Sunday 29 November 2015

Gideon Glimpses God


I have been meditating of late on GLIMPSES OF GOD in the Bible -because that is the title of the series of sermons Vanessa our rector has started preaching at St. Mary's.  


I have to confess I am rushing ahead and looking at some glimpses that Vanessa hasn't preached on.

This evening I have been thinking about  Gideon's glimpse.  Wow, I just feel so empowered by this. So, brace yourself

Midianites were troubling Israelites stealing all their crops and livestock.  Intimidating them day in day out.

So it was that our hero enters the scene. Where is this hero? Hiding away in a hole, quietly thrashing the wheat he'd managed to gather from the fields and being understandably  as inconspicuous as he could be so as not to arouse the interest of  Midianites who would then steal what little food he had left. He was not expecting any visitors. God doesn’t always wait for an invitation.

Enter the Lord in the manifestation of "The Angel of the LORD." And He sits down under The Oak Tree. He looks into the hole, speaks to Gideon.

"The Lord is with you, Mighty Warrior"

Can't really blame Gideon, he's rather sceptical.

His response is incredulity : Really? If God's with us, how come things are so bad. He is still at this point standing in the winepress.

Gideon's perspective on current affairs of his time was that if God was on the scene things could not be this bad. So he concludes, wrongly of course, that God had forsaken them.

When we cannot see the wood for the trees and everything seems to be going wrong, it would be easy to believe that God has left us.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Ironically,  although Gideon did not realise it at that moment, the Lord was right there.

I wonder how Gideon saw himself? I don't think he would have seen as a leader, as a warrior and as brave.

HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF?  Is it positive and uplifting or do you see yourself as a failure.

The Lord is with you, Mighty Warrior, Go in strength and save Israel from Midian's hand. Am I not sending you.

Gideon said I'm a nobody. I'm the youngest my family. My clan is the smallest in the tribe. The tribe (it was in face a half-tribe )was the smallest in the land. And Israel was a small nation.

We sometimes think that in order to win against a big foe we have to be bigger but the clue comes in the words
"I will be with you."

I AM is with you. God is with you.

Gideon thought that God had gone but the reverse was true. God was sending Gideon, despite his own perceived weakness to take on the very ones he was hiding from.

I am reminded that God uses these words  "The Lord is with you" when he has an important job for people to do.

To Joshua: "As I was with Moses so I will be with you." and Be brave, be bold for the Lord your God is with you. Joshua had to take on Moses's role. (Joshua 1:5)
To Mary, mother of Jesus: Rejoice, highly favoured one. The Lord is with You. Mary would be the Mother to Jesus. (Luke 1:28)
To US: Jesus said,  All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you.and I will be with you, even to the end of the age. (Matt. 28:19-20)

So the big truth to take away from Gideon's glimpse is not something said "once upon a time in a land far away but an eternal truth: God is with us ALWAYS  and will never leave us ever.

The second point of this manifestation  is that Gideon, like Joshua, Mary, and many others, God has a purpose for Gideon's life. It was not to hide away in a hole, secretly thrashing the wheat. No God was sending Gideon to lead an army to deal with those pesky Midianites.

God has a purpose for each of us. God sees us as brave and successful
Jesus sent His disciples to make more disciples.

He sends us too. He is not only omnipresent like oxygen that hangs in the atmosphere, but God is with us, watching and engaged, even if we like a little  baby playing with a toy,  totally oblivious of his or her parent who is looking on., but every so often the baby looks up and sees a familiar face smiling back.

A good parent would never abandon his or her baby or entrust the baby into the care of a stranger.  God will never abandon us.

The girl or boy who is learning g to ride a bicycle for the first time may be concentrating on the road ahead and not aware that the parent has a hand on the bike to keep it steady and upright.

We might not be aware how God is helping us but He always is.

When we have confidence that God is with us, we can be brave and strong and true and fill the world with love our whole lives through.

Saturday 15 August 2015

Making Disciples

MAKING DISCIPLES

Don't come at me with your Bible to correct me
Come to me with love to help me.

Don't stand over me and lecture me,
Sit down beside me and listen to my story.

