How do we find peace in traumatic times? - Nat Charles

Luke 12 v22-34

Part three of a three part mini series ‘Hope for a troubled world’ by Nat Charles.

This week: How can we find peace in traumatic times?

Please note: this is a recording from our Sunday Zoom service. Everyone is welcome to join us, see details on our home page.

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Transcript

One of the features of life over the past few months has been a heightened sense of anxiety. At first we were anxious about what we were dealing with. A virus that puzzled both the scientific and the medical communities, and no-one seemed to know how to respond. And in those early days, as the lockdown started, all of our familiar bearings were lost. The rhythms and routines that give shape to our lives and get us through each day and each week were gone in an instant and we struggled to know how to respond.

It shouldn’t have been surprising that retailers reported a spike in sales in March and April not just of toilet roll, but of alcohol and chocolate. Everyone needed a sense of reassurance in the midst of deeply concerning, traumatic times.

But for many of us, that sense of anxiety hasn’t disappeared as time has gone on. More recently, we’ve been anxious about how we ought to re-engage with the ‘new normal’. How safe is public transport? Should we wear a face mask? How socially distanced will the office really be, especially if there is a lot of hot desking going on. Should we go to see elderly relatives and parents? Should we go to cafes and bars?

On one level, it was fairly easy to go into lockdown. You just stayed at home. But coming out of it is much more complex, and still causes a great deal of anxiety.

As we’ve been going through all of that, what help does Christianity have to offer?

In the passage that we had read from Luke’s gospel a moment ago, Jesus Christ outlines two radically different perspectives on anxiety and worry. He claims that his followers have all of the resources that they need to approach this issue very differently to anyone else, and begins to sketch out what that will mean in practice.

I want to us explore what he says through two instructions that he gives to his disciples. Do not worry, and do seek.

DON’T WORRY

First, do not worry.

You can’t miss the heart of Jesus’ teaching in these Vs. Right at the start, in Vs 22, he says ‘do not worry’.

It might be tempting for us to imagine that because Jesus was around a long time ago, and life was so much simpler, that there would be much less to worry about, so it was easy for him to say these words.

But a moment’s reflection ought to make us see that can’t be the case. Jesus’ contemporaries lived in an agrarian society that was entirely dependent on the weather. Imagine being in a position that a wet, gloomy summer doesn’t just mean that we can’t get out to the park as much as we would like, but that there might not be enough food for the winter. My guess is that Jesus lived in a society and a culture where life was much more precarious than ours is today – and yet he still says ‘do not worry’.

Jesus roots his instruction in the reality of who God is. There’s a reminder that as creator, God cares for every individual life, every life matters to him. Because human beings are made in his image, we are much more valuable to God than the created order.

But we’re not made in the image of a distant, unknowable deity. The God who made us is the God that Christians call ‘Father’. God is relational, and he knows what we need.

And for evidence of that, Jesus says, look to the natural world. Look to the birds. They don’t spend their lives saving up, putting a bit by every month in case of a rainy day. Yet God feeds them. 

And what about the flowers? Yesterday I had the joy of taking a wedding. Perhaps because of the unusual circumstances, there were only 20 people there and it was socially distanced and all the rest of it, it felt even more joyful than usual. The bride looked truly beautiful, but what really lifted the occasion was seeing a building full of flowers. They were glorious. Even though they last just for a moment, their radiance couldn’t be matched by Solomon in all his splendour.

Jesus argues from the lesser to the greater. How much more valuable are you, made by God in his image, a child of a heavenly father, then the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. Much more. And your Father knows what you need. So do not worry.

All of that is not to say that hard times won’t come to us. Jesus isn’t saying here that his followers will automatically be protected from the hardships of life. Illness or bereavement, suffering or pain. If you’ll excuse the double negative, we don’t not worry because there is nothing to worry about. But we know that when hard times comes, our Father has us. He knows what’s good for us and he knows what we need.

Neither is Jesus saying these words to condemn us, or to make us feel bad if we do worry. Some of us here will experience anxiety not just as a low level, occasional feeling, but as an illness that requires medical help and attention. If that is you, please don’t hear these words as Jesus just trying to get at you that makes you feel even worse. He is speaking to reassure you, and if you do need medical help for your anxiety, please go and find it.

DO SEEK

But there isn’t only an instruction here about what not to do, Jesus also offers a positive.

Don’t worry, but do seek.

Now maybe you’ve been thinking so far, all sounds a little like a romantic, slightly hippy like idealised version of life. Look at the birds and flowers and don’t worry.

But there’s something much more subtle going on here. Jesus offers a significant insight into human nature and what drives us. He draws a contrast towards the end of the passage, between what he calls the pagan world, and the his own followers.

But the contrast isn’t what we might think. He says that the pagan world is characterised by anxiety. Vs 29, don’t set your heart on what you will eat or drink… for the pagan world runs after such things. Doing some reading this week around this passage, I came across a really helpful insight in one commentary on this passage around anxiety. ‘Anxiety is driven by a very simple insight… the insight that we are limited creatures. If you know that you can’t manage the future, yet you try to manage the future, there can only be one result: anxiety.’

And it’s anxiety that keeps the world going round. Anxiety is the governing principle of the world. Anxiety keeps shops open 24/7. Anxiety means we are rushing to get back to work as soon as humanly possible. It’s anxiety that keeps the construction industry open even through a Pandemic. Anxiety, you could say, builds skyscrapers.

So what’s the contrast? Here’s the interesting thing. Jesus doesn’t say that being his disciples means getting out of the rat race. His followers are also people who seek something. Vs 31, they seek his kingdom. His kingdom is the place where, to put it simply, God is king.

But here’s the difference. In the very next vs Jesus says, you have been given the kingdom. In other words, Jesus followers seek what they already have rather than seeking what they do not have.

According to Jesus, everyone is seeking something. Looking to achieve something. Living from and for a particular vision of the future, living towards and in hope. But Christians seek differently, because the future is already secure. So our striving isn’t driven by what we don’t have, but what we do have. And what do we have? In Jesus, we have the Kingdom. It’s been given to us already.

What might all of this look like? This week I read an interview with the comedian and actor and writer Sally Philips. You’d know her from shows like Miranda and Smack the Pony. In recent years she’s had more profile as she’s worked through issues around Down’s Syndrome, as her eldest son has Down’s himself. In the interview that I read she was asked whether her Christian faith has helped her in the difficult times, and she that because of her son, ‘I think I’m being particularly blessed by God in this family unit… ‘I’ve been given a Narnia cupboard through which I can look through and see things God’s way.’

There hasn’t been miraculous healing for her son. There have been plenty of tough moments as a parent of a Down’s Syndrome child. Although his life will look hugely different from what many would consider successful, nothing has been lost.

Don’t worry, seek God’s Kingdom. The kingdom that you have been given as his children.

SILENCEPRAY

MUSIC – The Lord’s my shepherd.

Where is God in a global pandemic? - Nat Charles

Luke 7: 11-17

Part one of a three part mini series ‘Hope for a troubled world’ by Nat Charles.

This week: Where is God in a global pandemic?

Please note: this is a recording from our Sunday Zoom service. Everyone is welcome at our services and you can find out how to join online on our home page. Due to a blip at the time of recording the recording begins about a minute in.

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Transcript

As we reflect on our own experience of the past months, I suspect that all of us are asking a similar question, even if we might articulate it differently. Where is God in all of this? 

It might be that as you have faced a particular experience of the Pandemic, illness, increased stress at home or at work, uncertainty over your job or just missing loved ones that you can’t see in person, you are wondering where God is. Or maybe the grim reality of life in a pandemic – 10.6 million Covid cases around the world, over 500,000 deaths – have left you feeling like it’s simply impossible to believe in God at a time like this.

The question about God and suffering is not a new one. It’s been around since ancient Greek and Roman thinkers grappled with the problem. Yet we probably know the problem as it was stated by the enlightenment philosopher David Hume in the 18thC. Hume wrote ‘Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then is he incapable. Is he able but not willing? Then is he malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?’

To put the problem most straightforwardly, isn’t the presence of suffering in the world, like Covid-19, evidence that God just isn’t there? How could a good, powerful being, just sit back when we’re going through all of this? Where is God?

I’d like to take a few moments to explore this story in Luke chapter 7. As far as we know, the gospel writer Luke didn’t meet Jesus of Nazareth personally, but he did compile his narrative, his gospel, on the basis of eyewitness testimony. And this short episode offers at least three perspectives on the question about where God is and what he’s doing in the presence of suffering and evil.

JESUS IS OFFENDED BY SUFFERING, vs 13

First, notice how Jesus is moved by the suffering he encounters.

The scene that Luke describes is tragic in all sorts of ways. Not only has this woman in the story lost a son, and has to deal with her grief. but she’s also lost everything that a son represents. As a woman, her economic and social status in the culture of the ANE would have been entirely bound up with the male figures in her household. Her husband and her son. So she isn’t just dealing with her grief, but with huge insecurity and uncertainty about her future and status.

We’re told in Vs 13 that when Jesus encounters the woman, his heart goes out her. In fact, the phrase that Luke uses could be translated even more strongly. It literally means ‘his guts/intestines were twisted up’.

Jesus is affronted by the presence of suffering as he encounters it. It moves and grieves him.

That’s really significant. Because while we all know that suffering is wrong, many of the explanations offered for suffering can’t actually explain why it’s wrong.

Contrast Jesus with other religious and philosophical approaches to the issue of suffering. Some religions are fatalistic about suffering – it’s simply God’s will. Or suffering is thought to be an intrinsic part of the world, and the way to leave it behind is to find a way out of the world.

Likewise, although atheism might look like it solves the problem, it just creates new ones. Famously, Richard Dawkins, in a book published some years ago described our universe as pitilessly indifferent. No design, no purpose, no evil, no good, just indifference. 

But if that’s true, if there is no God, why should anyone call our experience of the last three months wrong, or bad? There’s no warrant to do so, it’s simply all there is.

Contrast Jesus. No fatalism, no platitudes. Instead, outrage. And as we see him affronted by the presence of suffering in this world, we see that we’re not wrong to have a problem with suffering and evil.

Jesus validates our own sense that suffering is wrong. It’s not just how life is. Not just part of the natural order. It’s not just the way things are. You are not wrong if you feel that suffering of any kind, your own or anyone else’s is deeply wrong. It’s not the way that things are supposed to be in God’s world.

So Christianity invites us to reframe the question. John Lennox, a Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University puts it this way. We ought to ask not ‘why doesn’t God do things this way or that way, but is there a God we can trust with our lives and our selves in a world like this?’

JESUS EXPERIENCED SUFFERING, vs 14

And this story goes on to offer an answer to that question.

Because second, Jesus isn’t only affronted by suffering, and so validates our own suffering, he knows what it is to suffer.

There’s a small detail in this story that is really striking. In Vs 14, Jesus approaches the bier that the dead child is lying on. And he reaches out his hand, and touches it.

Now why is that so striking? As a vicar, when I lead a funeral service, I will often place my hand on the coffin for the final prayer in the service,. It’s known as the commendation. And that’s not so unusual. What’s different about Jesus?

The answer is that in Ancient Israel, in a devoutly religious culture, death was considered unclean. Ritually and ceremonially unclean. And to touch something that had died, whether another person or an animal was to also become unclean. Various practices that involved cleansing had to be undertaken before you could re-enter society, before you could worship at the temple.

So as Jesus touches the bier of this dead child, he enters into the suffering of this widow. And it’s also a glimpse of his own suffering. The central act of the Christian faith is the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross, and his rising to new life.

So hear this, the Christian God isn’t just offended by suffering. He knows what it is to suffer.

It might be that we’ve become a little desensitised to that idea. We all know the story of Jesus dying on a cross. But in the ancient world, it was an incendiary, scandalising notion.

I’ve recently been reading a book by the historian Tom Holland, who sets out to investigate why Christianity has so profoundly shaped the people of the West, and why we think as we do. Early on in the book he writes about the horror of crucifixion, not just it was physically, but what it said about the victim. ‘Divinity, then, was for the greatest of the great: for victors, and heroes, and kings… That a man who had himself been crucified might be hailed as a God could not help but be seen by people everywhere across the Roman world as scandalous, obscene, grotesque.’

And yet, that is precisely the God that Christians worship. The only God, as one writer puts it, with scars.

And because he is, because he knows what it is to suffer, he can draw alongside us in our own suffering.

JESUS WILL END SUFFERING, vs 15

Jesus validates our suffering, he knows our suffering. One last perspective. He will end our suffering.

This scene in the town of Nain is remarkable in one other respect. 

Over the past three months, we have become very conscious of the risk of infection through touch. Do you remember the early days of March, and the constant reminders to wash your hands. To avoid touching your face. Videos appeared on the BBC news website about why we feel the need to touch our face and how to stop doing so.

That’s what you’d expect Jesus to think and feel. He wouldn’t want to be infected as it were by any contact with a dead body. Yet the touch, rather than infecting him, brings life. Vs 15, the young man gets up, and is restored to life again.

And again, in this very small action, we’re pointed towards the cross. How so?

I mentioned a moment ago that the people of Israel were taught in the OT that death was unclean. The reason that death is awful in the Bible is because it’s the evidence of God’s judgement against sin. Humanity’s defiant attempt to live as gods in God’s world. As far as the Bible is concerned, we have all turned away from the source of life looking for life everywhere and anywhere else, but finding only death and darkness.

But in his death, Jesus himself, the giver of life, is touched by death. Jesus faces the judgement of God at Calvary, so that those who are under a sentence of death might know and share in his life. Jesus suffers to bring his healing to us all.

And the joy of the widow of Nain, as her son is restored to her, is a small picture of what our joy will be when the risen Jesus restores all things. When everything and everyone that we have lost will be restored. Tolkien famously has one of his characters say at the end of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ that everything sad is coming untrue. The promise of Christianity is that all things will be restored to us in and through Jesus.

Jesus gladly enters our suffering so that he might bring it to an end. So that he might be our hope that will sustain us through even the worst that a global pandemic can do.

Luke 24 v44-49 - Easter (5/6) - Nat Charles

Luke 24 v44-49

Part of our Easter series working through Luke chapter 24.

This week: ‘You are witnesses of these things.’ v48

Please note: this is a recording from our Sunday service currently meeting on Zoom.

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Transcript to follow.

Luke 24 v28-35 - Easter (3/6) - Nat Charles

Luke 24 v28-35

Part of our Easter series working through Luke chapter 24.

This week: Encountering Jesus in the scriptures and by breaking bread.

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Transcript

You join us this afternoon as we’re about halfway through the season of Easter. In the calendar of the church, Easter doesn’t last only for one day, it’s a fifty day feast. I know that it feels hard to celebrate at the moment. In many ways this is a season to lament what we are missing. But the season of Easter is a gift as it refocuses us and reminds us again and again that Jesus is alive. He is risen. The grave could not hold him.

Here at SBD we’re working through Luke Chpt 24 in our sermon series. The chapter narrates the story of two disciples of Jesus who are on their way out. They are leaving Jerusalem for Emmaus, and their geographical journey mirrors what’s going in their hearts. They are distraught that Jesus has died as it seems to be the end of all that they hoped he would accomplish.

And yet an encounter with the risen Jesus turns them around. Rather than sadly trudging away from Jerusalem, the disciples are suddenly sprinting back. Rather than lamenting their shattered hopes, they are bursting with new hope and assurance.

As we explore the return journey, let me start with this. Does being a Christian mean that we have to have blind faith? After all, we can’t see Jesus. 

Some years ago the artist Mark Wallinger produced a piece called ‘Angel’. The piece is a short film in which the artist wears dark glasses and carries a cane, the kind that might be used by someone partially sighted. He’s appearing as a character called Blind Faith. Walking on the spot at the foot of the escalators at Angel underground station, Wallinger repeats over and over the first five verses of John’s gospel. ‘In the beginning was the word…’ He’s asking questions about seeing and sight, and whether things really are as they appear.

There is something strange about Luke’s account of the Emmaus story. Jesus is seen by two disciples, yet they don’t recognise him. Then, when they do recognise, he disappears from their sight. Something’s going on about seeing and beliving, or perhaps not seeing, and believing. And the result of it all is that two broken hearted disciples are restored and filled with fresh joy.

We don’t see Jesus today, but we do encounter him.

In the narrative, there are 2 openings that Luke tells us about.

SCRIPTURE IS OPENED

First, Scripture is opened. Vs 32, the disciples describe what happened on the road when Jesus joined them. They say ‘he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us.’

We saw last week that Jesus started to reveal himself to the disciples not through discussing what happened in Jerusalem, or even by reminding them what happened when he was with them teaching and preaching and healing.

He opens up the Scriptures, the Old Testament so that they can see who he is. And we saw last week that he makes a claim that would have sounded extraordinary – all of the Scriptures are about him. They all cohere, find their meaning, in him.

One of the features of lockdown life in our home at the moment is jigsaw puzzles. We’ve got one of those wasgij puzzles – do you know those? They’re really difficult because the picture on the front doesn’t match the final picture. It’s more like a clue, and you have to use your imagination to figure out what comes next.

That’s a small picture of what is going on here. The Scriptures make sense of Jesus – we wouldn’t understand what he came to do without them. And he makes sense of the Scriptures – we won’t understand them unless we read them in the light of all that he came to do. We need to know the story of Israel, and we need to know how that story is taken up and reshaped around Jesus. 

He is the Messiah, the anointed one. And he is the King who sits on the throne of David. And he is the suffering servant prophesied by Isaiah. All of the OT types and shadows find their fullness in him.

But there is something more. The disciples say that their hearts burned within them as Jesus opened the Scriptures. If we’re honest, it often doesn’t feel like that when we open the Scriptures. And I think there might be two reasons for that.

The first is that we might separate Jesus from Scriptures. You could call it the President Bartlett fallacy. In the West Wing TV series there are a couple of episodes where the characters set the OT and NT against each other, as if the God of the OT is a vindictive monster, and the God of the NT kind and compassionate and loving. 

I don’t want to say that there aren’t hard and difficult parts of Scripture. There are. But Jesus won’t let us simply ignore them, cut them out of our Bibles. If we want to take him seriously, we must take seriously what he says about the Scriptures – without them, we don’t really have him.

But equally, there is a way of reading Scripture that never gets to Jesus.

It’s perfectly possible to read the Scriptures as if they are about all sorts of things – a guidebook for life. A manual for how society should be ordered. Some stories to give us hope in hard times. 

Now it does have important things to say to all of those areas. But it’s only when the Scriptures lead us to Jesus that our hearts will burn within us.

Let me ask you this afternoon – how do the Scriptures shape and affect the journey that you are on? Could it be that we don’t encounter Jesus as we might because we don’t search for him in the Scriptures, or we search the Scriptures for the wrong thing?Maybe not, but it might be worth asking the question.

EYES ARE OPENED

But it’s not only the Scriptures that are opened in this narrative. The disciples’ eyes are also opened. Vs 31 tells us that after Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to them, their eyes were opened.

The gospel writer Luke loves to present Jesus eating and drinking with other people. I read somewhere that this meal is the 8th that Jesus shares in Luke’s gospel.

What’s going on here? Why is at this point that the disciples recognise Jesus? I don’t think it’s that they see the nail marks in his hands and feet – Luke seems to make more of that in the following scene, when Jesus meets the rest of the disciples. Something else is going on.

There is one other place in the Scriptures that a meal is shared and someone’s eyes are opened. It’s back in Genesis 3, after Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the tree. They eat the fruit and their eyes are opened. At that meal humanity is brought low, it’s an opening that leads to loss and blindness, separation from God and being banished from his presence. That meal, that opening, leads to death.

But this meal is the first of the new age. The new creation. The disciples’ eyes are opened to new life and new creation. To glory and wonder. The beginning of the new story of humanity. Restoration and recreation. The disciples’ eyes are opened.

And then Jesus disappears from their sight.

Commentators are divided at this point about whether Luke is making a comment about the nature of the Lord’s Supper in this scene. Some argue that his emphasis is on the opening of the Scriptures, others say that the important moment is the breaking of bread.

It seems to me that Luke holds both together. If the supper at Emmaus tells us anything, it is that the risen Jesus meets his followers. They encounter him. It’s not just that the disciples receive a history lesson over a meal. As the Scriptures are opened, as bread is broken, they encounter Jesus.

And so for us, although in different ways, we encounter Jesus both through the Scriptures, and through breaking bread together.

We may not see Jesus face to face today, although one day we will. But he does sustain us with his risen presence, he gives himself through the word and at the table.

And as he does, our hearts burn within us and we find fresh hope and new assurance and joy.

