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Transfiguration – a moment of light

Click here to listen to the audio recording of this 22-minute message. Or watch the video here on Facebook (the message starts 23 minutes into the recording). Or read the text summary below.

The transfiguration of Christ, which is reported in Mark 9 (our reading for today), Matthew 17 and Luke 9 (all with very similar content), is a remarkable story. I wish I had been there with Peter, James and John, to see this for myself! What a beautiful and transcendent experience. And also how terrifying and mind bending. No wonder the disciples were rendered virtually unconscious. We read this passage every year and get a sermon on it every year. What more can be said?

This year, I spent time reading the texts on either side of the transfiguration narrative, and found that these passages also were congruent across the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). What struck me the most was how difficult and dark these passages were. The transfiguration is just a brief moment of light – brilliant, blinding, cosmic light – within a much darker narrative.

Before the transfiguration, we read about Peter declaring Jesus to be the Messiah (v29), Jesus telling the disciples that he will soon be killed (v31), Peter rebuking Jesus for saying this (v32), Jesus rebuking Peter and uttering these dreadful words – “Get behind me Satan!” (v33, reported also in Matthew, but not Luke) and Jesus explaining the cost of discipleship and the way of the cross (v34). Wow, dark material indeed!

After the transfiguration, the dark material continues. Jesus and the three disciples find a major argument going on among the people because the disciples were unable to cast out a demon (v18), Jesus gets angry asking, “You unbelieving generation, how long shall I stay with you?” (v19) (or “how long must I put up with you?” in Matthew). And then Jesus repeats his message that he will soon be killed (v31).

These passages before and after the transfiguration are in such stark contrast with the transfiguration itself. In the midst of dark, difficult, conflictual narrative is this brief blinding moment of Christ’s glory as God the Son. But it is so short lived – the three disciples come crashing back into a challenging world.

This contrast reminds me of our Palm Sunday services in our (Anglican) tradition. We start our service outside in red, with crosses and candles and incense and palm branches, shouting “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”, processing around the church and into the road singing “All glory, laud and honour!” Such an exciting and happy time. And then our reading for the day is the whole of the passion narrative (from the last supper to Jesus’ burial). This contrast in tone (from joy to despair) is stark and shocking.

We ought not to think that we are promised a happy joyful, prosperous, wealthy, healthy life, even though some churches do teach this. We do not find it in the scriptures – it is not in the life of Jesus, it is not in Jesus’ teachings and it is not in the transfiguration narrative. Instead, we are invited to grapple with faith, discipleship, health, death, effectiveness and power. And within this real but difficult life, there are moments of light, joy and peace.

This is not to say that we should wallow in depression or succumb to despair and hopelessness. No! Certainly not! Rather, we need to face and confront depression, despair, hopelessness and all the other challenges we face in life. We walk in faith, trusting in God’s abiding presence, even in the darkness. We call on him for life, for salvation, and to offer thanks. We journey through the challenges of life, knowing that God is on our side.

To help us with this, I encourage you to read Psalm 116. And if life is sitting heavily on you, I encourage you read it multiple times each day, as a prayer for protection and God’s sustaining presence. Here it is:


1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
    he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me,
    I will call on him as long as I live.

3 The cords of death entangled me,
    the anguish of the grave came over me;
    I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
    “Lord, save me!”

5 The Lord is gracious and righteous;
    our God is full of compassion.
6 The Lord protects the unwary;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.

7 Return to your rest, my soul,
    for the Lord has been good to you.

8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling,
9 that I may walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.

10 I trusted in the Lord when I said,
    “I am greatly afflicted”;
11 in my alarm I said,
    “Everyone is a liar.”

12 What shall I return to the Lord
    for all his goodness to me?

13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
    and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people.

15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
    is the death of his faithful servants.
16 Truly I am your servant, Lord;
    I serve you just as my mother did;
    you have freed me from my chains.

17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you
    and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord—
    in your midst, Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord.

