Tuesday 10 December 2013

Advent 2 John v Jesus in Matthew 3

Matthew 3:1-12


John & Jesus: Similar but Different.


Same Family 
Spiritual Conception 
Set Apart
Nutter “ locusts & honey /“Nutter” glutton & drunkard
Blunt Northerner
Water Baptism/  Spirit Baptism
Repent!


In 1830, a man by the name of George Wilson was sentenced to hanging for killing a government employee during a train robbery. For some reason, President Andrew Jackson gave the man a full pardon. But the man refused to accept it.

That had never happened before and nobody knew how to handle it. The case went all the way up to the Supreme Court to establish a precedent. Chief Justice Marshall declared that a pardon is an offer to hold somebody not accountable for any crimes they may have committed. But if that person refuses to receive the pardon so, in effect, no pardon was given. So, Mr. Wilson was quickly hanged.

Jesus is offering you a full pardon for every thing you have ever done that is against God. He is telling you that if you will but trust Him as your Saviour, all those crimes will be erased and you will suffer no punishment.

Sadly, too many people make the same choice Mr. Wilson did, and they end up suffering the judgement of their crimes. What are you going to do with your pardon? Are you going to accept it or are you going to reject it? Have you weighed the consequences of each choice?

John was Preaching “Repent or Die”/ Jesus said “Repent and Live – here's how”
With John it was all about response./  Jesus lay down his life first – for us.
Judgement/     Pardon

With John – if you feel you are unworthy you can't receive what God wants to give
With Jesus you can accept God's pardon just because you know there is no other way to life.

That's a bit “theological” isn't it? What about real life, now? What difference does it make?

There are two ways to punctuate John's message (Interestingly it is often presented differently in the Gospel from how it is in Isaiah whom John is quoting).
The voice of one crying in the desert: Make straight the way of the Lord”
Do you think that we, as Christians, are outside of our society – keeping ourselves pure and aloof from the sins that pervade it so that we can call people out in repentance before the Lord comes in judgement?
The voice of one crying: In the desert make straight the way of the Lord”
Or do you think that we are completely engaged with our society, in the dry and dusty places of sin and strife like everyone else, and seeking to change it so that the Lord can return?
In a way John the Baptist operated in the first way – calling people out into the desert communities like the Essenes. He was sceptical of those who just popped out for a Baptism.
But Jesus is more like the latter. He is the incarnate God. He comes down to earth from heaven. He ate with sinners. He liked sinners. He changed sinners. He recruited sinners. He trusted sinners.

Both of these are true.
It's not either or. Its both and.
Which bit of the desert are you in?

How are you going to cry out this week?
Can you make a straight path for the Lord into your bit of the desert?

Advent 3 John & Jesus Matthew 11

Matthew 11:1-11


John – Jesus – see – go – disciples are today's Big Five words.


John is about “making a straight path for the Lord”.
When you start moving earth you find that there is a awful of of earth to move.
Many of our canals and railways take a scenic route – not from a concern for natural beauty but because the Lord of the Manor didn't want riff-raff looking over his house or garden. We sometimes do this for SSI sites – but if the need is urgent enough.... HS2 anyone?


Do we want a straight path for the Lord to come into our Church? Or do we want him to take the scenic route? What do we want this Advent: challenge or comfort?
Challenge? Really? Don't I have enough challenges going on in my life, work, relationship, family, finances, health, housing, cell, church......?


“Comfort Food” - what is it for you? Bread and Butter pudding? Lamb stew and dumplings? Spag Bol? Chocolate? It’s good and solid and undemanding. It takes you back to Granny’s fireside, to a time when life was simpler and you had no responsibilities. Those were the days. These are not those days!


Christmas can be spiritual “comfort food” too. The right menu, the family tradition, the familiar stories – these can happen at Christmas Dinner – but also in Church. Memories of Nativities past, Carols sung, Descants leaned. The right 9 lessons. The sweets and poppers on the pews. You know where you are with Christmas. Start, Manger, Animals, Angels, Shepherds, Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. A young woman peacefully holding a baby. Peace on Earth. Goodwill to all. It's the scenic route. But Christmas starts with Christ. The anointed one. Set apart for battle, for confrontation, for death and resurrection. That's the straight road.