PRAY/SING

The Parables of the Lost Things Luke 15:1-24

The Lost Things - Luke 15:1-24

Giles Fouhy

We’re looking at Parables of Jesus in the gospel of Luke and here Jesus speaks 3 parables to: some people who knew they’d messed up who suspected God would never want them and to other people who were confident in their righteousness - the Pharisees, the community leaders. 

3 parables back to back. 3 stories, similarly themed. In each parable 3 things happen 1) something is lost 2) the loss leads to a search, 3) retrieval brings rejoicing 

1. something is lost 

here’s the shepherd in his field caring for 100 sheep, it’s very unlikey that they all belong to him maybe 4 or 5 of them do. The flock is the combined ownership of his village his community and his job and responsibilty is to care for them all.  How regularly do you do a head count? Must be difficult.. they keep moving..

Except perhaps this shepherd doesn’t have to count - he knows his sheep -which means  hang on where’s fluffy? Haven’t seen him… fluffy? fluffy!? He’s wandered off again. 

Sheep are nototriously stupid and rebellious they get themselves into trouble, they need the Shepherd. A lost sheep

Then here’s the woman counting her valuable coins. My mum would always say If you count your money you’re going to lose it. One of this woman’s coins is lost! She counts again that sinking feeling of realisaton grows ….A lost coin 

Then a son comes to his father - says the unthinkable in that culture where you lived with your father until he died; where you’d bury your Father and only then would you leave. He says give me my share of the inheritance now, i’m leaving now. It’s a horrifying insult. It equates to saying ‘Dad i wish you were dead.’ Incredibly, the Father rather than punishing his wayward son, beating the living daylights out of him. This father …he grants his son the freedom even to reject his Fatherhood and love. The son takes the money, leaves his Father, squanders the wealth, winds up destitute.  A lost Son 

Jesus makes clear that in each case the lost things equate to people. ordinary people. people like us.  That we are in some way lost. And you don’t have to look lost to be lost. You don’t have to feel lost to be lost. 

The Bible says that Our true human home is in God; to be with God our Maker, the source of our existence. But perversely we know that instead of enjoying God, we largely ignore Him. Instead of discovering our true purpose living his way. We say with Frank Sinatra, ‘I’ll do it my way” 

Like a sheep wandering away from the Shepherd. 

Or like a Son saying to his Father -  I’ll take the gifts thanks - life, pleasure.. but i don’t want you. leave me alone God. Ill do it my way. 

This, we know, is the bias of our hearts. And you don’t even have to be a so called immoral or particularly dysfunctional person for this to be the case. The admired, well to do person who has given their life to charitable causes but has done so completely on her own terms with no reference to God is just as rebellious and just as Lost. 

We have wrenched ourselves from God who is the only life giver. And unchecked that lostness continues into eternity. 

But thank God is not the end of the story.  

Because the 2nd thing in the parables is that  

Each loss results in a search. Loss results in a SEARCH 

The shepherd leaves the 99 sheep and goes in search of the 1. Isn’t that extraordinary? If I was looking after a hundred sheep and only one went missing id think - well i haven’t done too badly. But not this shepherd. He’s not a generalist. He cares about the one. He embarks on a search and rescue expedition. 

The woman …turns the house upside down in search of the coin. 

And The father  ….. - implicit in the fact that He sees his returning son from a great distance and runs to him - is the reality that this Father was a horizon gazer. Every day this Father’s eyes never strayed for long from the horizon; from the road, longing for his son to come back. He’d put his office in that room and positioned his desk so that whatever work he was doing, regularly he’d break off to look out for his son. I bet people noticed him doing it. Perhaps some tried to dissuade him, perhaps you would have: “Give it up, do yourself a favour forget him, he’s never coming home. And anyway he did a disgraceful thing.”. He looks at you with tears in his eyes and says, ‘He’s my son - he’ll always be my son.” And his eyes return to the horizon. 

I think it might be a sign of getting on a bit .. but i’m always misplacing things and occasionally losing things. ‘Where are my keys! Has anyone seen my keys??” And when you lose something you can tell the value of that thing to you by the manner of your search. If you turn over a few cushions and shrug your shoulders and turn back to watching Strictly come dancing  - it obviously wasn’t that valuable. But if you’re missing Strictly! Urgently turning the house upside down because you can’t relax until you’ve found it, retracing your steps, you can’t sleep for racking your brains - then the thing that is lost must be of tremendous value to you! the value of the thing to you is revealed in the manner of the search. 

Humanity was lost and the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ did not merely shrug his shoulders, sadly shake his head and return to creating new worlds… No, he got up , he crossed the great divide from heaven to earth to come and find us. We had ignored and offended God and yet Jesus, eternally God humbled himself to share our broken humanity. He became human. He went from Glory to a stable floor. From the company of angels to the friendship of sinners. From the throne of Creation to the agony of the cross. To pay for our offences and to reconcile us to God. 

The value of the thing to you is revealed in the manner of the search. You and I have never clapped eyes on a human being who isn’t of absolute value to God. We might not know them, they may mean nothing to us. But God… he would die for them if they were the one person on earth. He would die for you if you were the one person on earth. You are infinitely valuable to God. he loves you. he came in search for you. 

The three parables end on similar notes 

Retrievals bring rejoicing. Retrievals bring rejoicing. 

It’s Classic  stuff. 

When the man finds his lost sheep, when the woman finds her lost coin, when the Father finds his lost son - the pattern is the same they call their friends and neighbours, come and celebrate with me! We’re killing the fatted calf, party of the century.  Come on!

Why? - what are we celebrating? It’s not your birthday? No. an anniversary? No. You’re getting married!!? No! You’ve got a job promotion? No!! What then? 

I’ve found fluffy! 

Fluffy? 

my lost sheep! 

Oh OK… what do you wear to a lost sheep party?

Come and celebrate with me. I’ve found my lost sheep, my lost coin, my lost son 

Just as we reserve the fullest searches for the things we think are the most valuable so we reserve the biggest celebrations don’t we for the times that we think are most important. Depending on whatever big story is governing our lives. If I’m living for material success and career achievement then the biggest celebrations in my life will be to celebrate promotions, contracts, awards. If it’s human relationships and families (probably a much healthier story) then it will be weddings and anniversaries. 

But according to Jesus - look at what gets the champagne flowing in heaven - in God’s dimension - look at what is deemed the reason for rejoicing v7, v10 rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. One lost person who comes home. To be eternally found, eternally secure. This is the story that governs all reality. What really matters. That which energises heaven.

Actually did you notice the joy of the finder begins before the party? The party is just 

the corporate expression of the finder’s already joy. The finder’s suffering joy. 

Because the Shepherd’s joy doesn’t begin when he finally gets the sheep home. the shepherd rejoices when he finds the sheep - even though the sheep is still not restored and lost sheep normally need lifting out of some trouble they’ve got themselves into and lost sheep are normaly so parlaysed with fear that they don’t want to be found. Look at what the Shepherd has to do he has to carry the sheep on his shoulders all the way home. But he bear this burden willingly and with joy. The Bible says that for the joy set before him Jesus willingly endured the cross for us to carry us home. He did so joyfully. 

And the Father … he knows that the returning disgraced son may not even make it into the village if he is identified by others before the Father finds him. He will be humiliated, lynched he will suffer. So the Father when he sees the Son.. he runs that gauntlet so that his child will not have to. He literally runs. At the best of time men in late middle age look ridiculous running. In this culture it was humiliating for a man of stature to run. But this Father runs to intercept his son. To interrupt his words of apology, to publicly reconcile with his son, to protect him with his robe of righteousness and ring of sonship. No lectures, no reprimands. Acceptance and joy. 

It wouldn’t have been just the Father’s other son who thought the Father was foolish, outrageous, weak for just taking back the prodigal younger son. Most of the  village would have thought it. what a pushover. what an idiot. They probably only went to the party because of the free food and drink. 

But I don’t think that those people would affect the Father’s joy in his returning child one jot. And others would have been there saying, what a Father he is… What a Father! He suffers joyfully to bring his child home. 

I wonder, How do you imagine God? how do you picture him? Do you picture a distant thundering figure, who prefers fear and respect to love. Who forgives yes but reluctantly and after making the penitent person squirm? That is not the picture Jesus gives. Jesus tells of a crazy caring shepherd; of a housewife turning the house upside down so valuable is her lost coin; of a Father humiliating himself by running to embrace a son who has squandered half the family fortune.

This is who God is. This is how much he loves us. How much he wants to know us an bring us home eternally to himself. For we were lost but that loss led to an all out search and retrievals bring rejoicing. So come home. 

The Parable of the wedding guests Luke 14:1-14

Luke 14: 1-14 The guests at the wedding feast

Gabby Patrick

The Parable of the Mustard seed and Yeast Luke 13:18-21

Luke 13:18-21

Giles Fouhy

There's a video going viral on youtube - plays a sound and some people hear yanni and some people hear laurel. People hear the exact same thing but hear something completely different. Apparently it’s something to do with the shape of your ear. I personally hear ‘lobster…lobster’

Another thing that’s split opinion this last week is THAT sermon. Bishop Michael Curry’s passionate sermon at last weekend's Royal Wedding. The most heard piece of Christian communication in history with an estimated 2 billion people watching. Social media tells us that many loved it. Footage of facial expressions at the actual wedding tell us that others hated. Some Christians loved it. Some hated it. 

Set aside the fact that the leader of the Episcopal church of the USA, which is currently out of fellowship with the Anglican communion over the issue of marriage, probably shouldn’t have been given this platform. Set that aside and I think it was a GREAT sermon of how love can transform the world. Yes, the sermon could have told more of the gospel - about how our love is corrupted and fallen and needs the redeeming love of God to save us. Yes it could be misconstrued that Michael Curry was saying that human love changes the world. But i don;t think he did say that. he said that all love flows from the God who is love. the God of the cross. And that’s true and wonderful. 

I loved his passage where he said this 

Think and imagine a world where love is the way.”

Imagine our homes and families where love is the way. 

Imagine neighborhoods and communities where love is the way.

Imagine governments and nations where love is the way. 

Imagine business and commerce where this love is the way. 

Imagine this tired old world where love is the way. 

When love is the way, then no child will go to bed hungry in this world ever again.

When love is the way, we will let justice roll down like a mighty stream and righteousness like an ever-flowing brook.

When love is the way, poverty will become history. 

When love is the way, the earth will be a sanctuary.

When love is the way, we will lay down our swords and shields, down by the riverside, to study war no more.

When love is the way, there's plenty good room - plenty good room - for all of God's children.

"Because when love is the way, we actually treat each other, well... like we are actually family.

When love is the way, we know that God is the source of us all, and we are brothers and sisters, children of God.

My brothers and sisters, that's a new heaven, a new earth, a new world, a new human family.

He’s describing the plans and purposes of God through Jesus to renew this world completely and eternally by love. To restore what the Bible calls the Kingdom of God. This was God’s promised from the very start to Abraham - all the nations of the world will be blessed. And it’s the promise that is affirmed through Jesus. 

But of course there are big questions that this raise: like for a start:  

when? when are you gonna do this God? the disciples often asked Jesus this. Before he went back to heaven after his resurrection, the disciples said ‘are you now going to establish the Kingdom in Israel - are you now going to bring justice and perfection and equality and life like God has promised. When are you gonna do it? The Jews always expected that God’s kingdom would come in one mighty moment. But Jesus has been around and it hasn’t happened yet. 

Yes there have been glimpses - like what happens directly before our reading today when Jesus heals a woman. But Jesus always seems to take a step forward and then immediately two steps back! he draws huge crowds to him and then he speaks in unintelligible parables and issues such hard challenges that everybody leaves! he enters jerusalem as a king but then dies on a cross! he rises from the dead but then leaves everything to a fearful, uneducated, slow to believe, small bunch of disciples! 

So It’s not so much a question of when will the kingdom come but will it really come? 

global peace, environmental balance, inclusion and well being …?

I remember a woman once saying to me it feels like there are forces of good and forces of evil in this world.. and good is not winning. 

The kingdom of God seems a pipe dream.. 

it seemed that way to the disciples it can seem that way to us. 

the church takes a step forward and two steps back. in some parts of the world there is great interest in the things of God. In the west we are in terminal decline. peace comes in one part of the world war breaks out in three others. agreements on climate change get made then torn up. aid comes to the poor and hungry while the gap between the haves and the havenots grows larger than ever. 

Is it all just a pipe dream. Where is this promised Kingdom of God? How will it ever come?

Well this is the question Jesus is answering with these two simple parables. 

He wants to address our feelings of fear and confusion and potential despair about the Kingdom. 

By assuring us that the Kingdom will not fail but will prosper and grow. It will happen. Love wins. But you have to see how love wins 

v16 this grand oratoical question “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 

The Kingdom of God - to what shal i compare it?

Hold your breath.. What answer will come

It is like …. a mustard seed 

See i told you, say the disciples, this thing is doomed 

A mustard seed. The tiniest seed in the garden. 

A cosmic mustard seed?

A special mustard seed?

No just a regular one that you plant..

If you think that the Kingdom of God can look unimpressive - infact you can’t even really see it. Jesus says yeah that’s right the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed which a man took and planted in his garden.

The kingdom of God has terribly small and unimpressive beginnings 

Well that’s true of Jesus himself 

He came from the glory of heaven to poverty, humility, 

his cradle was a manger 

his nursery was a stable surrounded by beasts 

his home was a judea a backwater kind of place 

Nazareth to be specific - one of those disappointing from which nothing good comes 

a mustard seed 

a mustard seed planted 

the kingdom of God is quite literally an underground movement. It begins hidden. A seed hidden in a heart, hidden in a life that is hidden in God. 

When you think about the Kingdom of God don’t think region but reign, not location but lordship. The Kingdom of God is not a place it’s his loving rule over human hearts and the influence of that rule in the beginnings of obedient lives to him. It’s an underground movement 

and it begins with death 

unless the seed is buried in the ground, into death there can be no life

unless Jesus die for us and be buried for us there can be no life, no forgiveness, no resurrection for us. 

and unless a person dies to themselves their own hold on their lives, their own self rule and relinquishes lordship to Jesus - there can be no life with them 

the kingdom of God has terribly small and unimpressive beginnings - hidden from view, hidden in a heart 

but the kingdom will grow ..gradually ..imperceptibly but ultimately disproportionatley from its beginnings. Just as a mustard seed grows into these tree like extensive bushes 10 feet tall providing protection and shade for birds so the Kingdom will grow way way way beyond its initial signs of promise. It will happen 

In the OT time and again the Kingdom of God is pictured as a tree - a giant Cedar tree - where birds come and shelter and nest. The birds are the peoples of the earth. The gentile nations drawn in under God’s branches. A haven. A place where people of all races can comfortably reside. 

The Kingdom grows global and unites the world but Jesus hints that there will always be surprises about the way that the Kingdom comes. Not in ways anticipated, not instantly and mightily but gradually and through weakness. A mustard bush not a cedar tree. 

2nd parable - equally familiar and ordinary. jesus moves from the garden into the kitchen. 

Again the great oratorical question. ‘What shall i compare the kingdom of God to?’ 

Will it be a bigger thing now? The KINGDOM OF GOD! 

Hold your breath.. What answer will come?

It is like …. yeast 

yeast? yeast? 

Cosmic yeast? 

Special yeast?

No. Just yeast. the kind you mix into flour to make bread rise. 

yeast - tiny, microscopic. 

there are 20billion yeast cells in just one gram of baker’s yeast 

and here it is a tiny proportion in comparison to the large amount of flour. 3 measures - a measure was 13L so nearly 40 L of flour here a large pot

a tiny invisible organism but an incredible influence 

Jesus’ emphasis here is not the extensive nature of the kingdom as with the mustard seed 

The emphasis here is the transforming power of the kingdom 

The kingdom will be extended universally 

AND the kingdom will transform powerfully.

The Kingdom does not just grow it’s hidden power changes the world radically 

Note that the yeast only has influence because of where it is placed. It is mixed into the flour and it is worked through all the dough. You have to do that mixing and kneading don’t you? mixed in. worked through. 

The yeast cannot influence if it is on the side, left on the margins.  

Far from its influence being diminished by it being hidden, buried, overwhelmed, UNLESS it is hidden it has no influence at all. 

Let’s think about the implications of these 2 parables 

1. The Kingdom though seemingly small and insignificant will eventually grow universally and globally and will transform the whole earth. We can so often feel that renewal and change can never happen we can become disheartened but we are to take heart. This world has a future. God is committed to it. 
2. We ought not to think that our part in Kingdom business however lowly and unsee will ever be insignificant. Influence in the kingdom is through the small and the hidden. small unseen moments of prayer, love, action, kindness multiplied and blessed by God a billion fold 
3. You don’t have to be a famous entertainer, sport’s personality or celebrity to influence the world truly for the Kingdom of God. The kingdom of God doesn’t work in the same way as the Kingdom of the world. In fact they are opposites. In the Kingdom of God the last are first and greatness is service. We make a grave mistake if we ape the world’s methods. If we try and impress the world by size - big groups, influential names being powerful in our impact. Actually the Kingdom of the world is doomed. Human strength and power fails. [BBCMusic Big music weekend from Belfast - and the piece that the band Public Services Broadcasting commissioned to write about the sinking of the Titanic. This great symbol of human triumph and strength and power. So self confident. Sunk to the bottom of the sea. Promising to bring life it brought death. Inevitable the ways of the Kingdom of the world is the opposite of the way the Kingdom of God works.  Jesus says: I’ll take a mustard seed. I’ll take a yeast cell. I’ll take small. I’ll take the hidden, The obscure, I’ll take seeming uninfluential, i’ll take what seems ridiculous in it’s weakness. I’ll take hardship and i’ll take death and with these things I will change the world. It is always fatal to our spiritual health if we think in any way that we get to God or do things for God by our stengths, by our power and persuasion and ingenuity. Such an approach results in pride if we’re doing well or despair when we fail. God will not allow that. He wants humility and peace and security for us - birds sheltering in his abundat tree. So he never uses human strength for his purposes. He always uses human weakness, smallness, the unimpressive, the hidden. So we’d trust in Him and not in the Kingdom of the world. He uses mustard seeds and yeast cells and so must we. 
4. It is only as we are mixed in and worked through that we under God’s hand have an impact. A mustard seed left in the packet has no effect. It must be buried, hidden, it must die to bring life. A yeast cell left on the side, on the margin has no impact it must be mixed in and worked through. In the history of christian impact in the world, it’s as Christians have drawn close to the needs of others, issues of the day - not always with wise words or great arguments but with love and selflessness and compassion. small seeds planted that brought great change - the suffragetes, the abolition of slavery, the ragged school movement, the hospice movement. How mixed in are you in your local area? How worked through are you in your community? Salt - another image Jesus uses for his kingdom and his people. Salt, if it is to bring it’s savour and preservative - has to get out of the saltshaker. Many of you are amazing at this. We’re not a ghetto church - a holy huddle - we’re out there. sometimes i wish some of you were here at church more because out there in friendships and professions that I want to see you strengthened and resourced with love from God. But i’m so glad that you are out there. 
5. This is not a call to political, social and public reform but rather to an application of the gospel that has political and social implications. That’s important. The Kingdom of God work through Christ’s influence on the hearts of people not in ways that are at first external and visible but internal and spiritual. Therefore we don’t seek to effect political change inorder that moral and spiritual good may follow. We seek to preach the gospel inorder that moral and spiritual good will result thereby bringing political change. The message we bring is not economic freedom or political democracy. the message we take is Christ crucified and Christ exalted. we are not called to be a powerful political movement. But as we come to Jesus in prayer and worship and keep going into the world to live lives of love mustard seed and yeast seemingly insignificant, small and weak and hidden - their relentless power begins to grow and pervade all things 

This is the message to those disciples who think when is the Kingdom. where is the kingdom. It’s never gonna happen. Jesus says - the Kingdom is near, the Kingdom is among you - hidden but growing and will one day encompass all things. 

Luke 19:1-10

Luke 19:1-10

Last weekend i was stranded in Ireland as storm Ophelia hit the south coast.  - the cancellations, the power cut, the candles, the guiness, the company, the stars. Disruption, danger for many - but for us it was like a gift, an unexpected pleasure, an extra day - when we could do nothing but enjoy each other’s company, amazing conversations… something that changed us a glimmer of grace… 

Grace is a central idea of the Christian good news. 

It describes a gift that is completely unearned, an unexpected, undeserved pleasure that comes into our lives and changes us forever. 

