Emerging Lectionary Thoughts

Luke 4:14-21

2013-01-24T12:01:00.000+11:00

"I do believe our girls are in crisis, but then I think our boys are still in crisis too; after all, the capitalist-patriarchy is harmful for everyone. It is based on a sex binary that involves a reductive, racist, disablist, and sexist heteronormative construction of humanity, which privileges heterosexual men, but only those who conform to the stereotypes of "man"." by Louise Pennington

I'm going to a book group tomorrow night where we will be discussing the book 'Preachers, Prophets and Heretics: Anglican Women's Ministry' Edited by Elaine Lindsay and Janet Scarfe. We will be focusing on chapter nine which is about the Movement for the ordination of women (MOW) and the Anglican Diocese of Sydney's opposition to the ordination of women. The chapter asserts that those who opposed the ordination of women claimed to be going by Scripture alone and they cautioned those who sought to change the order of things against being influenced by 'Social mores'. The words from Louise Pennington's Blog sum up for me what I regard as the arrogance and inability to look and see (as Jesus often urged) a new kingdom, a new way of doing things, one which superceded patriarchy and any divisions that elevated the male gender above the female gender or one ethnic group above another or richer people above poorer people. 'The Spirt of the Lord is upon me because God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. God sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.' Luke 4: 18,19

Hmmn!!!! It seems like we can use Scripture to justify our power and position rather than let it challenge us about justce and freedom from poverty and oppression.

John 6:51-58

2012-08-16T16:17:00.000+10:00

Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life… whoever eats me will live because of me.

I was reading this passage in preparation for our weekly Holy Communion and prayer for healing service at Wollongong and I was shocked by the words. I hadn’t realised or noticed or I had forgotten that Jesus said these words in such an explicit way. In my mind I thought that they were the words of the church not of Jesus. Whoever eats me will live… eats me? I looked back over my notes on this lectionary reading from 2009 and I read how I had much the same reaction. This passage confronts. As a vegetarian it is not too my taste.

In the whole discourse about Jesus as the bread of life in John chapter six, it seems to me that the absorbing of Jesus’ teaching is more than feeding the mind. It is absorbing God’s life into our lives. It is so much about becoming one with Jesus. Elsewhere Jesus says, “As you Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us… so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, as we are one (John 17:21-23)” and ‘Abide in me as I abide in you’ (John 15:4). And here in John 6:56 Jesus says, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them”.

We human beings are so absorbed in each other, often devouring one another, and so absorbed in ways of relating that are learned from institutions based on rivalry and the survival of the strongest, the richest, the powerful at the expense of the poorest and weakest; that the words of Jesus seem nice but ineffectual in our reality they are insipid, utopian, idealistic. Yet the invitation to us is to instead be absorbed in all that distracts and consumes us in this life to be instead absorbed in God’s eternal life.

So Jesus shocks us with his cannibalistic talk but I think that somewhere between merely learning from him (or about him and the ways of God) and eating him, is a path. Discipleship is always more than understanding the message, it is following despite not understanding, it is relating without fully knowing someone.

When we eat food on earth it keeps us alive but one day we will all die. When we eat the flesh of Jesus and drink his blood we are eating eternal food, food that will keep us alive eternally. Can we be alive eternally and yet die physically? In eating this food we are becoming one with Jesus, one with God, we are becoming eternal. This is more than listening, more than learning, more than taking notes, more than remembering, more than knowing, more than mimicking, more than imitating, more than being like Jesus; it is becoming one with God, one with God.

That is too much to get one’s head around. How can we live forever and yet die? When we die we all fall into the eternal (the elements) or are absorbed by the eternal but what of when we are alive? Are we not part of the eternal anyway? Do we not live and move and have our being in God whether we believe it or not? While we live on this earth, during this time of temporal life, do we have the choice to live at the same time connected to the eternal yet using our own thoughts, our own ways rather than the ways of God, the ways of the kingdom of God?

John 6:35, 41-51

2012-08-16T14:30:00.000+10:00

... and they shall all be taught by God (V45)

When Jesus says, ‘…and they shall all be taught by God’ seemingly Jesus is quoting the prophet Isaiah who says, ‘All your children will be taught by God’ (chapter 54:43). Did this mean that one day in the future the descendants of the exiles will be taught directly by God? Has that time now come in the person of Jesus? In quoting this could Jesus be saying that when you listen to me you are being taught by God? Could he be saying that he is more than a prophet, more than a priest, more than a rabbi, more than a teacher? If Jesus’ words are the words of God, how do we respond? How do we discern which words are authentically the original words of Jesus and which words were added when handed down orally to the gospel writers and how have they edited them? And when we read these words how are we interpreting them through our experiences and other life knowledges?

When I sit listening to eulogies at funerals and especially when I hear the children of the deceased person speaking about their father or mother, I wonder to myself what my children will say about me at my funeral. Will they state my achievements? Will they say they were loved? Will they recall what they learned from me?

Rene Girard talks about how we learn from each other by mimicking one another. We get out desires from watching one another, wanting what the other has, or wanting more than the other has. Lots of good things are learnt from each other too. Jesus seems to have more than learned behaviour and mimicking him in mind when he talks about the bread they are to eat as his flesh. These are part of what it means to be a follower of Jesus but becoming one with Christ, one with God, seems much, much more than becoming like Christ.

When it comes to church life? Will the church community have any children, a younger generation to hand the church on to? What are young people and children learning from us adults in the church? What are we teaching them? What are they absorbing into their minds, when and if they attend church? While we are reading them stories what are they reading into our lives? Are we passing on bible stories or have we become part of the story of eternal life? Are we talking about kingdom life or living the kingdom life? What do those experiences teach them about us, about God?

The recent National Church Life Survey in Australia says that the retention of 15-19 year olds by the church is one of the three key attendance measures in regards to growth or decline in the church. This is an irrelevant measure if there are no children in the church in the first place.

Walter Brueggemann in his book ‘Biblical perspectives on evangelism’ describes evangelism as ‘an activity of transformed consciousness that results in an altered perception of the world, neighbour, and self and an authorisation to live differently in that world’. For Brueggemann evangelism is more than telling people about Jesus and in particular when sharing the message with children. He says children need people who are crazy about them, showing unconditional grace and unconditional love. Faith is caught not taught. Faith is taught by passionate lives.

I think that the transformation Jesus is talking about is eternal, of which a transformed consciousness is part. Jesus challenges us to absorb his words, to digest them, to let them become all of who we are not just part of us. Then we will no longer just say what Jesus said, but we will be and do and become all that Jesus was and is and is to come.

Luke 24:36-48

2012-04-20T00:19:00.000+10:00

You are witnesses of these things (v48) Witnesses of what? Witnesses to what?

