(submission for The Citizen weekly pastoral column 'From the Minister's Study')
As Mother’s Day approaches, we are reminded once again of the significant contribution and impact our mothers have had in our lives. My own mother (now deceased) was not a large woman – especially after her scoliosis of the spine worsened, she would hardly have come up to my shoulders in height – but the contribution she made to my life was beyond calculation.
God teaches us a couple of things in the Bible about how we are to regard our mothers. Early on in the Ten Commandments we are told, “Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.” (Ex.20:12) Paul notes to the early church (Eph.6:2) that this is the first commandment with a promise! It is right to obey our parents (Eph.6:1) – they are, after all, our first training ground for learning proper submission to authority in society. When children fail to learn this early on, others to whom they are responsible later on (schoolteachers, bosses) have a more difficult time as a result.
Mothers are worthy of respect, besides honour. “Each of you must respect his mother and father...I am the LORD your God.” (Lev.19:3; note ‘mother’ is placed before ‘father’) A certain anti-authoritarian thrust in modern society might tempt youngsters to despise their mother, but God’s word indicates this is foolish. “A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.” (Prov.15:20)
Scripture highlights seven key tasks a mother ought to do for her children. First and foremost is teaching them. “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” My own mother was a hard-working farmer’s wife, so she taught me many valuable things both out in the barn and in the house. She helped me learn my Bible memory verses. When I had children of my own, she continued to provide valuable advice and tips on child-rearing.
Second, a mother needs to correct her offspring – after teaching them, if they do what’s wrong, rebuke them and remind them to go about it the right way. “The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.” (Prov.29:15) Of course, correction needs to be accompanied by loving assurance that it is the action, not the person themself, that is bad or unwanted.
Third, a mother is to comfort her child (perhaps in conjunction with correction’s reprimand?). Kids need to have someone they can turn to when hurt or bullied or ill. “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” (Is.66:13) One time when my parents built an addition onto our house, as a 12-year-old boy I was clambering around in the trusses but fell over two metres to the floor, splitting my forehead open. I appreciated my mother’s comforting (and bandaging) that day!
There are also less obvious functions a mother can perform, more behind-the-scenes. One of these is to ruminate on developments. Reflect on the forces at work in your child’s life and try to discern the potential significance of these for their future. Following the birth of Jesus, shepherds came to visit Mary, Joseph, and their holy Child. “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Lk.2:19) What might be the unique purpose for which God is preparing your child(ren)? How is each one different from their siblings?
Fifth, one of a mother’s most valuable things they can do for their child is to encourage their faith development. This helps prepare your offspring not just for this life, but also for eternity. Paul noted the significant role Timothy’s mother and grandmother played in acquainting his protege with the Scriptures. “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also... But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2Tim.1:5; 3:14f) Sometimes I would wake up in the night as a young boy, and on the way back from the bathroom, as I passed the door of my parents’ bedroom, I would catch a glimpse of my mother kneeling in prayer at her bedside. She was actively involved in the women’s group at her church and attended a Bible study small group until late in her senior years. Her example still remains with me, even though she is gone.
A mother needs to help her child realize she takes second place in their devotion. Our first priority in life is to love God: when parents die, God remains to be trusted in. Jesus taught His followers, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me...” (Mt.10:37) So, while we love our mothers and fathers, it is right to love Jesus more. (Perhaps a reminder sorely needed in our day of ‘helicopter parenting’?)
Last, a mother needs to consciously give her children back to the Lord. It’s wrong to derive our sense of significance solely through our children, to be dependent upon them for our self-esteem, to live vicariously through their accomplishments on the ice, ball diamond, or dance floor. There is a conscious relinquishment in giving them back to God that is healthy for them, and for the parent. Like Hannah dedicating her son Samuel: “I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.” (1Sam.1:27f) Can we release our children into God’s care, rather than keep the apron strings tied in a way that risks suffocating them?
These seven tasks of mothering are not easy. They’re a tall order! But those who succeed at them are worthy of great honour. Society benefits when mothers leave a lasting positive impact on their children... We all benefit!
Monday, May 06, 2019
Friday, April 19, 2019
The JAR at the Empty Tomb: Easter’s Joy, Authority, and Reinforcement
Huron Chapel EMC SonRise Service - April 21, 2019 -- John 2:12-22
CATHEDRAL CATASTROPHE
Easter’s empty tomb is a prime example of God’s awesome power, triumphing over even death and decay. The Almighty shatters our expectations and smashes our preconceived ideas. We think too little of God, we underestimate Him. When we do think of Him, we may dismiss Him as irrelevant or doubt His power or importance for our daily life. We like to put God “in a box”. Throughout history people have built temples for God, sometimes imagining that’s where God would be satisfied. But He’s far greater than we suppose; He won’t allow Himself to be caged up, jammed in any box, or the most magnificent temple. He’s a bit ‘wild’ like Aslan the Lion in Narnia: to be revered, respected, unpredictable, absolutely free.
The Jewish leaders thought they had a pretty good arrangement when Herod the Great built a majestic temple around the time of Jesus. They did all right with all the trading that went on by people buying sacrificial animals for the temple’s altar, too – it’s estimated they made a profit of some $300,000 a year through kickbacks from the merchants. So when Jesus came along at the outset of His ministry, driving out the animals and scattering the coins of the money-changers, they were none too pleased. Who was this rabble-rouser, this mischief-maker upsetting their neat system? John 2:16 Jesus said to those who sold doves, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!” Who did He think He was, shaking their box like that?!
So they challenged Him, asking Jesus to prove to He had warrant to do what He was doing before they locked Him up for raising a ruckus. John 2:18 they demanded, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” Whereupon Jesus replied, Jn 2:19: “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
DESTROY this temple? Unthinkable! Why, it was still under construction, had been for 46 years already, and wouldn’t be completed until 64 AD. How dare He even mention the thought of doing something negative to their beloved Holy Place!
But they misunderstood. Jesus is not talking about rebuilding a physical structure, the ‘religious box’ kind of place. Here at the outset of His ministry, Jesus is already alluding to His own crucifixion and death orchestrated in concert by the Jews and the Gentiles. When He’s clearing the temple courts, He has His own empty tomb in mind.
“Destroy this temple” – no wonder they were a bit jumpy: Solomon’s temple centuries earlier had been destroyed by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar. The Second Temple, a more modest structure built after the return of the Jews from exile by Zerubbabel, was superceded by Herod the Great’s grand construction project. We tend to be most protective of the things we pour most time and resources into.
“Destroy this temple...” Just this past Monday, a religious landmark in France was gutted by fire: the woodwork and steeple inside Notre Dame cathedral was burned severely, though the stone towers survived and reconstruction to repair the building is already being planned. The news and social media were full of references to the loss as it is a popular Paris tourist site.
Many were saddened by the loss; vigils were held where people sang hymns to mourn the calamity. Others saw a lighter side. Satirical humour website TheOnion posted: “Saying the devastation could perhaps have been avoided with some routine upgrades to modern 200-amp service, investigators announced Wednesday they have traced the cause of the Notre Dame fire to the cathedral’s archaic electrical system, which dates back to the 12th century. ‘In our examination of the wreckage, we discovered that some of the circuit breakers and sockets hadn’t been updated since the reign of Louis XII,’ said lead investigator Jean-Luc Marchand, explaining that many of the fuses from the time of the cathedral’s construction were made of solid oak, while much of the wiring consisted of twisted cords of straw.” (!)
People have responded generously to the Notre Dame fire; there are reports hundreds of millions of dollars have been offered to help with repair. I guess there are forces in society very protective of our antique ‘holy boxes’. Yet some people question the worth of the project, saying the money would be better spent on helping the poor. Apparently donors can come up with money for bricks and mortar, while ‘loving one’s neighbour’ comes lower in priority – so the criticism goes.
Let’s be clear: Jesus was NOT threatening to destroy the temple Herod had built. He was in fact upgrading it, clearing its courts so Gentiles could worship in peace. But He used the opportunity to point to His own death and resurrection as proving His authority to clean up our lives. To break into the boxes we may have tried to cage God up in. Jesus’ enemies thought that by killing Him and putting Him in a tomb they had eliminated Him once and for all, they had succeeded in boxing up the so-called “Son of God” – but Easter shows that’s one more box God refused to be contained by!
Jesus’ intent was not just to clear the Temple: He was onto a much bigger project, to create a new living collective of those who follow Him, a new organic fellowship of believers who are much bigger than any physical building could hold. From the very outset of His ministry, He already has the end in view: His death, resurrection, ascension, and outpouring of the Holy Spirit, making a new temple, a group of people in whom God Himself dwells – better than even the most magnificent (but limited) earthly structure.
Jn 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” I’d like to highlight 3 implications of the resurrection for us today, springing from this passage. The acronym is JAR - picture the women bringing their JARs of spices to the tomb. JAR stands for JOY, AUTHORITY, and REINFORCEMENT.