It could waking up to a thick covering of snow on a Monday morning 

Or - being given a free ticket to an international match where your country gets a result beyond your wildest dreams 

Or - finding 20 quid in the pocket of the second hand Levis you just bought for a tenner! 

There’s nothing like grace when it happens. 

Undeserved. Unexpected. Bringing Joy 

But all too often that world of grace is hidden to us. Life is hard and our so called ‘real world’ lives by different rules. Rules which from nursery school onwards we become well versed in: 

Rules like: “People get what they deserve, nothing more, nothing less.”

“The early bird catches the worm.”

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

“Earn your way.” 

“You get what you pay for.”

“No pain, no gain.”

“Win friends”

Do well – and you’ll be loved 

Do badly – and you won’t 

So life becomes like a constant audition. 

I used to work as an actor. Auditions can be horrendous things: 

“Mr Fouhy, please do it again with a Glaswegian accent. Thank you.. and this time… as an orangutang please. Thank you Mr Fouhy snigger snigger, we’ll let you know. 

But if course this is not a joke. These rules of ungrace, coupled with the tragic brokenness of our world lead to much pain and unhappiness. 

There’s Pride and self-absorption – because of the belief that unless i achieve i won’t be loved  

There’s unforgiveness – because ‘she did badly and doesn’t deserve love’ 

There’s feeling of great inadequacy and worthlessness because ‘i can never do enough to be sure i am loved.’ 

There’s great insecurity and unreality – because ‘if i let people see what i’m really like they will never love me.’ 

We automatically assume God works to the same rules. God – holy and perfect – how can i possibly be good enough for God!!! why would i want to go to church – i feel bad enough as it is. 

If Jesus were to walk in here tonight would we leap up to meet him or would we slide down in our seats praying that he won’t come anywhere near us. 

But here’s the thing – these are our rules – not God’s. This is the world we have made, not God’s. God’s world is a world where grace happens.. 

God is not a director at an audition sitting back waiting to be impressed. Rather the Bible describes him as a loving husband, a compassionate father or a Shepherd who goes in search of lost sheep. The Bible’s claim is that God has risen from his throne – and entered our world, as a human being – Jesus of Nazareth. Far from sitting back God has coming looking for us. To do us good. To show us grace. Unearned, unexpected… saying whoever you are, no matter what you’ve done. No lectures, no cost i love you, i want to be with you. Grace ..

How do i know this? 

Let me show you in the passage we had read for us

Here is Jesus entering the town of Jericho in Ist C Israel – crowds flocking to see him. Here is God walking in his world. Here is God come looking for us. And there are three things in the story

1. a lost man 
2. a shocking surprise 
3. a changed life 

1. a lost man vv2-4 

A man was there by the name of Zaccheus, he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy

Nobody likes the tax man. But believe me tax collectors in Jesus’ day were despised. For a start they were traitors – making money for Rome the occupying power. But more than that they were corrupt and brutal. As long as they paid their tribute to Rome they could collect as much tax as they liked, by whatever means they liked – torture, beatings. To be a success in the tax collecting business – you had to be prepared to resort to certain ‘techniques’ Zaccheus w’re told was both a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 

For ten years i lived in King’s cross. We got to know through our church some of the girls who sold themselves on the streets – enslaved to their misery by the supply of crack drip fed to them by their pimps. I remember one of the pimps – his eyes were as hard as steel. 

That was Zaccheus … a more lost and so called ‘God forsaken’ man you could not find. 

And yet we’re told – he wanted to see who Jesus was. Zaccheus – chief taxcollector, wealthy – was looking for something. Perhaps he was looking for grace? 

But Zaccheus had a problem – apparently the politically correct term is that Zaccheus was ‘vertically challenged.’ Look he was short – ok v3 he could not see because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. This was the perfect solution. He could watch from a safe distance. He could see but remain unseen among the lush leaves of the fig tree. That lost man. 

But then – a shocking surprise 

Think about the most shocking surprise you’ve ever received. Something unexpected that blew you away and gave you joy. Receiving your first bike at Christmas, A surprise party. Think about that. 

But grace is the shock to end all. The surprise to end all surprises. 

When Jesus reached the spot he looked up

Zaccheus – suddenly caught like a rabbit in the headlights of Jesus’ gaze.. 

The crowd – hundreds of people – askings – what’s he looking at? ‘i don’t know looks like there’s some kid in there, up the tree. And then Jesus speaks … a name …

Zaccheus.. one word and it sets off a buzz in the crowd. Can you imagine how Zaccheus feels? He thought he was going to watch from a safe distance – now he is the centre of attention. ‘How did he know i was here?’ 

Zaccheus… ‘How does he know my name?’ 

Zaccheus… The crowd is now hushed and straining, waiting with baited breath to see a traitor get what’s coming to him..

Zaccheus ..  says Jesus come down immediately.. And then the words for which no-one was prepared, least of all Zaccheus, i must stay at your house today. 

Why’s he want to stay at his house? The drug dealer’s mansion built on dirty blood money? Doesn’t he know who Zaccheus is? Where he’s been? The things he’s done? That’s what the crowds mutter don’t they in v7…? 

Jesus says … Yeah i know him, i know everything about him and i still want to be with him. 

Doesn’t he know that Zaccheus deserves to be despised? 

Jesus says… No.. Zaccheus… i like him. 

Shouldn’t Jesus summon Zaccheus to a meeting a week on Friday to discuss his failures? Jesus says, Zaccheus could i come to your house – now? back to yours?

Zaccheus must have nearly fallen out of his tree!

This term ‘stay at your house’ – complete acceptance – fellowship 

Zaccheus doesn’t need much persuading, he responds, he embraces Jesus’ offer V6 He came down at once and welcomed Jesus gladly. We’ll come to Zaccheus’ response in v8 in a moment. It’s important to see that before Zaccheus did anything – Jesus fully accepted him. So in v9 Jesus proclaims Today salvation has come to this house. You are forgiven Zaccheus, acceptable, you have eternal life. 

It’s a shocking surprise. God doesn’t play by the rules. He disregards our performance. He accepts people just as they are. And gives salvation as a gift. 

BUT you exclaim. Zaccheus had done wrong. Yes he had. What kind of God is God if he doesn’t care about wrong? Do we just brush evil under the carpet and pretend? Surely God is just, surely some price must be paid? Well yes – it must. 

But this is the thing – this is the gospel. There is a way.. There is a way that God can accept us just as we are and yet also demand a price paid for our wrongs. How? The answer the Bible gives us is God pays the price himself. V10 The son of man has come to seek and save the lost. God’s grace is not some grandfatherly display of ‘niceness’ for it cost the price of Jesus’ death on the cross. Grace is free because the giver has borne the cost. 

I wonder if you knew God loves like this? Far from sliding into their seats, people painfully aware of their lostness were drawn to Jesus in great numbers – drawn by his acceptance, drawn by his grace. 

I wonder if you knew God loves you like this? irrespective of your performance, wherever you’ve been, whatever you’ve done. Your creator knows you by name, he loves you as you are and offers you salvation as a gift. And the Lord Jesus Christ – the great shepherd of the sheep calls you by name now. Hear him speaking your name – You … come immediately, i must stay at your house today. 

Hear his call and go to him – receive the gift of forgiveness and life and begin to be transformed by the security and power of his grace. 

That’s our final thing..

A lost man, a shocking surprise 

And finally a changed life…

V8 Zaccheus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor and if i have cheated anybody out of anything I will pay back four times the amount. 

When we encounter the grace of God – we are changed.

This is not Zaccheus trying to earn salvation. Remember the order here. God always disregards our performance it can never be enough. No the change comes after Jesus has chosen to be with Zaccheus. The change is the evidence that salvation has already come to this house. 

And what a change!… The Bible that Zaccheus had – the Torah – jewish Law said that you had to give away 10% of your income to charity Zaccheus says i want to give 50. The Law said that if you’d cheated someone - pay back the amount you cheated plus 20% (Numbers 5) but Zaccheus says i’m gonna give back 400%. Zaccheus is responding to grace with his money. See Zaccheus is rich he knows he can put things more than right – he knows he can give and so he does. See the grace of God – the sacrificial and generous love of Jesus Christ has gone through Zaccheus like a lightening bolt. Zaccheus says Look Lord! You see the emotion in that? Look Lord because you love me i want to change. The gospel has begun to send him on an adventure 

Jesus doesn’t demand that we change before he will accept us. No he calls us as we are by his grace, in the knowledge that that grace will change us into the people we are meant to be. 

Radical disciples who are free to die to self, love our enemies, risk all for our neighbours, and give away our money with lavish generosity. 

It is the dynamic of Jesus’ gracious, undying, secure love for us which keeps changing and changing and changing us, bit by bit, week by week.. 

Grace will always really change you 

This is true in my experience, it will be in yours – that time and again when i’m trapped in my bitterness and sinful behaviour, thinking the whole world is against me. God surprises me again with his love. 

And that love – unearned, unexpected - fills me with a thankfulness and joy that turns me away from selfishness and helps me to grow…

 Grace will always really change you 

Luke 12:13-34

Luke 12v13-34

Jesus speaks about money and possessions, worry and anxiety, about your security in life 

jesus says that knowing him will change your relationship towards your money ..and your possessions. 

To people who are beginning to follow or considering following him Jesus says v15 ‘Watch out for greed’ 

Following Jesus challenges your greed, your materialism. To which you we might well say, ‘greed? i may be a lot of things but i don’t think i’m greedy.’ 

really? says Jesus.  ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.’

 The reason Jesus has to say watch out is because of all the sins which can hinder our spiritual lives, greed is the most elusive. None of us thinks we are greedy not compared to ‘those others’ – but Jesus says there are all kinds of greed. You don’t need to be rich to suffer with it, you can be penniless and full of greed. Watch out. 

So how do you define greed? Where do you draw the line as to what is or isn’t greedy? 

Well Jesus doesn’t do that, what he does is he describes the characteristics of greed – 2 kinds – and he alerts us to the warning signs to watch out for and then he offers a cure to money sickness. A threefold cure.. 

1. A New security 
2. A New beauty 
3. A New priority 

1. A New security 

The first kind of greed that Jesus identifies here occurs when you make money your security. When you look to money to make you safe. This kind of greed shows itself in the desire to store up money and possessions. That’s your security. 

These are the danger signs: 

When you have some wealth stored up you gloat. Arrogance 

When you don’t have anything or enough stored up you worry. Anxiety 

Arrogance and Anxiety..

Let’s look at the first one. Listen to the rich fool gloating v19 I’ll say to myself. You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry. Have you ever seen that arrogant sign of greed in yourself? i can remember the one time when my wife Fiona and i were both working – we were DINKYs - and we were able to start packing out our ISAs a bit and i would go online daily just to survey our amassing wealth and i felt very good about myself – gloating cos you’ve got some wealth stored up. 

And then there’s the second one. Perhaps it’s more familiar – Anxiety. Worrying about money. Jesus talks at length about his in Vv22-32. It’s interesting to consider that worrying about money is a sign of greed. Look at v29 Jesus says Do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink, do not worry about it. To worry about money and possessions is to set your heart on money and possessions. In money i trust. And so even though you don’t have any, you are just as absorbed with money, just as money-centric as the person storing up more and more. 

[It’s telling isn’t it that while Hackney is the second poorest borough in the country there are more betting shops per head of population here than anywhere in the country.  The powerful appealing to the anxious greed of the poor. In money we trust. ]

Well of course the whole point of the parable of the rich fool is to expose the stupidity of seeking your security in money. to expose the deception. 

Of course having lots of money can make life more convenient. You can buy every manner of gadgets and items, you can get your personal shopper to go and do your shopping for you. But of course the question is – is the time that you need to go shopping – is that really what makes life difficult? No – what makes life difficult is tragedies, accidents, sicknesses, broken relationships and death. And money doesn’t do anything to stop any of those things! In fact, the situation that leads to Jesus’ telling of the parable of the rich fool - the man coming to Jesus: ‘make my brother share the inheritance with me’ – reminds us that it is often disputes about money that lead to the breakdown of relationships. Money doesn’t solve life’s deepest difficulties – sometimes it makes them worse! 

Watch out! Beware the deception that storing up money brings security. 

The rich fool’s discovery was that far from being an owner, he was in fact owned. 

That everything we have, including our souls, our very life belongs to God. We only possess anything in trust from him and therefore our true security is found in God alone. Jesus says find New Security in Him. Lift up your eyes from your bank statements and pay slips and look out of the window. …

V24 Consider the Ravens. (i guess if Jesus had come to 21st C London he’d have said consider the pigeons) They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

Jesus says, this is the involvement of the creator sustaining his creation: It is not by chance that birds daily and consistently find food. God sustains his creatures. And if this loving God feeds them, won’t he feed you who are much more valuable to him than they are? 

Jesus isn’t giving us an excuse for idleness – lie back and let God provide. The ravens work extremely hard, but they rely on God and so are free from worry or arrogance. They do not store up for themselves. They do not need to. 

And so the Q is – where is your security? Will you entrust yourself to your Creator. The God who cares for you and has the whole world in his hands. Or will you anxiously or arrogantly rely on yourself, your plans, your money? 

A new security 

1. A new beauty 

God secures the ravens. But in vv27+28 God arraigns and adorns the fields There is a second kind of greed that Jesus subtly identifies here. 

Just as there are some for whom money is their security and so they store it up 

There are others who make money their beauty. They use possessions to make them feel worthy and important and attractive. To be approved of and loved. These people don’t store up, they spend ..in order to array themselves, their homes. As v30 says a world without God runs after things

[The TV pictures of the crowds at the Boxing Day Sales – a record turn out (perhaps you were there?) in the stampede for the half price Louis Vuitton Handbags. The pursuit of personal significance, of beauty in possessions. ]

Of course the irony is that if you construct your worth from the possessions with which you surround yourself in the end you have no idea if people like you for you. 

Jesus says – v15 a person’s life does not consist in the abundance of their possessions. Jesus says lift up your eyes from your glossy catalogues, cancel your shopping trip and (while of course God loves cities) take a train into the countryside sometime and vv27 -28 "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!”

There is a beauty, Jesus says that outshines the splendour of King Solomon, a worth and significance which you cannot purchase or construct because it is a gift from God. He clothes you. He adorns your life, your character. He alone satisfies completely. True beauty comes from God alone. What you do is you listen to him - start here in the Bible - the words about his love for you. He, Jesus died for you. Listen here and begin to hear him speaking to you personally ..becoming your true Father and loving King and his presence will beautify your life. 

V32 Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.

The kingdom is a catch all term for all the blessings of the rule of God, established and beginning to be restored through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus 

brings us to final antidote for greed

1. A new priority … for your money 

V31 seek the Kingdom

Seek the establishment of God’s just and perfect reign – so - the establishment of justice, the poor fed, the downtrodden lifted up, the good news of Jesus proclaimed. 

In practice that means v33 radical generosity with our money and resources for the sake of the materially and spiritually poor Sell your possessions and give to the poor. A new priority

Sell your possessions and give. 

It’s worth bearing in mind that this isn’t a blanket command. Jesus doesn’t say sell all your possessions. In his culture where there were no banks or share portfolios you held your wealth in your possessions. The only way to free up some cash was to sell some possessions. So Jesus is saying liquidate some of that stored up wealth for the sake of the poor. Decide to live to a lower standard, to go without so that you might use some of what God has given to you to give to what matters to him. That is what it means in v21 to be rich towards God. 

Do not be afraid Jesus says, to give it away. 

Do not be afraid to give it away.

And then Jesus gives us two further and final motivations for fearless generous giving. 

1. The experience of God’s grace. 

Notice the order of vv31 and 32. Jesus doesn’t say if you sell your possessions and give to the poor then you’ll be given the kingdom. No, he says You have been given the kingdom. Therefore don’t be afraid to give away. 

This is what makes christianity to every other religion. Every religion says do good things and God will accept you, forgive you. Christianity says: you could never be good enough and so You have been gifted everything by God – all the Kingdom is yours because Jesus – though he was rich beyond all measure yet for loves sake he became poor. On the Cross he sold everything, he liquidated all his assets to give to the poor to pay for our sins by his death. He became poor that we might be rich. 

If you knew that, if you knew that you are that loved, that treasured by the God who made you. Then your money wouldn’t need to be your security, your possessions wouldn’t need to be your beauty.  Your money would just be money. 

Well look -if you’re a Christian here in Christ you ARE secure and approved in the beloved Jesus Christ therefore don’t be afraid to give it away. God’s grace motivates us to give… That’s why some of the greatest works of generosity and benevolence in history have been those of Christians - the establishment of the first hospitals, hospices, free schools, the reform of prisons and slavery. all the works of Christians - not trying to earn God’s favour but safe in God’s favour they were not afraid to give it away. 

And this liberating life changing relationship with the King is freely given to all. His arms are outsrtetched

we are motivated to give by the experience of God’s grace 

And finally – we are motivated to give because of 

2. The certain investment

not all storing up of treasure is foolish. In these troubled financial times there is one absolutely secure place to invest your money - not property, not bitcoins, not gold 

v33 Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

Jesus says, heaven is a place now - where you can store up treasure now, to collect in an eternal future. That treasure (and i’m not entirely sure what it is but i know that it’s good - relationship with God and others, character in you. This heavenly treasure, unlike earthly treasure, is eternally secure. Nothing wears out in heaven, there are no stockmarket crashes, there are no moths (we have moths inour jumpers!) and the thieves in heaven? – they’re all changed characters – they don’t break in and steal. 

In terms of where to invest your money now it’s a no brainer. Use what God has given you, as much as you can spare to give to the things that matter to God. Be rich towards God. 

My pounds can still just about buy sony, Versace, sundrenched beaches, stella artois and steak to satisfy my soul. But equivalent pounds can also work the miracle of sight for the blind, food that will cause the starving to live, shelter for the homeless,a bible for a Chinese Christian, or bring the saving message of Jesus to people perishing without God. 

And so we pray for the help of the Holy Spirit that we would be so satisfied in Jesus Christ and so secure in his love that our money would be just money; that we wouldn’t be fools who accumulate treasure here or spend it all on ourselves. Instead we would use our money to seek the Kingdom. To Store up treasure in heaven. 

i end with this: 

In 250AD during the time of the great persecution in Rome, the Roman Prefect burst into a church service and demanded, ‘Show me your treasures.’ They had come to confiscate everything of value. A deacon of the church called Laurentius showed the Prefect to an adjoining room. “These are our Treasures” he said and opened the door to reveal a group of widows, orphans, sick and poor people being cared for by members of the church. 

These are our treasures.

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

Luke 11:36-12:12

The comedian Eddie Izzard, who has found time in between running back to back marathons to star in this new film Victorian and Abdul, said this last week in an interview with the Guardian 

“I have a very strong sense that we are only on this planet for a short length of time, And that is only growing. Religious people might think it goes on after death. My feeling is that if that is the case it would be nice if just one person came back and let us know it was all fine, all confirmed. Of all the billions of people who have died, if just one of them could come through the clouds and say, you know, ‘It’s me.., it’s brilliant, there’s a really good spa’, that would be great.”

It reminded me of the place where Jesus tells a story where people who have died tell God to send someone back from the grave to tell people it’s real and Jesus said, even if someone rose from the dead - they wouldn’t believe.. 

There’s something in humanity that avoids Jesus, sidesteps his authority. That’s what we’ve been seeing here in Luke 11. People see his miracles 11v? but then always keep needing more proof or it’s evidence for them that religion is dangerous! manipulative! They find a way of staying in the dark, avoiding the light. 

And in todays passage Jesus exposes and condemns the classic way that we avoid him - RELIGION,  and then offers an antidote - the challenge of GRACE 

1. The danger of religion. 

Jesus condemns the religious leaders of his day, who are the most religious (obviously) and by so doing he warns about the danger of religion 

By religion here i mean the practice of climbing your way up to God. Making yourself acceptable to him by moral goodness (keeping laws) and performing religious duties. It doesn’t work says Jesus and it’s toxic 

Jesus’ condemnation of religion is sparked by this critical spirit in a Pharisee who invites Jesus around for a meal. The Pharisees were not Priests they were a lay movement for spiritual piety and religiousdevotion. The holy ones. This Pharisee has Jesus round with others, see v? for a meal and Jesus doesn’t wash his hands!!

We tell kids to wash their hands before they eat because kids have invariably been playing with soil or picking their noses (like some adults for that matter) and it’s a matter of hygiene. But this handwashing was a matter of purity before God - a tradition observed by the Pharisees. Now i don’t think Jesus had just forgotten to wash his hands before he tucks in. Water had probably been brought. Jesus deliberately refuses to wash his hands. He passes the wash bowl on and starts eating and you should have seen the look on the Pharisee’s face. 