The words of a poem by William Butler Yeats are powerfully channelled by Mike Scott in this song echoing words that speak of a world that witnesses the injustice and oppression of human beings.

If people don't give witness the stones will cry out (Luke 19:40)

Let the earth bear witness

John 12:20-33

2012-03-26T21:47:00.000+11:00

THE TRUTH ABOUT VIOLENCE

I recently went to the Merrigong Theatre (Wollongong, New South Wales) to see the play ‘The Boys’. The relationships in the story, whether between men and women, between men and other men, or between parent and child are dominated by violence which continually plays itself out as a never ending cycle of violence. Can the cycle of violence be broken?

If we violently oppose violence we inevitably play its game and violence will always win. On the other hand if we do not oppose violence, if we keep quiet, if we do not speak up, if we do not protest, if we do not act, then we will be colluding with violence. We become accustomed to it. It becomes part of our lives, part of the community, part of how society and the systems within society operate. Violence has a way of suppressing the truth about itself, of hiding it away. It dominates relationships, economics, politics, religion and even the church.

Jean-Michel Oughourlian says, ‘… the task of revealing the truth about violence requires a… person… who is not obliged to violence for anything and does not think in terms of violence – someone who is capable of talking back to violence while remaining entirely untouched by it (p.218)’. Rather than using violence or confronting violence Jesus exposes the truth about violence by taking the place of the victim and in doing so rises above the violence that had dominated the world.

Jesus says, ‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth (on the cross) will draw all people to myself.’ John 12:33

The period of Lent offers us a time to reflect upon the truth about violence and how Jesus offers a way to expose it.

My reflections on violence used in this article were mainly drawn from the book ‘Things hidden since the foundation of the world’ by Rene Girard, Jean-Michel Oughourlian and Guy Lefort.

John 3:14-21

2012-03-19T13:16:00.000+11:00

And just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life (v14,15).

Why would Jesus compare himself to a snake or to the act of Moses lifting up a snake in the wilderness? What is the story behind the lifting up of the snake?

The story comes from Numbers 21:4-9 - The people of Israel were grumbling about God and Moses for leading them out into the wilderness because there was no food or water and they were sick of the manna from heaven (so, the story goes). Then God sent poisonous snakes to punish the people and many people died. When the fear hit them they came back to Moses and admitted that they had sinned by speaking against God and against Moses and begged Moses to pray to God for the snakes to be taken away. So Moses prayed and God told Moses to make a poisonous snake and put it on a pole and whenever someone would be bitten by a snake if they looked up at the snake on the pole they would live. So Moses made a snake out of bronze and put it on a pole and whenever someone who had been bitten by a snake looked up at the snake they did not die, they lived.

When I came across this story years ago, I thought it was amazing. It was another wondrous story of what God can do and how silly were those people not to trust God. Now when I read it I am appalled. It speaks of a God who treats people as totally dispensable in order to get God’s way. What a cruel way to control people, punishing them indiscriminately with a plague of poisonous snakes. God had rescued the people from Egypt by bringing terrible plagues on the Egyptians now this rescuer is controlling the people with the same bullying and fear invoking methods. I don’t believe in this kind of God anymore. If there is something of a God in this world then I see this God as totally different. For me God is love.

Why would Jesus compare himself being lifted up (on the cross) to the snake being lifted up on a pole? Does Jesus become a snake or is he merely referring to the act of being lifted up? Is Jesus a snake or made a snake? The whole picture is bizarre to me.

I can’t get the image of the snakes crawling about biting people out of my mind. As this is St. Patrick’s weekend I’m reminded that St. Patrick is said to have driven all the snakes out of

Ireland

. There are a number of very strange stories about snakes in the bible and which have led people to believe all sorts of things, like the snake handling Christians in the USA who base their rituals of handling poisonous snakes on Mark 16:18 which says ‘they shall pick up snakes with their hands’ and on the story of Saint Paul who was bitten by a snake but survived. Pete Rollins in his book ‘The Fidelity of Betrayal’ writes how in the third century there was a Gnostic group called the Ophites (Ophis meaning snake) who understood the snake in the garden of Eden to be a great hero who stood up to the tyrant God in an attempt to free humans.

Can the snake episode be viewed as prophetic of the future when anti-venom came to be made from the very venom that could kill a person. A drug is a poison that, taken in the right dosage, is also a remedy. One takes the anti-venom and lives. For us Christians Jesus is seen as innocent, sinless. From the view point of the religious leaders of his day Jesus would have been a snake, evil, tempting people away, leading them astray, his words were seen as poison yet for Jesus his very words were what would bring life, …whoever believes in him may have eternal life (V15).

Is the snake symbolic of grumbling against God? In the garden of Eden the snake quarrels with God or rather with Eve and questions God. In the wilderness the snake may represent those who question God and those who represent God. While they are complaining about God there is also truth in their claims, the antidote, the answer, the cure is also found in the cause, in the source. In Jesus’ time the leaders take one who is causing trouble and have him crucified, in the one who is causing trouble is also our salvation.

On the night of my initial conversion the minister ‘leading me to the Lord’ used John 3:16 ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.’ At that point in my life I took that to mean that by believing in Jesus I would go to heaven when I died. Now I think eternal life is something to be discovered and lived in this world. A few weeks ago I discovered that the original meaning of believe was belove. Whoever loves me may have eternal life. This implies more than head knowledge but relationship. Jesus is asking us to do more than believe that he died on a cross but to take up our cross and follow him in relationship, in solidarity, with him.

In John 3:19-21 Jesus speaks about the light that has come into the world and people preferring to love the darkness rather than the light. I’m reminded of the gruesomeness of how the Emperor Nero is said to have dipped Christians in oil and put them on a pole a set them alight to illuminate Rome at night. Jesus is lifted up like a light so that all who come under the light or into the light are not afraid to come openly and honestly and truthfully, they have nothing to hide in the light of Christ.

In John 2:18 the religious leaders ask Jesus, “What sign can you give us?” John is fascinated by signs. Jesus is raised up as a sign. The same word for raised as a standard also means sign or miracle. Jesus being raised up is the ultimate sign to which all other signs point. The light comes from the cross, the ultimate sign, the darkest moment, not from the resurrection.