John the Baptist. What are you looking for?
A Reed? Are you looking for someone who will adapt what they say to what you want to hear? John refused. So did Jesus. He will not bend to accommodate you. Society may want a gentle Jesus who comes in humility and lives a life of love and peace until cruelly snuffed out by the powerful. But that's not Jesus.
A Dandy? Are you looking for someone who is primarily interested in appearance, comfort and reputation? John lived in the desert and dressed in camel hair. Jesus was an itinerant preacher with no place to lay his head. Your appearance , comfort and reputation are of little concern to Him. Your eternal life is.


A Prophet? Are you looking for someone who will be uncomfortable, disagreeable, provocative, challenging? Who will bring God into places where you were not looking for him – your workplace, family, relationship, finances, internet browser, future? John upset people in authority – and died because of it. Jesus upset people in authority and dies because of it. What are you going to do if he upsets you?


What is there in Advent to bring God into places where you were not looking for him?John – Jesus – see – disciples – go are today's Big Five
Look at John. Look again at Jesus. Really see who they are, what they wopuld ay or do and, if you are a disciple.
Go!
In our world, in our nations, in our church, eschew the scenic route.

Make a straight path for the Lord.

Sunday 3 November 2013

Allesley Bereavement Care and TLC

For: Coventry Evening Telegraph

From Rev Robin Trew

Press Release

Sunday 3rd November 2013

Allesley Church support for the Laura Trust campaign

A packed church of all ages, met at All Saints Allesley on All Saints day, to remember with thanksgiving relatives and friends who had died in recent years. Over two hundred names were read aloud in the service, Revd Robin Trew, Rector of All Saints said, 'it matters on All Saints day that we live now in the way Jesus wants us to live, because then we live as if in heaven now and we share with those who have died something of what it means to be “with the Lord”. We remember that Jesus gave himself up for us, so we share that life as we serve others'.

A collection was taken at the service for the Laura Trust, a charity supported by the Coventry Telegraph to try and bring an advisory, bereavement, and support service to those whose children have died. The hope is to open a Laura Trust Centre in Coventry. This seems a very appropriate cause by the Bereavement Care Group who hold a coffee morning in Allesley church hall every Friday morning at 10.30. The service raised £310 for The Laura Centre.
Chris Kaye and Robin Trew, Allesley Church

Saturday 12 October 2013

And now for something completely impossible...

And now for something completely impossible....


Mustard Seed – Mulberry Tree 




Disciples request: “Increase our Faith”. Why? To do the impossible? To forgive 7 times in one day. The same person.The same thing? Same injury. Really?


What is faith then? Heb 11:1 says it is the “assurance of things hoped for” - , i.e things that there can be no assurance about. “evidence of things unseen” - i.e. a picture of something invisible. J B Phillips has “putting our full confidence in the things we hope for”. Faith is not something we feel, primarily, it is something we do.


