Who and what is Jesus?

•July 13, 2010 • Leave a Comment

If you ever wanted to know what Jesus is all about, what we call Christology, there is nothing really to add to this passage from Colossians 1:15-23

15Christ is exactly like God, who cannot be seen. He is the first-born Son, superior to all creation.

16Everything was created by him, everything in heaven and on earth, everything seen and unseen, including all forces

and powers, and all rulers and authorities.

All things were created by God’s Son, and everything was made for him.

17God’s Son was before all else, and by him everything is held together.

18He is the head of his body, which is the church.

He is the very beginning, the first to be raised from death, so that he would be above all others.

19God himself was pleased to live fully in his Son.

20And God was pleased for him to make peace by sacrificing his blood on the cross, so that all beings in heaven

and on earth would be brought back to God.

21You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things.

22But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent.

23But you must stay deeply rooted and firm in your faith. You must not give up the hope you received when you heard the good news. It was preached to everyone on earth, and I myself have become a servant of this message.

Jesus came to show us God, how he would act, what he would do.

Jesus came to make friends with us.

Jesus lived and died that we could become pure and holy again, fit to be offered back to God.

Wow!

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It’s not what you know…

•July 6, 2010 • 1 Comment

The Poem of a Homeless Woman

“I was hungry, and you formed a humanities group to discuss my hunger.

I was imprisoned, and you crept off quietly to my chapel and prayed for my release.

I was naked, and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance.

I was sick, and you knelt and thanked God for your health.

I was homeless, and you preached to me the spiritual shelter of the love of God.

I was lonely, and you left me alone to pray for me.

You seem so holy, so close to God but I am still very hungry – and lonely – and cold.”

There are various versions of this poem, but they all point to one thing – the need of a human being, and that need being missed by someone keen to “do the right thing”.

This weeks readings all point to doing the right thing.  Not knowing the right thing, but doing something about it.  It is no good knowing something and not doing anything with that information.

I am known for putting my washing out in all kinds of weather.  I always look at the weather forecast, but I don’t always pay any attention.  My desire to get wet washing out of the house, makes me either hopeful or stupid, or I assume I will be able to rescue it at the last possible moment.  I ignore what I know is going to happen and put it out anyway – often with the predictable results of it getting wet.  There is no good having information and then doing what you think anyway.

In Deuteronomy the promise is that God will bless them, their side the blessing is to worship God and obey the Book of the Law.  Moses reminds them, “You know God’s laws”, they’re not difficult to keep, they are not inaccessible to you – all you have got to do is obey them!

The Colossians are held up as people who have faith and love, but Paul continues to pray for them that they will know what God wants them to do, and have the wisdom and understanding of the Spirit to get on and do it.

The we have the Parable of the Good Samaritan,  probably the best known passage of the bible.  A man lying by the roadside, beaten and half dead.  A Priest passes by.  A Temple Helper passes by.  A Samaritan stops and helps.

the road from Jerusalem to Jericho

This story is told to illustrate who are our neighbours.  The Priest would have known all the laws.  He would have been familiar with the Deuteronomy passage.  He knows that he should help those in need – but he does nothing.  His knowledge may make him feel secure, but it does nothing to make him compassionate or help.  He may think he know all about God, but knowing about God doesn’t make him do the right thing.

The Temple Helper, a man who was always busy around the Temple, he must have known all about God and what was right and wrong too, but he too went on by.  Whatever he knew, he did nothing to help this man.

Then along comes a Samaritan.  A man who had no reason to stop and help – but he did.  He did everything he could – an attitude that puts the other two, with their supposed knowledge of God to shame.

What good is it knowing all about God, or thinking you do, if it doesn’t make you as loving and generous as he is?  How can we claim we know God, and not act to help others?  Do we get so caught up in the “doing” of our faith that we forget what it really means – and what we should really be doing.

So it’s not what you know, it’s what you do with what you know.

You know what God wants you to do – go and do it!

Posted in Lectionary, love
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It’s not what you’ve got

•June 30, 2010 • Leave a Comment

There is a great temptation to have the latest thing.  The shiniest car, the most up to date mobile phone, the latest fashion.  We can be very quick to judge people by what they have – or don’t have; or what they wear

This is an amazing example of how people are judged.  I am pretty sure that three sweatshirts with hoods on did not steal a bus.  Stealing a bus is of course wrong and stupid, but we have got into a habit of using the term “hoodie” to describe any youth – and always in derogatory terms. It has become impossible for any teenager to wear a hoodie without immediately being judged as, at the very best, “trouble”.

We judge all too easily by outward appearances.

The Galatians seem to have got themselves into a similar kind of situation.  Their judgement criteria was whether someone had been circumcised or not.  Being circumcised marked you out as one of the in crowd.  It was considered something to brag about.  Not so says Paul.  What matters is that you are a new person, following the Spirit and helping others.  Don’t get tired of helping others.  We should help people whenever we can.  They are the Kingdom priorities – they are what is important to God.

I suspect God cares not one fig about what we wear, what parts of our bodies are pierced, if we’ve got tattoos, or any other such things.  I’m certain he is not concerned what car we drive or if we have the latest phone (unless of course it is that we are spending all our money on them or have great pride in what we own).  What God cares about is what we do for those around us.  He is bothered about if we listen to him, and do what he asks of us.

This theme is emphasised by Jesus.

He is sending out seventy-two of his followers.  They are going to the towns and villages that Jesus is about to go to.  In some way they are ‘preparing the way’ for him to go.  But as they go, they are to take nothing that they won’t need.  No money, no spare clothes.  It’s what they are going to do that is important, he will sort out the rest.  Their job is to bring God’s peace and to offer the Kingdom.  People’s acceptance of rejection should be on that.  The mission of God is not to be overtaken by personal concerns of clothing or food.  They are not to rely on what they have with them, but the One who sends and equips.

God invites us to come.  Each one of us.  Whoever we are.  Whatever we have done or not done.

God invites us to work with him.   Not because we look right, but because we are his.  He gives us everything we need, and invites us to live our lives for him.

So, come to God, receive his acceptance, become a new person and live out God’s love and help as you journey with him.

Posted in calling, follow, love
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