Rev JK Sermon Notes

28 July 2024    Sin and its consequences

II Samuel 11:1-17

Last week we heard about David’s noble desire to build a house for God and how God in turn promised to build a house for David through his ‘offspring,’ whom we understood as Jesus. Four chapter later, in the first lesson today we read what looks a more like a Hollywood movie script with all necessary ingredients for a blockbuster, littered with lust, illicit sex, cover-up, murder, and the fall of a great man with whom God was so pleased.

This story tells us that though we are God’s objects of love and affection, unless we are careful, we may all fall from grace and ruin the life of those around us and bring dishonor and shame to ourselves. As we can see, though David was mighty to conquer his enemies, he could not conquer his own sexual appetite. The bigger enemy was his sinful sexual passion lurking on the inside like a snake,  and its one bite was deadly. And that is what happened to David. And this whole narrative reminds us that unless we are vigilant such things will happen to us too.

In David’s case, it was an omission that triggered his fall. It was a time when kings used to go to the battlefield, and we see David relaxing and walking on his terrace. I do not want to go into the details of the story, because it is all too familiar. An idle man’s mind is is the workshop of the devil, they say. Men are tempted through sight and prudent men so should avoid all avenues where he can be tempted by the looks of a woman. All sexual crimes of men who have not mastered the art of self-control, creeps in through sight. And that is why Jesus cautioned his disciples that “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” (Matt. 5:27-29). Sin is serious and it can land you in places where you never want to be.

I do not want to go to the top gear with this sermon, as most of my listeners are women and the other half are older men. And we normally would assume that our testosterone pressure is lower when we age. I was also hoping so. But recently as I was listening to a catholic Priest who was asked by a young man when would the sexual urge vane away in a man; at what age, he asked? The answer was hilarious. The Priest replied that it would disappear only after 4 hours of a man’s death! I am sure that priest was using a hyperbole, but the point he made was clear. There is no moment in a man’s life in which he can let his guard down. The snake is waiting to bite, and it can be deadly. And that is what happened to Daviid. Adultery at heart first, coupled with an abuse of power and authority which led to the disasters which followed.

Now all this squares back to one problem of humanity, which is, our propensity to sin. And it is not just men, but all of us, men, and women alike. In the Psalm today we read; “All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Psalm 14:3; Roman 3:23). Sin is a universal problem, and its consequences are the same everywhere. There is no culture immune to this.

We are all concerned about the pain, suffering, inequality, and strife and all the injustices we see around the world. The bible says that the root cause of all this is human sin. Through our wisdom and initiative, we try to address its consequences. But no one tries to address the root cause of all this, which is human sin. Civilization after civilization has tried to smooth out this one problem but has consistently failed.

We often think of sin as a set of wrongdoings that are unacceptable in a civilized society. Many a time our culture is our yardstick. But in its original meaning it is missing the mark (hamartia in Greek). That means if we have failed to become what we ought to be, we are missing the mark. Our sin is how far away we are from God’s plans and purposes.

Let me say how we can remain on target. And this is for both men and women. God has a perfect plan for your life. Though we are free to choose our own way, “The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God (Ps. 14:2). The success of your life depends on how willingly you partner with God, first in discerning what God wants you to do (Eph. 2:10) and then in faithfully doing it, in the strength and the power of God.

Let me come back to where I began, where we stand with the problem of sin.

In Christ, God has dealt with the punishment, the guilt, and the ultimate consequence of sin, which is death and alienation from God. But we will have the presence of sin with us until we die. We are on the mend from our sin-sick condition to a wholesome life, only if we declare a war against sin. While our ordinary life is important and meaningful, we need to be aware of the devil and his schemes to keep us away from our only hope of rescue and restoration.

A talk on sin and its consequences has become very unfashionable these days. We want to hear (rather) sermons on climate change and gender issues or Arab-Israeli conflict and the like. Critical issues as they are, the problem of human sin is paramount, because all other issues stem from human sin and our alienation from God. Whether it is King David or me, we will all be losers, if we fail to deal with our own sin. Our attitude to sin will decide where you spent our eternity, whether with God or away from God’s presence.

I have to say that our God understands our weakness, failures, and shortcomings. But God cannot and will not condone sin. And unlike us, He will not sweep it under the carpet either. Our “salvation comes from Zion,” and he is determined to restore us as the 14th Psalm assures us. The question is, how seriously do we take our sins and failures?

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” Let us come to the Lord in whom alone there is the promise of forgiveness and restoration.

Let us pray……

________________

21 July 2024    Building the house of God

II Samuel 7:1-4; Psalm 89:3-4 &21-38; Eph. 2:11-22

Based on the first three readings of today, I want to talk about the House of God, which is an abiding theme in all three readings. Today we will look at what it means, who is building it, and what is its final shape.

When we use the words House of God, we often think of a Church building. Even its architecture tells us how we think about God. Anglican Churches are built usually in a cross shape. The large piers represent the rising prayers to heaven, the altar is the table of the Lord, the baptismal pond at the entrance signifies how you become its member and so on. To the Presbyterians, the pulpit is more important than the altar. They have a pulpit in the center, to signify that they are a Word-centered church. Pentecostals do not attach any importance at all to the ‘buildings’ where they meet, as there is no mention of a Church building anywhere in the New Testament. Whatever the theology behind it, we all tend to call a place of worship, the House of God. And the Jewish people were not different.

David’s motivation to build a house for God stemmed from his gratitude to God. They already had the tabernacle, which was known as the tent of meeting. The Ark of God was kept in that tent which was fashioned according to the pattern shown to Moses on Mount Sinai. This was symbolic of the Presence of God. Israel as the people of God could not have continued to exist and survive, without God dwelling among them. So why not give God a beautiful place to dwell, David thought. David wanted to give God his best, better than his own palace. Yet why is that God did not allow David to build a temple (even as he was presumed to be a man after God’s own heart?) Two things are inherent in such that apparent refusal.

The first one: II Sam. 7:5 reads, Go, and tell my servant David, Thus says the Lord, “Would you build me a house to dwell in?” Centuries later, this is echoed more clearly in Isaiah 66:1 where we read: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. (Or where will my resting place be?”)

The Almighty God cannot be limited to any ‘place.’ Even in Christian understanding, our church buildings are places we have set apart for the worship of God. They are ‘holy’ in as much as they are ‘set apart.’ But we should never consider our God dwells in any building, Cathedral or otherwise.

But as we can see, the desire to do anything for the Lord is not without its blessings. David wanted to give God a higher place in his kingdom. He did not consider it was right for him to live in a palace made of cedar wood, while the ark of God was housed in a tent. It was indeed a noble desire. But God, instead of allowing him to do what he desired, rewarded David with a name that sticks, even today after three thousand years. The nation Israel proudly displays the star of David in its national flag. Jesus as the Immanuel (God with us) was born as a descendant of David, in the city of David. Jesus was known as the Son of David although he came 28 generations later (Matt. 1:17). And when Jesus establishes a Kingdom on earth, he will be ruling from Jerusalem which is still known as David’s capital. David wanted to build a house for God. But in the end, it turned out that God was building a house for David rather than the other way around!

Friends, when you have great desire to do something for the Lord or his Kingdom, I like to say, God is even more interested in your affairs, and he will build you and your household, far beyond your imaginations.

Let me tell this personal story of how such a thing happened to me. You know I was born in a village near to a town. In 1947, soon after India became independent from the British empire, an Anglican Bishop, Lessely Newbiggin, unified nine other churches to make the Church of North India and the Church of South India. But a few congregations did not like such a merger in which six million Anglicans lost their Anglican identity overnight. And such an Anglican church was right in front of my ancestral house. It had a rundown thatched roof and a few poor people used to worship there. Every time I come on leave from the middle east, I look at this building and think how I could help them. One day one of the worshippers from that church approached me seeking help. What they were asking me was to give it a little makeover. I asked an engineer to give me a quote which turned out to be beyond my means. Yet I thought it was my responsibility to do something. We demolished the tiny structure and began to build a small but new Church building. No one else was involved.

The most challenging thing came towards the end. On one vacation I came with the last payment for this church and with an offer letter for a better job. But a week later I was given the sad news that the company will not be able to secure a visa to return. I lost my my previous job, and this new one was not going to be. I was left with the option of either keeping this money for my own immediate use or asking some other people for the remaining payment for the church. They could not have complained. I had already given ten times money than what they initially asked. Yet, it was a question of my own commitment to continue what I have taken up in the name of the Lord. I did not tell anyone how poor I had been. I spent the remaining money on that church leaving just one thousand Rs ($40) for my use. You can only imagine what may have happened had Molly or any of my siblings discovered this. But God was faithful, and the company took trouble in getting me a special visa which enabled me to go in the capacity of a consultant with twice my previous salary. I was able to finish my own house in the next one year.

The story does not end there. Fast forward, I am now in Australia, serving an Anglican congregation as its Rector, something I could not have imagined in my wildest dreams until a few years ago.

The story of David’s initiative has not ended either.

When God promised to build a perpetual house for David, it was not necessarily a perpetual kingdom for his descendants but an offspring (singular), who will build a ‘real house for the Lord.’ It was to be fulfilled in Jesus (and not in Solomon), as we read in the Psalm (Ps 89) we read today. Jesus is building a ‘house’ (the Church) in which all humanity come together as God’s children. This is what we again read in Ephesian 2 reading. The church of God unites the two, Jews and gentiles as one body (Eph. 2:19-21).

Honoring God and serving him with all that you have, is the most rewarding thing in this life. Let us truly be wise people and bring ourselves and all we have before the Lord, as an offering that pleases the Lord.

Let us pray - in Song ….

All to Jesus I surrender

All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give;

I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live.

I surrender all, I surrender all.

All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow,

Worldly pleasures all forsaken; Take me, Jesus, take me now.

I surrender all

 All to Jesus I surrender, Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;

Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine.

I surrender all

 All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee;

Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessing fall on me.

I surrender all

 All to Jesus I surrender, Now I feel the sacred flame.

Oh, the joy of full salvation! Glory, glory to His name!

I surrender all

 source: https://www.lyricsondemand.com/miscellaneouslyrics/christianlyrics/alltojesusisurrenderlyrics.html

________________

07 July 2024    Rejection & Unbelief — Faith & Hope

Reverend Andrew Shiells

Mark 6.1-6a.

Jesus’ Galilean ministry as recounted by Mark provides us with a whirlwind of healing, exorcism, teaching and confrontation. Our Gospel today includes two separate but related scriptural passages (biblical pericopes); Jesus proclaiming Kingdom renewal, repentance and new life in his hometown of Nazareth, followed by the sending out of the Twelve disciples on their first mission of evangelism.

Friends, think of a time when you have been rejected or unbelieved. This may happen a number of times throughout our lives and is part of the human condition – how did this make you feel? How did you react? Bear this in mind as we consider the first passage of today’s Gospel – the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth.

He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the Synagogue.

