Monthly Archives: July 2023

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God’s timing

Click here to listen to the audio recording of this 16-minute message. Or watch the video here on Facebook (the message starts about 25 minutes into the recording). Or read the text summary below.

Psalm 119:105 is a key text for Christian living: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, and a light on my path.” Not only does this verse point us to Scripture – the Word of God – as the source of light in life, but it also tells us something important about how God reveals Godself to us: in small increments.

We think of a lamp or light as a torch, providing a beam of light to shine up a path to see ahead to where we’re going. But the lamp the Psalmist writes about creates just a puddle of light around us – enough to see only the next step. To translate this verse into contemporary times, think of pointing your flashlight down at your feet rather than beaming ahead several meters.

Today’s world is premised on knowing the future and planning strategically and systematically. This is not bad – I do this all the time. But it is not the way God engages with humanity. God points us to a destination but typically does not provide us with the steps.

Let’s look, for example, at the story of Abraham and his descendants. In Genesis 12, God promises that he will make Abraham into a great nation and a blessing to all people. This promise is renewed several times over Abraham’s life. But he has his first child, Isaac, only around the age of 100 years! That’s a long time to wait for the most critical next step to becoming a great nation.

Then Isaac married only at age 40 and had his first son, Esau, at 60. And after Esau sold his birthright to Jacob, Jacob only had his first son, Reuben, at around 80 years. (Making up for lost time, Jacob had his other 11 sons within about half as many years!)

The point here is that there was little sign of God’s promise fulfilled across three generations from God’s promise to Abraham, covering perhaps 200 years. Where are the descents as many as stars in the sky and sand on the seashores? Abraham was given a destination, but he saw only a few steps of this over a very long time. Yet, throughout this time, Abraham was renowned for his deep faith that God was working out God’s purposes in him.

My journey to ordination is not as dramatic as Abraham’s, but it too was long in coming. I became a Christian at age 16, in 1984. Soon after, I began to feel a calling to become a minister. Though it persisted, I ignored it for nearly 20 years. In 2004, the call appeared again with an irresistible insistence. The following year, I started my BTh at TEEC and was licensed to preach. 12 years later, after much adversity, I was ordained deacon and the next year priest. Three years later, in 2021, I was appointed Rector at St Stephen’s. In total, the journey took around 35 years. That’s quite a long time to be journeying towards the fulfilment of a call to pastor a congregation. I knew the destination, but God took God’s good time to make it happen.

Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13 about the seeds sown in different soils tells a similar story. The fruitful crop emerged from seeds scattered on good earth. These seeds had to grow deep roots in healthy, nutritious soil to produce an abundant harvest. It takes time. Plant radishes if you want something quick, though most of us don’t like how they taste! Those who grow fruit trees or olives will know that farming is a long-term investment.

The lesson from these three readings (Genesis, Psalms and Matthew) seems to be that while we may have insight into God’s will for us, for our destination, the path from here to there is often long and opaque. We have to trust God – to trust his Word – that he will do what he says. But we should not expect quick answers.

Romans 8 reminds us that our minds must be governed by the Spirit and that we live in the realm of the Spirit. We do not live on the internet superhighway. We live our lives in the eternal life space of God. And that means being patient and faithful while God takes God’s good time to work out God’s purpose in our lives.

And so, dear ones, as we surrender the whole of ourselves to God, I encourage you to be patient with God and to have faith in God. Give God the space to do what God does best. Remember that the Lord says, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Featured image from https://antiquesknowhow.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Branded-Antique-Pocket-Watches-1024×864.jpg

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Divine drama

Click here to listen to the audio recording of this 31-minute message. Or watch the video here on Facebook (the message starts about 30 minutes into the recording). Or read the text summary below.

Over the past two Sundays, our readings have directed us towards the conclusion that God wants the whole of us – for us to give ourselves utterly into God’s hands to do with us as God wills. We first got this from Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 10 (Hard Words) and second from Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac (Abraham’s Example). Typically, our inclination is to hold back and not surrender – relinquishing ourselves to God does not come naturally.

