Who here remembers the song Don’t Worry Be Happy? I would sing some for you, but I fear the replacement costs for the stained glass windows would be a bit more than we can afford!
Brothers and sisters in todays Gospel passage Jesus is almost reciting those words to us – Don’t worry be happy – he is telling us that God is in control. That God is faithful and He calls us to be a people of faith. Before we dig too deep into our Gospel for today we should set the scene a little by understanding the context of what Jesus is saying here. We are picking up part way through chapter 6 of Matthews Gospel – this is right in the middle of the sermon on the mount which is recorded over chapters 5-7 of Matthews Gospel. The sermon on the mount is a collection of teachings or saying from Jesus teaching his followers about how they are called to live as members of God’s Kingdom. The most famous part of the sermon on the mount of course is the beatitudes – so much so that people often make the mistake of thinking they ARE the sermon. The truth though is much much more is covered. So as we pick up our reading today it is important we understand that it is part of a larger narrative – of Jesus teaching about how we are called to live as his followers – it is not said in isolation. That is important as we look at where our reading begins – Jesus talking about the eye being the lamp for the body. This saying needs to be taken in the context of what has preceded it for us to truly understand it. Jesus is not here picking on blind people and saying that they are doomed. Rather in verses 19 to 21 which precede this statement he has just finished saying: 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. [1] You see Jesus has just finished explaining to his followers that they need to have there focus on the Kingdom of God – not on earthly desires and wealth. He wants them to direct there gaze not to storing up earthly wealth but rather to God – for where there treasure is, there is where there heart will be also. It is then he says those opening lines from todays Gospel. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; 23 but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! [2] So you see Jesus isn’t talking about physical blindness – rather he is using the eye, and light and darkness as metaphors for the spiritual health of a person. If your focus is all wrong - if your eye is unhealthy and gazing towards the wealth and wants of this world rather than God’s Kingdom, then you are shutting out the light – if you are directing your gaze towards the world instead of God, you are looking on darkness rather than light – and so it is darkness that will fill you rather than the light which is God. That helps us then make sense of the next verse doesn’t it: 24 “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.[3] If we were to read these opening verses of todays Gospel account without understanding the context, we could be forgiven for thinking that it was a bit strange for Jesus to jump from talking about blindness to money and masters. That is why it is so very important for us always to seek to understand the context of what we are reading in the scriptures. We can very quickly get ourselves lost and confused if we just pick random bits and pieces of scripture to read and remove them from their context. But what does it mean now for Jesus to say we can’t serve wealth (mammon) and God? Well it flows into the next section of our reading where Jesus explains to us how we need not worry about what we need. Faith is fundamentally a matter of trusting God, leaning on God—not just believing that God exists but believing that God actually is a caring parent and a trustworthy deliverer, and that this care and deliverance is for me, for you, for everyone. Jesus says that God feeds and clothes the animals, even the birds of the air and the grass of the field are fed and clothed; So if God cares for them, why would we doubt his care for us? The truth is though, that when it comes to our own wellbeing, there is an competitor for our trust, there is another way we can seek to get all we need, and that is “mammon” which our bible has translated as “wealth”. But what Jesusis referring to here is not people having great sums of money, or even mere money at all, he is talking about people having a money-centred approach to life’s basic needs: having a strictly material outlook. He is talking about the danger facing people whose gaze has been averted from the kingdom – and so they are unhealthy – they are being consumed by darkness. We cannot, Jesus says, have it both ways. We cannot at the same time (1) trust ultimately in our own ability and striving for material wealth as the foundation of our wellbeing and (2) Also trust ultimately in God as that same foundation. There can be only one ultimate foundation, only one ultimate trust. So we must continually choose which of these we take to be the true bedrock of our lives, our own efforts for wealth or God’s care for us. Our choice will determine who we are serving – either God or Mammon. This does not mean, of course, that Christians should stop looking to provide for ourselves. If our ultimate trust is properly directed toward God’s care for us, that doesn’t mean we don’t have to seek to provide for ourselves and our family – it just means we do so from a position of trust ultimately in God to provide rather than in our ability to acquire wealth. However, something else is ruled out, namely, “worry”. If we truly are under God’s loving, personal care, if God truly does and will provide, then though we may and should work and “strive,” in the end our own efforts are not the source of our well-being. In truth, God is taking care of that, no matter what circumstances may come and go - Look at the birds. Consider the lilies. They do not worry, and neither should we. Lets be clear here though, Jesus is not preaching a prosperity gospel in which we get magically rewarded with wealth and prestige just for believing right as some heretical preachers proclaim; nor is he preaching that we should be passive observers waiting for God’s blessings to shower down. Jesus offers a choice: Mammon or God. If we choose wealth as our priority, we can expect great highs and devastating lows – and ultimately if our gaze stays focussed there instead of on God eternal darkness. If we choose God, in good times and bad (and there will still be bad times) we have no reason to worry. The point is that God is faithful. “Don’t worry, be happy” can sound shallow, unrealistic. Jesus tells us and we know that the life of faith is not without its issues, and challenges. There are struggles and heartbreak as well as joy and jubilation. The point is that when we focus on God rather than our own wants and desires, when we focus on living out God’s call on our lives, we don’t have need of worry. We can trust that all is in God’s hands, and we are assured that we can handle whatever happens, because God is in control. Brothers and sisters all of us at times struggle with worry and anxiety. We worry about losing our homes, losing our jobs, not having enough for retirement; caring for our children until they reach adulthood; worrying about them more when they are adults. We as Anglican Christians in this diocese have found ourselves worrying over the last few years over the diocesan finances and our ability to survive and thrive as a diocese into the future – yet God is faithful and we are seeing light at the end of that tunnel. The poorest among us, fret over having adequate shelter, food, and water; finding a decent job; taking care of their families; having enough money to survive. The point is all of us—rich and poor, privileged and unprivileged—have genuine reasons to worry, even though we know worrying won’t change anything. Jesus understands this; this call that we find in our Gospel today is not based on some unrealistic utopian view of the world. What he is telling us is that no matter what we face God will not leave us without support, He is telling us that God is faithful and that in times of struggle and fear and doubt we can lean on our heavenly father. We can face life with all its uncertainties with the assurance that we are not alone—that God hears, sees, and cares about us and all the things we face in this life. Brothers and sisters we can say to each other “Don’t worry, be happy,” because we know that God is with us, and we never walk alone. The Lord be with you. [1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Mt 6:19–21). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers. [2] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Mt 6:22–23). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers. [3] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (Mt 6:24). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
The Word This Week:
Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 Psalm 119:33-40 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23 Matthew 5:38-48 Read or watch the sermon below! Watch:Read:
Well good morning again everyone. Today we are going to be Finishing continuing our mini series on these opening few chapters of focus on Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth. Today we are focusing on verses 10 - 17 of1-9 of chapter 3. It may seem like a rather odd place to finish our series – part way through a chapter. However the reading that the lectionary has provided for us today is a good one on which to finish – and to sum up what we have discovered Paul has been highlighting Paul’s call to the church in Corinth over the last few weeks.to turn back to Jesus, rather than caving into the call of the world. Before we begin looking too closely at this chapter though as we have each week, I think it is important that we recap what we learnt in our readings from the readings over the last fivefew weeks leading to this point.exploration of chapter one.
