Tag Archives: Christianity

by

Blessed are the families

Jesus’ teaching referred to as the beatitudes is a series of blessings for those who espouse Jesus’ value framework, a framework that is countercultural, that is, not aligned with the majority culture of this world. In this message, I interpret Jesus’ beatitudes for family life. It is my hope that this will enrich our families and strengthen the quality of love we have between each other. Watch the 25-minute video message and/or read my notes below that.

Matthew 5:3-10 presents Jesus’ beatitudes. A ‘beatitude’ is a ‘blessing’, to be blessed, to feel blessed, to feel great joy.

Beatitude in Hebrew is ‘esher’, which means to be happy, to advance, to make progress, to go forward, be lead on, to be relieved

But the things that Jesus says bless us are not easy! They are countercultural, particularly in today’s corporate, rapacious, ambitious, self-seeking world. This echoes Paul’s sentiment in 1 Corinthians 1:27, “God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things, and the things that are not.” The beatitudes focus us on inner character traits, not just external actions – who you actually are.

In this message, I want to apply the beatitudes to marriage and family. I have them out below in point form. The = is an interpretation of the beatitude in principle, while * is an application of the beatitude to family life. By ‘family life’ I mean relationships between partners, parents and children:

  1. Blessed are the poor in spirit
    =spiritual neediness & fragility (opposite of strength), humility, smallness
    *approach our family without pride, acknowledge that we don’t have all the answers, rely together on God’s grace
    *recognise and accept that life can be hard, work to be safe to be vulnerable with one another, affirm that we’re all in this together
  2. Blessed are those who mourn
    =mourn over our brokenness, recognise how we fall far short of God’s intentions for us, our tears express our soft heart
    *comfort family members in grief, anxiety, breakups, failed test, bad day
    *grieve if you accidentally or intentionally hurt a family member
  3. Blessed are the meek
    =patiently bear the sufferings of life, react calmly to conflict instead of lashing out, this is best expressed in Christ’s passion on the cross
    *meekness is not weakness, it is strength under control, engage family with respect and gentleness, avoid harsh words, you don’t always have to win
  4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
    =A longing for holiness, Christ-likeness, justice, virtue, mercy, to be in a right relationship with God
    *Christ at the centre of our home is manifest in the fruit of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control), do not tolerance any behaviour that could harm another, work always to be in a right relationship with one another
  5. Blessed are the merciful
    =Showing mercy=easily forgiving, waiving debts, giving generously, even self-sacrificially
    *Families built on forgiveness, avoid grudges, don’t go to bed angry, choose compassion, model God’s willingness to reconcile
  6. Blessed are the pure in heart
    =Pure=clean, avoid sin, fruit of the Spirit (see point 4 above), God is ever-present and watching, no secrets
    *Guard against outside temptations, set a sacred boundary against sin around your family
  7. Blessed are the peacemakers
    =Seeking true good for others, draw God into conflicts, pray without ceasing, “May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”
    *Be willing to lose an argument (winning is not everything), promote unity and safety, dialogue=reciprocal talking
  8. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness
    =After all these, we may still be persecuted, recognize the seriousness of our faith, Christ’s death, ‘because of’ emphasises that the persecution must be because of following Christ’s values NOT because we’re a jerk
    *Accept that your stand for sobriety, chastity, church first, and self-sacrifice could lead to ridicule and judgment from others

Read Psalm 15 through eyes of ‘family’:

1 Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
    Who may live on your holy mountain?
2 The one whose walk is blameless,
    who does what is righteous,
    who speaks the truth from their heart;
3 whose tongue utters no slander,
    who does no wrong to a neighbor,
    and casts no slur on others;
4 who despises a vile person
    but honors those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
    and does not change their mind;
5 who lends money to the poor without interest;
    who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
    will never be shaken.