Image from http://livingwordrec.ca/archive/the-transfiguration-who-do-you-say-that-i-am/

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Healthy church

Click here to listen to the audio recording of this 30-minute message (yes, again a bit longer than usual). Or watch the video here on Facebook (the message starts 24 minutes into the recording). Or read the text summary below.

This sermon (preached a week ago on 4 February 2024) is about a healthy parish – what makes for healthy parish life. It emerges, in part, in light of various churches failing to uphold core values around clergy integrity and sexual relations. A model for a healthy church is presented, based on the readings that were set for today in the Revised Common Lectionary, viz. Isaiah 40:21-31, Psalm 147:1-11, 1 Corinthians 9:6-23 and Mark 1:29-39.

Jesus is always our model for everything to do with Christian living, including corporate or collective Christian living – the church. This model is influenced by the readings above and also by how Jesus lived his life, related to God and people, and exercised his ministry.

1. Personal relationship with God

The foundation of a healthy church – and the foundation the triangle above – is each member’s personal relationship with God. Our collective well-being rests on the aggregate of each individual person’s health relationship with God. In Mark 1:35, Jesus leaves his ministry to spend time in his personal relationship with God – he does so repeatedly, even though there are so many people waiting for his healing ministry and teaching. If a personal relationship with God is important to Jesus – who is God, the second person of the Holy Trinity – how much more important should it be to each of us.

When you fly on an airplane, you will be told that, in the event of cabin decompression, oxygen masks will drop down from above your seat. And you will be told to put your OWN mask on FIRST, before helping others (including your children). This is an apt illustration of the need for each of us to see to our personal relationship with God. I, as priest, must ensure the robustness and depth of my relationship with God.

2. Preach words

In 1 Cor 9:16-18, Paul refers to his preaching as central and as God-given. In Mark 1:38-39, Jesus says he needs to go to other villages to “preach there also”. He goes on to say, “That is why I have come”. Preaching words is important to build people’s faith.

But for a health church, I suggest we translate preaching as our words. Too often our words are harsh, judgmental, critical and gossipy. Such words break down, alienate, diminish and harm. There is no place for such words in a healthy church.

Our words should heal and create. Psalm 147:4 says, God “determines the number of stars and calls them each by name”, while Isaiah 40:26 reiterates, “Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. … not one of them is missing”. These verses indicate how the words of God bring stars into being, as he names and calls them. Similarly, our words – whether good or bad – can call things into being.

Therefore, our words should be deliberately encouraging, edifying, building up, loving. Last year, we spent the whole of Lent reflecting on Jesus’ command to “love one another”, where we teased this out in detail.

3. Heal through actions

Mark 1:29-34 and 39 say, “…[Jesus] went to her, took her hand and helped her us. The fever left her … Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons … So he travelled throughout Galilee … driving out demons.” Isaiah 40:29-31 says, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Psalm 147: 2-3, 8-9, says, “The Lord builds up Jerusalem; the gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds. … He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.”

These words are all of healing actions. How we behave impacts the health of a church. When we exclude, abandon or just do nothing, we harm the church. We break it down and weaken it. Rather, we should engage in actions that build up a health community. We can do this by simply showing up, instead of being absent. And through simple acts, like cooking a family a meal when they’re going through a hard time, giving someone a call or sending them a message, helping to clean up. In our tradition, we share the peace during the service – we can make sure we greet all the people around us, instead of rushing off to chat with our friends and ignoring a visitor.

4. Empathy

I have placed ’empathy’ at the centre of the graphic of a healthy church, even though the word ’empathy’ does not appear in the Bible. But the concept is there, for example in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, Paul writes:

19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Here Paul steps into the shoes of others, in order to understand them from inside, in order to share the Gospel in a way that makes sense to them. This effort to feel with others is core to empathy.

We see this profoundly in Jesus. Until Jesus was conceived, God had no first-hand understanding of what being human was like. God was not a man, and didn’t have personal experience of being human. But when Jesus incarnated in Mary’s womb and was born like any other human, God got a first-hand experience of being human – God discovered empathy for the human condition.

