This past week was a most difficult for me, as I listened to, and empathized with, people in deep pain. A young woman mourning her husband killed recently in a motor vehicle crash. A young couple grieving over the death of their only child, a two years old, and a recent victim of a hit and run motor vehicle crash. A pastor all broken up by both the loss of a colleague's daughter, sixteen years old, through illness, and the murder of another colleague's son, twenty four years old. Add to that people suffering from the pain of relationship issues, job losses and an uncertain future in a country where the dollar continues to be devalued almost daily and the murder rate goes on unabated. In fact we awoke this morning to the horrible news, that four people had been shot and killed at a wake in the Western part of the island.
So what good news did the Lord send in midst of all this suffering? Preach Christ and Him crucified, as all power to effect change, to stand by and provide help for a suffering, and a sinful people, comes from our placing a focus and priority on the great act of Redemption wrought on the cross of Calvary.
No doubt the seed was sown by my Pastor who, in a most profound statement, reminded us in the midst of the Easter Sunday celebrations, that Christians move from Good Friday to Easter Sunday and then back to Good Friday. It is an issue worth pondering, as if accepted, would make a mockery of some of the superficial " denials" that we engage in during the Lenten period. And therefore the most important lesson to be gained from the Lenten experience is that the denial of self, and our own ambitions and agendas, and suffering with Christ, is the way of the cross, and the only way by which Christians can be endued with power " from on high " to help suffering and sinful mankind.
Then the Lord validated all of this by leading me to reflect of St. Paul's great teaching experience on suffering which is found in 2. Corinthians.
" To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, " My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness". Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That's why for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2. cor. 12:7-10 NIV
This is really counterculture stuff!. Can you imagine, and do we believe, that we are called not just to endure suffering, for Christ's sake, and complain and lament and pray for deliverance. But rather to find peace in the midst of the suffering, as the joy of being strong for the Lord far outweighs any difficulties. Only the power of the Holy Spirit can assist us to believe first of all, and then actually look forward to suffering with Christ, in order that suffering humanity may benefit from the power, the " streams of living waters" that will then flow through us. Is this what our children are learning about the faith? Is this our adult understanding about being a disciple of Christ?
There is more. And also in 2. Cor. It's one of the most wonderful books in the Bible. At least for me. This time St Paul reflecting on the fact that, we who are the body of Christ, and children of God, have been given the message and ministry of reconciliation, and that we are " being transformed into his likeness, with ever increasing glory", makes two statements which again the Lord led me to reflect on this week - in fact the latter I have been meditating on for some time now.
" But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed"
2. Cor. 4:7-12. NIV
Again the promise of suffering, but always " not abandoned", is made for us who have this great power. It is the same power which suffering Peter and John possessed which helped them to say to the beggar at the church gate, " Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Acts 3:6
Would to God that our suffering with Christ, our faith in Him, and His grace and mercy would all result in this kind of power flowing through the church to suffering and sinful mankind.
But for me the final example about suffering in this message, and they are many others in the Bible, is one about which I have been praying for some time now.
" We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our body........so than death is at work in us, but life is at work in you".
2. Cor 4: 10-12 NIV
I pray God that He will answer this kind of prayer from all of us, so that " life may be at work" in suffering and sinful humanity with whom we come in contact daily or weekly or yearly. And that "times of refreshing" may come upon our people.
Finally in this context, the words of an old song which again carried the same message. The power of the great act of redemption on the cross.
I am Thine O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee
Refrain
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord
To the cross where Thou hast died,
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord
To Thy precious bleeding side
Consecrate me now to Thy service Lord,
By the power of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine
Refrain
O the pure delight of a single hour
that before Thy throne I spend;
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune with as friend with friend.
Refrain
There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord
To Thy precious bleeding side
Amen.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
A Blessed Easter: Jesus Christ is Risen indeed
I spent the first part of Lent reading Bonhoeffer's Ethics, and during the vigil from Holy Thursday through Holy Saturday, his " Meditations on the Cross" replaced Ethics as my reading material. So now that Easter is here once again, what has the Lord revealed to me following my observance and celebration of this, the most critical, period in the history of mankind.
First of all, as you will notice, my joy, though very much present is not a triumphalist emotion that has taken over my very soul. Yes we sang the Easter anthems and celebrated the fact that on this day, we like the disciples, on that very first Easter Sunday can exult that " The Lord is risen. He is risen indeed". Yes I am very mindful ( and thankful ) of the observations of my mentor and former Bishop of Kingston, the late Herman Spence that " you cannot really celebrate the joy of Easter unless you have been through the the pain and angst of Lent and Good Friday". But my joy is tempered by two things. One is that my readings and reflections have led me to appreciate very deeply that, as Christians our understanding of what Christ calls us to do, is often very superficial , and at worst we are guilty of holding on to very erroneous doctrines. The other is that the consequences of this lack of understanding is very profound in its implication for humankind. And so though my soul is rejoicing, I am also quite burdened.
Why? Many reasons, and I will deal with them point by point without necessarily placing them in the order of priority.
Let me start with the most recent. " You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot". You are the light of the world........... Matthew 5:13-16
From this very well known passage Bonhoeffer draws ( reminds us) the following conclusions.
"The addressees here are those whom the Beatitudes called into the grace of discipleship of the Crucified ( Christ) Those who were called blessed in the Beatitudes, while being considered worthy of the kingdom of heaven, obviously nevertheless appeared to be utterly unworthy of life on this earth, or to be superfluous. Here now they are designated by the symbol of a substance which is indispensable for life on earth. They are the salt of the earth. They are the earth's most noble possession, its most precious asset. Without them, the earth cannot continue to live. the earth is kept alive by salt. For the sake of precisely these poor ignoble, weak, whom the world rejects, the earth itself lives. It destroys its own life by expelling the disciples, and ---a miracle! --- precisely for the sake of these outcasts the earth is permitted to live on......Only insofar as that salt remains salt , and maintains its purifying seasoning powers can it maintain and preserve the earth..............They are that salt whether they want to be or not, in the power of the call they have encountered.
The other possibility, however, is that the salt loses its taste, and ceases to be salt. Its activity ceases. And then indeed it is good for nothing except to be thrown away. That is the other side. That is the threatening judgement hovering over the community of disciples......The call of Jesus means being the salt of the earth or being destroyed".
Now you can appreciate the enormity of what concerns me, about my own actions, the church and the world. This Christian life, this call to follow a risen Lord is a very, very, very, serious matter. There is nothing else more important in the entire existence and agenda of any Christian. And so too for unbelievers, whether they know it or not. Because, the existence and future of all mankind depends very heavily on our understanding, " knowing the faith", and then being obedient. May God have mercy on those who have led His children into falsehood and a superficial understanding of Easter. Yes, Jesus declared that " It is finished", on the Cross. In the sense that His Atonement for the sins of all mankind was completed. His mission was accomplished. But we, His disciples, who have been given the, " Message and Ministry of reconciliation", are required by word and deed to spread this good news to the uttermost ends of the earth. And if we fail to remain salt we will be " thrown away". Judgement will be pronounced. In the same way that Mordecai's warned a seemingly reluctant and afraid , Queen Esther:
" Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish."
In the face of the enormity and reality of human sin, we who have been Baptised, died in Christ, and raised to a new life in Him, called to be His disciples, have as our main responsibility, the sharing of the good news. We cannot afford to " keep our light under a bushel", for God's plan for mankind cannot be thwarted by our inaction, and the spread of the good news will arise from someone else, but we will be judged.
No wonder my pastor declared, again today, that we need to remember that as disciples of Christ, we move from Good Friday to Easter and back to Good Friday again. No wonder our young Curate ( assistant Priest) declared that yes, we should sing " God is good, God is good....how can I let Him down. As He is so good to me. But let us rejoice, not so much for the material gifts of a good God, but more importantly, for the great spiritual gifts provided for all mankind on the Cross; Eternal Life and being the " salt " of the earth. Compared with the car and the house, the deliverance from sickness, the new job, the husband and the children.
Which therefore means that this issue of being a Missionary - whether played out in evangelism in its various forms, or in doing good works - is not an option, but a command from Jesus, to all individuals and churches who celebrate Easter. The privilege of being a disciple carries awesome responsibilities, for which God will always provide the power, the Holy Spirit, the ministering angel, for all who are obedient. Regardless of the odds, as the battle is not ours but the Lords.
Another related issue:
" Therefore since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access by faith to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces patience, and patience produces experience, and experience produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Romans 5:1-5.
Bonhoeffer's take on this is as follows:
" We have peace with God. Peace is found beneath the cross. Here one surrenders to God's will, here our own will comes to an end, here one finds repose and quiet in God, here one finds peace of conscience in the forgiveness of all our sins. Here, beneath the cross, one finds" access to this grace in which we stand", daily access to peace with God. Here is the only path in the world to peace with God. In Jesus Christ alone is God's wrath stilled and we ourselves are overcome and drawn into God's will. This is why the cross of Jesus Christ is for His congregation the eternal ground of joy and hope for God's coming glory....Here in the cross God's justice and victory on earth have commenced. Here He will someday be revealed to all the world. The peace we reveal here will become an eternal and glorious peace in the kingdom of God.
And yet though we would prefer to stop here,,,,Scripture here will not let us go. "And not only that .... we now read. So not everything has been said so far...that's why we now read...' And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings'. Whether we really have found God's peace will be shown how we deal with the sufferings that will come on us. There are many Christians who do indeed kneel before the cross of Jesus Christ, and yet reject and struggle against every tribulation in their lives......They have basically merely sought peace with the world, believing that possibly that by means of the cross of Jesus Christ they might best come to terms with themselves and with all their questions, and thus find inner peace of the soul. They have used the cross, but not loved it. They have sought peace for their own sake. But when tribulation comes, that peace quickly flees them......
Thus those who merely hate tribulations, renunciation, distress, defamation, imprisonment in their own lives, no matter how grandiosely they may speak about the cross, these people in reality hate the cross of Jesus and have not found peace with God. But those who love the cross of Jesus Christ, those who have genuinely found peace in it, now begin tot love even the tribulations in their lives, and ultimately will be able to cay with scripture, ' we also boast in our suffering."
One of the great temptations that Satan provides is an idea that Christians ought not to suffer or go through hard times. That it is only on account of a lack of faith why some do not receive their " deliverance". It is a 'culture' which has become very pervasive in my country, and one that is undermining the effective witness of the church. As such false doctrine does not have any power to " set the captives free". And which freedom from immorality, greed, pride, ignorance, arrogance, lust and countless others, is a constant feature associated with the spread of the authentic good news. No, the Spirit of God working in and through His Saints from the time of Calvary, reveals to us the critical importance of accepting, and more so even "boasting in the suffering" associated with our discipleship.
Bonhoeffer offers still yet other perspectives on suffering:
" The cross in never simply a matter of suffering, but a matter of suffering and rejection, and strictly speaking, rejection for the sake of Jesus Christ, not for the sake of some other arbitrary behaviour or confession....each of us is to bear the measure of suffering and rejection specifically appointed for us. And the measure is is different for each of us. God deems some worthy of great suffering, and to them he grants the blessing of martyrdom. Others he does not allow to be tempted beyond their strength. But still it is the one cross.......
But there is yet another suffering and yet another another disgrace that no Christian escapes. Only Christ's own suffering is the suffering of reconciliation. Yet because Christ did suffer for the sake of the world's sins, because the entire burden of sin fell upon him, and because Christ bequeaths to the disciples the fruit of of his suffering --because of all of this, temptation and sin also fall upon the disciples. It covers them with pure shame, and expels them from the gates of the city like the scapegoat. Thus does the Christian come to bear the sin and guilt for others. Individual Christians would collapse under the wight of this, were they not themselves borne by him who bore all sins. In this they can, in the power of Christ's own suffering, overcome all the sins that fall upon them by forgiving them. Thus do Christians become bearer of burdens. " Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ". ( Gal. 6:2)
Gossiping about people, especially our own, talking idly or judgementally about their " sins", therefore has no place in the life of a disciple of Christ. Rather we are to bear one another's burdens with forgiveness and with prayers for mercy. If we are ever true to this liberating feature of the call to discipleship, made possibly by our Easter celebrations, our congregations would change overnight, and become more loving, caring and a better collective witness to the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Finally a perspective on the big difference between Christians and Pagans.
Bonhoeffer begins with a poem:
1. People go to God in their need,
for help, happiness and bread they plead
for deliverance from sickness, guilt and death.
Thus do they all, Christians and pagans.
2. People go to God in God's need,
find God poor, reviled, with neither shelter nor bread,
see God entangled in sin, weakness, and death.
Christians stand by God in God's suffering.
3. God comes to all human beings in need,
sates them body and soul with His bread,
dies the death of the cross for Christians and pagans,
and forgives them both.
" Christians stand by God in God's suffering", and that distinguishes Christians from pagans. " Could you not keep awake with me one hour?" Jesus asks in Gethsemane. This is the reversal of everything a religious person expects from God. Human beings are called to suffer with God's own suffering caused by a godless world. That is, they must genuinely live in the godless world, and are not permitted to conceal or transfigure its godlessness in some religious fashion........It is not some religious act that makes one a Christian, but taking part in God's own suffering amid worldly life."