To recap Paul wrote this letter to the church in Corinth in around the year 54AD while he was in Ephesus on his third missionary journey. Corinth was the capital of the Roman province of Achaea. You will remember that the letter was written to this church because Paul had received reports that the church in Corinth was suffering under factionalism and placing great emphasis on the gifts certain members had over others. Others claimed superior knowledge and wisdom. While others were living immoral lives while still claiming membership of the church. You will recall we read in our first week about Paul setting out who the Corinthians were in the eyes of God, and emphasising that though their knowledge and gifts are wonderful things they are all from God. They enable us to see that we are called into a whole body of believers, that we are set apart – sanctified by God, that the spiritual gifts we have are from God, that our knowledge and abilities in the faith are from God. Paul wanted them to understand the great truth that it is God at work in us that redeems us – that it is God’s grace – his unmerited, or unearned favour towards us that is what saves us – that is the very key to the Gospel!. Having set the scene for his letter to the Corinthian Church by letting them know that it is God who is at work in them, and their salvation, their knowledge and their gifts are all from God, and that they are all one body of believers – the body of Christ – Paul moved into discussing factionalism and division in the church. Paul called the church to unity, to be of one mind. Now remember Paul when he says that we as the church should all be of one mind wasn’t calling us to blind faith or conformity – rather he was calling the church to focus on the core thing – the Gospel. He was also emphasising that what we do and how we behave matters and effects how we are able to promote that Gospel – that is important!. Remember he also gave us that model of evangelism – that being straight forward and honest about the Gospel without embellishment and without compromise. Then we focussed heavily on how the cross of Christ is foolishness to the world. We focussed on how it is through that cross we are reconciled to God. That it is at the cross where the consequences for our sins are dealt with. It is at the cross where God incarnate says – even though you may think it is foolish, here I show you my love, here I do what I must to bring us back together. It is at the cross that the bill we owe is paid. Two weeks ago we readLast week in chapter 2 Paul continued talking to the church in Corinth about how the Gospel does not conform to the wisdom of the world. Paul explainedIn the opening five verses of our reading today Paul continued to explain to the them how he didn’t come to them trying to appear wise and distinguished – he didn’t come to them trying to look and sound like someone who would be deemed respectable by the standards of the world - rather he came to them from a place of weakness – with a story that would seem implausible to them. Then he explained to us that it is through the spirit that we begin to fully understand what God has done for us. It is through God’s Spirit working through us and guiding us that we begin to comprehend the magnificence of what God has achieved through becoming a human being and taking upon himself the consequence for sin. Through opening ourselves up – being willing to hear God’s call, being willing to let the Spirit guide us we begin to understand that what seems like foolishness to the powers of this world – is actually the very thing that will overthrow them. When we are willing focus on what God’s spirit leads us to – we find ourselves drawn into an understanding of God that is astonishing. Then we also learnt that while there are those who Paul calls ‘unspiritual’ those who reject God and thus face the full consequence of sin. God never stops calling us. He never gives up– it is not to late, for anyone - He is there waiting for us, calling us – all we need do is turn back to him. Last week we read Paul chastising the Corinthians for making him and Apollos idols – placing them in front of God. Paul called the church in Corinth back to fidelity to the God – and he calls us to the same. We were reminded to search out the idols that we erect in our own lives – whether it be money, or reputation or our favourite sporting team – We need to identify anything that is in our lives that gets in the way of our relationship with God and set our priorities straight – because none of the things of this world mean anything next to the incredible love of God which saw him willing to die on the cross for us. Today Paul is beginning to sum it all up for the church in Corinth – and for us! You see what Paul has been trying to explain to the the Corinthians all along is that their salvation is not something that is built upon their own skills, or abilities. It is not something that is built on their own intelligence, their own knowledge or wisdom – you see no matter how knowledgeable, wise, skilled or able we are – we can never come close to God. So Paul continues our section today having just finished explaining that he and Apollos and all the other preachers and teachers (including me) aren’t the ones who need adulation and thanks – but God is. Paul says what he did in building a foundation of faith in the church at Corinth, was all through the Grace of God. That word is important – Grace – we have heard it a lot over the past few weeks, have you noticed? The word means unmerited favour. What Paul is saying is that what he did in establishing the church in Corinth, wasn’t done through anything special about him. Rather he says that it was God at work – that he was a builder – yes a master builder – but a builder none the less, using the materials he had been given for free – the Gospel. Paul is saying to them – don’t you get it? You guys are arguing with each other, and getting caught up in petty squabbles, but the truth is that even Paul – the one who introduced you to Jesus, is no more special in God’s sight than anyone else. Even Paul is completely reliant on the Grace of God. Brothers and sisters we so often get so caught up in the things of this world that we forget what God has done for us. We so often get so focussed on the things that we want or that we think we need that we forget what God has already given us. Paul in this section of the letter is calling us back to God. He is calling us to remember that it is actually God who gives us all. It is God who is creator and sustainer of the universe – it is God who calls us to live lives of love and care and compassion. It is God who forgives us when we fail. It is God who became one of us and died on that cross in order to take upon himself the consequence of sin. It is God who rose from death and forever conquered it – granting us eternal life. Paul then says the most fundamental of things. Jesus is the foundation. It is upon Jesus and what he has accomplished that everything else is built. Brothers and sisters we are called to be the very temples of God – each and every one of us – we are called to build upon that strong foundation that we have – that foundation that is Jesus Christ. We are called to build upon that lives that are worthy of the foundation. We are called to put aside the things of this world and instead be shining examples of love and generosity and care and respect. When Paul spoke to the people of Corinth about them being the temple of God, they didn’t have images of a modest church building like this one – no they had images of the Temple is Jerusalem – towering over its surroundings, seen from vast distance from any direction, adorned with Gold and silver. Paul was saying to the people of Corinth and to us that we are called to stand out – just as the Temple in Jerusalem was sanctified – set apart as a dwelling place of God– and drew people from all nations, races and cultures to seek to know more of God – so too are we called to be set apart. We are called to set aside the wants and desires – the idolatries of this world and instead to be those who like the Temple of Jerusalem draw others to seek to know God. So let us seek to learn from the mistakes of the Corinthian Church of 2000 years ago. Let us be the church that God has called us to be – a church which is truly set apart, sanctified – with Jesus Christ as or foundation. Let us be a church of people who are truly Temples of God’s Holy Spirit – who are adorned with the Gold of love, care and compassion. Above all let us be the church that acknowledges that it is the grace of God – and nothing more – that has set us free and redeemed us. Let us be the church that is willing to share that hope with others. The Lord be with you.
Τhe Word This Week:
Watch or read below!
