Paying attention

One article I read about the resurrection this week is headed: If It's Not Hard to Believe, You're Probably Not Paying Attention!. (1)

Most of us have heard the resurrection stories so many times they all merge together. This year we have heard from the gospel according to Luke. Luke who begins the gospel with Elizabeth and Zechariah and the birth of John; Joseph and  Mary and the birth of Jesus, the angels appearing to the shepherds, telling the good news of the birth of the saviour. And on the day of his blessing in the temple and the words of Simeon and Anna.

In the part of the story we heard today, more women and angels - the women make sure they know where the tomb is so they can go back after the Sabbath and anoint the body according to their traditions.  Notice that Luke names 3 women and adds as well as the others, so at least 5, maybe more.

Luke is a great storyteller, in this passage the thing that stood out for me is the action and emotion.

• they were perplexed at the empty tomb
• they were terrified when the angels suddenly appeared
• they remembered his words
• returning from the tomb
• these words seemed to them an idle tale
• Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in
• Amazed

Notice no-one shouts Hallelujah, or says I told you so. No-one was expecting this to happen, even though Jesus had told them about it beforehand.

This could make a great thriller – who stole the body, the guards? The religious leaders? Did Pilate change his mind and put it back up to decay as was normal? Then the appearance of angels, and the disbelieving disciples and Peter’s amazement. Then to find out the body hasn’t been stolen, Jesus is alive?

If you read further in chapter 24, there is conversation and meal with Jesus.

If It's Not Hard to Believe, You're Probably Not Paying Attention!.

I wonder what Easter means for us today, a long weekend, chocolate, the Easter show.

I sometimes wonder if the gospels and in particular the story of resurrection is so amazing that we don’t think too much about it, because if we did it would create too many questions for us.

Between the gospel records we have Jesus appearing behind locked doors, so maybe a ghost but then Jesus eats in other stories, so not a ghost; in some of the resurrection appearances people recognise him instantly, others do not.

I have no idea about the nature of the resurrection body, I don’t know how it was done; would I have remembered Jesus words on that Sunday morning if I had been one of the women, I doubt it, overwhelmed by grief, scared of the guards reaction, and all too aware that dead means dead.

Yet I know that the resurrection is real, not because I can explain it, not because I understand it, but because of the new life I have been offered.

Why do I believe, in Jesus, in Resurrection, in salvation? I believe because of my experience, because of times when the presence of God is all that kept me breathing; because of times when I  have been aware of something happening in my life, of a warmth, a glow, a voice. I don’t understand any of these things, but they happened to me, and still do; and the Christian gospel is the what makes sense of those experiences.

Believing is one thing, but the call of Jesus is not to believe, but to follow. Not just about what is in our head, or even our heart, but our hands, our voice, our life.

If It's Not Hard to Believe, You're Probably Not Paying Attention!.

I wonder if we want the Gospel to be easy, to be about comfort and forgiveness, to be about God and me. But the Gospel isn’t just about God and me, sure there is the personal relationship that we have through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus; but there is more to it than that.   I wonder if we want the gospel to be personal and warm and easy, so that we don’t struggle with what the gospel asks of us.

 

Believing in the resurrection means not only saying yes to Jesus, but also saying no to those things that destroy life. It means committing ourselves to living in ways that are sustainable for all people, not just ourselves.  It means opening our lives to the new life we are offered, and living that out every day.

Jesus, all through Luke’s gospel is breaking down barriers, against women, gentiles and anyone considered to be a sinner. Believing in resurrection means living out that inclusion, welcome and respect for all people.

In Resurrection God is reconciling the whole of creation, sure we know it isn’t completed yet. but we also play our part in the reconciliation of all things, working as part of the new order of resurrection, not the old order of judgement and selfishness.

If It's Not Hard to Believe, You're Probably Not Paying Attention!.

Poem by Ann Siddall (2)

For those who first went out

into the early dawn, when the sky was grey,
taking spices to the tomb,
there was terror, and surprise.
.......

 What parts of today’s story do you find hard to believe?

What difference does resurrection make in your life?