My understanding here, is that disciples of Christ do not have the privilege of " being tired of the sinful life on earth and wanting to die and go to heaven". We do not have the luxury of being tired of " fighting valiantly against evil". No, even in the face of the deeply stressful continuation of the high rate of murder and other acts of violence in our country, Christ's disciples are called to suffer with God's suffering in a godless world. The same principle applies to the nadir to which our moral life in Jamaica has descended, as manifested in the music, public behaviour, our language, and our " dress code". We are called to be " salt" right in the middle of the madness, and not grow weary. So too in the case of the corruption in the security forces, in politics and in the business sector, as it is only the Christian church working out its faith effectually which can make a difference.
Words from an old hymn helped to placed this whole Easter celebrations, and Lenten reflections, in true perspective for me.
New every morning is the love
Our wakening and uprising prove........
New mercies each returning day,
Hover around us while we pray;
New perils past, new sins forgiveness
New thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven....
In the sense that if we truly commend our spirit into the Lord's hands, each night, as Jesus did on the cross before He died, by the way we follow Christ each day, then every morning we will awake and experience " new thoughts of God and new hopes of heaven". Then and only then will we be able to follow the instructions from St. Paul, truly celebrate Easter, and be effective witnesses to Christ's love amidst the godlessness of this earth and be protected from false doctrines
" Since then you have been raised with Christ, Set your minds on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above and not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."
Colossians 3:1-3
Christ is risen indeed. Halleluiah. And so are we to a new life in Christ Jesus. So let us then leave behind the old life which is focused on earthly things. As God is so good, how can we, therefore let Him down. Amen
First of all, as you will notice, my joy, though very much present is not a triumphalist emotion that has taken over my very soul. Yes we sang the Easter anthems and celebrated the fact that on this day, we like the disciples, on that very first Easter Sunday can exult that " The Lord is risen. He is risen indeed". Yes I am very mindful ( and thankful ) of the observations of my mentor and former Bishop of Kingston, the late Herman Spence that " you cannot really celebrate the joy of Easter unless you have been through the the pain and angst of Lent and Good Friday". But my joy is tempered by two things. One is that my readings and reflections have led me to appreciate very deeply that, as Christians our understanding of what Christ calls us to do, is often very superficial , and at worst we are guilty of holding on to very erroneous doctrines. The other is that the consequences of this lack of understanding is very profound in its implication for humankind. And so though my soul is rejoicing, I am also quite burdened.
Why? Many reasons, and I will deal with them point by point without necessarily placing them in the order of priority.
Let me start with the most recent. " You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot". You are the light of the world........... Matthew 5:13-16
From this very well known passage Bonhoeffer draws ( reminds us) the following conclusions.
"The addressees here are those whom the Beatitudes called into the grace of discipleship of the Crucified ( Christ) Those who were called blessed in the Beatitudes, while being considered worthy of the kingdom of heaven, obviously nevertheless appeared to be utterly unworthy of life on this earth, or to be superfluous. Here now they are designated by the symbol of a substance which is indispensable for life on earth. They are the salt of the earth. They are the earth's most noble possession, its most precious asset. Without them, the earth cannot continue to live. the earth is kept alive by salt. For the sake of precisely these poor ignoble, weak, whom the world rejects, the earth itself lives. It destroys its own life by expelling the disciples, and ---a miracle! --- precisely for the sake of these outcasts the earth is permitted to live on......Only insofar as that salt remains salt , and maintains its purifying seasoning powers can it maintain and preserve the earth..............They are that salt whether they want to be or not, in the power of the call they have encountered.
The other possibility, however, is that the salt loses its taste, and ceases to be salt. Its activity ceases. And then indeed it is good for nothing except to be thrown away. That is the other side. That is the threatening judgement hovering over the community of disciples......The call of Jesus means being the salt of the earth or being destroyed".
Now you can appreciate the enormity of what concerns me, about my own actions, the church and the world. This Christian life, this call to follow a risen Lord is a very, very, very, serious matter. There is nothing else more important in the entire existence and agenda of any Christian. And so too for unbelievers, whether they know it or not. Because, the existence and future of all mankind depends very heavily on our understanding, " knowing the faith", and then being obedient. May God have mercy on those who have led His children into falsehood and a superficial understanding of Easter. Yes, Jesus declared that " It is finished", on the Cross. In the sense that His Atonement for the sins of all mankind was completed. His mission was accomplished. But we, His disciples, who have been given the, " Message and Ministry of reconciliation", are required by word and deed to spread this good news to the uttermost ends of the earth. And if we fail to remain salt we will be " thrown away". Judgement will be pronounced. In the same way that Mordecai's warned a seemingly reluctant and afraid , Queen Esther:
" Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish."
In the face of the enormity and reality of human sin, we who have been Baptised, died in Christ, and raised to a new life in Him, called to be His disciples, have as our main responsibility, the sharing of the good news. We cannot afford to " keep our light under a bushel", for God's plan for mankind cannot be thwarted by our inaction, and the spread of the good news will arise from someone else, but we will be judged.
No wonder my pastor declared, again today, that we need to remember that as disciples of Christ, we move from Good Friday to Easter and back to Good Friday again. No wonder our young Curate ( assistant Priest) declared that yes, we should sing " God is good, God is good....how can I let Him down. As He is so good to me. But let us rejoice, not so much for the material gifts of a good God, but more importantly, for the great spiritual gifts provided for all mankind on the Cross; Eternal Life and being the " salt " of the earth. Compared with the car and the house, the deliverance from sickness, the new job, the husband and the children.
Which therefore means that this issue of being a Missionary - whether played out in evangelism in its various forms, or in doing good works - is not an option, but a command from Jesus, to all individuals and churches who celebrate Easter. The privilege of being a disciple carries awesome responsibilities, for which God will always provide the power, the Holy Spirit, the ministering angel, for all who are obedient. Regardless of the odds, as the battle is not ours but the Lords.
Another related issue:
" Therefore since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access by faith to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces patience, and patience produces experience, and experience produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Romans 5:1-5.
Bonhoeffer's take on this is as follows:
" We have peace with God. Peace is found beneath the cross. Here one surrenders to God's will, here our own will comes to an end, here one finds repose and quiet in God, here one finds peace of conscience in the forgiveness of all our sins. Here, beneath the cross, one finds" access to this grace in which we stand", daily access to peace with God. Here is the only path in the world to peace with God. In Jesus Christ alone is God's wrath stilled and we ourselves are overcome and drawn into God's will. This is why the cross of Jesus Christ is for His congregation the eternal ground of joy and hope for God's coming glory....Here in the cross God's justice and victory on earth have commenced. Here He will someday be revealed to all the world. The peace we reveal here will become an eternal and glorious peace in the kingdom of God.
And yet though we would prefer to stop here,,,,Scripture here will not let us go. "And not only that .... we now read. So not everything has been said so far...that's why we now read...' And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings'. Whether we really have found God's peace will be shown how we deal with the sufferings that will come on us. There are many Christians who do indeed kneel before the cross of Jesus Christ, and yet reject and struggle against every tribulation in their lives......They have basically merely sought peace with the world, believing that possibly that by means of the cross of Jesus Christ they might best come to terms with themselves and with all their questions, and thus find inner peace of the soul. They have used the cross, but not loved it. They have sought peace for their own sake. But when tribulation comes, that peace quickly flees them......
Thus those who merely hate tribulations, renunciation, distress, defamation, imprisonment in their own lives, no matter how grandiosely they may speak about the cross, these people in reality hate the cross of Jesus and have not found peace with God. But those who love the cross of Jesus Christ, those who have genuinely found peace in it, now begin tot love even the tribulations in their lives, and ultimately will be able to cay with scripture, ' we also boast in our suffering."
One of the great temptations that Satan provides is an idea that Christians ought not to suffer or go through hard times. That it is only on account of a lack of faith why some do not receive their " deliverance". It is a 'culture' which has become very pervasive in my country, and one that is undermining the effective witness of the church. As such false doctrine does not have any power to " set the captives free". And which freedom from immorality, greed, pride, ignorance, arrogance, lust and countless others, is a constant feature associated with the spread of the authentic good news. No, the Spirit of God working in and through His Saints from the time of Calvary, reveals to us the critical importance of accepting, and more so even "boasting in the suffering" associated with our discipleship.
Bonhoeffer offers still yet other perspectives on suffering:
" The cross in never simply a matter of suffering, but a matter of suffering and rejection, and strictly speaking, rejection for the sake of Jesus Christ, not for the sake of some other arbitrary behaviour or confession....each of us is to bear the measure of suffering and rejection specifically appointed for us. And the measure is is different for each of us. God deems some worthy of great suffering, and to them he grants the blessing of martyrdom. Others he does not allow to be tempted beyond their strength. But still it is the one cross.......
But there is yet another suffering and yet another another disgrace that no Christian escapes. Only Christ's own suffering is the suffering of reconciliation. Yet because Christ did suffer for the sake of the world's sins, because the entire burden of sin fell upon him, and because Christ bequeaths to the disciples the fruit of of his suffering --because of all of this, temptation and sin also fall upon the disciples. It covers them with pure shame, and expels them from the gates of the city like the scapegoat. Thus does the Christian come to bear the sin and guilt for others. Individual Christians would collapse under the wight of this, were they not themselves borne by him who bore all sins. In this they can, in the power of Christ's own suffering, overcome all the sins that fall upon them by forgiving them. Thus do Christians become bearer of burdens. " Bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ". ( Gal. 6:2)
Gossiping about people, especially our own, talking idly or judgementally about their " sins", therefore has no place in the life of a disciple of Christ. Rather we are to bear one another's burdens with forgiveness and with prayers for mercy. If we are ever true to this liberating feature of the call to discipleship, made possibly by our Easter celebrations, our congregations would change overnight, and become more loving, caring and a better collective witness to the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Finally a perspective on the big difference between Christians and Pagans.
Bonhoeffer begins with a poem:
1. People go to God in their need,
for help, happiness and bread they plead
for deliverance from sickness, guilt and death.
Thus do they all, Christians and pagans.
2. People go to God in God's need,
find God poor, reviled, with neither shelter nor bread,
see God entangled in sin, weakness, and death.
Christians stand by God in God's suffering.
3. God comes to all human beings in need,
sates them body and soul with His bread,
dies the death of the cross for Christians and pagans,
and forgives them both.
" Christians stand by God in God's suffering", and that distinguishes Christians from pagans. " Could you not keep awake with me one hour?" Jesus asks in Gethsemane. This is the reversal of everything a religious person expects from God. Human beings are called to suffer with God's own suffering caused by a godless world. That is, they must genuinely live in the godless world, and are not permitted to conceal or transfigure its godlessness in some religious fashion........It is not some religious act that makes one a Christian, but taking part in God's own suffering amid worldly life."
My understanding here, is that disciples of Christ do not have the privilege of " being tired of the sinful life on earth and wanting to die and go to heaven". We do not have the luxury of being tired of " fighting valiantly against evil". No, even in the face of the deeply stressful continuation of the high rate of murder and other acts of violence in our country, Christ's disciples are called to suffer with God's suffering in a godless world. The same principle applies to the nadir to which our moral life in Jamaica has descended, as manifested in the music, public behaviour, our language, and our " dress code". We are called to be " salt" right in the middle of the madness, and not grow weary. So too in the case of the corruption in the security forces, in politics and in the business sector, as it is only the Christian church working out its faith effectually which can make a difference.
Words from an old hymn helped to placed this whole Easter celebrations, and Lenten reflections, in true perspective for me.
New every morning is the love
Our wakening and uprising prove........
New mercies each returning day,
Hover around us while we pray;
New perils past, new sins forgiveness
New thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven....
In the sense that if we truly commend our spirit into the Lord's hands, each night, as Jesus did on the cross before He died, by the way we follow Christ each day, then every morning we will awake and experience " new thoughts of God and new hopes of heaven". Then and only then will we be able to follow the instructions from St. Paul, truly celebrate Easter, and be effective witnesses to Christ's love amidst the godlessness of this earth and be protected from false doctrines
" Since then you have been raised with Christ, Set your minds on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above and not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."
Colossians 3:1-3
Christ is risen indeed. Halleluiah. And so are we to a new life in Christ Jesus. So let us then leave behind the old life which is focused on earthly things. As God is so good, how can we, therefore let Him down. Amen
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Lent, Holy Week and True Freedom in and through Jesus Christ
So here we are, on Palm Sunday, celebrating the start of the most important week in history - Holy Week. A week which some two thousand years ago climaxed in the death, burial, and then the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. A week, the celebration of which, for the Christian, is literally, not metaphorically, a matter of life and death. As those who accept the events that took place, and go on to obey the Living Word - Jesus Christ - have Eternal Life.
And those who chose to ignore this profound sacrifice that God in His Mercy, taking on the form of sinful man, made on that first Good Friday, have no life, even though they live.