JOY: NOT ABANDONED AFTER DEATH
First, Joy – we can rejoice and be happy because Jesus’ resurrection means we have hope beyond the grave. John the gospel-writer notes in v22, “After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said.Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.” Note the phrase, ‘believed the Scripture’ – which Scripture would John be referring to here? Perhaps Psalm 16, referred to by Peter in his Pentecost sermon: it seems to refer to resurrection many centuries before it happened. Ps 16:9f “Therefore MY HEART IS GLAD and my tongue REJOICES; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.” My heart is GLAD – my tongue REJOICES: knowing Christ’s promise that He’s risen and alive now, and coming back and taking us to Himself, with eventually resurrected working bodies, should give us much JOY.
This is the first Easter since the death of my wife, the second since the death of my father; the promise of Christian faith that we will see our believing family members again is cause for much joy, helping us cope with grief. The Apostle Paul in 1Cor 15:42ff talks about our perishable (disease-prone) mortal bodies being replaced with glorified spiritual versions – that brings us joy on days when these earthly ones ache or perform sub-par. We can be ‘happy in the Lord’ (as one dear local saint puts it) knowing Jesus has conquered sin and the grave.
AUTHORITY: THE UNSEALED TOMB SEALS THE DEAL
Our second word in the “JAR” acronym is AUTHORITY: Jesus’ resurrection is meant to ‘seal the deal’ when it comes to proving He is really Lord as He says He is.
Note carefully how the religious leaders pose the question, and how Jesus answers it: in terms of testing His claim to authority. Jn 2:18 “Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to PROVE YOUR AUTHORITY to do all this?"”
The empty tomb is so significant because this historical event provides the cornerstone of Christology, appreciating who Jesus is. Without Easter, Christianity falls apart, it becomes a bunch of ethical moral teaching with no punch to carry through. Note how Paul pitches it in 1Cor 15:3f, “For what I received I passed on to you AS OF FIRST IMPORTANCE: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, THAT HE WAS RAISED ON THE THIRD DAY according to the Scriptures...” Likewise in the opening verses of his letter to the church at Rome, Paul highlights the authority issue and its connection to the resurrection: Rom 1:4 Jesus “...through the Spirit of holiness was DECLARED WITH POWER TO BE the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Don’t come to worship Easter morning because “it’s the thing to do”; don’t come out of force of habit, or because your neighbour goes. Come because Jesus is Lord and calls you to worship Him! Believe the Scripture. Acknowledge His authority over your life, His claim on you – after all, He created and redeemed you, bought you back when you’d wandered astray.
Jesus is absolutely unique: no other religious leader in history has predicted they would die for people’s sins and would raise again, and actually pulled it off! No other religious leader in history would profess to be pure enough to give their life as a sacrificial substitute for other humans, let alone be raised to life again after. Easter vouches for Jesus’ authority. Receive Christ as Lord and submit to His leading in your life today!
REINFORCEMENT: A LIVING TEMPLE, BUTTRESSED BY OTHERS
Is our “JAR” getting full yet? J - JOY; A - AUTHORITY. Our final letter is R for REINFORCEMENT.
Jn 2:21 John clarifies what the religious leaders didn’t “get” about how Jesus justified His actions: “But the temple he had spoken of WAS HIS BODY.” Jesus wasn’t referring to Herod’s temple, grand and impressive as it was; He was picturing a new religion, a new spirituality – people believing in Him, following Him, receiving the Holy Spirit inside them to connect them to Him and one another.
His body really was a temple, He was the God-man, the divine incarnate. Col 2:9 “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form...” Jesus was Holy God in-the-flesh, the Father’s very Son. Jn 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us...” The phrasing in the Greek is literally, “TABERNACLED” among us.
He saw His own body as a temple. His vision was to make it possible for US to be temples too, forgiven and cleansed and made habitable by God’s Holy Spirit too. His Great Commission was not “Go and make cathedrals” – beautiful as they may be. How does it go? Mt 28:18ff “Then Jesus came to them and said, "All AUTHORITY in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (There’s the authority bit we just talked about.) “Therefore go and MAKE DISCIPLES of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Real living disciples, followers, human agents Spirit-indwelt ready to carry out the Father’s will – not massive lifeless stone buildings.
So Easter means our REINFORCEMENT by the Holy Spirit to each be individual walking/talking temples. 1Cor 6:19 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” Also Romans 8:11 “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.” God’s Spirit REINFORCES us to live for Him in obedience.
Think of the huge stone “buttresses” along the walls of Gothic cathedrals and ancient castles: outer reinforcement that strengthened the whole structure. Other believers perform that same function for us, coming alongside to strengthen and encourage us and cheer us on. The New Testament also talks about the church as a “temple”: believers CORPORATELY as well as individually. 1Cor 3:16f “Don’t you know that you yourselves [plural] are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you [plural] are that temple.” And Ephesians 2:21-22 “In him [Christ Jesus] the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.And in him you [plural] too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
So, this week, be asking yourself: “Who can I ‘buttress’ in their faith today? How can I ‘be the church’ / ‘reinforce the temple’ by coming alongside a fellow-Christian who’s struggling, by praying for them, giving a phone call, dropping in for a short visit to say ‘I was thinking of you’? Don’t let those corporate temple walls erode, or cracks develop in our fellowship.
THE LIVING BODY ENDURES
In closing – we’ve been talking about how the Christian faith is much bigger than a cathedral, how the Notre Dame fire may be a setback but there’s something at stake here much larger than even Christendom’s most impressive architectural feats. I was hearing on the radio that besides donations to rebuild Notre Dame, people have likewise been stepping up to rebuild black churches that have been torched.
And in the vigil that followed the Notre Dame fire, BBC reported the following: "As a French Catholic," says Éloi, 22, "I felt really bad after the fire so I see this vigil as a way to say that even if the flames destroyed the cathedral, we can rebuild it because the Church is made not of stones but is a living body."
Whatever your view may be on rebuilding cathedrals, Eloi had that last part right: the church is made NOT of stones but is a living body – a body full of JOY, submitting to our Lord’s AUTHORITY, REINFORCED by His Spirit and the support of one another. Let’s BE that body – alive, active, showing our Risen Saviour to our world today, with caring and compassion, justice and righteousness and lasting hope – qualities no fire can threaten or diminish. Let’s pray.
CATHEDRAL CATASTROPHE
Easter’s empty tomb is a prime example of God’s awesome power, triumphing over even death and decay. The Almighty shatters our expectations and smashes our preconceived ideas. We think too little of God, we underestimate Him. When we do think of Him, we may dismiss Him as irrelevant or doubt His power or importance for our daily life. We like to put God “in a box”. Throughout history people have built temples for God, sometimes imagining that’s where God would be satisfied. But He’s far greater than we suppose; He won’t allow Himself to be caged up, jammed in any box, or the most magnificent temple. He’s a bit ‘wild’ like Aslan the Lion in Narnia: to be revered, respected, unpredictable, absolutely free.
The Jewish leaders thought they had a pretty good arrangement when Herod the Great built a majestic temple around the time of Jesus. They did all right with all the trading that went on by people buying sacrificial animals for the temple’s altar, too – it’s estimated they made a profit of some $300,000 a year through kickbacks from the merchants. So when Jesus came along at the outset of His ministry, driving out the animals and scattering the coins of the money-changers, they were none too pleased. Who was this rabble-rouser, this mischief-maker upsetting their neat system? John 2:16 Jesus said to those who sold doves, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!” Who did He think He was, shaking their box like that?!
So they challenged Him, asking Jesus to prove to He had warrant to do what He was doing before they locked Him up for raising a ruckus. John 2:18 they demanded, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” Whereupon Jesus replied, Jn 2:19: “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
DESTROY this temple? Unthinkable! Why, it was still under construction, had been for 46 years already, and wouldn’t be completed until 64 AD. How dare He even mention the thought of doing something negative to their beloved Holy Place!
But they misunderstood. Jesus is not talking about rebuilding a physical structure, the ‘religious box’ kind of place. Here at the outset of His ministry, Jesus is already alluding to His own crucifixion and death orchestrated in concert by the Jews and the Gentiles. When He’s clearing the temple courts, He has His own empty tomb in mind.
“Destroy this temple” – no wonder they were a bit jumpy: Solomon’s temple centuries earlier had been destroyed by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar. The Second Temple, a more modest structure built after the return of the Jews from exile by Zerubbabel, was superceded by Herod the Great’s grand construction project. We tend to be most protective of the things we pour most time and resources into.
“Destroy this temple...” Just this past Monday, a religious landmark in France was gutted by fire: the woodwork and steeple inside Notre Dame cathedral was burned severely, though the stone towers survived and reconstruction to repair the building is already being planned. The news and social media were full of references to the loss as it is a popular Paris tourist site.
Many were saddened by the loss; vigils were held where people sang hymns to mourn the calamity. Others saw a lighter side. Satirical humour website TheOnion posted: “Saying the devastation could perhaps have been avoided with some routine upgrades to modern 200-amp service, investigators announced Wednesday they have traced the cause of the Notre Dame fire to the cathedral’s archaic electrical system, which dates back to the 12th century. ‘In our examination of the wreckage, we discovered that some of the circuit breakers and sockets hadn’t been updated since the reign of Louis XII,’ said lead investigator Jean-Luc Marchand, explaining that many of the fuses from the time of the cathedral’s construction were made of solid oak, while much of the wiring consisted of twisted cords of straw.” (!)