This is not a private visit by Jesus to see family and friends, rather with the disciples in tow this is very much a ‘work trip’ – a chance, once again, to proclaim the gospel to his own “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God has come near, Repent and believe in the good news!” It is worth remembering here that Jesus had only recently had a confrontation with both his immediate family and synagogue leaders, where he was accused of being out of his mind, possessed by Beelzebul and having an impure spirit, so there is no guarantee of a sympathetic hearing.

And many who heard him were astounded. They said, “where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done at his hands!”

Thus far, other than Scribes and Pharisees, people had mostly responded favourably to Jesus’ teaching and healing, and he had become renowned throughout the region. Like those at Capernaum, initially those in the synagogue at Nazareth are astonished at his wisdom and acknowledge his powerful acts with admiration. Gradually, however, they begin to recognise the speaker as just a local carpenter from an ordinary family, how could this person be in anyway exceptional?

“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us? And they took offense at him.”

The crowd cannot now see past Jesus’ humble origins, what’s more, he is from their own community! In first century Jewish culture not to reference to a man’s father when talking of him hinted at possible illegitimacy, and naming his mother directly would have been insulting to Jesus and essentially scandalous to all present. Notably Luke’s Gospel includes a reference to Joseph as his father. “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, Is not this Joseph’s son?” (Lk 4. 22).

Being scandalised can place a stumbling block in the way of acceptance and belief. Jesus’ compatriots in Nazareth now cannot believe that he could be extraordinary. Notably seven hundred years before Jesus’ birth Isaiah prophesised,

But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear and let him be your dread. He will become a sanctuary, a stone one strikes against; for both houses of Israel he will become a rock one stumbles over – a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken. (Isa 8.13-15).

Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honour, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.”

Amongst the honour/shame culture of Judeo/Roman society prophets often received honour but seldom in their home locations. Honour was a limited good in antiquity, someone gaining honour usually led to another losing a share. A prophet being recognised in his hometown often led to the honour due to other families and persons being diminished. Claims to an honour status beyond that allocated by your circumstances of birth was indeed threatening!

And he could do no deeds of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.

Let’s consider, for a moment, the impact of what is being said here, Jesus the Christ, the only son of God, the one who quells forces of nature, cast outs demons and defeats death itself could do no acts of power in his own hometown! This tradition is too much for Matthew, who in his Gospel, changes the emphasis to read that Jesus chose, rather than could not, undertake deeds of power in Nazareth. “And they took offense at him... And he did not do many deeds of power there because of their unbelief.” (Mt 13.57-58). Even Mark appears to struggle with this statement, when he adds, almost as an afterthought, that Jesus laid his hands on few sick people and cured them.

And he was amazed at their unbelief.

This also is quite a statement. Jesus is amazed at the widespread unbelief in his hometown. Remember we are talking here about God the Son in human form – it must be quite something to so amaze the Almighty through your demonstration of unbelief, that He does not undertake many acts of power in your presence!

Mark underlines faith as a crucial element in the healing ministry of Jesus. Think of the woman suffering from severe bleeding for twelve years who said “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well. Jesus says to her, “Daughter your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your disease.” God’s work is most powerfully done, when done together with us!

This is not to say that faith was a required condition in the absolute sense, God’s power could not be limited in that way. Jesus demonstrates this by undertaking some healing even in unbelieving Nazareth when he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.

Now, think back again to your times of rejection. Rejection and unbelief can be confronting and often also emotionally devastating – remember Jesus himself was amazed at the crowd’s unbelief!

The late Bishop Geoffery Robinson in his meditation on the Gospel of Mark, A Change of Heart & Mind, when looking at this passage notes that even the power of God’s Word has all the weaknesses of love in the face of rejection. Jesus, the Word made flesh, fully human and fully divine, importantly bears witness to this truth.

Twenty first century Canberra could evoke parallels with first century Nazareth. Unbelief and rejection of the message of Jesus abounds and is commonplace within our culture. We are now said to live in an increasingly secular post-Christian era. If divine deeds of power are in short supply, should we really be surprised? Could it be that our unbelief and rejection of salvation, so lovingly offered, is perhaps to blame?

“And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? …And yet, When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk 18:7-8)

The good news of Jesus calls for the changing of hearts and minds. As believers I pray that we:

• Guard our hearts in God’s love.

• Feed our hearts to build our faith.

• Proclaim and witness the Hope that we have in Jesus.

Yes, rejection can be devastating, but if we look to the good news of Jesus, through faith and hope, we can find our way. Jesus, although amazed at people’s level of unbelief, still heals and cures some in Nazareth, and then goes forth teaching among nearby villages. His task is too urgent, his message too important to be delayed by unbelief and rejection; a message that will finally lead to our salvation via Golgotha and the Crucifixion. “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe the good news.”

Let us conclude together in prayer

God of Hope

You call on us to be your witness in this uncertain world;

By your Spirit awaken in us

a true vision of your kingdom,

a greater certainty of our salvation,

and a deeper dedication to your service

That through our words and actions the same Spirit may

bring many who are lost to be found,

and for them to celebrate the hope that we have in Jesus Christ

in whose name we pray. Amen (Hope 25 Collect)

________________

30 June 2024    Parable of the talents

Reverend James Coats

Matthew 25:14-30

This is a parable that always held an interest for me. I don’t know if that’s because it appeals to my inner capitalist, or because I’ve always had an interest in finance and economics, but whatever the case, it’s an interesting passage which is both encouraging and challenging. It’s speaks to us about the nature of Christian discipleship, the character of God, and how Jesus wants his followers to live and to invest their energy.

The passage is traditionally known as the Parable of the Talents, and if you read it in most other English translations, you’ll find the master handing out talents—five, two and one—to each of his servants. But the Greek word ‘talent’ was actually a measurement of weight, about 34 kilograms. And when you’re weighing gold or silver, it effectively means an amount of money. And that’s what’s happening here. It was used as a measurement of money. And it’s a lot of money!

The Bible footnote tells us a talent was worth about 20 years’ of a day-labourer’s wage. So in today’s terms, let’s say in rough figures a day-labourer earns $50,000 to $100,000 a year, then a talent would be worth about $1-2M. So this master in the parable hands out $1M, $2M and $5M, or possibly even $2M, $4M and $10M, to each of his servants.

It’s a lot of money, but at the same time, it’s not ridiculous. Many houses in Canberra are now worth well over $1M. The median house price in Calwell, is now a touch over $800,000. Most business managers deal with that kind of money or even more. So it’s a believable scenario, even if you can’t personally imagine being given $1M, let alone $10M to manage.

The master entrusts his servants with his money, and wants them to put it to work. What will they do? Will they buy shares? Property? Businesses? Term-deposits? There’s any number of possibilities.

We aren’t told what the investment time-frame is, or what an acceptable level of risk and return would be. Verse 19 indicates that 2 it is a ‘long time’ that the Master was away for. And so the servants have a lot of freedom and responsibility in how they use that money. But with freedom comes accountability. All that they have, ultimately, belongs to the master, and so they must give an account to him at the end.

And that’s what happens. Verse 19: “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.” This is the day of reckoning. Have they done the master’s will?

The first two have. “Master,” they said, “you entrusted me with five bags of gold. Here are five more.” Or, “you entrusted me with two bags of gold. Here are two more.”

And the master’s response to both of them was identical: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

And before we move to look at the third servant, I want to reflect a bit on these first two. The first thing to notice is that they had received different amounts, according to their ability. Which might sound a bit harsh, except remember that it is the master’s money, and he knows his servants. He gives them what they can handle. He doesn’t give them more than they can handle, or expect from them more than they can deliver. He knows them, and entrusts them with appropriate responsibility.

Secondly, he gives them quite different amounts. So different, in fact, that even after the second servant had doubled his money, he still didn’t have as much as what the first servant did to begin with! I wonder if the second servant might have felt a little discouraged, even offended.

And yet, the words of commendation were identical. “Well done, good and faithful servant.” And the word ‘faithful’ is repeated for 3 emphasis. “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.”

Because it’s not the financial success of these servants that is being commended, it’s their faithfulness. They were faithful with what they had been given. They had faithfully done their duty. No matter that one received less than half of what the other received. Both were faithful, and faithfulness is what the master was looking for.

Also, notice the reward. “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.” Now, if being responsible for 2 or $5M is described as only ‘a few things’, I can hardly imagine what ‘many things’ might refer to. It’s a mindboggling thought. And then the Master says, “come and share your master’s happiness.”

And to me, this is the most beautiful phrase in this parable. Because it shows that the master isn’t some hard-nosed businessman who only cares about his income and share price. He cares about his servants. He loves his servants, so much so that he wants to reward them for their faithfulness, increase their responsibilities in his business, and personally include them in his happiness.

The master wants them! It’s a rich and personal reward. Not a golden handshake on the way out, but a golden celebration of their place alongside him. But then we come to the third servant. The third one was only given one bag of gold to start with. Still a lot, but if he was into the comparison game, he would probably be feeling very disappointed. But this servant acted differently – maybe there was some resentment going on. He dug a hole and stuck the money in there. ‘Safekeeping,’ I’m sure he would say, but it’s very pointedly not what the master had asked of him.

And then when the day of settling accounts comes, we get a very interesting speech. “Master,” he said, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you 4 have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.”

What’s interesting about this speech is that he is maligning the master’s character, as though that somehow justifies his actions. He says he is afraid of his master, and so he acted out of fear, and he says his master is a hard man.

Now interestingly, the master in this parable partially accepts this description. He says “So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?”

The Master partially accepts this description of him—not because it’s actually true—but for the sake of argument. For the sake of argument, even if this were true, the servant’s actions would still be wrong. Because what he should have done is put the money in the bank. If he really was afraid of his master, he should have done what his master had asked.

But there’s one part of the description that the master does not accept, not even for the sake of argument. He does not accept that he is a hard man. In fact, we have already seen his generosity and kindness towards the first two servants. This is not some CEO who only cares about the bottom line, or who discards his workers the moment they are no longer useful. He personally cares for them, and richly rewards his servants who act faithfully. And he knows them! He gives them appropriate responsibilities, and doesn’t expect more than they can deliver.

So this third servant accuses the master. But the master knows exactly what the real issue is. “You wicked, lazy, servant.” “Even if your assessment of me had been right, you still did the wrong thing.” And so this third servant was cast out, which is a warning from Jesus about final judgement.

So that’s the parable of the talents. But what does it say to us today? 5 First of all, it teaches about the character of God. God knows us, and he cares for us. He is not a hard or harsh master. In fact, in the very next two chapters we see Jesus going to the cross for his servants. This is a master who truly loves and cares for his servants. Enough to give his life for them.

The parable began with “the kingdom of heaven is like a man going on a journey.” It sounds quite pleasant, doesn’t it! Maybe a holiday. Maybe a business trip. But when we realise the master is Jesus, the journey he is going on is his journey to the cross. He is not just entrusting his wealth to his servants. He is giving his very life for them. It’s an extraordinary love. That is the character of God.