 

(1) an article by David Lose

(2) http://stillpoint.unitingchurchsa.org.au/

 

genrous, humble, christ like

Over the past 5 weeks we have mainly thought about the Old Testament readings for the week. This week we make up a little for that, with 2 gospel readings and a reading from Philippians.  Each reading will be followed by a reflection and hymn.

Reading: John 12:1-8

Reflection

 

Mary doesn’t speak about her love for Jesus

Mary doesn’t stay in the background

Mary shows her love

 

During Lent we think about giving something up,

often it is seen as a sombre time,

a time for grey rather than colour;  

a time to simplify our living

 

Yet, here we have this story of extravagance, of generosity.

Extravagance, not for herself, but for Jesus.

 

This is a family that is close to Jesus, we have heard about them in the raising of Lazarus, and the argument between Mary and Martha. In this section of John’s gospel we again see Mary at the feet of Jesus. Pouring perfume over his feet, wiping them with her hair. It sounds very sensual. Judas points out the cost.

 

When Jesus responds to Judas concern for the poor, he is quoting from Deuteronomy 15. “Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you: Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbour in your land.”

 

This is not to say ignore the poor, but live generously.

 

In what ways do you live, and give, generously?

 

Prayer based on John 12

http://stillpoint.unitingchurchsa.org.au/files/2012/04/Lent-and-Easter-liturgies-Year-C-2010.pdf

 

Hymn/song : TIS 439 What shall we offer our good Lord

Offering

 

Luke 19:28-40

 

Reflection

 

Some comments:

In Luke, there are no palms, only cloaks on the ground.

In Luke, it is the disciples not the crowds who shout in praise.

At his birth the angels sang:

 ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’

[Luke 2:14 New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised]

Here, the disciples call out :

"Blessed is the king
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest heaven!"

 

At his birth, and as Jesus nears death, his is a reign of peace. Peace on earth and peace in heaven.

Can you imagine going to a parade to welcome not a winning sports team, not a political parade, but the one who brings peace without a sword?

Peace was a big issue for the community, then as now.  The Romans and Jewish leaders had their own version of peace, that is keep everyone so constrained that  nothing destabilises the empire.

That is not the kind of peace that Jesus lived, or that Jesus offers us.

Jesus does not rule us with terror and threats, Jesus offers life, and love and hope. Jesus is riding a humble animal into Jerusalem at the beginning of the festival season. A time when there is also a parade to ‘welcome’ the armed reinforcements to keep ‘the peace’.

It has been said that peace is not the absence of conflict.

How would you describe peace?

Peace in Heaven – the triumphal entry

— written by Lynette Wiebe, 2004. Posted on the Mennonite Church Canada Resource Centre website.

Hymn/song : Lord, What a Parade!

Prayers of the people      and    The Lord’s Prayer

 Philippians 2:5-11

 Reflection

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,”

In the first reading today we hear of a Jesus who accepted the offering of Mary, who defended her right to show extravagant love.

 

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,”

In the second reading we hear of a humble man, a man of peace, bringing in a peaceable kingdom.

 

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,”

In the letter to the Philippians we hear of a king who took the form of humanity.

We hear of a person who is humble and obedient.

 

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,”

 

Lent is a time when we prepare to hear again the passion story. A love story. A story of betrayal. A  story of courage and devotion. A story of fear and rejection.

 

This is a powerful story, a life changing story, a story with the potential to change the world.

 

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,”

 What needs to change in your life?

Hymn/song TiS 609 May the mind of Christ my Saviour

 

a new thing

“ Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth,
do you not perceive it?”  [Isaiah 43: ]

I am about to do a new thing. The prophet Isaiah was speaking God’s word to a people in exile, a people lost, demoralised, a people who for generations had lived outside their land.

Two of the major formative periods for the people of Israel were the Exodus and the Exile. The exodus was when the people left Egypt. In Egypt they had been slaves. Moses led the people out of Egypt, through the parted waters, then led them for 40 years in the wilderness [about 1250 BC]. This story is recounted many times in the Bible. It is a story about their identity as a people.

The Exile was 6-800 years later, the people of Israel were taken during the war with the Babylonians. The country was destroyed and people were taken from the land.  

