John 20.19-31
1st May, Easter 2
Context
It is the evening of the first Easter day. Mary Magdalene has seen and spoken with the risen Jesus. Peter and John have seen the empty tomb and John has ‘seen and believed’.
Later in the day, the mood of the disciples is a combination of FAITH and FEAR (see v19).
JESUS does not leave them to go through the night until he has personally revealed himself to them, reassured them and given them his peace and a new sense of purpose.
Peace
The PRINCE OF PEACE gives PEACE. He doesn’t just hope for peace like most people do today, he gives peace. In fact it would be true to say that his whole purpose is to make true peace and wholeness and reconciliation – with God and with each other, possibly for ALL people.
“Peace be with you!” is the key phrase in our reading (verses 19, 21 and 26).
The disciples have a personal encounter with the Prince of Peace and as well as peace he brings them three things and the promise of a fourth.
Proof
He brings them proof of the resurrection, as they – 10 of the original 12 men and perhaps some of the women too – are meeting together in a mixture of faith and fear.
He stands among them:-
• His execution and burial could not hold him
• Locked doors were no barrier to him
• Neither physical doors nor the doors of closed hearts and minds can shut Jesus out.
He shows them his wounds and, convinced that it is him, the disciples are glad.
He repeats “Peace be with you!” This is not just a friendly greeting; it is a statement of fact = “Peace is now yours!” It is of course because of the wounds he shows them, that they now have peace. As Isaiah 53.5 famously prophesies:
By his wounds we are healed.
The wounds of Christ are the proof of his resurrection, his victory over sin and death which brings us peace.
Purpose and Pattern
Then in verse 21 Jesus talks about the kind of peace he has given them and the purpose of it. He has given them peace for a reason and it is not just so that they can lie back on the sun loungers sipping cocktails… Jesus tells them:-
Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.
This is John’s version of the Great Commission. What does it mean for Jesus to send the disciples as the Father has sent Jesus?
• Like Jesus, the truth is revealed to them and through them
• Like Jesus, they are given authority to heal, to forgive and to reconcile
This is their PURPOSE. St Paul makes the same point in 2 Corinthians 5.18-19:-
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
The fact that the disciples’ mission is the same as the mission of Jesus means that as well as a clear purpose, they also have a clear PATTERN to follow:-
• A pattern of living in obedience to God’s rules and values
• A pattern of touching untouchables, healing the sick, fighting against evil
• A pattern of unselfishness, laying down their lives for their neighbours, including those they see as their enemies
As the Father sent Jesus, so Jesus sends Peter and James and John … and you and me and us. We have a purpose and we have a pattern to follow.
What else do we need? What are we waiting for?
Power is promised
Verse 22 tells us that Jesus breathed on them and said, ‘receive the Holy Spirit…
I don’t think they actually received the Holy Spirit at this moment – the book of Acts tells us they had to wait until Pentecost. What we seem to have here is an ACTED PARABLE, just like the footwashing before the Last Supper prophesies sins being washed away.
Along with the promise of the power of the Holy Spirit comes (in verse 23) a clarification of their mission as one of forgiveness and reconciliation:-
If you forgive the sins of anyone, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.
This verse is not a licence for any Church to decide to withhold forgiveness from anybody. It is actually a warning to the apostles and their successors (us) about the consequences of their forgiving or failing to forgive:-
My paraphrase of verse 23 is If you pass on to people the forgiveness of God, they will be freed from the power their sin has over them. If you fail to do so, they’ll still remain slaves to their sin.
People need to hear and receive the grace and forgiveness of God and it is through the disciples, the followers of Jesus that they are going to hear and receive it.
Surely, if we take the Lord’s Prayer seriously, it also has to be about giving people our forgiveness for the ways that they have wronged us. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us is what we pray daily, weekly.
The point is not that we have the RIGHT to withhold forgiveness, it is that we have the RESPONSIBILITY to give it.
• The greatest need in our world today is for reconciliation between people and each other and between people and God
• As far as I can see the New Testament never teaches that God needs to be reconciled to us.
• God’s problem is not primarily with SINNERS but with SIN.
• When God looks at us he doesn’t just see PERPETRATORS of evil who need to be PUNISHED, he sees PRISONERS of evil who need to be SET FREE (this includes those who ‘do’ as well as those who are ‘done to’).
God has forgiven us all and has achieved this freedom for us all in Christ and it is our key responsibility to show it to and share it with all people.
Conclusion
So how are we doing at St George’s?
• How is our faith/fear balance?
• What locked doors do we still have? Well Jesus can cope with locked doors. He can unlock them or he can walk right through them!
• What do we do when we are confused and afraid?
• Do we still meet together to pray and wait for God to reveal himself or do we wander off like ‘doubting’ Thomas?
• Are we still looking for proof?
• Are we clear about our purpose, our mission, the pattern we have to follow?
• Have we received the power?
• Do we know his peace and are we sharing it freely, bringing forgiveness and reconciliation?
Our purpose at St George’s is to grow together in all these ways. This is what we are trying to achieve in all our courses, programmes and events like our coming weekend away. This is what you are part of and what God may be calling you to join in with, wholeheartedly.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Chords for "Satisfied"
One or two people have been searching for the guitar chords to "Satisfied", my song expressing the Christian Universalist hope, inspired by a quote from Hannah Whitall Smith. So here are the chords and lyrics below. A rough recording on youtube is posted below at 21st March. The doodly bits are not hard once you know them and are all over an Em chord.
Em A Em C D Em
A day is coming soon when you will see and be satisfied
C D Em A7
Your Father's justice and his mercy are one
C D Em
And you will be satisfied
Em A Em C D Em
You came to save us all, allowed yourself to be crucified
C D Em A7
Your clear intention cannot be denied
C D Em
And you will be satisfied
Em A Em C D Em
A day is coming soon when all will see and be reconciled
C D Em A7
your love is perfect and your justice is sure
C D Em
and you will be satisfied
C D Em A7
your love is perfect and your justice is sure
C D Em
and you will be satisfied
Sorry, can't get it to show the spacing properly!
Anyway, WATCH THIS SPACE for a new Worship song I'm working on, provisionally titled "The Perfect Father"...
Em A Em C D Em
A day is coming soon when you will see and be satisfied
C D Em A7
Your Father's justice and his mercy are one
C D Em
And you will be satisfied
Em A Em C D Em
You came to save us all, allowed yourself to be crucified
C D Em A7
Your clear intention cannot be denied
C D Em
And you will be satisfied
Em A Em C D Em
A day is coming soon when all will see and be reconciled
C D Em A7
your love is perfect and your justice is sure
C D Em
and you will be satisfied
C D Em A7
your love is perfect and your justice is sure
C D Em
and you will be satisfied
Sorry, can't get it to show the spacing properly!
Anyway, WATCH THIS SPACE for a new Worship song I'm working on, provisionally titled "The Perfect Father"...
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Happy Easter!
1. Transformation Quiz (for children)
• Acorns become …?
• Eggs become …? (no, not tortillas, birds!)
• Tadpoles become …?
• Caterpillars become …?
• All signs from God that new and better life is possible.
2. Metamorphosis of Butterfly
• One caterpillar to another - “You’ll never get me up in one of those things!”
• He was wrong – one day loses urge to eat and grow, forms cocoon around self, which hardens – looks dead – but later, a BUTTERFLY!
• Dries wings, flies, shows off colours, works for God POLLINATING.
3. Butterfly Quiz
• WHICH is the only continent which has no butterflies?
• WHAT part of its body does a butterfly taste with?
• WHAT colour can butterflies see, but bees can’t?
• (older child) EXPLAIN pollination; how & why it is important.