Secondly, God entrusts us with resources to be used in his service. In this parable, it is bags of gold! And so we need to ask ourselves, do we use our wealth for the sake of God’s kingdom? Or do we bury it in the ground of this world, by using it only for selfish pleasures? Everything we have belongs to God, and it must be used for him – we are just caretakers. Of course God wants us to look after ourselves as well, there’s nothing virtuous about self-neglect. And even pleasure is a gift from God. He gives us all things richly to enjoy, and so spending money on treats or pleasures is not necessarily a bad thing. But there will be a day of settling accounts. So be conscious of God in how you use your wealth and possessions.

But at a more general level, this parable is about how we invest our whole lives in serving God.

Think of it like this: if you have good health, that is a bag of gold in this parable! Use it to serve Jesus. If you have free time, that’s a bag of gold. If you have a particular skill, or training, or experience, that is a bag of gold. Use it to serve Jesus.

For some years Skye has had a growing interest in working in a community chaplaincy role, and even studied a diploma in Christian counselling some years ago. So as we move to a new church and Skye takes on her new position, in many respects, it brings together 6 her interests and training in this new opportunity for service. It’s a way she can serve faithfully in what God has given her. Not that she wasn’t being faithful previously, but God has opened this new opportunity for her at a time when she has the capacity to take it on.

But remember also, don’t compare yourselves to others. You might feel like you’ve got virtually nothing in your bag, and you’re surrounded by others who look like they’ve got ten bags of gold. Why bother, you might ask? The point is, don’t compare yourself to others. Whatever gifts, opportunities, abilities you have, the Lord has given them to you, so be faithful with them.

When I think of single mums, who struggle to look after their kids and keep the household going; they haven’t got the time or energy to serve in the way that others can. But that’s OK. Their bag of gold is their kids. And if as an expression of their faith in Jesus they do nothing more than care for their children, and scrape through day by day, that is enough. That is being faithful. Others might be able to do a lot more. But for some, that is what faithfulness looks like. The same with those who are carers. That is the bag of gold God asks you to be faithful with. It might change at some point, but be faithful in the situation in which God has placed you.

So whatever your circumstances, don’t play the comparison game. Chronic illness? That’s OK! Just be faithful with what you have, even if it means nothing more than praying when you are able. God doesn’t expect from you more than you can give. The only thing that counts is being faithful.

And the magnificent hope for which we long, is to hear our loving and generous Lord say to us: “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

May God grant you this hope, and bless you richly as you serve him faithfully.

________________

23 June 2024   The lord of the Nature

Mark 4:35-41

Lake Galilee, also known as Lake Gennesaret, is only a small lake some 21 km long and 11 km wide. If you want a comparison, it is about the size of our lake George. Yet it can at times becomes very rough and the winds can capsize the small boats from which fisherman catch fish. Today we listened to one such occasion when suddenly there arose a storm which was frightening.

I am sure you must have heard a few sermons based on this passage. The context of this storm is interesting. Mark places this miracle at end of a teaching session in which Jesus speaks about the Kingdom of God and how it grows to become a big tree that provides shelter for all. There was a large crowd listening to him. With so many people around him, we can be sure that Jesus must have had a very hectic day of healing at the end of that teaching session. Jesus was visibly tired and needed some rest. So, he told his disciples to go to the other side of the lake. Wherever Jesus went, there was always a crowd waiting for him. The only way he could have had some rest was on this journey on the lake. And as they paddled along, there arose a storm.

It doesn’t take too long before a storm strikes you and me. Most such storms are so overwhelming that we fear perishing under them. The most interesting aspect of this story is how Jesus could sleep while the boat was tossing up and down. I am inclined to think that either Jesus was dead tired that he did not experience the trouble, or he was so confident that no storm could affect him as he was the Son of God and therefore would be able to overcome it.

Theologians would say this was an episode in which we see the two natures of Christ clearly: the one being his human nature and other being his divine nature. His tiredness and deep sleep show he was all too human, and his calming of the storm shows his divinity, exercising his power over nature. I think both are correct observations. Jesus was indeed both divine and human at the same time.

This revelation that he was both divine and human at the same time was/is an all-important one. Jesus was teaching his disciples about the Kingdom of God and its value system. They could accept him as a Rabbi (teacher) or as a prophet, but Jesus wanted them to know him deeper. This was one such opportunity to find Jesus as someone who had authority over nature. The winds and the waves too bey him, who is he, they ask?

It is not just the disciples of Jesus who asked this question. The world needs to ask this question too. Who is Jesus? The salvation of the world depends on the answer to that question.

Jesus’ divinity was expressed through his miracles and were becoming convincing proof of his identity.

Miracles are what happens against the natural Law. Oxford Professor John Lennox says that the God who designed the natural laws of physics can also feed a new set of laws, which we call a miracle, anytime he so wishes. I think God performs his miracles to let us know that He cares for us and to give us a glimpse of his divinity over our depressing circumstances. It is my earnest prayer that we all experience miracles along our normal course of life. It

I have experienced several such miracles in my life. Today I will tell you of one in which I have experienced the extraordinary.

From 1987 to 1993, I was employed by the UAE armed forces in their Engineering Corps. Our first job there was on an 800-million-dollar project for the supporting infrastructure for their Mirage 2000 fighter jets. There were around 100 buildings like aircraft shelters, including ground facilities, like fuel filling stations, command control centers, emergency generators etc. We were supposed to inspect and approve each of these facilities as per approved drawings. On one such inspection trip, I went down to an underground fuel depot all by myself, and as soon as I entered, the twin doors behind me closed with a loud noise. That was a de-pressurized room because of the fuel tanks. No matter how hard I tried to open it, I could not. Since the building facility was not yet commissioned, there was no chance that anyone else would come there to open it from the other side. The air handling unit was working, so I could breathe. There was no phone inside and I had no way of calling the base to let them know I was stuck inside. No one in my team knew that I would be there. To compound the matter further, I had told Molly that we could be stuck at the workplace any day, so she should not call anyone for at least three days if I did not return home on any day. I was stuck in a confined space, with no one likely to search for me. There was no food or water in my hand either!

And like the disciples of Jesus, I cried out to God. I had already tried to open that door several times. But the next time it was different. I had such an inrush of strength, I presume, the same door opened smoothly like it was never under a vacuum pressure. God had performed a miracle!

To make sure this was indeed a miracle, I took my Supervisor to the same room the next day and shut the door behind us. But the two of us could not open this again. He was terrified, but I had already posted two others to open the same from the other side.

Miracles do happen and it happen to confirm our faith in God who do not want us to perish in the storms of life. The question is, do you want to cry out to Him, like those disciples of Jesus?

Our Old testament reading today was also pointing us to the same idea. Israel as a nation was facing a giant named Goliath, whose size and capability defies imagination. Fearsome and intimidating as the giant was, no man among them had the courage to face him. But God had other plans. A seemingly inexperienced boy, David- their future King, was chosen by God to kill the giant. All he needed was a sling and stone.

           “Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit” says the Lord (Zechariah 4:6).

The disciples had years of experience navigating that small lake. But the storm was far beyond their capabilities. Israel had a king and an army (after years of remaining as nation without a king). But the new situation demanded a different engagement. God was teaching them a new lesson. They could not have survived without God and his miracles. And neither can we.

Maybe today you are going through such a challenging situation. What you may need is a miracle. I am not sidelining the wonder of the ordinary over the sudden and the spectacular. But our God is a loving God who is willing to do miracles for his children. Can we trust him to do one for us?

Let us pray…….

Peace, be still

 Master, the tempest is raging! The billows are tossing high!

The sky is o’ershadowed with blackness, No shelter or help is nigh.

Carest Thou not that we perish? How canst Thou lie asleep,

When each moment so madly is threatening, A grave in the angry deep?

Refrain:

The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will,

Peace, be still! Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea,

Or demons or men, or whatever it be, No waters can swallow the ship where lies

The Master of ocean, and earth, and skies; They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,

Peace, be still! Peace, be still! They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,

Peace, peace, be still!

Master, with anguish of spirit, I bow in my grief today.

The depths of my sad heart are troubled, Oh, waken and save, I pray!

Torrents of sin and of anguish, Sweep o’er my sinking soul.

And I perish! I perish! dear Master, Oh, hasten, and take control.

Sing refrain

Master, the terror is over, The elements sweetly rest.

Earth’s sun in the calm lake is mirrored, And heaven’s within my breast.

Linger, O blessed Redeemer! Leave me alone no more.

And with joy I shall make the blest harbor, And rest on the blissful shore.

Sing refrain

Hymn by Mary A Baker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0nS-59ESLs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRq83sZSreg

________________

16 June 2024     Ministry of Reconciliation

II Cori. 5:1-20

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (II Corin. 5:20).

As you all already know, I am a person who likes to do everything with the big picture in mind. I do not want to do anything for my sake but want to do what God has in mind for you, particularly in this place and time. While it is my earnest desire to see things as God sees, I should also admit that with all my studies and efforts it has been very difficult, if not entirely impossible to see how God sees things from his perspective. It is not my fault altogether, but it is because of the unfathomable gap between who God is, the greatness of what he does, and how small and limited I am. However, I cannot plead complete ignorance, as God has given us a glimpse into his plans for humanity, through the Holy Scriptures. And today we have such a passage before us in II Corinthians.

“In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.” (II Cori. 5:19)

The first part of this verse is about the big picture and the second about the specific thing that you and I are supposed to do.

The Blessed Hope

According to St Paul, the Gospel is the light, which God wants to shine in our hearts, through which all of humanity can be enlightened. Paul compares this all-important message to a treasure hidden in an earthly vessel which is our body (II Cori. 4:7). Fragile and weak as we are, God reminds us that this earthly dwelling (our body) is perishable, that is why it cannot hold on to this precious deposit for long. The light is with us only as long as we are alive. The presence of His Spirit is our guarantee or assurance of eternal life, with an imperishable body, prepared by our Father. But if Christ tarries, we will have to leave without this earthen vessel, until we get a new and glorified body at his second coming.

Thinking about the details of this, Paul says that he too groans until the mortal is swallowed by the immortal (v. 4). By mortal he means our present body, which is prone to decay and therefore perishable. We know that despite our great hope, we are often burdened by pain and suffering. Yet Paul says that he is encouraged by the Spirit of God, looking forward to this great prospect of an imperishable body.

I think we too should find such encouragement in our lives. Who is not burdened by pain and suffering, sometimes, not just ours, but of those whom we see around us; the victims of war and natural disasters, the innocent children who are impacted by parents who separate, those who suffer because of the foolish decisions taken by unthinking leaders, or several other unimaginable miseries around us? ‘When will all this end,’ we may be asking continuously. Scripture assures us that there is a day of reckoning; the day when we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ.

But Paul’s exhortations do not end with the prospect of this new and glorious future; fearsome for those who live in sin yet joyful for those that put their trust in Jesus! He brings us back to our responsibility of being light to the whole world.

