Trying to see Jesus

I read recently of a Bishop's visit to a parish; the priest said that the Bishop told the people that what we need is "More Jesus!"

In this "Kingdom time" it is an exhortation we do well to hear

Reading for this Sunday, 31 October 2010 the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost come from Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 and Psalm 119:137-144 • (

Isaiah 1:10-18 and Psalm 32:1-7 ) •

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12 •

Luke 19:1-10

The story in the Gospel this morning is pretty straight forward. Jesus is in the town of Jericho, and a crowd throngs around. A tax collector called Zacchaeus (who we are told is short!) climbs a tree.

If we take this as a guide today we could see the challenge

in our own life

to climb the tree and get a better look at Jesus.

In the last couple of weeks

we have been reminded to snap out of our apathy

and get back to the task.

As we think about the saints

we see men and women who inspire us

because they have seen Jesus and responded.

Sometimes we become a bit lacklustre

and take it all a bit for granted.

Far from being excited about Jesus

we just ignore him.

So we are being reminded today to climb the tree

and get a better look at Jesus.

What we note is that Jesus speaks to Zacchaeus

Directly to his condition.

What, I might ask,

is Jesus saying to me today?

Mary McKillop heard a call to serve the poor and teach the young,

Francis heard Jesus' call to rebuild the church

and to attend to the creation

to love the unlovely

and be there, first and foremost,

for the poor.

If Jesus was speaking to you today

what is he saying

From the readings

there is still a vision for the appointed time....... the righteous live by their faith.(Habbakuk 2:3-4

What enlivens us is "faith"

we might think, it's organisation, or wealth

but we are reminded that it is faith ...the assurance of God's promise ...

that is the dynamic that transforms the life of God's people.

What promise of God do you hear from Jesus

and how can you act on that.

Is it about forgiveness, healing, prayer, love and mercy

service, action and care

In your tree as you look at Jesus

what is he telling you to get down and do!

We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters (2 Thessalonians 1:3)

We are reminded that we can look at others (we have been calling them 'saints'...Mary MacKillop, Francis and many others) who take this call of Jesus on their life seriously and see how it is transforming

Zacchaeus at least alludes to the possibility that his encounter with Jesus will make a difference.

An I suppose that a gauntlet is thrown down

to be more than just 'fair weather' Christians

THIS WEEK

Where is God looking at us and speaking into our lives?

Where are we being invited to come down out of the tree and welcome Jesus?

What can I resolve to do today to put this encounter into practice?

Dear and glorious

Christians keep alive the memory and example of the saints. This Sunday, 18 October, is St Luke's Day.

Readings for Sunday 18th October, St Luke's Day can include Jeremiah 8:22-9:3; Psalm 145:10-18, 2 Tim 4:9-17, Luke 1:1-4, Luke 10:1-9; Luke 24:44-53

We know surprisingly little about most saints, but about St Luke we can glean quite a lot.

He is the writer of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.

He does not seem to have been a Jew, but became an adherent of Christianity fairly early in the piece.

We don't know whether he actually met Jesus, it seems unlikely

his major association is with St Paul

and we can glean from the Acts of the Apostles

that he actually travelled with Paul

on some significant journeys

we know this partly through the 'we' passages.

They are where we can detect a grammatical change

he stop saying "they" did this and "they" did that

and says "we" did this.

(This may be a 'literary convention' but it seems more likely that Luke was actually present for some of these events at least)

His Gospel is quite well written and structured

and he seems (for example) to have some pretty important themes to explore:

like care for the poor, the role of women, the place of children

and the spread of the Gospel.

We know from the text that he was probably a physician,

and novelist Taylor Caldwell wrote a charming book based on his life

called "Dear and Glorious Physician"

Strangely he does not write much, or specifically, about the actual ministry of healing

even though he is quite naturally associated with that aspect of Christian life.

Most of this is "by way of background"

but I make some observations:

1. We believe in the communion of saints

It is a basic tenet of Christianity that we are a community ...we call ourselves the communion of saints

For us, the saints are not only those who, like Luke, have died

but all those people who are bound to Christ through baptism

the grave does not separate us from God

or from each other,

We pray together, with and for each other and for God's work.

Some might be better at this than others, but it is the duty of us all

to praise God and pray for the coming of the kingdom!

2. We are all called to proclaim the Good News of Jesus

Luke happens to have written his account of the Christian Life

but the evangelists remind us that we are all to tell the story

3. Luke tells us the story from his particular perspective

The casual reader is always struck by the fact that each Gospel...Matthew, Mark, John and Luke

have similarities

but they also differ.

Luke's particular emphases are important for us to consider,

they remind us that the Gospel is a living tradition

and each of us needs to work it through in our own context.