4. Great Illustration of Resurrection
• Disciples found J’s grave & burial clothes empty (like cocoon)
• J was alive in a new way, with new powers (like butterfly)
• Many disciples saw & believed sin & death would not be the final word for them either.
5. Why Easter Baptisms in early church
• Not just a day for bunnies & egg hunts but … BAPTISMS
• They realised God wasn’t just concerned for people to trust that he will give them new life after they die…
6. Living like Butterflies
• God wants people to live in a new way NOW (i.e. before they die)
• God gives Christians new abilities and powers for this life
• We have an important role in the world (like pollination?)
• =Sharing God’s love and mercy, Telling the good news about Jesus and Sharing the new life that God has so freely and generously given us.
Let’s end with a prayer.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Maundy Thursday - John 13
John 13.1-17, 31b-35 Maundy Thursday
The gospel stories of Holy Week are so familiar that we are in danger of losing the impact and shock which they originally held. Perhaps if we recover some of that impact it will help us clarify some of the priorities of the Church today.
The footwashing was such a shocking memory for the writer of John’s gospel that it overshadowed the words of institution of Holy Communion, which he does not record.
• KNOWING THAT HIS HOUR HAD COME – that all the preliminaries were over, the signs and discourses, journeys, conflicts, misunderstandings and so on. Knowing that he had very little time left with his disciples, time in which to explain the meaning of his approaching death and resurrection and their future responsibilities – Jesus began by CARRYING OUT THE SLAVE’s DUTY and washing his disciples’ feet.
• Things had not gone as the disciples had hoped. Their Master’s rejection by the religious leaders had been a setback, but to see him demeaning himself in this way was unbearable.
• Peter points out the inappropriateness. For Judas it is the final straw. The so-called Messiah of whom he had such high hopes, kneeling before him with water and towel, making himself unclean and devoid of dignity by washing the sweat and sand and soil from their feet.
But Jesus knew exactly what he was doing and was completely in control, as John emphasises throughout his gospel. So why did he do this?
• He knew the power of a visual aid – long before the days of powerpoint! He knew that actions speak louder than words and so he began his final discourse by washing the disciples’ feet.
• Knowing that God had given all things into his hands Jesus did not choose the crown and throne but the towel and bowl of a slave. Had he no self respect? “Lord, you will never wash my feet – never!”
• Yet it was more than a visual aid. Jesus was not “dressing up” as a slave in order to make a point about humility. He was taking off his outer clothing and revealing himself as he really is. Jesus kneeling in the dust washing feet, Jesus hanging on a cross dying a criminal’s death. Jesus, having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the utmost; he showed them the full extent of his love.
As with much of John, there are various layers of meaning. Here are a few of them:-
• Before leaving his disciples, Jesus wanted to assure them of his complete, extreme and unsurpassable love. This love of course does not just apply to the first disciples but also to the whole world, as we read elsewhere in John (For God so loved the world, etc). Jesus washed the disciples’ feet to show everyone the full extent of his love without limit.
• Jesus wanted to symbolise the spiritual cleansing which the disciples and subsequent believers would receive through his victory over death and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. As he said to Peter, “unless I wash you, you have no part in me.” The Church has always recognised the power and validity of this imagery of being washed by Jesus, and we preserve this idea in our baptism liturgy.
• Thirdly Jesus tells the disciples he has set them an example of how to behave towards each other – see verses 14 and 15. If humble service is good enough for the Master, it is good enough for the servant. If it is the mark of the one who sends, it is also the mark of the “apostle”, the one who is sent.
• Jesus ends this first part of our reading by saying “if you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” These last four words are very important when we are thinking about discipleship. Our knowledge of Jesus and his love has to be put into practice.
Our set reading then jumps past the episode of Judas being identified as the traitor and the dramatic moment when he leaves the room, to verses 31-35, in which Jesus announces his glorification through and beyond his suffering on the cross. The NEW COMMANDMENT follows naturally and logically…
“Love one another, even as I have loved you.”
• The unselfish love which the disciples are to show, beginning with each other, is a sign to the world that they are followers of Jesus. So Christian unity is important - a priority Jesus comes back to time and again during the farewell discourse (John 13-17).
So how does all of this apply to the Church today? How can we pull it together?
• Jesus’s awareness that his hour had come might challenge us. Knowing that his hour had come, he acted bravely, decisively and obediently. Much of what he did was of course once and for all BUT in terms of taking the good news of salvation and of the kingdom of God to the world, much remains to be done. Jesus handed on the baton to the apostles aand they handed it on to the Church.
• Perhaps the Church’s HOUR HAS NOW COME? And it should also act bravely, decisively and obediently. Many people think the Church has already had its hour, had its day and is now just an empty relic tied to the age of ignorance. Many in the Church concur and are happy to just shut the door and die quietly. But I don’t think that is what God is saying. I think he is saying to the Church – “Your hour has come. Now is the time!”
• Now is the time for what? For showing the full extent of God’s love to “those he has given us out of the world”. Who? People who are already Church members? Yet God is a missionary God who longs for every lost sheep to be carried home, and has called us to do the seeking and carrying.
• We live amongst the most broken, bewildered, lost and confused generation of all time. A generation desperately in need of hope, of salvation.
• And they won’t come to us. We need to go to them, humbly, taking off our outer garment – all the tat and privilege and rich trappings which hide what Christianity is all about. We need to put a towel round our waist and WASH THE FEET OF THE WORLD. Even those who hate us. Jesus has set the example for us to follow (even washing Judas’s feet) and it is only after following this example that we earn the opportunity to ask “do you understand what I have done for you?”
• KNOWING THAT the hour of the Church has come, we are to show the full extent of God’s love to the world.
• We are to do so in unity (verse 35) and with authenticity. We live in a world which is sick of hollow images and empty promises. A world which looks with suspicion at the Church, our profession of love and asks “is it real, is it authentic?”
• May we follow our Lord and Saviour and show real unity and real humble love as we take his good news to the world.
The gospel stories of Holy Week are so familiar that we are in danger of losing the impact and shock which they originally held. Perhaps if we recover some of that impact it will help us clarify some of the priorities of the Church today.
The footwashing was such a shocking memory for the writer of John’s gospel that it overshadowed the words of institution of Holy Communion, which he does not record.
• KNOWING THAT HIS HOUR HAD COME – that all the preliminaries were over, the signs and discourses, journeys, conflicts, misunderstandings and so on. Knowing that he had very little time left with his disciples, time in which to explain the meaning of his approaching death and resurrection and their future responsibilities – Jesus began by CARRYING OUT THE SLAVE’s DUTY and washing his disciples’ feet.
• Things had not gone as the disciples had hoped. Their Master’s rejection by the religious leaders had been a setback, but to see him demeaning himself in this way was unbearable.
• Peter points out the inappropriateness. For Judas it is the final straw. The so-called Messiah of whom he had such high hopes, kneeling before him with water and towel, making himself unclean and devoid of dignity by washing the sweat and sand and soil from their feet.
But Jesus knew exactly what he was doing and was completely in control, as John emphasises throughout his gospel. So why did he do this?
• He knew the power of a visual aid – long before the days of powerpoint! He knew that actions speak louder than words and so he began his final discourse by washing the disciples’ feet.
• Knowing that God had given all things into his hands Jesus did not choose the crown and throne but the towel and bowl of a slave. Had he no self respect? “Lord, you will never wash my feet – never!”
• Yet it was more than a visual aid. Jesus was not “dressing up” as a slave in order to make a point about humility. He was taking off his outer clothing and revealing himself as he really is. Jesus kneeling in the dust washing feet, Jesus hanging on a cross dying a criminal’s death. Jesus, having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the utmost; he showed them the full extent of his love.