Here is the big picture: God was reconciling this world (the peoples) to himself, a project he began with Abraham as a pioneer, working through generations after him, culminating in Jesus of Nazareth, finally reconciling humanity through his death and resurrection. As I keep saying, it was the mission of God originating in the Father’s heart, accomplished by the Son of God, and continuing through the work of the Spirit, throughput History. God did need any of us in doing this. But in his grace, he has enlisted us, to participate and to continue this mission of God.

In doing this mission, we are ambassadors of Christ, says Paul.

I like certain metaphors over the others. An ambassador’s job is an envious one. An ambassador is not subject to the law of the land in its entirety. Ambassadors have what is known as diplomatic immunity. However, rarely do we read of an ambassador violating the law of the land to which they are deputed, rather by obeying it, they show respect to the host country. Their main job is to represent the country which sends them. Their personal preferences or opinions do not matter. They say what their country wants them to say. They are on a diplomatic mission.

A church is like an embassy of the Kingdom of God, and all of us are like diplomatic staff, appointed by our Sovereign, Christ Jesus. Our values, our speech, attitudes, and positions need to represent the Kingdom of God which we represent.

As I have preached in the past, the Mission of God (missio-dei) is the saving of humanity from sin and its damages. God in Christ has done what was needed as no effort of ours could atone for the sin of the world. As I told in the beginning, God in Christ has finished that reconciling job and we, as his emissaries, are taking this Good News to a lost world.

The shape of this mission

Now we need to clarify the shape of this diplomatic mission. First, we are the repository of the great message of hope in this uncertain world. This is the message of reconciliation which is nothing but a journey back to where we have originally belonged. By sin and and rebellion the outside world is still hostile to God. As an example, we can talk about any subject under the sun without offending anyone. The moment we mention Christ, everyone will say you are not allowed to proselytize.

Have you ever thought why such a great news is met with such animosity and hatred? It is because the devil and his minions are opposed to it. It is a question of losing people from the kingdom of darkness. So, expect resistance, opposition, persecution from all those who are captives of the devil. Yet this is a glorious assignment. It gives delight and satisfaction. Be glad that God is enlisting you and I for this great commission.

Billy Graham once said, if God were to announce in heaven one day that those who wish to partake in the sharing of Good News are welcome to leave, heaven will immediately become an empty space.

Let me ask each one of you this, have you found the Good News of God’s reconciliation as the greatest news on earth? Are you delighted to be God’s ambassador in this world? Do you know what is the shape and impact of this glorious message of hope?

If your answer to all these questions is a “Yes,” join me in sharing this Good News. Let us become a missional Church, participating in God’s program of reconciling people back to God.

Let us pray….

________________

9 June 2024 

Mark 3:5; He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

The zeal for keeping religious practices can be very demanding at times. Certain religions are infamous for this. I had a friend of mine, who used to work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a civil engineer. In Saudi Arabia Fridays are like our Sundays. When a call to prayer is sounded through a loudspeaker, everyone must head to a Mosque. My friend was an orthodox church member. On one Friday, when the loudspeakers sounded, he was walking in the opposite direction while others were all walking towards the Mosque. The religious police stopped him and beat him up with a cane because it was disrespectful to have walked in the opposite direction when there is a call to prayer!

Just like those clerics, the Jews of Jesus’ day were also watchful of what people could or could not do on a sabbath. The Law of Moses had strict rules on how to behave on a Sabbath day. By the time of Jesus, the Pharisees were like religious police, experts at finding out who would violate, so that they could punish them. Naturally, Jesus’ healings caught their attention, because Jesus was healing people even on a Sabbath day, without paying any attention to the prohibition by their religious authorities.

In their so-called zeal for the Law of Moss, the pharisees failed to remember that the Law was given for the people’s welfare, and not to observe it religiously, ignoring people’s dire needs. The purpose of the Sabbath was to give everyone a day of rest without which our bodily functions cannot work perfectly in the long term. But the Pharisees made it difficult by forbidding people from doing even the good things that were essential for life.

Through the example of plucking grain while hungry, Jesus had already told them that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for Sabbath.

But nothing would deter these Pharisees from changing their views. They come with Jesus to a Synagogue where a man with a shrivelled hand was present. Rather than requesting Jesus to heal this man who is incapacitated, they were curious, whether Jesus would heal on the Sabbath and there by violate their traditions.

While some of us have pity for these pharisees, we may be doing the same at times. We all love traditions. Make no mistake; I love it too. I love order and protocol. I love predictability. Yet as Jesus said, all these things are made for us, for our progress and growth. In the past we made several such poor choices. When I say we, I mean many Anglican congregations, refused admission to children in worship services, because they made unpleasant noises during church services. The orthodox churches put children in a glassed area with their young mothers, but did it do any good? Most of these people, mothers included, felt segregated and ignored, and they never returned. Now we are asking why young people do not come to Church. Maybe, we need to learn from the proverb “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox” (Prov. 14:4)  

Now let us look at the healing of the man with a shrivelled hand.

This miracle is like a double-edged sword. Jesus is indeed helping this man, but he is also teaching the pharisees a good lesson on how to think of the Sabbath. Healing and restoration are more important that observing any ceremonial law. People are more important than ceremonies and protocols. In the same way, all our church services should be aimed at healing and restoration, through word and sacrament.

I have always wondered at this miracle. Jesus makes this man to stand up among the people and after lecturing an obstinate people to whom observing manmade rules were more important than a healing, Jesus asks the man to stretch out his hand. The man has no hand, how could he stretch it out? Isn’t it illogical to say to someone to do so? But we know he did. And it was healed immediately.

Healing and progress come to us with this stretching, an act of faith. God in Christ is always challenging us to do this stretching. Let me say how I have seen this “stretching” over many decades of my life’s journey.

When the first time we, a group of us in our twenties, decided to help a mission organization, none of us had high paying jobs. All of us needed to send money to help our parents and siblings. But if we could muster together our tithes, we could sponsor a full-time worker for a children’s ministry. We promised to do so for a year. But God did the miracle, in six months’ time, one of us got a foreign job by which he could give even more than what he initially promised. And in the months to come, all of us, these donors went to Gulf countries where they were paid handsome tax-free salaries with some even getting free food and accommodation. When they stretched their ‘shrivelled hands,’ God made it whole, enabling them to help others even more. And they continue to help others financially ever since. God has made their ‘shrivelled hands’ whole.

“D. L. Moody (1837-1899) started his career as an uneducated shoe salesman but turned into one of the greatest evangelists of all time. With only a fifth-grade education, he was uniquely unqualified for his lifelong calling. His grammar was terrible, and he was far from an eloquent orator. But he took his ‘plain talk approach’ to evangelism and preached the gospel throughout the United States and Great Britain, leading hundreds of thousands of people to faith in Jesus Christ. Moody is remembered today as the most effective evangelist of the late 19th century.” (Moody, Dwight Lyman." Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals (p. 433).

Moody had a ‘shrivelled hand,’ but he stretched it out, and God made it whole. “Today, more than 125 years after his death, Moody's lasting legacy includes the Moody Bible Institute, which trains men and women for evangelism and Christian work; the Moody Broadcasting Network, serving an audience of over 30 million; Moody Aviation, which trains missionary pilots and mechanics; and Moody Church in Chicago”.

May be as you hear these words of mine, you may be thinking of yourself like that man with a shrivelled hand. You may be thinking you are too old for another battle. You may have number of things prevents you from engaging in normal things. But all it takes is a step in the right direction. All you need to do is to stretch your hand in faith. God is still in the business of restoration. Whatever is your limitation, whether mental, physical, financial, or even spiritual, Jesus is ready to make it whole again. Let us stretch out our hand.

Let us pray…….

________________

2 June 2024       2nd Sunday after Pentecost 

Reverend Pamela Philips

Mark 3.20-35

If you go back and read the first two chapters of Mark, you get a sense of the setting of today’s Gospel reading.  There are no birth stories or background.  There’s an almost breathless sense of urgency in this Gospel – the word “immediately” occurs 42 times. It’s all action right from the start.  It reminds me of those adverts for European holidays – “visit 15 cities in 10 days”.  So let’s do a quick run through the story so far.

Mark’s Gospel begins with a quote from Isaiah about the messenger who would be sent “to prepare the way of the Lord” which introduces John the Baptist and his appearance in the wilderness, calling people to repent and receive forgiveness through the act of being baptized. 

Jesus appeared on the scene and is baptized by John and has a profound mystical experience of the Holy Spirit in which his identity as the Son of God is affirmed.  He then spent forty days in the wilderness, after which he returned to Galilee and started proclaiming the good news that the reign of God has come near and calling people to repent and believe this good news.

He called the first disciples, and commenced his ministry of healings and exorcisms, proclaiming his message as he travelled around Galilee.  He began to attract large crowds.  This brought him to the attention of the religious authorities in the form of the scribes, scholars who had come from Jerusalem to observe and assess whether his actions and teaching were in accordance with orthodox Jewish law.  They were closely associated with the Pharisees, who were very focused on preserving the purity of the Law and alert to anything that threatened it.

We Christians have tended to demonize the Pharisees, because in all the Gospels they’re opposed to Jesus.  It’s partly what gave rise to the long history of anti-Semitism – that and the use of the word “Jews” in John’s Gospel as shorthand to describe the religious and political leadership in general.  Nowhere in the gospels does Jesus — or anyone else — remark that the law has become an intolerable burden. The religion of Jesus was Judaism. He was born into this religion, was circumcised and obeyed the Law for most of his life.  Jesus’ teaching doesn’t oppose Jewish scripture or Jewish teaching.  Certainly his interpretation of these could be quite radical at times, and there is no doubt he set out to reform some of the more rigid aspects of Judaism.

Jesus debated the Pharisees using the time-honoured techniques of pesher and midrash, used often in Rabbinic debate. This was an important component of Jesus’ debate with the Pharisees, and suggests that Jesus had been educated by them.  Jesus doesn’t criticise the law as such, but rather the Pharisees’ interpretation of it. He offers a different, better interpretation.

But many of his actions were beyond what the Pharisees and scholars could tolerate.  Not only did he forgive sins and heal people, he called a tax collector to join his inner group of followers then he ate with him and other sinners, all of which fell outside the established rules. 

He defended his followers who weren’t fasting or observing the Sabbath as strictly as other religious groups, and he confronted his critics directly by healing a man with a withered hand during sabbath in the synagogue.  This galvanized his critics to conspire against him.  Through all this, crowds were flocking to him in large numbers, drawn by his healing ministry and teaching. 

Which brings us to our reading today and we’re only in chapter 3 of this action-packed Gospel.

There is plenty of drama and challenge in today’s reading, but the thing many people hear and focus on is what Jesus said about the unforgiveable sin.  What is it, and are we at risk of inadvertently committing it?  According to Jesus the consequences are dire.   We’ll come to that shortly.  But first, there are other challenges in this passage. 