People have responded generously to the Notre Dame fire; there are reports hundreds of millions of dollars have been offered to help with repair. I guess there are forces in society very protective of our antique ‘holy boxes’. Yet some people question the worth of the project, saying the money would be better spent on helping the poor. Apparently donors can come up with money for bricks and mortar, while ‘loving one’s neighbour’ comes lower in priority – so the criticism goes.
Let’s be clear: Jesus was NOT threatening to destroy the temple Herod had built. He was in fact upgrading it, clearing its courts so Gentiles could worship in peace. But He used the opportunity to point to His own death and resurrection as proving His authority to clean up our lives. To break into the boxes we may have tried to cage God up in. Jesus’ enemies thought that by killing Him and putting Him in a tomb they had eliminated Him once and for all, they had succeeded in boxing up the so-called “Son of God” – but Easter shows that’s one more box God refused to be contained by!
Jesus’ intent was not just to clear the Temple: He was onto a much bigger project, to create a new living collective of those who follow Him, a new organic fellowship of believers who are much bigger than any physical building could hold. From the very outset of His ministry, He already has the end in view: His death, resurrection, ascension, and outpouring of the Holy Spirit, making a new temple, a group of people in whom God Himself dwells – better than even the most magnificent (but limited) earthly structure.
Jn 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” I’d like to highlight 3 implications of the resurrection for us today, springing from this passage. The acronym is JAR - picture the women bringing their JARs of spices to the tomb. JAR stands for JOY, AUTHORITY, and REINFORCEMENT.
JOY: NOT ABANDONED AFTER DEATH
First, Joy – we can rejoice and be happy because Jesus’ resurrection means we have hope beyond the grave. John the gospel-writer notes in v22, “After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said.Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.” Note the phrase, ‘believed the Scripture’ – which Scripture would John be referring to here? Perhaps Psalm 16, referred to by Peter in his Pentecost sermon: it seems to refer to resurrection many centuries before it happened. Ps 16:9f “Therefore MY HEART IS GLAD and my tongue REJOICES; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.” My heart is GLAD – my tongue REJOICES: knowing Christ’s promise that He’s risen and alive now, and coming back and taking us to Himself, with eventually resurrected working bodies, should give us much JOY.
This is the first Easter since the death of my wife, the second since the death of my father; the promise of Christian faith that we will see our believing family members again is cause for much joy, helping us cope with grief. The Apostle Paul in 1Cor 15:42ff talks about our perishable (disease-prone) mortal bodies being replaced with glorified spiritual versions – that brings us joy on days when these earthly ones ache or perform sub-par. We can be ‘happy in the Lord’ (as one dear local saint puts it) knowing Jesus has conquered sin and the grave.
AUTHORITY: THE UNSEALED TOMB SEALS THE DEAL
Our second word in the “JAR” acronym is AUTHORITY: Jesus’ resurrection is meant to ‘seal the deal’ when it comes to proving He is really Lord as He says He is.
Note carefully how the religious leaders pose the question, and how Jesus answers it: in terms of testing His claim to authority. Jn 2:18 “Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to PROVE YOUR AUTHORITY to do all this?"”
The empty tomb is so significant because this historical event provides the cornerstone of Christology, appreciating who Jesus is. Without Easter, Christianity falls apart, it becomes a bunch of ethical moral teaching with no punch to carry through. Note how Paul pitches it in 1Cor 15:3f, “For what I received I passed on to you AS OF FIRST IMPORTANCE: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, THAT HE WAS RAISED ON THE THIRD DAY according to the Scriptures...” Likewise in the opening verses of his letter to the church at Rome, Paul highlights the authority issue and its connection to the resurrection: Rom 1:4 Jesus “...through the Spirit of holiness was DECLARED WITH POWER TO BE the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Don’t come to worship Easter morning because “it’s the thing to do”; don’t come out of force of habit, or because your neighbour goes. Come because Jesus is Lord and calls you to worship Him! Believe the Scripture. Acknowledge His authority over your life, His claim on you – after all, He created and redeemed you, bought you back when you’d wandered astray.
Jesus is absolutely unique: no other religious leader in history has predicted they would die for people’s sins and would raise again, and actually pulled it off! No other religious leader in history would profess to be pure enough to give their life as a sacrificial substitute for other humans, let alone be raised to life again after. Easter vouches for Jesus’ authority. Receive Christ as Lord and submit to His leading in your life today!
REINFORCEMENT: A LIVING TEMPLE, BUTTRESSED BY OTHERS
Is our “JAR” getting full yet? J - JOY; A - AUTHORITY. Our final letter is R for REINFORCEMENT.
Jn 2:21 John clarifies what the religious leaders didn’t “get” about how Jesus justified His actions: “But the temple he had spoken of WAS HIS BODY.” Jesus wasn’t referring to Herod’s temple, grand and impressive as it was; He was picturing a new religion, a new spirituality – people believing in Him, following Him, receiving the Holy Spirit inside them to connect them to Him and one another.
His body really was a temple, He was the God-man, the divine incarnate. Col 2:9 “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form...” Jesus was Holy God in-the-flesh, the Father’s very Son. Jn 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us...” The phrasing in the Greek is literally, “TABERNACLED” among us.
He saw His own body as a temple. His vision was to make it possible for US to be temples too, forgiven and cleansed and made habitable by God’s Holy Spirit too. His Great Commission was not “Go and make cathedrals” – beautiful as they may be. How does it go? Mt 28:18ff “Then Jesus came to them and said, "All AUTHORITY in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (There’s the authority bit we just talked about.) “Therefore go and MAKE DISCIPLES of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Real living disciples, followers, human agents Spirit-indwelt ready to carry out the Father’s will – not massive lifeless stone buildings.
So Easter means our REINFORCEMENT by the Holy Spirit to each be individual walking/talking temples. 1Cor 6:19 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” Also Romans 8:11 “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.” God’s Spirit REINFORCES us to live for Him in obedience.
Think of the huge stone “buttresses” along the walls of Gothic cathedrals and ancient castles: outer reinforcement that strengthened the whole structure. Other believers perform that same function for us, coming alongside to strengthen and encourage us and cheer us on. The New Testament also talks about the church as a “temple”: believers CORPORATELY as well as individually. 1Cor 3:16f “Don’t you know that you yourselves [plural] are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you [plural] are that temple.” And Ephesians 2:21-22 “In him [Christ Jesus] the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.And in him you [plural] too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
So, this week, be asking yourself: “Who can I ‘buttress’ in their faith today? How can I ‘be the church’ / ‘reinforce the temple’ by coming alongside a fellow-Christian who’s struggling, by praying for them, giving a phone call, dropping in for a short visit to say ‘I was thinking of you’? Don’t let those corporate temple walls erode, or cracks develop in our fellowship.
THE LIVING BODY ENDURES
In closing – we’ve been talking about how the Christian faith is much bigger than a cathedral, how the Notre Dame fire may be a setback but there’s something at stake here much larger than even Christendom’s most impressive architectural feats. I was hearing on the radio that besides donations to rebuild Notre Dame, people have likewise been stepping up to rebuild black churches that have been torched.
And in the vigil that followed the Notre Dame fire, BBC reported the following: "As a French Catholic," says Éloi, 22, "I felt really bad after the fire so I see this vigil as a way to say that even if the flames destroyed the cathedral, we can rebuild it because the Church is made not of stones but is a living body."
Whatever your view may be on rebuilding cathedrals, Eloi had that last part right: the church is made NOT of stones but is a living body – a body full of JOY, submitting to our Lord’s AUTHORITY, REINFORCED by His Spirit and the support of one another. Let’s BE that body – alive, active, showing our Risen Saviour to our world today, with caring and compassion, justice and righteousness and lasting hope – qualities no fire can threaten or diminish. Let’s pray.
Monday, March 25, 2019
Sabotaging Suicide in a Throw-away Society
The calendar tells us it is now officially Spring – season of new life, as nature awakens from its long winter nap. Songs of robins and other birds can be heard in the morning. The grass begins to green up and shoots appear in flowerbeds.
Yet even in this season where life returns outdoors, death continues to puncture our existence with its seemingly untimely incursions. The news reports the father of a victim of the Sandy Hook elementary shootings who, now some 6 years after the massacre of the 20 students in Connecticut, apparently has taken his own life. We occasionally hear of other members in our own community taking their life, some just college age. Very sad... Such deaths leave parents, other family members, and close friends reeling, scratching their heads and wondering what more they might have done to prevent the deaths if they had only known.
Such events remind me of my own experience of a close family member who committed suicide twenty years ago. My mother-in-law had been living beside our home in her own ‘granny flat’. She had been struggling through some health issues but seemed to be coping well enough. When it became apparent we would be moving across the province, she listened attentively to our description of retirement residence options that might suit her. But one day my wife and I unexpectedly found her deceased in her flat, by her own doing. The shock was traumatic; the grief was heart-breaking. I could only hold my wife and try to comfort her as she sobbed uncontrollably. How were we to know her mother was even considering such a drastic step?