Was this a sacrifice by human beings to God? Did God really require a human sacrifice? Would God really take a Human being and require him to be stuck on a pole, a cross, like the snake in the wilderness? Surely such ideas can only come from human beings who use violence to control and intimidate. I think it was a sacrifice but not in the way animals were sacrificed to God. Sacrifice literally means ‘to make sacred’. The violence of killing makes the victim holy. The irrational requirement of sacrifice is seen as absolving people from all responsibility. But I think that responsibility for our actions is the very sacrifice God wants us to make. The sacrifice Jesus made was made in his refusal to have anything to do with violence. Jesus is lifted up on the cross and placed for all to see. In being lifted up Jesus rises above the violence. Rene Girard (Things hidden since the foundation of the world) says that violence is the controlling agent in every form of mythic or cultural structure, and Christ is the only agent who is capable of escaping from these structures and freeing us from their dominance. Jesus is the only person who achieves the goal that God has set for all humanity, the only human who has nothing to do with violence and its works. Jesus alone, the son of man, the true human being, has fulfilled a calling that belongs to all human beings: to live in love, to love one another. Jesus comes to Jerusalem not as a sacrifice for sin but to break the cycle of violence. Jesus, by this action, breaks out from the cycle of murder and death. He gives his life in order not to kill. Jesus doesn’t mimic our actions like we mimic each other's actions and desires. Love God and your neighbour as yourself…you shall not covet, you shall not kill…

Again I finish with some quotes courtesy of Brian McLaren from the Book ‘Things hidden since the foundation of the world’ by Rene Girard

Rene Girard - ‘A non-violent deity can only signal his existence to mankind by having himself driven out by violence – by demonstrating that he is not able to establish himself in the Kingdom of Violence. (p219)

But this very demonstration is bound to remain ambiguous for a very long time, and it is not capable of achieving a decisive result, since it looks like total impotence to those who live under the regime of violence. That is why at first it can only have some effect under a guise, deceptive through the admixture of some sacrificial elements, through the surreptitious re-insertion of some violence into the conception of the divine. (p220)

Behaving in a truly divine manner, on an earth still in the clutches of violence, means not dominating humans, not overwhelming them with supernatural power, it means not terrifying and astonishing them in turn, through the sufferings and blessings one can confer; it means not creating difference between doubles and not taking part in their disputes.(p234)

John 2:13-22

2012-03-13T00:53:00.000+11:00

(The best bits of this are the Rene Girard quotes at the end)

Jesus arrived in Jerusalem and headed to the Temple (as one would on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover). What does the story of Jesus making a whip and driving out all the cattle and sheep and people involved in selling them out of the Temple mean? In John’s Gospel Jesus goes to Jerusalem three times in his ministry whereas the other three Gospels only mention one visit and that visit was just before he was crucified. Why did Jesus go to Jerusalem? He got stuck into those who were in the Temple and into the religious leaders but there was no political attack on the injustice of the Romans, nothing directed at Pontius Pilate or towards Herod and yet he was put to death for being a possible threat. Jesus only attacks the religious practices and the injustice at the heart of it. Has he come to clean up religion? Are we in the church to be more concerned with cleaning up our own act and our unjust practices rather than telling politicians to clean up their act? Are we acting justly within the church? Is there discrimination? Is there exploitation? How are we treating people who are poorer? Do we show favouritism to the wealthier people? How is our religion relating to people in society who are poorer in society, in the world?

Some see his visit to the Temple and especially the words where he said, ‘Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up’ as Jesus replacing the sacrificial system and worship centred in the temple to a religious system focused on Christ as the supreme sacrifice and worship centred in Christ. Was it coincidental to Jesus’ death that he was killed during the Passover? Our theology suggests that it wasn’t but that it was all God’s sacrificial plan or are we just reading that into it with hindsight? The first Corinthians reading (1 Corinthians 1:18-25) seems to confirm that. Some see this as Jesus replacing Judaism with Christianity. There is a reference here to the destruction of the temple but then it is translated to mean the resurrection of Christ’s body. The Temple of his body is more important. Perhaps he was saying when you are exploiting people you are destroying the real temple, where God really resides, in the lives of people. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).

Was what was going on in the temple but outer evidence of the real religion and motives of people? In order to clean up our religion do we need to clean up our own motives, our own souls, our own beings?

I was glad to see that even though Jesus himself physically drove the sheep and cattle out he told those who were selling the doves to take them out. They weren’t hurt. Jesus liberates animals and birds from certain death. The accusation is that they have made his Father’s house into a marketplace. What I see here is passion - passion for something different. Exploitation was taking place in the very space that was deemed to be the holiest place in Judaism, the place where God resided. Here the good is being tainted. Those selling cattle, sheep and doves are profiting from the people who have come a long way, days and weeks away, to the Temple to offer sacrifice.

I am fascinated by the mention of the doves. A dove is an internationally known symbol for peace. Noah sent out a dove and it came back to him with an olive leaf -another symbol of peace (Genesis 8:11). As Jesus was being baptised, ‘just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descended like a dove on him’ (Mark 1:10). I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained in him (John 1:32). The metaphorical imagery surrounding Jesus is of a person of peace. It seems ironic to me that here Jesus throws out the symbols of peace from the Temple.

All of this seems like scratching the surface of what Jesus was doing on the way to the cross. A deeper insight for me is hinted in the words ‘But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people… for he knew himself what was in everyone’(v24, 25). For me this is our thirst for power and our justification of violence in order to get what we want –even peace. Some see Jesus’ anger and actions in the Temple as justification for the use of force and violence in order to bring about change.

I want to finish with some thoughts from Rene Girard for further reflection which call us to look forward towards the cross. For me the cross is not about a blood sacrifice as articulated by the doctrines of ‘Sacrificial atonement and substitution’. Nor is it simply believing in these things. The cross invites participation in a non-violent path. The cross is about revealing a path for all humans to follow if we hope to see real peace and real transformative change. In the cross Jesus reveals a mystery that I cannot but partially grasp but which excites me greatly. Jesus may have driven out the cattle, sheep and doves out of the Temple but I think he was only demonstrating that the religious leaders had already driven God out of the Temple and that they would drive Jesus out from the world too.

(Quotes courtesy of Brian McLaren from the Book ‘Things hidden since the foundation of the world’ by Rene Girard)

Mark 8:31-38

2012-03-03T16:26:00.000+11:00

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Mark 1:34

What did Jesus mean?

What do we think he meant?

What is the common or dominant view?

Could it mean something else?

Before we take up our cross we have to deny ourselves. What could this mean? Some have interpreted this to mean that they have to give up their right to everything in life, to even hate themselves, to put up with everything.

We have to lay something aside. What could we be asked to lay aside? Perhaps a certain way of thinking or certain ways of thinking, perhaps lay them down in order to take up another.

Peter confesses to Jesus that he believes that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus again warns his disciples not to tell anyone about him. When Jesus starts to speak about the future and the suffering he will endure, Peter takes him aside to stop Jesus talking such nonsense. This cannot happen to the Messiah. It’s going to be all up, up, up to glory from here on. But Jesus rebukes Peter, saying, “Get behind me Satan.”