The encounter with the religious authorities is sandwiched between two startling interactions with Jesus’ family.  The writer of Mark’s Gospel was quite fond of this literary device.  It’s called an intercalation, which means dropping a related story into the middle of another one.  It’s a way of telling stories to make a stronger point.  So now you can introduce that into a conversation to impress people with your erudition.  I only know it because several biblical commentaries I consulted explained it. 

We begin with Jesus’ return to Capernaum where he’d moved to after returning from his baptism and his wilderness experience according to Matthew 4.12.  The crowds he attracted were getting in the way “so that they could not even eat.”  His good, caring family were afraid he’d suffered some sort of breakdown to be apparently causing so much chaos, so they came to restrain him.  

It seems probable that Jesus’ family hadn’t decided on its own that Jesus had gone out of his mind, but had instead heard reports to that effect. They go to Jesus intending to restrain him, but probably haven’t yet had the opportunity to assess the situation for themselves. It wouldn’t have escaped their notice that the religious authorities were watching him, and although it isn’t mentioned, the Roman authorities weren’t tolerant of mass uprisings and were well known for brutal suppression of anything that threatened disruption.

At this point the scribes accused him of demonic possession as the power behind his exorcisms, and this is where we come to the unpardonable sin.  His critics acknowledge that his activities have a supernatural power, but they ascribe that power to Satanic forces rather than the Holy Spirit.  His response is to point out that it doesn’t make sense to say Satan is casting out Satan, because that would be Satan working against himself.  But Jesus takes it further by turning to parable or metaphor, basically claiming that he is the stronger one who has overpowered Satan and was plundering what belonged to Satan by the freeing of people suffering evil spirits.  This parable may be taken as Jesus’ mission statement in Mark, urging us to interpret the rest of the narrative guided by this image. The whole Gospel is a story about the reign of God coming to displace another reign, and that other one will not relinquish its power without a fight.

Then comes his terrifying warning.  Sins and even blasphemies are forgivable but “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin”.

The Greek word blasphemeo means ‘to speak or regard with contempt,’ and so it means ‘to blaspheme’ when the object of contempt or rebellion is God. According to Jewish Torah law, blasphemy was a capital offense (Leviticus 24:16).  Yet Jesus has just said that ordinary blasphemies can be forgiven, a radical statement in itself.  Then comes the BUT:

By saying that his exorcisms and healings are demonic, they are denying that the Holy Spirit is the power behind the works of Jesus. They are declaring Jesus’ work evil.  They should have known better. They were, after all, trained Biblical scholars, responsible for helping people to understand God’s law.

While it was apparent to most people that Jesus was doing good works by the power of God, these scribes not only refused to see that—they also subverted the truth by saying that Jesus did his work by demonic power. They rejected the one who could have brought them forgiveness.  It has to do with morally inverting the world to the point where darkness is light and light darkness.

They recognize that Jesus must be drawing on great power to perform exorcisms but fatally misidentify its source because he doesn’t behave as they expect a righteous person to behave, which is to say, most of all, that he’s not one of them.  He associates with the wrong people, breaks Sabbath laws, and blasphemes by forgiving sins, and so they commit the greatest blasphemy of all.

According to a number of Biblical scholars, “Why this sin is unforgivable can easily be seen. It is the sin of refusing forgiveness” (Bromiley, 524). Having done so, these scribes have shown that they no longer recognize what is good—no longer value it—no longer strive for it. Having decided that Christ is satanic, they are not open to receiving his help and are therefore not candidates for the salvation that he offers.

While blaspheming the Holy Spirit is a sin, denying the existence of the Holy Spirit is not the unpardonable sin. Saying certain words that are insulting towards the Holy Spirit is not the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Biblically speaking, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit was witnessing Jesus perform a miracle and attributing that power to Satan instead of the Holy Spirit. Many commentators say that this specific blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, the unpardonable sin, can’t be committed today because it was specific to the ministry of Jesus.

We can rely on Jesus’ words “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter.” 

Then we turn finally to the last part of today’s reading, back to his family who are outside asking for him. I find this little story uncomfortable, rather disconcerting. It seems that Jesus is repudiating his family, which doesn’t sit well with our warm, fuzzy notions of the Holy Family. 

Not only does Jesus resist the intervention of his mother, brothers, and sisters; he renounces their claim on him. They remain “outside” while Jesus embraces those encircled “around him” in the crowded house. 

In short, Jesus redraws the lines of family and belonging, saying that those who do God’s will are siblings and mother to him. In that culture, in which responsibility, identity, stability, and opportunity were so bound up with kinship structures, Jesus’ pronouncement of a new family was startling. But it also can bring great joy to some, especially those followers who find themselves estranged from their own families of origin.   And through all the generations the inclusion comes to us, as we join with our fellow believers throughout the ages –

“Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

 ________________

 26 May 2024      The Triune God

 Isaiah 6:1-16; Psalms 29; Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-17

The puzzle of Christianity

One of the most puzzling things about our (Christian) faith is that we believe in one God who exist as three persons. Both Jews and Muslims who claim to believe in one God cannot understand or tolerate this claim. Yet, why do we believe in this unexplainable claim that God is one yet there are three persons in the Godhead?

The first answer to that question is that neither Christians nor the Church invented it. They discovered it and made it into credal form. Such a discovery did not occur in a day or two. It came about through God’s self-revelation in history, starting with Abraham and culminating in Jesus Christ. In other words, it has been a progressive revelation. The most interesting thing though is that this revelation has come to humanity on the wings of the salvation story, as we shall soon see.

Scriptural Context

We have four passages of scriptures before us today. In Isaiah 6, we are given a glimpse of God’s majesty and holiness. In Psalm 29, we see the Word of God who is active in creation. In Romans 8:22-27, we see the role of the Spirit of God in the life of a believer. And in the Gospel reading, we see Jesus telling his disciples how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bring about the salvation of humankind. God the Father loves us so much that He sent His only begotten Son, and through the belief in the Son we are born again as God’s children by the Spirit. In summary, what we are looking at is the Holy Trinity making our salvation possible.

Church Tradition & Liturgy

Anglicans have traditionally understood the Father as Creator, Son as the Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit as the Sanctifier. The word ‘trinity’ is nowhere in Scriptures! Yet, the doctrine of trinity is spread all over the liturgy of both the Western and Eastern churches. But how did the Church arrive at this great doctrine?

Knowing God through revelation.

We humans come to know God because God has chosen to interact with us. In other words, God is known in relational terms. We see that God came into the garden of Eden in the cool of the day to have fellowship with the first couple. The first couple began to know God through their walk (fellowship) with God. Over the centuries God’s nature and his purpose for the world began to be unfolded. But to many of us, even as we know that there are three persons in the Godhead, we cannot understand how they are co-equal or co-eternal. It appears that there is a hierarchy in which the Father is first, the Son the second, and the Spirit the third.  

Wrestling with contradicting (?) verses

Last week a catholic apologist who regularly talks to me on phone, asked me about Jesus’ statement in John 14:28 where Jesus says, “the Father is greater than I”. He was wondering whether Jesus admitted his low estate as son; divine but not equal. I should admit this is not an easy subject. But here in John, Jesus is talking as an incarnate Son and not as God. He has emptied himself the equality with God and had taken on himself the form of a servant.

Glorified Son

I briefly touched this last year. While Jesus is saying that the Father is greater, we should not forget that after the ascension, the Father gave all authority in heaven and earth and under the earth to the Son and commands that every knee should bow down before him (Eph. 1:21/Rom 14:11), as if the Son is greater than both the Father and the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit, equal or subordinate?

And the Holy Spirit on the other hand is sent only to glorify the Son and takes out that which belongs to the Son and gives it out (John 16:14). This makes us feel that somehow the Holy Spirit is subordinate to the Father and the Son. But when Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit, this is what he says:

                    “And so, I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matt. 12:31-32).

If this is true, it should mean that the Holy Spirit is Superior or pre-eminent!

The loving and honoring Trinity

What we see in these verses is that all three members of Trinity are honoring each other, in a loving relationship. I would say, this is majestic humility at its best. As we can see soon that priority does not mean superiority.

We should remember that our Lord Jesus whom we see in the pages of the Gospels is an incarnate son who humbled himself to our level, emptying himself of the quality which he had with God. (Philippians 2:5). When we worship, we are not worshipping that human Jesus, but the one who is now glorified, who sits at the right hand of God. (The word only begotten son is for our sake, to denote he is the heir to all that the Father has, which his bride the Church will share, in his coming Kingdom.

I wish I had more time to talk about this. But let me say a few words about what this trinitarian relationship means to all of us, as children of God.

Application

Last year on Trinity Sunday, I spoke about how the love which exists between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit makes each one honor the other. This year, I want to say how a functional hierarchy works while being equal with others. In the economic trinity (God’s actions in history) we see a functional hierarchy in which we see the Father as Superior, the Son second and the Spirit the third. The subordination of the Son and the Holy Spirit we see is for our sake i.e., in the work of redemption in which the Son humbled himself and the Holy Spirit chose to do a subordinate role. In a similar vein, we need to assign responsibilities in our community life, reminding ourselves that authority does not mean that the person at the top is not there because he/she is any superior but is assigned that job for the functioning of the community.

 Similarly in a family, while a husband is functionally the head of the house, he is just a ‘point man’ who takes the responsibility of running the family protecting and providing for them. And that does not mean a man is any superior to a woman or vice versa. This is true about me as your minister too. So are our elected government and public servants, and ordained ministers. We have no authority other than functional ones. This should make us all humble before God and others.

In the plan of redemption, the triune God took separate roles that were necessary to save us humans. The more we see how God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit exists and lives in unity and love, extending that love in saving us, we cannot but worship and serve the Triune God. Let us gaze into that majestic glory, marvel, and say along with Isaiah, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord.

Let us us pray…… Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

________________

19 May 2024      The Promise of the Holy Spirit

Ezekiel 36:22-28; John 1:4-15; Acts 2:1-21

Ezek. 36:26-27; I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

(John 15:26-27) “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.”

Prophet Ezekeil prophesied while the Jewish people were in exile in Babylon. Continued disobedience and apostacy had landed them in that sad plight. But God in his mercy could not forget the covenant He made with their ancestors. So, God spoke through Prophet Ezekiel, assuring them that one day he will send his spirit upon them, who will impart steadfastness to their commitment to the God of their ancestors. But even as Jesus, the very Son of God, came to them, they rejected him and sent him to the cross. Only a few people believed in him.      

But according to St Paul, Israel’s rejection became a blessing for the whole world (all gentiles nations). Gospel has now come to the whole world (Rom. 11:11). God decided to pour out the Holy Spirit equally, both to Israel and to the Gentiles, so that all can obey the demands of the Law of God, not in their own strength, but through the power of God. Th promise we heard in Ezekiel, (“I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws”), was being fulfilled on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21).