Too often, however, we jump to negative conclusions, without first exercising empathy. We assume the worst of people, rather than considering other less judgmental reasons for their behaviour. For example, if we don’t see someone for a few weeks we assume they have lost their faith or reneged on their responsibilities, when in fact they might be ill. Instead, let us rather assume the best – if we’re going to make an factless assumption, let’s make a positive one rather than a negative one, until the facts suggest otherwise.

A church that is grounded in personal relationships with God, that speak and act in ways that build up and encourage, and that chooses to empathise with each other, is likely to be a healthy community. This is the kind of community or body that God desires for us. It takes some effort on each person’s part. Working together, we can build a healthy church centred on God.

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Mental health

Click here to listen to the audio recording of this 30-minute message (yes, a bit longer than usual). Or watch the video here on Facebook (the message starts just before 21 minutes into the recording). Or read the text summary below.

This message is not so much a sermon, but rather a ‘talk’, about mental health. It emerges from Mark 1:21-28, where Jesus exorcises a demon and makes a ‘madman’ well. In Jesus’ time, most manifestations of psychological problems would have been interpreted in spiritual terms – a demon was at work. Today, there would be a tendency to define those same manifestations as psychosis, using psychiatric, medical terminology. Perhaps both have some truth.

The human has long been understood as a tripartite being, comprising body, mind (or soul) and spirit. This implies a sense separateness within a person, where these three parts operate separately:

But rather, these three parts are closely interacting, with the body and mind influencing each other, the mind and the spirit influencing each other, and the spirit and the body influencing each other – far more integrated and whole, something like this:

However, despite this integration, when someone presents with a physical (body) problem, like cancer or diabetes, we’d all cluster around and support that person. But if they present with depression, or anxiety or schizophrenia, we would tend avoid them, to speculate, to judge, to question their faith, and so on. We generally treat psychological problems differently from physical problems, even though they are interconnected. Psychological challenges tend to be stigmatised, even today.

The interconnection or integration I’m talking about is nicely illustrated in the Greek word sózó, which means both healing and salvation. In our New Testament English translations, most of the words ‘heal’ and ‘save’ are the same in the Greek. To be spiritually saved is tantamount to being physically (or psychologically) healed. For example, the woman who had been bleeding for years (Luke 8:43-48) was sózó – she was both healed and saved, and she was also restored into a harmonious place within her society (which stigmatised menstrual blood). Many English translations say she was was ‘made whole’ – that’s a good translation!

At this point in my message, I related my own experiences with depression, brought on a combination of genetic and environmental factors, that had me in psychotherapy for many years, on antidepressant medication for several years, and in a psychiatric hospital for a month. I am not going to type this up here. It is in the recording, and I’d rather you hear my story verbally than in writing. It is not essential to this message, but it does provide a first-hand account of mental illness, and recovery, and continual working on maintaining my mental health – I think of myself as a depressive in remission. This starts at about 27 minutes into the video recording and about 6 minutes into the audio.

In my recovery, two books were very meaningful to me, and might be to you:

I hope that this talk about mental health and my personal sharing about my own depression will be helpful to you in a few ways:

  1. I hope this helps to destigmatise mental illness, because although I have had quite severe mental illness through many years of my life, I have also done quite well in life and feel that my life is good and meaningful. If you find yourself struggling with mental illness or struggle, I hope you will be less judgmental towards yourself and your symptoms, and more open and kind to yourself. And similarly towards others.
  2. I hope this helps you become more self-aware and to self-care more. Jesus commands us to love God and to love our neighbour as you love yourself (Matthew 22:39). This last phrase is not a commandment, as such. There is a tendency among Bible scholars to assume that all people love themselves, even too much. But in my practice, many do not love themselves; people suffer from low self-esteem and even self-loathing. We should love ourselves more – like putting on the oxygen masks in the aeroplane before you help others.
  3. I hope this helps you to pray and read the Bible more. These practices are about creating space for God to be present in us, and for us to experience God’s presence. John writes about the desire that we should experience life, and life abundantly (John 10:10)! Psalm 23 speaks of a table, a feast, prepared for us.
  4. I hope this encourages you to seek help when you are suffering from mental health challenges. You can do this by asking your priest or minister for prayer and anointing – this part of the contribution that the church can offer you, in line with James 5:14-16. You can do this also by seeking therapy from a psychologist or clinical social worker. And you can to this by seeking medication from your GP or a psychiatrist.