Today’s readings continue this theme but from a somewhat different perspective. They all point towards the roles of actors in a divine drama or play. We are the actors, and God is the Director. The play works out best when each actor does their part according to the directions of the Director. Since our Director is both competent and good, the drama of our lives can also be successful and good. But only if we as actors follow our Director’s directions.

Genesis 24

Genesis 24 tells a story with two main actors:

  • Abraham is nearing death and wants his son Isaac to get married, but not to someone from the neighbouring communities, but rather from his home country.
  • His senior servant is called in to act on Abraham’s behalf – the servant is not named, but is the central actor in this chapter. The servant has charge over all of Abraham’s things. Abraham commissions him to go to his homeland and get a wife for his son, giving detailed instructions on what to do and not to do.
  • In vv12-14, the servant prays to the God of his master Abraham to make him successful and to show kindness to Abraham – remember that the Director is both competent and kind. In his prayer, the servant sets out a narrative of how he hopes things will go – that he speaks to a young woman, asking her for a drink, she offers him a drink and also offers water for his camels.
  • Rebekah then comes out, and the narrative plays out just as the servant had prayed (vv15-22).
  • The servant then asks if he can spend the night at her father’s house and it all works out. The servant gives thanks to God for “his kindness and faithfulness” to his master (v27).
  • Rebekah runs home and tells her family about the servant, and her brother Laban comes out to welcome him into their home. They take care of both the servant and his camels (vv28-33).
  • The servant then recounts to Laban and his family the whole story that we have already been told (vv34-49).
  • This is followed by various details of the negotiations that rapidly culminate in Rebekah agreeing to go immediately with the servant to get married to Isaac (vv50-61). They arrive back at Abraham’s home, Rebekah and Isaac meet and get married (vv62-67), in so doing continuing the lineage from Abraham to Jesus (as provided in Matthew 1).

In this narrative, the servant is an actor – an agent who behaves, speaks, makes decisions, impacts the world. He trusts in Abraham and in Abraham’s God, thereby carrying out the will of God. He relinquishes himself to God.

Rebekah is similarly an actor – she engages with the servant, shows hospitality to him and his animals, argues against her brothers about leaving immediately rather than later, and agrees to marry Isaac. She exercises power and agency in her life, in accordance with the will of God. She relinquishes herself to God.

In short, we have actors doing the will of God the Director.

Psalm 45

The Psalms provided in the Lectionary typically provide a commentary on the First Testament reading and today is no exception. Psalm 45 presents us with three actors and a director.

  • v1 starts with “My heart … as I recite … my tongue.” Here is the Psalmist, writing in first person and also congratulating themselves on their skill as a Psalmist. The Psalmist is an actor – present and active in the creation of this Psalm.
  • vvv2-9 are addressed to ‘you’ – to the King. In the context of Genesis 24, we should think of the King as representing Isaac, though Isaac was not a King. The King/Isaac is also an Actor, because of how the Psalmist describes him, e.g., as defending truth, humility and justice.
  • vv10-12 are addressed to ‘daughter‘, the bride. She represents Rebekah and the Psalmist speaks directly to her (not just about her) making her an actor.
  • vv13-15 are a commentary, by the Psalmist, about the wedding and how wonderful it is.
  • v16 is directed again at the King – your sons, your fathers, you will make – confirming the King as an actor.
  • v17, finally, returns to the “I” (which we last heard in verse 1). In verse 1, the I referred to the Psalmist. It is possible that the I in v17 is also the Psalmist, but I think the claims that are made in v17 exceed the capacity and power of the Psalmist, and that here ‘I’ refers to the Director – to God. The Psalmist’s life is too short, but God can work “for ever and ever”. It is God who will perpetuate the memory of the king through all generations and across all nations.

Thus, God is revealed in the last verse of the Psalm to be the Director. Although the Psalmist has considerable power in writing the Psalm, ultimately, even the Psalmist is an actor in a larger play directed by God.