In the OT period, God gave the power of the Holy Spirit only to a chosen few. Through the Spirit of God, they were able to do miracles and wonders, and quite often, the nation was protected from their enemies through such mighty acts. Now because of the saving work of His Son (the promised Messiah) God could send his Holy Spirit, on all those that put their trust in the Savior.

Jesus said:

“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive.” (John 7:38).  

On the day of Pentecost, this promise was being fulfilled.

Now we all know how important this event is, both for the life of the Church, and for all of us even today.

What do we learn from this?

Minus the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, we are like a beautiful car with no fuel in it. In fact, without the power of the Holy Spirit, we are no match for the challenges of life. It is futile to face either the devil or the struggles of life without the Holy Spirit. When we do so, we are bound to fail. This is what we learn from the disciples of Jesus.

Before the Holy Spirit’s descent on them, they were a bunch of cowards. They ran away when Jesus was arrested. Even after they heard that Jesus was raised from the dead, they shut the doors because of the fear of Jews. But when they were filled with the Holy Spirit, the temple authorities were astonished:

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).

Most of us know these things. But whenever we think of the Holy Spirit, certain theological positions confuse us. Some associate the Holy Spirit with all kinds of weird expressions. The ‘holy laughter’, ‘slaying in the spirit’ etc. are acts that brings dishonor to the name of God. Some of these are mere emotionalism.

But what is the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer?

The Holy Spirit is given to believers to equip them for the mission of God. That mission starts first with us by empowering us. The Holy Spirit imparts us with special gifts. All the gifts of the Holy Spirit are for our common good.

I have seen this being played out in so many lives in my own lifetime. I know of a man who shames the most educated bishops of a church by his clear thinking and teachings.

While in the OT God gave the power of the Holy Spirit to only a chosen few, it is now given to all who believe. In fact, none of us can come to God without the help of the Holy Spirit. So, we are already primed, I would say.  If you feel you need the power of the Holy Spirit, all you need is to ask.  In Luke 11:13, we read, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

When that power came upon the Apostles, they were able to communicate the Gospel in umpteen languages that they never knew or spoke before. It was a miracle that was intended to show them that all they needed was the power of the Holy Spirit to communicate this great message.

As Christians, the one and only mission for us is the sharing of the good news of Jesus. Whether we use word or deed is beside the point, we must communicate the Gospel. And without the power of the Holy Spirit, we are trying in vain. We as a church need to grow from a believing community to a witnessing community.

The Holy Spirit is a person and not just a power.

Next week on Trinity Sunday, I will speak about the personhood of the Holy Spirit. But for now, we need to see how desperately we need the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit in us.

As you know, I gather data from all over the world. One such data was on the unprecedented growth of the Pentecostal Churches.

The total number of ‘spirit-filled Christians’ according to Centre for study of Global Christianity, is 644 million[1] . Do you think this unprecedented growth of charismatic Christians is because of the doctrinal purity or clarity of the Pentecostal Church’s teachings? I do not believe so. At best, it is because they allowed the free flow of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The Holy Spirit is our guide, counsellor, advocate, and the continuing presence of God with us. We cannot be good Christians without the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying or cleansing work every day. That is why Paul says, “Be ye filled with the Holy Spirit,” says St Paul (Eph. 5:18).

When the disciples of Jesus obeyed and waited for the power to come upon them, they were filled with the power from on high (Acts 2:4). If we want to be useful in the Kingdom of God, we need learn to humble ourselves and seek the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. God gives to anyone who ask for the Spirit of God. Will you be humble enough to ask?  After we spent a few minutes in silence, let us gently sing the song, as a prayer:

Spirit of the living God, Fall afresh on me,

Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me,

Melt me, mould me, fill me, and use me,

Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me.

[1] https://www.gordonconwell.edu/center-for-global-christianity/research/global-pentecostalism/

________________

5 May 2024 The Lord who answers Prayer

“Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be complete.” John 16:24.

Some years ago, there was so much outcry in the USA about stopping prayers at schools. But someone said they cannot stop prayers, as long as there are math exams! I am sure that would be true about Australia too. Though it may sound like a joke, it is not far from the truth. Our fears and anxieties drive us to prayer. Prayer is the conduit or channel through which we approach God.

But in today’s gospel passage, Jesus seems to challenge us to pray about anything in his name; and if we do, we will receive, so that our joy may be complete.

Before I go into two such answered prayers, I want to tell you how I struggle with the logic of prayer. If God is love, and all-knowing, and all-powerful (omniscient and omnipotent), why should we ask God for anything? Didn’t Jesus teach us in the Sermon on the Mount that our Father knows what we need before we ever ask him? (Matt. 6:8).

The first answer to that question is that our Father wants us to talk to him, as children to a father. And the second answer is that ‘everything in God’s economy happens, in answer to prayer.

A good prayer is always like the conversation of a child to his/her Father. It is natural, regular, expected, and most of the time, predictable.

But the second answer, ‘nothing in God’s economy happens without someone praying,’ needs explanation. Because we are children of God, raised in the discipline of prayer, God wants us to display that relationship. ‘Let your light shine among the people,’ said Jesus. One of the ways in which you shine your light is by praying for the needs of others. That is how you show the world that there is a Father in heaven who is willing and available to answer our prayers. When we pray for people or things that needs change, we bring glory to God our Father.

The command to pray is everywhere in the Scriptures. In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus says, “Nothing will be impossible for you” Matt. 17:20 b. In epistle of James, we read:

                             “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.” (James 5:15-18).

I have always lived a life of prayer, to me it is almost like breathing. I spent more time in informal regular prayer than normal programmed prayer. So, it makes me pray about necessary things and sometimes things that are deemed by others as trivial. Let me tell you about how God answered two such prayer, one for rain and another for healing and restoration.

Both are about asking in Jesus’ name, and receiving answers which made my joy complete!

In the first year after we came to Australia, I worked for a company General Electric based in Sydney. I had an Irish boss, Noel Miller, with whom I needed to travel to many areas of NSW. In one such trip, while driving on the Federal Highway, we were passing by the side of Lake George. I have seen this board Lake George many times but have not seen the lake yet. So, I asked Noel, “Where is this lake, Noel?” He laughed and said, “You are looking at it, John”! With great expectation, I looked outside towards the lake. But I saw no water. Then Noel told me a series of stories about how it had dried years ago. So, after a few such trips, I thought it would be nice to pray to God to fill that lake once again. I kept praying, every week while going up and down for as much as I can remember. And you know it rained after the long drought. Molly was in the car many times when I was praying aloud, sometimes through that 18 km as we drove by the lakeside. Lake George has been full for a few years now. Someone may say it is no wonder. Lakes dry and then fill up, which is a natural phenomenon. For me, it is the answer to my prayer. If you pray, God will fill all your empty lakes. In fact, God may be waiting for someone to pray.

Well for argument’s sake, I will agree that it is pointless to pray for a thing like filling an empty lake. Even if Go had not filled that lake just as I prayed, my faith in God would not have changed at all. I have experienced the hand of God in so many other instances when God answered our prayers.

The next story is about a person for whom I prayed, which also brought me great joy and delight.

On one of trips in 20I9, I had a chance meeting with a childhood friend, whom I have not seen for almost 45 years. He had moved to a hill station 100 km away from my hometown. All who went to such remote places back then had bought large estates and have become millionaires. But when I saw my friend, his condition was pathetic. He was sick and ailing. His house looked like a hut. He had heart disease that required an immediate operation and one of his legs was about to be amputated unless his wounds healed. His children were both in college and his wife had no job to support him either. I felt incredibly sad for him. I gave him whatever I had in my wallet knowing that he needed a lot more than my small help. What he needed was healing and restoration. I am sure the Holy Spirit made me to pray at once, and I asked God to heal him and restore his fortunes. A few weeks later he rang me up and said that his condition had reversed. The doctor told him he would not need heart surgery or an amputation. A few months later, his son got a job in a Bank and so also his daughter in another private company. Since then both his children got married. Recently he told me he bought a small car and has renovated his house too. God has answered my prayers: I cannot describe how happy I am when I think of this.

God is still delighted in answering our prayers. He wants our joys to be complete. Do you want to be delighted? If yes, begin your own prayer journey today.

Let us pray…..

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer! That calls me from a world of care,

And bids me at my Father’s throne, Make all my wants and wishes known.

In seasons of distress and grief, My soul has often found relief,

And oft escaped the tempter’s snare, By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer! Thy wings shall my petition bear

To Him whose truth and faithfulness, Engage the waiting soul to bless.

And since He bids me seek His face, Believe His Word and trust His grace,

I’ll cast on Him my every care, And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

________________

28 April 2024 The future of Jerusalem, the city of peace

“Come let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of God of Jacob, that he shall teach his ways and that we may walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the Law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Micah 4:2) 

Looking over the horizon, particularly in the context of the turmoil and hostilities in the middle east, all of us worried about what will happen to the whole world. But if someone is worried about how history will end, whether in a disastrous way, or in a hopeful note, we need to look no further than Micah 4. It tells us how the Messiah will be a ruler for the whole world, ruling from Jerusalem, and bringing lasting peace.

International political experts and commentators maintain that the peace of the world spins around a not-so-attractive city called Jerusalem. History tells us that all the great empires wanted to conquer Jerusalem. It is not the economic capital of the world, neither is it rich in gold, silver, or petrol nor of any rare earth material. It is not even anything close to Canberra as a garden city for that matter. Yet, why is that all these ancient and modern empires try to conquer Jerusalem, also called Zion in the Bible? (In Psalm 137, we read, the exiles sitting by the rivers of Babylon, when their captors required them to sing the songs of Zion!) Zion symbolized their identity as a nation and their hope of being restored.  

Though known as the city of peace, Jerusalem has always been a city of turmoil, not peace.

What is the importance of Zion in the Bible?

The word Zion appears 152 times in the Old Testament, 7 times in the New Testament, and is not only used to describe the mountain, but has huge theological significance. The Bible describes Zion as:

The City of David (2 Samuel 5:7, 1 Kings 8:1, 1 Chronicles 11:5); The city of Jerusalem (Isaiah 33:20, Isaiah 40:9, Psalm 51:18); The entire Jewish nation (Isaiah 33:14, Zechariah 9:13); The Millennial Jerusalem (Joel 2:32, Isaiah 2:2-3); The eternal or Heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22, Micah 4:7, Isaiah 35:10)

Scripture is also full of powerful, poetic verses that give us a clue about the source of Mount Zion’s vitality and true beauty:

                  “Great is the Lord, greatly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain, beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth, like the heights of Zaphon (North) is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King. God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress” (Psalm 48:1-3).

In Psalm 87:1-2 we read “On the Holy Mountain stands the city he founded; the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.”

Now all these are true about both the city of Jerusalem and the heavenly city God has planned for future.

What about the NT ideas about Zion?

“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven….” (Hebrews 12:22).

Last week, we thought about the ultimate plan of Lord Jesus in bringing ‘other sheep’ which belongs to him, which finally becomes one-fold, under one shepherd.