And for me, very few things bring this eternal truth into sharper focus, than the verse of an old hymn that I have been singing all week:
Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown ,
When thou camest to earth for me......
Thou camest, O Lord, with the living word
That should set thy people free;
But with mocking scorn and with crown of thorn
They bore thee to Calvary
O come to me heart Lord Jesus
There is room in my heart for thee
It is a very painful thing, a thing that causes one great distress, to witness, at first hand, once again, people who you know and love and share a life and country with, " mocking Jesus". Ignoring His sacrifice. Questioning the Bible account of this historic week - the very Word of God, which according to the Scriptures is God-breathed ( 2 Timothy 3:16). Ignoring the Passion of our Lord. Questioning the relevance of His Passion for them. And therefore " bearing Jesus (all over ) to Calvary". Why O Lord? What wrong has my Lord done......... writes the hymn writer with the same kind of pathos, angst and bewilderment. This Almighty God, in human form, who came to set us free - from sin and death, and ignorance, and from being a prisoner to the schemes of the Devil. This Jesus, who was obedient, even to death on a Cross. Why? How can the love for Carnival, Dance Hall music, the desire to be popular, to be rich, to have all the bling in the world, the quest for the ultimate in what life has to offer in its various forms; how can all these things, which are here today and gone tomorrow compete with the joy of serving God and enjoying life eternal? What do it really profit a man or woman to ..........but to lose his or her soul?
The longer I live, and the more I am allowed the great privilege of sharing in the deepest secrets of the human heart and experience, the more I am convinced ( and express myself very clearly, respectfully but without apology) that only the Christ who came to set people free, from all manner of afflictions, but all rooted in sin, can provide the peace that they ( we all) desperately yearn.
No doubt that's why the Lord led me to read time and time again the Ephesians passage about
spiritual warfare, and to send out the following text message to some of you.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes - Bible. Real Life - Put on Christ. How? Colossians 3."
It is the plan of the enemy- the devil - that we should not be obedient to the Living Word of God and worship Jesus as Lord and Saviour. It is the plan of the devil that we should ignore Holy Week - for all different kinds of reasons. Or at the very least, not place too much emphasis on events that took place a long time ago, "and we do not even know when", but view them as something which is of no relevance to a modern rational human being - which is even worse.
It is the plan of the enemy that different Christian denominations should argue about the Biblical authenticity of celebrating Holy Week. It is the plan of the enemy that " bun and cheese", and abstention from chocolates, alcohol and cigarettes, should play an important part in our understanding of Lent. The devil has all kinds of schemes to get us to shift our focus, even the baptised people of God, from concentrating, like St Paul, on knowing only Christ and Him crucified. How? That's why the Lord led me to read sections of Colossians 2, and then 3 in conjunction with the advice that :
Our struggle is is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of this world and against the spiritual forces of of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 5:12. NIV
This is why St Paul wrote: " As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient." Ephesians 2:1-2 NIV and
" And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ....." 2 Cor. 4:3-4. NIV
Those " Living Words" refer to non-Christians, but we, the 'redeemed', of God are warned in Colossians 2, and given clear instructions in chapter 3, how to " put on Christ", so that we too might not miss the significance of what took place on that first Holy Week.
"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.......In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature....with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. he forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations,that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross........
Therefore so not let anyone judge you by what you eat or what you drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration, or a Sabbath Day. These are a shadow of things to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head.........
Since you died ( in baptism) to the principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules. " Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations, indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence."
The essential point here is that, celebrating the events of Holy Week in and by itself, or for that matter going to church on Sabbath or Sunday in and by itself, or avoiding alcohol or pork or
" worshipping angels", all are of no account, unless in and through such activities we are drawn closer to the Christ who died for all mankind on that first Good Friday.
Having this understanding, of dying with Christ in Baptism - and therefore there can only be one baptism - and our lives now being in His life, Colossians 3 now helps us to put on Chris. So that we, unlike our disobedient friends, relatives, colleagues, can "put on Christ". And therefore be enabled to take our stand against the devil's ( many ) schemes, which include - in some instances illness; always, the fear of the finality of death; and temptations of various sorts all of which have their root in a call to disobey the Living Word of God, and "lead Him to Calvary all over again", this Holy Week.
Sections of Colossian 3.
" Since then you have been raised with Christ........set your minds on things above and not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God....
Put to death then whatever belongs to your earthly nature; sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed which is idolatry. Because of these the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourself of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips.
Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.....
Therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in our hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through him.
O come to my heart Lord Jesus
There is room in my heart for thee.
I pray God that throughout this Holy Week, and at its glorious end on Easter, and forevermore, we may all pray the words of this wonderful hymn. Amen
And those who chose to ignore this profound sacrifice that God in His Mercy, taking on the form of sinful man, made on that first Good Friday, have no life, even though they live.
And for me, very few things bring this eternal truth into sharper focus, than the verse of an old hymn that I have been singing all week:
Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown ,
When thou camest to earth for me......
Thou camest, O Lord, with the living word
That should set thy people free;
But with mocking scorn and with crown of thorn
They bore thee to Calvary
O come to me heart Lord Jesus
There is room in my heart for thee
It is a very painful thing, a thing that causes one great distress, to witness, at first hand, once again, people who you know and love and share a life and country with, " mocking Jesus". Ignoring His sacrifice. Questioning the Bible account of this historic week - the very Word of God, which according to the Scriptures is God-breathed ( 2 Timothy 3:16). Ignoring the Passion of our Lord. Questioning the relevance of His Passion for them. And therefore " bearing Jesus (all over ) to Calvary". Why O Lord? What wrong has my Lord done......... writes the hymn writer with the same kind of pathos, angst and bewilderment. This Almighty God, in human form, who came to set us free - from sin and death, and ignorance, and from being a prisoner to the schemes of the Devil. This Jesus, who was obedient, even to death on a Cross. Why? How can the love for Carnival, Dance Hall music, the desire to be popular, to be rich, to have all the bling in the world, the quest for the ultimate in what life has to offer in its various forms; how can all these things, which are here today and gone tomorrow compete with the joy of serving God and enjoying life eternal? What do it really profit a man or woman to ..........but to lose his or her soul?
The longer I live, and the more I am allowed the great privilege of sharing in the deepest secrets of the human heart and experience, the more I am convinced ( and express myself very clearly, respectfully but without apology) that only the Christ who came to set people free, from all manner of afflictions, but all rooted in sin, can provide the peace that they ( we all) desperately yearn.
No doubt that's why the Lord led me to read time and time again the Ephesians passage about
spiritual warfare, and to send out the following text message to some of you.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes - Bible. Real Life - Put on Christ. How? Colossians 3."
It is the plan of the enemy- the devil - that we should not be obedient to the Living Word of God and worship Jesus as Lord and Saviour. It is the plan of the devil that we should ignore Holy Week - for all different kinds of reasons. Or at the very least, not place too much emphasis on events that took place a long time ago, "and we do not even know when", but view them as something which is of no relevance to a modern rational human being - which is even worse.
It is the plan of the enemy that different Christian denominations should argue about the Biblical authenticity of celebrating Holy Week. It is the plan of the enemy that " bun and cheese", and abstention from chocolates, alcohol and cigarettes, should play an important part in our understanding of Lent. The devil has all kinds of schemes to get us to shift our focus, even the baptised people of God, from concentrating, like St Paul, on knowing only Christ and Him crucified. How? That's why the Lord led me to read sections of Colossians 2, and then 3 in conjunction with the advice that :
Our struggle is is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of this world and against the spiritual forces of of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 5:12. NIV
This is why St Paul wrote: " As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient." Ephesians 2:1-2 NIV and
" And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ....." 2 Cor. 4:3-4. NIV
Those " Living Words" refer to non-Christians, but we, the 'redeemed', of God are warned in Colossians 2, and given clear instructions in chapter 3, how to " put on Christ", so that we too might not miss the significance of what took place on that first Holy Week.
"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.......In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature....with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. he forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations,that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross........
Therefore so not let anyone judge you by what you eat or what you drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration, or a Sabbath Day. These are a shadow of things to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head.........
Since you died ( in baptism) to the principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules. " Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations, indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence."
The essential point here is that, celebrating the events of Holy Week in and by itself, or for that matter going to church on Sabbath or Sunday in and by itself, or avoiding alcohol or pork or
" worshipping angels", all are of no account, unless in and through such activities we are drawn closer to the Christ who died for all mankind on that first Good Friday.
Having this understanding, of dying with Christ in Baptism - and therefore there can only be one baptism - and our lives now being in His life, Colossians 3 now helps us to put on Chris. So that we, unlike our disobedient friends, relatives, colleagues, can "put on Christ". And therefore be enabled to take our stand against the devil's ( many ) schemes, which include - in some instances illness; always, the fear of the finality of death; and temptations of various sorts all of which have their root in a call to disobey the Living Word of God, and "lead Him to Calvary all over again", this Holy Week.
Sections of Colossian 3.
" Since then you have been raised with Christ........set your minds on things above and not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God....
Put to death then whatever belongs to your earthly nature; sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed which is idolatry. Because of these the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourself of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips.
Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.....
Therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in our hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through him.
O come to my heart Lord Jesus
There is room in my heart for thee.
I pray God that throughout this Holy Week, and at its glorious end on Easter, and forevermore, we may all pray the words of this wonderful hymn. Amen
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God: Thank God for Jesus
During the period of Lent in my church, each Thursday is devoted to Lenten devotions, during which someone, usually a priest, makes a presentation on one aspect of a Theme for the year. This year the Theme is; " To Know, To Live, To Share the Faith: My Responsibility.
On Thursday last, I was asked to share my thoughts on one aspect of the Theme - To Live the Faith. And God who is always ahead of us, and knew that I certainly could not stand up in front of the congregation and presume, as one who is constantly battling with my own spiritual deficiencies, to tell people how to live the Christian Faith, provided me with great help. From a book I have been led to read during Lent. ETHICS by Dietrich Bonhoeffer – German Theologian (1906-1945).
I have great admiration for this German pastor. Why? A friend, and member of this Ministry, who is a great cultural icon in my country, assisted me in recalling an old Jamaican proverb.
" If fish go a river bottom and tell you say shark dung dey, believe him".
Which, when properly translated and explained, means that, the views of one who has great familiarity with a given situation ought to be highly regarded. In the sense that this pastor, this theologian, whose faith in Christ led him to return to Germany and oppose the Nazis, when others were leaving, and who was eventually hanged, in my view, his perspective ought to be highly regarded So as I shared with my church family, I now share with my wider Internet Family, most of whom are not members of the Anglican church, and in fact some are not Christians at all. But I pray that through this, and, or, any other medium that God chooses, we who are committed to Christ may be renewed, and that others may come to know and love our Blessed Saviour.
Bonhoeffer's perspective, is greatly influenced by one of the key moments in the Biblical revelation about Creation as told in the book of Genesis.
“The man is become as one of us, to know good and evil,” says God. Gen. 3:22
As a result, as we will see, as his argument develops, such knowledge led to DISUNION with God. Ultimately, Bonhoeffer asserts, †RECONCILIATION, with God, the correction of this DISUNION, is only possible in and through JESUS CHRIST
Therefore, in this context, the first point I made was that, in order to live out one's faith, we need to have a clear, and doctrinally accurate, understanding of such a faith. Which then led to the first question and a proposed answer based on Bonhoeffer's arguments ( which in effect are all reminders, taken from the Scriptures, but shared with great clarity and therefore allows for a better appreciation)
Question : What is our understanding of the faith?
Answer: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. “ …..Yet not my will but thy will be done”
†Living the faith is essentially to carry out God’s will?
Here Bonhoeffer draws on Jesus' declaration in another garden - Gethsemane - when He faced His greatest temptation, from Satan, to let the cup of sorrow and pain bypass Him, to bypass the Cross of Calvary. And Jesus in the midst of His greatest test, responded with these life changing words, which are part of The Lord's prayer which He Himself, through His disciples, taught all mankind.
So the next question in our search for an answer to the question of how does one live out the Christian faith, according to Bonhoeffer, has to be: †How does one determine God’s will and how do we carry out God’s will?
It is here now that we get an insight into that momentous decision taken by Adam and Eve to listen to Satan and ignore the Word of God, which is what started all the trouble for mankind.
" Did God really say "You must not eat from any tree in the garden"?
And which temptation, Jesus, when faced in the wilderness , each time responded by quoting the Word of God - remember " man shall not live by bread alone...." in response to the temptation to turn stones into bread and satisfy Jesus' hunger.
So they both ate and came to know good and evil.
Bonhoeffer then declares, in a entire chapter devoted to this subject, and which arguments, I have reduced to bullets points that :
Man at his origin knew only one thing: God
It is only in the unity of his knowledge of God that he knows of other men, of things of himself
He knows all things only in God, and God in all things
In knowing good and evil he knows only himself and no longer knows God: for he can know God, only if he knows only God.
The knowledge of Good and Evil is therefore separation from God
Man’s life is now in disunion with God, with men, with things and with himself.