Rather than up, up, up is it more about down, down, down? Rather than inviting us on an upwardly journey Jesus seems to be inviting us to grow down to a way of being, a way of being that he models. Not a godlike way of being but a human way of being – to real humanness. To be the best human being. We are to follow his example, that is to lay down our life, set it aside, and take up our cross and follow Jesus.

As I reflect on the words “Get behind me Satan” I wonder whether Satan could be a name for all that is bad about humanity? Could Satan stand for the down ward pull of humanity? All that robs us of living together in harmony, peace, equitably?

Do we then need to lay aside the ways of Satan and then follow Jesus by taking up the cross?

What the cross meant for Jesus illuminates what the cross means for us. Jesus dramatically changes the story. Deepak Chopra says that, ‘With the death of Jesus comes the death of the old way of thinking. With the resurrection comes the birth of the new way of thinking.’ The old way of thinking and acting killed Jesus but was unable to stop him from rising to life again. Being born again does entail a death.

First of all we determine to lay aside the old way of thinking and then taking up the cross each of us is involved in putting to death that old thinking. So that human beings can discover a much richer level of humanity to live by. Deepak Chopra suggests that in these days it may mean a shift from consumption to relationship, from valuing my life over yours to valuing that which gives life to you and not just thinking of myself.

Sarah Dylan Breuer http://www.sarahlaughed.net/lectionary/2006/03/second_sunday_i.html - In being called to follow Jesus, as his disciples, we are called to let go our power, recognise our power, our privilege and let it go- the way to abundant life leads to the cross.

We are taught to be strong, to be tough, to protect ourselves, to defend ourselves, to arm ourselves but the way of the cross is about becoming defenceless

Jesus doesn’t say take up your weapons as in arm yourself, but take up your cross, disarm yourself. Usually we have to put others down in order to elevate ourselves but with Jesus it is not that way.

Christianity is a religion for the poor but it has become a religion of the rich and controlled by the rich and powerful and what is left of value is trickled down to the poor but that is not the way it should be.

I wonder if the Christian churches have got their theology wrong regarding their theology of the cross? So often ‘the cross’ refers to the suffering and death of Jesus and is interpreted in purely sacrificial language. An execution is turned metaphorically into a sacrifice. Is there more to the meaning of the cross than this? Is there a meaning or meanings that are not so otherworldly, something done on a spiritual unseen level but rather something that we can actually participate in rather than something done on our behalf. If Jesus is the only worthy sacrifice why do we need to take up our cross?

In inviting all who want to be Jesus' followers to take up their cross he is inviting us to identify with a God who longs for a transformed world, a world of justice and non-violence.

In lent we contemplate a pre-Easter human Jesus (Borg)

Jesus doesn’t say if you want to be my disciples you need to believe certain things, but take up something, join me in something, be willing to sacrifice your life for a better world, be willing to sacrifice your life so that this becomes a better world for those marginalised and impoverished in society.

Mark 1:9-15

2012-02-21T14:50:00.003+11:00

Jesus is baptised by John in the Jordan River – the religion of both Jesus and John is practised publicly and outdoors. How might Christianity be different if it’s religious symbolism and rites were practiced publicly and outdoors? Christians often baptise in public places such as in rivers and by the sea shore. Some Christians have celebrated the breaking of bread in public places as a symbol of Christ’s death and resurrection and as a protest for peace and hope in places of war and violence. Christians have ventured outside the doors of the church and stood on street corners and on soap boxes proclaiming the gospel. These are all ventures out before returning to the safety of the walls of the church and where we can return again to the privatisation of our beliefs and religious practices.

I get the impression from the gospel stories that these were more than ventures out into the community for both Jesus and John. Jesus’ ministry took place outdoors by a river, by the sea, on a mountain, between villages, along the road, in peoples homes, over dinner, at a wedding, as well of course in synagogues and at the Temple. There was no real division between indoors and outdoors, between place of religious designation and daily life. The only difference being that the most opposition seemed to come when Jesus went near a synagogue or the Temple. Perhaps this is why John was out in the wilderness away from the places that maintained the religious status quo, or the places where religious leaders could control the minds and actions of people. Perhaps this is why Mark uses the strong word ‘drove’ (Mark 1:12) when describing the way the Holy Spirit guided Jesus out into the wilderness. Rather than a gentle leading the force of the Spirit’s intention is conveyed as pushing hard, making Jesus go. We often ask, ‘Where is God leading us?’ But will there come a day when the Spirit drives us out, out of our buildings, out of our familiar surroundings, out from our beliefs that keep us bound?

When Jesus is baptised by John could he be ‘outing’ himself from the closed patriarchal religious system that was maintained by synagogue and Temple? Is Jesus identifying with ‘otherness’? When people are baptised they are usually thought of as being baptised into the church or being baptised into the life of Christ (baptism as initiation) but could they not also be being baptised ‘out’ of something? The water is symbolic of many things: a washing away of the old, a washing away of sin, a sign of repentance, a sign of turning away from one way and a turning towards another way.

In Matthew’s Gospel (3:1-12) The people from Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to John to be baptised and when John also sees the Scribes and Pharisees coming out to him John lambasts them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” The repenting was not a turning away from sin but rather a call to prepare the way of the Lord. The ritual washing of Judaism was all about being ‘clean’, being in a state of ritual cleanliness so that one could participate in both religious and communal life. John and Jesus took this to a new level of preparedness to now welcome the way of God as proclaimed by Jesus in both his words and very life. The ritual pointed to something greater, to something real, to something to be entered into fully with one’s whole being, heart, mind and body.

As Christians we have rejected the ritual religion of Judaism and have looked on it with scorn while at the same not realising that we may have replaced it with another religion that is no more than ritual – a ritual without a reality. Ritual is but a metaphor or symbol of a greater reality. It is ‘acting’ rather than ‘actual’. In the church we tend to spend lots of time and effort making our rituals more meaningful, infusing them with meaning to make them more attractive, and we protect them and elevate them to a holy place. We have argued over the meaning and practice of these rituals, even killed one another in the name of these rituals.

I don’t think that rituals are the problem. The problem lies in how we view and practice rituals, and how we have separated rituals from the reality of daily life. Rituals are more about living, about daily life and helping us to sustain a sense of goodness, love and justice in the world. These rituals I believe are not to be restricted to ‘believers’ in God or to followers of Jesus but be ones than all people can partake in and find meaning and sustained hope for ourselves as individuals, as communities and the world as a whole. After all the good news is for everyone.

PS. Have you noticed the sign in the photo? It is from a private chapel in a Country House in Ireland.

Mark 9:2-9

2012-02-17T16:16:00.000+11:00

The enthusiasm for preaching drains quickly out of me every time I discover that this reading is the set lectionary reading for this particular Sunday. I love the readings in the weeks prior to this. I see Jesus engaging in the lives of people at a level of real need then suddenly this reading propels Jesus away from the every day lives of people and real needs to a high ecstatic spiritual plane far removed, so much so that Peter is totally lost for words to make sense of what is happening in front of him.

