Jesus the Teacher

I'm reading an extraordinary book at the moment: Fear, by the explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes. Really, that man has no right to be alive, given the stories he tells of his life! Even at school (Eton) he was an adventurer and risk-taker, and so he has continued. Makes me realise how sheltered my life has been. Interestingly, even after so many hair-raising adventures he remains afraid of heights and...of spiders! The book explores the psychology of fear, and how to overcome it. It recounts many adventures of his own, but also stories of other people in history or on the contemporary scene who have known fear and triumphed.

One of the stories he tells is of one Fredrick Stanley Arnot, known as 'the little (David) Livingstone'. In the late 19th and early 20th century he was one of that band of intrepid missionaries who went to the African interior, both to explore and to evangelise. His fellow Scot, Livingstone, had been a neighbour and hero of his, and he determined to follow his example. He gained the Gold Medal of  the Royal Geographical Society for his discovery of the true source of the Zambezi River - some miles from where Livingstone believed it to be.

You can read the facts at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Stanley_Arnot, but this doesn't really do justice to the nature of his encounters with African tribesmen. In order to gain the trust of tribal kings, he had to witness the most terrible acts of savagery and brutality, no doubt fearing for his own life. Yet he went on to lead a band of missionaries who established churches, schools and clinics in what we now know as Congo, Angola and Zambia.

We talk a lot about mission these days, but when you read stories of men such as Arnot, you realise the true cost.

Tomorrow, our four churches come together at Christ Church.  The theme is 'Jesus the Teacher', and we look at the parable of the Sower. In so doing, we reflect on the Kingdom of God and what we discover about it from this and other parables. At the service, we will take the opportunity to encourage everyone to take their part in the mission of God. We may not be called to the same acts of heroism as men like Arnot, but it is the same mission. And there is a cost. In particular, with annual meetings on the horizon, we need to remind everyone that governance is a vital part of mission if anything is going to last. The Sower would have had to purchase or otherwise obtain his seed before he could scatter it! The local church needs to manage well its resources for the work of the Kingdom.

Good News!

Yesterday, Les and I completed our 5th Wainwright. Ok, so it was only a baby one - Ling Fell - but still a sense of achievement, and some glorious views from the top on a clear day.

Tomorrow, we take a break from Brian McLaren's book, to conform to the readings the rest of our Mission Community are using, from the Common Lectionary. The Gospel reading actually follows on from last week's very well. From Luke's account of Jesus's encounter in the synagogue at Nazareth, Matthew takes up the story with his move north to Capernaum, and Peter's home.  Here, Jesus goes walkabout, announcing the Kingdom, calling people to repentance, teaching in the synagogues, preaching and healing. Along the way he collects his first disciples.

We see Jesus now doing what he said he had come for in his Manifesto last week.

'Mission' could be described as outside-inside-out.  God's kingdom breaks in 'from above', leading to an inward transformation, which in turn drives the disciples outwards to do what Jesus did - fishing for people. The Good News is just too good to keep to ourselves! And it is demonstrated in practical ways, where darkness is turned to light - fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy about Galilee. Incidentally, I like the Message translation of disease in Matthew 4.23 - the bad effects of their bad lives.

Tomorrow is a special day for the 14 churches of our proposed Mission Community, as we exchange ministries. A preacher, lesson-reader and pray-er go from their own church to another, both to experience a different kind of worship and to offer a different kind of ministry. The object (mainly) to strengthen the bonds of fellowship between us.

Join the Adventure!

It's been a good week, with two particular highlights. On Thursday, our 'Hub Team' (i.e. leadership team for our 4 churches) had a day away together, just catching up on where each church is at and taking time out for prayer. Then today, we had another of our 'Worship4Today' seminars, which I normally lead with a colleague but today was led by one of the authors, Helen Bent - an excellent musician and teacher. The session took us on a journey through the history of church music, and ended with us singing together a variety of music from Anglican chant to one of the latest worship songs. There was a golden thread throughout which joined us with those godly men and women who have gone before us, now offering their worship in music on a farther shore.