Two points: Although the assertions are self explanatory, this perspective on the Genesis account of Creation, for me, is one of the most important lessons that all Christians need to appreciate. And even more so for non-Christians. For unless we appreciate this fundamental difference between " Original Sin" which is really separation from God, DISUNION with God - the root, and, "sins" the manifestation - the shoots - of this first act of rebellion, and on which both Christians and more so non-Christians place so much emphasis, we will never understand the extent of God's love in sending His Son ( He Himself taking on human form) Jesus to die for all mankind. For this perspective, this truth, destroys all the myths about people living a " good life" and going to meet with St. Peter and then God in heaven. This truth properly explains, and thereby counters, and hopefully placates the anger of so many, that the Christian faith is exclusive, and even arrogant, in ( its) the claim of our Blessed Saviour that, " No man cometh unto the Father except through me". But as we shall see this truth, properly understood, provides a real basis for loving Jesus, and not for some of the " commercial reasons" that abound, and which kind of love has no power to change a society and provide the " abundant life" promised by Jesus, but on account of what took place on the Cross of Calvary.
Secondly, this perspective, this truth, also offers an explanation for our abuse of the environment, a very current issue; the reason for so many problems with intimate and social relationships -the domestic violence, the rate of divorce, the breakdown in family life, the murder, the rape, the disregard for the poor and the powerless; and, because of, even our lack of understanding of self in the wider scheme of life.
Following Bonhoeffer's train of thought, our next stop in this journey, is, if we were separated from God, in DISUNION with God and have decided to accept Christ's offer of salvation, and become RECONCILED with God and wish to live out our Christian faith by carrying out God's will, the next step is to Prove, and Discern God's and then to do God's Will. And so Bonhoeffer argues, again in an entire section that:
†
PROVING – not intuition; not the voice of the heart; not obvious; not system of rules. Only on the basis of metamorphosis- an overcoming of the form of fallen man, Adam and conformation with the new man Christ. Proved- because it is new every morning
DOING – Only in doing can there be submission to the will of God.
“ Without me ye can do nothing”.
†
One of the great challenges that Bonhoeffer issues to the people of God, in essence, is a caution to subject, what we may believe to be a " prophetic" word from God, to the sternest testing. As not every voice one hears in one's head is necessarily the voice of God. And which ( often false ).
belief has , and continues to, cause immeasurable damage to church life, relationships and how others regard the church. Also that this proving of God's will is to be sought anew every day. Thirdly, proving God will, without actually Doing God's will, does not help us to live the faith. Finally, again, without Christ's Spirit transforming us into a " new man", by metamorphosis, and without Christ doing His work through us, we cannot live out the faith.
Which then brings us to the next point - Love. The main attribute of the God who we serve, and whose faith we are intent on living out. And which attribute though immortalized in song as a " many splendored thing", in Spiritual terms, is a most misunderstood thing, with grave consequences for all. As, not just Bonhoeffer, he only reminds us, but the Scriptures declare that : " Without love it profiteth us nothing". So the argument continues:
LOVING – Without love everything falls apart. With love everything is pleasing to God. “ If I have the gift of prophecy….all faith…body to be burned…bestow all my gifts to the poor…and have not love it profiteth me nothing. What is love? Bible –
†“God is love” ; only he who knows God knows what love is…..unless God reveals Himself to him….Jesus is the revealed of Love of God. Love is therefore the reconciliation of man with God in Christ. Disunion is at an end
Praise God then, because of love, Disunion is at an end. So love in Christian terms is not just the emotions one feels for those in need, or those in grief, or the sick or our brothers and sisters in Church, but is in fact the revealed love of God acting in and through us by the power of Christ's Spirit. That's what happened on the Cross of Calvary: God's revealed love destroying " Original Sin" - DISUNION and death, and providing the basis for the forgiveness all sins. That's the only kind of love that can fulfill God's command to love not only those who love us, as even the pagans do that, but to love those who persecute us, who revile us and say all kinds of things about us. Only in Christ then, can we truly live our faith.
Finally, perhaps the most important issue of all in this quest to live out our faith. To know our faith is one thing. To prove the faith and be determined to act is another. To understand that we have to do all of of this in love, is still another issue, but how, is the final question. So Bonhoeffer continues, and I continue to offer a precis of these weighty arguments .
†
Christ is the only giver of forms.
†It is not achieved by “ dint of effort” to become like Jesus
†It is not Christian men who shape the world with their ideas, but it is Christ who shapes men in conformity with Himself
†“ During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers…..to the one who could save him from death…..reverent submission
†….though he was a son he learned obedience from what he suffered”. Heb.5:7-8
†The church is not a religious community of worshippers of Christ but is Christ Himself.
†What matters in the Church is not religion but the form of Christ and its taking its form among a band of men and women
†It is a mystery for which there is no explanation that only a part of mankind recognize their Redeemer
A couple of points as we contemplate this final issue of " the form of Christ". The essence of the Christian faith can be summed up in a famous passage in the book of Galatians: " I have been crucified in Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I but Christ who lives in me".
In order for us to live out the faith we have to come to this understanding, and ask in deep and constant prayer, in the same way that Jesus - in his days on earth prayed, with loud cries and tears - that the Spirit of Christ may be formed in us. For if our Blessed Lord prayed so fervently, that His life - as one who was fully man, yet was without sin - may be one with His Father - and therefore not be given over to death, which is the fate of all mankind who continue to live in the flesh, in the original state of Disunion, then how much more should, we sinful mankind, be fervent in our prayers that the Spirit of Christ may live in us. I pause in the journey, almost at the end now, to reflect, in this context, on a passage from Romans, which is very germane to this issue of living by the flesh, and which I have been led to reflect on time and time again this week.
" Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of the sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life, and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
You, however are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if the Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit id alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who lives in you." Romans 8:5-11 NIV
Also, what is true for the individual, is equally so for the collective church - that the church being the body of Christ, the Spirit of Jesus now lives and acts through a believing and obedient church. A fact, a truth which has profound possibilities for the renewal of a society in which the church really exists, regardless of the numbers. Just this week I read a meditation in which John Wesley, whose team of men famously transformed English society so profoundly in his time, declared that :
" Give me a hundred men who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I will shake the world.".
And a similar declaration by God to Abraham came into my mind : " If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.......For the sake of ten I will not destroy it". Gen. 26&32. NIV
Finally, one of the great mysteries in the world is why we who are in the church, recognize our Redeemer - Jesus Christ - and why others, for whom He is equally their Redeemer too ( " For God so loved the world.....) have failed to acknowledge Him. Regardless of this sad mystery, what is not in dispute is our mandate to tell, all who live in this world, about the good news of the gospel of Christ, wrought on the Cross of Calvary. That in Him , everybody has been reconciled to God - murderer, thief, the corrupt, the greedy, the profane, the wicked, the drunkard, the atheist, the adulterers, the persecutor of Christians, the Jews, the Muslims, all. All they need to do is to acknowledge their sinfulness before God and accept His gift ( not free, as someone died) of salvation.
So in living out our faith let us:
†Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith……Hebrews 12:2 NIV
†Without me, ye can do nothing John 15:5
†It is God who works in you to will and act according to his good purpose. Phil. 2:13
Let us follow the hymn writer who wrote these words from " The Old Rugged Cross" and declare that:
Nothing in my hand I bring;
Simply to thy cross I cling.
Naked: come to you for dress.
Helpless: look to you for grace.
Foul: I to the fountain fly.
Wash me Saviour lest I die
And finally declare that we love Jesus because:
My God I love thee, not because
I hope for heaven thereby
Nor yet because who love thee not
Are lost eternally
Thou, O my Jesus, thou didst me
Upon the Cross embrace;
For me didst bear the nails and the spear,
And manifold disgrace
And griefs and torments numberless,
And sweat of agony;
Yea, death itself –and all for me
Who was thine enemy
Then why, O blessed Jesu Christ,
Should I not love thee well?
Not for the sake of winning heaven
Nor of escaping hell
Not for the sake of gaining aught
Nor seeking a reward;
But as thyself has loved me,
O ever-living Lord
So I would love thee, dearest Lord
And in thy praise will sing;
Solely because thou art my God
And my most loving King
Then we will be truly be able with power to live out the faith.
In summary:
†In the beginning Man knew only God, and all things through Him
†In direct disobedience to God’s Word, Man came to know good and evil
†Such knowledge led to separation and disunion.
†Disunion can only be corrected by reconciliation in and through Christ
†To be in Christ means to die to the old self and to undergo metanoia by the power of the Holy Spirit and to have the Spirit of Christ formed in us – new every day.
†Only then can we prove and carry out God’s will
†Only then can we claim confidently to be Living the Faith, as Christ lives in us to carry out His Father’s will – to Love God and neighbour as we love ourselves
On Thursday last, I was asked to share my thoughts on one aspect of the Theme - To Live the Faith. And God who is always ahead of us, and knew that I certainly could not stand up in front of the congregation and presume, as one who is constantly battling with my own spiritual deficiencies, to tell people how to live the Christian Faith, provided me with great help. From a book I have been led to read during Lent. ETHICS by Dietrich Bonhoeffer – German Theologian (1906-1945).
I have great admiration for this German pastor. Why? A friend, and member of this Ministry, who is a great cultural icon in my country, assisted me in recalling an old Jamaican proverb.
" If fish go a river bottom and tell you say shark dung dey, believe him".
Which, when properly translated and explained, means that, the views of one who has great familiarity with a given situation ought to be highly regarded. In the sense that this pastor, this theologian, whose faith in Christ led him to return to Germany and oppose the Nazis, when others were leaving, and who was eventually hanged, in my view, his perspective ought to be highly regarded So as I shared with my church family, I now share with my wider Internet Family, most of whom are not members of the Anglican church, and in fact some are not Christians at all. But I pray that through this, and, or, any other medium that God chooses, we who are committed to Christ may be renewed, and that others may come to know and love our Blessed Saviour.
Bonhoeffer's perspective, is greatly influenced by one of the key moments in the Biblical revelation about Creation as told in the book of Genesis.
“The man is become as one of us, to know good and evil,” says God. Gen. 3:22
As a result, as we will see, as his argument develops, such knowledge led to DISUNION with God. Ultimately, Bonhoeffer asserts, †RECONCILIATION, with God, the correction of this DISUNION, is only possible in and through JESUS CHRIST
Therefore, in this context, the first point I made was that, in order to live out one's faith, we need to have a clear, and doctrinally accurate, understanding of such a faith. Which then led to the first question and a proposed answer based on Bonhoeffer's arguments ( which in effect are all reminders, taken from the Scriptures, but shared with great clarity and therefore allows for a better appreciation)
Question : What is our understanding of the faith?
Answer: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. “ …..Yet not my will but thy will be done”
†Living the faith is essentially to carry out God’s will?
Here Bonhoeffer draws on Jesus' declaration in another garden - Gethsemane - when He faced His greatest temptation, from Satan, to let the cup of sorrow and pain bypass Him, to bypass the Cross of Calvary. And Jesus in the midst of His greatest test, responded with these life changing words, which are part of The Lord's prayer which He Himself, through His disciples, taught all mankind.
So the next question in our search for an answer to the question of how does one live out the Christian faith, according to Bonhoeffer, has to be: †How does one determine God’s will and how do we carry out God’s will?
It is here now that we get an insight into that momentous decision taken by Adam and Eve to listen to Satan and ignore the Word of God, which is what started all the trouble for mankind.
" Did God really say "You must not eat from any tree in the garden"?
And which temptation, Jesus, when faced in the wilderness , each time responded by quoting the Word of God - remember " man shall not live by bread alone...." in response to the temptation to turn stones into bread and satisfy Jesus' hunger.
So they both ate and came to know good and evil.
Bonhoeffer then declares, in a entire chapter devoted to this subject, and which arguments, I have reduced to bullets points that :
Man at his origin knew only one thing: God
It is only in the unity of his knowledge of God that he knows of other men, of things of himself
He knows all things only in God, and God in all things
In knowing good and evil he knows only himself and no longer knows God: for he can know God, only if he knows only God.
The knowledge of Good and Evil is therefore separation from God
Man’s life is now in disunion with God, with men, with things and with himself.
Two points: Although the assertions are self explanatory, this perspective on the Genesis account of Creation, for me, is one of the most important lessons that all Christians need to appreciate. And even more so for non-Christians. For unless we appreciate this fundamental difference between " Original Sin" which is really separation from God, DISUNION with God - the root, and, "sins" the manifestation - the shoots - of this first act of rebellion, and on which both Christians and more so non-Christians place so much emphasis, we will never understand the extent of God's love in sending His Son ( He Himself taking on human form) Jesus to die for all mankind. For this perspective, this truth, destroys all the myths about people living a " good life" and going to meet with St. Peter and then God in heaven. This truth properly explains, and thereby counters, and hopefully placates the anger of so many, that the Christian faith is exclusive, and even arrogant, in ( its) the claim of our Blessed Saviour that, " No man cometh unto the Father except through me". But as we shall see this truth, properly understood, provides a real basis for loving Jesus, and not for some of the " commercial reasons" that abound, and which kind of love has no power to change a society and provide the " abundant life" promised by Jesus, but on account of what took place on the Cross of Calvary.