Today through the prophecy of Micah (who is quoting this from Isiah 2:2-4) we see how Jerusalem is going to be the center of attraction in future days. This is perfectly in line with the hope of Jewish people that one day they will have a King, who will advise all nations and judge between them. “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill” (Psalm 2:6)

When such a ruler (Christ) will rule from Jerusalem, international disputes are not going to be settled by military solutions. In the modern world we settle international problems by what is termed as “military solutions.” Military solution is a pet name for overt war. It tries to justify war and its atrocities by sugar coating the terminology used. I am not saying that we can avoid war and settle every dispute in this world through peaceful means. There have been dozens of situations in history in which a just war was the only solution left on the table. Yet at the end of the day, it is a ‘bloody’ solution, leaving a thousand scar that is remembered, with pride and patriotism.

On Thursday, the nation remembered the sacrifice of our past heroes who were called to fight a war which had no causal connection with any of them. We need to salute them for their suffering and the pain of their remaining relatives. But we can look forward to a day when we have a better option. When that true King of kings begins to rule, he will turn all war machinery into agricultural instruments. “hammering swords into plow-blades and spears into pruning-knives.”    It is mindboggling to assume the gains of stopping all wars.

Last week, I did a little research on the defense spending of a few countries.

In the period between 2017 to 2021 the United states increased their defense spending from $647 billion to $800 billion a year. China on the other hand, increased it from $210 billion to $293 billion. For Australia it rose from $ 27 billion to $31 billion and with the new Submarine project, we will be spending close to $50 billion in the name of securing our boarders. (source: https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/ranking/military-spending-defense-)budget.

Despite all this spending, are we getting any better at international relationships or are we heading towards a tipping point where another world war is going to eliminate all of us as a species? You can decide. I am not suggesting we will not do any preparation and will become a sitting duck for other hostile nations. We believe that with the gathered intelligence, defense spending has become a necessary thing. But if such a threat could be addressed in a peaceful way, it is anyone’s imagination how every nation could progress using their money for their own people, rather than stockpiling armaments in fear of others.

As we celebrate our heroes of the past and support those who now represent us abroad, we need to remember that the evil forces which make people and nations dislike and attack each other should be addressed first so that we can sleep in peace. And I believe that only the true prince of peace can solve the root cause of all national and international animosities. World leaders can continue to try for many more years in vain, while ignoring the counsel of God. But if we instead turn to God first, he will instruct us we can walk in his ways and find true and lasting peace.

So, let us look forward to the day when our Lord Jesus will take over the affairs of this world and begin to rule from Jerusalem, as prophesied by St John in the book of Revelation. “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.” (Rev 21:10)

Let us pray…

________________

21 April 2024 One flock, one shepherd

‘I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So, there will be one flock, one shepherd’ (John 10:16).

Today based on our readings in Acts and in the Gospel, I want to talk about two things: the need for unity among Christians and the non-negotiable uniqueness of Christ as the Saviour of the world.

An abiding metaphor in the Scriptures is that of God as a Shepherd. Like a shepherd God wanted to walk with his people, lead them to good pastures, and save them from enemies. As a long expected ‘Messiah’, Jesus’ claimed that he is the Good Shepherd. But in this passage which we heard that this shepherd is not going to be their exclusive King and Shepherd. He has ‘other sheep that do not belong to this fold’ and “I must bring them also”. That was not something that the Jewish people wanted to hear. Their Messiah should be their Saviour alone, the gentiles are pariah, why should they be included!

Now we can only speculate what Jesus means by ‘bringing’ them. Bringing them to, where? And how?  So instead of talking about to where or how this would happen, I am going to speak about the intend rather than the outcome or its shape.

From the book of Genesis all the way to the Book of Revelation, the Scriptures presume that all people everywhere are created equally and as far as God is concerned, they all belong to him. Some have understood this and have come back to the fold, while others are yet to come to terms with their condition and change. God is continuing his saving work among people of other nations and cultures. But his ultimate plan for humanity is revealed through the verses we read; there will be one flock, and one shepherd.

What I am talking about is the universal brotherhood of humankind and the Fatherhood of God. God in his mercy, has chosen to restore this whole world back to himself. As more and more people come to him and accept Him as their own Shepherd and Lord, they become part of a sheepfold which we call a Church.

How do we appropriate this divine plan?

The undivided Church formulated the Creed with this unity in mind, and we continue to repeat the same; we “believe in one, holy catholic and apostolic church”. What we affirm is that the Church is one, and we are all one in Christ.

The question here is, how are we going to live out this most important aspect of our common faith?

The Gospel has been preached to people of different cultures and traditions for centuries. Churches have been formed all over the world. But if you have cursory glance across the globe, we can see that even the most authentic and traditional churches do not worship God in the same way. Some tend to follow a liturgy like the one we do in the Anglican Church. We are comfortable in the written form of our worship, as it is processed and predictable. And we also know it is theologically robust and trinitarian. But all these have evolved over the centuries. We the Anglicans have had this prayer book only since 1662. For centuries, our clergy were facing East. Here at SMiV, we have three different worship styles. Yet we worship the same God.

What I am trying to say is that, neither the liturgy nor the theology defines our belonging to the one Shepherd. What unites Christians is the fact that we have all been saved through sacrifice of our Lord and Savior. In other words, what unites us is the fact that we are his children through faith.

This is what Paul says in Colossians 3:11, “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” 

So, Jesus is reminding us in the Gospel reading (John 10) that although we may find it easy and comfortable in flocking together as birds of the same feather, at the consummation of time, there will only be one table where all will feast with Him: one sheepfold and one shepherd!

Now this unity of Christians is not an optional extra but a positive essential, as we come closer and closer to the second coming of our Lord. During my Easter Sermon I said that the Church built on the site of the tomb of Jesus is not functioning-no services there- because of disunity among Christian denominations. It is a shame to think that there are about 30000 official denominations among Christians. What a pathetic situation!

So, while it is important to hold on to what we believe is true, we should also remember that in the coming Kingdom of God, there will not be any Anglican, or Pentecostal or Baptist or Orthodox enclaves.

Jesus said, “there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

So, while we cannot agree with many other denominations and with the ways they conduct themselves as a congregation, we must underscore the fact that they are a sheepfold of the Lord in their own right. We cannot and should not judge others. But we should have healthy and meaningful dialogues even when we know they are wrong. But at the end of the day, we need to affirm the fact that if they have put their trust in the saving work of Christ, they have become God’s children, and we belong to the same body of Christ.

And there is one more reason why we should unite. The world over, Christians being attacked not because they have done anything wrong, but because they stand up and expose false religions and false prophets. In the defence of our common faith, Apostle Peter said, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” (Acts. 4:12) That is an exclusivist statement, that challenges pluralism and relativism. For Christ, there are no competitors. No wonder the apostles were persecuted. Jesus himself was killed because he said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; No one comes to the Father except through me”. (John 14:6)

 My dear friends and fellow believers, the gospel of Jesus is an exclusive proposition which maintains a truth that is non-negotiable. If you believe that truth, it has the capacity to change your life and give you the boldness to say it aloud. It will attract criticism, ridicule, and at times, persecution, like what we see all around the globe these days. A secular government will not like it. And hence the cost can be your own life. But Jesus has not called us for a smooth and easy way of life. As the famous German theologian and activist Deitrich Bonhoeffer said, “When Jesus bids someone, he bids them to die”.

Are you delighted to embrace this exclusive yet unifying faith?

Let us pray...

________________

14 April 2024 Do not love the world or the things in the world - 1 John 2:15-17; 3:1-6     

‘Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possession-is not from the Father but from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.’

Not to love the world or things in the world seems like an impossible admonition. We can raise a range of questions against it. Didn’t God love this world so much that he sent his only Son to save it? If we do not love something, how can we even think of preserving or honoring it? Did John mean the material world or the world with certain kinds of people whom we cannot love for several reasons? I am sure you may add a few other legitimate questions to these I have already raised. What did John mean by loving the world here?

‘But it seems clear that there is an inconsistency between the love of the world and the love of God; between being carnally minded, esteeming, desiring, and pursuing immoderately visible and temporal things, (which is death), and being spiritually minded, having our thoughts and affections set on invisible and heavenly things, (which is life and peace).’(quote)

‘The things that are in the world - referred to in the text which I quoted are "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." John does not say that we are in no sense to love "anything" that is in the material world; that we are to feel no interest in flowers, and streams, and forests, and fountains; that we are to have no admiration for what God has done as the Creator of all things; that we are to cherish no love for any of the inhabitants of the world, our friends and kindred; or that we are to pursue none of the objects of this life in making provision for our families; but that we are not to love the things which are sought merely to pamper the appetite, to please the eye, or to promote pride in living’. According to CH Dodd, ‘these are sensuality, materialism, and ostentation.’ These are the pursuit of the people of this world; these are not to be sought by Christians.

Even if we can find what John means by ‘loving this world’ which he considers as reprehensible, it is far more difficult to apply or implement it in anyone’s life. On the surface it looks like an impossible task. But I believe there must be an easier way.

Let me approach this whole thing from another angle.

Quite often, Christian life has been compared to a pilgrim’s journey. During our normal course of life, something or someone has captured our attention and then we decide to take a journey to this place or person which seems far away in the beginning. But as each day passes by, we feel excited as we become closer to our destination. Our Christian life is like that pilgrim, who has decided to leave a life that is temporary to an eternal one. His/her allegiance has changed from an oppressive kingdom to a liberating one. Things of this world therefore do not appeal to that person anymore. At best, money, fame, or material things are considered as tools and not objects of pursuit anymore. Such people’s hearts and minds have been captured by a love that surpasses any earthly delight. The awards, rewards, or recognition no longer appeals to such as these.

The injunction, not to love this world, is only sensible or applicable if you have the mindset of a pilgrim, who is bent on going to his promised land. Otherwise, it amounts to unrealism if not outright indifference to this world. They feel like they are in a foreign country wishing to go back home.

This is not altogether a Johannine thought. St Paul also said the same thing; “but our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Phil. 3:20. The writer of Hebrews also mirrors this idea; “for here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come” (Heb 13:14).

CS Lewis, the one-time Professor at Oxford and Cambridge, and great thinker, says that this world which we live in is an invaded territory. Heaven has invaded and made this a colony of God’s Kingdom. The oppressive authority which was ruling this world has been defeated. The conqueror was none other than the very Son of God. Since he has gone back to the Father who sent him, He has bequeathed his authority to his regent-the Church. And as his faithful as emissaries, we are to be like salt and light for this enemy territory. As followers of Christ, they have joined forces with their ‘captain’ to subdue this oppressive authority and rescue as many people, who believe, and to prepare them for the coming Kingdom. If those emissaries begin the love the things that they were indulging in the past, it means that they have never enjoyed the love of God, says John.