I think that tomorrow is especially significant in our preaching series. Having traced the story of God's salvation through the Old Testament to the birth and baptism of Jesus, we arrive at the crucial word 'Today'.  Jesus has gone home to Nazareth (Luke 4.16-30), takes the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and reads the first few verses of chapter 61. Then he begins, 'Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.' Not only are the hearers indignant that this carpenter's son is apparently claiming to be Messiah, but his mandate (the Nazareth Manifesto) makes clear he is a compassionate healer and merciful redeemer, not a political activist. He brings good news to the poor, release to captives, sight to the blind, release for the oppressed. In other words, people not like those likely to be found in synagogues! Not surprisingly, Jesus is driven out but escapes (this time) with his life. As John would put it, his time has not yet come.

It makes you wonder what is the mandate of the followers of Jesus today. Are we also wanting to recruit Jesus to our cause, or are we with him? As Abraham Lincoln put it, My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side. I am currently reading a book called Dirty Glory, by Pete Greig, who founded the 24/7 prayer movement some years ago. Some of it makes your hair stand on end as, in response to prayer, present-day disciples of Jesus have found themselves carrying out precisely the same manifesto as Jesus in the most unlikely places from clubbers in Ibiza to pimps and prostitutes in Mexico.

Commenting on this passage from Luke, Pete Greig says The call to justice and mercy is the inevitable consequence of a call to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. And he quotes the Emperor Julian who complained bitterly in 362 about Christians' care for the neediest in society: Those impious Galileans not only feed their own poor, but ours also...Whilst the pagan priests neglect the poor, the hated Galileans devote themselves to works of charity.

To join the Adventure of Jesus is not just about personal salvation; it is also about the salvation of the world. God's ultimate purpose.

Jesus Coming of Age

Already we are a week into 2017. It will be a year of many changes and challenges, and I am excited at all that God is doing among us here.  We have issued a pastoral letter to every member of our four churches, in which we have emphasised the word 'together'. Using the analogy of fell walking, we have likened our churches' journey to that of an organised hike or ramble as distinct from a number of individuals all following different routes.  We don't all have to be moving at the same pace, but we do need to be going in the same direction!

Over the next few months, we hope that the 'conversations' conducted in each church will start to result in some concrete actions, leading us all deeper into fellowship with God and each other, and leading many others to turn to God perhaps for the first time.  I am particularly concerned that we devote ourselves to prayer. I was struck yesterday by Paul's mention of Epaphras, who is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured (Col 4.12)  May we learn to wrestle in prayer, and long to see that particular request fulfilled in each other and many more!

I guess the Eastern mystics whom we remember at this time of year provide a good analogy. We don't know how many 'wise men' there were, but together they followed a star (their vision) which led them to worship. Ultimately, all our endeavours as Christians and churches should lead us to bow the kneel before the One who is Lord of all.

Tomorrow's readings in our series enable us to reflect on Jesus' baptism, which launched him on his public ministry. In a sense, it was his 'coming of age.' The point about this is that he had not yet begun his work, and yet his Father was 'well pleased with him'. McLaren comments, ...in that relationship there was an invitation to us all, because Jesus taught that all of us could enter into that warm and secure parent-child relationship with God (p110).  The trouble is that our default seems to be that somehow we have to earn God's love and approval. Yet, our best prayer and work for God proceeds from that relationship, and deepens it, rather than being a condition of it.

Sharing Gifts

So that's it - all over for another year! How was your Christmas? 'Quiet', is so often the response to that question, which leaves me wondering whether that is code for 'disappointing.' The anticipation, the house-decorating, the present-buying, the food-cooking somehow makes for an anti-climax. This is why a heart set on welcoming the Christ-child is key to the whole experience. Christmas in the heart, Christmas every day could be our intention.

The family laugh at me on Christmas Day, because once presents are distributed I tend to wait while everyone opens their gifts. I get a real pleasure from seeing the reactions of different family members: whoops of joy, genuine surprise and hugs all round. There is definitely joy in giving as well as receiving. Next Friday (6th) we celebrate Epiphany, which commemorates the visit of the wise men to the infant Jesus. Their gifts are mysteriously inappropriate, it would seem - and costly. You couldn't imagine any child being overjoyed at receiving such gifts, which is why one has to ask 'what do they mean?'  Traditionally, we think of gold for a king, incense for a priest, and myrrh for burial: all aspects of Jesus' life and identity.

But the main point of the visit is surely that these are foreigners, Gentiles, miraculously led to offer their gifts and their worship to a child whose identity they could surely only vaguely comprehend. Yet their gifts are (we understand) gratefully received. A lamb (we imagine) from local shepherds, and expensive gifts from foreign powers are equally worthy offerings. We discern, therefore, that there is no discrimination where God's Son is concerned. The significance is more in the offering than in the gift.

