Sermons

Re-imagining the Church. [Eph. 2] Ephesians 1: 20 – 23;  2: 11 – 22  William Blake said, “What is now proved was once only imagined.” Our imagination plays a very important part in our human development. Imagination is the faculty or action of forming new ideas from our knowledge, experience and interpretation of life. Without imagination we remain stuck in the same place. We need to use the faculty of imagination to gather knowledge, interpret it and organise it in a way that is meaningful. The world that confronts us in our schools, democracy, architecture, music and art was first conceived in the imagination. There is very little in our world that exists that was not first conceived in the imagination. Except, I venture to say, the negativity and cynicism and pretence to be truly real. We can only be thankful to the imagination of the reformers and thinkers like Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, William Wilberforce, and Nelson Mandela who imagined a world that would give dignity to the poorest of the poor, a world without slavery and a nation free of institutional racism.  Mandela said;  “The power of imagination created the illusion that my vision went much further than the naked eye could actually see.”   The faculty of imagination comes from God the Creator whose imagination gave us this amazing world and has given us a picture of how we can best enjoy this world. The Bible calls us to imagine a world that is different: a world free of divisions, fear, despair, hatred and cynicism.  Different writings in the Bible provide us with insights: some more beautiful and hopeful than others.  As the first Christians came to adjust to the vision of life Christ gave to them they struggled to apply it. Many of the NT writings show us their struggles and failures. And that is helpful. Ephesians is one of those letters that provides us with a comprehensive picture of the Church.  Today in the face of decline and uncertainty it is wise to ponder God’s vision of Church compared with ours. Albert Einstein said; “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” You know what you think the Church is. I will leave you to compare your picture of the Church with God’s picture. God gives us many metaphors that help us understand what the Church is.  The first thing we are told about the Church is that it is a united community. The first mark of the Church is its unity. It is God’s plan to gather up all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth [Eph 1:10; Rom 8: 18-25].  After Jesus died on the Cross the Jewish leaders and Roman administrators, who executed Jesus, thought it was all over. But instead something amazing happened. No I am not thinking of the Resurrection, I am thinking of those groups of people around the empire who were formerly enemies becoming communities of love and compassion. I don’t think we always understand the division and enmity between Jew and Gentile in those days. The separation ran deep, seething with dislike. However after Jesus’ death and Resurrection bands of followers, Jew and Gentile, came together. The world witnessed a new phenomenon: alienated people reconciled and becoming a community of love. This is the first testimony to the Resurrection of Jesus the Christ.  This new people are called Christians [2: 11f.].   Ephesian chapter 2, which we read today, spells this out so clearly. It is expressed again and again in the Bible that Christ Jesus, raised from the dead, brought reconciliation into the world. Galatians speaks of there being no difference between Jew and Greek, male and female, slave and free, when we are baptised into the name of Christ Jesus [Gal 3: 27-29; cf. 2 Cor 5]. Our unity is a testimony to the work of God in Christ. Yes, we may fail, but isn’t it wonderful to gather with the church and find our divisions extinguished by our being in Christ.  The people alongside us are our siblings. Sure we get on with some of our siblings better than others, but blood is thicker than water, and that person with whom you don’t get on so well is your brother or sister in Christ. You are spiritually related. And our heavenly parent and brother do not smile upon our disunity. The second thing that the Church has is the fullness of Christ [1:23].  The Church is a collection of people gathered in the name of Christ Jesus – Christians. Christ incorporates us into his body and we are one with Christ. Jesus told us that this would happen when he spoke to us of himself being the vine and we the branches, in John’s account of the Gospel, chapter 15. The sap in the vine is the same sap in the branches. The vine is one: root, trunk and branches are all one. That is what the Church is: Christ’s body on earth [1: 23].  That is the notion which pervades the New Testament and our theology. We are Christ’s body on earth. We become little christs to the world. We are the branches reaching out bearing the fruit of the Christ – reconciling love, compassion, justice and forgiveness. Thirdly many metaphors are used to describe our unity. We are described as citizens [2:19]. For the first Christians the metaphor helped them understand that God saw them not as Jew and Gentile, but as a new people. The other metaphor, which is far more intimate than citizen, is household – a family. One cannot express it more clearly than what Paul writes; So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God [2:19].  Fourthly, there is the image of growth suggesting the Church is like a plant or a human body [2: 21].  The Church is a growing a thing.