As with much of John, there are various layers of meaning. Here are a few of them:-
• Before leaving his disciples, Jesus wanted to assure them of his complete, extreme and unsurpassable love. This love of course does not just apply to the first disciples but also to the whole world, as we read elsewhere in John (For God so loved the world, etc). Jesus washed the disciples’ feet to show everyone the full extent of his love without limit.
• Jesus wanted to symbolise the spiritual cleansing which the disciples and subsequent believers would receive through his victory over death and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. As he said to Peter, “unless I wash you, you have no part in me.” The Church has always recognised the power and validity of this imagery of being washed by Jesus, and we preserve this idea in our baptism liturgy.
• Thirdly Jesus tells the disciples he has set them an example of how to behave towards each other – see verses 14 and 15. If humble service is good enough for the Master, it is good enough for the servant. If it is the mark of the one who sends, it is also the mark of the “apostle”, the one who is sent.
• Jesus ends this first part of our reading by saying “if you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” These last four words are very important when we are thinking about discipleship. Our knowledge of Jesus and his love has to be put into practice.
Our set reading then jumps past the episode of Judas being identified as the traitor and the dramatic moment when he leaves the room, to verses 31-35, in which Jesus announces his glorification through and beyond his suffering on the cross. The NEW COMMANDMENT follows naturally and logically…
“Love one another, even as I have loved you.”
• The unselfish love which the disciples are to show, beginning with each other, is a sign to the world that they are followers of Jesus. So Christian unity is important - a priority Jesus comes back to time and again during the farewell discourse (John 13-17).
So how does all of this apply to the Church today? How can we pull it together?
• Jesus’s awareness that his hour had come might challenge us. Knowing that his hour had come, he acted bravely, decisively and obediently. Much of what he did was of course once and for all BUT in terms of taking the good news of salvation and of the kingdom of God to the world, much remains to be done. Jesus handed on the baton to the apostles aand they handed it on to the Church.
• Perhaps the Church’s HOUR HAS NOW COME? And it should also act bravely, decisively and obediently. Many people think the Church has already had its hour, had its day and is now just an empty relic tied to the age of ignorance. Many in the Church concur and are happy to just shut the door and die quietly. But I don’t think that is what God is saying. I think he is saying to the Church – “Your hour has come. Now is the time!”
• Now is the time for what? For showing the full extent of God’s love to “those he has given us out of the world”. Who? People who are already Church members? Yet God is a missionary God who longs for every lost sheep to be carried home, and has called us to do the seeking and carrying.
• We live amongst the most broken, bewildered, lost and confused generation of all time. A generation desperately in need of hope, of salvation.
• And they won’t come to us. We need to go to them, humbly, taking off our outer garment – all the tat and privilege and rich trappings which hide what Christianity is all about. We need to put a towel round our waist and WASH THE FEET OF THE WORLD. Even those who hate us. Jesus has set the example for us to follow (even washing Judas’s feet) and it is only after following this example that we earn the opportunity to ask “do you understand what I have done for you?”
• KNOWING THAT the hour of the Church has come, we are to show the full extent of God’s love to the world.
• We are to do so in unity (verse 35) and with authenticity. We live in a world which is sick of hollow images and empty promises. A world which looks with suspicion at the Church, our profession of love and asks “is it real, is it authentic?”
• May we follow our Lord and Saviour and show real unity and real humble love as we take his good news to the world.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Palm Sunday - Matt 21.1-17 Sermon Outline
Matthew 21.1-17 Outline
Context
• B and I spent most of yesterday in a hospital waiting room. She said I at least ought to get a sermon illustration out of it. So here it is – Jerusalem was a bit like a hospital waiting room at the time Jesus entered on what we call Palm Sunday.
• Hopes, aspirations, fears. Waiting for Messiah, for liberation, healing etc.
• Previous chapter of Matt – Who’s in and who’s out? What’s the pecking order amongst J’s followers? J predicts his rejection, death and resurrection.
• He knows now is the time and that he only has a one way ticket.
Timing and Fulfilment
• Conscious fulfilment of Zech 9.9 messianic prophecy-
• Matt knows that J knew what he was doing
• The crowd knew the prophecy too – people were biblically literate
• Hosanna (Save us!), Son of David, Blessed is he (Psalm 118)
Contrast – the other procession
• Pilate and Roman army entering opposite, west gate, with display of might
• A contrast of style and substance
• But a clear claim to be the King
A new kind of king
• A HUMBLE King. Radical concept! Very different from other kings then and now
• A new way of exercising leadership and authority
• See Zech 9.10-11. More clues of what kind of King to expect
• Radically different and what the world needs. Be challenged by this.
Cleansing the Temple
• What the Temple was meant to be compared to what it had become
• J quotes Isaiah 56.7, but look at whole of Isaiah 56.1-8
• Temple to be place of healing and reconciliation for all kinds of broken and hurting people, foreigners, maimed, sick and outcast people etc
• J not afraid to confront wrong, even though he knew the consequences. Shouldn’t we do this too – but with a sense of timing, led by God?
Irony of Indignance
• Following on from that Isaiah 56 image, Jesus now heals the lame and blind in the Temple
• The priests, who should have rejoiced at this were indignant
• Easy trap for religious people – take care!
• The exact person they were praying for walked past their door but they failed to recognise and then rejected him
• They knew the word of God inside out but didn’t recognise the Word of God when he was standing right in front of them.
Understood by chiildren
• Acceptance of Jesus and rejoicing at his coming by children and ignorant people contrasts with his treatment by most of the religious.
• J calls us to a simple, childlike faith
• How tragic when religious people miss their moment, even end up working against the God they are trying to worship and represent. But God will not be thwarted and can use others.
Conclusion
• Passover is about liberation. Not just liberation of a few from one kind of slavery, but liberation of all from all kinds of slavery.
• That’s God’s agenda in Christ and so it should be our agenda.
• We need to follow the humble king, not the empire.
• We need to have courage to confront injustice
• Don’t miss your moment. See what God is doing here in Barcelona or wherever you go and play your part, joining in wholeheartedly, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Context
• B and I spent most of yesterday in a hospital waiting room. She said I at least ought to get a sermon illustration out of it. So here it is – Jerusalem was a bit like a hospital waiting room at the time Jesus entered on what we call Palm Sunday.
• Hopes, aspirations, fears. Waiting for Messiah, for liberation, healing etc.
• Previous chapter of Matt – Who’s in and who’s out? What’s the pecking order amongst J’s followers? J predicts his rejection, death and resurrection.
• He knows now is the time and that he only has a one way ticket.
Timing and Fulfilment
• Conscious fulfilment of Zech 9.9 messianic prophecy-
• Matt knows that J knew what he was doing
• The crowd knew the prophecy too – people were biblically literate
• Hosanna (Save us!), Son of David, Blessed is he (Psalm 118)
Contrast – the other procession
• Pilate and Roman army entering opposite, west gate, with display of might
• A contrast of style and substance
• But a clear claim to be the King
A new kind of king
• A HUMBLE King. Radical concept! Very different from other kings then and now
• A new way of exercising leadership and authority
• See Zech 9.10-11. More clues of what kind of King to expect
• Radically different and what the world needs. Be challenged by this.
Cleansing the Temple
• What the Temple was meant to be compared to what it had become
• J quotes Isaiah 56.7, but look at whole of Isaiah 56.1-8
• Temple to be place of healing and reconciliation for all kinds of broken and hurting people, foreigners, maimed, sick and outcast people etc
• J not afraid to confront wrong, even though he knew the consequences. Shouldn’t we do this too – but with a sense of timing, led by God?