Secondly, this perspective, this truth, also offers an explanation for our abuse of the environment, a very current issue; the reason for so many problems with intimate and social relationships -the domestic violence, the rate of divorce, the breakdown in family life, the murder, the rape, the disregard for the poor and the powerless; and, because of, even our lack of understanding of self in the wider scheme of life.
Following Bonhoeffer's train of thought, our next stop in this journey, is, if we were separated from God, in DISUNION with God and have decided to accept Christ's offer of salvation, and become RECONCILED with God and wish to live out our Christian faith by carrying out God's will, the next step is to Prove, and Discern God's and then to do God's Will. And so Bonhoeffer argues, again in an entire section that:
†
PROVING – not intuition; not the voice of the heart; not obvious; not system of rules. Only on the basis of metamorphosis- an overcoming of the form of fallen man, Adam and conformation with the new man Christ. Proved- because it is new every morning
DOING – Only in doing can there be submission to the will of God.
“ Without me ye can do nothing”.
†
One of the great challenges that Bonhoeffer issues to the people of God, in essence, is a caution to subject, what we may believe to be a " prophetic" word from God, to the sternest testing. As not every voice one hears in one's head is necessarily the voice of God. And which ( often false ).
belief has , and continues to, cause immeasurable damage to church life, relationships and how others regard the church. Also that this proving of God's will is to be sought anew every day. Thirdly, proving God will, without actually Doing God's will, does not help us to live the faith. Finally, again, without Christ's Spirit transforming us into a " new man", by metamorphosis, and without Christ doing His work through us, we cannot live out the faith.
Which then brings us to the next point - Love. The main attribute of the God who we serve, and whose faith we are intent on living out. And which attribute though immortalized in song as a " many splendored thing", in Spiritual terms, is a most misunderstood thing, with grave consequences for all. As, not just Bonhoeffer, he only reminds us, but the Scriptures declare that : " Without love it profiteth us nothing". So the argument continues:
LOVING – Without love everything falls apart. With love everything is pleasing to God. “ If I have the gift of prophecy….all faith…body to be burned…bestow all my gifts to the poor…and have not love it profiteth me nothing. What is love? Bible –
†“God is love” ; only he who knows God knows what love is…..unless God reveals Himself to him….Jesus is the revealed of Love of God. Love is therefore the reconciliation of man with God in Christ. Disunion is at an end
Praise God then, because of love, Disunion is at an end. So love in Christian terms is not just the emotions one feels for those in need, or those in grief, or the sick or our brothers and sisters in Church, but is in fact the revealed love of God acting in and through us by the power of Christ's Spirit. That's what happened on the Cross of Calvary: God's revealed love destroying " Original Sin" - DISUNION and death, and providing the basis for the forgiveness all sins. That's the only kind of love that can fulfill God's command to love not only those who love us, as even the pagans do that, but to love those who persecute us, who revile us and say all kinds of things about us. Only in Christ then, can we truly live our faith.
Finally, perhaps the most important issue of all in this quest to live out our faith. To know our faith is one thing. To prove the faith and be determined to act is another. To understand that we have to do all of of this in love, is still another issue, but how, is the final question. So Bonhoeffer continues, and I continue to offer a precis of these weighty arguments .
†
Christ is the only giver of forms.
†It is not achieved by “ dint of effort” to become like Jesus
†It is not Christian men who shape the world with their ideas, but it is Christ who shapes men in conformity with Himself
†“ During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers…..to the one who could save him from death…..reverent submission
†….though he was a son he learned obedience from what he suffered”. Heb.5:7-8
†The church is not a religious community of worshippers of Christ but is Christ Himself.
†What matters in the Church is not religion but the form of Christ and its taking its form among a band of men and women
†It is a mystery for which there is no explanation that only a part of mankind recognize their Redeemer
A couple of points as we contemplate this final issue of " the form of Christ". The essence of the Christian faith can be summed up in a famous passage in the book of Galatians: " I have been crucified in Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I but Christ who lives in me".
In order for us to live out the faith we have to come to this understanding, and ask in deep and constant prayer, in the same way that Jesus - in his days on earth prayed, with loud cries and tears - that the Spirit of Christ may be formed in us. For if our Blessed Lord prayed so fervently, that His life - as one who was fully man, yet was without sin - may be one with His Father - and therefore not be given over to death, which is the fate of all mankind who continue to live in the flesh, in the original state of Disunion, then how much more should, we sinful mankind, be fervent in our prayers that the Spirit of Christ may live in us. I pause in the journey, almost at the end now, to reflect, in this context, on a passage from Romans, which is very germane to this issue of living by the flesh, and which I have been led to reflect on time and time again this week.
" Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of the sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life, and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
You, however are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if the Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit id alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who lives in you." Romans 8:5-11 NIV
Also, what is true for the individual, is equally so for the collective church - that the church being the body of Christ, the Spirit of Jesus now lives and acts through a believing and obedient church. A fact, a truth which has profound possibilities for the renewal of a society in which the church really exists, regardless of the numbers. Just this week I read a meditation in which John Wesley, whose team of men famously transformed English society so profoundly in his time, declared that :
" Give me a hundred men who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I will shake the world.".
And a similar declaration by God to Abraham came into my mind : " If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.......For the sake of ten I will not destroy it". Gen. 26&32. NIV
Finally, one of the great mysteries in the world is why we who are in the church, recognize our Redeemer - Jesus Christ - and why others, for whom He is equally their Redeemer too ( " For God so loved the world.....) have failed to acknowledge Him. Regardless of this sad mystery, what is not in dispute is our mandate to tell, all who live in this world, about the good news of the gospel of Christ, wrought on the Cross of Calvary. That in Him , everybody has been reconciled to God - murderer, thief, the corrupt, the greedy, the profane, the wicked, the drunkard, the atheist, the adulterers, the persecutor of Christians, the Jews, the Muslims, all. All they need to do is to acknowledge their sinfulness before God and accept His gift ( not free, as someone died) of salvation.
So in living out our faith let us:
†Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith……Hebrews 12:2 NIV
†Without me, ye can do nothing John 15:5
†It is God who works in you to will and act according to his good purpose. Phil. 2:13
Let us follow the hymn writer who wrote these words from " The Old Rugged Cross" and declare that:
Nothing in my hand I bring;
Simply to thy cross I cling.
Naked: come to you for dress.
Helpless: look to you for grace.
Foul: I to the fountain fly.
Wash me Saviour lest I die
And finally declare that we love Jesus because:
My God I love thee, not because
I hope for heaven thereby
Nor yet because who love thee not
Are lost eternally
Thou, O my Jesus, thou didst me
Upon the Cross embrace;
For me didst bear the nails and the spear,
And manifold disgrace
And griefs and torments numberless,
And sweat of agony;
Yea, death itself –and all for me
Who was thine enemy
Then why, O blessed Jesu Christ,
Should I not love thee well?
Not for the sake of winning heaven
Nor of escaping hell
Not for the sake of gaining aught
Nor seeking a reward;
But as thyself has loved me,
O ever-living Lord
So I would love thee, dearest Lord
And in thy praise will sing;
Solely because thou art my God
And my most loving King
Then we will be truly be able with power to live out the faith.
In summary:
†In the beginning Man knew only God, and all things through Him
†In direct disobedience to God’s Word, Man came to know good and evil
†Such knowledge led to separation and disunion.
†Disunion can only be corrected by reconciliation in and through Christ
†To be in Christ means to die to the old self and to undergo metanoia by the power of the Holy Spirit and to have the Spirit of Christ formed in us – new every day.
†Only then can we prove and carry out God’s will
†Only then can we claim confidently to be Living the Faith, as Christ lives in us to carry out His Father’s will – to Love God and neighbour as we love ourselves
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Lent and God's Will
Two powerful thoughts came into my mind this week. One, that Lent is about self-denial and not about self-delusion. A thought supported by a statement shared by a priest, inter alia, during a Lenten Devotion presentation last Thursday, when he quoted Psalm 14 ( 1) " The fool has said in his heart that there is no God. The other, that there ought not to be any other context to this Internet Ministry during Lent, except the reality of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. So yes, there may be issues in Spain, or Chile, Costa Rica, or Singapore, the USA, UK, Africa, India, Australia, Pakistan, and God knows that there are sufficient issues in Jamaica to engage one's mind. But this is a time for a deep reflection and meditation on the only reality in this world - God as revealed by the power of the Holy Spirit, in and through Christ Jesus. For what shall it profit a man or woman to be knowledgeable of the world's problems and to try and respond, if that action is not informed by, not only God's will, but of equal importance, God's presence.
So let me start right there and share some of what the Lord led me to reflect on this week, following my continued reading of Bonhoeffer's Ethics, and writings of other Saints of yore.
" When the Bible calls for action it does not refer a man to his own powers but to Jesus Christ Himself. 'Without me ye can do nothing' John 15:5. This sentence is to be taken in its strictest sense. There is really no action without Jesus Christ. All the innumerable different activities which in general assume the appearance of action are, in the judgement of Jesus, as though nothing has been done. This saying of Jesus demonstrates more clearly than any other saying in the Bible that all action is entirely bound up with Jesus Christ and no clearer distinction can be drawn than this between true action and all kinds of false action".
Wow! This is indeed " heavy " stuff. No wonder the Christian religion has come under fire throughout the ages, for being too exclusive, as you cannot get any more exclusive than this.
As this is not just a man speaking, but God-Man. Fully God and fully God. A great mystery. But equally so the only reality. But being misunderstood, or being ignored by the world at large is not the real problem. The bigger and more serious issue, is that we, as children of God, quite often, do not live as if this statement by Jesus is true. So we make plans and engage in actions, to " save the world" and do not bring them before the Lord in any serious way. For both Christians and non - Christians, whether or not they accept the truth of the statement, the reality is that, since Christ is going to judge all actions taken by all mankind, all lives lived, all doctrines held dear, then unless such thoughts, lives and actions are directed by Jesus Himself, then all would have been to no avail. The reason why a proper understanding of this statement is so critical to the life of a baptised child of God is as follows, as explained by Bonhoeffer.
THE PROVING OF GOD'S WILL
Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God. Romans 12:2.......This (and other sayings) show the error of the view that the simple recognition of the will of God must take some form of intuition which excludes any sort of reflection and that it must be the naive grasping of the first thought or feeling to force itself upon the mind........The will of God may lie very deeply concealed beneath a great number of available possibilities.......The will of God is not a system of of rules which is established at the very outset; it is new and different in each situation in life, and for this reason a man must ever anew examine what the will of God may be. It is no longer a matter of man's own knowledge of good and evil, but solely of the living will of God; our knowledge of God's will is not something over which we dispose, but it depends solely upon the grace of God, and this grace is and requires to be new every morning. This is why this proving or examining of the will of God is so serious a matter. The voice of the heart is not to be confused with the will of God, nor is any kind of inspiration or any general principle, for the will of God discloses itself ever anew to him who proves it ever anew."
Let me take a break from Bonhoeffer and share with with you, the hymn that has been on my heart all week, even to the extent that my wife has singing it too.
I wake up with it. I go to bed with it. Even at mid-day I marvel at its teachings.
New every morning is the love
Our wakening and uprising prove;
Through sleep and darkness safely brought,
Restored to life and power and thought.
New mercies each returning day,
Hover around us while we pray;
New perils past, new sins forgiven,
New thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven
If on our daily course our mind
Be set to hallow all we find,
New treasures still, of countless price,
God will provide for sacrifice.
The trivial round the common task,
Will furnish all we need to ask,
Room to deny ourselves a road
To bring us daily nearer God.
Only,O Lord, in thy dear love
Fit us for perfect rest above;
And help us this and very day,
To live more nearly as we pray.
Close examination of, and reflection on, these words will not only validate what I have been saying, about daily proving what God's will is, but also help us to reflect more deeply on this issue of self- denial and Lent.
So back to Bonhoeffer and his assertion, based on a deeper understanding of Holy Scripture, that the only reality is Christ Jesus in all spheres of life - not just the Christian perspective.
" So how does a man set about this 'proving what is the will of God'? The crucial precondition for this is that this proving takes place solely on the basis of a ' metamorphosis', a complete inward transmutation of one's previous form, 'a renewing of the mind, ( Romans 12:2) a 'walking as children of light ( Eph. 5:8). This metamorphosis of man can only be the overcoming of the form of the fallen man, Adam, and conformation with the new man Christ......the new form , by virtue of which alone the proving of the will of God is possible, has left behind and beneath the it the man who in his defection from from God won for himself the knowledge of good and evil. it is the from of the child of God who lives in unity with the will of the Father in the conformation of of the one true Son of God".