I ended this talk with a 2-minute prayer for those who have listened to this message, and I encourage you to listen to or watch this prayer. It start a little after 47 minutes into the video and a little before 27 minutes into the audio recording.

Image from https://www.hypresslive.com/2024/01/18/breaking-the-mental-health-stigma-in-the-workplace-in-2024/

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Mary’s example (Advent 4)

Click here to listen to the audio recording of this 18-minute message. Or watch the video here on Facebook (the message starts about 28 minutes into the recording). Or read the text summary below.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, had a difficult start to her pregnancy – she was young (probably about 13) and unmarried (only betrothed). Many of us may have become parents in less than ideal circumstances, and so we can feel with her the challenges she faced, when the angel Gabriel comes and informs her that she will become the mother of Son of God (Luke 1:26-38).

In reflecting on this well-known passage, three things stand out for me afresh:

First, Mary had a community of people around her, who loved and supported her. First, Joseph, the man (probably a boy, really, aged perhaps 14 or 15) who she was engaged to. He could so easily have spurned her, but instead, he remains steadfast at her side and protects her from judgmental neighbours. He was accepting, loving and faithful in ways that are quite extraordinary. Although we know little about Joseph, he sounds like a great father.

In addition, Mary’s aunt, Elizabeth, and her husband Zechariah. They were very old and Elizabeth had not borne a child. They too were vital sources of support for Mary, and in the following passage we read about Mary’s visit to Elizabeth.

This human community of support is important for all of us. We all need people in our orbit who care, love, accept, cherish, nourish, empower, advocate, challenge and enable. We need this at home, and we need it in the church.

Second, Mary did not go from ‘zero to hero’ in one leap. She was ‘greatly troubled’ by Gabriel’s message, so much so that the angel had to reassure her: Do not be afraid, Mary. And after Gabriel’s pitch to her, Mary asks questions of Gabriel, “How will this be since I am a virgin?” Gabriel is fully willing to engage her uncertainty, her fear, her incredulity and her questions.

This is in contrast to Gabriel’s response to Zechariah, who in v18 says something similar to Gabriel: “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my white is well on in years.” Zechariah’s words are not unlike Mary’s, but Gabriel responds strongly, asserting his authority, and silencing Zechariah until after John’s birth.

After some discussion with Gabriel, Mary come to a place of acceptance, or rather of acquiescence, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” I have selected the word ‘acquiescence’ because I think it best captures Mary’s initial response. Acquiescence can be defined as “the reluctant acceptance of something without protest.” It is almost a resignation, similar to the Arabic “Inshallah”, which means “if God wills”, and implies that if God wills, it will happen whether we want it to or not. We surrender to God’s will.

We need also to learn to hear God’s voice speaking into our lives, to engage with God about God’s will, and to make decisions to acquiesce to God’s will. In other words, to trust in God.

Third, this passage shows forth a long-held principle (dating back to Genesis 1) of God choosing to partner with humans. Almost always there is a co-working between God and people to accomplish God’s aims. In this passage (v31), we get a series of things Mary will do: You will conceive. You will give birth to a son. You are to call him Jesus. And (v32-33), we get a series of things God will do: Jesus will be great, Jesus will be called the Son of the Most High, God will give him the throne of his father David, Jesus will reign over Jacob’s descendants for ever, Jesus’ kingdom will never end.

This plan that Gabriel brings to Mary involves a partnership between Mary and God. Without the partnership, the plan is impossible. And so it is with much of God’s work in the world – God chooses to limit God’s self by working with imperfect and limited human beings. This is God’s modus operandi.