  1. Faith does not come in kilograms. One seed will produce a great bush that will produce a million seeds. You can't have more faith than you can use right now. Walking across Spain – you can't carry water and food for tomorrow, its far too heavy. You have to go with just enough for now. There may be 1001 questions that you can't answer about Christianity, about the future. There always will be. It's not more faith that you need. Just say “I don't understand, but I trust you.” “I don't know how I'll cope. But I'll go.”
  2. Faith is not limited by what's possible. Jesus' cartoon is meant to be nonsensical. Why would anyone ever want to plant a Mulberry Tree in the sea? It would die. It would be a senseless piece of showing off. (I bet someone has tried!!!). What Jesus is saying is that God is not limited. I mean that sounds good, doesn't it? It sounds faithful? You could – but why would you? Its a perturbing truth. If God is not limited; if our prayer is not limited; then why all this mayhem in the world? How do we cope with that “Mulberry Tree” that seems so huge, so fixed an obstacle? Faith is only limited by what we know of the will of God. Does God want the Mulberry tree removed? Do I have a saw? Faith is not an intellectual assent to a proposition about the existence of a supernatural power. Js2:19 It is saying “yes” to God's purposes. Don't be distracted by your own “Mulberry tree”.
  3. Faith is only seen in action. There is difference between the person who approaches the latest ride a Alton Towers with confidence saying “I'm going on Turbovomit” (or whatever its called) and eggs on those around, pouring scorn on the lilly livered whilst recalled former deeds of derring-do; only to opt out at the last minute “because the queue is too long”. And the person who is dragged along by the new boyfriend saying “OMG I don't want to do it, I'm going to die. Arrgh!” but lets herself be strapped in anyway till its too late. One is full of confidence (well that's one word for it). The other is full of trepidation. But that's faith. It's the stepping out of the boat – as we thought about recently. What is God asking of you? Do you want to wait till you can  move a Mulberry? Or just take one seed out of the packet?
  4. Faith comes from God – it's not a badge of honour. There are not Christians with a Bronze badge of faith (OK on a good day unless hard questions or difficult situations arise), Silver Badge (able to cope with minor disappointments and unanswered prayers, able to think of get out bible verses for harder cases) or Gold Badges (absolutely unwavering, unquestioning confidence, never knowingly let down by God). For Christians, faith is not like Magic Potion or Antibiotics: more or less powerful depending on circumstances. For us faith is in Jesus Christ. That is, we believe that the one true and only God is fully revealed in Jesus. Nothing more – nothing less. “The fullness of the godhead dwells bodily in my Lord” says Paul. You sometimes hear people say “I believe in Jesus – but not in God” or vice versa. It is nonsense in Christianity. For us Jesus embodies God. Just as the Father does. Just as the Spirit does. At the incarnation, at the crucifixion, in his dying, in his rising again, God is assuming, bearing, overcoming sin and death. God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Otherwise you have the obscenity of a supposedly loving Father sacrificing his own Son to save you and me. It's trinity not modalism or docetism. 1 Cor 15:17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” But He is. He is living in you. Don't be blinded by the Mulberry Tree.

    Faith means living life as if this were true and that God himself, through the spirit of Jesus, lives in you. Now. Today. Really. He is taking on sin, overcoming sin and giving life back to those who have lost it. And He is doing that in and through you and me.

So don't get distracted by the Mulberry Trees.
Use the mustard seed.


If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Faith & Thanksgiving

Luke 17:11-21 8, 10 Allesley  16/10/13 “Faith & Thanksgiving”


INTRO: It doesn't matter where you have come from – it matters where you go to.
Healthy or Leper, Jew or Samaritan, Native or Immigrant, Saint or Sinner. Old hand or newcomer.
The same.


Faith and trust.
Ten lepers waylay Jesus on the edge of a village that they must not enter. They shout – from a safe distance - “Jesus, master, have mercy on us”. A good prayer when your trouble is so obvious and your expectation perhaps a bit thin or when you feel unworthy to ask – or a bit far away from God. Some a Jews, but not all of them. It doesn't matter where they come from. But where they come to:-
JESUS - a name, face to face, they come to Him, to what He is doing.
MASTER – they acknowledge His authority over them.
MERCY – they stand in the way of GRACE. Self abandonment. Undeserved request. Not fit – but.....
Jesus has compassion. He does pray for their healing.
1.What will you do with ten lepers, ten aids victims, ten asylum seekers, ten prostitutes?
2. What will you do with your disease, your unworthiness, your problem?
3. Can we dare to hope that this God who is our creator as Father, our redeemer as Son, our comforter as Holy Spirit – will listen to us?


Faith and obedience.
Jesus says “Go and show yourself to the priests” - He uses their understanding of Levitical ceremonial Law, maybe it offers psychosomatic help to the sufferer but its also a challenge to obey and risk official refusal. In 2 Kings 5:10, when Naaman the Syrian was told by Elisha to “go and wash in the Jordan” he was put out “Haven’t we got better rivers at home to wash in?” but obedience brought results. Here Jesus is applying the procedure set out in the law for cured lepers. They had to risk obedience. Some might know the law, some don't. It doesn't matter where they come from. But where they come to:-
JESUS – obeying when Jesus is there is one thing, what about when you are back in the real world?
MASTER – do you see yourself as a servant, one under authority – or is He primarily there to care for you? For we will often hear His voice challenging us: Love one another, wash the feet, feed my lambs....
MERCY – obedience to Jesus might lead you into confrontation or challenge. Will your pride allow you to trust Him enough to keep trying once you have failed – and failed again – like Peter?
All of the ten are healed. They all trusted Him enough to ask. They were all obedient to what he says. They all exercise faith however doubtful they felt..
When we come to Jesus in faith then it is much more than a feeling of confidence, it is a commitment to obedience.