Don't demand I hurry up and keep in pace with you,
Slow down and encourage me to just keep going.

In time, I will want to read the Bible for myself and discover the exciting truth and treasure contained.

In time, I will ask you to teach me and help me to improve.

In time,  I will Run, and leap, and dance and sing,
I will delight myself in God's love,
In time.

Tuesday 11 August 2015

CHANGE AND CONTROL

Change and Control

What you're about to read are my thoughts on a topic and does not imply any criticism of any person, whatsoever. There are a variety of views on this topic, some religiously based and some based on nature. I am aware that people have very strong feelings/beliefs as I do, and are sensitive when they believe someone is judging them about these beliefs. As far as I am able, I shall avoid giving the should/shouldn't pronouncements.

So much for the disclaimer, what am I on about, I hear you wondering?  Have you ever noticed how sometimes a series of unconnected things can direct our thinking? Well the topic that has " bubbled to the surface" so to speak is the topic of what we can and cannot control and or change about ourselves, and to what extent we  can "interfere with nature" to make those changes,

We also need to ask what lies behind our wish to make changes.  I am talking here in specific regard to our bodies and our minds and when there appears to be some conflict between what our minds say about us and what our bodies say about us , what should take precedence?

Recently, our rector preached on the topic of self-control, being fruit of the Spirit. She talked naturally about the need for us to when necessary rein in our impulses. Not eat that third chocolate, not drink that beer, not stay that extra 10 minutes in bed, not play that extra round of Candy Crush., not say exactly what I think about that person who has upset me, not pass on that bit of gossip which might be true but isn't helpful. The examples abound.  On this level, when we rein in our impulses, we are controlling and to some extent changing our thinking and our minds. I believe control and change are on the same spectrum.

Last night I was watching an episode of Glee that was all about "self-acceptance" and what we do to ourselves to change that which we don't like about ourselves or that we perceive (although our perception may be wrong) others don't like about us and thus we want to change so we will be more acceptable to them.

The main song of that episode was Lady Gaga's "Born this way". Some of the words from this song caught my attention:

I'm beautiful in my way,
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way.

There it is: "God makes no mistakes". I find it interesting that Lady Gaga uses the same argument for self-acceptance in terms of sexuality and gender identity, as conservative religious people use to conform to the gender stereotypes that one's body appears to dictate.  I suppose it's what we are supposed to accept about ourselves.

Medical science has advanced so far that a lot can be done now that couldn't have been imagined even a few generations ago.  But  just because an intervention is possible does not mean that it is the right moral thing to do. In the Glee episode I referred to, a Jewish girl was embarrassed by the size of her nose that is part of her DNA. In her thinking "big nose equals ugly, small nose equals pretty" but her musical role-model is Barbara Streisand, who refused to have cosmetic surgery on the grounds that, well she is not going to let popular culture define what is beautiful. Many would applaud Barbara for her stance on this.

Should we therefore not ever change anything about our bodies because we were born that way. Again many conservative religious people, particularly of the Abrahamic faiths would take that line, but they ignore that the mark of the Abrahamic Covenant is a pretty extreme surgical procedure known as a bris or circumcision which many today view as a cruelty on all Jewish boys as a requirement for their inclusion in Jewish society.
So, if it is religiously or culturally acceptable to remove a baby boy's foreskin as sign that he belongs to a particular group, why is it not acceptable to transform a person's penis into a vagina (or visa-versa) to help that person be bodily what they are internally. Or should we not be working on the person's self-perception to be the gender that conforms with  what their body suggests they are. If  a woman born is in a man's body, why do we go to great lengths to change the body, and not , to use a biblical term "renew the mind".

Similarly, I am gay, I have not always been comfortable with that aspect of me, largely because the religion I believe and subscribe to, appeared to condemn homosexuality. Indeed for many years I have prayed that God would change me. I came to a point however where I concluded that this is one thing, inter alia that cannot and more importantly NEED not change.  
I have accepted and embraced my sexuality and though some of my religious beliefs relating to sexuality have radically changed, I still believe in God as I have done throughout my life.

Many of my conservative brothers and sisters would say to me that I need to "renew my mind" and not conform, as they see it, to the pattern of this world by saying that I was born to be gay.