Watch:Read:
Well good morning again everyone. Today we are going to be continuing our focus on Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth. Today we are focussing on verses 1-9 of chapter 3 and Paul’s call to the church in Corinth to turn back to Jesus, rather than caving into the call of the world. Before we begin looking too closely at this chapter though I think it is important that we recap what we learnt in our readings from the last few weeks exploration of chapter one.
To recap Paul wrote this letter to the church in Corinth in around the year 54AD while he was in Ephesus on his third missionary journey. Corinth was the capital of the Roman province of Achaea. You will remember that the letter was written to this church because Paul had received reports that the church in Corinth was suffering under factionalism and placing great emphasis on the gifts certain members had over others. Others claimed superior knowledge and wisdom. While others were living immoral lives while still claiming membership of the church. You will recall we read in our first week about Paul setting out who the Corinthians were in the eyes of God, and emphasising that though their knowledge and gifts are wonderful things they are all from God. They enable us to see that we are called into a whole body of believers, that we are set apart – sanctified by God, that the spiritual gifts we have are from God, that our knowledge and abilities in the faith are from God. Paul wanted them to understand the great truth that it is God at work in us that redeems us – that it is God’s grace – his unmerited, or unearned favour towards us that is what saves us. Having set the scene for his letter to the Corinthian Church by letting them know that it is God who is at work in them, and their salvation, their knowledge and their gifts are all from God, that they are all one body – Paul moved into discussing factionalism and division in the church. Paul called the church to unity, to be of one mind. Now remember Paul when he says that we as the church should all be of one mind wasn’t calling us to blind faith or conformity – rather he was calling the church to focus on the core thing – the Gospel. He was also emphasising that what we do and how we behave matters and effects how we are able to promote that Gospel. Remember he also gave us that model of evangelism – that being straight forward and honest about the Gospel without embellishment and without compromise. Then we focussed heavily on how the cross of Christ is foolishness to the world. We focussed on how it is through that cross we are reconciled to God. That it is at the cross where the consequences for our sins are dealt with. It is at the cross where God incarnate says – even though you may think it is foolish, here I show you my love, here I do what I must to bring us back together. It is at the cross that the bill we owe is paid. Last week in chapter 2 Paul continued talking to the church in Corinth about how the Gospel does not conform to the wisdom of the world. In the opening five verses of our reading today Paul continued to explain to the them how he didn’t come to them trying to appear wise and distinguished – he didn’t come to them trying to look and sound like someone who would be deemed respectable by the standards of the world - rather he came to them from a place of weakness – with a story that would seem implausible to them. Then he explained to us that it is through the spirit that we begin to fully understand what God has done for us. It is through God’s Spirit working through us and guiding us that we begin to comprehend the magnificence of what God has achieved. Through opening ourselves up – being willing to hear God’s call, we begin to understand that what seems like foolishness to the powers of this world – is actually the very thing that will overthrow them. When we are willing focus on what God’s spirit leads us to – we find ourselves drawn into an understanding of God that is astonishing. Then we also learnt that God never stops calling us. He never gives up– it is not to late, for anyone - He is there waiting for us – all we need do is turn back to him. That’s what Paul is really asking the Church to do in our reading from today – to turn back to God. We begin by Paul continuing where he left off at the end of chapter 2. He had just finished talking about how those who are spiritual are able to comprehend the true wisdom of God – and receive the gifts of God (including salvation). Those who are not spiritual can’t. We focussed on this last week and how Paul was trying to help them understand that the Spirit is there ready to guide them – but they must be open to the Spirit’s guiding. So it is pretty powerful that he started the reading today by saying: And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? Wow. So after having explained to them that Christians are ones who are spiritual, and open to the wisdom of God. Paul moves to saying – so that’s why I had to speak to you guys not as spiritual people – (here he is referring to when he evangelised them and introduced them to the Gospel) but then he hits them where it hurts and says- guess what – nothing has changed – you are still mere infants in the faith – you don’t appear to have grown at all. Look at you fighting amongst yourselves – you are getting caught up in the trivialities – you are getting caught up in what the wider world tells you is important rather than actually allowing yourselves to be lead by the spirit to growth, and understanding. Paul is giving them a good wake up call here – and it is a strong contrast to how he opened the letter – where he was saying how good it was that the church had gifts, and knowledge and wisdom – all of which are from God. Here though he gfives them a reality check and says – well guys actually, whilst you have been bragging and arguing amongst each other about who is the superior one with the most oif these gifts and wisdom – the truth is you are merely infants, you haven’t even progressed past milk to getting into the solid food of God’s knowledge and wisdom. Then he explains what the greatest example of this is: For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul’, and another, ‘I belong to Apollos’, are you not merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labour of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building. You see the greatest example that the Corinthian Church is still in its infancy in terms of its understanding of God is that its members are elevating Paul and Apollos and arguing over who is greater through association with each of them. Paul responds by saying what are doing? You see the Corinthians have made Paul and Apollos idols - they have forgotten that they are merely servants in God’s Kingdom, who preach and teach – but it is not preachers and priests and bishops who save you, it is not the preachers greatness which redeems you! The preacher is just a servant in the kingdom – merely a messenger – it is God who saves us! It is God who came to earth as a human being and showed us how to live a life of love, care and compassion. It is God who came and died on the cross and took the consequence of our sin. It is God who rose from death and destroyed its hold on us. Brothers and sisters, just like the church in Corinth 2000 years ago – we need to identify the idols in our lives that get in the way of our relationship with God. For us it may not be arguing about who we are associated with – it may well be thst we are instead putting money as our idol above God, or perhaps it is our sports team, or our reputation or popularity. There are many many things that we are tempted to put at the forefront of our lives – that we are willing to push God to the side for. What we are called to do is to examine our relationship with God, to examine our priorities in life and ask ourselves the question – If St Paul was writing to us would he be telling us that like the church in Corinth we are still mere infants – still so focussed on human desires that we have pushed God to the side? Or would he write to us and commend us for how we model our lives after Jesus? Would he commend our love and compassion for each other and those around us? Would he speak of our willingness to share with others the Gospel of salvation? These are the things we are called to brothers and sisters – and like the Corinthian church was 2000 years ago, we are being called to renew our faith and renew our commitment, so that we truly are ambassadors of the incredible love and hope that comes through Jesus. Lets walk bravely forward not as infants, but as men and women in the faith, boldly living out the Gospel message through our actions and our words. The Lord be with you.
The Word this Week:
You can watch or read the sermon below. Watch:Read:
Well good morning again everyone. Today we are going to be continuing our focus on Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth. Today we are focussing on chapter 2. Before we begin looking too closely at this chapter though I think it is important that we recap what we learnt in our readings from the last few weeks exploration of chapter one.