One of, if not the greatest problem in the church today, and hence its relative, as compared with the early church, ineffectiveness, is the lack of appreciation and belief in this profound truth. That only those believers, who have by virtue of, " dying to self", by deep prayer and commitment to knowing only Christ, and identifying with His death, day by day, and have undergone this 'metamorphosis, by God's grace ( put on Christ) can 'prove' God's will. It is not an overnight thing. It is not something that happens immediately on being baptised or on becoming Confirmed. Or even by virtue of going to church regularly over many years. But rather, as Bonhoeffer explains, it follows on an appreciation of the utter " wretchedness" of one's life before a holy God, and a clear understanding that our knowledge of good and evil has separated us from our original union with God and marred the "image" of God within us. And from which " helpless" position, we can only be rescued by Christ, not being with us, alone, but living in and through us, by the power of the Holy Spirit of the living God.
This knowledge has such profound implications for the work of the church in continuing the Ministry of reconciliation done by Jesus. For as Bonhoeffer reminds us, and about which I will write more extensively next week, Jesus died, not just for us who believe, but for all mankind.
So God has, in Christ Jesus, pronounced fallen man free of sin, and has in Christ made a new man, into which new, reconciled and renewed state, all can enter by belief. Our role, then as part of this renewed mankind is to, in the power of Christ and Christ alone, share this gospel, this truth with the gunmen, the rapists, the prostitutes, the robbers, the profane, the " rampin shop people", the " get on baad at carnival time people', the " good people in society", the rich and the poor, the mighty and the lowly - all mankind. Judgement is for the Lord. Our responsibility is to know, to live and to share this faith.
Finally a word from A. W. Tozer ( 1897- 1963) - PANTING AFTER GOD
Psalm 42:1
Within the hearts of a growing number of evangelicals in recent days has arisen a new yearning after an above-average spiritual experience. Yet the greater number still shy away from it and raise objections that evidence misunderstandings or fear or plain unbelief. They point o the neurotic, the psychotic, the pseudo-Christian cultist and the intemperate fanatic, and lump them all together without discrimination as followers of the " deeper life".
While this is of course completely preposterous, the fact that such confusion exists obliges those of us who advocate the Spirit -filled life to define their terms and explain their position. Just what, then do we mean. And what are we advocating?
For myself, I am reverently concerned that I teach nothing but Christ crucified. For me to accept a teaching or even an emphasis, I must be persuaded that it is scriptural and altogether apostolic in spirit and temper. And it must be in full harmony with the best in the historic church and in the tradition that marked by the finest devotional works, the sweetest and most radiant hymnody and the loftiest experiences revealed in Christian biography.
To speak of the " deeper life" is .....to insist that believers explore the depth of the Christian evangel for those riches it surely contains but which we are as surely missing. the " deeper life " is deeper only because the average Christian life is tragically shallow.
They who advocate the deeper life today might compare unfavorably with almost any of the Christians that surrounded Paul or Peter in early times. While they may not as yet have made much progress, their faces are toward the light and they are beckoning us on. It is hard to see how we can justify our refusal to heed their call.
What the deeper life advocates are telling us is that we should press on to enjoy in personal inward experience the exalted privileges that are ours in Christ Jesus.; that we should insist upon tasting the sweetness of internal worship in spirit as well as in truth; that to reach this ideal we should if necessary push beyond our contented brethren and bring upon ourselves whatever opposition may follow as a result.
I thank God each year for this period of reflection and the seeking of a deeper understanding of the faith. And which deeper understanding can only come, if more and more, year by year, day by day, moment my moment, Christ lives in and through me. This is the only true meaning and purpose of Lent. Any other is self-delusion and will be so judged in the fullness of time. Amen
So let me start right there and share some of what the Lord led me to reflect on this week, following my continued reading of Bonhoeffer's Ethics, and writings of other Saints of yore.
" When the Bible calls for action it does not refer a man to his own powers but to Jesus Christ Himself. 'Without me ye can do nothing' John 15:5. This sentence is to be taken in its strictest sense. There is really no action without Jesus Christ. All the innumerable different activities which in general assume the appearance of action are, in the judgement of Jesus, as though nothing has been done. This saying of Jesus demonstrates more clearly than any other saying in the Bible that all action is entirely bound up with Jesus Christ and no clearer distinction can be drawn than this between true action and all kinds of false action".
Wow! This is indeed " heavy " stuff. No wonder the Christian religion has come under fire throughout the ages, for being too exclusive, as you cannot get any more exclusive than this.
As this is not just a man speaking, but God-Man. Fully God and fully God. A great mystery. But equally so the only reality. But being misunderstood, or being ignored by the world at large is not the real problem. The bigger and more serious issue, is that we, as children of God, quite often, do not live as if this statement by Jesus is true. So we make plans and engage in actions, to " save the world" and do not bring them before the Lord in any serious way. For both Christians and non - Christians, whether or not they accept the truth of the statement, the reality is that, since Christ is going to judge all actions taken by all mankind, all lives lived, all doctrines held dear, then unless such thoughts, lives and actions are directed by Jesus Himself, then all would have been to no avail. The reason why a proper understanding of this statement is so critical to the life of a baptised child of God is as follows, as explained by Bonhoeffer.
THE PROVING OF GOD'S WILL
Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God. Romans 12:2.......This (and other sayings) show the error of the view that the simple recognition of the will of God must take some form of intuition which excludes any sort of reflection and that it must be the naive grasping of the first thought or feeling to force itself upon the mind........The will of God may lie very deeply concealed beneath a great number of available possibilities.......The will of God is not a system of of rules which is established at the very outset; it is new and different in each situation in life, and for this reason a man must ever anew examine what the will of God may be. It is no longer a matter of man's own knowledge of good and evil, but solely of the living will of God; our knowledge of God's will is not something over which we dispose, but it depends solely upon the grace of God, and this grace is and requires to be new every morning. This is why this proving or examining of the will of God is so serious a matter. The voice of the heart is not to be confused with the will of God, nor is any kind of inspiration or any general principle, for the will of God discloses itself ever anew to him who proves it ever anew."
Let me take a break from Bonhoeffer and share with with you, the hymn that has been on my heart all week, even to the extent that my wife has singing it too.
I wake up with it. I go to bed with it. Even at mid-day I marvel at its teachings.
New every morning is the love
Our wakening and uprising prove;
Through sleep and darkness safely brought,
Restored to life and power and thought.
New mercies each returning day,
Hover around us while we pray;
New perils past, new sins forgiven,
New thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven
If on our daily course our mind
Be set to hallow all we find,
New treasures still, of countless price,
God will provide for sacrifice.
The trivial round the common task,
Will furnish all we need to ask,
Room to deny ourselves a road
To bring us daily nearer God.
Only,O Lord, in thy dear love
Fit us for perfect rest above;
And help us this and very day,
To live more nearly as we pray.
Close examination of, and reflection on, these words will not only validate what I have been saying, about daily proving what God's will is, but also help us to reflect more deeply on this issue of self- denial and Lent.
So back to Bonhoeffer and his assertion, based on a deeper understanding of Holy Scripture, that the only reality is Christ Jesus in all spheres of life - not just the Christian perspective.
" So how does a man set about this 'proving what is the will of God'? The crucial precondition for this is that this proving takes place solely on the basis of a ' metamorphosis', a complete inward transmutation of one's previous form, 'a renewing of the mind, ( Romans 12:2) a 'walking as children of light ( Eph. 5:8). This metamorphosis of man can only be the overcoming of the form of the fallen man, Adam, and conformation with the new man Christ......the new form , by virtue of which alone the proving of the will of God is possible, has left behind and beneath the it the man who in his defection from from God won for himself the knowledge of good and evil. it is the from of the child of God who lives in unity with the will of the Father in the conformation of of the one true Son of God".
One of, if not the greatest problem in the church today, and hence its relative, as compared with the early church, ineffectiveness, is the lack of appreciation and belief in this profound truth. That only those believers, who have by virtue of, " dying to self", by deep prayer and commitment to knowing only Christ, and identifying with His death, day by day, and have undergone this 'metamorphosis, by God's grace ( put on Christ) can 'prove' God's will. It is not an overnight thing. It is not something that happens immediately on being baptised or on becoming Confirmed. Or even by virtue of going to church regularly over many years. But rather, as Bonhoeffer explains, it follows on an appreciation of the utter " wretchedness" of one's life before a holy God, and a clear understanding that our knowledge of good and evil has separated us from our original union with God and marred the "image" of God within us. And from which " helpless" position, we can only be rescued by Christ, not being with us, alone, but living in and through us, by the power of the Holy Spirit of the living God.
This knowledge has such profound implications for the work of the church in continuing the Ministry of reconciliation done by Jesus. For as Bonhoeffer reminds us, and about which I will write more extensively next week, Jesus died, not just for us who believe, but for all mankind.
So God has, in Christ Jesus, pronounced fallen man free of sin, and has in Christ made a new man, into which new, reconciled and renewed state, all can enter by belief. Our role, then as part of this renewed mankind is to, in the power of Christ and Christ alone, share this gospel, this truth with the gunmen, the rapists, the prostitutes, the robbers, the profane, the " rampin shop people", the " get on baad at carnival time people', the " good people in society", the rich and the poor, the mighty and the lowly - all mankind. Judgement is for the Lord. Our responsibility is to know, to live and to share this faith.
Finally a word from A. W. Tozer ( 1897- 1963) - PANTING AFTER GOD
Psalm 42:1
Within the hearts of a growing number of evangelicals in recent days has arisen a new yearning after an above-average spiritual experience. Yet the greater number still shy away from it and raise objections that evidence misunderstandings or fear or plain unbelief. They point o the neurotic, the psychotic, the pseudo-Christian cultist and the intemperate fanatic, and lump them all together without discrimination as followers of the " deeper life".
While this is of course completely preposterous, the fact that such confusion exists obliges those of us who advocate the Spirit -filled life to define their terms and explain their position. Just what, then do we mean. And what are we advocating?
For myself, I am reverently concerned that I teach nothing but Christ crucified. For me to accept a teaching or even an emphasis, I must be persuaded that it is scriptural and altogether apostolic in spirit and temper. And it must be in full harmony with the best in the historic church and in the tradition that marked by the finest devotional works, the sweetest and most radiant hymnody and the loftiest experiences revealed in Christian biography.
To speak of the " deeper life" is .....to insist that believers explore the depth of the Christian evangel for those riches it surely contains but which we are as surely missing. the " deeper life " is deeper only because the average Christian life is tragically shallow.
They who advocate the deeper life today might compare unfavorably with almost any of the Christians that surrounded Paul or Peter in early times. While they may not as yet have made much progress, their faces are toward the light and they are beckoning us on. It is hard to see how we can justify our refusal to heed their call.
What the deeper life advocates are telling us is that we should press on to enjoy in personal inward experience the exalted privileges that are ours in Christ Jesus.; that we should insist upon tasting the sweetness of internal worship in spirit as well as in truth; that to reach this ideal we should if necessary push beyond our contented brethren and bring upon ourselves whatever opposition may follow as a result.
I thank God each year for this period of reflection and the seeking of a deeper understanding of the faith. And which deeper understanding can only come, if more and more, year by year, day by day, moment my moment, Christ lives in and through me. This is the only true meaning and purpose of Lent. Any other is self-delusion and will be so judged in the fullness of time. Amen
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Lenten Reflections inspired by a German Christian who opposed Hitler even unto death.
It's great to be back home, even when you have been treated well abroad. Still many problems and the killings continue unabated - four were murdered last night - but home is just home. Especially when you return to family, friends, co-workers, and church family. T'was just great to see, family members and my friends at work. To see friends in Christ this morning, and to hear God's Word, in God's church with God's people and to participate in the receiving and in the sharing of Holy Communion. But having returned the discipline of Lent continues and so I have been reading more, reducing my Facebook activity ,watching less television, listening mainly to the news, very little listening to talk show radio, and just trying to hear what the Lord is saying to me and to the church at this special time.
In pursuit of that objective, I came across, yet another book by one of my favourite Christian writers - Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Favourite not only because of the clarity of his writings, but because he lived in Germany during the Nazi years, during the time when 6 million Jews and many other were wiped off the face of the earth, and during the time of one of the worse periods in human history. And he resisted when others acquiesced. He returned home from the relative comfort of the USA to take part in the struggle to rescue his country when others were fleeing. He stood up and was counted among those who said 'no' to the wickedness of Hitler, while others kept quiet to save their 'skin', but lost their soul and are now judged very harshly by history. Because of his resistance he was executed in the last days of the war by the Nazis. You have to respect that kind of life.
So I am reading Bonhoeffer's classic book on " Ethics" for Lent. It's heavy stuff and requires a lot of concentration to appreciate what he is sharing with the reader. But, as the Americans say, what he has to offer is " huge". And as I read I understand even more clearly that this kind of material could only have been written by one who had suffered much, and had come face to face with evil in the heights of its powers. We in Jamaica think we are going through a rough time on account of the murder, rape, bad manners, loud and disgusting music, bad driving, and the very challenging political and economic situation. But those on the wrong side of the fence during the time of Hitler, lived through a veritable hell. An experience that we cannot even begin to imagine much less to compare. Therefore when such a person writes about the love of God, in the most profound ways, we should really ought to pay attention.