As I said before, medical science is advancing and things are achievable now that would not have been realisable a few generations ago. Doctors can correct a crippling symptom of cerebral palsy that will allow a person to be able to walk where previously they would have had to rely on a wheelchair. They can invent a machine that allows Professor Stephen Hawking to speak and even write books which his degenerative neurological condition would, left to itself have prevented. Medical science allows us to understand people with mental illness and learning disabilities, with Autistic Spectrum conditions, that means that they are accepted, accommodated and included, where in the past, like Prince John, son of Edward VII , people with learning disabilities were hidden away from the public eye. The King and Queen would have argued that they were shielding their son from public eye for his own protection, and indeed in the early part of last century, the world was not a tolerant and understanding society as it is, or is supposedly, now.

As advanced as medical science is, it cannot fix everything. It cannot fix Down's Syndrome. So, instead we show that a person with Downs can live a very happy and productive life. Inclusion of people with learning disabilities and if we can't change the people to fit the world, we change the world to fit and accommodate the people.

I think attitudes in society, towards people who don't conform to what that society regards as the norm, or who deviate significantly from the norm, are probably better than a few decades ago, but still need to improve.

One thing that shapes our self perception is how we are seen and accepted in society. If we sense that our society doesn't accept something that we see in ourselves then we may reject or try to reject that  part of who we are. There are some individuals who will challenge society and will risk  everything to be who they are despite how it is rejected by society. They may win people over or they may be beaten and destroyed.

There are certain things, where societal expectations are good thing and people running against it are rightly criticized. For example, most societies condemn thieves, murderers, rapists. Most people don't want to do any of those things. Then some people rein in the urge to steal kill or rape, because they don't think they would get away with it, but might think about doing.any of those things if they thought they could get away with it.

On the other hand, "society" often gets it wrong in terms of judging people for being different not in terms of behaviour but in terms of being. And so people who are not regarded as normal are regarded as a threat to society and immediately society  seeks to either destroy or exclude such people.  I have been vague about what I mean by society, and deliberately so, as society can represent people collectively in a area , community, or even home. Society can represent a portion of the community or community as a whole.

Societal pressure as to what constitutes "normal" influences the thoughts of individuals as to what the individual regards as normal, and often people develop negative thoughts about aspects of their own existence because they have heard people they look up to and respect either condemn that aspect or themselves. This negative thinking is usually very destructive.

So to sum up then, I have noted that control and change are connected in terms of being ways we respond to situations in our lives. A Bible  verse I have made reference to in this article  Romans 12:2

2 Do not be conformed to this world[a] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect..
[a] Greek age

One attribute of God that is often referred to in the Abrahamic faiths is that God does not change. He is the same as He ever was and He will remain the same forever. God is faithful and reliable. We know where we are with God. But why change when you are perfect, which of course is another attribute of God.

Humanity is not perfect, and certainly, we are constantly changing and that though it is our desire to change for the better, and changes can take place gradually or more quickly. Some change we have control over, other change is due to actions whether good or bad, of others.  