To recap Paul wrote this letter to the church in Corinth in around the year 54AD while he was in Ephesus on his third missionary journey. Corinth was the capital of the Roman province of Achaea. You will remember that the letter was written to this church because Paul had received reports that the church in Corinth was suffering under factionalism and placing great emphasis on the gifts certain members had over others. Others claimed superior knowledge and wisdom. While others were living immoral lives while still claiming membership of the church. You will remember that those first 9 verses which we read in our first week involved Paul setting out who the Corinthians were in the eyes of God, and emphasising that though their knowledge and gifts are wonderful things they are all from God. They enable us to see that we are called into a whole body of believers, that we are set apart – sanctified by God, that the spiritual gifts we have are from God, that our knowledge and abilities in the faith are from God. Those first 9 verses point us to the great truth that it is God at work in us that is what redeems us – that it is God’s grace – his unmerited, or unearned favour towards us that is what saves us. Above all it shows us that though we are fickle, that we often get caught in our own desires, or think we are the ones doing great things that it is in fact God and his faithfulness that enables us to do all things. Having set the scene for his letter to the Corinthian Church by letting them know that it is God who is at work in them, and their salvation, their knowledge and their gifts are all from God, that they are all one body – Paul moved into discussing factionalism and division in the church. Paul called the church to unity, to be of one mind. Now remember Paul mean when he says that we as the church should all be of one mind wasn’t calling us to blind faith or conformity – rather he was calling the church to focus on the core thing – the Gospel. He was also emphasising that what we do and how we behave matters and effects how we are able to promote the Gospel. He also gave us that model of evangelism – that being straight forward and honest about the Gospel without embellishment and without compromise. Last week we focussed heavily on how the cross of Christ is foolishness to the world. We focussed on that cross where we are reconciled to God. That it is at the cross where the consequences for our sins are dealt with. It is at the cross where God incarnate says – even though you may think it is foolish, here I show you my love, here I do what I must to bring us back together. It is at the cross that the bill we owe is paid. Today Paul continues talking to the church in Corinth about how the Gospel does not conform to the wisdom of the world. In the opening five verses of our reading today Paul continues to explain to the them how he didn’t come to them trying to appear wise and distinguished – he didn’t come to them trying to look and sound like someone who would be deemed respectable by the standards of the world - rather he came to them from a place of weakness – with a story that would seem implausible to them. He came and told them that they could be set free from their fear, their brokenness and be forgiven for all that they had done wrong through simply putting their trust in what Jesus had done on the cross. He came and told them that Jesus – this guy from Nazareth, who Was crucified as a criminal – this Jesus actually rose from death – this Jesus was actually the promised one of God – This Jesus was the one who would allow them – and us – as flawed and broken as we are – to be reconciled to God – to be forgiven for our sins – because Jesus took the consequence. As we talked about last week – this is foolishness – it is nonsensical to the world. However What Paul does next is important. He transitions from talking about how this is foolishness – to begin to explain how it is in fact the very wisdom of God. He begins to explain to the Church in Corinth that while this may seem like foolishness to the wider world – to those of us who have been willing to open our hearts and minds to receive the Holy Spirit of God when he prompted us – it is in fact wisdom beyond anything we could ever hope for. You see this wisdom of God, that the rest of the world sees as foolishness actually points us to salvation – it points us to a new creation – it points us to God’s Kingdom ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him’ Paul goes on to explain to us that it is through the spirit that we begin to fully understand what God has done for us. It is through God’s Spirit working through us and guiding us that we begin to comprehend the magnificence of what God has achieved. Through opening ourselves up – being willing to hear God’s call, we begin to understand that what seems like foolishness to the powers of this world – is actually the very thing that will overthrow them. When we are willing to put aside what we deem as important and instead focus on what God’s spirit leads us to – we find ourselves drawn into an understanding of God that is astonishing. We find ourselves understanding that God himself became a human being – we find ourselves understanding that God himself went to the cross so that we need not suffer the eternal consequence of sin. We find ourselves understanding that through Jesus God has broken into our world and a new creation has begun to dawn – a new creation that we are called to display in our own lives. When Jesus went to that cross God himself broke into the world he created – God himself came to break the corrupt powers of this fallen and broken world and draw us to him. Paul also says something that for some people is troubling – he says that those who are not spiritual don’t receive the gifts of God’s spirit. That’s a significant statement – because Paul isn’t just speaking here about the gifts of prophecy and tongues and understanding … he is talking about the ultimate gift – he is talking about salvation – forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God. We don’t like to talk about that much do we – that there are people in the world who will not be saved – who will not be reconciled to God and thus will have to face the consequences of their sin. Paul here refers to them as those who are unspiritual – we can understand that as those who reject the call of God’s Spirit on their lives. You see Paul isn’t saying that God rejects people – he is saying that there are people who despite God’s call – despite the Spirit moving their hearts to seek him out, choose instead to turn away – to reject the movement and prompting of the Spirit. When they make that decision they cut themselves off from God – they cut themselves off from the wisdom and understanding that would lead them to know what God has done for them. But I want you all to understand something very important – God never stops calling us. He never gives up. If you or someone you know has chosen to reject God – it is not to late, He is there waiting for us – all we need do is turn back to him. All we need to do is open ourselves up to the prompting of the Spirit and be willing to take that initial step of faith – if we are willing to take that step when he calls us, then as Paul says we will be lead into all wisdom, we will find joy and forgiveness - we will find hope. Brothers and sisters, we are constantly being told by the world around us that what we believe is foolish – that we are fools for even contemplating putting our faith in Jesus. We are constantly being drawn away from God – the enemy, is always seeking to pull us away. However, the Great promise of God is that he is with us always – and if we are just willing to put our trust and hope in him we will never abandon us – he will be our rock, our redeemer - he will be our guide, our comforter and friend – and he will lead us to a kind of wisdom joy and hope that we can trust in. Let us each this week take some time to sit down and simply open our hearts up to God. Let us each take the time to reflect on what God has done for us – let us take the time to ask for a fresh movement of His Spirit to stir us, and guide us. Let us dedicate ourselves again to seeking after the wisdom of God – given by the spirit – which sets us free through the cross - that foolish, foolish cross. The Lord be with you.
The Word This Week:
Watch:Read:
Well good morning again everyone. Today we are going to be continuing our focus on Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth. Today we are focussing on verses 18 to 31 of chapter 1. Before we begin looking too closely at these verses though I think it is important that we recap what we learnt in lour readings from the last couple of weeks exploration of verses 1 to 9 and 10 to 18.