Jesus refuses to wash - not because he wants to be deliberately offensive but because religion as a way of getting pure before God is a toxic lie. Because , Religion v39, is always only to do with externals, the outside, appearances. It doesnt touch the inside, our internal world, the heart. 

Sometimes when i unload the dishwasher. Fail. Food inside the bowl dried on. Yuck!  The pharisees religious attitudes and words and actions look good on the outside but inside there’s mess, there’s stuf on the inside. And v40 doesn’t God care about the inside just as much as the out?

Jesus begins to pronounce woes on the religious. 3 for the Pharisees and 3 woes for the Scribes. And here’s the thing. We cannot think that we escape these warnings. We easily slip into a religious way of being an ‘I can do this’ I can be good enough for God.. I don’t need Jesus 

look at the woes 

1. Hypocrisy v39 you follow all the tiniest outward details of devotion but there’s no love of God within. Because you’re religious you need to think you’re good enough, that your good deeds outweigh your bad ones; that you’re acceptable to God. And part of convincing yourself is that you need everyone else to think you’re good enough, that you’re acceptable. And so life becomes an act. That’s where the word hypocrite came from the actor who puts on a mask, plays a character. The danger of hypocrisy is that we hide behind masks and our brokenness can never be healed because we keep it in the dark rathe than admitting we are broken, sharing our burdens. Bonhoeffer in his explosive little book Life together writes this “The pious fellowship (a religious church) permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and from the fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. So we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. The fact is that we are sinners!” 

the danger of Hypocrisy. 

2. the danger of pride v43 

The pharisees love the front seats in the synagogues and the respect in the town square. Who of us doesn’t love to be honoured in our little sphere? It feeds our need to be acceptable before God, to be honoured by Him. If people say I’m good then i must be ok. If people honour me, God will. But what an exhausting and precarious existence - constantly living for the approval of others. When it’s there it swells my pride. When it’s absent I’m insecure and increasingky desperate. And all the time I take the best seats others are pushed down a rung or two. All th etime i get the attention, others are neglected. The toxicity of religion 

And if i live this way, particularly if I am a leader. Whether a Pharisee or a Vicar. A splinter group leader or the only Christian in my workplace. All of us are leaders, all of us are leading someone. But if i live this way I lead people not to life but to death. v44 “…” Under the OT law contact with a dead body, even accidental and unintended - like walking over an unmarked grave would render a person ritually unclean. They had to wait a period of time and undergo ritual washings before they could re-enter the temple or re-engage with worship. The Pharisees thought they were sharing the way of purity, leaidng the way to heaven. But Jesus says that in their religiosity they are death traps! leaders of spiritual uncleanness whose teaching and example leads people to death! 

Wow! How toxic religion is! 

Well now v45 one of the scribes pipes up. The scribes were part of the religious establishment. This one pipes up as if to say you’re including us in this are you? Whis is a classic line isn’t it. If we here Jesus critique someone over there.. rather than thinking i wonder if I do this, if this applies to me, if i need to repent? we think. ‘you’re not including me in this are you?’ Well the Scribe will have wished he never complained because Jesus turns both barrels on him. 

Look at Jesus’ critique of the way of religion in v46. Religion weighs down people with burdens they just cannot carry and with no-one to help them carry these burdens.. 

We could look further but I want us to turn from the danger of religion to its antidote - the challenge of Grace. This is here in 12vv1-12. This passage that is full of alarming words. Some of the most problematic in the NT! It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the warnings in this passage, the negatives and miss the Promises that are extraordinary here. The promises of grace. 

Grace. God knows our brokenness and weakness. he knows that we can never work our way to him, earn his righteousness, save ourselves. It’s laughable that we would ever think we can. And so He gives us salvation, gives us forgiveness and righteousness as a gift - a gift that cost the death of his Son. And here’s the challenge of grace because it leaves no room for our pride, for us thinking that we are good, that we can do it. That we can avoid Jesus. Grace requires us to no more hide behind that mask of uprightness but come into the light and admit our brokenness that it may be healed. 

Jesus says, why are you hiding anyway? What’s the point? Everything is known to God and will be ultimately known. vv2-3 “…”

These are scary verses aren’t they? Total exposure of all we’ve ever done at God’s judgement. Fills us with shame! Maybe our sins will be exposed at the judgement. But only so that their darkness can be swallowed up in unquenchable light; for the victory of Christ over our sins to be exalted and celebrated. And everything good that we have ever done through Jesus will also be exposed. 

It’s interesting that we fear exposure of what we’re really like before others more than we do before God who sees everything and knows everything anyway and has set his love upon us. We need to move out into the light more from hiddenness to knowness. I’ve been trying to do this more. My brokenness as i’ve approached midlife becomes more and more unmanageable and while i don’t think it’s appropriate or helpful to tell you all my inner issues. I’ve been trying to open up the real me, the broken me, more and more to some that i might come into the light and be healed. And it’s hard. 

Bringing the challenge of grace Jesus ends with 3 couplets here 

warnings and promises. 

vv4-7 Don’t fear men, receive the Father’s love 

vv8-9 Don’t deny Jesus, receive the Son’s honour 

vv10-12 Don’t blaspheme the Holy Spirit, receive his help 

let’s look at each of those 

Don’t fear people, receive the Father’s love 

Don’t fear those who can kill the body and afterwards do nothing. Don’t fear people 

Fear, fear, fear 3 times in v5 God who after death can cast into Hell. Oh wo! what is this. Well te word hell is gehenna - the rubbish dump outside the city walls of Jerusalem - a constant bonfire where you through out your old stuff that doesn’t work anymore, that no longer serves the purpose for which it was made. Your broken washing machine, your faulty tv. Human beings are made in God’s image, made to image him as we look at him. the more we push god away, turn our backs on him , the more we lose our image and the purpose for which we were made. at the end of our lives if we have continually rejected God, God will give us what we want. The rubbish heap. In our sinfulness this is what we deserve. But in his love God will have none of it. In grace, Jesus, carried our sins outside the city walls to the place of crucifixion. he took our rubbish. he died for it, doing away with it THAT w emight receive INSTEAD the Father’s love vv6-7 “…” Do you see how God loves you, says Jesus. You are known intimately, you are valued exceptionally, you are loved eternally. Don’t fear people..come into the light receive the Father’s love. 

Don’t deny Jesus, receive the Son’s honour

Don’t deny Jesus v9 or he’ll deny you. Oh wow.. I’m always denying him, aren’t you? 

But this is not describing an occasional failure but an attitude of life. Peter denied Jesus but he came back. That we all do. Judas betrayed jesus and hardened himself in that position. To the point that he’s rather die than turn to Christ. That, we must not do. Remember the context of these chapters - don’t side step Jesus, don;t deny him, don’t use excuses. Don’t deny your true purpose and reason for living. You deny your own humanity if you shut out the author of life. (Our hearts cry out for loved ones still denying Jesus) 

We deserve Jesus to disown us. We had denied him our lives. But in his love, Jesus would have none of it. In grace, Jesus bore our sins on the cross and he was disowned. His Father turned his back on the son. Jesus took the Father’s rejection for us so that we might receive instead the Son’s honour. 

v8 everyone who confesses me - that is calls out to me for rescue, clings to me - the son of Man will confess him before the angels of God. 

Acknowledge Jesus and Jesus will acknowledge before the Father. He will speak of you in glowing terms. He will honour YOU! Did you know you’re not disowned, unknown, you don’t need to hide. You belong. You’re known in the courts of heaven. Your company is expected. 

Don’t deny Jesus, receive the Son’s honour 

Finally, 

Don’t blaspheme the Spirit, receive his help

v10 “…” 

again at first glance this seems a terrifying that rocks our assurance. There’s an unforgiveable sin? I’ve been so unfaithful - i bet i’ve committed that!  But look what the verse says. Jesus’ work is to save you and so complete is his salvation of you that you can speak against him and you will still be forgiven. He will forgive all things all things! The work of the Holy Spirit is to bring us to Jesus and then help us to follow him. The holy spirit puts the spotlight on Jesus, opens our eyes to him as the source of forgiveness and salvation. And it follows that there is only one sin that cannot be forgiven and that is to reject the work of the Spirit, to reject the only one who can forgive you. 

That fits doesn’t it with the context of this passage. People rejecting Jesus, sidestepping him. Don’t do it. Your only saviour. 

Don’t blaspheme the Spirit, receive his help. 

Danger of religion, hiding 

Come into the light of grace

Luke 11:29-36

Luke 11:29-36

Giles Fouhy

Light and Darkness are important images in the Bible. Jesus uses them here in our passage. 

Let’s begin by thinking about darkness and light 

Think about darkness. The darkness of night or deep underground. The cold. The blackness. We cannot function in darkness for very long. It’s not just that we cannot see, darkness seems to have substance to it. It is only the absence of light but darkness feels like an oppressive presence.  Novelists speak of brooding darkness 

At different times people have tried to see how long they could live underground in total darkness - proved very bad for physical and mental health. We’re not made for darkness. 

Darkness is associated with fear. Bad things happen in the dark. There are ‘dark days’ when things turn for the worst. In the darkness we can feel hopeless and out of control. 

And darkness is not always external. Darkness can describe an internal emotional or spiritual condition. Inner darkness. The darkness of sadness, or grief, or depression. As Simon and Garfunkel sang, “hello darkness my old friend. I’ve come to talk to you again.” 

Darkness can describe a moral condition. The darkness of the heart.

Thankfully there isn’t only darkness - there is light. 

Light is the direct contrast and opposite to darkness. The light of day, of warmth of colour. And of course light and darkness are not equals. Light counters and overpowers darkness - not the other way round. Heavy as darkness can feel it is only an absemce. Light is a presence - a candle flame, a torch beam, a flood light, a lightning flash, the all pervading light of the sun. 

The sun’s light is simply extraordinary isn’t it? It’s light gets everywhere. We put up black out curtains in our kids rooms to try and ensure that they get sleep beyone sunrise but even with that attempt when the sun rises - light gets everywhere. Light is like a liquid, bathing, flooding, filling every corner - challenging every shadow, every gap - even the darkest places are no longer dark any more - not really. 

Light has a cleansing quality - especially really bright and pure light

Light adorns in an almost regal way. The golden sunlight of dawn or evening or autumn can make the dreariest place look royal 

Light of course also exposes - your dirty windows and dusty corners. Things ‘come to light’. Which might explain why we might want to hide from the light.  The judgement thing again: John chapter 3 speaks about people hating the light of Jesus and hiding from the light because they don’t want their so called “evil” deeds to be shown up. Maybe they don’t want to have to stop living as they want to live. 

One one level though, if things can be exposed, they can be dealt with. 

The mechanics light under the engine; The surgeons lamp in the operating theatre. Light enables sight to get things done. Light brings reality, clarity and truth. ‘Enlightenment’ Light brings deeper understanding ‘greater light’ 

Darkness and Light 

In our passage here the first thing we see is that Jesus is light that shines out x2

A familiar saying.  v33 You don’t put a lamp in a cupboard or hide it behind a sofa or under a bucket. No if you want the room lit - you let it shine. 

In Matthew chapter 5 Jesus quotes this saying applying it to his disciples; his church - not hiding away but, like a city on a hill, letting their presence be felt - letting their light shine. 

But here - the saying refers to Jesus. 

We’ve seen what’s happening around Jesus at this point when he says these words. Lots of people and especially the religious people, the people who should know - have been avoiding facing who Jesus is. We saw last week people sidestepping Jesus’ authority. Some were seeing Jesus’ miracles and saying hmmm can you do that again? can you do another? give us another sign - we need more evidence, it’s still not clear. Others were seeing Jesus miracles and ascribing them to dark forces, dark arts. Don’t trust him!

Many people today would call themselves agnostic. They’d say - there might well be a God but nobody really knows. There’s insufficient evidence to move from sitting on the fence. the truth is hidden. Others would be more hostile. Give your life to Jesus. Who? Keep my kids away from that shady business. 

But Jesus here says, No 

No-one can have the excuse ultimately either that we never knew, the truth was hidden - or o we thought you were shady 

because He has come and He is light shining out 

You don’t hide a lamp, obscure it you let it shine - illuminate. You put it in the pace where it will most and best fill a room. 

Jesus IS that shining, open, visible, public light. In his person and in his message of the kingdom. 

The stuff in vv29-32 about Jonah and the Queen of the South is a searing rebuke against the people of Jesus generation not seeing Jesus’ light!  

The Queen of Sheba from Southern Arabia she a foreigner puts to shame this generation of Israel because she travelled to and marvelled at the wisdom of King Solomon, while this generation are failing to receive Jesus who’s wisdom is far greater than Solomon’s 

The people of Nineveh, Israel’s greatest enemy - they put to shame this generation because they repented when they heard the preaching of Jonah while this generation is failing to respond to Jesus who is greater than Jonah. 

Jesus is light shining out. There are no excuses. 

2. Let Jesus’ light in. vv 34-35

I regularly have eye check ups because my vision is not great. I’m often grateful with my poor eyesight that i wasn’t born in the stoneage where i would have been completely useless and dependant on others for hunter gathering! 

I also have eye checkups because there’s a history of glaucoma in my family and they want to keep my eyes healthy. The eye is after all ‘the lamp of the body’. Just as lamps guide us in darkness so our eyesight guides us through life. But Jesus is not giving us advice about caring for our physical eyes here is he. The eyes ares ometimes called ‘windows to the soul’ and it’s true that sometimes you feel you can see in someones eyes the health or ill health of their soul. (Though it’s not a strict science - some people are naturally dour - others are natually sparkly but might have pretty murky inner world.)

But Jesus is saying here that our eyes are windows to our bodies/our inner world not just in the sense that they might reflect out the state of our hearts but also that they reflect inwardly. That is, our eyes let light into our bodies. v34 “if your eye is focussed, your whole body is full of light. But if it is evil your whole body is in darkness” 

So is Jesus here warning us about the spiritual dangers of focussing your eyes on the wrong things - letting darkness in - and what might those things be? I’m sure we could make a list but actually it’s a lot simpler than that. The passage makes most sense, especially where Luke has placed it as a warning to this generation, his contemporaries to watch out in case they fail to see the light that is standing in their midst - the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Some eastern cultures speak about - the evil eye - as a kind of curse. Maybe we have an equivalent in the playground or the office where we might say of someone who is somewhat hostile towards us: “ she was well giving me the evils, man” 

There really is such a thing as the evil eye. The evil eye is tocinsciously close your eyes to, look away from, reject Jesus - THE light. 

If you do, your whole body is full of darkness. Because Jesus is the light of the world and there is no other light. Just as the sun is the light of the earth and there is no other sun. Switch off the sun and there is no light. Close your eyes to Jesus and there is only darkness. 

This is telling us that there is no such thing as a natural, inherent, spiritual light in human beings. Any light we find in the world, in philosophy and other religions and such - and there is light to be found there but it is light that is derived ultimately from Jesus. It also means that we are not spiritually alight because of anything in us, good genes, or good thoughts, or good deeds or eating the right food or spending hours in meditation.

Jesus is THE light of the world and there is no other light. The only way we get light within us is to look at him, focus on him, turn your eyes upon him, receive him and his light will fill you - as a gift of grace. 

It’s worth reminding ourselves that there is a challenge to that. We naturally prefer darkness to light. Like woodlice scurrying away when you lift up a rock. We don’t want to be exposed - we fear that. But we also have a bias away from the light. We perversely prefer our solutions are better than Jesus. We believe the lie that the glorious free creator of all things is actually a controlling killjoy who wants to spoil our fun. So we convince ourselves that life away from Jesus’ authority is the life of light! We quickly discover that it is not. If the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness. Come to your senses. Why choose darkness over light? Coming into the light there may be humbling shame for a moment but God is grace and forgiveness and light. Step into the light. 

How do you look at Jesus? Where do you see him?

In the pages of the bible - that’s where we see Jesus. We read Jesus and because he is alive he steps out of the pages of the Bible and meets. the Holy spirit opens our eyes and Jesus’ glory and radiance changes us. 

In teh Exodus, when Moses came down from MT Sinai after talking with God and receiving the 10 Cs he had to veil his face because his face was glowing with God’s reflected brightness and the people were not in a position with God at that time to cope with that. The NT says of Christians. “We, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord (Jesus’) glory are being transformed into his image with every increasing glory

When you spend a lot of time with a friend their character ‘rubs off on you”. You might start talking, thinking acting like them. For good or ill. It might improve you or diminish you as a person. So choose your friends wisely and realise the influence you have on others 

But you see… Spend time with Jesus and his character will rub off on you. Let his light in 

3. Shine Jesus light out. 

Read v36 “…” 

Let jesus’ light in and you can shine his light to others 

This happens in the Christian community. “If we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship with one another” Fellowship is an oddly Christian word chiefly because it is a uniquely christian phenomenon. A church is not a club or an interest group. A group of friends are friends because they naturally, easily have become friends. But God’s gifted to the church is fellowship rooted in the light of Christ. A profound loving unity between people who are very different. A standing together as ONE. And it is as each one of us walks in the light of Jesus ,reflecting his light towardseach other that we have fellowship with one another. Let’s pursue that gift. 

But you also have a radiant light for others beyond the church.  I love Hannah’ sister’s contemplative prayer day that she was leading for contemplative activists or active contemplatives. Because you can’t be an activist you can’t shine for Jesus without contemplating, looking to Jesus light. But equally you can’t bathe in Jesus’ light without then being sent out to shine! 

You might not think much of yourself. You might not think you have a lot to offer. Perhaps you’re a parent frazzled with kids. Perhaps you’re frazzled with work. Perhaps you feel a broken person frazzled with yourself but if you’re one who looks at Jesus then his light is in you for others. You have so much to offer people. The light of God. So get out more. get close to people for their sake! 

You don’t have to put on a happy face if things are hard. You don’t have to awkwardly try and crowbar Jesus into every conversation or force tracts or worship music on people. Please don’t! Just be yourself. Follow your interests, join people, like people and follow the nudges of the Spirit. Talk about Jesus when the Spirit opens up opportunities which he will more than you imagine. Be yourself with Jesus and Shine on!  

And of course jsut as Jesus had a mixed response to his light. Some came to him but many more turned on him, ran for cover; were hostile. So it will be for us. Sometimes people are drawn to the light, interested … and then reject you wholesale… they might even betray you. There’s a spiritual battle going on. The challenge of the light to the darkness. Don’t lose heart when that happens.. upsetting as it is. Pray. Persevere. Shine on. 

Jesus is the light who shines out 

Let his light 

Shine his light to others.. 

Luke 11:14-28

It’s either seen as something very old fashioned: Victorian children all prim and proper; or something rather stupid - a happy dog looking up at it’s owner. The idea of Obedience 

On holiday in France looking after an enthusiastic french sheep dog. Java. ‘Au Pied’ come straight to your heel! Obedient dogs are great. Obedient childen are great - as long as you don’t crush their spirit. 

But in our culture and day which puts so much emphasis on personal freedom, to be an obedient adult is seen as a very weak thing. Yes you can be a good employee but the idea of being obedient to your faith or your church or your god - that’s seen as seriously suspect. abusive. you’re not thinking for yourself. No, every individual should have the right, within a few limited constraints, to do whatever he or she likes. No-one has the right to tell you what to do. How often do you hear that? 

So the very idea of obedience is disparaged and called into question.. 

Yet, into our culture and into our lives speaks the eternal word of Jesus Christ. The living God come among us as a man says ‘Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” 

The greatest blessing, joy, privilege, happiness, peace is found in a life of obedience to Jesus Christ. 

[because - obedience is not just some optional lifestyle for the devout. We are not contrary to popular opinion FREE to do our own thing. We are not masters of our own lives. All of us are controlled by something external to ourselves. It’s part of our human nature that we constantly search and we give our time, our money, our energy our gifts to things that we believe will give us the security, significance and satisfaction we need. Humans are dependent and religious - we pour out our worship (our time, energy, money) to the god we believe will deliver - the god of Career, or Family, or romance, or pleasure. 

We either give our obedience to Jesus or we’re controlled by something else - something dark - our idols, our demons ]

Here in this encounter we are told that Jesus has exorcised a demon that has caused a man to be mute. When the demon is gone, the mute man, to the amazement of the crowd who presumably knew him, speaks!

But many in the crowd do what most people in our culture do - they find a way of sidestepping Jesus’ authority. 

v15 some of them said, By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons. Others tested him by asking for a sign from a heaven. 

