, up from 1 a year, since Alpha began. He would like to use some of the 35 church buildings that are scheduled for closure.

There was also the launch of the new website – AlphaFriends.org. This is for people who are involved in some way in supporting or running an Alpha course. The original site alpha.org, is now exclusively for those who are attending, or thinking about attending an alpha course. The new publicity was previewed. The organisation is gearing up to deliver the vision.

Lunch was provided by HTB. Each person was given a bag with sandwiches, crisps, chocolate wafer, and a bottle of water. More coffee was also available. We collected our lunch, but then it was already too late to attend the next session, so I missed hearing about the provocative church.

After lunch, I attended the 'Alpha Male' discussion, which I am pleased to say was well over subscribed, and I will be praying and thinking more about some of the things that were said.

There followed another talk, from Pete Grieg who spoke about being with the Lord, and being with the lost – each of us must achieve a balance, without that we are not fulfilling our calling. He told us some stories from various revivals, and reminded us that each of them had started in prayer. Sometimes just a few people meeting regularly and faithfully to pray, the results seen many years later, sometimes those people were no longer with us, but the results of their prayers were felt by the later generations. This reminded me that what we do here and now does not only affect the here and now. We cannot know what we are starting, but future generations may look back and thank God for our faithfulness.

Finally there was a question and answer session with Nicky, who spoke again about his passion that churches should not be closed. Then it was time to go home.

So what of my flagging vision for Alpha? Alpha is a tool. Use it when it works, when it's the right tool for the job. Like any tool it requires a certain skill to be used effectively. Also like any tool it needs to be maintained so that it does its job effectively. There is more we could do, there are ways we could use the tool more effectively. Each of the group that went from Christ church will have their own ideas, thoughts, and additions to their prayer lists from the visit to HTB.

Can we lay hold of the Kingdom and advance it forcefully?

Sunday, February 17, 2008 @ 8:00 @ Christ Church Billericay: Calling the first 4 disciples

Matthew 4:18-22 

Introduction

Today we look in more detail at the calling of the first four disciples - Andrew and Peter, James and John. Michael Cohen had some interesting things to say about Jesus' actions in calling these disciples. He spoke about the insight that Christ possesses and His ability to understand someone's motives very quickly indeed. What Jesus saw when he looked at Peter and John, in particular was potential, and a willingness to serve God. Indeed only the second quality is needed, as we are well aware God can provide people with whatever gifting suits His purpose. Liz, at last month's family service, took us through all the disciples and told us one or two things about each one. Some of the information she dug up was new to me, which made her talk even more interesting. So what more is there to say? Well lots, as always. Today I will take a closer look at the call from the point of view of Peter, Andrew, James and John. They were all fishermen, fishing was hard work. Lots of physical effort with sometimes very little gain. A really good catch would have seen them set up for a week, but rarely did a really good catch occur. Most nights they would cast their nets over the side of the boat and haul in empty nets. Nothing .. again and again. By the end of the night they would be tired, then they would have to repair the nets if there was any damage and store them for the next night. If they'd caught enough they would have to take it to the market and sell it. As soon as it was dusk, it was back to the boats for another nights fishing. 

Disciples expectations

So there's this bloke wanders up to them one morning and says “follow me”. Hardly! Of course, Jesus wasn't a total stranger. He had chosen to settle in Capernaum. A village of no more than twenty families. It's pretty certain then, in such a small village, that everyone knew that a prophet had come to live with them, or perhaps they called him a Holy man, or Rabbi. There's no sense of a delay between verse 17 where Jesus begins to preach, and verse 18 where he calls the first two disciples, but neither is there any reason to assume that one thing follows immediately after the other. It didn't happen overnight, I'm sure, but it also didn't take long. As Jesus started his ministry he would have been on the lookout for people to join him, and Jesus could size people up pretty quickly. We know from John 1:35-40 that Peter and Andrew had already been introduced to Jesus by John the Baptist. Indeed Andrew, at least, had spent a day with him. So there are Peter and Andrew, abandoning their boats and nets for a new life. Now we know from the end of John, that 3 years later Peter could consider returning to his old way of making a living Jn21:3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.. So the boats must have been secured, and stored, and even maintained. There are also many stories of their use. These fishermen were undoubtedly expecting a new life, but what sort of life could they expect? I was watching “Extreme Pilgrim” the other day, have any of you seen it? Reverend Peter Owen Jones makes three pilgrimages. When he's in India with the Hindus there's one point where he's talking about the way the groups are organized and he says “This is what it must have been like in Jesus time”. The wandering Holy man has a group of friends around him – his disciples. They are the ones who decide who gets to see the Guru. May be that's the role the disciples would have expected to play, it certainly part of the role that they played. Mt 19:13. Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” It was a part of the role they didn't play very well. That's OK, of course, because Jesus is there to teach them, just as the Guru's are in India. Guru means from Dark to Light, and Jesus is described as the light of the world. In the prophesy that Jesus is fulfilling (4:16) it talks about the people living in darkness seeing a great light. The prophesy is in Isaiah 9:2. In their new life there was much they would have to give up – certainly regular fishing trips would be out of the question, but occasional ones would be allowed. They would also be separated from their families, and in the case of James and John would be unable to take over the family business. So their future security was gone. They had to rely on this prophet for everything. If he was a failure, they would have a very difficult life indeed. That too is how the Guru's seem to work in India. There are however some significant differences.