Sit, Walk, Stand. [Eph. 1] Ephesians 1: 1-2, 3-8,20-21; 2: 4-6; 4: 1-3,17; 6: 10-13 By letting go and letting God we get everything – wow!  Many of you will remember the days of the radio with its round dials, which we twiddled and twisted to tune in to the station. Some old films included scenes of crucial moments of getting tuned in to call for help. Today with digital connectivity we just turn on, but today’s connectivity and communication are dependent upon the right settings and passwords.   Getting tuned in or setting the correct parameters for our computers and digital gear is like tuning in. Otherwise things don’t go well. In some cases they just don’t work. Getting the order right is important. Getting the order right with God is equally important. Without the right connection or being ‘tuned in’ our communication with God in Christ will be fuzzy, weak if not unhelpful. For me one of the most important things for us Christians is to enjoy the blessing and the power of God in our lives. We are meant to be strong and powerful in our love. That is why I find the epistle or letter to the Ephesian Church so helpful. Today I am commencing a series of sermons on Ephesians that address the getting of things in the right order so our life with God is well connected and meaningful.  I hope that in this series of sermons and week-day studies of the Epistle to the Ephesian Christians we see more clearly the way God works with us; what God has done for us in Christ Jesus; and, the purpose of the Christian life.  It is a gem of a letter. The writer, I take it to be Paul, provides a wonderful explanation of our life in Christ and what the Church is. That is what I want to share with you. I studied the epistle in some depth while on leave. I want us to focus on living the Christ orientated Cross-shaped life rather than gathering information to either support our belief system or tickle our fancy.  This first sermon in the series is an overview and takes us to the key framework for our Christian life. Paul uses three verbs, to sit, to walk and to stand to describe the Christian life.   In chapters 1verse 20 and 2 verse 6 we are told that the Christian life begins with us being seated with Christ.  Paul wrote of the immeasurable greatness of his (God’s) power for us who believe when he raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. Then God, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus  [2: 4-6]. This is an amazing picture, but this is not the only place where we find it. There are a number of places in Scripture where we are told that Jesus was raised from the dead and he ascended to the throne room of God in heaven and was seated at the right hand of God the Father. This thinking is grounded in the prophetic word in Psalm 110:1 [cf. 8:6], and expressed in Acts [2:34], Romans [8:34], and Hebrews [1: 3, 13; 10:12]. Christ Jesus is one with God the Father and reigns with God. This is easy for us to understand, but Paul goes on to say that we will be seated with Christ Jesus when we come to Jesus. That image is also expressed in Revelation [3:21] and implied in Colossians  [2:12]. This is an is amazing concept that we, through the loving grace of God extended to us in Christ Jesus, are incorporated into the God-head and sit on the throne with Jesus. The first thing this tells us is that we sit with Christ, not because we have achieved something, but God has graciously received us and adopted us.  The second important thing this tells us is that we share the victory of Christ over evil. The throne of God depicts God’s rule over all. Christ Jesus by his side tells us that Christ rules over all as well. The image of being seated with his enemies under his feet, demonstrates that Christ Jesus through his death and resurrection has destroyed the power of evil. Again and again we read in the NT that Jesus has destroyed the power of evil through his sacrificial love on the Cross. And our being seated with him demonstrates that truth. Jesus taught his disciples this truth. Recall John 15 and Jesus saying he is the vine and we are the branches.  That picture tells us that when we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour we are incorporated into the being of Christ: we are included through Christ as the family of God.  Ephesians tells us that the first thing that happens in our incorporation into Christ Jesus is that we sit down with him. The Christian life begins with sitting down. Now we may have a problem with this sequence.  First we are to sit and then we are to walk.  In our world, in our way of doing things, we think of walking first and then sitting. We think of earning the right to sit. But with God we can never earn that right. Rather it is a free gift. We might understand this notion of sitting first and then walking the faith if we look to other Biblical passages. In the first Creation story in Genesis we are told that God created the world in six days and on the 7th God rested. Note that God created humankind on the sixth day. That means that the first day for humankind was a rest day! After humanity is created humanity rested. Humanity

WISE UP  – Homily by Geoff Serpell HOMILY AT LEIGHMOOR 19 AUGUST 2018 Ephesians 5: 15-20 In today’s first reading, from the Old Testament Kings, the story of King David has come to an end. He reigned as king for forty years. Solomon, now rules in his father’s place, offering lavish sacrifices at the high places of worship. Early in his reign, God appears to him in a dream and tells him to request whatever he desires. Solomon confesses his inadequacy for the task of being the king and asks the Lord for wisdom, that he might discharge his duties justly. God is pleased with this request and grants Solomon more than he requests; in addition to wisdom, he bestows wealth and fame. One observation to make is how Solomon kept his realm at peace by the technique of him marrying all the daughters of surrounding chieftains who otherwise would be taking up arms against the wealthy Solomon. 1 Kings 11-3 tells us he married 700 princesses and in addition, had 300 concubines. Our Psalm today holds the gem in verse 10: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”. In our passage today in Ephesians, the focus falls first on wisdom. Both in 5:15 and 5:17, comes the emphasis on wisdom. Why? Earlier in Ephesians, mention is made of unfruitful works such as darkness, hidden, shameful behaviour. There is comment on false teachers going astray in mind and deeds.  Paul gives warnings in general, to be alert, and have wisdom and understanding. Thus the need to discern between froth and bubble and what is authentically Christian. Ephesians said that its days were ‘evil’ and that people should exercise good time management [5:16] and use every opportunity in the life of faith, and that is no less true today.  