Romans 7:15-25

This passage from Romans is full of “I”. It seems obvious that Paul is here referring to himself, writing in first person, but it is possible that he is referring to ‘a person’ using ‘I’ as a shorthand, and there is debate among commentators on whether the ‘I’ is a Christian or an unconverted person. I don’t want to get into all that today. The key point for today is that there is a clear actor here, referred to as “I“, whoever that person may be.

What we see happening in this actor’s life is a grappling between a desire to be good and a tendency to do evil. We are given an insight into the heart of this person, grappling with their own brokenness. This reaches a climax in v24, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?”

And then the Director steps in: “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Or arguably, two actors, but so in sync with each other, that they are truly one being or essence.

What we can take from Romans 7 is that in our grappling with ourselves, as we hope to become transformed into the image of Christ, God is directing. And God is competent and good – God will bring it to fruition in God’s good time. We must, in the meantime, play our part as actors who make repeated choices to act in accordance with God’s desire for and image of a redeemed humanity.

Matthew 11:16-30

Lastly, we come to our Gospel reading. In the opening verses of this passage, Jesus seems to be saying that the people of this world think that they are directors (vv16-17):

“To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: ‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn’.”

They think they are puppeteers, who can direct others to do their bidding. But unlike God the Director, they are neither competent nor good. Instead, they are capricious and mean-spirited, as Jesus explains in vv18-19:

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

In this last sentence of v19, Jesus reveals who the director is: Wisdom! Wisdom is the First Testament forerunner of Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is the Director: wise, good and competent. It is by her deeds – her actions – that she is proved right.

In the rest of this passage (vv25-30) Jesus emphasises God as a good and kind director, who has our best interests at heart.

In summary, God does want all us, completely and utterly. It is when we follow his directions (i.e. when we are yoked to him) that we become true and full actors, free to play our part in his play.

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Abraham’s example

Click here to listen to the audio recording of this 28-minute message. Or watch the video here on Facebook (the message starts about 28 minutes into the recording). Or read the text summary below.

In last week’s sermon, ‘Hard words’, from Matthew 10:24-39, we heard almost impossible words from Jesus regarding his expectations of how we should live our lives. In particular:

37 Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me
is not worthy of me;
anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me
is not worthy of me;
38 whoever does not take up their cross and follow me
is not worthy of me.

Despite these words, the take-home message from last week was (1) that God loves us deeply and with great attention to the detail of our lives, and (2) that God wants the whole of us and not just small pieces of us.

Genesis 22:1-18, our reading for today, illustrates what we spoke about last time. Abraham gets an unthinkable instruction from God:

“Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

I wonder what we would do if we got such an instruction from God. Honestly, I would say ‘no’. Just, ‘no’.

We must remember, though, that we know much more about God’s character today than Abraham did. God only began revealing himself to the world in Genesis 12, when he selected Abraham to be his ambassador and to bring God’s blessings to all nations. Abraham was just getting to know God and had little to go on 10 chapters later. But we have the rest of the entire First Testament, plus the Gospels and all the writings of the early church. We have a much greater grasp of who God is and what God would or would not demand of us.

Still, Abraham is committed and so obeys God’s command. He and his only son Isaac start the journey towards Isaac’s sacrifice. Isaac may be a child, but he’s not stupid. He notices that everything for the sacrifice is there except the lamb. Where is the lamb? he asks his father. And Abraham answers, God will provide.

They continue on to the site God had selected. Abraham establishes the altar, lays his son on the wood, and gets ready to kill him with a knife before burning his body as a sacrifice to God. In that final moment, God stops him and affirms his faith. And provides a ram (not just a lamb) to be sacrificed in Isaac’s place. And God renews his original promise to Abraham in Genesis 12 in Genesis 22:15-18.

It is in many ways an unthinkable, dreadful story!

The only real comparison is Jesus’ death on the cross – also a sacrifice on our behalf. But there are major differences between Jesus’ sacrifice and Isaac’s. Jesus was a full and equal partner with God the Father and God the Spirit in working out the plan for his sacrifice of himself on the cross. Jesus went in knowing what he was doing and fully agreeing to it. And he knew the outcome it would produce. Isaac, on the other hand, was kept in the dark about all of this.