In other words, a true Christian is one who lives within the realities of these two opposing worlds. On the one hand, as a citizen of his/her country, there is this huge responsibility to live as its good citizen. On the other hand, as a Christian, we have a mandate to change this world’s unjust structures and laws and to bring it under the authority and rule of Christ, which is by far the best. So, the conviction that ‘we are not of this world’ gives us enough courage and resolve to change this world while being its good citizens, all the while reminding ourselves that we do belong to a Kingdom that is from above.

While all these are attitudinal, the practical life of such people who live in this paradigm will be distinctly different. It is like living in an embassy in a foreign country. Our normal lives are lived in the place we are stationed, this world. We eat the fruit of this land; we have our friends and close ones in this land, but we are different, our aims are different as we are on a diplomatic mission working for the country (the Kingdom of God) we belong to. We are governed by a higher and better set of rules. In other words, we are like a ship that is passing through the seas, which cannot let the water outside get into our ship, lest we perish.

Let me ask you this one question, has your ship sailed yet? Have you begun your spiritual pilgrimage? Are you on a mission? If not, it is time to take that step today. Commit your life to the Lord and change your allegiance from this world, because it is passing away. And for those of you who have spent considerable time in their spiritual journey, check the strength of your resolve, re-commit your lives for a higher and superior cause. As John continue to say, “beloved, we are God’s children now, what we will be, has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this, when He is revealed, we will be like Him.” (John 3:2-3) “And all who have this hope in Him purify themselves just as He is pure”.

Let us pray…

 ________________

7 April 2024 Resurrection - The purpose of John’s Gospel - John 20:19

Last week we considered the importance of resurrection which makes the Christian faith unique. We also heard about some of the follow-on effects of such a belief in the risen Christ.

In the first part of the Gospel reading today, we see how Jesus appeared to the disciples except Thomas. After convincing them that his resurrection is not an apparition but real, Jesus gives them a commission to announce the forgiveness through his death and resurrection. These episodes also give us a glimpse of what kind of body Jesus assumed. Let us briefly look into it.

The difference between Jesus’ resurrection and Lazarus’

Unlike the raising of Lazarus from the dead, Jesus’ resurrected body was different. Before Lazarus was raised back to life, Jesus asked the stone which was laid across the tomb to be taken away (John 11:38-39) And even as Lazarus came out alive, Jesus asked those around to take off the strips of linen and the face cloth around his face. If you look close to Jesus’ resurrection narratives, we can see that, when the disciples entered the empty tomb, they ‘saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself (John 20:7). While Lazarus came back to life with an earthly body, Jesus’ body was transformed at the resurrection. In verse nineteen of the passage, we can see that Jesus came to the midst of his disciples while the room was locked. If I am to talk about the peculiarities of the resurrected body, that itself will be another sermon. So, let me come back to the passage.

Resurrection and Mission

Jesus wanted his disciples to be absolutely convinced about the truthfulness of his resurrection. That is why he was willing to show his hands and feet, which obviously bore the marks of the crucifixion. But Jesus wanted more from his disciples. There was a mission that they were to embark: “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (v. 21). Now what is the shape of this mission?

Trinitarian Mission and our role

By late twentieth century, mission is understood as something that originated in the heart of God. The Church did not invent ‘mission.’ It started with God the Father. In theological terms this is known as missio dei. God is a sending God. He sent his one and only Son. John 3:17 states the purpose that sending. ‘He did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.’ Now that Jesus the Son of God has ‘finished’ (tetelestai) the saving work, He wants his disciples to tell the world, the Good News of what has been accomplished by the obedient Son. But the disciples need not do this in their own strength. Jesus will ask the Father and sent His Holy Spirit to empower them for their mission. That is why he says, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” bringing to memory the how God breathed life to the first humans (Gen. 2).

Thus, we can see that all three members of the Trinity (Father, Son, and The Holy Spirit) are equally involved in the missio dei. The mission of God is entirely Trinitarian. What is special about this mission is that, as disciples, we all all participate in the mission of God. The first Apostles were given this trinitarian mission to go and make disciples of all nations Matt. 28:19-20), preaching and imparting the forgiveness which God in Christ has wrought for humanity. As an Apostolic church, we have inherited this mandate, both as a privilege, as well as a responsibility. How far are we aware of this; of the forgiveness we have received, and the responsibility we have in reaching out with this Good News?

The ‘Thomas episode’ is illuminating in many ways. I have always felt that Thomas represents the Western people. We in the west, have a rationalistic mind, which always wants to measure and quantify things and, if possible, to classify them into some categories. Something that does not fit into our rational mind or a category, does not appeal to our minds. Being absent, while Jesus appeared to his disciples, Thomas was probably feeling ‘missed out.’ He was not willing to latch on to other peoples’ convictions but demanded proof. I think he wanted empirical evidence! In that sense, I would say, he had a scientific approach. Did Jesus shun Thomas because he had his reservations? No. Jesus knew it was important for all his disciples to be on the same page, despite their personal inhibitions or approaches. It took a week more before Thomas had a personal encounter with the risen Lord. When it happened, Jesus again showed his hands and feet to Thomas and asked him to verify for himself the truth and veracity of Jesus’ bodily resurrection. The Scripture does not say whether Thomas put his hands into Jesus’ wounds. But that possibility was enough for the so called ‘doubting Thomas’ to be convinced. And then he makes his famous and perhaps the first credal statement: “My Lord and my God.” Theologians often say that the second paragraph of the Nicene creed is an explanation of Thomas’ confession here.

Yet, Jesus says that we can believe in Jesus and his resurrection and be blessed, without personally seeing the risen Lord. Today, You and I believe, not necessarily verifying the empirical evidence of the resurrection, but we believe in the Apostolic witness, which has been passed on to us through many generations of believers. In that sense, as Jesus said: “we are blessed who have not seen yet believed.” (v. 29)              

When we think of the ways by which the Apostles witnessed as was commanded by their Lord, it is interesting to see, that Thomas, a Middle Eastern person, who had a western mindset, went to the East, all the way to India. As some of you may know, he came to Kerala, my home state, in AD 52, and established seven churches there. It has always been a source of joy and pride for me to remember that I belonged to that Church which was established by Thomas himself. We bear testimony to the fact that, what the Apostles have passed on to us, is not wasted. Thomas later moved later to the neighboring state, where he was speared to death and became a martyr. The St Thomas Mount in Mylapore near Madras (Chennai), where he was buried, is a pilgrim center, even today.

You and I may not be called to die like the early apostles. Our challenge is to live for the Lord every day as his faithful witnesses. We can do so, only if we live in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray…    

________________

31 March 2024 Easter Sunday - The empty tomb and its significance

Mark 11:6. But the angel said to the women “Do not be alarmed, you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified, he has been raised, he is not here.

‘Come and see the place he lay’ Matt; 28:6.

Since this fact of resurrection is an oft repeated thing, somehow most Christians forget the importance of it. But right from the start, the Apostles knew that the truthfulness of resurrection is what makes the Christian faith unique.

Without resurrection there is no Christianity. If the resurrection had not taken place, Jesus is just another religious leader, perhaps a better one than others, because of his good life and noble teachings, but nothing more than that. If Jesus has indeed risen from the dead, he is the only one who can offer us a way to the living God the Father of us all. So, it is important for us to verify the truthfulness of the resurrection. And even the angels knew this very well. So, he says, Come and see the place he lay”.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we see two angels, but they say the same thing, “He is not here, because he has been raised-just as he said. Come and look at the place he lay.”

From the very first day of resurrection, the empty tomb was something that no one could sideline or ignore.

But for a sceptic, an empty tomb may not be enough. Have they gone to the wrong tomb and did the women have some kind of hallucination? They ask.

The Gospel narrative clearly states that Jesus was buried according to the Jewish custom in a tomb which was made for Joseph of Arimathea, who was a secret disciple and was also a member of the Sanhedrin. He was so much of an influential man that even the Governor was his friend. That is why he could ask for Jesus’ body for a decent burial.

I recently heard a joke about this. When Joseph gave his tomb for Jesus, someone close to him asked why he would give his tomb to an unknown person who was crucified as a criminal by the Romans. He said, ‘never mind,’ “it is only for a weekend”!

But history says that Joseph  never ‘used’ it, and it is still empty, and in that place stands the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Matthew’s Gospel 27:62-66 confirms that Pilot and the Chief Priests sealed the tomb and then posted a group of soldiers on guard. Can we say they secured a wrong empty tomb? That would mean both the governor and the temple authorities were plain stupid!

But though these pieces of evidence are conclusive to those who check the veracity of Jesus’ resurrection, the Christian message does not aim just to confirm that Jesus came back to life, but at what flows from resurrection.

The first thing that flows from the resurrection is that it proves Jesus is indeed who he claimed to be; the very Son of God, sent by the Father to be the Saviour of the world. And if he has died for all, then salvation from sin and death has been achieved. Death is no more to be feared but can be considered just a door to eternal life. At last, humanity has a new hope.

Last year at Easter, I spoke of the embodied hope which the resurrection of Jesus imparts to those who believe in him. At the second coming of our Lord, we who believe will all be transformed with an imperishable body like that of our risen saviour (Phil. 3:21). What a glorious hope!

Our salvation is dependent on our faith in the resurrection. We are eligible for salvation because Jesus has conquered sin, death, and the devil. He has paid a ransom for us; he defeated death through his own death and has dethroned the devil from his vantage point by disarming him of all his weapons. Finally, we can be free and that is possible through faith in the victorious one.

The good news is that it does not stop at securing our salvation or giving us the hope for eternal life. That are just the immediate personal benefits. Resurrection means a lot more than that.

Look at the disciples of Jesus. Earlier they were so afraid that all of them ran away when Jesus was arrested. The one who boldly declared that he will even lay down his life for Jesus, renounced him three times within a few hours. But when they were convinced that Jesus has indeed resurrected in a bodily way, they became bold beyond measure.

In the last twenty-five years or so, I have noticed that western Christians have lost their confidence in their faith. In what is understood as a loose form of secularism and pluralism, they have been silenced by those other voices who believes that Christians have nothing more than some unbelievable propositions to offer. We have failed to show that the claim of Christ is more than compelling. There is no alternative, but him and him alone under the heaven by which humanity can be saved.

This was true for those early Christians. They could challenge unbelievers of all sorts, whether they were kings, or governors, or philosophers or even common people. They knew that by putting their faith in a resurrected Saviour, they could redefine this present life in the light of eternal life which Jesus offered through his own death and resurrection. Life could be transformed.

Let me pause here and ask you, has the risen Saviour emboldened you? Have you discovered that you could enliven the things that you think are dead and gone.

In the weeks to come, I will be talking more about the resurrection appearances and what it means to you and me. But for now, if you have taken a baptism whether as a child or an adult know for sure, through that outwards sign, you were indeed identifying with the death of Christ.

‘Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized, into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.’ (Rom. 6:3-4))

Let us bow down our heads and silently re-commit our lives to the Lord, asking His Holy Spirit to renew our commitment to the one who died and rose again from the dead and now sitting at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for us.

Let us pray…