The Bible’s perspective is that human life is precious, not to be discounted or thrown away lightly. We are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). Scripture tells us, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful servants” (Psalm 116:15). God impressed upon Noah the preciousness of human life, imposing a sentence of death for anyone who takes another’s life, “For in the image of God has God made man” (Genesis 9:6). In regard to our high value to our Maker, Jesus told His disciples the very hairs of their head were all numbered, and they were worth more than many sparrows (Matthew 10:31).
It is true that several individuals in Bible times did commit suicide; but these are not viewed in a positive light. King Saul fell on his own sword when defeated by the Philistines (1 Sam. 31:4). Judas hung himself after betraying Jesus to His enemies, being subsequently seized with remorse (Mt. 27:5). Even the prophet Elijah, threatened by a wicked and powerful monarch, became so exhausted and discouraged that he begged God to take his life (1Kings 19:4).
Discouragements are not uncommon in life. Setbacks and sicknesses can be disheartening and demoralizing at times. Jesus warned us life would not be easy: “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Mt.6:34) The Bible is realistic in its acknowledgment of the pitfalls, perils, and problems that await us in a fallen world. Yet it remains optimistic in the scope of eternity. Trials become the means by which we can comfort others with the comfort we ourselves experience from God in our own afflictions (2Cor.1:3f). We can even ‘count it all joy’ when we face trials because they foster perseverance and maturity of character (James 1:3f).
Some years ago I attended a workshop on suicide prevention. We were taught to assess suicide risk based on factors such whether the person was having suicidal thoughts; whether they had devised an actual plan; and whether they had actually gone about procuring the means needed to carry out such a plan. If all these things were in place, need for intervention was high because the risk of carrying through was very serious. A sudden upturn in attitude might not be a good thing because it could signal that the person had actually decided to go through with their plan and so was emotionally relieved, now they knew an end to their pain was in sight.
Besides teaching us what signs to watch for in interacting with someone who might be suicidal, the workshop impressed upon us the need to be ready to ask a simple direct question: “Are you having suicidal thoughts?” Many more people have suicidal thoughts than actually decide to go through with it and take their own life. Just because a person is having suicidal thoughts does not necessarily mean they will actually commit suicide. In fact, giving the troubled person permission to talk about their worries and fears and stresses by asking such a question can go a long way towards helping prevent things from getting worse. It normalizes their experience, reassures them it’s all right to have suicidal thoughts flit through their mind when pressures mount; but they are also given an ally in the listener, one who cares enough to ask the tough questions, and walk alongside them in an effort to help them find better solutions.
Besides confiding in a close friend we can trust who understands us and our situation, Scripture also encourages us to turn to God in prayer when discouraged. The Psalmist was a good example of this: David, for example, faced many obstacles and powerful opponents, but learned to trust in God. He wrote, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all...” (Ps.34:18f) Jesus offers us fullness of life and saves us when we’re feeling overwhelmed; He contrasts His own mission with that of the devil in John 10(10), “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
So, if you encounter someone who’s struggling, don’t be afraid to speak up and ask a simple question such as, “You seem to be having a very hard time; are you struggling with suicidal thoughts?” You just may save a life, and the person could be forever grateful to you. When you ask, be prepared to come alongside them in a supportive way, assisting them to reach out for help, making the phone call or contacting authorities as may be needed.
If you yourself are struggling, don’t pretend you can just manage it on your own. You have allies in the community who will help you get back on your feet. Cultivate an active prayer life, journalling your hopes and fears, crying out to God when no one else seems to care. The Lord knows yours issues and weaknesses and can save you from the grips of the situation. One time David and his companions suffered a terrible blow when raiders took their families and possessions. David must have felt like giving up. Yet the Bible tells us, “David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him... But David found strength in the LORD his God.” (1Samuel 30:6) And – things DID turn out in the end!
(Resources: Huron-Perth Helpline & Crisis Response Team: 1-888-829-7484. Ontario Crisis Line: 1-866-531-2600.)
Yet even in this season where life returns outdoors, death continues to puncture our existence with its seemingly untimely incursions. The news reports the father of a victim of the Sandy Hook elementary shootings who, now some 6 years after the massacre of the 20 students in Connecticut, apparently has taken his own life. We occasionally hear of other members in our own community taking their life, some just college age. Very sad... Such deaths leave parents, other family members, and close friends reeling, scratching their heads and wondering what more they might have done to prevent the deaths if they had only known.
Such events remind me of my own experience of a close family member who committed suicide twenty years ago. My mother-in-law had been living beside our home in her own ‘granny flat’. She had been struggling through some health issues but seemed to be coping well enough. When it became apparent we would be moving across the province, she listened attentively to our description of retirement residence options that might suit her. But one day my wife and I unexpectedly found her deceased in her flat, by her own doing. The shock was traumatic; the grief was heart-breaking. I could only hold my wife and try to comfort her as she sobbed uncontrollably. How were we to know her mother was even considering such a drastic step?
The Bible’s perspective is that human life is precious, not to be discounted or thrown away lightly. We are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). Scripture tells us, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful servants” (Psalm 116:15). God impressed upon Noah the preciousness of human life, imposing a sentence of death for anyone who takes another’s life, “For in the image of God has God made man” (Genesis 9:6). In regard to our high value to our Maker, Jesus told His disciples the very hairs of their head were all numbered, and they were worth more than many sparrows (Matthew 10:31).
It is true that several individuals in Bible times did commit suicide; but these are not viewed in a positive light. King Saul fell on his own sword when defeated by the Philistines (1 Sam. 31:4). Judas hung himself after betraying Jesus to His enemies, being subsequently seized with remorse (Mt. 27:5). Even the prophet Elijah, threatened by a wicked and powerful monarch, became so exhausted and discouraged that he begged God to take his life (1Kings 19:4).
Discouragements are not uncommon in life. Setbacks and sicknesses can be disheartening and demoralizing at times. Jesus warned us life would not be easy: “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Mt.6:34) The Bible is realistic in its acknowledgment of the pitfalls, perils, and problems that await us in a fallen world. Yet it remains optimistic in the scope of eternity. Trials become the means by which we can comfort others with the comfort we ourselves experience from God in our own afflictions (2Cor.1:3f). We can even ‘count it all joy’ when we face trials because they foster perseverance and maturity of character (James 1:3f).
Some years ago I attended a workshop on suicide prevention. We were taught to assess suicide risk based on factors such whether the person was having suicidal thoughts; whether they had devised an actual plan; and whether they had actually gone about procuring the means needed to carry out such a plan. If all these things were in place, need for intervention was high because the risk of carrying through was very serious. A sudden upturn in attitude might not be a good thing because it could signal that the person had actually decided to go through with their plan and so was emotionally relieved, now they knew an end to their pain was in sight.
Besides teaching us what signs to watch for in interacting with someone who might be suicidal, the workshop impressed upon us the need to be ready to ask a simple direct question: “Are you having suicidal thoughts?” Many more people have suicidal thoughts than actually decide to go through with it and take their own life. Just because a person is having suicidal thoughts does not necessarily mean they will actually commit suicide. In fact, giving the troubled person permission to talk about their worries and fears and stresses by asking such a question can go a long way towards helping prevent things from getting worse. It normalizes their experience, reassures them it’s all right to have suicidal thoughts flit through their mind when pressures mount; but they are also given an ally in the listener, one who cares enough to ask the tough questions, and walk alongside them in an effort to help them find better solutions.
Besides confiding in a close friend we can trust who understands us and our situation, Scripture also encourages us to turn to God in prayer when discouraged. The Psalmist was a good example of this: David, for example, faced many obstacles and powerful opponents, but learned to trust in God. He wrote, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all...” (Ps.34:18f) Jesus offers us fullness of life and saves us when we’re feeling overwhelmed; He contrasts His own mission with that of the devil in John 10(10), “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
So, if you encounter someone who’s struggling, don’t be afraid to speak up and ask a simple question such as, “You seem to be having a very hard time; are you struggling with suicidal thoughts?” You just may save a life, and the person could be forever grateful to you. When you ask, be prepared to come alongside them in a supportive way, assisting them to reach out for help, making the phone call or contacting authorities as may be needed.
If you yourself are struggling, don’t pretend you can just manage it on your own. You have allies in the community who will help you get back on your feet. Cultivate an active prayer life, journalling your hopes and fears, crying out to God when no one else seems to care. The Lord knows yours issues and weaknesses and can save you from the grips of the situation. One time David and his companions suffered a terrible blow when raiders took their families and possessions. David must have felt like giving up. Yet the Bible tells us, “David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him... But David found strength in the LORD his God.” (1Samuel 30:6) And – things DID turn out in the end!
(Resources: Huron-Perth Helpline & Crisis Response Team: 1-888-829-7484. Ontario Crisis Line: 1-866-531-2600.)