Faith and thanksgiving.
Several lessons hide here. Luke is keen to show that Christian faith is universal – the lesson of the Samaritan leper. Jesus approves the leper’s thanksgiving and points to the failure of contemporary Jewish ritual and practice and to the superseding of these by His gospel. Jesus says “Your faith has made you well”, it is the man’s faith in Jesus which is decisive. His faith is evidenced not only in the removal of his disease, but because his overwhelming urge is to come to Jesus in thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is an exercise in faith. Not everyone remembers to give thanks it seems. Sometimes its as if people can look down on Jesus, lying on the cross, with nails piercing his hands, a crown of thorns on his hear, in agony and say “Yes Lord. That's all very well. But if you really loved me you'd give me a job, a wife, a child, a friend, healing, faith, peace.....” Where are you coming from today?
It doesn't matter where we come from. But where we come to:-
JESUS – give Jesus His due always. Jesus says “The Kingdom of God is within you” Luke 17:21. Where those rivers of living water flow. The indwelling spirit of Jesus. Can we live in the daily, conscious, thankful knowledge that Jesus, the King, is within me?
MASTER– a servant enters the master's joy. Jesus’ joy is to see the Kingdom coming. He enjoys the healing of the ten. He enjoys the response of the leper! He enjoys our healing and our thanksgiving too. As Christians we will only be truly happy when we are pleasing our Lord.
MERCY – the Samaritan knows that he is not worthy of this healing. He's an outsider twice over. Stranger and Unclean. He has not right to this healing. He only relies upon the mercy of Jesus. And he is never to be disappointed. What does Jesus ask of him in return? Absolutely nothing. “Arise. Go your way.” Jesus makes no claim on his life. So how much do you think he would want to give him?

All of it! Wouldn't we? I hope I would. I hope I will. Jesus, Master, Have Mercy on me.

Saturday 7 September 2013

Weary? - Isaiah 43

Isa 43:14-44:5 Jn 5:30-47


Who Wearies Whom?
After the holidays, are you raring to go – or longing to go back?
Retired? Is every day a holiday – or a challenge to get through?
2nd Isaiah is writing to a weary people. Exiled. Putting down new roots. Living as aliens and strangers. Hopes dashed. Fears fulfilled. Just get on with it?
We often catch ourselves judging God – but this is a Trial v25-28 to remind us who is judge.
Franz Kafka wrote the famous book “The Trial” where the hero is consumed by an accusation and no one ever tells him what he is accused of as e gets completely absorbed by an impenetrable system. God is not like that.


Evidence of the past. Saved for the future. v16-21
Are the people accusing God of abandoning them?
“Look at your story” says God – I am the one who calls, rescues, saves, preserves, promises
But don't just look back – you have a promise to live for.
What is the evidence for God's love in your story? What is your hope?


Evidence of the present: A disinterested, diffident relationship? v22-24
I won't bother you. You don't bother me. Anglican?
You know that weary response “yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever...”
or “Very nice dear, now lets...”
or “Hmm, That's interesting but....”
Its when you sense that they have heard it all before and have decided to ignore you.
God says that the people have not called on him, have not wearied him with sacrifices.
They are not “God botherers” They are “God can't be bothereders”. Are we?
If God didn't care then that would be fine. But He does. And its not.


Verdict for the future: Are we Weary, Hopeless v25-28?
Those who sinned and failed have been punished.
But we, who have participated in or inherited their failure, are being forgiven.
This is the verdict: Guilty. This is the Sentence: Forgiven!
Now, do we have the heart to begin again? 44 v1-5
Though we were born into sin and hopelessness we can know that we are chosen, formed by God and known by him from before birth. More than that he stands ready to help us.
However hopeless it seems, he will transform our environment for growth.
Atheist to believer. Sick to well. Sinner to saint. Hopeless to hopeful.
Where everything seems dead and dried up – His Spirit will flow and bring new life.


In me – and in you. So...
if you are feeling weary in body, mind or spirit. If you are aware of your weakness.
Where things are driest. Where the very ground has cracked into a maze of channels. Where the surface has disintegrated into wind-blown dust. That's where the water falls. Little explosions of dust. Little craters of moisture that gather and find their way deep, deep into the deepest cracks. There to soften and heal. There to reincorporate the dust into solid, rich, moist fertile soil. There to awaken the seed that has been sleeping, waiting for this new life to spring forth.



