Free at last

Readings for Sunday 27th June the 5th Sunday after Pentecost-Proper 8 in the season of the year

• 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 and Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20 •
• 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21 and Psalm 16 •
• Galatians 5:1, 13-25 •
• Luke 9:51-62

It is for freedom that we have been set free
this inviting gambit that Paul sets out at the beginning of the 5th chapter of the letter to the Church in Galatia
is deceptively simple.
But it is worth clinging on to.
Most of us find it slips away all too easily.
It is not so much that we are enslaved
or locked up in prison
or even that we find our rights curtailed ny the State
(although all those things can be true)
but rather that we actually surrender our freedom.
This idea is perhaps graphically illustrated in a person like Nelson Mandela
who was imprisoned (as we know) for political reasons in apartheid ridden South Africa
What ever we may make of Mr Mandela's particular cause,
it is his decision whilst in jail that he would no longer carry the burden of imprisonment
that points us to the reality of this truth of the Gospel.

It is for freedom that we have been set free.

Mandela came to realise that as long as he hung on to the bitterness and hatred
of his captors
that the rocks and stones that he was being required to smash
were indeed smashing him.
The prime example of this sort of attitude is Jesus himself
who could have condemned those who condemned him
and justifiably

Yet he steadfastly refuses to do.
We hear Jesus saying....Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.

The key
It is for freedom that we have been set free.
This seems to be a key to understanding
how we lose our freedom
and become diminished as persons.
We lose sight of what we are doing.
Nelson Mandela regained sight of what needed to happen
and reclaimed his freedom.
But look at those apostles in those little vignettes today
Realising that they have been given power by Jesus
.....when they face opposition from people who disagree
their response is ....Should we use our power to zap them?
Jesus will not be sucked into this sort of vortex.

or to those enthusiasts caught up in the thrill of the moment
who want to throw everything to the wind
and make grand gestures.
Jesus says.....True freedom comes not from grand gestures
leaving home, making loud proclamation,
fine sounding phrases
But True freedom comes when
realising the consequences
you embrace the future
and the difficulties.
When faced with challenge and barrier
to those things we have found fundamental
instead of turning round and backing off
we keep our shoulder to the wheel
and press on.

True freedom,
and it is for freedom that we have been set free
will have consequences.
it requires commitment
it requires that we not give it away

it will change our hearts
and grow the fruit of the Spirit
(this indeed will be a test of whether or not we are on track)
So much of what we hear as 'gospel'
does not seem to foster: patience, goodness, kindness, self-control, faithfulness, gentleness

which are the hall marks of true freedom.

Some ideas, then, to explore this week

Where is God calling me to be free?
Have I allowed myself to be enslaved by hanging on to attitudes of bitterness and hatred that far from satisfying me are actually destroying me?
How do I need to open myself to the ministry of reconciliation which might set me free for this?

Talk to Jesus about one area of your life where he is calling you to be free?
What do you need to do to begin today?

Come, Lord Jesus

Reflection on John 14:8-13

This morning's prayers:

Come, Lord Jesus!

Bring hope and harmony

to our lives.

when things fall apart

when life is chaotic

and when there seems

no way;

show us that

destruction and death

is often the gate

to new life;

that chaos

is the prelude

to a new way;

and that where there is

no way

we are invited to discover

that the Way, the Truth and the Life

is neither path nor gate,

it is not a test

but a person.

Come, Lord Jesus!

Come my Way, my Truth, my Life!

Signs of the covenant

Readings for Sunday 27th January 2008 the Third Sunday after Epiphany (Year A) can be taken from Isaiah 9:1-4, Psalm 27, 1 Corinthians 1:10-18, & Matthew 4:12-25

The early disciples got a curious glimpse of something different:
what it might be like to follow Jesus.
For two thousand years people have got a glimpse of the same thing.
For some it has been very clear
for some it has been a gradual realisation

The question we ask ourselves today is
what makes me a disciple of Jesus?
Why do I follow, what do I seek to be and do?
You may remember that last week's question was:
What are you looking for?
This is what Jesus asks those who pursue him.
The two questions are not unrelated


But the mature realisation of the disciple is that it is not a job description
rather it is an invitation to a relationship
This is not unlike a marriage
I could be tempted when preparing a couple
to say "This what a husband does"
and "This is what a wife does"
as if it were some sort of job description
(this is, incidentally, why some people get Paul's teaching about marriage all skew-whiff,
they mistake his comments about the nature of mutual relationship as  a role descriptor for spouses!)
in reality what is important is not the job that we do
as a spouse
or as a disciple
but the sort of relationship we have.
With each other, and with God

This week

• You might reflect whether the idea of having a relationship with Jesus is one that works for you
  
• How might you deepen that relationship, or (perhaps) discover what it means?
• Pray for yourself and your friends that you may have beeter relationships.

Where am I?

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
February 4, 2007 Isaiah 6:1-8, (9-13) Psalm 138 I Corinthians 15:1-11 Luke 5:1-11
Where is Jesus in what I have been doing this week?
There is an important point to get here in this story that we often don't seem to connect with.
So blinded are we by a miracle story that we may miss the more obvious point
that Jesus is with us in our ordinary endeavours such as our work.
And this is the rich experience of our encounter with Jesus
that he is there with us in the reality of our day to day life
That his presence is transforming for us
if we only but give ourserlves to the presence of Jesus
already with us.

As we peel away the layers of this story
what wows the disciples who encounter Jesus
is that as they went about doing what they normally did
listening to him
and being obedient
their ordinary work is transformed

They had no doubt caught lots of fish before
and no doubt had to deal with days when things had not gone well.
We know that
because everyone's life is like that.
What I suggest we are being invited to see here is not a quick way to improve your average fishing catch
but rather that our daily labour is transformed when we draw it into the circle of Jesus's life.

Some days it will mean that things seem to go better,
even look rather miraculous.
Other days it will mean we will deal with all the rubbish that is thrown at us
and the bad feeling that we have.

We know this to be the case
when our life and the life of Christ are drawn into the same ambit
then things are rather different.

This is why praying is so important
not so much in that it increases the dividends
but rather that it transforms our experience
and that we see in life's ordinariness
possibilities, opportunities
hope and joy
that maybe we don't always fully experience.

This week
Can we open each situation we enter into with spirit of prayer?
Can we look back at what has taken place and give thanks to God for it?
Can we see the invitation that Christ puts before us
to view it differently
to respond better
to be men and women of faith.

There is already ther
an abundance of expereince and hope to grow in Christ
and for Christ to grow in us.