Bonhoeffer begins , what was an unfinished work, with a very deep discussion on what happened when mankind , children of Adam, came to know good and evil. Bonhoeffer asserts that:
" man in his origin knew only one thing: God. It is only in the unity of of his knowledge of God that he knows of other men, of things and of himself. He knows all things only in God, and God in all things". Then Bonhoeffer asserts that " The knowledge of good and evil shows that he is no longer at one with this origin."
This kind of perspective of what took place in the Garden of Eden is again, " huge". And, therefore explains why the forces of evil, dressed up in all kinds of sheep-like clothing, have tried to deny flatly or make mockery of the Fall of mankind from his original relationship with God. No wonder then that those who would have us believe that Darwin's great work of Evolution, with which some serious Christians do not have any major problems, is the only explanation for the origin of mankind - which all Christians reject. Because what Bonhoeffer, and the entire Christian doctrine, explains, is that God's love for mankind , as revealed in Jesus Christ, the God-Man, has its genesis in this falling away of man (who was made in the likeness and image of God) from his origin. All because we departed from knowing all things in God, and through God, and came to know good and evil.
So Bonhoeffer continues; " He ( mankind) knows himself now as something apart from God, outside God, and this means that he now knows only himself and no longer knows God at all: for he can know God only if he knows only God. The knowledge of good and evil is therefore separation from God. Only against God can man know good and evil".
One cannot read this life changing ( or again what the Americans call "game changing") stuff for too long. So I had to stop reading several times and allow my head to " wrap around" these things. As, not being entirely new in concept, but really explaining so much more clearly why all of us have the potential to exhibit such evil behaviour, I had to pause to reflect and as I write , to thank God that He led me to the bookshop in Dolphin Mall and not to Macy's in International, that day. The basic problem with, people, my people who are killing one another in Jamaica, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, in the cities of America and Europe, and places like Darfur, is that we don't understand how much this falling away from God, has programmed us to act like people who do not know God. This very same falling away from his origin, of knowing only God and others and himself through God, explains why an Austrian man can lock away his daughter for years and commit incest with impunity; why a previously trusted and deeply respected Rap singer can ruthlessly and mercilessly - behave like a veritable animal - beat up his superstar girlfriend who dared to read a text message from another woman; why a previously well respected freedom fighter can suddenly make a U -turn and become a monster; and why, in pursuit of power, previously well thinking politicians, could introduce gun violence into a once peaceful country and thus unleash an era of wickedness hitherto unknown and unparalleled in the Caribbean.
So, we delude ourselves into thinking, or have been hoodwinked, that we can know God by deep meditation; praying seven times for the day; fasting for weeks; reading the Torah or the Koran or the Bible from cover to cover or a thousand other ways; " saying Lord Lord, and worshiping God with our lips and not with our hearts". And worse that we do not really need God at all. Thus causing evil to be unleashed all over the world, and for mankind to be always, " playing catch up" with no end in sight - unless God in His mercy intervenes, which thankfully He does from time to time.
So after all of this what does this German martyr say about God's love. He begins by quoting one of the most popular Bible passages which speaks about love.
" And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing" ( 1 Cor. 13:2 and 3). This is the decisive word which marks the distinction between man in disunion and man in origin. The word is love. ( We once had a Prime Minister who unfailingly employed that term - in his own limited understanding of it). There is a recognition of Christ, a powerful faith in Christ, and indeed a conviction and a devotion of love even unto death - all without love. That is the point. Without this " love" everything falls apart and everything is unacceptable, but in this love everything is united and everything is pleasing to God. What is this love?.........The Bible does not fail to give us the answer. We know this answer well enough, but we continually misinterpret it. It is this: " God is love ( 1 John 4, 16)......this sentence is to be read with the emphasis on the word God, whereas we have fallen into the habit of emphasizing love. God is love; that is to say not a human attitude, a conviction or a deed, but God Himself is love. Only he who knows God knows what love is; it is not the other way round; it is not that we first of all by nature know what love is and therefore know also what God is. No one knows God unless God reveals Himself to him. And so no one knows what love is except in the self-revelation of God. Love then is the revelation of God. And this revelation of God is Jesus Christ. " In this was manifested the love of god toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him ( 1 John 4.9).....Love has its origin not in us but in God. Love is not an attitude of men but an attitude of God.........
We can now continue to follow the Bible in answering the question: "What is love"? Love is the reconciliation of man with God in Jesus Christ. the disunion of man with God, with other men, with the world and with themselves, is an an end. Man's origin is given back to him".
I will stop there. As there is so much on which we need to reflect. Perhaps none more important than Christ's seemingly very provocative and very controversial statement that : " I am the way, the truth and the light, no one cometh unto the Father except through me". This single assertion by all of Christianity has unleashed a veritable torrent of invective and charges of exclusiveness and arrogance against the professing Church throughout all of history until this present day. We make no apologies for this statement in the light of Scripture and in the light of what this suffering servant of God has to say. In fact, at the start of his book Bonhoeffer, this German Pastor, who opposed Hitler even to death by a firing squad, makes bold to say that :
" The knowledge of good and evil seems to be the aim of all ethical reflection. The first task of Christian ethics is to invalidate this knowledge. In launching this attack on the underlying assumptions of all other ethics, Christian ethics stands so completely alone that it is questionable whether there is any purpose of speaking of Christian ethics at all. But if one does so notwithstanding, that can only mean that Christian ethics claims to discuss the origin of the whole problem of ethics, and thus professes to be a critique of all ethics simply as ethics."
So what has been reinforced in my mind so far this Lent from reading Bonhoeffer and not listening to Cliff Hughes or Trevor Munroe or Barbara Gloudon or Emily Crooks, or watching movies or listening to the Temptations or Taurus Riley or spending time on Facebook?
Thank God for Jesus. For without Him there would be no reunion with God. No reconciliation of God with fallen mankind. No giving back to man His origin. No chance of ending wars. No chance of mankind repenting of his sins and being given a second chance to know God. No hope for all mankind. But, every hope of sharing in that love that is kind, is patient, is not rude, does not delight in evil, always hopes, always trusts. Knowledge that with Christ, and in Christ, and through Christ our faith will not be in vain, our giving of ourselves and our possesions will not be in vain and all our sacrifices will not be in vain. That I can truly know God and only God again, which was the original state of mankind, made in the image of God, but marred by Adam's, and my choice - my fault, my own fault, my own grievous fault. That my country can change, and that there is hope. As crime and violence and general wickedness is but only part of the reality of life in Jamaica; the greater reality is that in Christ Jesus all of mankind, wicked and pious but still full of sin, can change and once again become 'children of God' and not of Adam, and bring peace to a troubled world. Praise God.
In pursuit of that objective, I came across, yet another book by one of my favourite Christian writers - Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Favourite not only because of the clarity of his writings, but because he lived in Germany during the Nazi years, during the time when 6 million Jews and many other were wiped off the face of the earth, and during the time of one of the worse periods in human history. And he resisted when others acquiesced. He returned home from the relative comfort of the USA to take part in the struggle to rescue his country when others were fleeing. He stood up and was counted among those who said 'no' to the wickedness of Hitler, while others kept quiet to save their 'skin', but lost their soul and are now judged very harshly by history. Because of his resistance he was executed in the last days of the war by the Nazis. You have to respect that kind of life.
So I am reading Bonhoeffer's classic book on " Ethics" for Lent. It's heavy stuff and requires a lot of concentration to appreciate what he is sharing with the reader. But, as the Americans say, what he has to offer is " huge". And as I read I understand even more clearly that this kind of material could only have been written by one who had suffered much, and had come face to face with evil in the heights of its powers. We in Jamaica think we are going through a rough time on account of the murder, rape, bad manners, loud and disgusting music, bad driving, and the very challenging political and economic situation. But those on the wrong side of the fence during the time of Hitler, lived through a veritable hell. An experience that we cannot even begin to imagine much less to compare. Therefore when such a person writes about the love of God, in the most profound ways, we should really ought to pay attention.
Bonhoeffer begins , what was an unfinished work, with a very deep discussion on what happened when mankind , children of Adam, came to know good and evil. Bonhoeffer asserts that:
" man in his origin knew only one thing: God. It is only in the unity of of his knowledge of God that he knows of other men, of things and of himself. He knows all things only in God, and God in all things". Then Bonhoeffer asserts that " The knowledge of good and evil shows that he is no longer at one with this origin."
This kind of perspective of what took place in the Garden of Eden is again, " huge". And, therefore explains why the forces of evil, dressed up in all kinds of sheep-like clothing, have tried to deny flatly or make mockery of the Fall of mankind from his original relationship with God. No wonder then that those who would have us believe that Darwin's great work of Evolution, with which some serious Christians do not have any major problems, is the only explanation for the origin of mankind - which all Christians reject. Because what Bonhoeffer, and the entire Christian doctrine, explains, is that God's love for mankind , as revealed in Jesus Christ, the God-Man, has its genesis in this falling away of man (who was made in the likeness and image of God) from his origin. All because we departed from knowing all things in God, and through God, and came to know good and evil.
So Bonhoeffer continues; " He ( mankind) knows himself now as something apart from God, outside God, and this means that he now knows only himself and no longer knows God at all: for he can know God only if he knows only God. The knowledge of good and evil is therefore separation from God. Only against God can man know good and evil".
One cannot read this life changing ( or again what the Americans call "game changing") stuff for too long. So I had to stop reading several times and allow my head to " wrap around" these things. As, not being entirely new in concept, but really explaining so much more clearly why all of us have the potential to exhibit such evil behaviour, I had to pause to reflect and as I write , to thank God that He led me to the bookshop in Dolphin Mall and not to Macy's in International, that day. The basic problem with, people, my people who are killing one another in Jamaica, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, in the cities of America and Europe, and places like Darfur, is that we don't understand how much this falling away from God, has programmed us to act like people who do not know God. This very same falling away from his origin, of knowing only God and others and himself through God, explains why an Austrian man can lock away his daughter for years and commit incest with impunity; why a previously trusted and deeply respected Rap singer can ruthlessly and mercilessly - behave like a veritable animal - beat up his superstar girlfriend who dared to read a text message from another woman; why a previously well respected freedom fighter can suddenly make a U -turn and become a monster; and why, in pursuit of power, previously well thinking politicians, could introduce gun violence into a once peaceful country and thus unleash an era of wickedness hitherto unknown and unparalleled in the Caribbean.
So, we delude ourselves into thinking, or have been hoodwinked, that we can know God by deep meditation; praying seven times for the day; fasting for weeks; reading the Torah or the Koran or the Bible from cover to cover or a thousand other ways; " saying Lord Lord, and worshiping God with our lips and not with our hearts". And worse that we do not really need God at all. Thus causing evil to be unleashed all over the world, and for mankind to be always, " playing catch up" with no end in sight - unless God in His mercy intervenes, which thankfully He does from time to time.
So after all of this what does this German martyr say about God's love. He begins by quoting one of the most popular Bible passages which speaks about love.
" And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing" ( 1 Cor. 13:2 and 3). This is the decisive word which marks the distinction between man in disunion and man in origin. The word is love. ( We once had a Prime Minister who unfailingly employed that term - in his own limited understanding of it). There is a recognition of Christ, a powerful faith in Christ, and indeed a conviction and a devotion of love even unto death - all without love. That is the point. Without this " love" everything falls apart and everything is unacceptable, but in this love everything is united and everything is pleasing to God. What is this love?.........The Bible does not fail to give us the answer. We know this answer well enough, but we continually misinterpret it. It is this: " God is love ( 1 John 4, 16)......this sentence is to be read with the emphasis on the word God, whereas we have fallen into the habit of emphasizing love. God is love; that is to say not a human attitude, a conviction or a deed, but God Himself is love. Only he who knows God knows what love is; it is not the other way round; it is not that we first of all by nature know what love is and therefore know also what God is. No one knows God unless God reveals Himself to him. And so no one knows what love is except in the self-revelation of God. Love then is the revelation of God. And this revelation of God is Jesus Christ. " In this was manifested the love of god toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him ( 1 John 4.9).....Love has its origin not in us but in God. Love is not an attitude of men but an attitude of God.........
We can now continue to follow the Bible in answering the question: "What is love"? Love is the reconciliation of man with God in Jesus Christ. the disunion of man with God, with other men, with the world and with themselves, is an an end. Man's origin is given back to him".
I will stop there. As there is so much on which we need to reflect. Perhaps none more important than Christ's seemingly very provocative and very controversial statement that : " I am the way, the truth and the light, no one cometh unto the Father except through me". This single assertion by all of Christianity has unleashed a veritable torrent of invective and charges of exclusiveness and arrogance against the professing Church throughout all of history until this present day. We make no apologies for this statement in the light of Scripture and in the light of what this suffering servant of God has to say. In fact, at the start of his book Bonhoeffer, this German Pastor, who opposed Hitler even to death by a firing squad, makes bold to say that :
" The knowledge of good and evil seems to be the aim of all ethical reflection. The first task of Christian ethics is to invalidate this knowledge. In launching this attack on the underlying assumptions of all other ethics, Christian ethics stands so completely alone that it is questionable whether there is any purpose of speaking of Christian ethics at all. But if one does so notwithstanding, that can only mean that Christian ethics claims to discuss the origin of the whole problem of ethics, and thus professes to be a critique of all ethics simply as ethics."