Ancient empires knew that to eradicate a people, it didn’t just mean capturing the king and army; they knew they had to destroy the vision, the  dream, the spirit if the people. Not only were armies taken captive, but poets, artists, anyone who might be able to keep the hopes and dreams of the people alive.[1]

Life was comfortable, they could settle into the ways of the Babylonians and forget who they are. In many ways we are like the people in exile. How often are we so caught up in paying the mortgage, updating the house, more and more experiences of sport or theatre, holidays in more exotic places.  How often are we caught up in the system of making money, making a name for ourselves?

It is easy to get on this escalator, and harder and harder to remember who we are, the people of God. People who are marked with the sign of the cross; people whose identity is found in Christ, not commercialism, capitalism or communism.

Prophets were not people who told the future, they were people who spoke God’s word into the public space. Not religious leaders, but people who were given a word to speak at a particular time, sometimes a word of challenge. Here in this section of Isaiah it is no longer a word of challenge, but a word of comfort. The people were broken in spirit, and Isaiah is reminding the people of God; the God who rescued them from Egypt will lead them home.

For  a people whose identity is bound up in the past, part of this reading seems strange to me, this is from an Aussie paraphrase:

“Now I say to you: Don’t dwell on the things of the past;
........don’t get bogged down in nostalgia.
I am about to do something completely new;
........can’t you see it taking shape before your very eyes?”[2]

A lot of what we do in Church is remembering the past, we remember the story of the exodus, the story of people entering a new land, the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. These stories are foundational to our faith. But, we too need to hear what Isaiah is saying: don’t get bogged down in nostalgia.

The stories of this country and this community; the stories of this congregation and the Uniting Church are what we build on. It is no good having foundations if that is all there is. The events of the past are just that, in many ways they shape us; but God tells us the past does not hold us or define us. Here Isaiah is telling the people to look for the new thing that God is already doing in their midst. Remember the past, because that can bring hope. In the same way God was present in the Exodus, God is present in the exile and God is present now. Remember the past, but don’t dwell in it, don’t long for the past, look to what new thing God is doing.

One thing I have learnt is that life with God means taking some risks.

I look at Mary in the Gospel reading today and think of the great risk she took; and the great love she showed. Mary risked ridicule, gossip and rejection. She showed devotion in a way that recognised that Jesus was likely to die very soon.

We need to act out of faith, and that includes taking risks:

Risking the way of Jesus, the way of love, of inclusion, of welcoming the stranger,

Risking the way of Jesus, the way of peace, of non-violence

Risking the way of Jesus, the way of generosity, of giving all, of sharing resources with those in need.

Faith is a verb, not a noun. Faith is active. Faith is acknowledging God’s faithfulness in the past, and being open and alert for what God is doing now.

“Don’t dwell on the things of the past;
........don’t get bogged down in nostalgia.
I am about to do something completely new;
........can’t you see it taking shape before your very eyes?”[3]

When do you get bogged down in the past?

What new thing can you see taking shape?

Where is your identity formed?

 

We now take some time to listen to what God is saying to us today .

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[1] Kathryn Matthews Huey on UCC SAMUEL

[2] ©2001 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net

[3] ©2001 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net

change is normal

Our themes over the past few weeks have been taken from the Old Testament

Lent 1 we looked at Isaiah 58, the reading for Ash Wednesday, as we thought about what an acceptable fast might look like.  The reading for that day was from Deuteronomy, while the people were still wandering in the wilderness. Here we thought about the dominant story in our lives. Moses gave the people rituals to remember the story of the exodus, the story of liberation from oppression, of wandering in the wilderness and the entry into an new land.  What rituals help you to remember and tell the story of faith?

Lent 2 we heard a reading from Genesis, where Abram and Sarai are promised a future, something that seemed impossible given their age and lack of children.  Do we look at the future, in despair, or can we trust God with the future?

Lent 3, last week, we read psalm 63, and thought about the ways in worship is, or is not, a safe place for people; we also heard Isaiah 55, and thought about God’s invitation to eat and drink; this led to us reflecting on the choices we make. In what ways do the choices we make give life to us and others, in what ways do the choices we make kill our spirits or inhibit life in general?