Some said - we need more proof. Do another miracle.. and just one more… Hmmm i do believe in God but I’m not convinced about Jesus. I’d still need more proof. He’s still just a good teacher to me. 

Others acknowledge Jesus’ powers but ascribe them to malignant forces. He’s in league with the devil! It’s dangerous that Jesus stuff. Deception. Don’t be stupid enough to get sucked in to that. 

These objections allow Jesus to tell us something about Satan and demons and himself - as i am sure we are anxious to know what we should believe about these things 

I mean, was ‘demon’ that culture’s shorthand for mental illness or some kind of spiritual affliction? Well, Jesus here speaks about Satan, a powerful spiritual being and demons exerting an evil and destructive influence on human lives. It all sounds a bit Lord of the Rings doesn’t it but most people believe in Spiritual reality, believe in a God and here Jesus affirms the sobering truth of the existence also of evil spiritual forces as do the grim realities of the world we live in affirm their existence. 

Satan is a spiritual ruler, a king, we are told here. He has a kingdom. Actually it’s a rogue state. self appointed. something like ISIS. But he ‘rules’ this present evil age, says the NT, keeping people captive to their sin and away from God. 

But Jesus, we see here, has come to challenge Satan’s kingdom. Driving out demons doesn’t mean he is on satan’s side! vv17-19 - what a ridiculous idea. On the contrary, v20 “If i drive out demons by the finger of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.” 

That phrase ‘by the finger of God’ is important. It evokes memories of the Exodus from Egypt. The ten plagues of Moses that the Egyptian magicians sould not imitate and discredit because they were clearly ‘the finger of God’ bringing freedom to those held captive to the evil power of Pharoah. 

here again. the true King, God himself has intervened to challenge Satan head on and bring freedom to captives. 

Jesus speaks a parable to illustrate what it is that he has come to do. vv21-22 “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.…”

Jesus is not condoning breaking and entering and robbery here. It’s an illustration of his work. The strong man is Satan – his possessions are people under his control – kept away from God by their sin which Satan can always hold up and use to say we are his and not God’s, but soon Jesus knows he will die on a cross, paying the price for our sins, taking them away, disarming Satan, defeating him. Overpowering the strong man so he can rob his house. Plundering Satan’s Kingdom. Setting people free! 

CS Lewis said that there are two equal and opposite errors when it comes to ‘devils”. The first is fascination and fear. To ascribe too much power to Satan. To see demons in everything and everyone. We have to be very careful. Human beings are complex - our emotional, mental, spiritual lives intertwine. 

But the second equal and opposite error is to ascribe too little power to these spiritual realities. To be materialists. To be prayerless. To walk through a battlefield unguarded against the ways Satan seeks to control people through lies and temptations. 

Perhaps we have to demystify 

We all have our demons don’t we? 

things that control or afflict; memories that haunt; addictions we can’t shift; insecurities that belittle us. Demons can feel like curses and sometimes like curses, they can pass from generation to generation. 

The tattooed stand-up pastor Nadia Bolz Webber decided to give her demon a name; Francis (after the child of Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain, themselves no strangers to demons) 

This is her story 

‘Francis first stopped by in my teens and early 20s which was easily written off by my family as me being “moody” Francis liked: booze, emotionally unstable boyfriends, and self- destruction, she finally just moved in, turning my studio apartment into a Wilderness. 

She was a terrible roommate. She kept the place filthy and always told me really devastaing things about myself... She distracted me so much I would forget to eat and then my parents started to worry. One day my mother Peggy realized that Francis not ever moving out was my problem and suggested I go talk to a nice lady about evicting her. 

She’s a bit of a dope fiend, Francis, but it ends up there is one drug that she doesn’t like. It’s called Wellbutrin. Two weeks after I started taking it, the bitch was gone. 

But not for good. Now, 20 years later it still seems like she knows how to find me and sometimes she’ll show up, unannounced and stay a couple days even though I’m now into so many things she hates: sobriety, exercise, community, eating well – and of course, Jesus’. 

Nadia goes on to talk about how our demons really, really have a problem with Jesus. 

‘Maybe the demon of anger knows to steer clear of the Gospel, lest you end up forgiving some jack ass who you really want to punch in the throat. Maybe your demon of inertia knows to avoid of Jesus lest it be cast off a cliff and you have to start showing up in life. Maybe your demon of compulsive eating knows to not listen to Jesus lest it find itself in a lake and you clothed and fully in your body and sitting at Jesus feet. Maybe your demon of always, always, always having to prove yourself fears Jesus since if you listen to Jesus and not that demon you may start really believing that you are already good enough and then you’ll have to stop over-functioning’ 

Our demons are experts in colluding with us in that old practice of Jesus avoidance. Our demons will do anything to keep us from Jesus. Because he has the power and he has come to drive them out.  To establish his Kingdom. 

I don’t really know what demons are? Whatever they are whether addictions or evil spirits.. one thing i do know is that they are not what Jesus wants for us. Because every time he encounters one he tells it to piss off. He drives it out.  You, in Christ have the authority to do that too. Face your demons in Jesus’ name. Call on his name. 

But maybe really you’re still sidestepping Jesus’ authority 

Yeah - i could use more proof 

Nah - I don’t trust him 

We all do it. It’s what all our friends are doing. Sidestepping God’s authority. 

Does that matter?

v23 23 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Sometimes we’ll even take the good things from Jesus. Allow him to save us but we’ll be sidestepping his authority. [Come in Giles, stay out Fouhy! .. Ridiculous. I’m both.] We do it to Jesus - Come in Saviour, stay out Lord. 

BUT,…Jesus can’t be divided. He is Saviour and Lord  

here’s the thing: Jesus’ lordship IS his salvation. You NEED HIM on the throne of your life.  

Look at the story he tells us from vv24-26 

24 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ 25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

There’s no neutrality in life. 

All of us are controlled by something external to us. It’s our nature to worship.  We’re never FREE to rule ourselves - the only freedom we have is the freedom to choose who rules us. Our idols, our demons, or will it be Jesus. 

If you take Jesus’ salvation - his clear out and clean up job - but you sidestep his authority, you resist him as Lord … You leave yourself more vulnerable than ever to the demons, the idols 

27 As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”

28 He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

True blessing. True Freedom, True life is filling your life with Jesus’ obeyed word. 

Prayer Luke 11.5-8

 We are in a series looking at prayer during this season of Lent. The reason is I want us to be praying church and a praying person this year. 

Last week we talked about the pattern for prayer - the Lord’s prayer.

We saw that the key to the Lord’s Prayer and to all prayer is found in the first words Our Father. This is incredible. To be able to call the God who created the heavens and earth your father. And yet that’s what happens when a person becomes a Christian. You are adopted into God’s family. He becomes your father. Prayer is the way you communicate with God your heavenly Father. What a privilege prayer is. Prayer we saw, according to the pattern of the Lord’s prayer begins with praise. Wow God! Hallowed be your name! Your kingdom come. Prayer continues with Confession - sorry. To remind us that we are people who need forgiveness and people who are forgiven. And prayer ends with asking. Please. Give us this day our daily bread, Lead us not into temptation. We are to ask, knock seek in prayer..

Which raises a question which I want us to look at this week. And the question is this. Why don’t we ask more? 

Statistics show that all of us pray at some time. Some of us only pray occasionally when we are in a crisis. Others of us pray a little more frequently. But none of us would say we pray a lot. We are slow to pray. But why? If God is your father and you are his child why wouldn’t you come to God in prayer? There’s only one answer.

It’s the oldest lie in the world. the one that the serpent used in the garden of eden. a lie that runs deep. the lie that God is not good. that he’s mean and doesn’t answer our prayers. our trials and sufferings and seeming unanswered prayers seem to back up the lie and so we feel that God says, No alot.. And so we don’t pray. 

Jesus realizes this might be an objection to us praying and so in v5-8 he gives us a parable. I want us to look at the parable to motivate us to pray by seeing that God will answer when we pray. God will answer when we pray.  He must! 

There are two things I want us to look at this afternoon .

1. What the parable means
2. How the parable should affect the way we pray

1. What does the parable mean?

Parables are stories that Jesus taught to communicate big ideas about God. The key to the this parable is the word translated persistence in v8. Sometimes it’s translated boldness, sometimes impudence. But in Greek the word literally means the avoidance of shame.  And so the question is who in he story is trying to avoid being shamed? 

Let’s look at the parable:

A person has come into the village at midnight and knocked on his friends door wanting a place to stay the night. His friend is not expecting him and so in a culture where hospitality is very important he finds himself unable to provide his guest with an appropriate meal to eat. So what does any 1st century middle eastern person do in this situation? He goes to one of his neighbours who has some bread to ask them to lend him some. He doesn’t knock on their door he calls out to them so they would recognize who it was. He says to his neighbour ‘I have nothing appropriate to offer this guest.’ 

In middle eastern times bread was the knife and fork and spoon for the meal. No bread no meal. Can you give me some bread so that he can be fed and he won’t think I’m not a good host and we are not an hospitable village. My honour and the honour of the village is at stake. 

When Fiona and I were on our honeymoon in Morocco we were invited to stay for a few days in the humble Marakech home of a grand lady called Halima. We accepted her hospitality and on the first day we were there we arrived back at her appartment after a very large lunch to discover that Halima had been cooking. A huge tagine was put in front of us with the exhortation ‘Mange Mange’ Eat Eat! Out of politeness we ate and it was delicious and we were stuffed and only then did Halima appear with the main meat course! The tagine had just been a starter! The main course was placed before us. ‘Gilles, Fiona.. Mange Mange!!” 

In oriental cultures laws of hospitality dictate that whether the wayfarer is really hungry or not, the host must serve his guest and the guest must eat. And it must be food adequate for the occasion. Honour is at stake. 

That’s why the man is out in the middle of the night calling through his neighbours letterbox.  ‘A friend has come and i have nothing to set before him.’ He would have had something in the house. People had basic foods stored. But he has nothing adequate for the occasion of welcoming a guest. He needs unbroken loaves. To give someone a half eaten loaf was considered an insult. And 3 loaves was the right number to be seen to be generous and lavish. This is only the beginning of what he would need for the meal. Perhaps more neighbours would need to be got out of bed. Though notice, end of v8, that true neighbourly behaviour would be to get up and give your neighbour everything he needs. 

Because of the homogeneous character of life in the East.  The guest is a guest not just of the individual but of the community. The whole village is responsible for his entertainment. The honour of the village is at stake. 

This background helps us with understanding the manner in which Jesus tells this parable and the response it would have got. It’s as if Jesus says “this guest has come to your village, to your house in the middle of the night and you have nothing to set before him so you go to call to your neighbour -  so much so normal..

But then imagine says Jesus that your neighbour says - “Aww look 

the doors closed and bolted I can’t give you any bread!” Or imagine he says “my children are in bed with me” - in the one room house the whold family slept on a mat in the middle of the floor - “if I get up they’ll wake up too.” Can you imagine such a thing?? The idea is ridiculous of course he’s not going to say that. Just imagine what the village would say in the morning. Look there’s the guy who dishonoured our village. Did you hear what he said to Fred last night - couldn’t be bothered to give him some bread because his door was closed.  Afraid of waking up the family.  What a mean fella he is. Dishonouring our village like that. Shame!

Jesus says of course he wouldn’t make these excuses. Even if he doesn’t like the fella who asks he’s going to give him whatever he wants so that he won’t be shamed by the village as a mean and dishonourable person.

And now here’s the point: If this guy will give to his neighbour who asks him so he is not dishonoured what will God our heavenly father do when we come to him with our prayers and requests?

Do you realize that God’s honour is at stake when we pray? God has to answer our prayers otherwise we could rightly accuse him of being mean and dishonourable. Or other people could accuse him. People could say you know their God he doesn’t answer their prayers even though they call him father.  

But God won’t allow his name to be dishonoured like that and therefore when you pray he will answer you. 

He might answer you in a different way than you expect. Or a different way than you want. More on that next week. But He has to answer you because his honour is at stake. It’s ridiculous even laughable to doubt that he will answer you. That is a huge incentive to pray. God will answer in the best way for the sake if his honour. 

In light of this how 

2. How should this affect the way we pray

should we approach God in prayer? If God’s honour is at stake in the prayers of his children how should we pray? 4 ways

1. Approach God confidently

Many of us don’t approach God confidently or we don’t approach God at all because we feel unworthy of approaching him. We’ve messed up in some way and we say well I can’t pray. I’d feel a hypocrite if I prayed. I’m not good enough. But the question is not are you good enough to pray but are you a child of God? Are you trusting in Jesus Christ? If not then put your trust in him and pray to your father maybe for the first time. If you are then no matter how you feel, no matter what you’ve done, no matter how good or bad you are God will hear and answer your prayer. Not because you are good enough but for his honour. He has to answer the prayers of his children. 

Maybe we don’t approach God confidently because we don’t feel that he cares, it feels like he is often silent and doesn’t answer. The age old lie of the serpent.. God is not good, God is mean. But Jesus says we are wrong. If the neighbour approached at midnight, who isn’t a friend and doesn’t care, for the sake of his honour gets up and provides everything needed. How much more so will God who is a friend - A Father, and does care. How much more will he for the sake of His honour provide us with what we need. God never, never ignores our prayers. He always answers in the way that we need. 

So approach God confidently 

2. Approach God comprehensively

Pray about everything and anything

Nothing too small – parking spaces (how else do you get a parking space when things are busy?)

Nothing too big –  

Nothing too easy - 

Nothing too difficult – One example in OT nebuzaradan

Pray about everything 

What’s the result when we don’t pray? We worry.  

Don’t get to that point. Take your cares, your concerns to the lord in prayer. Put it on the shelf. Place them at the foot of the cross. 

Worried about your children? pray, 

worried about work? pray, 

worried about the future? pray, 

worried about dying? pray. 

Don’t talk about those things or think about those things but pray.

And leave it with him confident that he will answer all our prayers because his honour is at stake.

3. Approach God constantly

Set times for prayer - QT yes they’re great am, lunch time, evening 

But pray at other times as well. 

Pray as you work

Pray as you drive. I always try and pray before I drive my car.  And there are other cars that you get into where you don’t just pray before they are driven but throughout the whole journey!

Pray as you have a meeting at work. 

Pray when you meet your boss 

Pray as you change a nappy

Pray in all circumstances. 

Pray when money tight, when money abundant, 

when healthy, when sick, 

on celebrations, in sadness, 

at the midnight hour 

when all alone and sad, 

pray at birth of newborn baby, pray at funeral. 

One good example from the Bible was Nehemiah. Prayed in his heart before he spoke to the King. Why/ because he was always praying. Why would you not pray to your heavenly father who is going to answer your prayer and honour his name.

4. Approach God continually

Be persistent in prayer. I prayed and it didn’t work. 

But it’s not like a recipe you see on bake off. O I tried that recipe it didn’t work. Not trying it again. No, pray and keep praying. Sometimes God answers prayer immediately, sometimes after a year sometimes after 10 years, sometimes after we have died. One great example of persistent prayer was George Muller.

George muller 19th century director of orphanages in Bristol 

In November 1844, I began to pray for the conversion of five individuals. I prayed every day without one single intermission, whether sick or in health, on the land or on the sea, and whatever the pressure of my engagements might be.
Eighteen months elapsed before the first of the five was converted. I thanked God, and prayed on for the others. Five years elapsed, and then the second one was converted. I thanked God for the second, and prayed on for the other three. Day by day I continued to pray for them and six years more passed before the third was converted. I thanked God for the three, and went on praying for the other two. These two remain unconverted. The man to whom God in the riches of His grace has given tens of thousands of answers to prayer, in the self-same hour or day on which they were offered, has been praying day by day for nearly thirty-six years for the conversion of these two individuals, and yet they remain unconverted; for next November it will be thirty-six years since I began to pray for their conversion. But I hope in God, I pray on, and look yet for the answer.* 

*One of these persons was converted before Mr Müller’s death, and the other only gave clear evidence of conversion after Mr Müller had passed away.

What makes you able to keep praying? God’s honour is at stake in answering the prayer. He will do it. 

Conclusion

God is a God who wants to honour his name. He told us to pray that in the Lord’s prayer. Hallowed be your name. He will make sure it is honoured by answering us when we pray. 

He has already given us his son JC.

He gave him to us when we didn’t pray, 

He gave him to us when we weren’t his children. In fact when we were his enemies.

He gave him up for us to make us his children.

If he loved us so much that he would not spare his own son but give him up for us all to make us his children won’t he along with him also give us all things? He’s promised to do it. He will do it.

Let’s pray

Prayer Luke 11:2-4

As we travel through Lent – the season of preparation for Easter - we’re thinking about Prayer. We’re spending 5 weeks in Jesus Christ’s school of prayer here in Luke 11:1-13.  Last week we saw that the foundation of all prayer is just one word ‘Father.’ We’ll come back to that. Today we’re looking at the framework for prayer that Jesus gave us - The Lord’s prayer. Probably the most spoken form of words in the history of the world. And yet it’s not just a formal prayer to be said by rote.. but a framework that takes us into the world of prayer. 

Prayer is a struggle – sometimes we don’t desire to pray, or our prayers seem to go unanswered so long that we lose heart. We don’t know how to pray. We don’t know what to pray.

Jesus gives us a framework for prayer. More crucially there are deep reasons to pray within the framework. Thousands of books written on prayer to help us pray. One of the most prominent recently was spiritual writer, Anne Lamott’s book on prayer entitled. Help, Thanks, Wow: The three essential prayers. 

Jesus’ pattern of prayer is a little different. And, good as Lamott’s writing is, Jesus’ is the pattern worth following. 

Jesus’ pattern is WOW, sorry, please  

The first element of Jesus’ pattern for prayer is PRAISE. Wow!  

Father, 

Hallowed be your name! 

Your Kingdom Come

Hallowed means Holy. Holiness is a rather alien concept in our culture it speaks of God’s otherness his greatness, his goodness, his glory. Holy is your name! It’s an expression of Praise. You are amazing! Kingdom refers to God’s Lordship his government of lives which brings life and transformation. Don’t you want relationships to be mended, don’t you want hatred to cease don’t you want injustice to end, don’t you want poverty to be a thing of the past, no more stabbings on our streets, don’t you want peace on earth? That’s what we pray when we pray your kingdom come.

Praise! 

When you meet people who just desperately need praise all the time - it’s not great is it? It’s kind of all about them and their insecurities. God seeks our praise for precisely the opposite reason. He is supremely worthy of all Praise. Constant praise. It’s for our good and our wholeness that we praise him. If we don’t praise him we live completely out of kilter with reality, with the way things are. If we don’t praise him the rocks will cry out! 

Last week we saw that prayer begins with the foundational principle that God is Father. There is a sense in which all human beings, made in God’s image are God’s offspring, his children. But Father describes a relationship that is not there by nature. By nature we self destructively reject God with all our beings. We cut ourselves off from God and his life. For God to become our Father meant forgiveness won at the cost of his own life. He sent his Son to his enemies to become one of us - united with humanity Jesus died for our sins and rose to establish our life. United by faith with Jesus the Son we can know God as Father. God would rather lose his own life than lose us. Such is his kindness, such is his love and when the reality of Father touches your heart. You must cry out in praise

Hallowed be your name! Your kingdom come! Your will be done! 

Prayer starts with God not with my needs. My needs are important to God but he wants me first. Prayer is about relationship. About growing in relationship with God. Prizing God over all things. Wanting him for him. Not for him meeting my needs or the things that he can give me. 

Prayer is always firstly about God. It is God centred. 

See If you think that prayer is asking God for things (and getting frustrated and angry when he doesn’t give them). the presumably you believe that it’s these things that you so want that will give you the signifcance satisfaction and security that we all need. 

But the Lord himself IS our ultimate and only need. He is the source of all signifcance, satisfaction and security.  The gospel of his love and power tells us that and encourages us to first and foremost enjoy Him. Rest in his fatherly care. spend time with him to get him not the things that you can get from him!! 

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these other things shall be given to you. 

PRAISE 

praise spreading - the kingdom

The second element of Jesus’ pattern for prayer is CONFESSION - sorry Lord, I’m sorry. 

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

saying sorry is not easy and it’s not popular in our culture. I think that’s why sorry does not feature as one of the three essential prayers in Anne Lamott’s book. Sorry humiliates us, admits our failings, sorry might get us into trouble - we’ve admitted we were to blame, sorry puts us in a place of weakness before the person we’re apologising too, sorry might make us depressed.. 