Allow me to share possibly again something about use of time:- “The magic bank account”:- Imagine you won this prize in a contest; each morning your bank deposited $86,400 into your bank account. Rules apply:- You lose everything not spent each day You may not transfer the money into another account You may only spend it. Each morning upon waking, the bank opens your account with another $86,400 The bank can end the game without warning; It can say “Game over”. It can close the account .What would you do? You would buy anything and everything you wanted, right? Not only for yourself but for family and friends you love and care for. Maybe even for those you don’t know because you couldn’t possibly spend it all on yourself, right?  Actually the game is real. Each of us is already the winner of this prize. The prize is not money, it is time. Each day we receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life. When we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is not held in the account but lost forever. Yesterday is gone. Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve the account at any time without notice or warning. So what do we all do with our precious 86,400 seconds each day? Reflection:-Worth more than mere money, those seconds can be used for much good, and as we are aware, time flies quicker than you think. We shouldn’t complain about growing old. So many people do not get the privilege. Find time for others. Find time for God. Do you find you just can’t find the Time? From Graeme Smith, a professional artist, comes this:- How do you busy people find the time to take on something new? The main reason people fail when they start a career or new vocation is they have no clear direction. Ideally your goals should be measurable. Set annual goals Reduce the list to the five top priorities Set daily goals You will be the only person holding you accountable Do you have all the right skills for the tasks?  I applied a fair bit of the above principles whilst writing our family history. I had horded a wealth of personal information about the olds and tapped into a wonderful person at State Library Victoria. Then I found via my daughter in law a facilitator who took my writings and fashioned the words and photos into a book printed via on line in USA. Within a week of completion I had delivered twenty five copies which are primarily aimed as letters to our great grandchildren. Why were the letters aimed to people I may never meet? One reason, a strong reason is that I hold the hope that they will embrace the gospel enunciated by my great grandfather in his memoirs written in 1914 just before he died in 1915. I quoted his words at the start of my book and also at the conclusion. Here is hoping the words make an impact with that generation, long after I am pushing up daisies. The early Christians needed to understand or wise up, to what the will of the Lord really is [5:17] Love and the dignity of all peoples are paramount to the Ephesians, above national or sectional interests. Anything which discounts other human beings, both those alive now and those of future generations who will inherit our planet and whose welfare we affect by our stewardship of it, is contrary to love. 5:18 has a playful contrast between wine and spirit. If we are to get excited and ecstatic, let it not be alcohol induced, but arise from the joy of the Spirit in the community. Wine is not under attack but drunkenness is.  Paul warns against being filled with alcoholic spirits, which can lead to debauchery and drunkenness. Being full of booze causes one to act in a foolish and destructive manner. On the Insight SBS TV show on 24thJuly program it was stated that drinking by women over one glass per day can lead to up to a 60% increased chance of breast cancer. We need to be filled rather with God’s

The Prophetic Voice of Truth. Psalm 51; 2 Samuel 11: 26 – 12: 13a; John 6: 24 – 35a What is the work we should be doing?   “Nobody in Australia much likes whistleblowers, particularly in an organisation like the police or the government.” This statement is attributed to the former NSW Police Commissioner Tony Lauer in the 1990s, and largely summed up the official government and police attitudes towards whistleblowers during that period. Fast forward to 2012 and a survey by Griffith University found that while 80 per cent of Australian employees feel personally obliged to blow the whistle on wrongdoing in their organisations, only 49 per cent felt their managers would be serious about protecting them – and only 33 per cent of federal public servants felt likewise. We may be more comfortable about whistleblowing but that does not make it easier. There is a cost to pointing out something that is wrong. The cost begins with the personal turmoil it takes to speak out and confront, but that is nothing compared to losing your job, rejection, jail and outright persecution that may follow. At the social level if we speak the truth we run up against our culture of niceness. So we remain quiet and hide behind the notion of not wanting to upset people. I belonged to the Christian Institute in South Africa. It was founded in 1963 by a number of concerned Church leaders. Two principal leaders were the Reverends Beyers Naudé and John de Gruchy.  In my time in the 70s Beyers Naudé was the Director and Theo Kotze his deputy.  Theo was a Methodist Minister and he asked me to help him build bridges and awareness in the provincial city where I ministered, Kimberley, South Africa.  That I did. I learnt a lot and I saw some wonderful examples of the breaking down of racial barriers in churches. The whites, blacks and so-called-coloured people all had their own churches.  But some of us got together. Our youth group met regularly with the ‘coloured’ church’s youth.  Today I want to focus on the role of the prophetic voice that speaks the truth. Theo told me how he had received threatening phone calls and on one occasion he arrived home to find that bullets had been sprayed across the front of the house. No one had been home at the time. Was it coincidental or planned that no one was home at the time?  He took it to be the latter. He took it to be deliberately done to intimidate. We migrated to Sydney arriving January 1977. That year the Christian Institute was banned. Beyers Naudé was put under house arrest and Theo Kotze was smuggled out of the country to continue the work overseas. Pointing out the wrong to anyone is not easy. In some instances when the wrong is deliberately undertaken to serve the interests of a few, those in power will do their utmost to silence voices that speak against the wrongdoing. It is not surprising that some have suffered much for speaking out. The powerful will always work to silence the prophetic voice unless there is a higher voice that the powerful acknowledge.  