Three things can change with regard to ourselves: our circumstances, our bodies and our thinking.
  • Circumstances. As I already noted sometimes we can determine our circumstances by the choices we make. Sometimes events over which we have no control suddenly launch us into circumstances that are great or horrendous. People can suddenly find themselves homeless because an accident or the criminal actions of another person has destroyed their home. Suddenly the individual is launched into a crisis that they have no way of sorting out on their own. Conversely, the person might have by chance purchased a lottery ticket that wins the person a fortune they were not anticipating which makes great changes possible that were hitherto only pipe-dreams. Of course we can do a lot to make our circumstances. We can make choices that are either wise or unwise in terms of how we use what we have, including our money, and our time. Shaping our circumstances may also require us to exercise control -- self-control and may also know when we need to ask for help because we cannot manage a situation. If you are unwell, you need the talk to a doctor. If you have financial difficulties, you may need to seek help from debt experts., etc. Don't delay getting help if you need it.
  • Our bodies -- our bodies change in many ways over the years, without us making any specific choice to change them, they go through phases of growth and then through phases of change. If we do not exercise self-control, we may find our bodies change in ways that are not always to our liking or in our best interests. But yes, we can and often do take deliberate actions to change our bodies in small and big ways, in temporary or more permanent ways. Whether it's putting on make-up, or lying on the sunbed to get that "bronzed look", to having a new hair-style. Or, as I alluded to in the article, we may seek more radical intervention to change our appearance, like a " nose job", a face lift, or other bodily enhancements. Why do people do this to themselves? They do not like the way they appear to others? It could be though that people use these outward changes to hide away what they feel ashamed of on the inside. They wear makeup, to make-up a positive winning successful exterior to hide what they are sure people would recoil from if they only knew. This is not only talking about lipstick and mascara, but metaphorical makeup too, and it is not only about women, but men who may use different methods, but for the same purpose. I heard a song on the radio yesterday, "Under the makeup" by a-ha, that is a beautiful love song, saying in effect I want to see the real you. This is the downside of these external things, is that they are a defence mechanism, that isolate the individual, when what is needed is the chance for the real person to be known, and for that real person to be assured that we are all beautiful in our own way.  Our body image is very much more important than some people realise, and we often do not appreciate how very much these things shape a person's self-esteem. People are also a lot more sensitive to off-hand remarks made by others. Included in the body-image is the body-odour issue. Off-hand comments about a person's "stinky feet" may seem innocuous to the person making the comment, can be extremely hurtful to the hearer. . I f someone's body image is causing psychological harm, to what extent do we fix the body, and to what extent do we help the individual with the way they see themselves, and self-acceptance?  That of course all depends on too many factors to address here and is very much something for the individuals and those who are directly involved. But this takes me to the final component -
  • Our minds. -- Descartes said "I think, therefore I am"  -- at the core of our being, that which makes me, me and you, you, is our mind. Our mind is how and what we think. This is not so much about what we know or do not know, but what we think about, and what we believe, and how we make sense of who we are and our existence.  Given that this is at our core, we have to ask: who or what shapes or controls our thinking. Even though we like to claim only we are responsible for our thoughts, it is plain to see that there are very many things that influence our beliefs or worldviews. Initially our thinking is influenced by our parents. Then as we grow we are faced with more and more external influencers. But can we take responsibility for our thinking or are we the sum of the external influencers. Somehow we realise that we have a choice about what we believe and agree. We realise that we like something or don't like something, and we can agree or disagree with someone else. It's hard to know how that awareness takes root, but it does.  It is our thinking, particularly our thinking about ourselves, that defines us and it is, as it were what takes place between our ears, that will determine what others ultimately think about us. It is true that some facile individuals will always judge a book by its cover, and will quickly judge others based on their looks, their race, their gender, etc. but these poor unfortunate beings display a shallowness in their thinking capacity, in that they have a very compartmentalised view of the world that cannot cope with diversity. Sadly such individuals are self limiting as much as they try to limit others. Born this way is a great song, in many respects, but I would like to ask this challenging question to conclude:
Do I Need to stay this way?

Read more: Lady GaGa - Born This Way Lyrics | MetroLyrics

Sunday 10 May 2015

Aftermath of War



It was seventy years ago this May
The "instruments of surrender" signed,
The noise of battle ceased,
Everyone rejoiced!
Well, most people...

There were families who would not see
Their fathers,
     their brothers,
         their sons:
For many, it would be weeks, even months,
before they were demobbed,
before they'd see their loved ones again.

Others would not return at all.

Of those returning,
many wounded,
faced with blindness,
or without limbs they'd taken for granted.
Having to learn the basic things again,

Those unseen wounds
Shell shock as it was known:
It's easier to sympathise when you can SEE what's wrong.
Many sang their triumphal Song
Some felt under fire,
reliving over and over,
the battle,
      the bullets,
             the blood.

The Prime Minister said
"We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing."
True —The enemy of freedom vanquished
But Europe, indeed Great Britain itself,
was tattered and torn,
And whole lot of building going on.

Rationing didn't suddenly end.
They knew they had to make do and mend.

It was the time to rebuild:
Buildings, bomb,
       Lives, broken
                Relationships, paused

And build, they did
And industry moved
from machinery of massacre
To factories and farms.
And things were beginning to look up,
improve.

