Friday 16 November 2012

All Saints Word - The End?


Mark 13:1-8
1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”
5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.
The Message of Judgement – v1-2
The things that we have come to put our trust in. The Temple, The Historic Church of Christendom. Our wealth. Our civilization. Our technology. Our military might. These Jesus teaches, are fragile despite appearances. But who can hear this message?
Story 1: Canon Clitheroe – vicar of Holy Trinity Coventry in the lead up to WW2 had a conviction that the Gas Warfare which was so feared by the authorities that they spent a fortune issuing masks to every man women child and baby, would not happen. Those who knew that there were vast stores of Gas ready to pour down were sure because we had them. Canon Clitheroe campaigned locally and nationally. He wrote to the papers. Her wrote the government. He predicted that the need was to defend against incendiary attack – fire. He wanted fire watches to be set up on every building. He wanted water tanks and pumps installed everywhere. He was a nutter. Right up until the Blitz started. No one wanted to hear his message of destruction.
Still today “The End is Nigh” is the stuff of lampoon and comedy. What does the church do with a message that no one wants to hear?
The Desire for Knowledge – v3-4
“When?” ask the disciples. They want to know. Knowledge is power. Such knowledge can identify you as one of the in-crowd. “We know something you don't know!”, Then, even if your warnings are rejected, you can feel vindicated. “Don't say I didn't warn you!” Some churches major on “the end times” for this reason. Premillennialist, postmillennialist, amillennialist sects filled with zeal still strive. Whoosh – straight over everyone's heads.
Story 2: In Bletchly Park a dedicated and incredibly able team of mathematicians had managed to decode the enemy's supposedly unbreakable transmission codes. They knew their plans. They knew about the Coventry Blitz of 14 Nov by 14 Oct. But they couldn't intervene. They couldn't let the enemy know that the code had been broken. Coventry was unprepared. That was the price. The warning message could not be shared. Those people had to live with the pain and guilt. That was the price too.
The only truth to hold onto is that Jesus says that no one knows – not even Him. So you don't need to know. Its better that you don't. Death is not the stuff of mission – life is.
The Birth Pangs - v5-8
Jesus offer the disciples the picture of those huge, beautiful stones that speak of the permanence and the power of their religion being destroyed, pulled down to lie scattered on the earth. And its not scaremongering. The message is – its no big deal. There will be a breakdown of the national and political system. There will be natural disasters. Everything that people put their trust in will fail them. But its not the end. Its not a threat. When a mother to be prepares for birth, when she labour pains start, of course they are all consuming. But above all the focus is on – the baby! Is the baby OK? How near is the Baby? What on earth am I going to do with a Baby! So Jesus calls these upheavals “birth pains”. The question we are pointed to is “What is coming to life here?”

Picture 3: On the morning of 15th November, not 50 years later, not 5 years later, not 5 days later, but there standing among the shock and stench of the shattered city. With those beautiful big stones of the Cathedral still smouldering around his feet. With Canon Clitheroe looking down from the roof of Holy Trinity where his fire guards and his water tank had succeeded in preserving his church. As the Bishop of Coventry in his cellar shelter was beginning to think that retaliation in kind might be justified, As the message of support from the representatives of the suffering city of London “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” was being sent. One man, inspired by the Holy Spirit, was able to see what might be being born. From the smouldering ruins he wrote the words “Father Forgive”. And Coventry's ministry of reconciliation – small, squashed, helpless and feebly crying out; was born.

The church's place is to be in the wreckage. This is where the new age breaks through. This is where new life can come. This is where the kingdom of Heaven can be born now.

God forgive us when there are wars and rumours of wars, and we debate endlessly whether women can be Bishops. God forgive us when there are earthquakes and we tear ourselves apart over whether people with a different sexual orientation can be real Christians. God forgive us when we are so preoccupied with the birth pangs that we fail to see and to nurture the baby, that new life, which is being born.

Sunday 4 November 2012

All Saints Word - Loving Relationships

Loving Relationships.
7#8 8 Qualities of Healthy Growing Churches

John 13:33-36
What is this Quality?
A community where people are committed to welcoming, serving, caring for, and forgiving others. Growing churches also tend to have a lot of laughter in them.
Welcoming: Loving is inclusive and creative. It spreads.
Serving: Loving is putting someone else's good first – and delighting in that.
Caring: Loving is having empathy with other people and acting on that impulse.
Forgiving: Loving places the highest value on maintaining, developing, restoring relationship.
How is it shown in Jesus?
Jesus welcomes all sorts of people. Fishermen, women, tax collectors, lepers, sinners, Romans. Jesus risked surprising and offending the people he had just won over.
Jesus came to serve Matthew 20:28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Philippians 2:6 etc.
Jesus had empathy. He was often “filled with compassion” Matthew 9:36, Matthew 14:14, Matthew 20:34. He cared about people's present needs and their eternal destiny.
Jesus forgave those who, through weakness, let him down. John 21:16. He forgave those who opposed him through ignorance, Luke 23:34. He preached repentance and the forgiveness of sins to all.