It is interesting to note that the peace marchers under Martin Luther King’s leadership were largely successful because the American Constitution recognised their rights and Federal officers protected them. With all this in mind let us turn to the text and the story of King David, Bathsheba, Uriah her husband and Nathan the prophet.  King David’s actions of stealing Uriah’s wife and then having Uriah killed in battle were not surprising for a king to do in those times. What’s more surprising is the back-story. The main player there is Nathan. Bathsheba is the victim as is Uriah.  Let us remind ourselves. Nathan enters the story and tells King David that it is a good thing to build the temple; he returns the next day to advise David that God does not want him to build the temple [2 Sam 7].  It would have been a hard task to tell the big boss that he got it wrong. But David listens. David listens to the voice of God spoken by the prophet. Then the next disaster happens. It is hard to know why this story emerges in the text. Is it because Bathsheba is the mother of Solomon?  That might be the case but it is not a story that pleases our senses. It is not a story that honours the great King David. It is only a story that honours the prophetic voice of truth.  The prophet comes to David and cleverly tells him the story of the rich man taking a poor man’s only lamb. David is angry, and rightly so, for anyone with any sense of justice would be angry. We are told that David “reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and equity to all his people”  [2 Sam 8:15]. For all David’s faults, his ruthless military and political strategy, he was a just king and sensitive to God.  Nathan’s story trapped the king. King David asked, ‘Who is this unjust rich man?’ Nathan points the finger at David and says, “You are the man!” [2 Sam 12:7]  Nathan reminds him of God’s blessing, which in turn reminds David that he has been greedy, devious and unjust.  There was no need to take another woman. He has plenty. He has no reason to take another man’s wife. That is against the Law of God.  The culture of the time speaks of a man being wronged not a woman being abused. But the point of the story is prophetic truth telling. Let us return to Nathan. He has been faithful and he has been bold in confronting David with the truth of God. There have been monarchs before and after who would have turned on the prophet and persecuted him.   For example, John the Baptist got a rum deal from King Herod for

Discerning God’s Will. 2 Samuel 7: 1 – 14a;  Ephesians 2: 11 – 22 David is the great king of Israel. David is the king that united the 12 tribes of Israel, established a nation, secured peace for Israel and provided a secure capital city, Jerusalem. Israel is important because God had chosen the people to be his earthly witnesses to God’s love and mercy. Now we haven’t been following the David story in the lectionary, but this week I paused at this very insightful passage and felt led to preach on it. In fact there is a direct connection to Nathan’s conversations with David about the temple and the letter to the Ephesian Church.  Today we read that David, having established his kingdom, built himself a palace, secured the great city of Jerusalem, then wanted to build a temple to God. David was a very spiritual and sensitive person. He gave us some beautiful psalms, not least of all is Psalm 23 – ‘The Lord’s my Shepherd’. He was also a brilliant and ruthless military and political leader. David’s desire was quite natural in the context of his day. The notion of building a temple, to be God’s house as is the palace the king’s house, may seem primitive to us. However that is how they saw it.  Every nation had a god and the god must be appropriately housed so others could see the god. The greatness of the temple signals the greatness of the god. By implication, the greater the temple, the greater the nation is. Before we rush to criticise such thinking, and we should critique it  – that is exactly what I want to do – remember we do similar things. We build great buildings to show our wealth. Not so long ago there was that wonderful Aussie middle class living in the comfortable triple front brick veneered or weather board house, with the Holden or Ford parked outside.  Look at our quarter acre housing blocks today where the twin carport sits in front of the house that covers 3/4s of the housing block like a small manor home. It speaks of the owner’s wealth and success. Look at our government buildings and our church buildings. They say no less. Our buildings are a statement about who we think we are. Let’s return to King David and Nathan. Until that time Israel, unlike all other nations, worshipped a god who did not reside in a temple. Rather God was present with them through the symbol of the Ark of the Covenant, which was protected by a tent. It symbolised God journeying with God’s pilgrim people.  Now Israel had arrived. Other nations had their city, palace and temple. So Nathan, the prophet, automatically affirmed David’s desire.  This great king wanted to build a great temple. It is fascinating what then took place, isn’t it?  Nathan returned to his residence and God spoek to him that night.. The next day Nathan delivered an uncomfortable message to King David;  ‘God doesn’t want you to build a temple, but the next king will’. Nathan then reminded David that God had been quite happy without a temple. That’s interesting isn’t it? Reading the Scriptures reveals no clear divine instruction to build a temple. Permission is given, yes, but no clear instruction to build. The first lesson this conversation offers is about discerning God’s will.  When David first tells Nathan of his intention to build a temple Nathan’s common sense tells him that this is right and God is with David [2 Sam 7: 1-3]. But when Nathan went to bed and had a few moments of quietness God tells Nathan to go and tell David; “Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” [7:5,7]. Given this statement I am asking, does God really want a temple to be built at all?  And I am wondering if the rest of Nathan’s comments about David’s heir building the temple is the ‘Word of God’ or is it just the word of Nathan? And really did Solomon build that wonderful Temple because it was all for God, or was a good bit of that saying, ‘Look at me and this nation we’re powerful and rich as is our god?’ The issue is what criteria do we use to determine God’s word to us?  Just because something is written in the Bible does not make it the Word of God.  E.g. the Bible tells me I can sell my daughters into slavery [Ex 21:7f]!  I say this as one who places great importance on the Bible. To me it is the book that I read first and the book I read last. I wish to discern God’s will through the Bible and in it I find a golden thread woven through its rich tapestry of life. The principles that help me to discern God’s will must conform to these basic facts:  We are created to be in relationship with God; to love God and others; we have misused our freedom to choose; and, God comes to rescue and renew us.  Whatever God wants us to do must conform to these basic principles of relationship, love for God and all others, recognition of our poor choices and our need for redemption. So God’s will always serves these interests.  I am not sure how a Temple meets these criteria. Now when you bring these principles to bear, especially the principles of our poor choices and need for redemption, is it not possible that Nathan was adding his bit about David’s heir building the temple to pacify the king?  Why I question this is that the history of the Jerusalem temple shows it not to be a blessing or means of redemption.  Let’s look at what happen. Solomon built an