Rationing ceased,
and in their relative comfort,
people forgot
what they'd been through,
Well most people. 

©J Fairlamb 2015

Monday 4 May 2015

An audience with Jesus

On the night He was betrayed, Jesus shared a meal with His friends. It was no ordinary meal because it was Pesach — Passover — the night commemorated yearly when Jewish people remember...

Remember? None of them were there?

No they weren't, but they do remember, in the same way that we remember World War I and II and those who died, on Armistice Day, even though we were born many years after the wars ended.

Jews remember that God saved their nation from slavery in Egypt. How do they do this? By having a special meal and a special home service called a Seder.

It is remembrance,  with celebration.

Each part of the meal has special meaning: a roasted egg, bitter herbs, a shank bone (lamb), parsley dipped in salt water... All pointing back to aspects of the story — relating to how God rescued His people.

The unleavened bread (matzo) , the wine. The wine and bread.

This Passover was different: Jesus did not follow the script — the prescribed word order laid down by tradition from time immemorial.

Jesus said it differently, but then again He was not only talking about the Exodus out of Egypt.

He took the bread and broke it and blessed it. He said: This is my Body, broken for you. Take it; eat it and do it in REMEMBRANCE of me.

A little later, He changed the words again. He picked up the cup of wine and said a prayer of thanksgiving for it and then He said, as He passed the cup to His disciples, This cup is the blood of the New Covenant. Take, drink, do this in REMEMBRANCE of me.

This meal, the bread and the wine took on for the followers of Jesus a new meaning. The traditional of sharing the New Passover, became the core of Christian worship.

It takes many forms and has different names and many different understanding of what Jesus meant.

This is my Body, broken for you.
This is the Blood of the New Covenant, given for the remission of sins.
Do this in REMEMBRANCE of me.

How do we remember Jesus?
How do we remember something we never personally witnessed?
What is the connection between us and the person or event we are remembering? Even though we were not yet born when WWI and WWII took place, there are connections. Our relatives and ancestors were there, and were directly affected. My grandfather was a soldier in World War I, and my grandmother was in the Land Army. My friend's father was on the beaches on D-Day, June 6th, 1944.

The Jews celebrate Passover because it is their people, their ancestors who God rescued from the bondage of Egypt.

As a Christian, why do we participate in this meal, this tradition of eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of Jesus?

Remembrance is at the core. We reflect on who Jesus is and on what He has done for us.

Jesus gave us some clues in what he said. He spoke about His body being broken and His blood being spilled. He was speaking about His violent death that was imminent.

Betrayed by Judas Iscariot; ambushed in the Garden of Gethsemane; subjected to illegal trials, lied about; pushed; pulled; mocked; beaten; humiliated; condemned to be crucified.

In many Churches, they have a series of fourteen images depicting His journey from the moment He is condemned to the point that he is taken down off the Cross and put into  a tomb.  These are a useful aide memoire, to remember what He went through on that day.

But Jesus did not say "Remember what I did" but "in remembrance of me" so we need to remember WHO JESUS IS as well as what He did.

Jesus did not only die in that ignominious was, but having been placed in a tomb, which was sealed and guarded, on the morning of the third day, as was foretold, Jesus rose again. He was, and is still alive.

Remembering
We can remember in many ways:
  • facts, things we learn at school, names, phone numbers, addresses, birthdays, anniversaries.
  • events — Do you remember when...?

We also remember into the future, upcoming appointments, anticipating future events.

This meal is about future remembrance too, because we look look forward to Jesus coming back again.

When Jesus said Do this in REMEMBRANCE of me, He wasn't talking about a bittersweet nostalgia, but He wants us to call to mind,  not only the events, important and central as these events are to us as Christians, but the person, Jesus.

I've heard this tradition of having bread and wine called different things in different Churches. What is the correct title?

Yes, it has had different titles. As an Anglican, I prefer the name Holy Communion, or just Communion.

The words ends with, union, and I believe that Communion should unite us. It brings to mind words like community and communication.  Although every individual needs to make his or her own connection and have faith for themselves, Christianity is about community. When you're a Christian, it is no longer just about your own needs and wants. You become part of a family. The Bible speaks about us being adopted into a new family. When children are adopted, they don't only get new parents but new sisters, brothers, uncles, aunties too.