I find it hard to relate to, just as I find it hard to relate to people who today claim that God speaks to them directly. I have never heard God speak to me directly or I could not say with confidence that God has spoken to me indirectly.

I don’t enjoy wrestling with this text especially when I think there are more important things that I could spend my time on such as eliminating hunger, poverty, violence, racism, sexism etc from the world. I am suspicious of a spirituality that takes people out of their reality and presents ecstatic experiences as the norm or as real.

I am more comfortable with Jesus as a human being than I am with him as divine, that is, if to be divine means godly or god like or different. If Jesus is to be seen as divine, I see that he is more in tune with a way of life than transcends every day life but one that also fully engages in and with everyday life.

If this reading says anything to me it says that experiences like this are not the norm, neither are they what is really important. Jesus did not come that people might worship him in mystical god like awe and wonder. Jesus came alongside human beings and let them know that they were of worth, that they were loved, that life was theirs to live despite the domination and controlling influence of religious and political leaders. Jesus invites us to come alongside people too rather than taking up a place of domination in their lives. I guess in a way the reading speaks into our daily lives that there could be more to them than we know or we experience.

I fear though that churches model themselves on this picture. They claim to have been up the mountain with God, with Jesus, with Moses and Elijah, to be in authority, to speak on behalf of God and expect the people to fall in line, to trust and obey. Where does our preaching arise from? From a position of ecstatic other worldly experience proclaiming a message of ‘truth’ and ‘I know better’ or from a position of struggle, powerlessness, poverty and faith?

Mark 1:40-45

2012-02-14T11:33:00.000+11:00

Mark 1: 40-45

Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him and said, “I do choose. Be made clean.”

One of the things I often think about is how Jesus came to deliver us not from sin but from religion or rather from religious practices that discriminated against people and kept them from a living a fuller and more inclusive life in society.

In the book ‘Speaking Christian’ by Marcus Borg, Borg says that sin needs to be demoted from its status as the dominant Christian metaphor for what is wrong among us (page 144). Sin he says is not the primary metaphor, not the most important one, not even a first among equals. For example in the story of the exodus sin is not the problem, slavery is the problem. The people don’t need forgiveness they need liberation.

Every week in church we have a prayer of confession followed by a declaration of forgiveness from sins we have committed. I don’t see this as a central part of Jesus’ ministry. I don’t see Jesus reminding people of their sins and then declaring that they are forgiven from their sins.

The man at the centre of the Gospel reading today is not seeking forgiveness for sin.

Here a man is desperate for healing from a skin disease which whether or not was contagious kept him from associating with his community. I can understand how in olden days where there were diseases with no known cure that people had to be excluded for the sake of others. Late one night I remember being glued to SBS television watching a Scandinavian film set in medieval times when the black death comes to a village. A mother realises that she has the plague and prevents her little daughter from coming to her by throwing stones at her until the little girl does as her mother wishes and she goes over the hills to a village that does not have the plague. It is very haunting and sad, “Madre, Madre!” the little girl cries out as her mother continues to throw stones in her direction to make her go away from her and away from joining her in a certain death.

In the book ‘Preaching and the other’ Ronald Allen writes about ‘othering’ – how we tend as individuals and cultures to promote sameness (totality, uniformity) and diminish, devalue and suppress ‘otherness’ (difference, strangeness). We tend to want to live in a world where everyone is the same as me. If I am from a white skinned, northern European privileged protestant male background, then I may want everyone to behave as I do. We thus produce a ‘McDonalds’ type world, eating the same food in every country. Allen speaks of respecting and valuing and learning from the otherness, from the other.

How did Jesus approach this man as ‘other’? As other this man was removed from his community and from his right to worship. He was excluded on a number of levels.

Jesus reached out his hand and touched him and said, “I do choose. Be made clean.” Jesus sent him on his way back to the Priest and back to his community.

Through our prayers for healing we may not always be able to help free people from illness or possession or sin but we can always and immediately resist the temptation to bind people with religious terminology to produce sameness and instead choose words that may instead liberate and bring life and send someone on their way more hopeful about life and more at peace with their own uniqueness and value in the world.

Mark 1:29-39

2012-02-04T19:57:00.000+11:00

In the Gospel of Mark words and themes are repeated over and over again. There seems to be an urgency or immediacy about what Jesus does - almost without thinking of the cost or repercussions. Mark uses words meaning ‘immediately’ or ‘as soon as’ at least 39 times - As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew - Now Simon’s mother in law was laid aside fever stricken and at once they told Jesus about her. As soon as something is sorted Mark presents Jesus as moving on immediately to the next person or place.

The word aphiemi ‘to leave’ occurs a number of times in the first two chapters of Marks Gospel- ‘Immediately Jesus called the disciples they left their nets and their boats and families (1:18, 20).’ And approaching her Jesus took her by the hand and raised her up and the fever left her and she began to serve them (1:31).’

There is a letting go of something in order to move on, whether that is a letting go by someone of something, or a demon letting go of a person, or a person letting go of sin or sin letting go of a person, or sickness letting go of a person or a person letting go of sickness, or people letting go of a way of life. The sin is left behind, the fever leaves the woman behind, the fever moves on, the woman moves on, the demon moves on. Just as Jesus immediately moves on so there seems to be the expectation that people will move on too –‘And sternly warning him Jesus sent him away at once (1:43).’

Mark presents Jesus as one who seems to immediately know the way things should be with people – people should be free. Jesus freed people from the control of demons, illness and sin but beyond these was another level of control that Jesus sought to reveal as controlling people, a double bind, and this was the religious interpretation of the day. In the way it was interpreted people were actually excluded from their communities rather than included when they needed them most.

Through our prayers for healing we may not always be able to help free people from illness or possession or sin but we can always and immediately free them from religious bondage. It can often be religious bondage that is keeping people from experiencing life to the full and preventing them from moving on.

Brian Stoffregen (http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/mark1x29.htm) sees forgiveness as ‘Not letting what happened in the past control my life in the present.’ Religion should reflect the liberating ministry of Jesus and not use what has happened in peoples’ lives in the past to control them and prevent them from living life to the full in the present.

So what have I/we to leave behind? What have I/we to move on to? What is preventing me/us from living life in the present?

Mark 1:21-28

2012-01-26T23:32:00.000+11:00

Some episodes of Doctor Who remind me of stories about Jesus. The presence of the Doctor seems to disturb things that are hidden and secret, things that control the minds and hearts and even the bodies of not just individuals but the population of entire worlds. As soon as Jesus enters the synagogue in Capernaum something that has been hidden, something that may not have been noticed before or something presenting in a certain way reveals itself more clearly. It seems to respond to the teaching of Jesus, it recognises who he is and the authority he possesses. Just as the name of the Doctor is feared throughout the universe the name of Jesus is also known, but the knowing causes a reaction… a disturbance … a transformation.