Friday, December 21, 2018
This Mysterious Gift of Myrrh
The Citizen, "From the Minister's Study" - Dec.17 2018
It’s Christmas time again – and those with a Biblical faith background throughout the land will once again be recalling the reason for the season, with the traditional accounts of Mary’s miraculous pregnancy and birth, the visitations of angels, shepherds, and wise men. Carollers will be singing of “Joy to the World”, “Silent Night”, and “We Three Kings”. Children at churches are again acting out the Christmas story, sometimes according to the script, sometimes with unexpected twists – often to the delight of the audience (if occasionally the chagrin of their parents).
Three small boys were in a Christmas play at school. They represented the three wise men and they were to give their gifts to Baby Jesus. The first boy stepped forward, held out the gift in his hands and said, “Gold.” The second boy stepped forward, held out his gift and exclaimed, “Myrrh.” The third boy stepped forward, held out his gift and stated, “Frank sent this.”
Well – he almost got it right! (“frankincense”) What actually happened, according to Matthew’s account, is this. “On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matt.2:11 NRSV)
Two of the three gifts of the Magi make a lot of sense. Gold was valuable; it would help Joseph and Mary survive the upcoming journey as refugees to Egypt once Herod caught wind of the birth of what could potentially be the long-awaited Messiah. Gold is a gift of royal quality, betokening Jesus as our King.
Frankincense is also a fitting gift referred to often in the Old Testament as a perfuming material added to offerings to created a pleasing aroma. In an associated way, the Bible refers to Jesus as our High Priest. “For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17)
But the third gift of the wise men seems a bit odd to bring to the birth of a baby. One can’t help but wonder, wouldn’t a little knitted outfit with a cap and booties have been more appropriate?! After all, myrrh was a spice used in embalming the dead!
Not seemingly the “ideal” gift... But then again, that first Christmas happened in less-than-ideal circumstances. Joseph and Mary were far from home, dealing with the upheaval of having to register at Bethlehem in response to an imperial edict designed to make sure citizens complied with their full obligation to render burdensome taxes to their foreign overlords. It couldn’t have come at a worse time, having to make a long journey over rough roads while Mary was nearly full-term in her pregnancy. And the crowded conditions due to many others registering at Bethlehem meant this poor couple had to seek refuge in a stable, a sort of barn, because there was no room in the inn.
Myrrh acknowledges the less-than-ideal times of sadness, brokenness, and mourning in our lives. Christmas is a difficult time emotionally for some people due to life’s losses. In my own case, this is the first time in 40 years I will be celebrating without my wife, who died this past summer. I guess I really should take down the two long rows of sympathy cards hung along the wall from her funeral, because that’s where we always used to put up our Christmas cards. Our family get-togethers this season just won’t be the same without her.
Other families experience stress and grief at this season for other reasons. There is the challenge of coming up with finances to cover the cost of gifts. There is the stress of finding suitable dates that don’t conflict in determining the schedule for family functions, work parties, seasonal concerts for school and church, and so on. Plus it may be at times like this that family tensions rise to the surface, perhaps due to marital conflicts or parent-teen differences of opinion.
“Tis the season to be jolly” – or so we’re told... But that doesn’t sound like OUR family!
Interesting thing about the production of myrrh: according to the Pictorial Bible Dictionary, myrrh is one of the most valuable of the gum resins; “either naturally or when the stems are injured, the gum oozes from the shrub-like tree.” In other words, the plant ‘bleeds’ (so to speak) to exude its aromatic medicinal sap.
Significantly, myrrh is mentioned later in the Biblical account of Jesus’ life, in conjunction with His death. At the time of Jesus’ burial, “Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 75 pounds.” (John 19:39) In the words of the writer of the letter to the Hebrews, this high priest-become-sacrifice is able “to sympathize with our weaknesses”. (4:15) Jesus the innocent was crucified unjustly: He was subjected to the full brunt of life’s unfairness. He understands completely our brokenness and disappointments. Just a week after Jesus’ birth, aged Simeon would say prophetically to His mother Mary: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:34f)
Is this going to be a tough Christmas for you? Do you sometimes feel like a sword has pierced to the core of your being? Jesus is no stranger to the sorrows and griefs of our human condition. “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.” (Isaiah 53:3) The Author of your salvation was made perfect through suffering. We’re told Jesus had to be made like us, His brothers [and sisters], “in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:17-18)
The myrrh-man bleeds mercy for those who cry out for His help. Merry Christmas!
It’s Christmas time again – and those with a Biblical faith background throughout the land will once again be recalling the reason for the season, with the traditional accounts of Mary’s miraculous pregnancy and birth, the visitations of angels, shepherds, and wise men. Carollers will be singing of “Joy to the World”, “Silent Night”, and “We Three Kings”. Children at churches are again acting out the Christmas story, sometimes according to the script, sometimes with unexpected twists – often to the delight of the audience (if occasionally the chagrin of their parents).
Three small boys were in a Christmas play at school. They represented the three wise men and they were to give their gifts to Baby Jesus. The first boy stepped forward, held out the gift in his hands and said, “Gold.” The second boy stepped forward, held out his gift and exclaimed, “Myrrh.” The third boy stepped forward, held out his gift and stated, “Frank sent this.”
Well – he almost got it right! (“frankincense”) What actually happened, according to Matthew’s account, is this. “On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matt.2:11 NRSV)
Two of the three gifts of the Magi make a lot of sense. Gold was valuable; it would help Joseph and Mary survive the upcoming journey as refugees to Egypt once Herod caught wind of the birth of what could potentially be the long-awaited Messiah. Gold is a gift of royal quality, betokening Jesus as our King.
Frankincense is also a fitting gift referred to often in the Old Testament as a perfuming material added to offerings to created a pleasing aroma. In an associated way, the Bible refers to Jesus as our High Priest. “For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17)
But the third gift of the wise men seems a bit odd to bring to the birth of a baby. One can’t help but wonder, wouldn’t a little knitted outfit with a cap and booties have been more appropriate?! After all, myrrh was a spice used in embalming the dead!
Not seemingly the “ideal” gift... But then again, that first Christmas happened in less-than-ideal circumstances. Joseph and Mary were far from home, dealing with the upheaval of having to register at Bethlehem in response to an imperial edict designed to make sure citizens complied with their full obligation to render burdensome taxes to their foreign overlords. It couldn’t have come at a worse time, having to make a long journey over rough roads while Mary was nearly full-term in her pregnancy. And the crowded conditions due to many others registering at Bethlehem meant this poor couple had to seek refuge in a stable, a sort of barn, because there was no room in the inn.
Myrrh acknowledges the less-than-ideal times of sadness, brokenness, and mourning in our lives. Christmas is a difficult time emotionally for some people due to life’s losses. In my own case, this is the first time in 40 years I will be celebrating without my wife, who died this past summer. I guess I really should take down the two long rows of sympathy cards hung along the wall from her funeral, because that’s where we always used to put up our Christmas cards. Our family get-togethers this season just won’t be the same without her.
Other families experience stress and grief at this season for other reasons. There is the challenge of coming up with finances to cover the cost of gifts. There is the stress of finding suitable dates that don’t conflict in determining the schedule for family functions, work parties, seasonal concerts for school and church, and so on. Plus it may be at times like this that family tensions rise to the surface, perhaps due to marital conflicts or parent-teen differences of opinion.
“Tis the season to be jolly” – or so we’re told... But that doesn’t sound like OUR family!
Interesting thing about the production of myrrh: according to the Pictorial Bible Dictionary, myrrh is one of the most valuable of the gum resins; “either naturally or when the stems are injured, the gum oozes from the shrub-like tree.” In other words, the plant ‘bleeds’ (so to speak) to exude its aromatic medicinal sap.
Significantly, myrrh is mentioned later in the Biblical account of Jesus’ life, in conjunction with His death. At the time of Jesus’ burial, “Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 75 pounds.” (John 19:39) In the words of the writer of the letter to the Hebrews, this high priest-become-sacrifice is able “to sympathize with our weaknesses”. (4:15) Jesus the innocent was crucified unjustly: He was subjected to the full brunt of life’s unfairness. He understands completely our brokenness and disappointments. Just a week after Jesus’ birth, aged Simeon would say prophetically to His mother Mary: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:34f)
Is this going to be a tough Christmas for you? Do you sometimes feel like a sword has pierced to the core of your being? Jesus is no stranger to the sorrows and griefs of our human condition. “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.” (Isaiah 53:3) The Author of your salvation was made perfect through suffering. We’re told Jesus had to be made like us, His brothers [and sisters], “in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:17-18)
The myrrh-man bleeds mercy for those who cry out for His help. Merry Christmas!
Monday, November 12, 2018
The Vanishing Virtue of Submission
Nov.12, 2018 - "From the Minister's Study" column, The Citizen
The recent municipal election has ushered in some new faces on local municipal councils. Let’s salute these brave souls who have stepped up to the plate to provide leadership and accept responsibility for affairs that affect us right where we live. Maybe it’s easiest to praise them now before they make any decisions with which we might take issue!