In conclusion, let us follow Mary’s example, and that of Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariah, and partnering with each other and with God, to accomplish those things that God desires in this world.

The Annunciation, fresco by Fra Angelico, 1438–45, San Marco, Florence

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The Prophet (Advent 3)

Click here to listen to the audio recording of this 18-minute message. Or watch the video here on Facebook (the message starts about 25 minutes into the recording). Or read the text summary below.

John the Baptist is arguably the second most important person in the New Testament – second only to Jesus. He was the last of the First Covenant prophets – prophesying about the coming Messiah. Once Jesus arrived, John’s ministry, and that of all the prophets in the First Testament, had reached fulfillment.

Curiously, in John 1:6-35, John the Baptist (or the writer of the Gospel according to the John) repeatedly speaks to who John is NOT, rather than to who John IS. In total, there are five negative declarations in this passage, suggesting a humility on the part of John and a clear understanding of his role, as the forerunner and preparer for the Messiah. John is not the light (8), not the Messiah (20), not Elijah (21), not the Prophet (21) (even though that is really what he is), and not worthy to untie the sandals of the Messiah (27). Strong negative statements about who he is NOT.

Alongside these are three affirmations of who John IS, only one of which he voices himself: he is a witness to testify concerning the light (7), he is a witness to the light (8) and he is the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord’ (23), even though this last is John quoting Isaiah. John makes not independent statements of himself in his own words.

John’s negations and lack of affirmations about his pivotal role and place in the Christian story suggest great humility and that the focus of all his efforts is on Jesus, the Messiah, the promised Son of God. His life purpose is to point to Christ.

This is confirmed in John’s testimony about Jesus, which includes him sharing that he himself did not recognise Jesus (31), but that he saw the Spirit of God descend upon him and remain on him (33).

And so John points us to Jesus: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant…” (29) and the next day, “Look, the Lamb of God!” (35). This is the role of the Prophet – to witness to his experience of Jesus and to point us to Jesus. He is the pointer.

Our role, as Christians today, at the end of 2023, is to take up John’s prophetic role, by pointing to Jesus, as John did. Through our lives, our actions, our words and our values, we are (for better or worse) God’s prophets, pointing the way to Christ.

How do we do this? Our readings provide suggestions:

Isaiah 61 suggests we do so by sharing good news to the poor, binding up the broken hearted, proclaiming freedom to captives, comforting those who mourn, providing for those who grieve, restoring places long devastated, standing up for justice, and standing against robbery and wrong doing. All of these prophetic actions are located in the world – they all speak to the social justice that characterises the Kingdom of God.

Mary’s song in Luke 1:46-55 echoes some of Isaiah’s sentiments: extending mercy, lifting up the humble, and filling the hungry with good things. But Mary’s vision of her son, the Messiah, also includes some strong prophetic words: scattering the proud and sending the rich away empty.

And 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 focuses on more obviously ‘spiritual’ actions: to rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, hold to the good and reject evil.

It is all of these actions – standing up for social justice, speaking out against injustice and evil, and ensuring a robust spiritual life – that serve as a prophetic voice in the world today. This is perhaps the most important thing for us as Christians to be doing in the world – pointing the way to the Messiah.

Statue of Elijah pointing, by Agostino Cornacchini (1727) at St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City

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Repentance & Restoration (Advent 2)

Click here to listen to the audio recording of this 21-minute message. Or watch the video here on Facebook (the message starts about 35 minutes into the recording). Or read the text summary below.

Today (Sunday 10 December) is the Second Sunday in Advent, a season in which we remember and celebrate Christ’s first coming into the work and prepare ourselves for his second coming into the world.

Two key themes emerge from our readings: repentance and redemption.

Central to our preparation for Christ’s coming is repentance of sin:

  • Mark 1 speaks of John’s ministry of a call to prepare for Christ’s coming, to a baptism of repentance of sin, and to confession,
  • Isaiah 40 speaks of the sins of the people of Israel,
  • Psalm 85 refers to our iniquity and sin, and warns us of God’s wrath and anger, and
  • 2 Peter 3 calls us to repentance and warns of the possibility of us perishing.