This morning we have heard a reading from the book of Joshua.  At the end of Deuteronomy, Moses dies; Moses, along with many others who left Egypt, never set foot in the promised land. Joshua was appointed by Moses to lead the people after his death. In chapter 3, the Israelites cross the river Jordan; on dry ground, as the priests stood in the middle of the river holding the ark of the covenant.

Joshua 4: 19-24 “The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. ²⁰ Those twelve stones, which they had taken out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal, ²¹ saying to the Israelites, “When your children ask their parents in time to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ ²² then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel crossed over the Jordan here on dry ground.’ ²³ For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we crossed over, ²⁴ so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, and so that you may fear the Lord your God forever.””

[1]

 “Our Old Testament thread in Lent has been on the covenant between God and the people of Israel. Today’s lesson from Joshua marks another instance of where God fulfills the covenant, even when the people have gone astray. God has made a nation out of the descendants of Abraham and Sarah. God has led them through the wilderness, and now as they enter their new home, God is providing them with the stability of home. No longer will they gather manna, they will be able to grow their own crops. As they celebrate the Passover, remembering what God had done for them in delivering them from slavery in Egypt, the manna ceases, and God’s abundance is revealed in the land around them.” [2]

What has all this to do with us today, 3-3 ½  thousand years later?

The people we have been reading about, people in exile, people in the wilderness, Moses, Abram and Joshua, are our ancestors in faith; their story is part of our story – part, not all, of our story.  and like them we need to remember who we are. We are people of the story, and we need to keep telling the story, the story of a God who is faithful, the story of a God who keeps reaching out to us, who offers a future, reconciliation and a continuing presence.  The people of Israel had markers, like the stones at Gilgal; rituals like the Passover, times when the story would be told, times when people would hear and remember and tell the stories of faith. 

We too have rituals, we too have places that mean something to us, we too look for ways to tell and retell the story of God’s love and grace and persistence with a stubborn people.

We do that each time we baptise and celebrate communion; we also tell the important stories of the birth and death and resurrection of Jesus each year. Christmas and Easter are celebrated in the wider community, but for us they are times to tell the story of birth, of shepherds and angels and wonder, to tell the story of trial and crucifixion, the story of an empty tomb, of new life.

We often think of change as something new. Moses and the people went through great change; at times the people in the wilderness wanted to go back to the known, which was oppression under Pharaoh. For many people trying something new, something different is so risky, that it is easier to stay where we are, even if that is not a healthy place to be.

“The fear of change can overwhelm us, paralyse us and keep us from living. But that is not our only option.

Changes on this journey to the Promised Land – even when the rules change and nothing is predictable anymore – also mean that everything is about to become new. Life is about to emerge from death. That is God’s promise.

Even as change sweeps over us, can we be ashamed no more? Can we give up what is holding us back or holding us down? Can we move towards the Good News of Jesus Christ? Can we keep joy in our hearts?” ^[3]

Without change there is stagnation and decay. The reading from Corinthians today includes the words: Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. God has done it all!^[4]

[5] 

 

Where is God calling us to tell the story in a  new way?

Where is God calling us to embrace change?

[leave image up]

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[1] Prepared in PowerPoint by Carolyne Chandler, based on the Lion Handbook to the Bible and generated as an animation by pyvnc2swf

http://www.croydon.unitingchurch.org.au/www/ot_history.html

[2] By Rev. Mindi On March 1, 2013

 

[3] By Jodi H. Beyeler, assistant director of communications and marketing Goshen College

[4] 2 Corinthians 5: 17-18 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

[5] Unfortunately I can’t remember where this came from - an image which has on it 'we live in a time of momentous historical change that is both exhilarating and frightening christianity itself is becoming something different to what it once was' Diana Butler Bass

Choose well

The title is from the study An Acceptable Fast from The Thoughtful Christian http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/

We live in a world of advertising, where we are told what it is that will satisfy us, what will make is likable, lovable, what will give our life meaning – it may be a new car, a house in a particular area or even the brand of bread that you eat.

These things don’t satisfy us, they don’t fill that God shaped void inside us.

A paraphrase of the psalm begins[1]:

“You are my God and I crave you;
........all that I am thirsts for you;
every fibre of my being aches for you,
........like a parched and weary land longing for rain.”