Irony of Indignance
• Following on from that Isaiah 56 image, Jesus now heals the lame and blind in the Temple
• The priests, who should have rejoiced at this were indignant
• Easy trap for religious people – take care!
• The exact person they were praying for walked past their door but they failed to recognise and then rejected him
• They knew the word of God inside out but didn’t recognise the Word of God when he was standing right in front of them.
Understood by chiildren
• Acceptance of Jesus and rejoicing at his coming by children and ignorant people contrasts with his treatment by most of the religious.
• J calls us to a simple, childlike faith
• How tragic when religious people miss their moment, even end up working against the God they are trying to worship and represent. But God will not be thwarted and can use others.
Conclusion
• Passover is about liberation. Not just liberation of a few from one kind of slavery, but liberation of all from all kinds of slavery.
• That’s God’s agenda in Christ and so it should be our agenda.
• We need to follow the humble king, not the empire.
• We need to have courage to confront injustice
• Don’t miss your moment. See what God is doing here in Barcelona or wherever you go and play your part, joining in wholeheartedly, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
John 11 All Age Sermon
John 11 – All Age Sermon
JESUS WAITED (verses 1 to 6)
• One of your best friends is very sick and may not get better. When do you visit? Imagine you have the cure for this friend’s sickness. Would that be an extra reason to visit straight away?
• Jesus stayed where he was (a day’s walk away, on opposite side of River Jordan) for two more days after getting the news about Lazarus. Does that surprise you? Does it make Jesus look bad?
• But the Bible actually says it was because Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary that he delayed going. How can this be?
• Jesus explained that Lazarus’s illness would not end with death. The disciples thought this meant Lazarus would not die, but Jesus did not mean that, as we will see.
• Jesus also said that what was happening to Lazarus was for God’s glory, so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.
• Jesus waited because he loved his friends.
JESUS WENT (Verses 7 to 10, 17 to 28)
• After waiting 2 days, Jesus suddenly announced to the disciples Let us go back to Judea.
• Judea is where Lazarus lived, in a village called Bethany. But Bethany was very near Jerusalem – and the disciples were worried about going back because Jesus nearly got attacked with stones the last time he was there.
• Jesus went in SADNESS, knowing he would be too late to stop his friend dying.
• in FAITH, knowing God was going to do something amazing. J was on a mission to do his Father’s will and to defeat death and evil for good.
• in FEAR, knowing he wouldn’t be coming back. Only one-way tickets were available. It was not an easy journey for Jesus.
• Jesus went because he loved his friends.
JESUS WEPT
• Tears like ours, like the ones in this bottle.
• We shed tears for many reasons, some good and some bad. Jesus shed tears too but his tears were never selfish or hopeless.
• Salt water is a symbol at the Jewish Passover meal because it reminds people of the tears that were shed by their ancestors when they were slaves in Egypt.
• But the point of Passover is to celebrate that God didn’t leave his people as slaves; he set them free.
• Losing someone is sad. Death makes us afraid because we cannot see what happens next. Death is upsetting – (like when we found a dead baby boar on Montserrat)
• But Jesus’ tears were not hopeless. He knew the final enemy, death was about to be defeated. Because his tears are not hopeless, ours don’t need to be either.
• Jesus wept because he loved his friends.
JESUS WON
• Dramatically, allowing no room for doubt about what had happened.
• To reverse what had happened to Lazarus – showing everybody that death is not the end of the story. When we trust Jesus he can bring good things out of the bad things that happen.
• To rehearse what was about to happen to him (for his own benefit and to help people understand later).
• Jesus won because he loved his friends. He wanted them to live without being afraid of dying. He wanted to people to know they could trust God completely and forever.
• Everybody will die one day, but because of this story, and even more because of the Easter story, we can be sure that dying will not be the end. Something even better than being saved from dying will come afterwards.
We end with two great quotes from the Bible which confirm God’s plan to wipe away every tear from every eye and to put an end to death forever.
On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.
In that day they will say,
“Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25.7-9)
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21.3-5)
JESUS WAITED (verses 1 to 6)
• One of your best friends is very sick and may not get better. When do you visit? Imagine you have the cure for this friend’s sickness. Would that be an extra reason to visit straight away?
• Jesus stayed where he was (a day’s walk away, on opposite side of River Jordan) for two more days after getting the news about Lazarus. Does that surprise you? Does it make Jesus look bad?
• But the Bible actually says it was because Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary that he delayed going. How can this be?
• Jesus explained that Lazarus’s illness would not end with death. The disciples thought this meant Lazarus would not die, but Jesus did not mean that, as we will see.
• Jesus also said that what was happening to Lazarus was for God’s glory, so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.
• Jesus waited because he loved his friends.
JESUS WENT (Verses 7 to 10, 17 to 28)
• After waiting 2 days, Jesus suddenly announced to the disciples Let us go back to Judea.
• Judea is where Lazarus lived, in a village called Bethany. But Bethany was very near Jerusalem – and the disciples were worried about going back because Jesus nearly got attacked with stones the last time he was there.
• Jesus went in SADNESS, knowing he would be too late to stop his friend dying.
• in FAITH, knowing God was going to do something amazing. J was on a mission to do his Father’s will and to defeat death and evil for good.
• in FEAR, knowing he wouldn’t be coming back. Only one-way tickets were available. It was not an easy journey for Jesus.
• Jesus went because he loved his friends.
JESUS WEPT
• Tears like ours, like the ones in this bottle.
• We shed tears for many reasons, some good and some bad. Jesus shed tears too but his tears were never selfish or hopeless.
• Salt water is a symbol at the Jewish Passover meal because it reminds people of the tears that were shed by their ancestors when they were slaves in Egypt.
• But the point of Passover is to celebrate that God didn’t leave his people as slaves; he set them free.
• Losing someone is sad. Death makes us afraid because we cannot see what happens next. Death is upsetting – (like when we found a dead baby boar on Montserrat)
• But Jesus’ tears were not hopeless. He knew the final enemy, death was about to be defeated. Because his tears are not hopeless, ours don’t need to be either.
• Jesus wept because he loved his friends.
JESUS WON
• Dramatically, allowing no room for doubt about what had happened.
• To reverse what had happened to Lazarus – showing everybody that death is not the end of the story. When we trust Jesus he can bring good things out of the bad things that happen.
• To rehearse what was about to happen to him (for his own benefit and to help people understand later).
• Jesus won because he loved his friends. He wanted them to live without being afraid of dying. He wanted to people to know they could trust God completely and forever.
• Everybody will die one day, but because of this story, and even more because of the Easter story, we can be sure that dying will not be the end. Something even better than being saved from dying will come afterwards.
We end with two great quotes from the Bible which confirm God’s plan to wipe away every tear from every eye and to put an end to death forever.
On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.
In that day they will say,
“Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25.7-9)
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21.3-5)
Friday, April 8, 2011
The One Purpose of God
I've just finished reading this book and found it extremely helpful. In my opinion it is on a par with Gregory MacDonald's "The Evangelical Universalist" and Tom Talbott's "The Inescapable Love of God". Like the two books mentioned, it is both meaty and accessible. A strength of Bonda's book compared to the others is that it contains an index of scripture references.
Bonda (1918-1997) was a Dutch Reformed Pastor and the book's argument is presented in conversation with that tradition. Bonda's scriptural exegesis is fresh but careful and he highlights a number of places where the reformed tradition has misinterpreted scripture in its confessional statements and study materials. The heart of the book is a very thorough study of Romans, and not just the universalists' favourite bits!