To recap Paul wrote this letter to the church in Corinth in around the year 54AD while he was in Ephesus on his third missionary journey. Corinth was the capital of the Roman province of Achaea. You will remember that the letter was written to this church because Paul had received reports that the church in Corinth was suffering under factionalism and placing great emphasis on the gifts certain members had over others. Others claimed superior knowledge and wisdom. While others were living immoral lives while still claiming membership of the church. You will remember that those first 9 verses which we read in our fist week involved Paul setting out who the Corinthians were in the eyes of God, and emphasising that though their knowledge and gifts are wonderful things they are all from God. They enable us to see that we are called into a whole body of believers, that we are set apart – sanctified by God, that the spiritual gifts we have are from God, that our knowledge and abilities in the faith are from God. Those first 9 verses point us to the great truth that it is God at work in us that is what redeems us – that it is God’s grace – his unmerited, or unearned favour towards us that is what saves us. Above all it shows us that though we are fickle, that we often get caught in our own desires, or think we are the ones doing great things that it is in fact God and his faithfulness that enables us to do all things. Having set the scene for his letter to the Corinthian Church by letting them know that it is God who is at work in them, and their salvation, their knowledge and their gifts are all from God, that they are all one body – Paul moved into discussing factionalism and division in the church. Paul called the church to unity, to be of one mind. Now remember Paul mean when he says that we as the church should all be of one mind wasn’t calling us to blind faith or conformity – rather he was calling the church to focus on the core thing – the Gospel. He was also emphasising that what we do and how we behave matters and effects how we are able to promote the Gospel. He also gave us that model of evangelism – that being straight forward and honest about the Gospel without embellishment and without compromise. Now we begin our reading for this week. For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. This is the key passage for the whole reading – Paul continues this theme for the next several verses – verses 18-25 are all dealing with the foolishness of the cross and how it stands against what the world would deem to be wise. So what does he mean that the cross is foolishness? Well let me ask you some questions – if you are a Jewish person living in first century Israel, and longing for the arrival of the promised Messiah to free you from the oppressive Roman empire – would you accept the idea that a man who was brutally tortured and executed as a criminal was in fact that promised saving Messiah? Or what if you are a citizen of the city of Corinth – you are living in a city only around 50 miles from Athens, in a culture that prides itself on its philosophical prowess and superior knowledge. Would the best way to convince you that Jesus was your saviour – the living son of God – to explain how he was arrested tortured and killed on a cross? Remembering that the cross was the ultimate symbol of shame – it was the death of the most despised in society – there was no greater shame than that… No… It probably wouldn’t be the best place to start would it! But that is precisely what Paul did when he came to the church at Corinth. One of the things that is often thrown at Christianity is that it is just so implausible – that it is ridiculous to believe that the God of the universe – the one created all that is – seen and unseen – this God, not only actually cares about us, but that he cares about us so much that he was willing to become one of us – live a life of service and love and then to give himself up to suffer a slow torturous death on a cross – the shameful death of a criminal. It is foolishness, isn’t it? It was foolishness 2000 years ago too. But you see that’s kind of the point isn’t it? If Paul wanted to impress the people of Corinth when he came to convert them to this new religion, he would have waxed lyrical with much emphasis on all the wonderful things Jesus did during his life and he would have done everything he could to downplay the significance of the cross. But Paul wasn’t about impressing the Corinthians, or anyone else with his great knowledge of the scriptures or his wisdom. Paul went straight down the foolish route. He went straight to the cross and what it means. Why? you might wonder… Well let me break it down for you brothers and sisters – as much as the world would like us all to believe that the most important thing about Jesus was the way he showed love and care for those around him and the great things he taught us about how we should live, the truth is that the world is dead wrong. The most important thing Jesus did for us was going to that cross, as foolish and that may sound to us, it is that cross that is the key. You see it is that cross where we are reconciled to God. It is at the cross where the consequences for our sins are dealt with. It is at the cross where God incarnate says – even though you may think it is foolish, here I show you my love, here I do what I must to bring us back together. It is at the cross that the bill we owe is paid. You see when we sin, when we do that which is opposition to the will of God for us, it creates a real barrier between us and him. It creates a barrier between perfection and imperfection, and it is a barrier that we are not capable of crossing by ourselves. The God of the universe couldn’t bear that we would be lost to him, and so he came to earth as one of us, so that on behalf of all of us, he could take upon himself those consequences. You see that is the truth about what the cross means – it means that God was willing to so lower himself that he would be willing to become one of us – he joined his nature to ours – one of his created creatures – so that he could redeem us, so that he could bridge the gap that we had created. So that he could take the consequence, and we could be united with him again. You see that is why he made us in the first place – to be in relationship with him. By coming to earth as one of us, by going to that cross and by rising again God joined our nature to his, he took the consequence of our sin upon himself and bridged the gap between us and him so that we are redeemed, remade and restored to full relationship with him. What seems even more foolish to many is that we don’t need to try and earn what God has done – he is offering this reconciliation as a free gift. All we are required to do is accept it – all we are required to do is to say yes Lord, I accept what you have already done for me. Foolishness isn’t it… if you were going to make up a religion and have people try and follow it, this wouldn’t be the way to do it would it. I mean who would want to sign up for this… it goes against all the wisdom of the world – it goes against the worldly wisdom that anyone worth following is respectable and looked up to because Jesus died a shameful death as a criminal, it goes against the worldly wisdom that God is just some far off concept, because Jesus is God incarnate as a human being. It goes against the worldly wisdom that says vengeance is required for wrongdoing because God says I will take the punishment on your behalf. The cross really is a stumbling block and foolishness for those who refuse to believe. Yet when we are willing to put aside what we think God should be like according to our own ‘wisdom’ and instead just open our hearts and minds to see what he really has done for us we see that what is foolishness to the world is in fact the very thing that saves us. Let us be willing to embrace what God has done for us, let us be willing to give that incredible message to others, and share the Gospel. We don’t need to embellish it, we don’t need to add to it or take away. Just as it did when Paul preached it, if we just speak plainly, the Gospel will convict people and bring them to faith... Lets All be fools for the Gospel. The Lord be with you. Watch:Read:
Well good morning again everyone. Today we are going to be continuing our focus on Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth. Today we are focussing on verses of 10 – 18 of chapter 1. Before we begin looking too closely at these verses though I think it is important that we recap what we learnt in last weeks exploration of verses 1 to 9.