How is it shown in NT church?
Welcome
? One of the first things that happens to the new church is the Pentecostal multilingual outpouring. Everyone could hear “in our own language” Acts 2:8. Persecution led them to Judea and Samaria. Ethiopian eunuchs were not turned away. Samaritans and Greeks were converted. This thing was spreading. To the ends of the earth. There were lots of difficult discussions about who could be “in”. Just Jews? Just Men? Just free people? People who ate meat? People who didn't? Rich people? Poor people? Priests, Tanners, Soldiers, Jailers. There were differences, arguments, fallings out, but they were urged to make “every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”. Rom 14:9
Loving Relationship” in NT church embraced serving one another. People complained. It was “unfair”. Acts 6:1 They split into groups. They followed different leaders. But they did it together. And when the chips were down they chipped in to care for one another. Those new gentile churches gave sacrificially through Paul to care for those at HQ who had probably looked down on them 1 Corinthians 16:1. Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
How is it shown in our church & in me?
Most churches think that they are strong in the area of “loving relationships”. I hope they are. But how do you really know? Maybe its OK for me and for my groups of friends. But do I always gravitate to the same people? Am I actually looking to welcome new friends? I remember being castigated by a visiting Guest Service speaker in a large, lively, charismatic church after our “inspiring” forty five minutes of worship songs which followed the gathering when hugging and kissing was much in evidence among the congregation. We had failed to see that our rather self-congratulatory activities were excluding our guests rather than inspiring them. We were not there to serve - we were meeting our own needs. And its not just about guests. Someone said that a crowd can be the loneliest place to be. How do we care for the person who is sitting by us right now? A Hug? A Kiss? Talk to them? Smile? Give them space? Forgive them? Offer them your last Rollo? Are they “high maintenance” or “low maintenance” people? Find out.

John 13 34 “A new command I give you: love one another.” is Jesus' command. Not suggestion, not aspiration, not advice, not an impossible ideal. A command. So it cannot be primarily emotional or instinctive. It must be a choice. An act of your will. If we welcome people, try to serve them, care for them we will make a pigs ear of it quite often. But if we are operating from love, secure in the knowledge that Jesus loves us unalterably, unconditionally, eternally – that will be a source of laughter and fun because you know you are among friends who will forgive your bumbling.
J.F.D.I. Is a mnemonic from a management course.
You can appropriate it if you like.
J.F.D.I. Jesus Faithfully Did It therefore you J.F.D.I Just Faithfully Do It.
Loving relationships?
A new command I give you: love one another.”

All Saints Word - Loving Relationships


Loving Relationships.
7#8 8 Qualities of Healthy Growing Churches

John 13:33-36
What is this Quality?
A community where people are committed to welcoming, serving, caring for, and forgiving others. Growing churches also tend to have a lot of laughter in them.
Welcoming: Loving is inclusive and creative. It spreads.
Serving: Loving is putting someone else's good first – and delighting in that.
Caring: Loving is having empathy with other people and acting on that impulse.
Forgiving: Loving places the highest value on maintaining, developing, restoring relationship.
How is it shown in Jesus?
Jesus welcomes all sorts of people. Fishermen, women, tax collectors, lepers, sinners, Romans. Jesus risked surprising and offending the people he had just won over.
Jesus came to serve Matthew 20:28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Philippians 2:6 etc.
Jesus had empathy. He was often “filled with compassion” Matthew 9:36, Matthew 14:14, Matthew 20:34. He cared about people's present needs and their eternal destiny.
Jesus forgave those who, through weakness, let him down. John 21:16. He forgave those who opposed him through ignorance, Luke 23:34. He preached repentance and the forgiveness of sins to all.

How is it shown in NT church?
Welcome
? One of the first things that happens to the new church is the Pentecostal multilingual outpouring. Everyone could hear “in our own language” Acts 2:8. Persecution led them to Judea and Samaria. Ethiopian eunuchs were not turned away. Samaritans and Greeks were converted. This thing was spreading. To the ends of the earth. There were lots of difficult discussions about who could be “in”. Just Jews? Just Men? Just free people? People who ate meat? People who didn't? Rich people? Poor people? Priests, Tanners, Soldiers, Jailers. There were differences, arguments, fallings out, but they were urged to make “every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”. Rom 14:9
Loving Relationship” in NT church embraced serving one another. People complained. It was “unfair”. Acts 6:1 They split into groups. They followed different leaders. But they did it together. And when the chips were down they chipped in to care for one another. Those new gentile churches gave sacrificially through Paul to care for those at HQ who had probably looked down on them 1 Corinthians 16:1. Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
How is it shown in our church & in me?
Most churches think that they are strong in the area of “loving relationships”. I hope they are. But how do you really know? Maybe its OK for me and for my groups of friends. But do I always gravitate to the same people? Am I actually looking to welcome new friends? I remember being castigated by a visiting Guest Service speaker in a large, lively, charismatic church after our “inspiring” forty five minutes of worship songs which followed the gathering when hugging and kissing was much in evidence among the congregation. We had failed to see that our rather self-congratulatory activities were excluding our guests rather than inspiring them. We were not there to serve - we were meeting our own needs. And its not just about guests. Someone said that a crowd can be the loneliest place to be. How do we care for the person who is sitting by us right now? A Hug? A Kiss? Talk to them? Smile? Give them space? Forgive them? Offer them your last Rollo? Are they “high maintenance” or “low maintenance” people? Find out.

John 13 34 “A new command I give you: love one another.” is Jesus' command. Not suggestion, not aspiration, not advice, not an impossible ideal. A command. So it cannot be primarily emotional or instinctive. It must be a choice. An act of your will. If we welcome people, try to serve them, care for them we will make a pigs ear of it quite often. But if we are operating from love, secure in the knowledge that Jesus loves us unalterably, unconditionally, eternally – that will be a source of laughter and fun because you know you are among friends who will forgive your bumbling.
J.F.D.I. Is a mnemonic from a management course.
You can appropriate it if you like.
J.F.D.I. Jesus Faithfully Did It therefore you J.F.D.I Just Faithfully Do It.
Loving relationships?
A new command I give you: love one another.”