How does a story like this relate to us? When some people read this story and other stories about exorcisms they can get exceedingly worried that they could be possessed by some evil spirit and not know it. There is a sense in which I think we are all possessed and can be totally unaware of it or be choosing to ignore the unease, the disturbance it causes within us and how it expresses itself in the world.

One has to ask who really was possessed in the stories about Jesus. Was it just some individuals who were possessed and to be pitied or were these individuals acting as a prophetic voice? Were these individuals more in tune with who Jesus was and the authority of his teaching than the Scribes and other religious leaders and the people themselves? Were they in tune with the need for transformation, of throwing off the religious and cultural shackles imposed by religious leaders and political leaders to control and manipulate for their purposes and gain.

It astounds me that we can be so immune to or unaware of what may be controlling us, much of the history of the church testifies to that and much of our history has been written by the victors, those who did the oppressing, those who expelled the weaker ones, the minorities, the women as witches, the heretics, the dissidents, the speakers up for justice, those who cried foul!

St. Paul cries out ‘who will rescue me (us) from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24, 25)

The kingdom of God which Jesus spoke of and ushered in challenges all the power that we would desperately hang on to. The confession of faith by all possessed by power is a crying out for the transformation of all things without and within.

I finish with the lyrics of a Nick Cave song which I have just heard on ABC 2 Australia – a concert of cover versions of his songs

There is a Kingdom

Just like a bird that sings up the sun

In a dawn so very dark

Such is my faith for you

Such is my faith

And all the world's darkness can't swallow up

A single spark

Such is my love for you

Such is my love

There is a kingdom

There is a king

And he lives without

And he lives within

The starry heavens above me

The moral law within

So the world appears

This day so sweet

It will never come again

So the world appears

Through this mist of tears

There is a kingdom

There is a king

And he lives without

And he lives within

Luke 1: 26-38 and Matthew 1:18-25

2011-12-30T18:54:00.000+11:00

Luke 1:26-38 and Matthew 1:18-25

“Look the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call him Emmanuel” which means God is with us. Matthew 1:23.

The Vicar of Dibley was checking out a prospective boyfriend. She asked whether he was a regular church attendee and he replied that he was a C and E kind of person. The vicar was getting very excited about his potential and chipped in, “You mean C of E (Church of England)?” But the man replied “No, Christmas and Easter”.

I always find preaching on Christmas day or Easter Sunday more challenging than other Sundays because the congregation is made up of the usual Sunday worshippers plus people who only came to church at Christmas or Easter. The expectation for many preachers is that they will preach to the unconverted rather than to the converted, to produce a message targeting a wider audience than the faithful. On such occasions I have always sought to speak meaningfully to everyone but the fear is that I could end up speaking to no one. Who really knows why people turn up to church at Christmas? There are many reasons. The story of the birth of Jesus is but one of the many stories that make up the meaning of Christmas for people along with Santa Claus, giving, presents, Christmas lights, food, snow, heat, alcohol, fights, loneliness etc.

This year I don’t have to worry about that as I am not speaking on Christmas day or Christmas Eve. I don’t have to worry that my message is making no sense to the C and Es (Christmas and Easters) so I am going to talk about the virgin birth. How you may ask has that got anything to do with our lives? I’m not sure that it does.

This is the fourth Sunday in Advent and the focus reading for today is Luke 1:26-38 the story foretelling Jesus’ birth. An angel, Gabriel, comes to visit a virgin who was engaged to a man called Joseph. The virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel said to her, “Greetings favoured one, the Lord is with you.” You will conceive in your womb and bear a son who will be called the Son of the most high and his kingdom will have no end. Mary asked, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel continued, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will overshadow you, therefore the child to be born will be holy, he will be called the son of God.” Mary responded, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord, let it be with me according to your word.”

Matthew’s Gospel also tells the story of the foretelling of the birth of Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25 - But before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. An angel appeared to Joseph and said, “Don’t be afraid to marry Mary for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call him Emmanuel,” which means God with us. The story says that Joseph did as he was told and had no sexual relations with Mary until she had born a son and he named him Jesus.

Luke and Matthew seem to want to emphasise the non sexual origins of Jesus and the virginity of Mary whereas this is not important to John or Mark in their Gospels. Why the fuss over the virginity of Mary? Were these non-sexual origins written back into these Gospels for a reason by the early church to perhaps to emphasise that Jesus was both human and divine, the child of a male God and a female human - The male giver and the female receiver. In a patriarchal church worshipping a male God, Mary has been held up as the counter balance, a feminine heroine, a role model. Thus the rise of Mariology in the Roman Catholic Church, to help find a place for women in the church. Dogmatic tradition likes to emphasise the virgin birth. But it is not Mary who is venerated but her virginity rendering her womb as just a vessel rather than her as a willing collaborator. Where did the idea come from? From Greek/Roman mythology? When we talk of Jesus being born of a virgin, are we looking for a pure, sinless person? Are we saying that someone who has not had sex is not sinful?

So what can we get from those readings that might help us in the living of life today? It is hard to get one’s head around them. Does it really matter whether or not we believe in the virgin birth of Jesus? What difference does it make to who Jesus was and is? Does a virgin birth make Jesus more human or more divine?

While both Luke and Matthew seem to stress the virginity of Mary and the lack of sex in the conception of Jesus, Mark and John have no interest in the birth of Jesus at all. Mark’s Gospel starts… The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the son of God and Mark begins with the proclamation of John the Baptist. John’s Gospel starts… In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Paul doesn’t mention it in his letters. For Mark the beginning occurs in the wilderness, for John the beginning is eternal. The Word was always there. Jesus doesn’t begin with a sperm but has been there from all time. In the birth of Jesus the Word is made flesh.

Born from the Spirit as well as born from Mary. But alongside the emphasis on the virginal status of Mary both Luke and Matthew speak of the Holy Spirit. Matthew says… she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit and a second time says… the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. Luke says the Holy Spirit will come upon you…

In John the virgin birth is not mentioned but birth from the Spirit is. John 1 says that the Word born as a child of God through the spirit gave power to others to become children of God - children who were born not of flesh and blood but of God. John 3 speaks about being born from above or being born again, a second time, a spiritual birth. For John it is not Christ’s birth that is important but our being born of God, being born from above.

So what can I say that may be helpful to both regular attendees and C and Es?