One key insight for Bonda is what he describes as "the call not to acquiesce", which he explains in the following extract:
From the beginning of this book we have been wrestling with a single question: What is God like? Since Augustine our tradition has taught us that God has two separate goals. He has predestined a small percentage of humankind to salvation, to eternal life. The rest of humanity has been predestined to eternal damnation. Since it is his will that many will be lost, we have no option but to acquiesce.
Our starting point was the question: Is it God's will that we passively accept the perdition of our fellow human beings? There can be no denial: The Bible teaches us that this is not his will. Being called by God means being called not to acquiesce in the perdition of our fellow human beings. This we discovered in the story of Abraham and his intercession for Sodom, in the story of Moses and his intercession for Israel, and in Jesus' parable of the prodigal son. We noticed this, in particular, in Jesus' ministry. He heals every sickness and disease, and when he sees the crowds, he is moved with compassion for them. He regards them as sheep without a shepherd, as a harvest that is at risk of being lost. And the calling of his disciples is to be workers in that harvest.
This calling, this refusal to acquiesce, became our starting point in our quest for an answer to the doctrine of eternal punishment. Everything the Bible says about judgment, from Sodom onward, is said to people who were called by God not to accept passively the perdition of their fellow human beings. We may argue about the exegesis of certain texts and can point to other passages, but there can be no difference of opinion regarding this calling, for there simply is no other calling. (op.cit p 256-257)
"The One Purpose of God" was originally published in Dutch as "Het ene doel van God" (c) 1993 Uitgeverij Ten Have b.v., Baarn.
English translation is (c) 1998 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Bonda (1918-1997) was a Dutch Reformed Pastor and the book's argument is presented in conversation with that tradition. Bonda's scriptural exegesis is fresh but careful and he highlights a number of places where the reformed tradition has misinterpreted scripture in its confessional statements and study materials. The heart of the book is a very thorough study of Romans, and not just the universalists' favourite bits!
One key insight for Bonda is what he describes as "the call not to acquiesce", which he explains in the following extract:
From the beginning of this book we have been wrestling with a single question: What is God like? Since Augustine our tradition has taught us that God has two separate goals. He has predestined a small percentage of humankind to salvation, to eternal life. The rest of humanity has been predestined to eternal damnation. Since it is his will that many will be lost, we have no option but to acquiesce.
Our starting point was the question: Is it God's will that we passively accept the perdition of our fellow human beings? There can be no denial: The Bible teaches us that this is not his will. Being called by God means being called not to acquiesce in the perdition of our fellow human beings. This we discovered in the story of Abraham and his intercession for Sodom, in the story of Moses and his intercession for Israel, and in Jesus' parable of the prodigal son. We noticed this, in particular, in Jesus' ministry. He heals every sickness and disease, and when he sees the crowds, he is moved with compassion for them. He regards them as sheep without a shepherd, as a harvest that is at risk of being lost. And the calling of his disciples is to be workers in that harvest.
This calling, this refusal to acquiesce, became our starting point in our quest for an answer to the doctrine of eternal punishment. Everything the Bible says about judgment, from Sodom onward, is said to people who were called by God not to accept passively the perdition of their fellow human beings. We may argue about the exegesis of certain texts and can point to other passages, but there can be no difference of opinion regarding this calling, for there simply is no other calling. (op.cit p 256-257)
"The One Purpose of God" was originally published in Dutch as "Het ene doel van God" (c) 1993 Uitgeverij Ten Have b.v., Baarn.
English translation is (c) 1998 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Bible Study - John 11
Bible Study – John 11
Begin by checking the context of this chapter in John’s gospel. Note especially John 9.3-5, 10.27-33 and 12.23-28.
Now read John 11.1-10
Q1 What echoes of the situation in John 9 can you see? What differences are there?
Q2 Verse 6, when accurately translated, says that Jesus delayed for two days because of (not in spite of) his love for Lazarus and the sisters. How do you make sense of this?
Q3 What are the implications of Jesus’s decision to return to Judea? Are the disciples’ fears justified?
Now read John 11.11-28
Q4 How much did the disciples understand what was happening at this stage? What motivated the high level of commitment expressed here? (verses 15-16)
Q5 In verses 22 to 27, what progress does Martha make in faith and understanding?
Now read John 11.29-53
Q6 How do you feel about the expressions of the depth of Jesus’s feelings in these verses (especially 33-38)? Is there a contradiction when compared to the confidence of his statements in verses like 11, 26, 40 and 42?
Q7 How aware do you think Jesus was of his own approaching death? Is it helpful to see the events of this chapter as a preparation or rehearsal for what is about to happen?
Q8 The raising of Lazarus is considered the last of the seven “signs” in John’s gospel. How does it relate to the other signs and to passages like Isaiah 25.7-9 and Revelation 21.3-5?
Q9 How do you explain the differing reactions to Jesus’s raising of Lazarus? What do these verses say about the purpose and scope of the gospel? (it might be helpful to look back to the prologue, John 1.1-18)
Q10 If you were trying to explain the gospel to a non-christian friend, would John 11 be a useful chapter to refer to, or would you avoid it?
Begin by checking the context of this chapter in John’s gospel. Note especially John 9.3-5, 10.27-33 and 12.23-28.
Now read John 11.1-10
Q1 What echoes of the situation in John 9 can you see? What differences are there?
Q2 Verse 6, when accurately translated, says that Jesus delayed for two days because of (not in spite of) his love for Lazarus and the sisters. How do you make sense of this?
Q3 What are the implications of Jesus’s decision to return to Judea? Are the disciples’ fears justified?
Now read John 11.11-28
Q4 How much did the disciples understand what was happening at this stage? What motivated the high level of commitment expressed here? (verses 15-16)
Q5 In verses 22 to 27, what progress does Martha make in faith and understanding?
Now read John 11.29-53
Q6 How do you feel about the expressions of the depth of Jesus’s feelings in these verses (especially 33-38)? Is there a contradiction when compared to the confidence of his statements in verses like 11, 26, 40 and 42?
Q7 How aware do you think Jesus was of his own approaching death? Is it helpful to see the events of this chapter as a preparation or rehearsal for what is about to happen?
Q8 The raising of Lazarus is considered the last of the seven “signs” in John’s gospel. How does it relate to the other signs and to passages like Isaiah 25.7-9 and Revelation 21.3-5?
Q9 How do you explain the differing reactions to Jesus’s raising of Lazarus? What do these verses say about the purpose and scope of the gospel? (it might be helpful to look back to the prologue, John 1.1-18)
Q10 If you were trying to explain the gospel to a non-christian friend, would John 11 be a useful chapter to refer to, or would you avoid it?
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Sermon - John 9
John 9.1-41 Jesus and the man born blind
Last week we looked at the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman, and we saw how the gospel is good news for anyone who has been searching for love, acceptance and safety, including victims of prejudice.
This week we have good news for anyone who was born blind. So most of us can switch off, right? Wrong… this story applies to more of us than you might think.
Whose fault is it? Who is to blame?
As Jesus went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ (John 9.1-2)
It is interesting and perhaps a little disappointing that the disciples’ first question on encountering a man born blind is not “How can we help this man?” but “Whose fault is it that he was born blind? His own fault or his parents’ fault? Which is it? Who is to blame?”
Why people look for cause and blame
I can think of three reasons why people look for cause and blame when someone else has a disability or suffers misfortune:
(a) People are curious and like explanations.
(b) We try to reassure ourselves it couldn’t happen to us, we are different from these victims.
(c) We have a false/primitive idea of what God is like.