For Luke: the concern of the poor, the spread of the Gospel outside Judaism,

the need for 'labourers in the harvest'

were important emphases....each saint lays the emphasis in differing ways.

What might your emphasis be?

4. The saints encourage each other

One striking feature of Luke's ministry is his encouragement

those plaintive words of St Paul...at a low point in his ministry

Only Luke is with me!

Remind us that solidarity is often the greatest gift that friends and family can give to each other

Do we take out Christian solidarity...support by and for the other saints seriously?

We give thanks for St Luke

Commit ourselves to work out what it means to be Christian in our lives

to the spread of the Gospel

to be a labourer

and to be faithful.

Calling the roll

The Solemnity of ALL SAINTS falls on November 1st and/or is kept on the Sunday afterwards. Selected readings for that feast include: Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18; Psalm 149; Ephesians 1:11-23; Luke 6:20-31

One of the Anglican funeral prayers (1) says "Help us to live as those who believe in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection to eternal life"

These are good words and indeed important words but a bit religious and I often use the explanation of them to lock into what are the important themes of a Christian funeral: Community, Forgiveness and Life.

And indeed not only of a funeral, but of the Christian life. For indeed the mystery of faith is that we are God's in death as in life. If we live we live to the Lord, and if we die we die to the Lord. So then whether we live or whether we die we are the Lord's (Romans 14:8) We see a continuity that the grave does not breach.

Community

Although we habitually use the word 'communion' to talk about the saints, we could just as well talk about the community of saints. People who are united in their common pursuit of the gospel of Jesus. Christian life is lived out in community, always has been and always will be. Even the key idea that we have about God, The Trinity, reveals to us that the essence of God is community...Father, Son and Spirit...the community of love.

Into that community life is drawn a community of people who God chooses to belong as God's chosen people. This chosen people is not an exclusive group, it is an open community with a constant invitation to people to join.

As we look at this community, or communion, of saints certain big names are set before us...Francis, Mary, Peter, Luther, John XXIII, Dietrich Bonhoeffer...and you can no doubt think of more (see some thoughts here and here for example).

This very mixed group reminds us that we are not meant to be soldiers in an army, or chocolate duplicates of each other but that we are as diverse as they come. Our unity comes out of our relationship with Jesus.

This is an important thing to remember. Particularly when we are talking about bringing new people to faith, or in deepening the faith of others. We are not cloning, we are bringing people into relationship with Jesus, and with the other members of the Jesus community.

People want community not committee. They want relationship not rules.

Help us to live as the communion of saints. In honest, open, forgiving relationships. Seeking the good of others, and the welfare of all.

In all things remembering that this is the abundant and eternal life that God promises us in Christ.

We sometimes get fixated on that part of the community that is beyond the grave. They are there to guard, inspire and encourage us. But we also are to commit to community now, struggling with all that it means to share this common life together. The promise is that in the unfolding of this commitment, eternal and abundant life are given to be lived now. As Saints.

This week
Pray for help to live as saints in community.
Where do I need to challenge my own tendency to be a loner, to reject the discipline of community?
Where can I be encouraging and forgiving?
Where do I need to forgive?
Invite all the saints, living and dead, who have been influential in forming you to join with you in praying for a deeper commitment

You Tube presentation

(1)(see introduction to the Funeral in An Australian Prayer Book 1978 (AAPB))

Proceeding with caution

Ruth and Boaz (the stylistic work of Polish-Iraeli artist Shlomo Katz see here for more)

Reading for Pentecost 23, Sunday 12th November (Proper 32) Ruth 3:1-5, 4:3-17; Psalm 127; Hebrews 9:19-28; Mark 12:38-44