But we are to say sorry to God all the time. NOT to wallow in our failings and NOT because our forgiveness hangs in the balance or is constantly in doubt. NO - we, if we trust in Jesus, we have been forgiven once and for all through Jesus’ death on the cross for us. We are right with God not on the basis of our performance but on the basis of Christ’s performance. And we are right with him by trusting in Jesus Christ.  We say sorry to God every day not to get forgiven but to constantly remind ourselves that we are people who need forgiveness and to remind ourselves that we AREpeople who have received forgiveness! 

Remembering this is very powerful for our lives. It produces both happiness and humility.

When you remember that you are forgiven it makes you happy. Some of us have an MP3 playing in our heads that says ‘I hate myself I’m really rubbish, I always mess up.’ That music weighs us down. But forgiveness changes the record to ‘I’m forgiven and loved and accepted by God just as I am.’ That gives you a joy, a happinness in your life. it frees you from self accusation and guilt. Enables you to live differently.

And when you remember you are forgiven it makes you humble and able to forgive others who wrong you. The reason we don’t forgive is we think we’re better than someone else. We say to ourselves ‘they’re bad I’m good.’  But forgiveness reminds us that we can’t say that because we do wrong things. We ourselves need to be forgiven. And if God has forgiven us our wrongs shouldn’t we forgive those who wrong us? Shouldn’t we let go of bitterness and grudges? That person who wronged you years ago well you can let that go, you can forgive.

If we are to live joy filled and humble lives free from guilt and bitterness we need to remind ourselves every day, bring it to mind, every morning say to ourselves ‘I am a forgiven sinner pardoned by God through the cross of Jesus Christ.’ 

WOW - SORRY 

and the third part of Jesus pattern for prayer 

PETITION - please 

2 parts to this 

Give us this day our daily bread 

Lead us not into temptation 

We do ask God for things. For help. We do depend on him. 

Do you remember we said last week that being united to Jesus the Son and drawn into the Father-Child fellowship of the Trinity means that Christian maturity is not becoming stronger, more self sufficient. It’s to become more dependent more aware of my weakness and therefore more and more in prayer 

Please 

Give me today my daily bread 

Notice that we are to pray for our needs not our wants, it’s our daily bread not our daily caviar. And notice also we are to pray for daily bread that is daily provision like the Israelites who were provided with manna to collect each day in the wilderness. We are to look for today’s needs to be met. not for tomorrow’s needs to be met today so we don’t have to pray tomorrow. Money, food or whatever else we need today.

Someone might say but i don’t even have the wisdom to know the difference between my wants and my needs. Many of my longings have gone unanswered and i feel paralysed to know what to pray. John Calvin is helpful here in his treatise on prayer in his magnum opus the Institutes. Pray with restful trust and yet pray with confident hope. God loves you and he knows what’s best for you. He’s not gonna give you something that’s bad for you. When you pray your heart must always be saying like we’re told to here and as Jesus prayed in the garden ‘yet not what i will but what you will be one. Your will be done’ We can rest in the will of God. And yet we should pray with confident hope. pour your heart out to God. Sometimes we don’t receive because we don’t ask.. and God sometimes will not give things without our asking because he doesn’t want us to think we did it, we don’t need God! God wants to hear our requests because he will gives us what we most need. 

Martin Luther saw a social dimension to this prayer as well. For all to get daily bread, there must be a thiving economy, good employment and a just society. Therefore to pray ‘give US this day our daily bread’ is to pray against wanton exploitation in business trade and labour which crushes the poor and deprives them of their daily bread’ 

Give us today our daily bread. 

And lead me not into temptation 

But deliver me from evil 

We are all tempted. But this is a prayer to not be LED INTO temptation but instead be delivered. It’s the danger of entertaining and considering giving in to sin. It might be prosperity that I am led into pride - the sin of thinking that i don’t need God. Or in adversity that I am led into despair - losing all hope and becoming angrily estranged from God. Seductions and trials come on us like a storm and can knock us off our feet. Please give us strength and grace to stand firm in them.

Wow 

Sorry 

Please 

The life transforming, world transforming privilege of prayer. Knowing God, loving him, receiving the assurance of his forgiveness, depending on our Father utterly. 

It’s a costly wonderful gift - access to God our Father. It cost God the suffering and death of his Son. Jesus was forsaken with our sins that we might be welcomed in. Jesus was rejected that we might accepted. God would rather lose his own life than lose us. You are worth that much to Him. How much he must love you. How much he must want to get to know you and bless your life. 

Let’s pray. 

Prayer Luke 11:1-2

Checkups in the interest of well-being are familiar features of modern life. You take your car in for its yearly MOT.  You buy software that scans your computer’s hard drive for corrupt files and other nasty things and gently heals them for optimum performance. As you get older – you’re wise to get check ups on your physical health and take seriously any treatments recommended. 

What about your spiritual health? Is that any different? 

On Wednesday we began that season in the church year called Lent. It’s been observed throughout the Christian church since the 3rd Century: 40 lent-gthening days of preparation leading up to Holy Week (recalling Jesus’s death) and Easter(celebrating his resurrection). Lent is not just about giving up chocolate. It is a season of check up.  it’s a time to look to our spiritual health.  A time of self searching, of repentance, of healing and renewal. 

And so for these weeks of lent begins we’re going to focus on renewing our lives of prayer.  Prayer is so vital to our spirtual health. 

Let me start with 3 observations 

The first one is that statistics show that everyone no matter what they believe prays at some time. Even my hairdresser Dave who never goes to church told me that he prayed when he was having a heart attack. When the chips are down. When someone you love is ill, when you find yourself in a desperate situation you pray. It’s a natural response. 

Second: most people find a life of prayer very difficult. Many of us want to pray but we just feel like we have no words. We pray for thirty seconds but then we give up we get distracted, we get bored. OR we’d like to pray but we just lack faith.. John Calvin defined prayer as ‘the chief act of faith’ so we don’t pray because we don’t really believe.. OR we think we’re just too bad to pray, God doesn’t want to hear me.. i’m just a failure..i’m in the midst of my sin when i’ve cleaned up my act then i’ll pray OR we’d like to pray but we just feel no desire to do so - maybe we’re just disappointed with God, feel let down by him.. he hasn’t answered our prayers. what’s the point? Finally, we don’t pray because it just feels like a dry duty. And if God knows better than I do what i need and he’s sovereign - he’s going to do what he’s going to do anyway - why bother praying?

Third observation 

When Jesus’ disciples were confused about prayer and how to pray. They asked Jesus to teach them. Here in Luke 11 we’re slowing right down to hear Jesus’ teaching on prayer. If you don’t know how to do something - you’re probably not going to succeed, you’re gonna give up. But why not listen to someone who does know how to do it??

We’re going to enter Jesus’ school for prayer 

And this afternoon we will focus on just one word which Jesus teaches is utterly utterly foundational to prayer. The doorway to kick start your prayer life.. 

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’

2 [Jesus] said to them, ‘When you pray, say:

‘“Father,

Father 

this is the foundation of all prayer. Father 

Jesus doesn’t begin with whats or hows but with who.  If we are ever to truly pray it is not subjects or methods that we need. We need to know who it is that we are invited to pray to.. 

Father 

What does it teach us about prayer that we pray to the Father?

well 3 things: 

First and it’s so obvious and yet we need to see it. 

by saying Father we see that prayer is about Communicating with a person. 

When someone becomes a Christian. Turns away from their sins and brokenness and puts their trust in JC and his cross. When that happens you are adopted into God’s family. He becomes your father and you become his child. As a result you begin a personal relationship with God. That relationship is developed through prayer. Just as human relationships are developed through conversations as we get to know each other better. My relationship with my wife is developed through conversation. If I didn’t talk to her it wouldn’t develop. So prayer develops our relationship with God as we talk to and have a conversation with him. If we don’t pray our relationship with God won’t develop. 

But what are we going to talk about?

How should I begin? What words should I use with this Parent of mine up there in the sky?

Where do i find the words? Where do i find the faith??

Well…

There is a sense in which ‘All speech is answering speech.’ Let me explain. 

How did you learn to talk? Babies do not enter the world and then immediately speak. That would be so weird wouldn’t it? Freaky! Neither are toddlers left to search to find words and language within themselves. No from the earliest days your parents speak to you - in simple words and sounds and loving tones that you heard and learned and when you were ready you said ‘duck’ or ‘mama’.

All speech is answering speech. 

And that is true with our Father God. 

We need to think about the overwhelming previousness of God’s speech to our prayers.

In one sense.. God’s blessings to us in our lives. Things we’re thankful for. God’s own recognisable answers to our prayers are part of his side of the conversation. But there is an overwhelming previousness to our speaking to God and that is God speaking to us in his word - the Bible, the gospel and supremely speaking to us through his Son, Jesus. 

Prayer is not really asking God for things and getting upset when we don’t get things our way. We can of course ask for things we’re commanded to and we’ll address the problem of seeming unanswered prayers in these weeks. But prayer doesn’t begin there. Prayer is God centred and it is responding to God’s speech. The continuation of a conversation that God has started. 

We can pray at any time.  Ideally we’re conscious of God throughout our day,  giving thanks, enjoying him, seeking his help, praying for that person. But our voice of prayer will dry up if we are not reading the Bible as God’s word to us.. His love letter to us. 

We often don’t pray because our faith, our belief in God as the source of reality get’s drowned out by the immediacies of the world around us. If we are not feeding our faith by hearing his voice in his word, by encountering His presence which is more real than reality itself then we won’t pray - we’ll have nothing to say. 

But if we do just read the Scriptures as from God our answering voice will emerge..

So that’s the first thing Father tells us. Prayer is communicating with someone. Responding to God’s speech 

2 Second by saying Father we see that prayer is based on grace not on performance.  

The way a child relates to their parents is very different to the way an employee relates to their boss. Your relationship with your boss at work is based on performance. But a child’s relationship with their parents is based on grace. As a father I am really bothered about the behaviour of my children because i want them to live well, i want them to honour God,  and because in some sense my reputation is connected with them and what they do. But my childrens’ position in our family is not dependent on how they perform. At the end of the day they are my children even if they don’t perform well. 

We all know what happens to employees who don’t perform well. You’re fired! 

But that is not the relationship we have with God. God does not fire any of his children. And so we can approach God in prayer with confidence not fear knowing that our standing with him as sons and daughters is based on grace not on how well we are doing. 

That means we can pray just as we are. We don’t need to clean ourselves up first. We can come to God as his children anytime. It’s all by grace.

Donald Trump. whether you like it or not, is the most powerful man in the world. 

There was a great picture of the Oval office that i saw online earlier today. Donald was sat at his desk surrounded by maybe 30 or 40 suits standing looking at the camera ready to act.. And in the foreground on one of the cream sofas with her feet up not looking at the camera is a woman who I assume is one of Trump’s daughters. 

See .. you have to be someone very powerful or influential to get an appointment with Donald Trump. You have to go through so much red tape and checks to even get close. But if you’re his child - you can walk into the oval office pretty much anytime you like.

I’m aware as I talk about God as a Father that some of us have not had good experiences of fatherhood but we all know what a good father should be like that’s why we get angry when we see or experience bad examples of fatherhood. When it comes to fatherhood earthly fathers are not the standard for God but our Father God is the standard for earthly fathers. He is the perfectly loving, perfectly wise, perfectly good Father who loves and cares for us his children.

think you’re just too bad to pray? God doesn’t want to hear me.. i’m just a failure..i’m in the midst of my sin when i’ve cleaned up my act then i’ll pray…

No - you’re his child. He longs for you to answer him. He’s constantly talking to you. he feels compassion for you in your sin. Turn to him.. Run into his arms. He loves you. 

3. by saying Father we see that Prayer is to be taken up into the very life of God. 

Look again at how our passage begins One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray…

One day Jesus was praying ..

He actually does this all the time, Jesus. Read the gospels. He’s always going off to pray by himself. He does it so much that’s why the disciples say teach us what you’re doing..

But - don’t you find it weird that Jesus prays all the time? cos I do. Cos this is God praying to God. What does this say about Jesus? When he came to our world, took upon himself our human nature. Did he kind of make himself then less than God the Father for a time - so he had to depend on Him in prayer - cos when he does pray he asks for a lot of stuff. 

Well the RC Theologian Karl Rahner puts it like this (and i think he’s bang on). "the economic Trinity is the immanent Trinity, and the immanent Trinity is the economic Trinity".  That is to say, God communicates Himself to humanity ("economic" Trinity) as He really is in the divine Life ("immanent" Trinity). Put it another way the relationship that we see Jesus the Son sharing with his Father in the gospels is how God is in eternity. The Father didn’t become Father when he adopted us. Jesus didn’t become the Son when he came into the world.  

No God in himself IS from all etenity:  A Father constantly giving life to and lavishing his love on his Son who is eternally receiving from and praising his Father and that flow of life and love IS the unity of the Holy Spirit!!!

And you see …

When we become Christians, adopted as God children. You have to understand that you’re not just being forgiven, you’re not just given a place in a childrens home NO you’re united with Jesus in order to be drawn RIGHT INTO the very centre of the trinitarian LIFE of God!

And you see when you PRAY - all three persons of the Trinity are involved. You are expressing the trinitarian life. You pray to the Father above you, through the Son alongside you by the Holy Spirit within you. The Spirit is the wind in the sails of our prayer as he catches us up into the Son’s love for the Father… testifying to us that we are God’s loved children and causing us to cry ‘Abba.. Father’ We’re brought into the divine fellowship. The Spirit of the Son cries to the Father through us! 

Think about this: If God WAS a single, independent person (the Muslim God) - then independence would be the godly thing. That would be how to be like God. To be closest to what reality really is would be for me to be self sufficient and alone! 

But that is not God. Not the deepest reality. No, God is a Father loving his Son who receives that love in the praise of the Spirit.  And so as the Son always depends on the Father THAT is the nature of Christian godliness. Being a Christian, a child of God is first and foremost all about receiving, asking and depending. Growing as a Christian is not about feeling more self sufficient it’s about feeling ever more needy and if you feel needy you will pray..

And when you are on your knees, literally or figuratively, in prayer enjoying the care of a powerful Father. That is when you are at the heart of reality. 

WOW! Prayer!! WOW! 

Enjoy your prayer life. 

Luke 10:38-42 Pete Jennings

Luke 10:38-42 Mary and Martha

Pete Jennings

Luke 10:25-37

We're looking at the life of Jesus in the gospel of Luke and here in chapter 10 the question is being answered - what does it mean to follow Jesus, what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus.
Last week we saw that it is to be a messenger. Every Disciple is sent out to publicly communicate the world changing message of Jesus and urge everyone to believe it. 

This week we learn that Every disciple is a neighbour.  We are called to take the gospel to everyone and urge them to believe it but also we have a mandate to meet the needs of all the people around us whether they believe the message or not. We are called to be great neighbours in Hackney, in our communities, in our workplaces. 

Jesus gives us 3 things here  

a Mandate for gospel neighbouring 

he spells out the Magnitude of the task

finally he tells us the Motivation – the only thing that will enable us to do this

WARNING If you begin to feel guilty – don’t be. Guilt is not the motivation Jesus gives us. Be challenged but wait for the great motivation. 

1. Mandate – it’s required. ‘Go and do likewise.’ 

the call to be radical neighbours comes in the context of this dialogue with an expert in the Law. We’ll call him ‘The Lawyer.’ Sadly, he’s not genuine, he stands up v25– to test Jesus, to trap him into saying something that will discredit him. And so he asks ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’ What does God require? He’s seen the way Jesus welcomes bad characters; people who are disobedient to the law, people the law calls ‘sinners.’ When Jesus says ‘God accepts everyone’ - he’ll be exposed as someone who does not really respect the moral law. He’s trying to trap Jesus. But Jesus also has a trap (except Jesus’ trap is a trap of love – it’s alright to be trapped by Jesus). Jesus answers the Q with a Q: ‘What is written in the Law how do you read it?’ Now at this point the expert could begin to list the 700 or so Laws or he could – and this is what he does - give the classic summary of the law – ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength with all your mind; and love your neighbour as yourself.’ ‘You have answered correctly.’ Jesus replied. ‘Do this and you will live.’ Look who’s trapped now. You want to inherit eternal life by the law – that’s what the law requires. Jesus says do all that and you will live. 

But, v29, the man wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ 

Again the crowd would have gone silent all eyes on Jesus. See it was common knowledge that your neighbour was only your fellow Israelite. That’s who you should love – not Pagan sinners. But what would Jesus say – he who eats with Gentiles? 

You see underlying all this was the attempt by the Jews of Jesus’ day to tame the law inorder to make it do-able. If my neighbour is my Israelite brother – that’s achievable - If I care for my Israelite brother I keep the law.

And now here Jesus explodes all their limitations of God’s Law with one of the greatest stories ever told. The parable of the Good Samaritan. To the Question – who is my neighbour? Jesus answers You must become a neighbour to everyone and anyone in need, and you must love with radical self sacrificial love. That is what God requires. That is what it will mean to follow me. 

Go and do likewise.. 

See Jesus says don’t you dare limit God’s Law! Jesus asks for nothing less of his followers than to be radical neighbours to all in need. It’s required. – says Jesus It’s fundamental to following me. 

You know Jesus tells that other parable in Matthew’s gospel (chpt 25) – the shepherd dividing the sheep and the goats, sheep and goats actually look quite similar but the shepherd knows - he divides them – Jesus says that is what it will be like when I come to divide my followers from those who say they are my followers but are not. 

But how does he know sheep and goats? Jesus says to his true followers – Come take your inheritance prepared for you since the creation of the world for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,  I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' And Jesus says "Then the righteous will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

You see? It’s required - the mandate – It will be the evidence that we have followed Jesus. You must become a neighbour to everyone and anyone in need, and you love with radical self sacrificial love. 

That’s the mandate. 

loosen your collar - it gets worse 

2. the magnitude 

what are the limits? Who should I love and How much should I love? 

First who should I love

the parable 

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road (almost certainly riding an animal) when he saw the man – he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, (probably not riding on an animal, but could stop to administer first aid) when he came to the place and saw him, he passed by on the other side. 

And now Jesus delivers the first shockwave. 

If I begin a joke there was an Englishman, an Irishman .. you know how I’m going to continue …

If an Israelite tells a story: so there’s a Priest and a Levite – you know what comes next – and a jew. a regular Jew

But Jesus says a Priest a Levite and a Samaritan

Samaritan?! You probably know Jews and Samaritans hated one another. They were enemies, oppressing one another throughout their history. ‘he that eats the bread of the Samaritans is like to one that eats the flesh of swine” declared the Jewish Mishna. Daily prayers were offered in the synagogues that the Samaritans wouldn’t receive eternal life. If this was a Samaritan lying bleeding on the ground the Jewish audience would be saying he deserves everything he’s getting. But this is a Jew lying half dead on the ground and its a Samaritan standing over him.  

But Jesus’ Samaritan, v33 ,came where the man was; and when he saw him he.. took.. pity.. on him and, where the Levite had failed to do so the Samaritan treated and bandaged his wounds , and where the Priest had failed to do so the Samaritan put the man on his donkey and carried him to safety, and where the robbers had taken from him and left him, the Samaritan gave to him, stayed with him and promised to return. 

Jesus is frankly doing something personally dangerous – making a Samaritan the hero of the story… morally superior to the religious leadership of the audience. It’s like sitting down with a group of Palestinians and telling a story of the noble Israeli or telling the story of the good Turk to a group of Armenians. 

and yet Jesus is making a devastating point. 

v36 Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? The expert in the law replied ‘the… (he cannot speak the name) …the one who had mercy on him’ Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” 

Who should I love? Who must I become a neighbour to? 

I am not just to love my own. Jesus says that Love and care and help is to be extended to the person who is different, to the least deserving, my worst enemy – in a word – anybody, everybody wherever there is need. 

There’s a famous letter from aniquity written by the Roman emperor Julian who was frustrated by the way that Christianity was growing and flourishing and the Pagan religions were dying. He writes, ‘the religion of the Greeks does not prosper. Why do we not observe how the charity of Christians to strangers does the most to advance their cause. it is disgraceful that these Christians support our poor in addition to their own, so that everyone is able to see that our co-religionists lack aid from us.’ You see the Christians then were promiscuous in caring for the poor – whoever they were! 

OK i can see who i am to love. everyone and anyone in need - underserving or enemy 

But then how much then should I love? How far should I go?