Disturbing Assumptions
We’ll come to Jesus’ reply in a moment, but first let’s consider the slightly disturbing assumptions behind the question. Two possible explanations are suggested by the disciples. Now, I can understand how a parent of a severely disabled child might wonder “Is this God’s way of punishing me for something I’ve done wrong?” A biblical example which might support this idea is the death of David and Bathsheba’s first child (2 Samuel 12). I don’t agree with this explanation, but I can understand how someone might think this.
The alternative explanation is harder to countenance. In fact it beggars belief that anybody would think an unborn child could do something which so offended God that the child deserved to be punished with a lifetime of blindness, or any other disability. What kind of demonic picture of God do the disciples have in mind?
It is bad enough that many people understand God as someone (a cruel tyrant) just waiting to punish you if you step out of line regarding one of his laws. This is a very mistaken, though common view, even today. But you could argue that, if God is like that, God is tough, but fair. Many Christians believe that. But to apply that idea to unborn babies takes us into the realms of nonsense. What law could an unborn baby possibly break?
What sin could he or she possibly commit? I’d go so far as to say that the very idea is blasphemous, because it relies on a perverted and false idea of what God is like.
We don’t do this, do we?
I’d like to be able to say I never do what the disciples did here. That when I encounter a homeless person on the street I never speculate about whether they deserve their misfortune, or whether they deserve my help. But, if I’m honest, it is one of the first things that goes through my head. I know why you are broke; its because you wasted all your money on alcohol and drugs!
WORSE STILL is when people (and I don’t do this!) seek similar explanations for natural disasters in which thousands of people die or become homeless, orphaned or ruined. “Who is to blame? Whose fault is it that Japan suffered this terrible earthquake and Tsunami?
Sadly, you can always find spokesmen for Christianity who are not only prepared to ask this perverse question; they also have all the answers!
David Yonggi Cho, senior pastor of the world’s largest church (Yoido Full Gospel Church, South Korea) was quoted as saying “Because the Japanese people shun God in terms of their faith and follow idol worship, atheism and materialism, it makes me wonder if this was not God’s warning to them.”
An anonymous internet blogger who modestly calls himself “WordofGod” was even more direct. He claims to be speaking words of prophecy straight from God when he writes:
“This is what the Lord God said: ‘You Japan are idolatry. You worship Buddha instead of me…You are proud of yourself – You are rich and you can do whatever you want, so you have become the most idolotrous country on earth.” He ends his post with these words: “I will punish you for your sins with my passion, and destroy you Japan completely by earthquake and tsunami. I will get you, the little island back into water, where you came from, and you will be just like a piece of wrack sinking into the bottom of the sea. BUT if you come out of the temples of Buddha, bow down on your knees before Me, and with your tongues confess I am the Lord God, repent All your sins, you may survive. I, the Lord have spoken.”
This writer is extreme, but not alone and I have heard of similar ideas being expressed – albeit with less ferocity – much closer to home…
TO HELP US EVALUATE these suggestions, let’s turn to Jesus’ reply to the disciples’ question about “who sinned/whose fault is it?”
‘NEITHER this man NOR his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened SO THAT the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no-one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ (John 9.3-5).
Let’s unpack Jesus’s answer to the question about the reason for the blind man’s condition.
(a) Neither this man nor his parents sinned. Jesus is not saying these people had lived completely sinless lives. He is saying that the disciples are asking the wrong question.
(b) But this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. This happened. God didn’t make it happen but he allowed it to happen so that the works of God might be displayed in him. This might happen in a number of ways in the life of a severely disabled person:
(i) In the ways that other people (inspired by God?) serve and help the disabled person,
(ii) In the ways that the disabled person (inspired by God?) courageously overcomes their disability and lives a fruitful life in spite of it (this afternoon in Routes 2 we’ll be looking at the example of Joni Eareckson Tada), or
(iii) God might intervene in a miraculous way, as is about to happen in the case of the man born blind.
The Healing
I’m not going to dwell too long on the details of the healing itself, except to say that it is not strictly speaking a healing, as much as an act of new creation. And so it is fitting that dust is used by Jesus to make the paste for the man’s eyes, reminding us of the creation of the first human beings from dust (Genesis 2.7). The man born blind receives this gift, this pure act of new creation straight from the hand of God, with faith – walking blind to the pool to wash his eyes, he comes back seeing!
The Investigation
I’m not going to say much about the Pharisees’ investigation of the healing either. It is a passage of high comedy, as the teachers of the law display their spiritual blindness in their refusal to attribute what has happened to God. The formerly blind man can now see well enough to run rings round them, even as they condemn him for having been born “steeped in sin” (9.34) and as they condemn Jesus as “this fellow who does not keep the sabbath” (9.16, 28-29).
The Right Response
Let’s return to verses 4-5, where Jesus explains the right way to respond to someone else’s disability or misfortune:
As long as it is day we (that is, Jesus and his disciples) must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no-one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. (John 9.4-5)
The followers of Jesus are to continue to do the work of God as long as they are alive, as long as they have light.
The work of God does not consist of condemning, punishing and throwing out people who have sinned or have been born in a dangerous place or brought up believing the wrong religion. The work of God is saving, helping, loving and healing people. All people. If time allowed we could look at many Bible passages which confirm this (eg Psalm 103.1-17).
We need to be assisting with this work with all the strength God gives us, for as long as we are alive.
Let me Emphasise
God DOES NOT punish people with disabilities or diseases. Not ever. Nor does God want us to engage in speculation about whose fault it is, but to seize the day, dive in and help. To stop working out theories about how somebody might have offended God and instead, do something about making it better.
What about Nations and Other Religions?
Does this apply to nations too? Were Pastor Yonggi Cho and the WordOf God blogger wrong? Yes it does apply and they were wrong.
John 9 is about an individual need, but in Luke 13.1-5 we hear about a couple of cases where groups of people were struck by tragedy:
What about those Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices? Jesus asked “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the others because they suffered this way? I tell you, NO!” Jesus could not be more emphatic.
Well what about the eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them – do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?. I tell you, NO! Again Jesus could not be more emphatic.
So did Japan’s people ‘deserve it’ more than say the people of the UK or USA, Spain, France, South Korea or Thailand? I tell you, NO!
Did God make his earthquake and his tsunami skip past all these other countries, with all their faults, just so he could teach the Japanese people a lesson, so they would fear him and worship him? Did God pull the trigger? I tell you, NO!
Mark 4.35-41 is sometimes quoted here to prove God does control storms to do his will . But in this passage Jesus CALMS the storm; he didn’t start it. Furthermore, he REBUKES the storm, showing its origin was demonic. So the passage proves the opposite point to the one that hardline “christian prophets” want it to mean!
Let me offer a different explanation. Could it be that this disaster happened because Japan is “located at the intersection of three continental plates which are slowly grinding against
each other, building up enormous seismic pressure that every so often is realised with ferocious force”? (Daily Telegraph 11.3.2011)… well yes, I suppose so.
Am I saying that Jesus is not judgmental towards disabled people or Japanese people or Buddhists or people who suffer accidents? Yes I am.
But Jesus DOES have some harsh words of judgement…
Yes he does … at the end of John 9. They are directed against the self-righteous religious people, who are happy to say God hates somebody else, whilst they themselves are of course loved by God. People who claim to be representing God but are really misrepresenting God.
Is God not issuing a warning THROUGH these people? This is the word of the Lord and all that? NO. God is issuing a warning TO these people… change your ways; stop being judgmental; stop scaring people away from God with your Bad News gospel; don’t be blind guides who lead vulnerable people into a ditch; repent and follow Jesus, the light of the world.
So where was God when disaster struck Japan?
God was working in and through the prayers and practical aid which many generous people, some of them Christians, have sent from other parts of the world.