Blessed Assurance. Psalm 24;  Ephesians 1: 1 – 14 It is very interesting researching the background to that famous song of praise, ‘Blessed Assurance’.  Looking at an old Methodist Hymn Book one reads that Mrs. J.F. Knapp wrote the music and Frances Jane van Alstyne wrote the words.  However the ‘Songs of Fellowship’ music book simply has Phoebe Palmer Knapp as the music composer and Fanny Crosby the lyrics composer. Who did what? And, why the interest anyway in this hymn? Well let me answer the second question first. The other day we celebrated the life of Pat Kelly and she had chosen three very lovely old hymns. One of them was ‘Blessed Assurance’.  A few people remarked on how they appreciated singing ‘Blessed Assurance’ again.  I know it so well that I can sing the first verse without looking at the words! It is a ‘stand out’ song of praise. So I thought I would return to the hymn and look at what we are singing about.  But before we look at the content of the hymn let us look at its background. It is so very interesting.  The story goes that Fanny Crosby was visiting her friend Phoebe Knapp. The Knapps were having a large pipe organ installed in their home. The organ was incomplete, so Mrs. Knapp, using the piano, played a new melody she had just composed. When Knapp asked Crosby, “What do you think the tune says?”, Fanny replied, “Blessed assurance; Jesus is mine.” Fanny immediately wrote down the words of ‘Blessed Assurance”. The hymn appeared in the July 1873 issue of Palmer’s Guide to Holiness and Revival Miscellany. It appeared on page 36 (the last page) with complete text and piano score, and noted that Fanny Crosby had copyrighted it that year. Because of Crosby’s lyrics, the tune is now called “Blessed Assurance.”  The mystery of the names is relatively simple. The musical score was composed by Phoebe Palmer Knapp (nee. Palmer) and she married Joseph Fairchild Knapp so naturally, as you would in the 1900s, Phoebe’s work is acknowledged by her married name of Mrs J. F. Knapp. Fanny Crosby was born Francis Jane Crosby and she married Alexander van Alstyne. Likewise she is noted as F.J van Alstyne. But Fanny became famous and published many of her songs of praise under her family name of Fanny Crosby.  Phoebe and Fanny composed together and another well know Gospel song is ‘Nearer the Cross”.  Fanny Crosby or (Mrs) Francis J Alstyne also wrote ‘To God be the Glory’ (AHB 147). But this is not a history lesson about names and what marriage did to women’s identity, but a reflection on their faith.  These two women, Phoebe and Fanny both deeply loved Jesus, contributed largely to congregational singing in the 1900s and the proclamation of the Gospel. Ira Sankey said that Fanny Crosby’s music contributed significantly to the success of the Sankey and Moody evangelistic campaigns.  So what can we learn from this song.  The first verse contains in a nutshell the Gospel – the good news that God saves us, makes us whole, welcome us, redeems us – what ever speaks to you and your experience of God in Christ Jesus. The first verse tells us about our salvation.  Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine: O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God; born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. How magnificent are these opening lines by this gifted woman of faith and poetry. They declare boldly the assurance we have that we are God’s because God has promised to restore us to the image of God.  They tell us that we don’t have to strive to please God. They tell us that the way to peace with God is trust grounded in God’s faithfulness to us.  Listen again to Paul’s words to the Church at Ephesus. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,  just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.  He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will [Eph 1: 3-5]. These thoughts begin with ‘blessedness’ that comes from heaven to us on earth. This is followed by God’s choosing us from the foundation of the world, which tells that from the beginning God wants a relationship with us for our good – our blessing.  God will bring us into the presence of God blameless. That is, our sins will be washed away and we will become God’s children. If we are God’s children then we are heirs of God’s fullness and richness.   And all this is achieved through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus – purchase of God, washed in His blood.  I’m not taking these expressions just literally, but images of that our salvation is God business not our own achievement. These thoughts are not Paul’s, or whoever the author of Ephesians might be. These thoughts are found scattered through the Scriptures. It is God who called Abraham and Sarah; it is God who called forth Moses, Miriam and Aaron to liberate the slaves in Egypt. When Jesus speaks of himself saying; the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many [Mk 10:45], he is saying he has come to serve like the ‘suffering servant’ in the Prophet Isaiah’s book [Is.53] and is the ‘Son of Man’ who comes from heaven to redeem us as described in the Daniel prophecy [Dan 7].   Jesus tells Nicodemus if he wants to be a child of God he must be ‘born again of the water and the Spirit’ and later says that all who believe in him will be saved [Jn 3:3,16]. Fanny Crosby’s lyrics are pure Scripture – the

