Christ-filled?

•November 16, 2011 • 3 Comments

Ephesians 1:15-23 (NIV)

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,

I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,

which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,

far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,

which is his body, the fulness of him who fills everything in every way.

I’m grateful to Sally, for making me think again about this passage.  I would have been focussed on the verses about Paul giving thanks for the church in Ephesus, and the prayer he had for them.  Oh that someone would look at my life and feel like saying, “I give thanks for you”, that my life could be such a beacon.

But Sally’s question brought my eyes to the final verse, and the fact that the church is filled by Christ.  That got me wondering…

When we think of the church, we may be used to thinking of it as Christ’s body.  The Church is the people, not the building.  We are the hands, feet, beating heart, and voice of Christ.  But what about being full of him?  A body only works if it is full of blood, reaching each part of it, keeping it oxygenated and alive.  To be the body of Christ, we need to remain full of him, serviced and kept alive.

But what if we turn that back around to think of the church as a building, or the place where we meet.  How full of Christ is that?  Is it the place where we go to be “topped up” on our vital life fluid of faith.  Is it full of people for whom we thank God, because they help in that process of keeping us and our faith alive?  Or is church sometimes full of busyness and doing, that can be life-sapping rather than life-enhancing?

What do you think?  What is your experience?

Lord,

may I ever seek

to be filled by you,

that my life may be all you offer

and make possible

Posted in bible, Lectionary, life
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Fat Sheep

•November 15, 2011 • 1 Comment

We hear a lot today about fat cats.  Generally taken to be someone who has got rich off the back of others – who have usually been made poorer in the process.

Ezekiel speaks about Fat Sheep in a similar vein.

The previous section reads very oddly.  I can see God being a shepherd, looking for his sheep, caring for them, bringing them back from where they are scattered, tending the hurt, healing the sick ones – these are all pictures we are very familiar with when thinking of God.  But, “The sleek and the strong I will destroy” (v16), really – are you sure?  I’m not so comfortable with that thought, because I don’t think God is talking about a nice lamb roast.

The clue it appears is in the final sentence of verse 16

I will shepherd the flock with justice

As ever, God’s concern is for justice and right treatment, and as we move on to verses 20-24, we are enlightened further.

God is not judging simply between fat and thin sheep.  He’s looking at why the fat sheep are fat.  They have got fat by shoving and butting, the others have been driven away.

This is very much a challenge for us.

In the days when January sales were just that, and had real knock down bargains, it used to feature on the news, not just the people queueing up outside, but the free-for-all when the doors opened.  Elbows were employed, and it really was survival of those most able to push their way through.

Are we shovers and butters?  Making sure we get to things first?  Seeking out the fresh, green grass for ourselves and knocking others out of the way in our haste?  Do we want to make sure we have our share of whatever is on offer – and a bit more if we can get away with it.

Or are we looking for the weak?  Holding back so they can get through.  Letting others have what they need first, because their need is greater than ours.

What can we do to make sure these principles are lived out in the world?  What can we do to support and encourage fairer trade, more ethical business practices?

May there be less pushing an shoving, and more justice and strengthening of the weak.

Lord,

may I think of others

and their needs –

not just what I want.

In all my dealings

may I seek justice,

make space for the weak,

help the downtrodden,

and live in the ways of you

the One Shepherd

Posted in bible, God, justice, Lectionary
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Giving Your All

•November 11, 2011 • Leave a Comment

I don’t know if you ever watch the various antique and auction programmes on tv.  Whenever I see them, I never cease to be amazed at the amount some items do – or don’t reach.  Their value is obviously relative to the price someone is willing to pay.  And then, as I watch, I begin to wonder how much the old items I have are worth.  But then I think, that whatever price they may be worth, their value to us is far more, because they represent family history, and memories – they are actually priceless.

Some things are expensive, and there are others that are valuable.  The two things are very different.  Something that is valuable need not be expensive.  It’s value lies in what it means.

Jesus told us about a woman who apparently gave something of little price – yet to her it’s value as great – it was everything.  Not everything has the value we would put on it.  Cost doesn’t always have anything to do with money!

 She gave her all

 Lots of people were gathered in the temple.  They had with great pomp and self-importance given their gifts – everyone had seen what they had given, and they were very proud of themselves.  The widow came along and quietly dropped in just two small coins – yet in percentage terms of her wealth – much more.  She gave everything that she had.

Doing that has consequences.  The rich people who gave apparently large offerings would not miss what they had given.  This woman was putting her life on the line.  She was not commended by Jesus because she emptied the coppers from her purse, but because she placed her own comfort and security in jeopardy with the gift that she offered.  Even though it’s described as two small coins, it would not have been just loose change, but the equivalent today to perhaps a £20 note.  That was what she chose to give to God.  Everything that she had.

This woman gave her all in offering.

 Those who gave their all

 Today we remember those who have given their lives, their comfort, their security in offering for others.  Those who gave not just a small part of themselves, but everything.  Those who gave their lives for others are not people who were going nowhere, who had no life worth living.  They are people with families, with careers, with plans, with nice comfortable lives. In recent wars, they are not even people whose own lives are in danger, but they answered the call, and gave their lives for the freedom of others.  Who gave their ambitions, their place in life, their dreams, for the freedom and justice of others – and we give thanks.

There were those left at home, that watched their loved ones go – sons, boyfriends, fathers… people who were special and important to them, those who they valued.  People who gave up comfortable lives, took on the difficult jobs as a back-up.

So many who gave their all for other people.  We remember – and we give thanks.

 Jesus gave his all

 As Christians, we come also to remember Jesus, who gave his all for you and me.  Jesus did not have to leave heaven.  That was where he lived with God.  But he willingly came into our world.  He took on human life to show us the best way to live, the way God would live as a human.  But he also gave that up.  We get things wrong.  Human society does not live the way it should do for the best of everyone.  We cannot put those wrongs right, they are too big.  God knows we can’t put them right, so he sent someone to do it for us – he sent Jesus.  Who lived and who died for our freedom.

Jesus had never done anything wrong.  That was why he could take on our sins, and has freed us from them – by giving his life.  Now nothing need control us.  We are freed from anything that threatens us, anything that worries us, anything we regret, and we are given hope and peace by Jesus.

All of which leaves us with a question:

What we give today – for peace, for love, for compassion.

 We have thought of what others have offered, but what about us today.  What can we do in and for our world?  What  swords can we be beating into ploughs, what spears into pruning hooks.  What will we offer to other people?  Do we give our all in offering – all that we are and all that we have?  Or do we just give a part of us?? Do we want to keep something for ourselves?

In our offering to God – in our community, in our world, and through those, to our God?  Am I willing to put myself, my choices, what I hold dear, on the line for someone else?  For God?

You can’t give a bit of yourself when you’re in an army, it’s all or nothing.  Your comrades depend on you.

We all have a responsibility, and a part to play in the world.  Are we willing to give what we are to others, or keep what we are to ourselves.  Peace, justice and love have to begin somewhere – what can we offer towards that from our lives.

Where is the love?  Where is our love?  It’s our choice, what will we give?

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