Follow me

Have you ever had anyone say “Follow me”? - The thought that immediately came to mind was a friend whose car I had to follow on the way to a Badminton match many years ago. It was the first time I'd tried to follow another car. My dad, who'd driven in convoys many years before, gave me lots of advice – most of it irrelevant. On the journey I had to pay careful attention to the car in front, change lanes when he did. Speed up and slow down when he did, and even take a few risks to keep him in sight, and to make sure I knew where he'd gone. If I hadn't I'd have lost him, and in the days before mobile phones, and GPS navigation I would have been completely lost. I had put my trust in the person I was following, and did just as he did. I didn't know why he did what he did, but I knew that the only way to the destination was to follow that car. Another example of people following someone, and perhaps this give a better flavour of what is really going on, is a tour guide. My example of this was on an island - St Mary's in the Scillies to be exact – and the guide was taking us around a nature trail. Now on St Mary's there is no chance of getting lost – the island is just too small. Still there is lots to see, and lots to learn. Even here though, if we are to get the best from the tour guide, we have to keep up with him on the trail. We have to trust in his judgement about where the best places are to see certain birds, or certain types of flower, we have to trust him when he says smell or taste a seed of something. We have to trust also that his history is good, although it is obvious that history is not his strong point. At first meeting we didn't even know for certain who he was. There are plenty of people on St. Mary's on any summer day dressed for hiking and holding a bird viewing telescope – it just isn't a unique feature. So we followed him around the island, listening to birds, hearing about the plants that are not native and have escaped from the gardens on Tresco, and the ones that are, and survive here because of the very gentle climate. All the way round there's conversation, he even finds us somewhere good to eat, and asks if we want to do the second half of the tour in the afternoon. None of our party dropped out, it was too good an opportunity to miss. Both of these illustrations tell us something about what it is to be called to follow.

Knowing who to follow

The first thing is knowing who to follow, if I'd started of on my island tour following the first person who fitted the profile – dressed for hiking and holding a telescope – I probably wouldn't have found out much about the island. Similarly the disciples wouldn't have just followed anyone, as we've already seen they had some knowledge about who they were to follow. John the Baptist had already announced Jesus as the Lamb of God to Andrew and Peter. We too have to know who to follow, one of my concerns with Peter Jones and his trip to visit the Hindu holy men was that he seemed just to choose any one of the them, the first one that would speak to him. Follow Jesus. Its a simple statement, but not a simple solution. Its a simple statement because its the summary of what the Bible tells us, and the Bible tells us that Jesus knows the way because he came from there, and has been back there also. Much like the friend I followed to the Badminton match – he's been there before.

Pay careful attention

Following another car is one thing, following a person is quite another. Certainly we will have to pay careful attention to the person we are following. We will have to speed up when He does and also to slow down when he does, or there's a danger of going past, and the what do you do at the next junction? We will certainly have to change lanes too – at least and most definitely once. Then there's the risk taking. Its going to be a risk from the start, as soon as you decide to follow, and change lanes you are going to be on unfamiliar territory. The people around you who think you're going the same way as them will suddenly see that you not – and that can lead to confusion at best, and hostile reactions at worst.

Trust

You will have to decide to trust in Jesus, without that you will be constantly looking at signs along the way that are designed for other people going in other directions. They will not take you where you want to go. Those signs will take you where you have already decided to come from. We must remember that we are there to learn.

Following Spiritually 

None of us have been asked to give up our livelihoods, abandon our homes and join a band of travelling holy men (or people). We have to follow spiritually rather than physically. We have to be a disciple in our world, not try to re-create the world that Jesus lived in. That can be harder. The world stays around us, distracting our attention. We are expected to take our place in the society we are living in. That places limitations on what we can do, and how we can behave. To get to know Jesus, and to learn the lessons He has for us takes a considerable amount of effort on out part. We must find time to read the Bible, we must find time to reflect on what it says, we must make the effort to meet with other Christians, for worship, and to learn together more of what the Christian faith is about. We must spend time in prayer, so that we can communicate with God. Then we have to make some conscious decisions about what we do. We must decide to take Jesus' way whenever we are presented with a choice. When Peter Jones was being admitted to the presence of the Guru, he was told by one of the Guru's followers that the Guru was so far ahead spiritually that he should not attempt to do what the Guru does, but that he should be satisfied to do what the Guru says. This is where Christianity is so different. The Apostle Paul say “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Cor 11:1). The ESV translates the passage as “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. “. The literal translation of the Greek word here is “Mimic me”. Jesus came to show us how to live, and His followers and their followers have been called to do the same since the very beginning.

Being a Disciple

 That is what it means to be a disciple, a follower of Jesus. That is what it means to be someone who is Walking with Christ. When Jesus said he would make the disciple fishers of men, that's what he meant, because that's exactly what he was doing as he spoke the words – fishing for these men. As we learn, as we make the choices day by day to be more like Christ, to improve our imitation of Him, we will want to move on from the simple things to the more difficult things. I doubt that the disciples expected their life to get any easier when they decided to follow Jesus. I hope that none of you expected your lives to get easier when you decided to follow Jesus, you may have expected your live to be better, but not easier, indeed it may become harder and harder, especially if you are called to somewhere you are unfamiliar with. Jesus promised to make the disciples fishers of men, those who will go out and catch men for the Kingdom of God. They followed him faithfully in the end, as did their successors right down to the present day – otherwise we would not be here. The disciple's imitation of Jesus was good enough to help others improve their imitation of Him, and that has always been the case. So let me leave you with a question: How's your imitation doing?