The Source of Right Power. Psalm 48;  Mark 6: 2 Corinthians 12: 1 – 10 God’s power is perfected and magnified in our weakness.  Paul wrote to the Corinthians saying, “whenever I am weak, then I am strong” [2 Cor 12:10] It is fascinating how we love power; it is amazing how little we understand power.  This doesn’t prevent humans seeking power and exercising power.  Our trust in power to enforce our ideas or achieve our ends is widely displayed in the arenas of sport and politics, often in the work place and sadly also in the home. The Bible itself is interesting on the subject of power.  Take the Common Lectionary readings set for this Sunday the 8th.  There is the Psalmist [48] singing the praises of God because Jerusalem is a powerful city with an awe-inspiring Temple. Ancient Jerusalem in the times of King Solomon must have been truly awe-inspiring. Its powerful fortifications and magnificent Temple dominated the landscape parading the power of the Kingdom of Israel mistaken for the presence of God.  But, is this God’s way? Is the psalmist representing God’s intention or humankind’s pretensions?  We only have to think of the prophet Isaiah who spoke of the Servant of God as a suffering servant to realise that God may see things differently; or, to read the prophetic book of Hosea to see something of the vulnerable love of God; or, to recognise the power of the humble prophet-priest Samuel, whose spiritual discernment made him a king-maker but not a king;  or, the power of the poor speaker Moses, who led the people out of Egypt. It is interesting to reflect on God’s power being demonstrated in our weakness in our Western culture today! Our Gospel reading tells another story of power. Jesus’ disciples are sent on a mission. They are still in training. They are dispatched with Jesus’ authority and the power of the Holy Spirit.  But it is not their power; it is the power of God exercised through them. Yet even such awesome power comes with a gentle reserve. The disciples were instructed to treat people with honest and respect. There would be no imposition of God’s power on people. Instead, when God’s power is welcome we are empowered. Paul provides a delightful and provocative example of God’s power working in him.  He writes about it in his letters to the Corinthian church.  After addressing the issue of boastfulness, that was evidently present amongst the Corinthian church leaders, Paul speaks of what God has done through him.  Paul senses that God does not allow him to dwell upon his successes and enjoy them. Instead it seems that God has deliberately allowed Paul to be kept mindful that he is dependent upon God for his strength and success as a preacher of the Gospel of Christ Jesus.  Paul says; to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated.  Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. [2 Cor 12: 7-9] This very personal passage presents us with a profound spiritual truth.  God’s power is perfected and magnified in our weakness. After every major military victory in ancient Rome, a “triumph”,  as it was called, was celebrated. The victorious general led his triumphant parade of troops and prisoners through the streets to the temple of Jupiter. He was honoured before all the people.  One of the most interesting parts of this ceremony was that behind the general in the chariot stood a slave whose task was to hold a golden crown above the general’s head and whisper in the general’s ear, ‘Remember you are mortal’.  This no doubt was to save the general from hubris – arrogant or excessive pride.  We don’t know what Paul’s ‘thorn in the flesh’ was precisely. It may well have been some persistent persecution or insults or hardships, which served to remind Paul that what he was accomplishing was not of his own doing.  I think that all spiritually aware servants of God know where their real power comes from, and that power is manifest in their weakness or inadequacy.    God’s power does not come upon us because we have some inadequacy or addiction.  To discern God’s power we need to discern what is the weakness, what is its source and what purpose does it serve.  According to Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he suffers from insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  Paul lists what he has endured in chapter 13: beatings, imprisonment, persecution and a shipwreck.  These weighed upon him, draining his energy and may have caused him to doubt himself. Paul was confronted by such challenges to his mental equilibrium, physical strength and spiritual endurance. God, he may have prayed, please release me from these endless attacks. It could be that some person or persons attacked him personally. Such attacks do affect us adversely.  They are not easy to take. Paul knew his weakness like Moses knew his inadequacy in speaking. Now Paul is not saying that his weakness is due to his sin or bad choices or some form of addiction. Rather the source is Satan, says Paul, who has sent a messenger to torment him. [2 Cor 12:7] In other words doing the good things of God has resulted in a backlash from the evil in the world. It is not uncommon to find ourselves facing criticism, rejection and sometimes violence because we represent God to others. Sadly such attacks can come from within the Church.  What we can say is that God uses these attacks of evil for God’s purposes. Satan attacks us to prevent us from doing God’s

The Mystery of Suffering. Mark 6: 1 – 13; 2 Corinthians 1: 1 – 11 Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. (Helen Keller.)  Helen Keller at the age of two contracted an illness that rendered her deaf and blind. Through an amazing teacher she progressed by the age of six to communicate effectively. Helen is the first American deaf-blind person to attain a Bachelor of Arts. She became a well know humanitarian and was the co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union. Paul wrote to the Roman Christians saying; “we boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,  and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, … because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” [Rom 5:2-5]. The first thing I want to say about our theme today is that Suffering is a reality of life. There is the apocryphal story of the Buddhist monk in training.  One day his mentor said to him, Today when you take your rice bowl and go and beg for food, you must first ask this question; ‘have you suffered?’  ‘You may take the gift of food only if the person has not suffered.’ The young Buddhist monk went off with his begging bowl as usual. At every place he asked if they had suffered.  After a long day he returned to the monastery. His begging bowl was … empty, for everyone he asked had suffered in one way or another. Everyone suffers in some way or other and at some stage or another in life. Suffering comes in many forms and leaves its mark upon us. What we can determine is the nature of suffering’s mark on our lives. We can’t avoid suffering, but we can determine how it will affect us. When we suffer we often ask questions. A not uncommon one is,  ‘Why did God allow this to happen?’  This is not a helpful question. Firstly, we must say there are many causes for suffering ranging from natural causes related to our growing and nature’s continueing development and our self-centredness. Secondly, God has given us freedom to choose, so that we can have relationships. We can’t have a relationship with God if we’re puppets and neither can we have relationships with each other if we are mere machines. Our freedom is crucial to our humanity. However we make bad choices at times, which add to our and other’s suffering.  