So we infer from this story the supreme importance of generosity. It is more blessed to give than to receive are words attributed to Jesus by St Paul and the people of God by definition need to be good givers. On the other hand, we need a generosity of spirit towards others - for example, those of another faith tradition - making us humble enough to receive what they may want to give us, including and especially those who are different from ourselves.

As a New Year begins, we reflect on how much the current world climate could be changed if there could be such generosity. May we who follow Jesus discover the gifts of our tradition and share them generously, and may we joyfully receive the gifts that others bring as well. (McLaren p104)

To all: a happy, fruitful, and blessed New Year!

The Light has Come

I'm coming to the end of Christmas Eve. It's been busy, of course, but I have tried to maintain times of stillness to stay centred on the presence of Christ in our midst.  The gift of Hope. I even managed a bit of a sleep after lunch: necessary as I have both a midnight communion and an 8am tomorrow morning.

All our Christmas services seem to have gone really well. The Christingle here in Broughton this evening was a full house again - 175 crammed into our small church building! We put the whole service up on the screen, so much easier than having books and paper with lighted candles.

I think the highlight of the day, though, was a single home communion I took earlier this evening. The lady concerned has been ill for as long as I have known her - over a year - and she has been having a terrible time of late. She has just returned from another spell in hospital.  We shared communion together and then, knowing that she has been a committed Christian for many years, and worshipped in church at many Christmases, I asked if she would like me to read John 1 - the Christmas Gospel which usually comes as the climax to a carol service. Up to that point, she had not been very responsive, though she had tried to join in with the prayers. Now, her face lit up with a beautiful smile of recognition and she said, 'Yes, I would.'  As I read those familiar words In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...she gazed intently at me as if taking it all in. When I had finished, I gently reminded her that to those who receive Jesus, he gives the right to be called God's children. I hope this was some comfort to her in her continuing pain and distress.

Today, as Christmas dawns, we remember it is not just that the Light has come, but that we may receive that light. We welcome Jesus into our very lives.  Let our hearts glow with that light, that was in him....Your heart and mine can become the little town, the stable, the manger...(McLaren p99)

Surprising People

I didn't get around to blogging over the weekend: too much going on. On Saturday, we entertained about 25 people from our village. Some of them were church members; others were people we have got to know over the past 18 months as neigbours, including those next door and opposite to us. We called it a 'drop in', expecting that (at this time of year) people wouldn't be able to stay too long. In the event, most came and stayed all evening! It was a great time of conversation and laughter, with some light refreshments which Les and I had spent part of the day making.

Yesterday, I had 3 services, all in different churches. Two of them were carol services, one after the other in the evening. I don't think I'll be doing that again!  Though very enjoyable and appreciated, they were actually quite stressful and time-consuming to prepare. The turnout was great - up on last year - and there was a real sense of worship at both of them.  At All Saints, we formed a 'scratch' choir who rehearsed for an hour before the service, sang a couple of choral items, and produced some soaring descants. The choir was conducted by one of our neighbours, a professional musician, who was at our party the night before. You see how it all links up!

So to today's theme, which I preached about in the morning. There should be equal stress on each word in 'surprising people': otherwise, if you stress the first word, it sounds like you're trying to shock them!  This week, it is about the genealogies of Jesus Christ in Matthew's and Luke's Gospels. They are similar but not the same. Matthew starts with Abraham and works forward to Jesus, concerned to demonstrate that Jesus is 'the real deal' for his Jewish readers; whereas Luke starts with Jesus and works all the way back to Adam. As an historian, he wants to show his Gentile readers that Jesus has ancestry dating back to the very beginning of time, and that God himself began the family line.

Among the two lists, though, are some 'surprising people' like Rahab the prostitute, and Bathsheba, who had an adulterous relationship with King David - himself no paragon of virtue either. Then there is a multitude of people of whom we know absolutely nothing, and who would have been amazed had they known that Jesus Christ, Messiah, would be a descendant of theirs. And of course, there are Joseph and Mary, about whom we know virtually nothing except that they were parents to Jesus. These people are all both surprised and surprising.

Which is precisely the point. Jesus Christ was truly 'one of us', sharing our humanity with all its imperfections, but raising it to the heights of his divinity.