Does that sound like you? thirsting, aching for God?

“Let me stay here in this sacred place
........and drink in the vision of your strength and glory.”

Here the psalmist is speaking about the presence of God in the sanctuary; that is sensing God’s presence, of the holy, God’s glory and power as  we worship together in community.

“With every breath I sing your praises,
........because your rock-solid love
................is worth more to me than life itself.

I will worship you till my dying day,
........with my hands reaching out to you
................and my voice calling your name.

You are like a rich banquet to my soul;
........like a meal I can’t praise enough!”

Our response to God is praise and worship, because we know that God is needed in our lives, God provides food for our soul.

“Even in the dead of night
........I lie awake thinking of you,
................and savouring each treasured thought.

I snuggle under your wings and sing for joy,
........for you have been my help and support.

With all that I am I cling to you,
........and your strong loving arms hold me safe.”

And it isn’t only when we are in church singing our favourite hymns, but when we lie awake at night, that we can trust in God.

some thoughts from the psalm:

When we gather for worship, is this a safe place for people who are yearning for God, who are broken and thirsty to come and be filled by God? There are people in our community who yearn for God, but are not sure they would be welcome in our midst? How would you feel if aboriginal people were in this congregation, or single parents and their children?

Which brings us to Isaiah, and his invitation to Come:

Come and eat and drink without money

“Hey you! Are you thirsty?
........Come, then; drink from these fresh waters!
Are you hungry and penniless?
........Never mind! Come; help yourselves; eat your fill!
Come and stock up with food, wine and milk.
........What will it cost you? Not a red cent!”[2]

 God’s generous invitation to life.

This section of Isaiah was written when the people of Israel were in exile, this hymn is an invitation to leave the place of exile and go to the land of their ancestors, a land that their generation do not know.  Make a choice, stay in the land of exile, or return to the land of your ancestors, a place you have never seen. In the Bible we see people making choices about leaving the familiar behind and going to a new place.   Going from what was familiar, following God’s call to travel to a new place, leaving Egypt, Abraham and Sarah, exiles returning home.

This is both physical and spiritual; this passage beckons us to choose from all that is available to us.  In Isaiah we are asked :

“Why sink all your money into things that leave you hungry?
........Why bust a gut working for things that can never satisfy?”

 We make choices every day, some are big choices, what to name a child, what will you study at school or university, who will you spend your time with, where will you live;  but there are other choices we make every day: what will we eat, who will we talk with, what will we wear. Those choices effect other people.

The writer of Isaiah asks: why spend money on that which does not satisfy?

This is one of the issues in western communities – we crave experiences, clothes, shoes, food – not because we need it to stay alive, but because we are searching for something to fill our lives, to bring a sense of purpose into our lives.  

We hunger for God, and God calls us to come, to eat, to drink – to choose.  How often are we aware of our hunger for God; in what ways do we bury that feeling, or cover it up.

 For our community are hungry, hungry for food, hungry for a future. Because in our society, you must have money to buy food. In some places it is cheaper to buy fried food then fresh fruit and vegetables, and when money is tight, people buy the cheapest filling food they can find.

 During Lent, when we slow down a little and we can look again at our relationship with God and God’s creation.  Maybe during Lent we can become more aware of our hunger for God, our yearning for God. Maybe during Lent we can become aware of the choices we make each day. In the same way that we talk about spending money we talk about spending time, and my guess is that time is in much shorter supply for many of you here today than money. For some of us at least, the reading from Isaiah would be why do you spend time on that which does not satisfy; why spend time doing things which do not promote life, which kill off your spirit?

“Maybe the point of Lent is for us to adjust our sights so that we at least understand what it is we should hunger for, or in fact what we do hunger and thirst for, in our deepest being: justice, mercy, peace, healing, acceptance, love. And not just for ourselves, but for all of God's children”[3]

The hymn following is from here: http://www.newhymn.com/160ChooseLife.htm

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[1] ©2001 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net.” Year C Third Sunday in Lent 3 March 2013

[2] Ibid.

[3] Reflection: by Kathryn Matthews Huey UCC SAMUEL