Anyone who takes on a leadership capacity soon realizes how difficult it is to please everyone – not that that would necessarily be the right thing to aim for in the first place. I have been privileged to lead local churches as a pastor, larger regional church organizations, and most recently serve on the board of a nearby Bible college which recently had to make some tough decisions regarding staffing and property. My mother’s brother, and her sister’s husband, each served as reeve of a township and later as warden of Perth County. When you’re in such positions, you’re bound to be subjected to criticism, for at least two reasons. First, because of the sheer volume of information required to adequately grasp a given topic, your critics frequently don’t know all the facts even in non-sensitive matters. Second, in some cases, confidentiality prevents you from divulging all the facts of the matter (especially when it comes to staffing issues), so of course it’s easy for outside observers to get a wrong impression and conclude you’re being unfair or have poor judgment.
It’s all too easy to become critical of those in authority. One might have thought Agnes Macphail, the first woman to be elected to the House of Commons 70 years ago in 1948, would have been highly lauded for her notable accomplishment. But she remarked, “When I was first elected, everything I said was wrong; everything I wore was wrong, everything I did was wrong, to hear comments about them. Bouquets were not thrown at me because I was the only woman in the House. Brickbats were what I got.”
The spirit of our age is a rebellious one, critical of those in power, scoffing at actions of those in government, supposing ‘plebs’ know better than those who’ve been entrusted with the reins of power. Dale Schlafer, a pastor in Colorado and former chairperson of Promise Keepers, wrote: “Our culture encourages us to not show honour to anyone. We live in a day of egalitarianism that doesn’t allow for differences and appears to treat all people the same. Political and sports cartoonists ridicule those in authority. Comedians poke fun at anyone in a place of prominence. And the average Christian carries that same attitude into the church.”
The problem of rebellion and lawlessness is not new. One of the lowest (morally speaking) periods in Biblical history was that portrayed by the book of Judges, which closes with the summation – “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” (Judges 21:25) We all want to be our own boss, to be the ultimate judge of things.
The Apostle Paul warned the early church that a period of general lawlessness would happen before the Lord’s return. “...That day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction... For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work...” (2Thess. 2:3,7)
Moving against the flow of this cultural current is the Biblical admonition to submit to legitimate authority in various spheres – in the community, at home, and in relations with others who follow Jesus. Several apostles are very forthright in speaking of the need for obeying those in authority. It begins with reverence for God our Creator. James (4:7,10) urges, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you... Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
Because we revere God who is sovereign, that affects how we relate to lesser human authorities. Peter wrote, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men... Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honour the king.” (1Peter 2:13ff)
This does not mean earthly rulers have the right to exploit the poor and generally throw their weight around. There is still a law above them to which they must one day submit for accountability – their job is clearly ‘to commend those who do right’. And as Peter notes, our submission to human authorities is “for the Lord’s sake”, springing from our obligation to Him foremost, for both creating us and for redeeming us from sin and its penalty.
The Apostle Paul echoes, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves... He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.” (Rom.13:1f,4f) Likewise when writing to Titus, “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.” (Titus 3:1f)
This vanished virtue of submission is even to be practised with fellow followers of Jesus, peer-to-peer. Paul instructed the church at Ephesus, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Eph. 5:21) Again, note the divine dimension: our submission to one another on a human level springs out of huge respect and love for God - ‘out of reverence for Christ’.
Mind you, it’s not usually easy to do! It’s difficult to bend our own will to fall in line with someone on an issue about which we strongly disagree. But it’s good for our character and humility (assuming, of course, it’s not an issue of morality that’s at stake).
In conclusion – let’s take care to honour those who become entrusted with responsibility for our welfare. Often they are doing their level best with what they have to work with. And their most notable accomplishment may even be, not something they did, but some potential blunder they prevented from happening. As Canada’s longest-serving prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, observed: “It is what we prevent, rather than what we do that counts most in Government.”
The recent municipal election has ushered in some new faces on local municipal councils. Let’s salute these brave souls who have stepped up to the plate to provide leadership and accept responsibility for affairs that affect us right where we live. Maybe it’s easiest to praise them now before they make any decisions with which we might take issue!
Anyone who takes on a leadership capacity soon realizes how difficult it is to please everyone – not that that would necessarily be the right thing to aim for in the first place. I have been privileged to lead local churches as a pastor, larger regional church organizations, and most recently serve on the board of a nearby Bible college which recently had to make some tough decisions regarding staffing and property. My mother’s brother, and her sister’s husband, each served as reeve of a township and later as warden of Perth County. When you’re in such positions, you’re bound to be subjected to criticism, for at least two reasons. First, because of the sheer volume of information required to adequately grasp a given topic, your critics frequently don’t know all the facts even in non-sensitive matters. Second, in some cases, confidentiality prevents you from divulging all the facts of the matter (especially when it comes to staffing issues), so of course it’s easy for outside observers to get a wrong impression and conclude you’re being unfair or have poor judgment.
It’s all too easy to become critical of those in authority. One might have thought Agnes Macphail, the first woman to be elected to the House of Commons 70 years ago in 1948, would have been highly lauded for her notable accomplishment. But she remarked, “When I was first elected, everything I said was wrong; everything I wore was wrong, everything I did was wrong, to hear comments about them. Bouquets were not thrown at me because I was the only woman in the House. Brickbats were what I got.”
The spirit of our age is a rebellious one, critical of those in power, scoffing at actions of those in government, supposing ‘plebs’ know better than those who’ve been entrusted with the reins of power. Dale Schlafer, a pastor in Colorado and former chairperson of Promise Keepers, wrote: “Our culture encourages us to not show honour to anyone. We live in a day of egalitarianism that doesn’t allow for differences and appears to treat all people the same. Political and sports cartoonists ridicule those in authority. Comedians poke fun at anyone in a place of prominence. And the average Christian carries that same attitude into the church.”
The problem of rebellion and lawlessness is not new. One of the lowest (morally speaking) periods in Biblical history was that portrayed by the book of Judges, which closes with the summation – “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” (Judges 21:25) We all want to be our own boss, to be the ultimate judge of things.
The Apostle Paul warned the early church that a period of general lawlessness would happen before the Lord’s return. “...That day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction... For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work...” (2Thess. 2:3,7)
Moving against the flow of this cultural current is the Biblical admonition to submit to legitimate authority in various spheres – in the community, at home, and in relations with others who follow Jesus. Several apostles are very forthright in speaking of the need for obeying those in authority. It begins with reverence for God our Creator. James (4:7,10) urges, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you... Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
Because we revere God who is sovereign, that affects how we relate to lesser human authorities. Peter wrote, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men... Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honour the king.” (1Peter 2:13ff)
This does not mean earthly rulers have the right to exploit the poor and generally throw their weight around. There is still a law above them to which they must one day submit for accountability – their job is clearly ‘to commend those who do right’. And as Peter notes, our submission to human authorities is “for the Lord’s sake”, springing from our obligation to Him foremost, for both creating us and for redeeming us from sin and its penalty.
The Apostle Paul echoes, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves... He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.” (Rom.13:1f,4f) Likewise when writing to Titus, “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.” (Titus 3:1f)
This vanished virtue of submission is even to be practised with fellow followers of Jesus, peer-to-peer. Paul instructed the church at Ephesus, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Eph. 5:21) Again, note the divine dimension: our submission to one another on a human level springs out of huge respect and love for God - ‘out of reverence for Christ’.
Mind you, it’s not usually easy to do! It’s difficult to bend our own will to fall in line with someone on an issue about which we strongly disagree. But it’s good for our character and humility (assuming, of course, it’s not an issue of morality that’s at stake).
In conclusion – let’s take care to honour those who become entrusted with responsibility for our welfare. Often they are doing their level best with what they have to work with. And their most notable accomplishment may even be, not something they did, but some potential blunder they prevented from happening. As Canada’s longest-serving prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, observed: “It is what we prevent, rather than what we do that counts most in Government.”
Monday, October 01, 2018
Remember Who You Are: Prompts for Spiritual Amnesiacs
Oct.1, 2018 - "From the Minister's Study" column, The Citizen
Memory is a wonderful thing. The older you get, the more memories you have, but often the less your ability to remember specific things becomes. We need lists and calendars and device notifications to help “jog” our memories.
Even worse is when someone has the condition known as amnesia, when perhaps due to a blow to the head in an accident they at least temporarily forget who they are, where they are, and so on.
Sometimes we who claim to be Christians develop what might be called “spiritual amnesia” – it seems we forget who we are, in Christ. Our behaviour doesn’t line up with our beliefs. In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul writes to counteract such “spiritual amnesia”. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul reminds the church who they were; who they are now are already, through faith in Christ; who they will be eventually; and, who they are becoming in this life, with God’s help.
We inhabit an “I CAN” culture: secular humanism would give young people the impression that people are basically good and you can achieve anything if you set your mind to it. Yet some have observed that the 20th century, the one after philosopher Nietzsche boldly declared “God is dead”, was the bloodiest one yet. Journalist Malcom Muggeridge stated, “The depravity of man is at once the most empirically verifiable reality but at the same time the most intellectually resisted fact.”