And through the character which the Japanese people themselves have displayed following the disaster. Bill Schiller wrote movingly in the Toronto Star (March 19th):
“A Japanese friend and I had flown to Aomori to meet a colleague and then drive south to the tsunami zone. We had a car full of gas, but knew we’d need more. Gas stations would be closed along the way, detours would be everywhere and the prospect of running out of fuel loomed large. On hearing this, Hiroyuku did not hesitate. He gave us his last 10 litres of gas, smiling as he handed it over. ‘We’re all in this together,’ he said. It was humbling and spoke, I thought, to the Japanese character under pressure: civil, strong, with a sense of community – and a concern for others – that deserves our admiration. I saw it on display everywhere last week: in survivors, civil servants, volunteers and just about everyone in the service industry: people holding it together against incredible odds, carrying on, meeting uncertainty with strength and grace.”
Do you see anything God can work with here? Or must God stay away from these poor people until they learn to bow down to the sick, caustic perversion of the gospel that tells them they deserved it, and that God is the one who did this to them?
You want to know where God was when this crisis hit Japan? Look carefully and you see Christ at work amongst the rubble. And if most Japanese people can’t recognise him, that could be because of the bad news gospel they’ve heard from people like us.
Conclusion
Billie and I were fortunate to attend the British Embassy in Madrid on Wednesday and to meet HRH Prince Charles and the British Ambassador to Spain, Giles Paxman. An Ambassador’s role is to represent his country’s head of state and government in a foreign country. He or she has a duty to do this honestly and diligently. The worst thing an Ambassador could do would be to misrepresent his country’s attitude and intentions to another. To say to the people of the country he is in “my King hates you and is declaring war on you, to bring about your destruction.” If that was untrue, if that was in fact the opposite of the truth, it would be a crime and a dereliction of duty for an Ambassador to say these things.
Friends, we were all born blind – spiritually – and if we can now see, it is because of God’s mercy for the world and is so that we can be Ambassadors for Christ . So we need to be always merciful, because God, as seen perfectly in Jesus, is always merciful:
God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
(2 Corinthians 5.19-20).
Last week we looked at the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman, and we saw how the gospel is good news for anyone who has been searching for love, acceptance and safety, including victims of prejudice.
This week we have good news for anyone who was born blind. So most of us can switch off, right? Wrong… this story applies to more of us than you might think.
Whose fault is it? Who is to blame?
As Jesus went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ (John 9.1-2)
It is interesting and perhaps a little disappointing that the disciples’ first question on encountering a man born blind is not “How can we help this man?” but “Whose fault is it that he was born blind? His own fault or his parents’ fault? Which is it? Who is to blame?”
Why people look for cause and blame
I can think of three reasons why people look for cause and blame when someone else has a disability or suffers misfortune:
(a) People are curious and like explanations.
(b) We try to reassure ourselves it couldn’t happen to us, we are different from these victims.
(c) We have a false/primitive idea of what God is like.
Disturbing Assumptions
We’ll come to Jesus’ reply in a moment, but first let’s consider the slightly disturbing assumptions behind the question. Two possible explanations are suggested by the disciples. Now, I can understand how a parent of a severely disabled child might wonder “Is this God’s way of punishing me for something I’ve done wrong?” A biblical example which might support this idea is the death of David and Bathsheba’s first child (2 Samuel 12). I don’t agree with this explanation, but I can understand how someone might think this.
The alternative explanation is harder to countenance. In fact it beggars belief that anybody would think an unborn child could do something which so offended God that the child deserved to be punished with a lifetime of blindness, or any other disability. What kind of demonic picture of God do the disciples have in mind?
It is bad enough that many people understand God as someone (a cruel tyrant) just waiting to punish you if you step out of line regarding one of his laws. This is a very mistaken, though common view, even today. But you could argue that, if God is like that, God is tough, but fair. Many Christians believe that. But to apply that idea to unborn babies takes us into the realms of nonsense. What law could an unborn baby possibly break?
What sin could he or she possibly commit? I’d go so far as to say that the very idea is blasphemous, because it relies on a perverted and false idea of what God is like.
We don’t do this, do we?
I’d like to be able to say I never do what the disciples did here. That when I encounter a homeless person on the street I never speculate about whether they deserve their misfortune, or whether they deserve my help. But, if I’m honest, it is one of the first things that goes through my head. I know why you are broke; its because you wasted all your money on alcohol and drugs!
WORSE STILL is when people (and I don’t do this!) seek similar explanations for natural disasters in which thousands of people die or become homeless, orphaned or ruined. “Who is to blame? Whose fault is it that Japan suffered this terrible earthquake and Tsunami?
Sadly, you can always find spokesmen for Christianity who are not only prepared to ask this perverse question; they also have all the answers!
David Yonggi Cho, senior pastor of the world’s largest church (Yoido Full Gospel Church, South Korea) was quoted as saying “Because the Japanese people shun God in terms of their faith and follow idol worship, atheism and materialism, it makes me wonder if this was not God’s warning to them.”
An anonymous internet blogger who modestly calls himself “WordofGod” was even more direct. He claims to be speaking words of prophecy straight from God when he writes:
“This is what the Lord God said: ‘You Japan are idolatry. You worship Buddha instead of me…You are proud of yourself – You are rich and you can do whatever you want, so you have become the most idolotrous country on earth.” He ends his post with these words: “I will punish you for your sins with my passion, and destroy you Japan completely by earthquake and tsunami. I will get you, the little island back into water, where you came from, and you will be just like a piece of wrack sinking into the bottom of the sea. BUT if you come out of the temples of Buddha, bow down on your knees before Me, and with your tongues confess I am the Lord God, repent All your sins, you may survive. I, the Lord have spoken.”
This writer is extreme, but not alone and I have heard of similar ideas being expressed – albeit with less ferocity – much closer to home…
TO HELP US EVALUATE these suggestions, let’s turn to Jesus’ reply to the disciples’ question about “who sinned/whose fault is it?”
‘NEITHER this man NOR his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened SO THAT the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no-one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ (John 9.3-5).
Let’s unpack Jesus’s answer to the question about the reason for the blind man’s condition.
(a) Neither this man nor his parents sinned. Jesus is not saying these people had lived completely sinless lives. He is saying that the disciples are asking the wrong question.
(b) But this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. This happened. God didn’t make it happen but he allowed it to happen so that the works of God might be displayed in him. This might happen in a number of ways in the life of a severely disabled person:
(i) In the ways that other people (inspired by God?) serve and help the disabled person,
(ii) In the ways that the disabled person (inspired by God?) courageously overcomes their disability and lives a fruitful life in spite of it (this afternoon in Routes 2 we’ll be looking at the example of Joni Eareckson Tada), or
(iii) God might intervene in a miraculous way, as is about to happen in the case of the man born blind.
The Healing
I’m not going to dwell too long on the details of the healing itself, except to say that it is not strictly speaking a healing, as much as an act of new creation. And so it is fitting that dust is used by Jesus to make the paste for the man’s eyes, reminding us of the creation of the first human beings from dust (Genesis 2.7). The man born blind receives this gift, this pure act of new creation straight from the hand of God, with faith – walking blind to the pool to wash his eyes, he comes back seeing!
The Investigation
I’m not going to say much about the Pharisees’ investigation of the healing either. It is a passage of high comedy, as the teachers of the law display their spiritual blindness in their refusal to attribute what has happened to God. The formerly blind man can now see well enough to run rings round them, even as they condemn him for having been born “steeped in sin” (9.34) and as they condemn Jesus as “this fellow who does not keep the sabbath” (9.16, 28-29).