There is certain profound gentleness about this week's readings.
The story of a woman who finds a genuine life partner. And who against all odds becomes the mother of a great man.
And the gentle reassurance of the woman whose generosity is seen by God;
even though she gives little in "real terms"
she gives everything she has in hers
and God see this and we recognise it
and so we are heartened.
In the middle of this there is something of a sterner reminder
that God abhors hypocrisy
and that there is about life
the mystery of sacrifice
which tests us to the very core of who we are.
The writer to the Hebrews
spells out in great details
that sacrifice is at the core of what our relationship with God is all about.
Getting it straight
Now we need to understand that there is a common misconception about sacrifice
that it is essentially about the taking away of life.
This is not necessarily or particularly so.
In fact if we look at the detailed instructions about sacrifice
in the Hebrew scriptures
we see that a lot of it is not about animal slaughter at all
There are all sorts of sacrifices of grain and produce
which do not involve bloodshed.
In fact if we look at the word sacri-fice we can see that it is about making (the fice part of the word) things sacred or holy (the sacri part of the word)
Christ died that we might be made holy
In fact the writer of Hebrews uses the idea of Christ entering into God's presence
(going into the most holy place)
so that we too might enter into that presence
Simple reflection
The story of Ruth is an interesting but gentle tale.
It seems a simple love story
yet it needs also to be read in the context of the sort of ethnic tensions
that still exist in those lands we call HOLY today.
Ruth was not a Jew
she was what today we would call a Lebanese, or Syrian, perhaps even an Iraqi.
Yet her faithfulness to her Jewish mother-in-law
and her willingness to do what needed to be done
saw a simple little tale
become an object lesson
in the all accepting love of God.
The Jews were racked by ethnic division then as now.
And yet we read of one the greatest heroes
(in backwards order)...his father was Jesse, his grandfather was Obed, who was the child
not of a Jew but of a Moabitess.
David was the great grandson of an outcast.
Be careful about what you hear. There is more than meets the eyes.
Likewise in the letter to the Hebrews
it is the call for us to be holy
and the permission to enter the closest presence of God
that we need to hear.
Not just the bloody sacrifice of Christ.
So obsessed are we about guilt and sin
that we fail to hear that there is cause for rejoicing.
Christ died, so that we could be close to God.
God is close, not far.
Don't push him away
Finally
A simple tale that we all know to be true
.. the rich can afford to be generous
But do we also pay attention to the great warning
God is not looking for who gives the most
either in real dollar terms
or even proportionately.
God looks at the heart
and despises hypocrisy.
The hypocrisy that judges others and fais to critique oneself.

THIS WEEK
Where is God inviting me to be tolerant? To step outside my prejudices and to be more accepting?
Where do I hold back from drawing close to God? Is there a time and place to be quiet and listen? Is there an opportunity to serve God through care for others?
Where in my life am I most hypocritical? Where can I change and be more honest?

And companions on the way

Ruth 1:1-8; Psalm 146, Hebrews 9:11-15, Mark 12:13-17, 28-34 Readings for Sunday 5th November, Pentecost 22 (Proper 31)

I always find this season both encouraging and challenging
As the year draws towards its close
we move in the Church's year from thinking about day to day life
to the fulfillment of the promises of God's kingdom.
In the Church of England this season is called Kingdom Time
It is, I think, a good name.
In my mind it begins around the end of October
with the feast of St Simon and St Jude (28th October)
So far as we know they are two of the apostles listed in the Gospels
but we know very little about them.
Jude is traditionally called "The Obscure" meaning that whoever he is we don't actually have any detail.

[Indeed that's why Thomas Hardy reminds us in his dark novel of failed ambition and thwarted hope which is entitled Jude the Obscure(full text here) of a man who fails to make it because he is unknown, unrecognised, unappreciated...he is indeed Obscure]

This feast is a prelude to the great feast day that we encounter on November 1st....All Saints Day...and which is followed the day after by All Soul's Day, when the dead are commemorated
We are here in a world which transcends the grave
what the Apostle's Creed calls the communion of saints
This is heady stuff! Too much for some!

But we may be prompted to ask what this is all about
Isn't it just religious mumbo-jumbo?
Of course it could be, that may indeed be the point.
If we get to the guts of it
the saints point us to how faith might be lived with authenticity and integrity
We are constantly tempted to whitewash the saints (like any heroes) and romanticise them.
Indeed we do this to Jesus!
But as we begin to scratch their stories we soon realise that their lives are anything but pristine.
Let me just reflect briefly on three saints.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer is arguably the most influential Christian thinker of the 21st century.
His call to radical discipleship and to see the gospel as the challenge to freely decide to follow Christ in every aspect of life is now almost taken for granted.
It does not seem too radical, and yet for Bonhoeffer
his life was lived with a total commitment
to community, to prayer and to human action.
This latter ultimatley saw him caught up in the anti-Nazi resistance movement in Germany, he laid his life on the line by being one of those who sought to assassinate Hitler.
This cost him his life, he was arrested and ultimately imprisoned. Executed only weeks before the war ended
we see in his life
the Cost of Discipleship ( a title of one of his books) played out in reality in his own life.
Such a saint sets us before us the reality of Christian life,
of the possibility of being faithful in life to all that Christ sets before us.
Mother Teresa too, that amazing little Eastern European nun who ended up in India looking after the poorest of the poor
she did it because she felt called to do Something Beautiful for God (a book about her made popular by Malcolm Muggeridge in the 70s)
She too set before the world the possibility of being faithful
not just in word but in deed.
Francis catches the popular imagination for the same reason
Although an incurable idealist, he was a fundamental pragmatist
selling everything he worked to care for poor people
and those who no one else loved
He witnesses to the fact that it is possible to be faithful to Christ
in life, in word and in deed

THIS WEEK
Do you hear the call of the saints? The reality of the call to be faithful.
How is God calling you to practise your sainthood in your life?
What one thing can you do to be a saint this week...it will be loving, it will be faithful, it will be possible. So do it!