The context for the writing of this letter is that it was written to the church in Corinth in around the year 54AD while Paul was in Ephesus on his third missionary journey. Corinth was the capital of the Roman province of Achaea. You will remember that the letter was written to this church because Paul had received reports that the church in Corinth was suffering under factionalism and placing great emphasis on the gifts certain members had over others. Others claimed superior knowledge and wisdom. While others were living immoral lives while still claiming membership of the church. You will remember that those first 9 verses which we read last week involved Paul setting out who the Corinthians were in the eyes of God, and emphasising that though their knowledge and gifts are wonderful things they are all from God. They enable us to see that we are called into a whole body of believers, that we are set apart – sanctified by God, that the spiritual gifts we have are from God, that our knowledge and abilities in the faith are from God. Those first 9 verses point us to the great truth that it is God at work in us that is what redeems us – that it is God’s grace – his unmerited, or unearned favour towards us that is what saves us. Above all it shows us that though we are fickle, that we often get caught in our own desires, or think we are the ones doing great things that it is in fact God and his faithfulness that enables us to do all things. Now having set the scene for his letter to the Corinthian Church by letting them know that it is God who is at work in them, and their salvation, their knowledge and their gifts are all from God, that they are all one body – Paul moves into his first discussion of one of the issues that lead him to write his letter – factionalism and division. For Paul this is a big deal – he has heard as we read in verses 11 and 12 that there is division and quarrelling among the people who claim to follow Jesus in Corinth. Some are claiming allegiance to Paul, others to Apollos, some to Cephas – while others simply claim Christ. Paul at the outset says this is not the way the church is supposed to operate - in verse 10 he says - I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you should be in agreement and that there should be no divisions among you, but that you should be united in the same mind and the same purpose. Now what can Paul mean when he says that we as the church should all be of one mind? Is he saying that we should all give up our own ability to discern right from wrong and just blindly follow the leader? Should we all just say well Fr Knows best and stop asking questions? Well as tempting as it is for me to tell you that, because it would certainly make my life easier – that isn’t what Paul means. What Paul is calling the Corinthian Church (and us) to is not some kind of blind conformity – rather he is saying that instead of bickering and fighting over the peripheral stuff – the Corinthians were getting caught up into factions over who evangelised them and brought them to know the Gospel! Paul says this stuff is irrelevant – what we know is we agree on all of the core things – we know that we are saved by what Christ has done – it is the Gospel – the Good News of Jesus Christ that saves us – and that is where we find our community – that is where we find our agreement and our unity. Now I want to be clear here – Paul isn’t saying that people can do or believe anything they want. There are in fact issues around faith and issues around morals that are so significant that they demand the church to break fellowship with people who cross those lines. In fact later in this letter in chapter 5 Paul demands that the church break fellowship with those who claim they are believers while at the same time living sexually immoral lives – we are still meant to stand against immorality and wrong doing - So what are we to understand about what unity means from Paul? Well we get an idea of what he is talking about when we look at verse 13 – he says: Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? That first question is the key one – has Christ been divided? You see what Paul is saying to the church at Corinth (and to us!) is that what we do as the church actually reflects on Christ. When we as members of the church are rude, people outside the church don’t think – oh that was a rude person, they instead think – pfft Christian, if that’s what following Jesus looks like I want nothing to do with it. Likewise when the Church in Corinth was fighting amongst themselves, outsiders looking in would no doubt have been thinking – why would I want to be a part of that? Paul is wanting us to understand that what we do and how we behave matters. Yes we are saved by the Grace of God – as was reinforced in the opening to the letter – it is God’s work that saves us. However that doesn’t mean that we can do whatever we want. We as the church are the Body of Christ – that means that we are supposed to be his representatives on earth – the church is supposed to show people a foretaste of the kingdom of God – The church is supposed to be pointing to Jesus in all we do. The key message here is that it is the Gospel – the Good News – of Jesus Christ that matters, and we as the Church – who have already received this message have an incredibly important role - we are now the ambassadors of Christ – that is what the word apostle means by the way – ambassador, or representative – so we are called to be modern apostles. Now of course we aren’t Apostles like Paul and the 12 – the term for them was both a position of authority given by Christ and the description of the role. For us though apostleship – or representing Christ is – or should be a part of our everyday lives. That can be a confronting thing for us – how can we be representatives of Christ? We are just regular people, most of us aren’t called to baptise new believers, most of us don’t have the gift of the gab so that we can be great apologists and defenders of the faith. The truth is though all of us have the ability to be evangelists. Now I am not saying that everyone has the spiritual gift of evangelism and should immediately head out to the street corner with a soap box, or start knocking on doors. However the truth is that each and every one of us who has accepted the free gift of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus has the ability to witness to the saving grace of God. We don’t have to be like Paul and travel the world sharing the good news with everyone we meet. It can be as simple as telling people that we go to church, maybe inviting them to come next week. When Paul says that he didn’t come to baptise the Corinthians but to spread the Gospel he is saying that it is through the Gospel message – through learning and accepting what Jesus has done that we are reconciled to God. It isn’t the rituals, it isn’t about belonging to the right group or faction – it is about accepting what God has already done for us – and that means we should be open to sharing it with people so that others can come to know the incredible grace we know. Many of us feel inadequately prepared to share the Gospel with people, we shy away from it because we feel embarrassed, or we think we might not be saying it right or using the right words… However Paul says to us here in this letter that when he went and planted that church in Corinth, he didn’t preach with “eloquent wisdom” so that the Cross of Christ wouldn’t be emptied of its power – in other words he went and he sat down with people and he chatted with them just like we do. He didn’t try and use any fancy words, or try to make the Gospel fit into the world by changing it to suit what everyone else thinks is right. The point I am trying to make – and which I think Paul is trying to convey here is that it is the cross that saves us. It is at the cross that the sins of the world have been paid for – Jesus has paid the price – he died for us on the cross, because sin has a consequence – and he rose again three days later setting us free from death. We don’t need fancy words or great wisdom – we just need to be willing to say it is it is. Brothers and sisters, we are the body of Christ on earth – that means that we are called to live lives of love, of care and compassion. It means we are called to reject immorality and that we are called to share the great truth of God’s saving grace with those around us. We are called to do these things, not because we are trying to save ourselves – but because as we keep learning – God has already done the work to save us. We don’t need to be wise or great speakers, we don’t need to try and be people who we are not, or turn into a homogenous body of blind followers. Paul tells us that Christ simply calls us to be people of genuine faith and humility, who are willing to work together in love and honesty, while also calling out immorality and wrongdoing when we see it. Finally, we like Paul, are called to share the Gospel, simply and honestly without embellishment and without compromise. If we can simply be people of genuine love, compassion and honesty working together in unity of faith, putting aside the unimportant stuff and focussing on the Gospel - people will see what we have, and it will be our lives, our friendships and support for one another that become our greatest way of showing people what Jesus teaches and what he has done for us. If we can genuinely be the “body of Christ” – that foretaste of the Kingdom – then people will be asking us to have what we have… and there is no better evangelism tool than that. The Lord be with you. Watch:
Read:
Well good morning again everyone. Starting today we are going to be having a few weeks focussing on the first few chapters of Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth. Today we are focussing on the first 9 verses of chapter 1. These verses offer us some incredibly important insights into how our relationship with God works – they enable us to see that we are called into a whole body of believers, that we are set apart – sanctified by God, that the spiritual gifts we have are from God, that our knowledge and abilities in the faith are from God. This passage points us to the great truth that it is God at work in us that is what redeems us – that it is God’s grace – his unmerited, or unearned favour towards us that is what saves us. Above all it shows us that though we are fickle, that we often get caught in our own desires, or think we are the ones doing great things that it is in fact God and his faithfulness that enables us to do all things.