Passover is a family festival and everyone has a part to play — even the smallest child, so it follows that when we celebrate communion, it's a family occasion too.  No-one who is in God's family should be excluded* (If a person may pose a risk to others in Church, then it may be necessary for a period to serve that person separately, but the aim should never to be permanently exclude, )

Oblation — a very religious word. Highly likely you have not come across it before.  An oblation is something offered to God as a sacrifice.

Jews under the Old Covenant presented animals for sacrifice at the temple.  These were offered to cover people's sins. It's this system of sacrifices that forms the background of Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross for all our sins.  The words 'oblation' appears in the communion service in the Book of Common Prayer.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who of thy tender mercy didst give thine only Son Jesus Christ to suffer upon the cross for our redemption, who made there (by His one oblation of Himself once offered) a full perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world; and did institute, and in His holy Gospel command us to continue a perpetual memory of that His precious death until His coming again.

I realise we don't call the meal "oblation" but it does help to remember that Jesus offered Himself. How else can we respond other than offer ourselves to Him.

We become His children,
we become His friends,
we become His disciples,
we become His servants.  

Another way that Communion is referred to is Mass. As Protestant, my knee-jerk reaction was to reject this term as the Roman Catholic "twist" on the Lord's Supper, and I believed that Mass meant "sacrifice" and that each time Mass is said they were sacrificing Jesus again — a concept I could not accept. Turns out, I was WRONG. Recently heard Bishop Peter Hill of Barking preach and he had a different explanation for that word. I looked it up, and the word comes from the Latin words that conclude the liturgy: Ite missa est. I found a website with these words for its URL.
It had its translation as its strapline: Go, you are sent forth. Followed by bible verse reference Matt. 28:19. That's the great commission — 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, 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.”
We seen then that not only is communion about our relationship with God and what Jesus Christ has done for us but it's also about our outreach: how we relate to those “out there”.

As I write this I am reading about the death of preacher, Robert Schuller. He has an interesting life story.
He was driven by a missionary calling to reach people who had distanced themselves from traditional church going.

Robert Schuller had his detractors within theological circles, and  people who were critical of what they perceived to be easy Gospel, but we see in this man, for all his faults, a zeal to see people brought to Christ. If you go to a variety of different churches you will see Communion done in many different ways. Obviously the basic elements are the same - the bread, the wine and the narrative that relates the events of that nights when Jesus told us to do it in remembrance of Him. But different churches will approach the whole thing in many different ways. This is, in my view a good thing. I really believe that every aspect of the way we do Church, including the Holy Communion, should be with a perspective on how passers by will get it - is it inclusive and welcoming? Jewish people have a firm tradition that says that even on holy feasts of Passover that they should always be willing to make a place at the table for the visitor or “outsider”. Many Jews believe that Elijah may visit them in the form of a stranger, and that they are to welcome him especially to their Passover Feast, which was not merely a religious observance in the synagogue, but meal in their homes. I realise that a Communion service is for many a “religious observance “ done in church buildings, but we must not forget the context in which the Holy Communion was established was a Passover feast in the upper room of a home. When We are at Church, we can be at home, and like the Jews welcome the stranger to participate in the feast, we should welcome the stranger, and invite them to share in our “feast”. Jews may be hoping that Elijah would visit them, but as Christians we know that whatever we do for the “least of these” we are doing for Jesus.

Eucharist - means Thanksgiving

Why do you participate in Communion? Is it religious tradition? Jesus says "Do this" so you do it? One hundred points for obedience but is that all there is to it?

Why do I take Holy Communion? It's not a chore, something done under duress, as a "means of grace", but for me, it's a joyous gratitude for the marvellous Salvation work of Jesus. Gratitude — thanksgiving — Eucharist.

eu = good; charis = grace.

Holy Communion, or Eucharist is entirely about God's good grace.