It’s interesting that Jesus uses a real life location for his parable. the road from Jerusalem to Jericho – everyone knew that road – one place on that road was called the pass of blood. If Jesus had set the parable in Hackney it would be on Murder Mile on a Friday night in the early 2000s – the man gets mugged badly – that’s no surprise – people raise their eyebrows sadly – that’s what happens on the pass of blood.  And the Priest and Levite they don’t stop. You know why they don’t stop? Because they are smart. If somebody’s lying half dead in the road that means the muggers are still nearby. To stop is stupid, to stop is fatal. How much should I love? How far should I go? The point is the Samaritan does stop on murder mile in the middle of the night. In compassion for the man’s life the Samaritan risks his own. He pours on costly oil and wine – he bandages tearing his own clothes. he climbs down from his animal and like a servant leads the injured man presumably into Jericho to take him to an inn. He pays money, stays the night and promises to return to pay whatever costs are incurred – so that the man will not be left indebted and enslaved to an unscrupulous innkeeper. 

Actually, entering Jewish Jericho is probably the most risky thing the Samaritan does in a violent revenge culture.  An American cultural equivalent would be a Plains Indian in 1875 walking into Dodge City with a scalped cowboy on his horse, checking into a room over the local saloon, and staying the night to take care of him. Is that Indian going to get out of Dodge alive – even if he is the one who saved the cowboys life? 

From first to last the Samaritan’s love is incredibly costly. 

And this is Jesus’ point. How much should I love? How much should I give?

Jesus says Go and do likewise. 

How much should I love? Jesus says Don’t you dare limit it. my followers love with radical costly self giving service. Who do you Help? – even the people you can’t stand the sight of, even the undeserving who have brought their problems on themselves. how do you help? to the place where their burdens, their sufferings fall in part on you. 

Extraordinary isn’t it? Radical neighbourliness is what we’re called to. 

But how? How do you do this? I mean is there anyone who does this? What is the Motivation.. what is the dynamic that enabled the church at the time of Julian and at other times in church history to love and care for the poor? What power will enable us to begin to love like this? 

The only dynamic in the world that can motivate this kind of living and loving is Grace. 

In other words - You will never show radical mercy until you have received radical mercy. This is what Jesus is trying to teach the Lawyer here. And it’s what he would teach us. The power to show radical mercy springs from the heart understanding that you, yes you, have been shown radical mercy. You have been the recipient of radical grace, love, help. 

See, Look at where Jesus places the Lawyer in the story and where he places himself in the story. 

1. The lawyer. Imagine Jesus had told the story like this – A Samaritan was traveling on the road to Jericho and he fell among thieves and a Priest came and left; and a Levite came and left; and finally a Jew came – a man just like you and he took pity and healed his enemy’s wounds and put him on his donkey and helped him. Now Go and Do likewise. What would Jesus’ message have been? it would have been Morality– you’ve got to be the hero, try harder, save the world. Do this and you will live, you’ll have worked your way to eternal life. But that isn’t where Jesus places his listener in the story. No, where is the Jew in the story? half dead on the floor – in desperate need of help and needing mercy.  This is very deliberate. Because the Bible says that is where we all are by nature – spiritually – we’ve rejected God and made him our enemy and we are lost in our sin and deserve only God’s judgement. First and foremost we all need mercy. That’s the Lawyer 
2. Jesus – where is Jesus in the story? From the very earliest years of Christian history the church has said that the Good Samaritan is Jesus. Jesus is the good Samaritan. The Samaritan comes from outside. He is seem as the enemy. In his eyes the injured man is undeserving of help and yet he ‘takes pity’ on the man – very specific word – deep compassion – a word used only of Jesus in the gospels. The Samaritan binds the man’s wounds and then pours on oil and wine. Again Jesus uses strange experssions here - OT language of the God who binds up the wounds of his people.  At great personal risk the Samaritan climbed down from his donkey and taking the part of a servant leads the man to safety. Jesus Christ who was in very nature God climbed down from his throne, taking the very nature of a servant and humbled himself to death even death on a cross. The Samaritan risked all for his enemies. JC came into a world that had rejected him and laid down his life for us in radical mercy and grace. 

We were lying in the gutter, half dead, undeserving – but Jesus in astonishing costly love and mercy has come down to take our burdens upon himself in his death on the Cross. Have you received that grace, that mercy, that forgiveness? 

If you have then it is in grasping what we have been given that we are then able to give to others. It is in grasping the mercy we have been shown that we are empowered to show mercy. It is in seeing how deeply we are loved that we are given radical power to love others. 

ill Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables - Jean Valjean isa hard and bitter man. Just out of prison he spends the night at the house of a priest and is caught by the police in the middle of the night leaving the house with stolen silver. Instead of consigning him to prison – the priest gives him the stolen goods and lets him go. That one act of mercy completely alters the direction of Valjean’s life. The one act shapes his future and transforms his attitudes towards others. 

Since he has been shown such mercy how can he not now show mercy to others. 

But you see that’s not just Jean Valjean’s story. That’s your story if you’re a Christian. 

Now 

when I see a person lying in the street, I remember that’s where I was when Jesus took pity on me. 

when I see that the person in need is my enemy, I remember that’s who I was when Jesus bent down and bandaged my wounds 

when that person is the least deserving of help and care, I remember that’s who I was and yet Jesus was lifted up on the cross so that I could be lifted up. 

since I have been shown such mercy – how can I not now show such mercy? 

It is as we grow in our grasp of the grace that we have received that we will go and do likewise. 

Pray. 

Luke 10: 1-24

We’re looking at the life of Jesus in the gospel of luke

We’ve seen that there’s a shift in theme, a turning point in Luke 9-10 

chapters 1-9 Who is Jesus? 9 onwards Since he is who he is - the divine son from heaven- how then shall we live? the answer is become a disciple, follow him. And what does that look like? well what these next chapters tell us..

next week - neighbours to all, following - worshippers 

this week - it’s to be a messenger. disciples are messengers 

every disciple of jesus is given a message to publicly proclaim, to communciate urging everyone to believe it. 

This of course is an incredibly hot issue in our society - 

Anyone claiming that they have the Truth;  saying that their religion is superior and trying to convert people to it is considered at best arrogant and at worst dangerous. The divisiveness of religion is seen as a major threat to world peace. 

And to a certain degree - that fear is absolutely right. There clearly is a danger that religion and ideology can play into the negative human tendencies towards superiority and separation. looking down your nose at ’them’ can lead to the marginalisation of others which can in turn lead to oppression, abuse or even violence against them. 

Our modern society’s solution to this problem is to seek to control religion, to privatise religion and silence the religious. We as western Christians feel this pressure very keenly and largely we bow to it. We are silenced; we bow to the dogma that it’s fine to believe what you want to believe as long as you don’t try to persuade or convert anybody else.. 

But - as we shall see in a bit there are deep internal contradictions and problems with this dogma. 

We shall see in this passage that Christian disciples ARE messengers. It cannot be avoided.  We are 

sent on a Mission 

with a Message 

and yet it is our Motivation that will affect the whole way we go about our mission and ensure that we are never contributors to oppression or abuse of others ..

Mission, Message , having the right Motivation 

1. mission 

v1 sent them ahead 

v3 go i am sending you 

chapter 9 v1 the apostles, the 12 sent to preach cast out demons heal the sick 

Those are the 3 things jesus does 

preach - persuade with the truth 

cast out demons = liberate people’s souls from that which is enslaving them 

heal the sick = mend bodies and communities, fabric of the world 

what jesus does - send apostles, his appointed leaders out with authority to do that 

and if we only had chapter 9 and not 10 we could probably legitimately say - ‘there you see that’s what the leaders do, full time christian workers, the clergy, they go out to do those things - we pay them to do it. i’m sure glad they’re doing that…’

but in chapter 10 - jesus gets 72 together. 72. ancient readers would know in the OT Genesis chapter10 table of nations - 72. This is Jesus way of saying it’s not just the clergy 

everybody is sent (word is missio). we’re all on mission and it’s a mission to all nations - to the whole world. 

all are needed - harvest is plentiful but the workers are few 

So pray for more workers, more disciples - that we’d become the workers that we are meant to be. God is in control. He is the LORD Of the harvest. 

You see this throughout the Bible - Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, - A disciple is someone who is called radically in - we don’t just know god from afar, closeness, intimacy to be blessed. BUT now at the very same time you are called radically out. go, i send you out 

mean? God says “i bless you to be a blessing” 

i only call you radically in inorder to send you radically out to care for the needs of others 

to be a healing agent, to reweave the fabric of the world where it’s ripping - to meet their needs so they can then do the same thing.  

God says before i met you when you were battling that inner sense of lostness and inadequacy it was understandable that you could be self absorbed, lost in your own problems and trying to survive. but now - i have met you, i have dealt with your shame. i have provided for your longings for beauty and love (and of course you don’t experience this like you ought to but it doesn’t matter) there’s no more excuses. you ARE liberated so get out. i am sending you. live for others 

Eph 2v10 

You are God’s workmanship created to do what God has ordained for you to do 

So it’s not that you are sent out in general. there are particular things, people for you to help. You have been shaped to be the instrument for healing that certain people or situations need. It’s Not just your joys but also your sorrows, your age, gender, ethnicity, gift mix, all your experiences put together means that God has shaped so that there are some hands that only you can hold, some needs that only you can meet, some demons out there that only you can drive out. 

there’s certain people that God has prepared for you to be the healing agent of God’s grace in their lives. 

This is utterly differnt to the reigning worldview that biological life is just here by accident you’re not here for any purpose. Heidigger called it ‘thrownness’ You’ve just been thrown into the world. There’s no meaning, no purpose, no point. 

But Jesus says no, not thrownness but sentness is the mark of your life 

i send you 

everyone has a mission 

it’s an urgent mission vv3-4. there will be risk and vulnerability. prayer and dependence is needed. 

but we also go with a power and authority vv5-6 as Jesus’ messengers to convey or withold the message of God’s blessing and peace in a tangible way 

disciples represent Jesus and therefore: 

to reject disciples IS to reject Jesus. very serious as the woes of mourning vv12-15 demonstrate 

sent on a mision

2. everyone has a message 

v16 ‘Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me;

every disciple is given a message that they are to publicly communicate and urge others to believe it. 

now this is the hot issue in our society isn’t it. overt in media 

people say this is my only prob with xians 

it’s ok that they believe in jesus but they should not try and convert other people 

it’s ok that they believe and that they say that they have joy and peace but they should NOT say to other people that they should believe it too. saying this is right this is true, you must believe.  that’s so superior, that’s dangerous. keep it to yourself. 

but there’s a problem with that problem 

first there’s a problem from the christian side 

Jesus sends us out to communicate what he calls elsewhere ‘the gospel’ 

what is that? why was this word chosen to express the christian message? 

well, it has a v specific meaning. ‘gospel’ was news of an objective history changing event which changes everybody’s situation. so from ancient antiquity we have a document in greek which goes like this “this is the beginning of the gospel of Caesar Augustus”  

What? That’s what the word gospel meant. The gospel of CA was a declaration that he had ascended the throne. Taken out by heralds everywhere. News of a major history changing event that affects everybody. 

Another famous example form AD490 the battle of marathon. The athenian army went out on the plains of Marathon to battle against the Persians. Everyone expected the Persians to win and that Athens would subsequently fall. The city was on the verge of desperate anarchy - people preparing to flee for their lives. But incredibly the Athenians won - and as soon as they did they realised that they urgently needed to communicate the gospel. So they sent a single runner to run the 26 and a bit miles from Marathon to Athens to calm the panicking despairing people. The runner raninto the city and all he was able to do was cry out ‘Rejoice, we’ve triumphed” before he fell down dead. 

when JC said - go and proclaim my ‘gospel’ to every creature under heaven 

do you see what he is claiming? you get a hint of it in v18 when he says ‘I saw satan fall from heaven’ 

He’s claiming again as he claims on virtually every page of the NT - i was there.. before the creation of the world; before the universe existed, I AM.. I am the uncreated, eternal, second person of the triune God! I am God! The kingdom of God is near..

If Jesus is just a prophet and he had some teaching about God - that’s advice and you could say the message of JC is advice. Heres how you can live, pray, know God and you could say ‘hmm shall i take this advice or not? fine for you not for me thanks.. ‘

But if JC is God. If he saw Satan fall like lightning. If he has come to save us to restore us to God. The his birth into our world is Gospel. The history changing momentous event which changes everybody’s situation. And you have to know about it otherwise history is going to leave you behind.

To not convey this gospel is cruelty.
Like having the cure to cancer and keeping it for yourself and your family and friends. That would be outrageous. To not convey is wicked - and notice i use the word convey deliberately because to run into the street to shout in peoples’ faces may well do the very opposite than convey the Kingdom of heaven is near. How? how do we truly communicate this world changing news when people are so suspicious???

But that’s the problem from the Christian side to being told that we shouldn’t try and persuade others to believe. It’s not just advice - it’s gospel 

But there’s also a problem from the Non-Christian side with telling Christians it’s ok to believe in Jesus but you shouldn’t try to convert anyone; you shouldn’t claim that you have the truth. 

Because when a person says that. what they’re really saying is that you shouldn’t believe in Jesus. He can’t be the unique God. He isn’t. 

what they’re really saying is: YOU have to abandon your view of the universe (that Jesus is God) in favour of my view of the universe (That he is not). And i want to say, OK but how is that any less narrow than me saying to you I want to persuade you to abandon your view of the universe in favour of mine! 

The point is we all have our exclusive convictions. everyone is proselytising for their view of the universe. To say ‘stop it’ is to do it. 

We as a culture are rightly trying to deal with the superiority, the anger, the violence, the disunity that absolute religious truth claims can create. But The solution of saying ‘everyone can believe what they want to believe but no-one is allowed to claim they have the truth and seek to persuade others’ - is itself an exclusive truth claim.  It is ONE view of the universe that trumps and silences all others - doing exactly that which it seeks to outlaw.  And that at best is disingenuous at worst it is dishonest - and it doesn’t work.  To silence people from talking just drives us further apart. 

So how then do we deal with our differences, how do we deal with absolute truth claims that are hurting the world?

how do you make sure that a claim to truth is not destructive?

Jesus does not ignore the problem, he says it has to do you with your 

3. motivation 

17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’

18 He replied, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Of course my gospel is going to give you that power 

But then 20 However, he says do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, I don’t like your motivation. I don’t like what is driving your ministry. instead rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’

there’s a kind of motivation that is bad and one that is good 

don’t rejoice that the spirit’s submit to you

why not? why not rejoice in that liberation for people. people being healed..

look carefully - they’re not excited about having liberated people. did they say wow lord we’ve helped people, people are free, husbands and wives are back together, children are helped 

they don’t say that, they say wow, we’re really something, even demons submit TO US! 

to really understand their motivation you have to look at second clause 

what does it mean to have your name written before printing?

every town had a town roll - like a census 

but only citizens would have their name there. only a person of substance, nobility ..only the powerful had their name written - that was to be a somebody - everybody else they were slaves, servants, artisans nobodies 

Jesus says. You’re looking for a sense of self, of substance. But i don’t want you to get your sense of self, your sense that you’re a somebody from power: your gifts, your accomplishments, your achievements, yourself - that’s going to lead to the same thing that made satan fall - pride. 

people who rejoice in their ministry; their performance. who say i’m somebody because i’m helping people, theyre listening to me…

…first of all you’re going to be coercive and manipulative towards those people who are believing you because they’re like your trophies, they’re how you know you’re somebody 

…but also you are going to be death on the people who reject you because when people reject you they reject your very somebodyness your very self, who you are! 

when your self image is based on your performance and people reject you you say things like “lord shall we call down fire on those unbelievers??” 

this is the thing the world sees happening with people who have exclusive religious truth claims and they’re scared of it and they should be scared of it and they’re repulsed by it and they should be! 

and Jesus begins to see it happening in this group of people and he sys 

rejoice not that you’ve got all this power, rejoice not in your performance …. i’ve got a better way … but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’

what’s that mean?

In the Ancient world the belief was that when you die and face divine judgement in heaven the books would be opened - the divine accounts ledgers - and if your good deeds outweighed your bad (that’s what religion is) then your name would be written into the book of life. 

And Jesus Christ says let me tell you what the gospel of grace is and means - the gospel means that your names ARE written in heaven. Already written down. Past tense - are written. How? My life is not over yet.. Not all the accounts are in. How do I know if i’ve done enough?? 

The gospel says you’re already in, you’re already accepted..

It’s a like going to a classy restaurant in the West End. 

You meet the Maitre D at the door, he says Yes??

and you say ‘I think my name is …’

And the Maitre D says ‘Yes, yes it is …come this way’

He ushers you through …into the opulent restaurant to your table

Your name has been written. Rejoice in that unshifting grace  

How can it be? 

When God, at great cost, rescued his people from Egypt. He sent Moses up the mountain to receive the ten commandments.  And when Moses returned back down the mountain the people were already worshipping idols! They’d already cheated on God. And Moses says to God - if you are going to blot them out of the book, blot my name out instead. Let me take the rap for them. And God says I will blot them from my book but now you continue to lead them. How can God blot our names and yet continue to bless us? Because Jesus achieved what Moses offered but could not actually have achieved. Jesus took our sins and was blotted from the book of life for us. So that our names may be written in. 

And they are written in. We are saved. We are secure. We are in the clear forever! Rejoice not in your brief successes, achievements, strengths ..Rejoice not in POWER , Rejoice in Grace. 

And it’s this motivation that enables Christians to regard and speak to others in a way that is full of peace and humilty, honour and respect. To be agents of peace in our diverse world.  We are NOT morally, spiritually superior. Christians are not better people, or even necesarily good people, we’re forgiven people. We would expect therefore to find morally better people who are of other religions and no religion. In the final analysis we’re really not superior. We’ve stumbled upon grace. That we are asked to share. 

Luke 9:43b-62 James May

Welcome, particularly if you are new here or are visiting, my name is James and I'm on the leadership team here at St Barnabas.

Over the last few weeks we have been looking at the Gospel account of Luke, and today we are looking at this very important passage which indicates a major turning point in Jesus’s ministry when he seems to turn from what seemed to be a highly successful and popular ministry which involved miraculous healing, to directing his journey towards Jerusalem where he knew he would face death. This journey itself begins in verse 51, which says, ‘Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem’, but in verses 43-45, he is giving his disciples a warning about what is to come. 

I was cycling to work on one of the icy mornings last week, and I was just reminding myself that the only times I have ever come off my bike we're going round corners in conditions like this, when I gently pulled into a turn, a car slowly approached the junction, and in readjusting my turn my wheels slipped from under me in almost precisely the same way as the previous 3 occasions, grazing my knee, tearing my glove, and making me feel more foolish than I had planned when I got out of bed. When I recounted this, a ‘friend’ commented, ‘you, saw it coming and it still got you’. 

The future is largely unknown to us, as those of us who followed the Federer, Rafa final today are well aware. We can hope, and we can plan, we can expect, but we can never be sure what is going to happen. We only see life backwards, after the event. 

The question the disciples faced again and again in this passage was should they trust themselves and their ideas for the future, or should they trust Jesus and his plans. 

For ourselves the question looks something like this. What if our life does not go according to our plans? Do we blame God for things not turning out as we’d hoped? Do we doubt God’s goodness or his kindness? We may experience life to be hard at times, and we may feel that following God makes it harder still – and we are caused to ask – is it worth it? 

Our personal struggles may give us enough reason to doubt whether God really cares for us, but even if things are going well for us personally, it doesn't take much reflection to realise that the question about whether God really cares is very profound. The catastrophic disasters of the last century do not really need listing, except that by naming them we can remind ourselves of how bad things can get, from the horrors of trench warfare, to the horrific mass killings, such as the Rape of Nanking, Auschwitz, and the Rwandan genocide, and today the war in Syria is just the most prominent of current conflicts. 

How do we have hope, and how do we trust God about the future when the past is so full of disappointments, and terrors? And yet we live with unparalleled wealth and health around the world. For a great many people life seems to be going very well.  

Richard Dawkins, looks around the world and eloquently draws this stark conclusion, ‘In a universe of electrons and selfish genes, blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won’t find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference.’ 

But despite this, we find it very difficult not to hope, to think that it is all meaningless, that there is no good, or evil, and nothing but indifference. We feel passionate and angry about many of the things that happen in our lives, and we don't aspire to pitiless indifference either in ourselves or in anyone else. If humans are capable of this we call them sociopaths, being pathological because it is a diseased state, rather than a good and natural state of being. Nevertheless Dawkins is pointing out that in the face of the facts it seems we are strictly all deluded to live differently as if there is such a thing as goodness or purpose. 