Finally, if we did know the answer to ‘why?’ we would still have to deal with our suffering. This maybe the most compelling reason for setting aside the ‘why’ question. The question that really matters is; ‘what can I learn from this suffering?’ The first Christians experienced suffering through persecution.  The Christian believer started behaving differently to the general population. The population rejected and persecuted them. They learnt that suffering led to maturity in their faith. Helen Keller’s understanding of the influence of suffering is very similar to the biblical perspective, and especially Paul’s. Let’s reflect on this some more. We go to our doctors so that the pain can be relieved, but we go to our ministers and counsellors so that pain can be accepted. Now suffering at the physical level can find relief through medication and in most cases a cure. But at the same time we are still suffering. Then there is the suffering of soul and mind. Confronting the suffering, whether physical, spiritual or mental, often creates more pain as we examine it. When we reflect on our suffering we uncover it not mask it. We uncover it not to be resigned to what is happening but to accept it. Resignation leads to the suffering being suppressed, while acceptance leads to suffering being examined and evaluated.  The encounter between minister and parishioner, counsellor and client, deepens the pain of the suffering. This may be the main task of a minister/counsellor so to prevent people from suffering for the wrong reasons. Many suffer because of the false assumption that there should be no loneliness, no confusion, no doubt, heartache, or brokenness in life.  However the reality of life is that all this happens, which reminds us of our mortality and the human condition. We can only address them positively when we face them. When we read about the first Christians they developed an interesting understanding of their suffering. They saw their suffering as an opportunity to share in the suffering of Jesus. They saw their suffering as something they should accept just as Jesus accepted his sacrificial giving for the world. In their suffering they shared in the hope of the Resurrection. So Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4: 10 that Christians are always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. Again in Philippians we read that God has graciously granted you the privilege of not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well. [1:29] And our response to suffering is to rejoice and be thankful that we can witness through our suffering [Rom 5: 1ff]. And we are reminded in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. They understood that suffering gave them a ministry of consolation. Paul expresses this in the opening words of 2 Corinthians 1, which we read this morning. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. [2 Cor 1: 3-4] Here is the Christian framework for suffering.  Firstly, we see our suffering as sharing in Christ’s suffering.  Secondly, through

What is Truth?  John 1:14; 14: 1–6; 16: 12-14; 18: 37-38 It’s hard see truth when surrounded by much falseness.   What is truth? Pilate may have asked Jesus that question, but countless people before and after Pilate have also asked that question. What is truth?  The word, truth, is a slippery word, that’s the truth of the matter.   ‘Truth’ is most often used to indicate a correspondence between what is said and reality. It is used to describe the faithfulness to a standard or an account of what has happened. This would be the common usage of the word.  It also means something is genuine. Reports received are assessed on their truth value. I wonder what the Air Force made of these reports made by pilots to the maintenance staff and the replies they received?  One might wonder where or what the truth is in these reports.  They read like this: Problem: Left inside main tyre almost needs replacement. Solution: Almost replaced left inside main tyre. Problem: Test flight OK, except autoland very rough. Solution: Autoland not installed on this aircraft. Problem: The autopilot doesn’t. Signed off: IT DOES NOW. Problem: Something loose in cockpit. Solution: Something tightened in cockpit. Problem: Evidence of hydraulic leak on right main landing gear. Solution: Evidence removed. Problem: DME volume unbelievably loud. Solution: Volume set to more believable level. Problem: Dead bugs on windshield. Solution: Live bugs on order. Sometimes the truth is a little confusing, if not amusing. Jesus had said to Pilate, for this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. Jesus’ response to Pilate would have seemed mystifying  if not rather silly. Who would listen to this beaten, whipped, half naked victim of political machinations? What truth does this man know that is so important to bear witness to? What would such a man know about truth? Pilate knew what was the truth. To him it was the power of Caesar, the emperor, who made truth in his own image. It was the truth of dominant power over the masses enforced through the great administration of the empire and its legions of soldiers. But things weren’t what they looked like.  We know that. We stand on the other side of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and we know what Jesus achieved. It is the truth he witnessed to on that day that we witness to today. We have reflected on the power of Jesus.  Jesus’ self-giving love was the only way that evil’s power could be broken. Jesus confronted the evil with the power of love and love prevailed. Jesus’ love lives on through his followers – people like us.  But what is this truth Jesus speaks of? Our readings tell us a lot about the Truth. In them we see, what we find in the whole Bible, that ‘truth’ is the very being and essence of God.  The Bible declares that God is love and we can conclude that God is truth.  It does make sense.  If God is the Creator of this universe then all things come from God.  Nothing exists that is not of God.  Therefore as love is found in its complete fullness in God, so it is with truth.  God is truth. Truth is part of the nature of God and as Jesus fully reflects God, Jesus also reflects the truth of God. Likewise the Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of truth leading us into all truth.  In John’s account of the Gospel John provides us with a deep understanding of the relationship of God the Creator, Jesus the Redeemer and the Spirit of Truth. In these three expressions of God we see how truth resides in God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.   