1. Christmas is about giving – giving birth

Just as Mary was willing to collaborate with the Holy Spirit in giving birth to Christ as the son of God, so our collaboration with the Holy Spirit not only enables us to become children of God but also to be collaborators with the Holy Spirit in the rebirth of the whole creation; collaborating in giving birth to God’s life in the present world, in the present age, in the present moment.

2. Christmas is about presents – being present - the present of presence

The greatest present you can give anyone is your presence, being present.

The greatest gift you can give the world is yourself, wholly, fully, attentive.

Imagine giving everyone your full undivided attention. Imagine listening to what the other was saying without formulating in one’s mind what one’s answer or response was going to be. Imagine responding with questions of interest and inquiry rather than answers.

In the Gospel stories I can imagine the sense of presence that people felt by Jesus being present to them when they encountered him in their lives.

Reflecting on the angel’s comforting words to Mary, ‘The Lord is with you.’ Perhaps we could pray, ‘May I be with you. May my words, my thoughts, my deeds be with you, now at this present moment and at the hour of my (your) death.

(These thoughts drew heavily on Jurgen Moltmann’s book ‘The way of Jesus Christ’ SCM Books)

Taking the SEX out of Sex-mas! | The Pangea Blog

2011-12-13T10:30:00.000+11:00

Taking the SEX out of Sex-mas! | The Pangea Blog:

'via Blog this'

Carl Gregg

2011-12-12T10:55:00.000+11:00

Carl Gregg:

'via Blog this'

Matthew 10:40-42

2011-06-24T13:10:00.001+10:00

The Little Ones

When we refer to 'the little ones' we are usually referring to children in an affectionate way. However, we live in a world where we do not always care for 'the little ones' or respect their rights and the vulnerable position they are in when dependent on adults to protect them. This week I was shocked to see in the news the arrest of an eight year old girl who had seemingly been ordered to detonate a bomb in her backpack amidst a crowd of people. On the ABC television programme 'Am I normal' I was also shocked to see a man who confessed to being a paedophile talk of children aged eight having the right to be in a sexual relationship with an adult.

When Jesus refers to his disciples (grown ups) as 'the little ones' he is describing the vulnerable position they are in when they take the gospel to the villages and towns of Israel. They go not like soldiers, crusading, forcing, inflicting, or demanding their equipment to be carried a mile as the Roman soldiers did, nor do they go like religious leaders insisting respect for their position in society. They go like children, little ones, helpless, homeless, dependent on those who would welcome them with some food, or shelter, or clothing, or even a cup of water. Their lack of being equipped for the journey caused them to be dependent on the kindness of those they met on the way. "Take no gold, or silver, or copper... no bag for the journey, or two tunics, or sandals or a staff... (Matthew 10:9)"

At the core of this passage is not the message of an individually driven Christianity, one that promises reward for the individual, but a message that says that the central purpose of those who follow Jesus is that of looking after people. At the centre of both emerging and progressive theologies is the view that Christianity is firstly something that is lived, the theology is but a description of it. The disciples like Jesus went about the country firstly living their faith, and this dependence on others, this vulnerability, was not only something that was lived, it also spoke more than words could say: that power and position are laid aside when following the teaching and person of Jesus. So often we seek a position of power and authority from which we can influence the world, a position from which we can teach and preach. Jesus seems to send us out as 'little ones' identifying with people who are poor and helpless, calling up for mercy and kindness to be shown.

I view many of the sayings of Jesus as hyperbole. Jesus greatly exaggerates to make a point. In calling the disciples 'little ones', Jesus is indeed exaggerating to make a point. Will we hear the words of Jesus? Will we be willing to be considered 'little ones'?

Matthew 28:16-20

2011-06-14T13:31:00.000+10:00

The placing of Trinity Sunday after Pentecost Sunday in the church calendar always seems strange to me. Pentecost celebrates the life Jesus lived now beginning its journey, travelling through the lives of his followers throughout the world. Pentecost speaks of freedom, liberation, creativity, wonder, colour, joy, diversity, transformation, renewal, grace, forgiveness, peace. It is contagious, inebriating, overwhelming, carried by the winds, free, flowing, turning the world upside down, lifting up the down trodden, passionate and so much more. Trinity comes like applying the brakes full on. "Hang on before you go further you need sound doctrine. When you baptise, when you explain this pentecostal wonder and it's connection to baptism, explain that it is baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

This 'trinitarian' formula seems out of place here in Matthew's Gospel. Neither Mark not Luke have it in their Gospels. It seems from the book of Acts that people were baptised in the name of Jesus only (Acts 10:48; 19:5). Could it have been inserted at a later date? Could it be that the formula was inserted back into the Gospel by the early church rather than the Gospel giving the formula in the first place? Why?

Unless the words 'in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit' are used at baptism, some Christian denominations will not accept that a baptism has been properly administered and a person will not be accepted as part of that denomination.

The formula is used to distinguish which God is being spoken about and the appropriate way or what is considered the orthodox way for Christians to think of God. Why limit the words in the baptismal formula to these words, why not baptise 'in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy spirit, and of love and forgiveness and grace' and so on? It seems a bit strange to build a whole doctrine based on one verse of scripture and then pin one's life to it or use it as a dividing point rather than an including point. I think it very important that the church today emphasises inclusion, what we share in common, a common experience, an experience of Jesus, a common concern for the world, rather than emphasising difference and therefore exclusion.

In the wider scheme of things surely it is not the formula that is most important but the experience, the discipleship. The love of God, the love of the world, the discipleship comes first and then trying to make sense of the believing.

Do I spend too much time trying to figure out the theology? Would my life be fuller, richer, more meaningful, more helpful to others and this world in which I live by spending more of my time living the life that Jesus speaks, that which we name as discipleship?

Luke 24:13-25

2011-05-04T23:32:00.001+10:00

I smile every time I read the story of the two disciples walking with a stranger on the road to Emmaus. I smile because after all their time with Jesus it seems that not only did they not recognise him they didn't know much 'sound' theology either. But they had learnt something and that was about hospitality, about welcoming the stranger. They had experienced hospitality during their time spent with Jesus travelling amongst strangers and being strangers to others; being welcomed by tax collectors and 'sinners'. Hospitality and the welcome of the stranger, the traveller, the alien can be found in religion throughout the world. It was not in the words of explanation that they recognised Jesus but he was made known to them in the breaking of bread. Jesus is not to be found in unique beliefs about him but in the everyday, the ordinary: the sharing of food, the sharing of life, the making of love. If there is a uniqueness about Jesus it is in how he makes life liveable. I guess this is why he said I have come that you might have life, and have it to the full.