Micah 6:8 – “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with your God”

Blessed be your family

6th-century mosaic located in the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy. From: https://www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/how-do-we-make-sense-of-the-beatitudes/
by

Reflections on the Triune God

Today is Trinity Sunday and I provide a reflection on the notion of a triune God, drawing particularly on Proverbs 8, as well as Genesis 1 and Romans 5. The crux of it is that relationality is central to the being of God – the three-in-oneness of God. Therefore, the core of human life also is relationality. We need to invest in relationships, and we need to give particular attention to those relationships that are struggling or fragile.

by

Irrepressible love

Love is central to the being of God, so it is little wonder that Love infuses Jesus’ post-resurrection, post-crucifixion appearances, and also his post-ascension appearances. This message unpacks the details of Jesus’ infinite and irresistible love for his people in John 21, and also his demanding and liberating love for those who are not his people in Acts 9. Watch the 24-minute video message or read my notes below that.

Let us consider John chapter 21

  • v3. The disciples go fishing. So ordinary – living life, even in the absence of their Lord.
  • v5. Jesus appears on the seashore and asks if they have caught no fish. He is concerned for them, for their well-being, for their everyday life.
  • v6. He tells them to cast their nets to the other side of the boat and the catch a massive haul! Jesus acts on behalf of the disciples, with their ordinary, everyday needs. Like he did at the wedding in Cana (Jn 2), where he rescued a couple’s wedding by making water into wine. He is concerned for our everyday lives.
  • v9. Next thing, he’s cooking food for them! This is the Son of God, raised from the dead! This is the one we read out in Rev 5, “Many angels, ten thousand times ten thousand, encircling the throne, saying in a loud voice: Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!” This is the one cooking breakfast for them!
  • v9. Jesus provides the fish for the meal. They bring their catch only after he has already caught and cooked fish for them. He cares, he’s thoughtful.
  • v12. Jesus invites them, “Come and have breakfast.” So ordinary, so thoughtful. He breaks bread and fish, like he did when he fed the 5000 in Jn 6.
  • v12. This meal reminds us of the Last supper just a week or so previously in Jn 13. From supper to breakfast; from night to dawn; from death to life. This is a transformative meal – more than just brekky.
  • v15-17. Three times Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” Three times Peter protests, “Of course I love you!” Here Jesus gives Peter a chance to undo the three denials on Good Friday. In so doing, Jesus resets Peter’s standing – his slate is wiped clean. This is grace.
  • v15-17. Each time, Jesus says, “Feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, feed my sheep.” This is good shepherding. This is what we want in our new bishop. We remember Jesus in Jn 10, “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me. I lay down my life for my sheep.” This is good shepherding.
  • v19. Finally, Jesus says, “Follow me!” His example is the one we are called to follow – his example, his footwashing in Jn 13. “Now that I, your Lord, have washed your feet, you should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example.” An example of humility, of care, of love.

Let us also consider Acts 9

  • v1. “Saul is breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples”. He is a bad, bad man, full of perverse religious self-righteousness.
  • v4-5. On the road, Saul encounters the risen Jesus, who says, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”
  • Here Jesus demonstrates his “option for the poor”. He identifies with those whom Saul is persecuting – ‘you are persecuting me’, he says, because he is one with those who are persecuted.
  • Like then, still today, Jesus stands with those who suffer. He is always to be found in the midst of conflict and suffering. He stands in Gaza, he stands in Ukraine, he stands in the DRC, in Ethiopia, in Myanmar. He stands today even among minority groups in the USA who are being persecuted by their new government.
  • v6. But despite all of Saul’s repugnant hatred and self-righteousness, Jesus calls and uses Saul, who becomes Paul.
  • God’s choices are radical and loving.
  • He can transform anything and anyone. Nothing we do can block God’s purposes.
  • Jesus’ love and intentions are irrepressible.
  • Best we just surrender to him, because we cannot overcome God’s love.