Some people believe that Holy Communion is a way of accessing God's grace. Like a key to a safety deposit box, but I don't believe that is biblically sustainable. Holy Communion is not a means of grace, it IS grace. It illustrates or exemplifies in the pictures of the bread and the wine, the Salvation work of God. So as we take the bread and the wine, we remind ourselves and one another, that we are part of God's family, because Jesus died for and instead of us, and He still lives.  We have this not because we deserve it, we don't, but for no other reason than His amazing unconditional love.

Those four words together:
  • Communion
  • Oblation
  • Mass — mission 
  • Eucharist
COME
"Come to me, all who Labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matt 11:28

"Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." Isaiah 1:18

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters, and you who have no money, come buy and eat
Why spend money on what is not bread and your labour on what does not satisfy.
Listen,listen to me and eat what is good and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me. Hear me that your soul may live. Isaiah 55:1-3

Here I am, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me . Revelation 3:20

Tuesday 17 March 2015

A meditation on Psalm 51

A MEDITATION ON PSALM FIFTY ONE.
This week, I went with my friend , Gary, to a "More Worship" event at St. Luke's. The theme was Lent, and a big part of Lent is repentance and Psalm 51 which we read through.
As, you may know, this Lenten period, I have focused on Joy. Now Psalm 51 isn't a psalm that springs to mind when thinking about Joy, but Joy does feature.
So let's reflect on this. The psalm is David's prayer to God and it is a SONG. Do we sing when we pray, or do we keep the singing for church? I think God likes it when we sing to him. We don't only have to sing when we're happy and everything is going great. The psalmist tells us (probably in song) to sing a New Song to the Lord.
David comes as a broken man to God and he cries out for forgiveness, appealing to God's mercy and lovingkindness.
Blot out — The sins had been recorded. They could legally remain there for every. But David appeals to God to intervene and remove it completely. God did it for David, and He does that for us too. He does it legally as His Son, Jesus paid the penalty for all our sin.
Wash me — David was not just concerned with the legality in the ledger, but He wanted to be rid of sin's hold on him. How it affected him personally. David asks God to wash him completely.
I was asked to paint an old garage door. It had been painted before, but the paint was peeling off and the looked patchy. The paint work needed renewing. Before I could apply a new coat of paint, I needed to remove the old one. I will tell you that that took a long time. People made suggestions as to how to deal with it. Some suggested chemicals to eat away at it, one person even suggested I use a blow torch to burn it off (an idea I dismissed immediately as I am not convinced I could do it without burning the garage downb). I went at it with a scraper. It did the trick. Well God doesn't take the easy way out he goes to work on that "old paint" and he removed every spot — leaving us spotless. Then He paints on the righteousness, thick and even.
It interests me that David appeals to God to "Let me hear joy and celebration AGAIN" (verse 8) and "RESTORE to me the joy of my Salvation".
He does not ask God to restore salvation. Salvation is ours, and remains ours from the time of our conversion. But because of our humanity, we have times in our lives when we move away from God. This may be a few minutes or last for many years. The effect this distancing of ourselves from God has is that we lose that true JOY.
There are things that may lift your spirits and bring a smile to your face, but JOY that lasts is found in our relationship with God. Also, when we seek our joy in other places, we find that though it may have us smiling, the after-taste is revolting and leaves us in a worse state than we were before.
Two people, poverty stricken, sleeping rough, being moved on at in convenient times, being soaked through by pouring rain, and cold because of a blasting wind. One of the two is extremely grumpy, swearing under his breath at the person who gave him a sideways glance. The other, greets the person, and smiles? It turns out the grumpy one lost a fortune and was once well off. The more cheerful one, has never had much and was on the street longer. The fact that the first found comfort and joy in his money means that now that that is not there, leaves him more bitter.
When we found we have lost touch with God, we may feel drained of joy. We can ask God to restore that Joy, and renew our spirits.
One remaining thought. It is not that God wants to spoil our fun and "kill our joy" but quite the opposite. When we are in a right place with our Lord, we can experience joy as we've never known it before.
The bones that were crushed under the weight of our sin will sing for joy.