Our passage takes us on a journey which is both very challenging and surprising in its answers to these questions. It seems to me that the most important words in the passage are found in verse 44, when Jesus says, ‘listen carefully to what I am about to tell you.’ Luke did not record these words as a sort of engaging space filler to keep our attention. He understood that Jesus said this in all seriousness, and we would do well to listen ourselves because Jesus is clearly saying something of great importance. We know that because he makes an extended point in verse 45 about how they had apparently not listened to him. He writes, ‘But they did not understand what this meant.’ And then reinforces it again, saying, ‘It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.’ 

One conclusion might be that Jesus is not a very good teacher if he cannot convey such a simple message to them. But another is that there are some things that we find so uncomfortable and which have such massive implications, that even though we hear them, we may go into denial, or take a long time to accept the painful truth, or to begin to understand what the consequences are. Until the end of the chapter Jesus has a long list of such lessons which need listening too, but which are truly painful and difficult to hear and understand. 

If we try and inhabit the minds and experiences of the disciples, we may begin to see why they could not grasp what Jesus was saying. Luke's words are very sparse, and we need to pause over each phrase if we are to understand what he says. In the second half of verse 43, Luke simply records the background reality into which Jesus’ words were spoken. ‘While everyone, was marvelling at all that Jesus did.’ 

Now we know that Jesus did have people who opposed and rejected him in earlier chapters such as his home town of Nazareth, and many religious leaders, but even here it is clear that he was having a profound impact on everyone, and it seemed that the vast majority marvelled at all he did. This made it impossible for those who would plot to harm him to do anything for fear of causing a riot and risking bringing down the wrath of the Romans who did not tolerate disturbances in their provinces. 

So the disciples seemed to believe that they were following the true Messiah who had such power and such charisma that he would be able to reestablish the nation of Israel and kick out the Roman oppressors. His popular movement could not be going any better at this point. Which is why Jesus needed to ask them to listen carefully, when he predicts that he will be delivered into the hands of men. 

We should not give the impression that Jesus was changing his plans at this point, rather it was the disciples understanding of Jesus’s plans that needed changing. In his early ministry his miracles were interspersed with teachings which the authorities and disciples found hard to accept. And on his way to Jerusalem he continues to perform remarkable miracles. Rather this moment was a drawing together of all that had happened and the inevitable outcome was becoming clearer, and more defined, not least in the mind of Jesus himself. 

Jesus was never a populist in the sense that we have come to know populism today. Rather the opposite. Today's populists seem to say things which appeal to huge numbers of people, but do not have the capability to follow through in reality, and sometimes haven't lived lives which match up to their grand acclamations. Jesus, however, seemed to teach things which were very hard to accept, and had already predicted his death, but clearly had the power to do great things, and had the kind of life that people couldn't help being attracted by. 

His miracles were of such a commanding and remarkable nature that those who witnessed them should have listened to his words more carefully. When he calmed the storm in chapter 8, he asked the disciples, ‘where is your faith?’ because they should have known by this point who it was that they were dealing with. And they asked themselves, ‘who is this that even the wind and the waves obey him?’ This was presumably a rhetorical question. They knew from the Old Testament that it was God alone who controlled the wind and the waves. But they couldn't quite come out and give the answer their question demanded.

Jesus’ life and actions were of a different order from anyone else, and the disciples should have listened to his words carefully, because these were not some contestable words of some dubious populist, but the authoritative words of God himself. His miracles provided indisputable evidence that his words had authority. He is capable of removing the pains from our world, and he will do exactly that in the future, but there is a deeper problem which needs sorting out first – the problem of the human heart – and that is a problem which requires a more painful solution. 

However, the disciples seem to have taken a rather selective approach to who Jesus was and what he taught, preferring to suppress the awkward bits of his teachings, and get excited by the more appealing things, perhaps because they were so impressed by the crowds who marvelled at everything he did. So for them there remained very difficult questions. How can it be that Jesus who is so loved by everyone will be delivered into the hands of men?  And what about their hopes and dreams for the future? All would be lost. And so they simply could not grasp what Jesus was saying, and even if they had an inkling, they were afraid to ask about it.

Is it possible that even though we know in our heads how events unfolded, and that Jesus was crucified and then was raised to life again, that we also do not want to believe what Jesus is saying here because it is too uncomfortable for us? Jesus I think says to us all, ‘listen carefully to what I am about to tell you.’ We have our dreams and desires for what we want out of life, but this is not the road Jesus takes us down. 

You see we easily doubt God's goodness when things don't go our way. This wasn't a new problem that came with Jesus, but it goes back to the book of Genesis and the Garden of Eden, which records the serpent casting doubt on God's words, ‘did God really say do not eat the fruit of any tree in the garden?’ Which of course God did not say in the first place, but the seeds of doubt were sown, and in our hearts we all have the natural inclination to doubt that God has our best interests at heart, which is why Jesus says, ‘listen carefully’. What did God really say? 

Did he promise us miraculous healing and relief from the pains of this life? Did he come to swish away all our problems and give us every good gift in this present world? We have our ideas of how the future should look, and we faithfully pray for these outcomes, but we can be discouraged and even lose our faith if things don't turn out as we imagine they should if God really has our best interests at heart.

But the truth is we have never been able to fathom Gods purposes. We live on a tiny planet in a corner of a universe 13.5 billion light years across, so vast that we cannot begin to comprehend it. Psalm 8 says, ‘When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of the, human beings that you care for them?’ God’s perspective is so far beyond ours that we cannot begin to grasp it. 

It doesn't take much reflection to realise this. God's creation includes genetic mutations which are necessary for evolution to occur, and yet these same mutations cause cancer which can kill us. The tectonic plates that recycle carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and make mountains and oceans also cause earthquakes which destroy. Sickness and death is built into God's world. The universe itself will die in time – it will either grow old and cold, or it will collapse in on itself. And then there is the catalogue of destruction of humans against humans that I have already listed. How do we understand God's purposes in all this? Is Richard Dawkins right? Is it just about whether we get lucky? 

In the Old Testament, Job experienced a life of very great suffering, and yet he was in the end rebuked by God for presuming to question God's purposes. In chapter 42 Job says this to God, ‘I know you can do all things, I know that no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘who is this who obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I do not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.’ Job concludes, ‘My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.’ 

Is Job just being foolish? A vulnerable man who is being bullied by God, when he should just admit that God, if he exists, is a cosmic psychopath who is blindly indifferent to the sufferings of human beings? 

We’ll come back to these questions, but for now we'll follow the passage a bit further.

The disciples are often unfairly criticised by modern commentators in my view for having such a vain and foolish discussion in verse 46 about who is the greatest. However, I wonder if there is not a general truth about human nature in their argument, which all of us are capable of and we would be missing the point to think they were being particularly obtuse here.

Their vision for the future sprung from their own wish fulfilment, and was therefore a human construction, in which as Jesus’s inner circle of disciples they could only imagine that they would end up with important jobs with their mate Jesus as boss. The last of the Ten Commandments is, ‘do not envy your neighbour,’ exactly because this is our natural instinct. If we do not define ourselves according to God's word, then we have to find our place in the order of things. Some have said we either reach out for demagogues or dictators who will tell us what to do, or we will follow fashion. But either way we compare ourselves with others in order to give our lives some purpose, and in doing so we feed the disappointment of realising that in such a world, Richard Dawkins is right, some people get lucky and others don't. 

Jesus’ answer gently points out that they could not be more wrong. In his world it is the least who is the greatest. This again is hard teaching to hear. Humility is more important than status in his world, when we put so much effort into trying to define our place in the hierarchy. And yet within a moment they are at it again in verse 49, as someone they didn't know was apparently casting our demons in Jesus’ name. Jesus here refuses to create divisions between insiders and outsiders, but rather sees all who are pursuing the right thing as being on the same side. 

But yet again the disciples failed to grasp what Jesus was saying, seeing the rejection by the Samaritan village in verse 53 as a reason to condemn because they believed they were defending their masters honour, and again Jesus rebuked the disciples. This too is a hard lesson, since they were now moving from a place where everyone marvelled at Jesus, to a place where he was not appreciated or welcomed. They still had not absorbed the truth that Jesus was to be delivered into the hands of men. 

Crowds can be fickle, and adulation at one moment can turn into vitriol the next. When they were to arrive in Jerusalem, they would find that the crowds would welcome Jesus with Hosannas and palm branches and a few days later would be crying out ‘crucify him’.

The disciples themselves who were so keen to defend his honour in the Samaritan village, run away, hide, desert and deny even knowing Jesus.

The purposes of God are simply much bigger than ours. We would want to win these small victories for our own egos but Jesus knows that the biggest problem we have is the problem of our hearts, and this cannot be solved by populist uprisings or quick fixes which appeal to our vanity. 

In verses 57-62, Jesus drives his message home more clearly in listing examples of what we might have to give up if we are to follow him. There is a cost to discipleship. We may have all sorts of wishes, to have the normal comforts such as even the animals have in verse 58, with fixes having holes and birds nests, or fulfilling our family duties before following him. Or we may be tempted to turn back and look at what we might have had if we didn't follow him. 

The German Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a book called, the cost of discipleship. He opens his book provocatively saying, ‘Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of the church’. He argues that we distort the good message of grace to our own advantage, that Jesus has given us everything for free by dying for us, so that we do not have to do anything to be accepted and loved by God. 

He writes, ‘Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance… Absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Christ, living and incarnate.’ 

On the other hand he writes, ‘Costly grace is the treasure hidden in a field; for the sake of it a man will gladly sell all that he has. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him…. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow,, and it is grace because it calls us to follow him. 

The teachings of Jesus in this passage are therefore very hard, and the disciples and followers of Jesus were constantly looking for cheap grace, when all that Jesus has to offer is costly grace. 

But it is the great paradox of this story, that the disciples did actually listen. At the beginning of his gospel account Luke writes ‘Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have happened among us, from those who were from the first, eye witnesses and servants of the word. I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning.’ 

So it seems certain that the only way we know about these conversations between Jesus and the disciples would be their own reports to those who compiled the gospel accounts. The disciples present themselves as stubborn fools who failed to listen to the words of Jesus. Years later, after Jesus had been crucified and raised from the dead, they did grasp and understand what he had said to them all those years before. They were no longer competing to be the greatest, or holding onto their sense of pride. Instead they had become like children, putting all their faith in Jesus alone, and telling the gospel writers just how stupid they had been. They present the story of Jesus going to the cross, not Jesus the populist. 

Far from being an uncaring God who is indifferent to our sufferings, Jesus participates in our sufferings, and suffers so that our hearts may be healed of their pride and their rebellion, and that we can can follow him by serving others without regard for what it might cost us. 

It would be a strange thing to do to invent a religion in which the heroes were such fools, and in which the main character is crucified. But the disciples had learnt the deep truth of costly Grace – following Jesus may be hard, but it is worth it. They could easily be quoting Job saying, ‘My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.’ 

Perhaps then we too should wrestle with these truths over months and years because they are so against everything that is instinctive to us. Our human inclinations are for cheap grace, for easy solutions, and for avoiding uncomfortable truths. But the costly Grace of Jesus may lead us to suffer now, for a greater prize in the future. When life seems hard, we need to remind ourselves that Jesus didn't promise it would be easy, but it is worth it because if who he is. We are asked to follow him.

Let us pray, ‘Heavenly Father we confess that we do not listen carefully to your words. We fail to see that you have warned us that there is a cost to following you, and we feel disappointed, and start to doubt your goodness when life does not go the way we feel it should. We pray that we would be reminded that far from avoiding suffering, you chose the road to the cross because you wish to solve the problem of pride in our hearts, and we know you alone have the power to do this. We pray that you would help us to listen carefully to what you say, so that we are not misled by our own desires and plans. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.’

Luke 9:28-45

Martin Scorcese’s new film Silence. Many of you will have seen it. Based on the novel of the same name by the Japanese Roman Catholic author Shusako Endo. It is, i think, a stunning, eviscerating film. It tells the story of two young Jesuit Priests in the mid 17thC who enter Japan, where Christians are undergoing brutal persecutions - torture, beheadings, crucifixions - (The very things incidentally that are happening today to christians in Aleppo). The young Jesuits go in search of an older Priest who had been their mentor and who, it is rumoured, has apostasized: abandoned the faith. It is a story about the challenge of faith in the face of violent persecution. A story about incomprehensible suffering and the silence of God. 

Why would God permit these people to suffer so much? Asks the young Father Rodriguez. And why is God silent? 

It is suffering which so often causes us to question God - his trustworthiness, his reality. 

We come, i presume, to trust and love God because we encounter his goodness, his glory; his love in Jesus Christ. He spoke to us through the Scriptures and became real to us. And we would love to stay in that place. That mountain top experience of God. Peter, on the mount of transfiguration wants to build shelters to keep Moses and Elijah and Jesus there - to hold onto the glory; Make it last forever. But life with God is not lived on the mountain top but in the valley; in the real world of spiritual struggle where the other disciples in our passage find themselves. 

Life, for the most part, is full of stuggles isn’t it? For many in our world right now their lot is extreme poverty and hunger or violence, war, persecution, homelessness and loss. Even if we do not find our selves in such desperate circumstances we all know what it is to struggle - often alone - with disappointments, deep sadnesses, unrealised dreams, broken or difficult relationships, emotional problems, mental or physical illness, addictions and compulsions. Life is full of pains and griefs. 

Well how are we to think about God and suffering?

Our tendency in our culture is to think that all should be healthy and painless and well. That should be what God would want for us and therefore as contemporary followerers or would-be followers of Jesus Christ when suffering comes we stop trusting that God is in control - he’s absent and we feel that he has abandoned us - He is silent. 

In this section of Luke’s gospel. Focus has changed from ‘who Jesus is’ to ‘what it means to follow him’.

Jesus is teaching his disciples how they are to cope in the real world of spiritual struggle. He’s just told them that suffering is coming - that he - the Christ is going to suffer and die! and following him will mean sacrifice for them. But now he takes his 3 closest followers up the mountain to reassure them that he is always in control and that he is not silent. 

And there are 2 things that disciples in a broken world must do: 

they must [Stop], Look and Listen  

Look at Jesus 

Listen to Jesus 

Keep looking, keep listening 

1. LOOK at Jesus 

If our tendency when suffering comes is to lose our heads - our trust in God goes, he becomes abstract, our belief in his reality wavers, prayer dries up… We need to look to see that he is in control 

28 About eight days after Jesus said this [- that is: telling his disciples about his death and the cost of following him], he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 

What a sight this must have been. as Jesus is transfigured. for a moment the veil is lifted and Jesus’ true identity and glory as the eternal son of God is revealed. the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 

Look at who he is. 

v30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendour, talking with Jesus. 

There’s a lot of chat about why Moses and Elijah are here. Moses represents the law, Elijah the prophets - ok. Jesus is like Moses because he’s leading the people of God into a new era and he’s like Elijah because he is promised to come again in the future.. 

But isn’t it really just because Moses and Elijah are the two most heavyweight dudes from the OT and they’re on Jesus’ team. AndJesus is shown to be far greater even than they!

31 They spoke about Jesus’ departure, which he was about to bring to fulfilment at Jerusalem. And Peter wants to hold onto the glory - he doesn’t want them to leave. The cloud - always associated with the glorious presence of God - comes down. And If the presence of Moses and Elijah wasn’t affirmation enough.. God the Father speaks.. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.’ 

this is my Son! Jesus is the Son of God. The Father bursts with pride and can’t contain himself. Like that interview with Bert Le Clos by Clare Balding at the 2012 Olympics when His son, Chad Le Clos the South African swimmer had just won the gold medal in the 100m butterfly, Bert sees his son and is just overcome, "Look at my boy, Look at my son, he’s beautiful, he’s beautiful,"

This is my Son - the Father bursting with pride affirms Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God. 

But 'Son of God' is also a title that Scripture gives to the Messiah, the promised deliverer King That’s who Jesus is: Son of God, the rescuer King of glory. Nothing escapes his control. Look at who he is - clothed in Lightning! 

When suffering comes and remains we do not know what the reason for it is, but we know what the reason is not. It is not because God is not in control, or is not there, or doesn’t care. Jesusis the King. One day his glory will transfigure and heal this whole sad world. 

—

The next day v37 Jesus and the 3 come down the mountain. Back into the real world of spiritual struggle. And down in the valley the other disciples have been confronted with the pain of a poor family’s predicament. A man who has a son, his only child. And the child has quote ‘a spirit that seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him.’  

What a terrible thing. What awful suffering. The disciples have tried to help but their faith has gone even before they even started. "how could God allow this? where is God?" They do not pray.. 

40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, says the man but they could not.’ 

Jesus rebukes his disciples for their unbelief. they are a part of a faithless and crooked generation. And then Jesus himself in his compassion and power heals the boy and gives him back to his father. 

Look at who Jesus is. He is not absent.  

Be reassured. he is in control

It’s not easy to trust in the face of struggle. We need the Holy spirit’s help to see with the eyes of our hearts. To see jesus deeply, trulyin a way that really changes us. We need to Pray. 

Pause to pray. Open our eyes to see. 

Look at Jesus - he is not absent 

2. Listen to Jesus 

If our tendency when suffering comes is to despair ..to think that God is silent, that he has abandoned us.. We need to listen to Jesus.. We need to Listen to him about his death.

This is my son, my chosen, listen to him says God the Father in v35 This is my son, my chosen, listen to him

Just as ‘My Son’ is a reference to a title in the OT - a title for the promised deliverer King - the Messiah/the Christ 

‘My Chosen’ is also a reference to an OT figure that Jesus is the fulfilment of. The mysterious figure of ‘the servant’ in the prophecies of Isaiah - He is the ‘chosen one of God.’ (Isaiah 41:9, 42:1, 43:10), The servant….Chosen … to suffer ….for US. 

Remember Isaiah 53 

He was pierced for our transgressions, 

he was bruised for our iniquities, 

The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, 

and by his wounds we are healed  

Jesus is the suffering servant - Listen to him 

When Jesus speaks with Moses and Elijah on the mount of transfiguration they speak v31 about his departure, his death .. 

strange conversation to have. But actually that word there translated departure, if you look in the footnote, is the greek word for 'exodus'. Of course exodus means departure but in the Jewish mind it means so so much more…Because in the exodus/passover event the death of the lambs meant the rescue of Israel - departing the slavery ofEgypt for the freedom of the promised land. 

Jesus, in his untimely, unjust death, shows us how seemingly inexplicable suffering can have a redemptive purpose. How suffering will ultimately give way to glory: The death of the lamb will mean the redemption of the world from the slavery of sin and sickness and suffering and death. 

Listen to jesus about his suffering. About who he is for you and for the world. 

Look at what Jesus says to his disciples down in the valley after he has healed the boy. v43 

While everyone was marvelling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, 44 ‘Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: [literally: let these words sink into your ears] the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.’ 

Listen to Jesus about his suffering for you

There’s a scene towards the end of Scorceses’ Silence when the persecutions are long past, christianity has been suppressed in Japan and one of the priests Father Rodriguez after many years begins to pray again.. And a voice plays in his head, perhaps it is the voice of God. It says. “I suffered with you. I was not silent”

The suffering of Jesus with us, and for us is God’s constant word to us in the midst of our sufferings. God has spoken and continues to speak in the sufferings of the Son of God. He is not silent. 

Listen to him. Let these words sink into your ears

This week. Struggling to handle some disappointment: I’d been helping with arts club and hardly anybody turned up! I kept praying and nobody was coming through the door. God was silent. (Actually a handful of lovely people did come and we think people are just not in the pattern of it yet.) But i took it personally. It felt at the time like a rejection. And i found myself saying to God,  "Lord, we’re trying to do something for you; make you known - why are you letting this happen?? Why are you silent??" And then I thought about this sermon and what Jesus might say to my 'Why is it so hard. Why do people reject us?' 

Jesus would say,  'I was rejected, I was deserted, I’m not silent'

When you’re let down or turned on by colleagues at work or even friends. And you say 'Why is this happening God? Why are you silent??'

Jesus says I was deserted, I was betrayed. I am not silent. 

When you Lose everything you have, even your very life. 'How can God allow this?? God, why are you silent?'

Jesus says I was crucified. I am not silent

Listen to Jesus about his suffering for you

Of course just as it is not easy to Look, to see.. it is not easy to Listen and hear . the disciples did not understand v45. They didn’t understand what it meant when Jesus said he would suffer they did not grasp it. v45

We need the Holy Spirit’s help to have ears to hear. To hear Jesus deeply, truly in a way that really changes us. To work his word into our bitter trials and disappointments until they bring a sweetness and a trust. 

Let’s pray.