So lets begin by setting the scene a little bit so we understand the context of what Paul is saying here. This letter was written to the church in Corinth in around the year 54AD while Paul was in Ephesus on his third missionary journey. Corinth was the capital of the Roman province of Achaea. It was a cosmopolitan city and the church was made up of people from all walks of life – though most would have been regular people of no particular standing or wealth or superior wisdom – they were a bit like us in fact – just regular people. However Paul had received reports that the church in Corinth was suffering under factionalism and placing great emphasis on the gifts certain members had over others. Others claimed superior knowledge and wisdom. While others were living immoral lives while still claiming membership of the church. Now I am sure that none of us here could think of any examples in the modern church where we see this sort of thing going on can we… there is no factionalism or pride or immoral believers… Of course we do in fact know that those things exist – the fact that there are literally thousands of Christian denominations is the clearest example of factionalism we can get! Pauls letter is a response to these reports he had heard, as well as to a letter he had received from the church. So now we know the scene – lets look at what Paul actually says. He begins by establishing who he is. He is writing to them as an apostle - not of his own making, but one called by God. This serves two purposes - it establishes that Paul is writing with authority – as an apostle. He is saying in a nice way – hey guys, you need to actually pay attention here, because what I am saying matters. Secondly though he emphasises that his authority is not something he took for himself, but rather it was the work of God who called him to this role. That emphasis on the fact that it was God who called him, and thus God who appointed him is important – it sets the scene for the rest of this opening portion of the letter. Paul moves from introducing himself as being called by God – to giving thanks that the Corinthians have also been called by God. He says: To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord[a] and ours… Paul here says some very important things. Remember this is the beginning of a letter to a church that is facing internal divisions, power struggles and dealing with issues of pride and sin. Paul starts his letter to them by teling them who they are – and by extension telling us who we are – in the eyes of God. They and thus we, are sanctified in Christ Jesus, The word sanctified refers to being set apart, having been made special. Something that is sanctified is different to the rest of the world. As members of the church the Corinthians 2000 years ago, and we today are set apart – we are differentiated from the rest of the world – thus we are meant to be different… but different how? Well Paul said we are called to be saints. That is we are called to be Holy ones of God. The reason we have been sanctified, set apart, is so that we can be a holy body of believers. A holy church that witnesses to God’s incredible love for humanity and which isn’t drawn to follow the world. That means that we are called to do away with the trivialities of the world – to get rid of the factionalism and the pride and the arguments. Now thankfully in this congregation I have so far encountered very little of this sort of behaviour – as a group we do pretty well – though of course we can’t become complacent – we can’t allow ourselves to be proud – because it is not our own work that has gotten us this far – it is God who has called us and it is God who equips us. Paul by emphasising that it is God who has done the work in the Corinthian church – and by extension in us is saying that For the church to begin arguing about who is the better leader, or to break into factions over who has the best ‘gifts’ or to start ignoring the will of God is so foolish because we argue about things of which we have no control – Think of it like two people who have been given a gift – they each received a beautiful Gold coin – each identical to the other. Now think of them arguing amongst themselves about who has the better gift. It is foolishness is it not? That is what it is like when the church argues amongst itself. We lose track of the fact that it is in fact God who gave us the gifts and the faith. That is why Paul as he continues talks specifically about the gifts of the spirit – he gives thanks that they have the gifts – even though one of the reasons he is writing is to admonish them not to put too much emphasis on them – that happens in chapter 12. But for now it is enough for him again to point out that these gifts that they are so proud of are in fact nothing to do with their own efforts – but rather they are from God. Paul has set the scene for his letter to the Corinthians in which he will rebuke them and call them back to faithfulness, by first giving thanks that they found faith in the first place. He does so by acknowledging that it is God who has done all the work to bring them to salvation, and to equip them for their journey with great speech and knowledge. It is God who has bestowed the gifts of which they are so proud. These are all things to be grateful for says Paul – but they are all the work of God – and that is where the thanks should lay. Then having acknowledged the great work that God has done in the Church and before he begins his first rebuke – which we will be reading next week – Paul gives the Corinthians an assurance. It is an assurance that is just as valid for us as it was for them. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. You see what Paul wanted to say after drawing attention to the fact that all these things which the Corinthian church was squabbling over were in fact from God, and not their own work was that they need not fear. That despite their (and our) tendency to get caught up in the world, despite their (and our) tendency to turn inward and focus on ourselves, to focus on our own wants and desires and to argue and fight amongst ourselves. Despite their (and our) tendency to turn away from God – our tendency to place our faith in the world rather than our saviour. Despite all this Paul says – God will strengthen us – he will be with us and he will be faithful to us – so that when we finally get to that last day and stand before the king of kings – we will have nothing to fear – because God will have done all the work. God will have redeemed us, and we will stand before him blameless. So as we can see, having read just these first few verses of the opening chapter of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians we as the Christian church are incredibly blessed. Not because we ourselves do great things or display great gifts – but because of what God has achieved in us and for us. Though we wander far off at times, and get caught up in our own ideologies, wants and desires. Though we ourselves at times forget what God has done for us and in us – God does not forget us – God is with us always, God is transforming us, he has set us apart – sanctified us, and called us to be saints – holy. God is faithful. So let us seek to fulfil our calling – let us be faithful to our God – let us seek to truly be the church we are called to be – a church set apart from the world, a church which displays wisdom and care and pours forth our spiritual gifts – let us be the church that sets aside our own pride and desires and acknowledges the incredible grace that God has poured into us through Christ. Let us be the church that first and foremost gives thanks to God for his faithfulness and proclaims it to the world. The Lord be with you. The Word This Week:
Luke 18:1-14 (Australian Anglican Church Lectionary Reading. Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “Grant me justice against my opponent.” For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.” ’ And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’ He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’ A Sermon on the Word: Persistence and humility. Our Gospel gives us two strong messages for our journey of faith with Jesus. So lets have a look firstly at this theme of persistence: In our opening Gospel parable Jesus relates to us a story of an unjust – unfair judge who eventually relents and does what is right, simply because of the persistence of the widow who continues to press her case. Then he says to us – well then don’t you think we ought to trust in God to do what is right – the unrighteous judge even does what is right in the end when the woman is persistent. so then what do you think the outcome will be if we continue to be persistent with God? You see God is already Just – God doesn’t need us to wear him down in order to do what is right – in fact his only requirement on us – the only thing he asks of us is that we have faith – that we trust him. Of course that isn’t always easy to do is it? It is especially hard for us to trust in God when we are facing moments in life that are hard – when we confront those times of pain, of suffering, those moments of sickness or struggle. When we are in the midst of these times it is often incredibly difficult to simply trust that God is there, that God is with us – that God ultimately is in control. It is in those moments that we find ourselves demanding answers rather than trusting, it is in those moments that we find ourselves angry with God. We are allowed to be angry. We are allowed to question the things that happen to us, we are allowed to cry out to God in anguish and frustration. But we must not despair – we must not give up and turn away. The message for us here from Jesus is that God is in fact on our side – and if we can look to the unjust