To wrap up, let’s read Psalm 30

I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit. Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. To you, O LORD, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: “What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help.” You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

Image by Kate Cosgrove, https://www.brethren.org/messenger/bible-study/breakfast-on-the-beach/

by

Encountering the risen Christ

Watch the video below of this 42-minute message. Yes, much longer than usual! I’m sorry about that, but it is – I think – worth the time, as a close reading of John 20:19-29 sheds to much light on Jesus’ character, his relationship with the disciples and his work as the Son of God. My notes are available below the video

Verses 19, 26    Both times Jesus “stood right in the middle of them”

Christ is the centre – not the priest, Bible, APB – only the person Christ

Christ-centred church

1, 19, 26               Easter Sunday morning – Jesus appears to Mary

Easter Sunday evening – Jesus appears in the upper room

Following Sunday (today) – Jesus appears again, to Thomas

19, 21, 26             Peace be with you – Shalom alechem x3

Easter Sunday – Christ made peace between us and God

Forgiveness of sins – done, paid for, wiped clean, forgotten, cast the deep

Everything is good. It’s all okay

Easter is the Great Forgiveness!

20           He showed them his hands and side

Emphasis on bodily resurrection, reconnected to his people

Not just some spiritual, esoteric thing

He is fully embodied, albeit with some unusual capacities

20           He could have come back healed, but doesn’t. Why?

His identification with us, solidarity with our pain & suffering

He remains the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 (4-5):

He took up our pain and bore our suffering. He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

20           The disciples were overjoyed – full of joy

Joy (chara) & grace/gift (charis) – joy is a gift of God – because Jesus is back

21           “As the father has sent me, I am sending you”

We are to continue God’s work. We are sent, just as Christ was sent

Jn 3:16/7 “God so loved the world that he gave [sent] his one and only Son … For God did not send his Son to condemn the world, but to save it”

Every Christian is sent – not just clergy or evangelists

22           He breathed on them, “Receive the Holy Spirit”

Hebrew for spirit & breath are both? Ruach

Gen 1:2: Spirit of God hovering

22           Gen 2:7: “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being”

To receive Jesus’ breath & Holy Spirit is to be made a new living being

22           To receive Jesus’ breath & Holy Spirit is a grace/gift (charis)

As the Spirit/breath was active in the creation of earth and humanity

2 Cor 5:17: “If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has passed away, the new has come.”

22           Holy Spirit poured out on Pentecost: Easter Season is from Easter Sunday to Pentecost

23           Forgive anyone’s sin

The gift of HS is not so much miraculous signs, etc.

Instead the central commission – sending – is to forgive

And to warn that to not repent = no forgiveness

The Great Forgiveness!

24           Thomas was not with the disciples when Jesus came.

Where was he? He should have been in church! We should be in church!

27           Touch, see

V20. Jesus showed them his hands and side.

Thomas wants what the others got – to see. But also to touch

Our Eucharist is a see and touch moment

– receive the body of Christ broken for you (not receive this bread)

– receive the blood of Christ (not receive this wine)

Not clear if Thomas did actually touch: “Thomas answered and said…”

Perhaps seeing and the invitation to touch was enough for him

27           Stop doubting and believe. Be a believer!!

Accept the small and periodic signs of God and believe into him

28           My Lord and my God!

Hebrew: Yahweh & Elohim – names for God

Greek: Kyrie & Theos – names for God

The only place in the Gospels where Jesus is referred to as God – A profound statement of faith – perhaps the most

by

The Great Forgiveness

This Easter Sunday message centres on the idea that a most important fruit of the Easter story is that God’s forgiveness is extended and stretched to its limit, thereby including every sin imaginable. It is all already paid and cleared, cast into the deep. The return of Christ to humanity, after we so brutally murdered him, is the evidence of God’s extreme and great forgiveness. There could be no greater crime or violence against God. That God returns his son to us on Easter morning is a sign of God’s radical forgiveness. This great act of forgiveness for the murder of Christ is like a great whirlwind that catches up not only this sin, but all of our other sins also. They are all caught up in the one extra-ordinary and unprecedented act of forgiveness, and done with. And so, when we sin – as we will – we can know for sure that we can come to God, to sincerely ask his forgiveness, and to be sure that he will forgive and indeed has already, long ago done so.