John 4:5-42

2011-03-22T14:09:00.000+11:00

John 4:5-42

What a great passage this is about crossing religious, cultural and gender boundaries and making of them a non issue. Jesus knows a lot about this particular woman. He lets her know what he knows about her religion and her personal life but just because he knows it he doesn't condemn her or point it out to gain some superior moral or religious position over her. She is known deeply by Jesus but Jesus doesn't use this knowledge to further oppress her. Perhaps she was known in the town as a woman of ill repute, or as we might say today, a slut or one of many words men often use to put a woman down. Words which we could use to show our moral superiority over such a woman. Jesus knows of her sexual reputation but that is not an issue to him, at least not enough of an issue to condemn her for. There is no mention of sin, just an offer of eternal life. Jesus doesn't drain the life out of her instead his words fill her to overflowing with hope and possibilities. Could this be the Christ?
The kind of response we might have expected from the town could have been, "Who do you think you are with your immoral life? We already know who you are. We don't need any stranger telling us who you are and what you have done. We know it only too well." Instead, the response is overwhelmingly positive. The woman believes in Jesus and so does the whole town. The people come flooding out to meet Jesus, a Jew, a stranger, another man, and they welcome him to stay in their town.
The offer of eternal life is quite extraordinary and the response is extraordinary too. Here is a picture of people of a diluted heretical religion, people with suspect theology and practices, welcoming the message of Jesus with an incredible thirst for pure spirit and truth. The message of Jesus is always life giving, life enhancing. Could this be the Christ? Are we offering spirit and truth, or perhaps more importantly are we ourselves drinking of the eternal life, the spirit and truth that Jesus brings to us and this world; a spirit and truth that prevents us from seeing anyone else as lesser than ourselves, because of their gender, religion or culture?

John 3:1-17

2011-03-18T17:19:00.000+11:00

John 3:1-17 Nicodemus comes out

For Nicodemus to be born again he had to first sneak out at night under the cover of darkness to consult with the very one who was being critical of Nicodemus's own religious beliefs. Even more than this, Nicodemus was 'Israel's teacher' and Jesus was challenging all that Nicodemus had ever taught, all that he stood for, all that he was. Nicodemus finally comes out as a follower of Jesus by accompanying Joseph of Arimathea to bury Jesus after he was crucified. It is not just a matter of disposing the body as quickly and discreetly as possible, Nicodemus brings with him a very large amount of spices with which to wrap Jesus' body. He undoubtedly had a great love for Jesus as well as respect for him and his teaching. He had in his own life stepped out from the old and embraced the new life of the Spirit that Jesus spoke of.

Our religion can become a burden to us and we as preachers and teachers can inflict that burden on others. Jesus says,"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." Jesus offers a spirituality of the Spirit, a breath of fresh air in the lives of individuals and the mighty winds of change in society, a transforming presence to change the world. Nicodemus no doubt heard the wind of the Spirit, it took him out at night, he felt it, it moved him, it opened him up to new possibilities and he was touched by the words of Jesus. Religion can be like a two edged Sword, it can help protect but also cut us in pieces. It can give us security, a world view, hope and a path to follow but it can also trap us, keep us from going that extra mile of discovery. I am not sure why we humans like the safety of our religions, with their laws, rules and regulations and why we prefer to hide behind them rather than to come out and expose ourselves to the light of honest truth and to the fresh winds of the Spirit which may carry us away to new depths and breadths of discovering the eternal life of which Jesus spoke. Sometimes that coming out at night, is a long gestation period, a struggle, a time in the wilderness, a lenten period, before the light dawns anew upon us and upon the world and we are born anew.

Matthew 4:1-11

2011-03-09T17:22:00.000+11:00

Then the the Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their greatness. "All this I will give you," the Devil said, "if you kneel down and worship me."

All over the world people are trying to seize power or retain control by whatever means they can. Libya is the country most in the spotlight at the moment. How many people will die in this struggle? How many will be maimed for life? How many will be forced to flee their homes and end up as refugees and for how long?
In our political systems, in our churches, in our work places we see people trying to seize power so that they can rule. We see power struggles all around us. What if we were given it on a plate, without cost to us, without the need to cheat or malign the other?

Jesus is taken to the very top, a very high mountain, where he can look out on all the surrounding kingdoms and he is offered it on a plate, without a struggle, without blood shed. Jesus turns the offer down. Would we have turned it down? Do we turn it down when offered to us in the same way? For a start it wasn't the Devil's to offer anyway, although at times it may seem like the world is under the control of some evil influence. The earth belongs to all the people or rather all the people on earth belong to the earth. From the earth we are born and to the earth we return at death. It is ours to share, to enjoy, to care for and to pass on to future generations. The earth nor anyone on it is ours to possess, to do with as we will, to exploit or abuse.

Jesus doesn't take power, or control, in the way that we like to do, from a position of power and influence. Actually, I don't think he does take power, not over people anyway. Jesus' agenda is not about possession, or about control but about releasing us from our desires to control the other, from our desires to rule over others. The way Jesus does it is by giving of himself freely and lovingly even to death. His way to up is down. His blood shed instead of the blood of others. There is no running over the top of others, no subjugating the beliefs of others to our beliefs, no enforcing of doctrines and dogma, rather he issues an invitation to follow a different way, the way of Jesus. When we look at how we operate in the church are we taking the way of Jesus or are we trying to get our way at all costs? Are we taking short cuts to the top? Do we take the hand of nepotism and therefore run over the rights of equal access? Do we take the safe track turning our eyes from unjust practices?

Lent is known as a time of giving up. How about giving up power or giving away power, for example the need to control our partner, or the need to control the church, or the need to control the people in our particular country?

Matthew 17:1-9

2011-03-01T11:54:00.000+11:00

Matthew 17:1-9

This is one passage that comes around every year in the Revised Common Lectionary and one that does not exactly thrill me. I am not really into other worldly ecstatic spiritual experiences because I think there is so much to do in this world to make it a better place, so I find reading the account of Jesus and his disciples up a high mountain, alone, away from daily life a bit challenging. It is not Jesus' face shining like the sun or his clothes dazzling white, or the appearance of Moses and Elijah or the bright cloud that grabs my attention, but the words, "This is my son, the beloved, with whom I am very pleased, listen to him!"

These were the words that Jesus heard at his baptism, that he was very much loved and that God was very pleased with him. The disciples would have heard this too and Peter recalls it in his letter (2 Peter 1:17). The account is known as the Transfiguration. Transfiguration is about change, changing form, about being transformed. If we want to see this world change, if we want to see this world being transformed from a place of violence and injustice and inequity this passage says something to us about listening, really listening to the words of Jesus, one whose life was grounded in the knowledge that God was very pleased with him and that God loved him dearly, and one whose life was lived in this love. So pause and listen for the love in his words, in his words that brought about transformation in people's lives. Let these words transform us and continue to transform us. For me it is love that can really change people, love can transform anyone.