world and see that even those who are not in our side will cave in and look after us if we are persistent enough, how much more confidence can we have in God who we know loves us. The message is to be faithful – to maintain our hope and our trust in God, even when we face thing is this world which are unfair, which are unjust and which try us to the brink of despair. We know we can be faithful – we know we can hold fast in our faith and we know this because our God is one who is not far off – but one who was willing to come to earth as one of us – to live as one of us – experiencing the same temptations and trials that we face – experiencing the love and the loss that we experience also – do you remember Jesus tears at the tomb of his dearly loved friend Lazarus? Do you remember his frustration and anger in the temple as he drove out the money changers? Ours is a God who knows what it is like to live as we live, to feel as we feel. Ours is a God who loves us so much that he was willing to go to a cross for us and die to fulfil the righteous judgement that we as offenders – sinners should get – he took it on our behalf, this God we worship could not abide that justice not be served – but so great is his love for us that he himself paid the fine – he paid the cost. This is why we can have absolute confidence that God is working with us and for us – even when we face things which we cannot understand – even when we face the greatest challenges of our lives – he is with us. The message of this parable is that we need not despair – we must not lose heart as Luke says - we must keep looking to God – we must keep praying – we must hold fast – because he is faithful and has not, and will not abandon us. Of course having this confidence in what God has done for us, can also be a bit of a trap for us. We can become, if we are not careful, like the Pharisee in the second parable we read today. We can become so confident that we are ‘good people’ that we begin to lose our humility when before God. That Pharisee, lets be clear was not there to worship God – he was there to make a show of how wonderful he was to everyone else – praying loudly about how grateful he was, not for the incredible grace that God had shown him, not for the many blessings that he had been given in life, but instead he was grateful that he was just ‘better’ than everyone else. You see what the Pharisee had done was to move his faith from one of awe, reverence and honour for the God who created him, sustained him and provided even the air he breathed – to a faith in himself – a self righteous faith, which said only the ‘other’ people needed forgiveness of sins, only the others needed to repent… I can promise you if we are ever feeling that we have nothing at all to confess to God, if we get to that point where we believe we are righteous without the redeeming sacrifice of Christ then we are being just like that Pharisee, and we will walk away from our prayers unjustified, just as he did. So what do we do then? We continue to trust, to place our hope and our faith in the God who created us, who sustains us and who was willing to die for us. We come before his throne in prayer every day and give thanks for what he has done for us, humbly acknowledging that all we have comes from him, and confident that he will never forsake us. The Lord be with you. Listen:Read: Temptation of Christ - Vasily Surikov The Word This Week:
A sermon on the Word: This week as we come to the first Sunday in our Lenten journey we encounter Jesus, the human being, being tempted by Satan. We find him in the wilderness, having been fasting for 40 days, his body would be screaming at him to eat something - anything. How easy it would be to listen to Satan, at this point when He is at his weakest. We can assume that he is emotionally and mentally drained after enduring 40 days of temptation and torment from Satan and that as a human being just like us he would be becoming desperate to break free of this torment and return home to comfort and shelter - to food! Yet Jesus does something remarkable - something that we all must look to in our own struggles and through our own temptations. When he is literally starving Satan whispers in his ear - If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Oh how truly tempting it must have been for the Jesus to say yes to Satan's temptation. After 40 days he could simply say to this stone 'become bread' and he could have his fill. Yet our saviour doesn't say 'become bread' ... he rather replies “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” This is a quotation from Deuteronomy 8:3 which says - He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. You see when he is tempted to follow his own desires - to fulfil his own wants and needs instead of God's he turns to the Word of God - and he refutes the Devil's temptation by declaring that he lives on the Word of God - and not of earthly things. Satan by now is becoming desperate - after all he has been trying to get this bloke to crack for 40 days, and even now in His state of weakness and desperation he still won't turn away from God. So he shows Jesus all the Kingdoms of the World, and offers Him dominion over all of them if only He will bow down and worship Satan. Now this may have been tempting - after all think of all the good that could be done if Jesus was in complete control of the world, the oppressive Roman empire would be transformed into a Utopian paradise - yet the price for this is to turn from God and worship Satan. Jesus again turns to his knowledge of the Word of God to reject Satan's offer “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” again he draws from the book of Deuteronomy, this time chapter 6 verse 13 which says - The Lord your God you shall fear; him you shall serve, and by his name alone you shall swear. Despite what good could come from accepting the temptation of Satan, Jesus knew that in doing so he would be committing a grievous act - he would be turning His back on the creator and sustainer of all things - No matter how good it seemed, nothing is worth turning your back on God and bowing down to Satan, or any other false God, as the remainder of Deuteronomy 6 makes clear. Finally, Satan in a final act of desperation tempts Jesus to throw Himself from the temple - this time attempting to use God's Word to confuse and trick Jesus. Satan quotes from Psalm 91:11-12, in order to show that Jesus is under the protection of God and can do whatever he pleases. Jesus' reply - “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” is a direct quote from Deuteronomy 6:16 . Jesus rejects all of Satan's offers, no temptation that the evil one can muster up is enough to make Jesus turn away from God. You see this whole passage is about something that affects all of us, just as much as it affected Jesus. It is about choice. Jesus has free will, just as every human who has ever lived has free will. Jesus could have chosen of his own free will to turn that rock into bread, or to rule the world's kingdoms, He could have thrown Himself off that temple, confident that He would be caught by the hands of Angels - yet he did not. Jesus made a different choice... every time He was tempted to sin, Jesus made the conscious decision to be obedient to God. Obedience to the will of God is what Jesus exemplifies, and it is what He calls us to also. When we are tempted to go the way of the world, just as Jesus was in this Gospel account, we are being presented with an opportunity to make a choice - do we listen to the voice of Satan whispering in our ear, or do we instead choose obedience to God. In a few minutes we are going to baptise little Rex, but before we do his parents and God parents will make some solemn promises about their own faith and trust in God and about their commitment to help Rex grow in the sure knowledge of God’s love for him. They will promise to reject sin, they will renounce evil and reject selfishness and all that is false and unjust. And the final commitment they will make is to seek to live their whole lives following the will of God. Of course all of us who have been confirmed, or who were baptised as adults have also made these promises. Many will say though, 'but how do I determine what the will of God is? ... I want you to pay close attention as I read to you Jesus' responses to Satan's temptations. “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Did you notice something familiar in each of those responses? It is written; It is written; it is said... Jesus points us to the Word of God in order to show us the will of God! There is no better way for you to learn the will of God for your life than to be familiar with His Word. We must build a relationship with God modelled on Jesus, and His relationship with God. You will remember throughout the Gospel accounts we repeatedly see Jesus in prayer, often away from others. You see Jesus gives us the model, and sets us the example. The only question is are we ready to follow Him? I encourage all of you to reflect on this reading, and especially on Jesus willingness to be obedient to God, even in the face of extreme hardship. I pray that you fortify your own hearts against the temptations of this world through deepening your knowledge of the Word of God, and through regular prayer. Finally take heart, because while you may have missed it, the Spirit of God never left Jesus during His temptation and hardships. Our Gospel account tells us at the outset that Jesus was 'led by the Spirit in the wilderness...' It doesn't say that the spirit took him out there and left Him - but that it led Him during His temptation. Likewise the Spirit of God is always with us, and will give us strength to endure any temptation or hardship. |
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