Monday 9 March 2015

My Wilderness

Forty years I wandered!
I wondered "Who am I?"
Do I belong
Or am I a stranger
Looking on

I went through the waters 
Like of every other
Carried on the arms of my mother
I had the sense I didn't fit in
Because my heart was "infected by sin"

Unclean, unclean!
They had me call.
And live outside the camp
Heal me, heal me, make me whole
Rid me of this curse of difference!

Oh my God, why am I condemned?
When I found you and you found me.
I cleaned you up, out and in
I did not leave a speck of sin
There is no reason to feel condemned.

I was all alone in great despair
When I heard Him say to me
John, my child, why are you there?
Don't you know I set you free?
Who I set free, is free, indeed!

Friday 20 February 2015

Autumn

This post was written in October 2012:

Thought I'd share it again. Please feel free to comment.


Autumn
An acorn falls to the ground,
By natural processes it becomes embedded beneath the soil.

It's Autumn and the yellow, red and brown foliage blankets the land,
Like an electric blanket, emitting its own heat,
11As they mulch the piece of earth that is the nursery bed for a great oak.
Rain moisten the soil and the dead leaves give off a heat of their own.

Winter comes,
Everything dies back.
The colours fade and the world becomes a monochrome, black, white or grey.
Animals hibernate.
The wind blows, it rains, it pours, then it snows.

ALL DEAD?- NO.
Underground, and too slowly for any eye to perceive,
The seed germinates and starts to grow.

Spring arrives, the sun rises earlier, and thaws the snow,
White covering gives way to green,
Shoots break through and greet the new day.
It's no longer a seed - it's a sapling.

Over time, it grows, and the stem becomes a trunk.
Thicker, more sturdy,
Ultimately it's a landmark,  providing shade.
............................................................................................................................................................
Today,  we had a time of CREATIVE PRAYER. Fred announced the theme. Autumn and a verse of Scripture that seemed unrelated, but most definitely fitted with that that theme: 2 Chronicles 7:14 I concentrated on the phrase in that verse, "My People" and reminded me of another verse that I went to look up, though I had the wrong book in mind, the right chapter and verse. I looked up Joel 2:23:
Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the Autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both Autumn and Spring rains, as before.
24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
25 I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten - the great locust and the young locust,  the other locusts and the locust swarm - my great army that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.
27 Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed.

Hoses 2:23 which is what I was looking for in the first place, says:
I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one.' I will say to those called 'Not my people,' 'You are my people'; and they will say 'You are my God.'
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that  He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.

Saturday 14 February 2015

Insidious

Insidious
It's insidious, they say,
the way
it catches us unaware.

How do I prepare
to avoid
agreeing with the enemy of my soul?

It's insidious! The thing seems so right!
It might
be the very thing that brings me down.

What are the warning signs that
flag up
that things are not as they should be?

It's insidious! Just a bit of fun;
a joke,
I didn't realise it would hurt.

It's insidious! I knew it wasn't quite true —
The lie
I told to get out of a fix
Before I knew it, I'd told six.

It's insidious! He was bringing me down
With his criticism and comments.
I was tired
I snapped and ...
He was on the ground.

Temptation does not come
as a bolt out of the blue,
but rather
Like a silent serpent slithering stealthily,
Seeking the second it should strike.

Like a lioness, crouching in the long savannah grass,
Focused,
For that moment to pounce,
before her prey can get away.

Like a crocodile, lurking, looking like an innocent log in the shallows of the waterhole.
Beady eyes,
Watching for its chance to spring into action —
tail swinging,
teeth snapping
on that tasty morsel that stood innocently sipping on the shoreline.

—-------------------------------------------------

Thinking about this poem, I  realise that temptation doesn't come upon us, all-at-once, suddenly like the strike of a serpent, the pounce of a lioness, or the crunch of the crocodile. That's more like the moment when we've succumbed to the temptation and do what, in our better judgment, we would not have done.

Temptation is more like the moments before that strike, the crouching, the lurking.

The encouraging thing is that predators don't always catch their prey. Sometimes even when they catch the animal, it manages to escape and live to tell about it.

We may have been caught, lured into sin and seemingly defeated, but realising our predicament, we CAN escape, maybe wounded, but not destroyed. We can't do it ourselves, but if we call on Jesus, confess our sin, he will bring us out. It's called repentance, which means turning around.

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