So what has been reinforced in my mind so far this Lent from reading Bonhoeffer and not listening to Cliff Hughes or Trevor Munroe or Barbara Gloudon or Emily Crooks, or watching movies or listening to the Temptations or Taurus Riley or spending time on Facebook?
Thank God for Jesus. For without Him there would be no reunion with God. No reconciliation of God with fallen mankind. No giving back to man His origin. No chance of ending wars. No chance of mankind repenting of his sins and being given a second chance to know God. No hope for all mankind. But, every hope of sharing in that love that is kind, is patient, is not rude, does not delight in evil, always hopes, always trusts. Knowledge that with Christ, and in Christ, and through Christ our faith will not be in vain, our giving of ourselves and our possesions will not be in vain and all our sacrifices will not be in vain. That I can truly know God and only God again, which was the original state of mankind, made in the image of God, but marred by Adam's, and my choice - my fault, my own fault, my own grievous fault. That my country can change, and that there is hope. As crime and violence and general wickedness is but only part of the reality of life in Jamaica; the greater reality is that in Christ Jesus all of mankind, wicked and pious but still full of sin, can change and once again become 'children of God' and not of Adam, and bring peace to a troubled world. Praise God.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
True Confidence to live in this world comes only from God and His Son Jesus Christ
If you did not see Black in America 1 on CNN, featuring Soledad O'Bryan, which aired shortly before Barack Obama won the US Presidential elections, make sure you catch Black in America 2 which is due for release in July of this year. Great documentary on the struggles of Black folks in the USA. This week O'Bryan put together a panel to discuss some aspects of the documentary and an ex-Basketball star made a comment which left a lasting impression on me.
" What separates the merely good ballplayers - and they are many of them - from the elite - only a few and he singled out Kobe Bryan as an example -is confidence. And confidence is something which you cannot give but you surely can take away. This is response to the non- attendance, or reduced attendance of parents in activities involving black kids in the USA vs the white kids.
And the result of which is that these kids lack the confidence which would assist them in doing well at school, simply because there is no one there to " cheer " them on and so their confidence is literally " taken away". Interesting point.
As I flew thousands of miles these last few days, and thank God landed safely each time, amidst reports of planes crashing in Buffalo, Holland, London and the " miracle on the Hudson River", the only thing that kept me from worrying too much was my confidence in the God to whom I pray for Grace and Mercy each day; each minute, each moment. And as I write I recall a wonderful woman of tremendous faith reminding me of the words of that wonderful song recently:
" Your grace and mercy
Brought me through.
I am living this moment
Because of You.
I wanna thank You
And praise Your Name
Your Grace and Mercy
Brought me through
And I live in a country which has one of the highest murder rates in the world and so the only thing that keeps me sane when I open my gate, or leave my office late at nights, is the confidence in the God whom I serve - not any gun in my waist ( that is of no use in sky anyway).
So this week, Lent, the most sacred period in the Christian calender and in particular Anglicans and other denominations - not Christmas as many believe - started on Ash Wednesday. A time when we spend more time engaging in the three great disciplines. Prayer, Fasting and giving alms to the needy. A time of self-denial and reflection, remembering our mortality and sinfulness before an Almighty God, who in His Grace and Mercy rescued us from the sentence of death on the Cross of Calvary in the person of Jesus Christ, His Son. It is a period which culminates in the agony of Good Friday and the joy and celebration of Easter Sunday. And I have been taught and have experienced it for my self over the years, that one cannot truly celebrate Easter and the glorious resurrection of Christ without going through Lent and its many disciplines.
This celebration of God's mercy to us in Christ Jesus, is what gives Christians confidence to live a joyful life, even in the midst of grave difficulties, financially, emotionally and physically; to live a life of sharing with others, of one's self and one's possessions, even when times are hard as they are here in Jamaica and in the USA and Europe from which I just returned; to worship God at all times moment by moment, because of His many Blessings to us. And confidence even to face death when that event inevitably arrives one day - and we all hope not too soon, but God's will be done - because we know in whose hands we will commit ourselves at that time, and to the certain joys of eternal life.
But this confidence comes only to those who believe in the Sovereignty of God in one's life and accept the need for the saving grace of Jesus, on the one hand. And are prepared to tell others about this free gift of salvation on the other hand. As God's blessings are not just for us to celebrate for ourself but to share the good news with others - with confidence. And the Lenten disciplines help us enormously in that regard. Forget the Easter Bunny and the bun and cheese.
That's a superficial understanding of a profound issue. So too, forget about giving up the cigarettes and the alcohol, and the chocolates for Lent. No particular blessing of a spiritual nature awaits anyone who indulges in that kind of activity - although whether Lent or not, from a physical health point of view, some of those habits are worthwhile giving up. So forget those but reflect deeply on a message from Chris Tiegen which I read this morning
BLESSED FOR A PURPOSE MARCH 1.
" Return home and tell how much God has done for you"
Luke 8:39
IN WORD Why has God been good to us? Because He loves us? Of course this is true. But there is more. He has been good to us because He loves others, too. He wants us to tell of His goodness. His mercy has been given so that we might speak of His mercy; His patience that we might speak of His patience; His blessings that we might tell others that He is a God who blesses.
All His goodness towards us is for us, yes, but also for others. It is for the reputation and glory of His name.
This is not new -- it was how He has made His name known from the beginning. " I will bless those who bless you ..... and all the people on the earth will be blessed through you". ( Genesis 12:3) " You sent miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh...... You made a name for yourself, which remains to this day" ( Nehemiah 9:10). This is our story, too. God has been good to us not for our own glory, but for His.
IN DEED Pledge to tell others what the Lord has done for you. Learn to say , " Let me tell you about God's patience. He is so patient that He -------," and fill in the blank with a story of how He has dealt with you. Learn to say, " God is so merciful that He ------," and tell someone of His mercy toward you.
This may seem difficult because it will require honesty and transparency on our part. The Gerasene from this text must say that he is an ex- demoniac when he tells the story. We may have to confess that we needed mercy, or why God had to be patient with us. This often does not reflect well on us. But it does reflect well of Him and His glory --not ours -- is the ultimate purpose of all creation.
Give Him the glory. Tell what He has done for you.
Finally we cannot by ourselves gain the kind of confidence that God offer freely in Christ Jesus. And we cannot by ourselves speak freely abut God's goodness to us. Not can we manage the rigours of a observing a holy lent by ourselves - self sacrifice, fasting - self denial - deepening our prayer life ; repenting of our sins. But God can.
So the following hymn came into my mind this week and provided much strength and spiritual blessings.
Breathe on me Breath of God.
Fill me with life anew;
That I might love what thou dost love
And do what Thou wouldst do.
Breathe of me breath of God,
Until my heart is pure;
Until my will is one with Thine
To do and to endure.
Breathe on me breath of God,
Till I am wholly Thine;
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with Thy fire divine.
Breathe on me breath of God,
So shall I never die;
But live with Thee the perfect life
Of Thine Eternity
Amazingly, tonight as i flew back home, I sat beside a friend who among other things, said to me, in response to a discussion on how the church can help others at this time, and the need to discern God's will for each of us; " if we would only live a life of thanksgiving, then things would be much better in the church.
Lord renew thy church beginning with me. Lord renew Thy church so that the church may renew the nation(s).
Your Grace and Mercy, brought me through............ Amen
" What separates the merely good ballplayers - and they are many of them - from the elite - only a few and he singled out Kobe Bryan as an example -is confidence. And confidence is something which you cannot give but you surely can take away. This is response to the non- attendance, or reduced attendance of parents in activities involving black kids in the USA vs the white kids.
And the result of which is that these kids lack the confidence which would assist them in doing well at school, simply because there is no one there to " cheer " them on and so their confidence is literally " taken away". Interesting point.
As I flew thousands of miles these last few days, and thank God landed safely each time, amidst reports of planes crashing in Buffalo, Holland, London and the " miracle on the Hudson River", the only thing that kept me from worrying too much was my confidence in the God to whom I pray for Grace and Mercy each day; each minute, each moment. And as I write I recall a wonderful woman of tremendous faith reminding me of the words of that wonderful song recently:
" Your grace and mercy
Brought me through.
I am living this moment
Because of You.
I wanna thank You
And praise Your Name
Your Grace and Mercy
Brought me through
And I live in a country which has one of the highest murder rates in the world and so the only thing that keeps me sane when I open my gate, or leave my office late at nights, is the confidence in the God whom I serve - not any gun in my waist ( that is of no use in sky anyway).
So this week, Lent, the most sacred period in the Christian calender and in particular Anglicans and other denominations - not Christmas as many believe - started on Ash Wednesday. A time when we spend more time engaging in the three great disciplines. Prayer, Fasting and giving alms to the needy. A time of self-denial and reflection, remembering our mortality and sinfulness before an Almighty God, who in His Grace and Mercy rescued us from the sentence of death on the Cross of Calvary in the person of Jesus Christ, His Son. It is a period which culminates in the agony of Good Friday and the joy and celebration of Easter Sunday. And I have been taught and have experienced it for my self over the years, that one cannot truly celebrate Easter and the glorious resurrection of Christ without going through Lent and its many disciplines.
This celebration of God's mercy to us in Christ Jesus, is what gives Christians confidence to live a joyful life, even in the midst of grave difficulties, financially, emotionally and physically; to live a life of sharing with others, of one's self and one's possessions, even when times are hard as they are here in Jamaica and in the USA and Europe from which I just returned; to worship God at all times moment by moment, because of His many Blessings to us. And confidence even to face death when that event inevitably arrives one day - and we all hope not too soon, but God's will be done - because we know in whose hands we will commit ourselves at that time, and to the certain joys of eternal life.
But this confidence comes only to those who believe in the Sovereignty of God in one's life and accept the need for the saving grace of Jesus, on the one hand. And are prepared to tell others about this free gift of salvation on the other hand. As God's blessings are not just for us to celebrate for ourself but to share the good news with others - with confidence. And the Lenten disciplines help us enormously in that regard. Forget the Easter Bunny and the bun and cheese.
That's a superficial understanding of a profound issue. So too, forget about giving up the cigarettes and the alcohol, and the chocolates for Lent. No particular blessing of a spiritual nature awaits anyone who indulges in that kind of activity - although whether Lent or not, from a physical health point of view, some of those habits are worthwhile giving up. So forget those but reflect deeply on a message from Chris Tiegen which I read this morning
BLESSED FOR A PURPOSE MARCH 1.
" Return home and tell how much God has done for you"
Luke 8:39
IN WORD Why has God been good to us? Because He loves us? Of course this is true. But there is more. He has been good to us because He loves others, too. He wants us to tell of His goodness. His mercy has been given so that we might speak of His mercy; His patience that we might speak of His patience; His blessings that we might tell others that He is a God who blesses.
All His goodness towards us is for us, yes, but also for others. It is for the reputation and glory of His name.
This is not new -- it was how He has made His name known from the beginning. " I will bless those who bless you ..... and all the people on the earth will be blessed through you". ( Genesis 12:3) " You sent miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh...... You made a name for yourself, which remains to this day" ( Nehemiah 9:10). This is our story, too. God has been good to us not for our own glory, but for His.
IN DEED Pledge to tell others what the Lord has done for you. Learn to say , " Let me tell you about God's patience. He is so patient that He -------," and fill in the blank with a story of how He has dealt with you. Learn to say, " God is so merciful that He ------," and tell someone of His mercy toward you.
This may seem difficult because it will require honesty and transparency on our part. The Gerasene from this text must say that he is an ex- demoniac when he tells the story. We may have to confess that we needed mercy, or why God had to be patient with us. This often does not reflect well on us. But it does reflect well of Him and His glory --not ours -- is the ultimate purpose of all creation.
Give Him the glory. Tell what He has done for you.
Finally we cannot by ourselves gain the kind of confidence that God offer freely in Christ Jesus. And we cannot by ourselves speak freely abut God's goodness to us. Not can we manage the rigours of a observing a holy lent by ourselves - self sacrifice, fasting - self denial - deepening our prayer life ; repenting of our sins. But God can.
So the following hymn came into my mind this week and provided much strength and spiritual blessings.
Breathe on me Breath of God.
Fill me with life anew;
That I might love what thou dost love
And do what Thou wouldst do.
Breathe of me breath of God,
Until my heart is pure;
Until my will is one with Thine
To do and to endure.
Breathe on me breath of God,
Till I am wholly Thine;
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with Thy fire divine.
Breathe on me breath of God,
So shall I never die;
But live with Thee the perfect life
Of Thine Eternity
Amazingly, tonight as i flew back home, I sat beside a friend who among other things, said to me, in response to a discussion on how the church can help others at this time, and the need to discern God's will for each of us; " if we would only live a life of thanksgiving, then things would be much better in the church.
Lord renew thy church beginning with me. Lord renew Thy church so that the church may renew the nation(s).
Your Grace and Mercy, brought me through............ Amen
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