In the first 3 verses of the second chapter of Ephesians, Paul offers a sobering description of our fallen state, cut off from God, in bondage to sin, being commandeered to destruction by our own innate impulses. “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins...” (Eph.2:1) Sin cuts us off from a Holy God. We were spiritual ‘road kill’. You walk up to a dead coon or groundhog splattered across the pavement, poke it with a stick – it doesn’t move. It can’t, it has no life in it, no ability, nothing. That’s how much spiritual potential we had before we were saved. Our likely future? “We were by nature objects of wrath.” (2:3) God’s wrath. And we deserved it 100%. Although we had been created by Almighty God and blessed with various abilities, each one of us at some point turned away from God and sinned. We thumbed our nose at the very One to whom we owed the gift of life itself. Captive in our sin, following the passions of our humanness, we were fit for only one ultimate destination: hell. To be cut off from God forever, punished for despising and rebelling against Him.
But Christ’s grace intervened. “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions— it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus...” (Eph 2:4-6) Literally, as NRSV puts it: “Out of the great love with which He loved us...” Sheer richness of mercy, not because we deserved it in the least!
Who we are now (already) gives a glimmer of what’s to come, who we will be in eternity. God has already showered His love and grace upon us in saving us from destruction and eternal punishment, even though there was not a smidge in us of goodness that deserved it. Even more is to come hereafter! “...In order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Eph.2:7) How God wants to show His grace to us is just begun to be shown to us in this life – much more to follow!
But Paul also emphasizes Who We Are Becoming. First - a people of faith, hope, and love. “...Ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints... In order that you may know the hope to which He has called you...” (Eph.1:15,18) Second, Paul prays that the church becomes people of the spirit. “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” (1:17)
Third, we are a people who are coming to know God increasingly. “...So that you may know him better.” (1:17b) A mature Christian is one who has come to know God well, has become familiar with God – both through reading the Bible and as you see God’s activity interacting with you in your life.
Fourth, we are becoming God’s people collectively. It’s not just an individual project you can do all by yourself. Our anabaptist friends remind us of the importance of reading Scripture together in community, which is where small groups are so important! “I pray...that you may know...the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints...” (1:18) You are valuable to God, treasured by Him! And how much more when the whole church is gathered together! Robertson comments, “Our riches is in God; God’s is in His saints.”
Fifth, we are becoming a people of power. “...That you may know his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead...” (1:19f) You have resurrection-style power available to you for God’s purposes! You needn’t be locked into being a victim: in Christ you can become an overcomer! Even destructive chemical addictions can be overcome (drugs or alcohol), when addicts finally come to the end of their own efforts so they are ready to call out to God for His saving power. It’s when you ‘hit bottom’ you finally realize you can’t do it on your own – it’s going to destroy you if you don’t make a change – you have to come to the place (like the prodigal son) where you ‘come to yourself’ and admit you’ve got to repent and turn to God, whose power alone can break those bonds.
Sixth, although we’re a people of power, we’re also becoming a people under submission. “[God] seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.And God placed all things under his feet...” (1:20b-22) How exalted Christ is! Far above all rule, authority, power, dominion (literally ‘lordships’), titles. All things are placed under His feet. The cross is the ultimate corrective to our bullying.
Last, we are becoming people implementing Christ’s headship. “[God]...appointed [Christ] to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” (1:22b-23) How are we (collectively in the church) Jesus’ “fullness”, completing His presence here in this corner of the galaxy today??! When you sit and listen to a friend going through a tough time, then offer to pray for them, you are bringing Jesus’ presence into that situation very tangibly.
In summary – we’re not who we were – God had mercy on this ‘spiritual road kill’. And we’re not yet who we will be – not by a long shot. When Jesus returns, we will be ‘like Him’ (1Jn 3:2). But by God’s grace, we are becoming His people more fully with each passing year, as we keep submitting to His headship and plugging in to His divine power.
Memory is a wonderful thing. The older you get, the more memories you have, but often the less your ability to remember specific things becomes. We need lists and calendars and device notifications to help “jog” our memories.
Even worse is when someone has the condition known as amnesia, when perhaps due to a blow to the head in an accident they at least temporarily forget who they are, where they are, and so on.
Sometimes we who claim to be Christians develop what might be called “spiritual amnesia” – it seems we forget who we are, in Christ. Our behaviour doesn’t line up with our beliefs. In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul writes to counteract such “spiritual amnesia”. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul reminds the church who they were; who they are now are already, through faith in Christ; who they will be eventually; and, who they are becoming in this life, with God’s help.
We inhabit an “I CAN” culture: secular humanism would give young people the impression that people are basically good and you can achieve anything if you set your mind to it. Yet some have observed that the 20th century, the one after philosopher Nietzsche boldly declared “God is dead”, was the bloodiest one yet. Journalist Malcom Muggeridge stated, “The depravity of man is at once the most empirically verifiable reality but at the same time the most intellectually resisted fact.”
In the first 3 verses of the second chapter of Ephesians, Paul offers a sobering description of our fallen state, cut off from God, in bondage to sin, being commandeered to destruction by our own innate impulses. “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins...” (Eph.2:1) Sin cuts us off from a Holy God. We were spiritual ‘road kill’. You walk up to a dead coon or groundhog splattered across the pavement, poke it with a stick – it doesn’t move. It can’t, it has no life in it, no ability, nothing. That’s how much spiritual potential we had before we were saved. Our likely future? “We were by nature objects of wrath.” (2:3) God’s wrath. And we deserved it 100%. Although we had been created by Almighty God and blessed with various abilities, each one of us at some point turned away from God and sinned. We thumbed our nose at the very One to whom we owed the gift of life itself. Captive in our sin, following the passions of our humanness, we were fit for only one ultimate destination: hell. To be cut off from God forever, punished for despising and rebelling against Him.
But Christ’s grace intervened. “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions— it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus...” (Eph 2:4-6) Literally, as NRSV puts it: “Out of the great love with which He loved us...” Sheer richness of mercy, not because we deserved it in the least!
Who we are now (already) gives a glimmer of what’s to come, who we will be in eternity. God has already showered His love and grace upon us in saving us from destruction and eternal punishment, even though there was not a smidge in us of goodness that deserved it. Even more is to come hereafter! “...In order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Eph.2:7) How God wants to show His grace to us is just begun to be shown to us in this life – much more to follow!
But Paul also emphasizes Who We Are Becoming. First - a people of faith, hope, and love. “...Ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints... In order that you may know the hope to which He has called you...” (Eph.1:15,18) Second, Paul prays that the church becomes people of the spirit. “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” (1:17)
Third, we are a people who are coming to know God increasingly. “...So that you may know him better.” (1:17b) A mature Christian is one who has come to know God well, has become familiar with God – both through reading the Bible and as you see God’s activity interacting with you in your life.
Fourth, we are becoming God’s people collectively. It’s not just an individual project you can do all by yourself. Our anabaptist friends remind us of the importance of reading Scripture together in community, which is where small groups are so important! “I pray...that you may know...the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints...” (1:18) You are valuable to God, treasured by Him! And how much more when the whole church is gathered together! Robertson comments, “Our riches is in God; God’s is in His saints.”
Fifth, we are becoming a people of power. “...That you may know his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead...” (1:19f) You have resurrection-style power available to you for God’s purposes! You needn’t be locked into being a victim: in Christ you can become an overcomer! Even destructive chemical addictions can be overcome (drugs or alcohol), when addicts finally come to the end of their own efforts so they are ready to call out to God for His saving power. It’s when you ‘hit bottom’ you finally realize you can’t do it on your own – it’s going to destroy you if you don’t make a change – you have to come to the place (like the prodigal son) where you ‘come to yourself’ and admit you’ve got to repent and turn to God, whose power alone can break those bonds.
Sixth, although we’re a people of power, we’re also becoming a people under submission. “[God] seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.And God placed all things under his feet...” (1:20b-22) How exalted Christ is! Far above all rule, authority, power, dominion (literally ‘lordships’), titles. All things are placed under His feet. The cross is the ultimate corrective to our bullying.
Last, we are becoming people implementing Christ’s headship. “[God]...appointed [Christ] to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” (1:22b-23) How are we (collectively in the church) Jesus’ “fullness”, completing His presence here in this corner of the galaxy today??! When you sit and listen to a friend going through a tough time, then offer to pray for them, you are bringing Jesus’ presence into that situation very tangibly.
In summary – we’re not who we were – God had mercy on this ‘spiritual road kill’. And we’re not yet who we will be – not by a long shot. When Jesus returns, we will be ‘like Him’ (1Jn 3:2). But by God’s grace, we are becoming His people more fully with each passing year, as we keep submitting to His headship and plugging in to His divine power.
Monday, August 13, 2018
Lessons from the House of Mourning
[‘From the Minister’s Study’ column for local newspaper The Citizen]
Ralph Waldo Emerson observed,
“Sorrow makes us all children again, destroys all differences in intellect. The
wisest knows nothing.”