The Right Response
Let’s return to verses 4-5, where Jesus explains the right way to respond to someone else’s disability or misfortune:
As long as it is day we (that is, Jesus and his disciples) must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no-one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. (John 9.4-5)
The followers of Jesus are to continue to do the work of God as long as they are alive, as long as they have light.
The work of God does not consist of condemning, punishing and throwing out people who have sinned or have been born in a dangerous place or brought up believing the wrong religion. The work of God is saving, helping, loving and healing people. All people. If time allowed we could look at many Bible passages which confirm this (eg Psalm 103.1-17).
We need to be assisting with this work with all the strength God gives us, for as long as we are alive.
Let me Emphasise
God DOES NOT punish people with disabilities or diseases. Not ever. Nor does God want us to engage in speculation about whose fault it is, but to seize the day, dive in and help. To stop working out theories about how somebody might have offended God and instead, do something about making it better.
What about Nations and Other Religions?
Does this apply to nations too? Were Pastor Yonggi Cho and the WordOf God blogger wrong? Yes it does apply and they were wrong.
John 9 is about an individual need, but in Luke 13.1-5 we hear about a couple of cases where groups of people were struck by tragedy:
What about those Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices? Jesus asked “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the others because they suffered this way? I tell you, NO!” Jesus could not be more emphatic.
Well what about the eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them – do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?. I tell you, NO! Again Jesus could not be more emphatic.
So did Japan’s people ‘deserve it’ more than say the people of the UK or USA, Spain, France, South Korea or Thailand? I tell you, NO!
Did God make his earthquake and his tsunami skip past all these other countries, with all their faults, just so he could teach the Japanese people a lesson, so they would fear him and worship him? Did God pull the trigger? I tell you, NO!
Mark 4.35-41 is sometimes quoted here to prove God does control storms to do his will . But in this passage Jesus CALMS the storm; he didn’t start it. Furthermore, he REBUKES the storm, showing its origin was demonic. So the passage proves the opposite point to the one that hardline “christian prophets” want it to mean!
Let me offer a different explanation. Could it be that this disaster happened because Japan is “located at the intersection of three continental plates which are slowly grinding against
each other, building up enormous seismic pressure that every so often is realised with ferocious force”? (Daily Telegraph 11.3.2011)… well yes, I suppose so.
Am I saying that Jesus is not judgmental towards disabled people or Japanese people or Buddhists or people who suffer accidents? Yes I am.
But Jesus DOES have some harsh words of judgement…
Yes he does … at the end of John 9. They are directed against the self-righteous religious people, who are happy to say God hates somebody else, whilst they themselves are of course loved by God. People who claim to be representing God but are really misrepresenting God.
Is God not issuing a warning THROUGH these people? This is the word of the Lord and all that? NO. God is issuing a warning TO these people… change your ways; stop being judgmental; stop scaring people away from God with your Bad News gospel; don’t be blind guides who lead vulnerable people into a ditch; repent and follow Jesus, the light of the world.
So where was God when disaster struck Japan?
God was working in and through the prayers and practical aid which many generous people, some of them Christians, have sent from other parts of the world.
And through the character which the Japanese people themselves have displayed following the disaster. Bill Schiller wrote movingly in the Toronto Star (March 19th):
“A Japanese friend and I had flown to Aomori to meet a colleague and then drive south to the tsunami zone. We had a car full of gas, but knew we’d need more. Gas stations would be closed along the way, detours would be everywhere and the prospect of running out of fuel loomed large. On hearing this, Hiroyuku did not hesitate. He gave us his last 10 litres of gas, smiling as he handed it over. ‘We’re all in this together,’ he said. It was humbling and spoke, I thought, to the Japanese character under pressure: civil, strong, with a sense of community – and a concern for others – that deserves our admiration. I saw it on display everywhere last week: in survivors, civil servants, volunteers and just about everyone in the service industry: people holding it together against incredible odds, carrying on, meeting uncertainty with strength and grace.”
Do you see anything God can work with here? Or must God stay away from these poor people until they learn to bow down to the sick, caustic perversion of the gospel that tells them they deserved it, and that God is the one who did this to them?
You want to know where God was when this crisis hit Japan? Look carefully and you see Christ at work amongst the rubble. And if most Japanese people can’t recognise him, that could be because of the bad news gospel they’ve heard from people like us.
Conclusion
Billie and I were fortunate to attend the British Embassy in Madrid on Wednesday and to meet HRH Prince Charles and the British Ambassador to Spain, Giles Paxman. An Ambassador’s role is to represent his country’s head of state and government in a foreign country. He or she has a duty to do this honestly and diligently. The worst thing an Ambassador could do would be to misrepresent his country’s attitude and intentions to another. To say to the people of the country he is in “my King hates you and is declaring war on you, to bring about your destruction.” If that was untrue, if that was in fact the opposite of the truth, it would be a crime and a dereliction of duty for an Ambassador to say these things.
Friends, we were all born blind – spiritually – and if we can now see, it is because of God’s mercy for the world and is so that we can be Ambassadors for Christ . So we need to be always merciful, because God, as seen perfectly in Jesus, is always merciful:
God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
(2 Corinthians 5.19-20).
Bible Study - John 9
Bible Study John 9
Q1 How do you see the context of this chapter within John’s gospel?
Q2 The disciples’ first question is not “how can we help?” but “whose fault is this?” What reasons are there for this common human reaction to the misfortune of others? (verses 1-2)
Q3 What does Jesus mean by his answer to the disciples? (verse 3)
Q4 How do you interpret verses 4-5? What does it mean that Jesus is the light of the world?
Q5 Is this a “healing” or is there a better word for what Jesus does (v6-7)? What is the role of faith in this story and how does it relate to other passages you can think of?
Q6 What do we learn from the first reaction of his neighbours to what has happened to the man born blind? (verses 8-12)
Q7 What for you are the key points in the account of the Pharisees’ investigation? What is at stake here and why do they get so angry? (verses 13-34)
Q8 The man finally sees Jesus in verse 35. How does their conversation contrast with what has gone before? (verses 35-38)
Q9 Who is Jesus’ judgement directed towards and why? What lessons or warnings are here for the Church and for individual Christians? (verses 39-41)
Q10 Another gospel passage where Jesus deals with similar issues is Luke 13.1-5. What does this passage add to your understanding?
Q1 How do you see the context of this chapter within John’s gospel?
Q2 The disciples’ first question is not “how can we help?” but “whose fault is this?” What reasons are there for this common human reaction to the misfortune of others? (verses 1-2)
Q3 What does Jesus mean by his answer to the disciples? (verse 3)
Q4 How do you interpret verses 4-5? What does it mean that Jesus is the light of the world?
Q5 Is this a “healing” or is there a better word for what Jesus does (v6-7)? What is the role of faith in this story and how does it relate to other passages you can think of?
Q6 What do we learn from the first reaction of his neighbours to what has happened to the man born blind? (verses 8-12)
Q7 What for you are the key points in the account of the Pharisees’ investigation? What is at stake here and why do they get so angry? (verses 13-34)
Q8 The man finally sees Jesus in verse 35. How does their conversation contrast with what has gone before? (verses 35-38)
Q9 Who is Jesus’ judgement directed towards and why? What lessons or warnings are here for the Church and for individual Christians? (verses 39-41)
Q10 Another gospel passage where Jesus deals with similar issues is Luke 13.1-5. What does this passage add to your understanding?
Friday, April 1, 2011
Meeting HRH Prince Charles
On Wednesday Billie and I met HRH Prince Charles at the British Embassy. We had a very pleasant chat and a great time afterwards exploring Madrid.
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