Where else could truth come from? Surely not humans?  We have shown by our bad choices that we seek our own interests and that we know little of truth.  At best we understand the distorted truth that serves our self-interest.  John wants us to understand this Biblical truth that Jesus comes full of grace and truth [Jn 1:8,14]; that Jesus is the truth [14:6];  and, that the Spirit is the Spirit of Truth [16:13].  Finally, Jesus declares to Pilate that he has come to witness to the Truth.  Let’s hear these texts again. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. [1:14] Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [14: 6] When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth … [16:13]. Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate asked him, “What is truth?” [18:37,38] So when we follow Jesus and experience the Spirit we enter into the Truth and become part of it. The Truth is about love, justice, mercy, kindness, faithfulness and loyalty.  Our deeds and words express these things and in so doing we practise the truth.  Based on the Bible and Jesus I am defining the truth as – Faithfulness:  God is faithful. God’s love and mercy is constant. God has not given up on God’s creation. So for us to be truthful is for us to be faithful. Faithfulness always requires another. In the first instance we are to be faithful to God and secondly to others around us – friend and foe. A faithful person is constant, reliable and a lover of others. The faithless person loves themselves more than others and lacks dependability. What else would you expect from others

My Neighbour who is not my Neighbour? Leviticus 19: 9 – 22;  Luke 10: 25 -37 Love your neighbour or is it being a good neighbour? I was travelling on the open road on the way to take a service at Douglas – a rural community near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. It is an expansive arid region.  All of a sudden I saw a man lying next to his bicycle on the opposite shoulder of the road, as I flashed by at 120ks. My mind raced. As usual I was running close to my timeline. I didn’t have much extra time. I wondered for a moment and then I thought of Jesus’ story about the Good Samaritan. Yes, a priest passed by too busy to stop. I realised in a flash that being late for the service was nothing in the light of someone in need. I quickly pulled up my car and did a smart U-turn.  There were no other cars on the road. In fact I didn’t come across one that morning on the road. I drove back and pulled up. I got out and looked around wondering how I was going to handle whatever. I wondered if any others were around watching me. The man was very still, sort of half over his fallen bicycle. There was no blood and no signs of skid marks on the road.  He seemed to be sleeping. I gently touched the man and spoke to him. He stirred. He had been asleep. And he was annoyed with me for waking him up. He wasn’t in need of help. He just needed to sleep. Obviously he had a good time drinking and too drunk to ride fell off his bicycle. Fortunately he fell onto the shoulder of the road just off the tarmac. And I, the Good Samaritan, had woken him up. No Good Samaritan points for me this morning, I thought. I hurried on my way chuckling to myself. In preparing for this sermon I realised I needed to clarify a few more things about love. I learnt some new things in my preparation. So how does Jesus’ famous Good Samaritan story help us understand who our neighbour is?  Before we remind ourselves of Jesus’ story let me recall some responses from last Sunday’s sermon on the 1st of the two great commandments: loving God with all our hearts, mind, soul and strength. I offered a longish list of loves of mine. In fact it was a short list really as I have many loves. I happened to mention in the list that I loved Donald Trump. There was a respectful gasp or two here at Leighmoor and a bit of a guffaw at Heatherton. From conversations that followed some obviously took my statement that I love Trump to mean that I liked him – I approved of him. I had deliberately added that ‘I loved Donald Trump’ to illustrate the Bible’s truth that love in its many expressions includes all people regardless of whether we know them, like them, or approve of them. The Christian’s love is like God’s love. It’s inclusive and unconditional. But what is Christian love? It is not about a strong affection for another. It is much more than that. The story of the Good Samaritan is set in a context of entrapment. Jesus’ enemies want to trap him into saying something that would get him into trouble. We are told that a lawyer ‘stood up to test Jesus’ [Lk 10:25]. The lawyer asked Jesus who was his neighbour. The lawyer wanted Jesus to define who his neighbour was. Did you notice that Jesus didn’t answer the question? Jesus instead put a question to the lawyer. In fact that question confronts each one of us rather than defining who our neighbour is. The story Jesus gives is about a man who is robbed, stripped of his clothes and left on the side of the road.  Along come two respectable citizens – a priest and religious expert.  They see the man and for a host of reasons, which are not given, walk past the man.  In fairness to them they faced issues of uncleanliness and safety. To touch a dead man meant that they would not be able to carry out their religious duties for a week. I faced a similar situation on the road to Douglass. My stopping that Sunday morning might have meant that I would be seriously late for leading worship that Sunday morning. I had two services that morning. There was also the issue of safety for those two religious people and for myself. The man lying on the side of the road may have been a decoy for thieves. These two religious men had genuine concerns. However they lacked compassion. But along comes a Samaritan. Now Samaritans were sort of half-caste Jews and their worship and beliefs were questionable to the Jews. Jesus seems to be making a double point here by using the Samaritan as an example of someone loving their neighbour.   This Good Samaritan attended to a person he didn’t know. And the man being stripped of his clothes had been stripped of his status in society. Clothes were very much a symbol of social status in those days. So the Good Samaritan did not know him or know what status he had in society. He put gave him water, put him on his donkey and took him to the nearest inn. There he left the man under the care of the innkeeper and promised to pay the full bill on return. Evidently the Samaritan is a well known businessman.  He had credit. It is a great story, but it doesn’t identify who my neighbour is. And Jesus turns to the lawyer and asks, who was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? [Lk 10: 36] The lawyer gets it and identifies who has been a good neighbour –