It is a month since my wife
died. It was about as peaceful a demise as one could wish for – at home, with
one’s spouse and a caring Personal Support Worker at one’s side, the community
nurse there just moments before; a mercifully swift and relatively painless cessation
of 15 years’ battling a brain tumour. As Yvonne’s husband I was blessed with
the support of many from the medical side of things and also our own friends
and church family. But it is still a huge loss. As a spouse one feels suddenly
lopsided, there’s a huge hole because one’s sole long-term partner – one’s
“soul mate” for what would have been 40 years of marriage this month – is
suddenly no longer there.
Before such loss, such
sorrow, as Emerson says, we are ‘all children again’. Intellectual prowess
cannot satisfactorily debate grief. Still, what can we learn from this
experience? Ecclesiastes 7:2 notes, “It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the
living should take this to heart.” As we “take to heart” another’s demise, what
may God be trying to teach us?
It certainly helps us develop
empathy with others who have lost their spouse. Sometimes this is through
death; other times it is through divorce, which has its own kind of grief
attached to it. In Canada, the Vanier Institute of the family found the divorce rate was
38% (based on 2006 data). So out of 100 marriages involving 200 people, on
average nationally 76 people (38 marriages) will suffer the grief of divorce;
of the remaining 62 marriages or 124 people, half – 62 persons – will suffer
the grief of widowhood. Overall, then, it would seem likely more people will
suffer the grief of divorce than of widowhood.
The Apostle Paul enjoined
Christians, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”
(Romans 12:15) When Jesus arrived at the home of Mary and Martha, even though
He would soon raise Lazarus from the dead, we read: “When Jesus saw her
weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply
moved in spirit and troubled.” (John 11:33) A caring response to those who
mourn is to weep with them, share their sense of loss, show them by the
simplest of gestures that we love them and participate in their grief. “To weep
is to make less the depth of grief.” (Wm. Shakespeare)
Another lesson death teaches
us is to not be presumptuous about our own longevity, or too cocky about our
own potential success. Life is fragile and we cannot bank on tomorrow. Psalm 90
purports to be “A prayer of Moses the man of God” – it does reflect a profound
appreciation for life’s transitoriness, describing how God “sweep[s] men away
in the sleep of death” (v.5). “The length of our days is seventy years – or
eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for
they quickly pass, and we fly away... Teach us to number our days aright, that
we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Ps. 90:10,12)
Now that my wife has died, I
am certainly glad I set some boundaries (with her prompting and support) early
on in my ministry to guard against spending too many hours on the job (target
of normally no more than 3 evenings out per week for church work, for example).
Your time with your spouse is limited. You may not have golden retirement years
together. Is it really worth the toll on your marriage and children to put in
all those extra overtime hours in order to get that job promotion or pay raise?
Once they’re dead, money can’t bring them back! Be taught to number your days
aright; become wise in your use of time.
James reproaches the
arrogance of those who bank on tomorrow, assuming they will have many years to
live. “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that
city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not
even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that
appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:13f) A sudden
unexpected diagnosis like brain cancer, or debilitating disease like MS, can
suddenly throw those big-bucks plans out the window. Are you cultivating a
quality relationship with your spouse that does not depend on amassing a
fortune? Can you treasure each day together, the simplest date spontaneities?
For me, the thing my spouse’s
premature demise has most impressed on me is the preciousness of our shared
Christian faith. People commented on the uplifting tone of Yvonne’s funeral,
spurred on by the music she specifically chose in advance, reinforced by the
testimony of those who knew her, valued her character, and vouched for her
trust in Jesus her Saviour. Death has a way of forcing us to re-evaluate all we
consider most important about life: what are our rock-bottom non-negotiables?
The Apostle Paul rehearsed
for the church at Corinth the facts he considered to be “of first importance”,
namely – “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he
was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...”
(1Cor.15:3f) How can we be sure of this? Because the earliest eyewitnesses
testified about this on pain of death.
If you think about it, it’s death in fact that underlines or guarantees
the veracity of the resurrection account: all of Jesus’ disciples (apart from
Judas, of course) were killed refusing to back down from their conviction that
Jesus had risen from the dead. People don’t die for what they know to be
a lie.
Before death, Jesus promised
the Twelve, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take
you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:3) Paul explained
his preference would be to depart and be with Christ which is “better by far”
than this earthly life (Philippians 1:23). I couldn’t wish Yvonne back! These
fundamental scripture truths give assurance that my loved one is now being
cared for by One who fashioned her in the womb and loved her profoundly long
before I ever knew her – and will continue doing so on into eternity. So as
Paul puts it, we who trust in Christ do not “grieve like the rest of men, who
have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that
God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”
The ‘house of mourning’ has
valuable lessons for us, if we will take them to heart. The mortality rate is
still 100%. Better to prepare for the inevitable now than be taken by surprise.
Woody Allen quipped, “It’s not that I’m afraid to die; I just don’t want to be
there when it happens.”
Don’t suppose you will
somehow magically be let off the hook. Pulitzer-winning bestselling author
William Saroyan lay dying in New York city of cancer, which had spread to
several of his vital organs. One evening he placed a call to Associated Press.
Identifying himself to the reporter who answered his call, he said: “Everybody
has got to die. But I have always believed an exception would be made in my
case. Now what?” And then he hung up the phone.
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Blast 'em Out of Their Seats
INTRO TO “SOUL’S DESIRE” (BY ROBIN MARK) AT YVONNE’S FUNERAL - July 16, 2018
This next song, which is a video we’re going
to invite you to stay sitting and just sing along to as
the lyrics come on the screen, is a pretty special
one. Yvonne in her own handwriting back on Nov.
29 2004 set out some “Funeral Wishes and
Requests” - at that point, some 14 years ago, she’d
already been dealing with the pain and discomfort
and complications of this brain tumour for a couple
of years. She clearly specified, as she put it, “No
organ music droning in the background please...”
(Instead, along with the other songs we’re using for
congregational singing, quote) “Robin Mark ‘Revival
in Belfast II’ CD [turn it up on #9 - blast em out of
their seats (smiley) & imagine me singing from
Heaven].”
Robin Mark was probably Yvonne’s most
favourite musical artist; he’s a Brit, from Northern
Ireland, and we’ve had opportunity to see him
perform in person numerous times. This song
though, called “Soul’s Desire”, is particularly
masterfully done. In part, it goes:
Lord of the Earth the sea the sky
In glory and power
How can it be that I’m Your child
And You are my Father...
There’s a flag in my hand
and I am waving, I am waving
waving it for you just to make you smile.
In glory and power
How can it be that I’m Your child
And You are my Father...
There’s a flag in my hand
and I am waving, I am waving
waving it for you just to make you smile.
The image here is of a little child, son or daughter,
yearning to catch their father’s gaze and know they
are pleasing him by such a simple act as waving a
flag. Christian faith at its root is about this intimacy
with a loving Heavenly Father.
Sin and evil are revolting to a holy God; divine
wrath is justifiably waiting to be poured out upon
human rebellion and depravity, it’s abominable to
the glorious almighty Creator that His Creatures
would turn their backs on Him and refuse to honour
and glorify Him. That’s the essence of sin –
preferring anything else over God, who is all-glorious, perfect, good, holy, beautiful, radiant, and
loving. The image a lot of people have of God is
some gruff old codger waiting to nail us when we
mess up (so they write God off – who could possibly
warm up to that?).
But the New Testament and most especially
the cross of Jesus change all that. The Good News
is that the Father sent the Son to take upon Himself
our sin and guilt and shame, suffering in our place
so we could be forgiven and ‘put right’ with God,
brought back together, the relationship restored and
us transformed, given a heart transplant. Romans
5:8, “God demonstrates His own love toward us in
that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
That changes the whole dynamic! Now through faith
in Jesus, we can enjoy a loving, warm, intimate
relationship with a caring heavenly Father who
delights in His children. Galatians 3:26 & 4:6, “For
you are all sons of God through faith in Christ
Jesus...And because you are sons, God has sent
forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying,
‘Abba! Father!’ [papa]”
A little girl, catching that gleam in her daddy’s
eye, seeing his smile, knowing he’s pleased with
her... Zephaniah 3:17, “He will rejoice over you with
singing” – I know nothing would make Yvonne more
happy than if one of those listening came to grasp
that truth for the first time today.
“You are my soul’s desire,” the song says.
Yvonne had to put up with listening to a lot of John
Piper’s podcasts in the car with me. His thrust is
Christian hedonism, that “God is most glorified in us
when we are most satisfied in Him.” We can fight sin
best by seeing and savouring the greatness and
goodness of our Lord and Saviour – Desiring God
above any other false god Satan might try to entice
us with. Paul in prison, preparing himself to be
executed if it comes to that, could write to the
Philippians in 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ, and
to die is gain.” Jesus is glorified especially in the
hour of our death when it becomes apparent to all
around that we prefer Him, we desire Him more than
anything this world can offer. As Paul puts it in the
next breath (1:23), “having the desire to depart and
be with Christ, for that is very much better”!
So, as we sing, let’s do as Yvonne says,
‘imagine me singing from Heaven’ – at peace,
finding pleasure in God’s presence, knowing the
Heavenly Father’s delight; “I will exalt Your name
again, Most High, every way I can.”
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