I said to my congregation in the sermon that if they believe God is instructing them sacrifice a member of their family, they should come and talk with me first. Seriously! This narrative in Genesis 22 is not the norm.

But it does illustrate the kind of whole-hearted and willing-to-go-to-the-very-end commitment that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 10 last week. Sometimes, God does call us to do something unimaginable, extraordinary, risky, and extravagant. And often, that is precisely what we should do. God does want our whole selves – every piece of us.

Featured image from the 4th Sorrowful Mystery Chapel in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. (https://www.nationalshrine.org/blog/why-did-god-ask-abraham-to-sacrifice-isaac/)

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Hard words

Click here to listen to the audio recording of this 28-minute message. Or watch the video here on Facebook (the message starts about 25 minutes into the recording). Or read the text summary below. (This message was preached on 25 June 2023.)

The context of today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 10:24-39) is persecution – Jesus’ warning to his disciples that they will be persecuted (vv 16 & 22):

I am sending you out like sheep among the wolves… You will be hated by everyone because of me…

And so we read this passage section by section and listen to what God is saying to us through the Word:

24 The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

We are described as Jesus’ servants or slaves and as Jesus’ students. What happens to him will happen to us. How he is treated, so shall we be treated. If he is called Beelzebul (the devil), so shall we. But there is also hope in these lines: hope that we can become like our teacher and master; and hope that we upgrade from students and servants to members of his household.

26 So do not be afraid of them,
for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed,
or hidden that will not be made known.
27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight;
what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.

Who is it that we need not be afraid of? Surely not the people in the previous verses? No, I think most likely is it the ‘they’ referred to in verse 19, “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it.”

These verses present 4 contrasts between what happens in private (concealed, hidden, in the dark, in the ear) and what is done publicly (disclosed, made known, in the daylight, from the rooftops). We are encouraged to be bold!

28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Here we get the second reassurance to not be afraid. ‘Those who kill the body’ refers to those people who persecute – many Christians in the early church were persecuted and killed. But instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy the soul. I’ve often thought that meant the devil, but commentators argue that the devil does not have the power to destroy souls – only God has that power. So, if we are going to be afraid of anyone, we should be afraid of (or rather, we should fear) God.

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care (or will or knowledge).
30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Verse 29 contrasts the cheapness of sparrows with God’s concern for their death. The last word of verse 29 has multiple meanings, but ‘care’ seems most appropriate in context – God cares about even the cheap little sparrows. He directs his attention towards even them. He does not, however, save them from dying – they do die. But he is present with and caring for them, as they die.

Verse 30 emphasises God’s interest in the smallest details of our lives, even the number of hairs on our head. It is trivial, but God knows such details. Again, he does not stop our hair from falling out! But he does keep count.

Verse 31 gives us the third “don’t be afraid”. Because sparrows – small as they are – are loved by God. How much more are we then loved by God.

32 Whoever acknowledges me before others,
I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.

33 But whoever disowns me before others,
I will disown before my Father in heaven.

These two verses provide a parallel response from us to Christ: if we acknowledge him, he’ll acknowledge us. If we disown him, he’ll disown us. These are blunt words, but honest and direct.

34 Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn
“a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household”. (Micah 7:6)

Jesus preaches love consistently, but then we get these verses about the violence within families. In truth, faith can fracture families. Nations go to war over religion. And so do families.

37 Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me
is not worthy of me;
anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me
is not worthy of me;
38 whoever does not take up their cross and follow me
is not worthy of me.

This triptych of “is not worthy of me” is among the most chilling words uttered by Jesus. They seem so out of character. A punch in the belly. His emphasis is on his requirement for our total allegiance.

39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

We must lose ourselves in Christ. That is the path to finding ourselves.

So, as we we wrap this difficult passage, there are two take-home messages:

First, God knows and loves us – we are members of his household, valued, known and cared for.

Second, God expects everything of us – he wants our utter commitment.

Featured image from https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/erik-raymond/truth-and-tone-go-hand-in-hand/