Repentance is an important part of our lives as followers of Christ. The Greek word for repentance means to turn around – a 180 degree about turn. In repentance, we turn away from sin and towards God. It is a reorientation of ourselves in relation to God and sin. This is the most important work we can do during Advent, as we prepare for Christ.

Repentance leads to restoration. Through repentance, we are stored into our fellowship with God and experience the blessings of God in our lives:

  • Mark 1 speaks of John’s baptism of repentance leading to God’s forgiveness of our sins,
  • Isaiah 40 uses the most wonderful language, starting with “comfort, comfort my people”, tenderly, our hard service is complete, sin is paid for, valleys will be raised up and mountains made low, rough ground becomes levels and rugged places a plain, we all (humans) will see God’s glory and restoration, and God will tenderly gather, carry and lead us,
  • Psalm 85 says that God will restore us again and revive is again, That we will be together in righteousness and peace, that righteousness and peace will kiss, that faithfulness will spring up while righteousness will look down, and that God will give us what is good, and
  • 2 Peter 3 speaks of God’s patience with us, of a new heaven and earth, of us becoming spotless, blameless and at peace with God, and that God’s patience means our salvation.

These wonderful words of restoration are the fruit of repentance. As we turn 180 degrees away from sin and towards God, something most of us have to do daily (even hourly or minutely!), God forgives and restores. This is the great gift of God’s son – Jesus comes into our world to forgive and restore.

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Grace amazing

Today’s reading is Matthew 20:1-16. It is the story about a landowner who hires people to work in his field, starting from early in the morning (perhaps 5am) until 5pm in the evening. He promises the first a denarius – a generous day’s wage; and he promises the later workers a ‘fair’ wage. He comes out himself even late in the day and asks people why they are standing around doing nothing, and they say, because no-one has hired them, and so he hires them, knowing that humans were created to work – God’s first commands to Adam and Eve are to work in the garden and take care of the earth. This is the first grace: we are invited to work with God.

Evening comes and the landowner calls the workers together and pays everyone the same – a denarius. The workers who started early are understandably unhappy. But this is not a story about labour and economics. It is a story about grace. God’s grace is abundantly given to all of us, whether we start early or late, whether we do much or little. Think of the thief on the cross beside Jesus in Luke 23 – he could do nothing on that cross, yet he entered into Christ’s paradise. The landowner asks the disgruntled workers if they are envious that he is generous – do you envy my grace? Grace if fundamentally unfair. This is the second grace: we ALL get what we do NOT deserve.

Fix your eyes on Jesus. Be amazed by grace.

Just last night, my wife Trina shared with me this video of ‘Amazing Grace’ sung differently by Dan Vasc. It fits so perfectly, I cannot help but conclude it was God’s prompting.

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Eternal consequences of care

Today’s Gospel reading is from Matthew 18:15-20. It speaks about Jesus’ call for us to be engaged with one another, and particularly about church discipline. But in this short 7-minute message, I invite a focus on two key points.

First, that Jesus wants us to be meaningfully engaged with each other in the church and to speak into each other’s lives. In other words, to care about each other.

Second, that what we do in this life has eternal consequences. Our caring engagement with others can bind them in ongoing sin or difficulties, or loose them through forgiveness and reconciliation.

We are urged to engage with one another, to be honest with one another and to pray for and with one another. I hope you will find this short message both encouraging and challenging.

(This video was recorded just outside my front door in Boone, North Carolina, with the mountain “Howards Knob” in the background. This message originally went out on 16 August 2023.)

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Into the heart

I am working in the United States from early August to early December, at the Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. During this time, I will be sending out a short mid-week message. This is the message that went out 9 August. My apologies for posting it late here on my blog.

Matthew 15:21-28 is a story of Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman. He looks into her heart and hears her deep faith and grants her her request. He ignores her demographic – female, Samaritan – and sees her true self. Jesus does the same with us. And expects us to do the same with others.

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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).

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