(We love the screams and laughs of the children throughout this sermon. Jesus welcome children around him, while he was teaching. Certainly, they would have been as noisy as these ones were. Many were here to be baptised. Others were just full of beans!)

by

Jesus’ leadership

Click below to watch the video of this message on Jesus’ style of leadership, preached on Maundy Thursday, 17 April 2025, drawing on the reading from John 13:1-17. Jesus’ leadership is all about partnerships, delegation, setting an example, serving, and humility. All this, terribly out of sync with most modern leadership styles.

by

Toppling of Tyranny

This 20-minute message is part of a larger reflection on Jesus’ beatitude, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9). Today, the day before Maundy Thursday, we reflect on peacemaking in a broken world, by considering the story of Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego’s encounter with the grandiose, narcissist, golden King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 3. This passage – about imperialism and oppression, about the power of God, and about tyranny’s downfall – has great relevance in this world in 2025. The passage speaks to the presence of Christ in suffering. It speaks to the downfall of empires. It speaks to the power of disobedience, and the triumph of faith and smallness. Daniel 3 is a passage for today.

by

Christ Almighty Transfigured

Watch the video recording of today’s 16-minute message here at YouTube.

We focus a lot on Jesus’ love, generosity, healing, and forgiveness – and so we should. But emphasising these gentle qualities of Jesus can sometimes lead us to diminish him – gentle Jesus, meek and mild. The transfiguration, in Luke 9, reminds the disciples and us that Jesus is the Son of God, a divine being, creator of all that is, and our God. It is a sober reminder that we are accountable to God, who is both demanding of holiness and generous with forgiveness. We must live in that space between these two qualities of Jesus Christ.

Mid-12th Century icon of the transfiguration, at Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, Egypt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfiguration_of_Jesus#/media/File:Transfiguration_of_Christ_Icon_Sinai_12th_century.jpg

by

Love abnormally

Watch the video recording of last Sunday’s 18-minute message (23 February 2025) here at YouTube.

Jesus calls us to love our enemies, and goes on to give crazy examples of this, that almost no-one would follow. We are reminded that God loved us even while we were his enemies, and that he even died for us. That takes loving to a whole new level of abnormality. Not easy! Let’s be abnormal! Let’s love abnormally.

by

Baptism of Christ

Click here to listen to the audio recording of this 17-minute message. Or watch the video here on Facebook (the message starts around 25 minutes into the recording) – for this sermon, the video is much better than just the audio – you need to see it. Or read the text summary below (photos included below).

Today we celebrate Christ’s baptism, which inaugurates his ministry. John the Baptist had been preaching a Gospel of repentance for the forgiveness of sin, made tangible through baptism. And Jesus came to him to be baptised, even though Jesus was without sin.

As Jesus comes up out of the water, the heavens open and the Spirit of God descends on Jesus in the form of a dove, and the voice of God is heard saying, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” This is the only place in the Bible where Father, Son and Holy Spirit are tangibly present at the same time. This is an expression of the Epiphany, which is the season we’re currently in – Epiphany being all about God’s revelation of God’s self to the world. And this scene is certainly a great revelation of the triune God!

We could also think about this moment as an incarnation not only of Christ himself, but of all three persons of the Trinity – Jesus is there in the flesh, the Holy Spirit comes in bodily form like a dove, and God’s voice is audible to human ears (sound waves moving through the air). Father, Son and Spirit all materialise in the human world in that brief moment. This conveys the sense that the triune God works together for the salvation of humankind.

In our service, I invited three people to create a tableaux of the Father, the Spirit and the Son, similar to the paintings of Jesus’ baptism (see picture below). They are standing with their arms outstretched in love. This is an image of the triune God: three persons working in perfect harmony to pour out God’s love and salvation on humanity.

This expression of the triune God is flooded with love. Today’s first testament reading from Isaiah 43:1-7 contains these words from God: I created you, I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name, I will be with you, I love you, I am with you, I will bring you, I will gather you, I formed you, I made you. And in Luke 3:22, we hear God saying, “You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased”. We hear in these words the great enduring love that God has for his son and for us. And this is expressed through the incarnation and through the epiphany. It reminds us that love is the central characteristic of God – the foundation on which God engages within the triune Godhead and on which God engages with us.

We are encouraged, therefore, to rest into the great and generous love that God lavishes on us, which we see so clearly in the baptism of Christ.

From back to front: Father, Spirit, Son – replicating the painting below of Jesus’ baptism
Juan Fernández Navarrete: The Baptism of Christ (c1567)