Is this you?

“Look – I am doing a new thing”!

Thursday 11 July 2013

Passionate Spirituality with Benedict 4. Patience to wait for you

 Passionate Spirituality with Benedict 4. Patience to wait for you 
Genesis 32:9-30, Benedicts Prayer- Patience to Wait 14/7/13
: “I'm not getting any answer.” “Surely something should have happened by now?” “I've been waiting for...” That's when patience starts. If you have ever waited for a loved one you know that it can be worrying, frustrating, uncomfortable, distressing. But when they turn up it is all worthwhile.
Patience acknowledges that the loved one is to be trusted and that their timing is more
important than mine. Patience might include asking ourselves: “Am I in the right place? Is
this the right time?” but if so we hold onto the truth that He is to be trusted and that nothing
can withstand Him. And we wait in peace. How is that for you?

Genesis 32 shows Jacob famously wrestling with “God and man”. Jacob is not your usual example of patience – the name means “grasper” or “cheat” - a more active character. So I want to ask if waiting can be active rather than passive?
  1. Jacob v Man. Jacob has, by subterfuge and his mother's connivance, stolen his older brother's blessing. Then, full of courage, he runs away to Uncle Laban's for 7 years. Jacob is a man who uses tactics to control his future. When do we do that? Qualifying for Church School, Pension planning, Life insurance, Children to look after you in your old age. Jacob wants to return, but how? He's afraid of his hot tempered brother. So he uses patient tactics.
    1. He gives fair warning – Esau might think he is under attack. v3
    2. He sends an expendable servant to take a message. v4
    3. He reminds Esau that he has been “with family” all this time. v4
    4. He ingratiates himself with Flattering Esau. V5
    5. He splits up the family – like the Royal family flying – in case of violence.
    6. He prays fervently – reminding God of His promises.
    7. He sends significant presents to Esau both as an assurance of goodwill but also perhaps as a sign that his is a friendship worth having.
  2. Jacob is wrestling with “man” here. He has taken time to understand how the other person ticks and he is investing in healing this fractured relationship. Passive waiting would have had him staying in Laban's household until God cleared the path for him. Impatience would have had him try to seize God's promise by trying to overcome Esau. Patient waiting keeps its eyes on the goal, weighs up the costs and applies wisdom.
  3. Jacob v God. Jacob has always been aware the God has chosen him. He is the “grasper”, the “cheat” if you like. That's his nature. Jacob needs to understand how this promise is to come about. He takes patient steps.
    1. He send everyone off so that he can be alone with God. v24
    2. He “wrestles” through the night. Have you ever been kept awake wrestling? V25
    3. He demonstrates the ability to persist through pain. This is costly v25
    4. He perseveres until he finds peace with God and receives his blessing. V26
    5. God says that he has “prevailed” - God will meet his request. V28
    6. He knows that he has met with God.
  4. Jacob wrestles with God too. He has taken time to under stand how God ticks and he is investing in healing this fractured relationship. Passive waiting would have had him staying in the heart of the action until God cleared the path for him. Impatience would have had him try to seize God's promise by trying to overcome Esau himself or by trying to become holy in his own eyes. Patient waiting keeps its eyes on the goal, weighs up the costs and applies wisdom.

Saint Benedict suggests that we pray for “patience to wait for you”.
  1. Remember who you are waiting for.
  2. Remind yourself of God's promises.
  3. Wait actively: Remember the 10 virgins. Be prepared. Do what you can, not what you can't.
  4. Wrestle. And prevail.


Father, give us patience to wait for you.

Friday 28 June 2013

Passionate Spirituality with Benedict - 2 Intelligence to Understand.

Passionate Spirituality with Benedict – 2
Intelligence to Understand...

Almighty God, give us
Wisdom to perceive you
Intelligence to understand you
Diligence to seek you
Patience to wait for you
Vision to behold you
A heart to meditate upon you
A life to proclaim you;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord
Who lives with you
and the Holy Spirit
One God now and forever.

In this prayer we ask for wisdom to perceive God – but more than that, we need intelligence to understand.

Here's a short intelligence test: Fill in the blanks: 24 D IN A W, 26 L OF THE A, 7 D OF THE W, 12 S OF THE Z, 66 B OF THE B, 1 C ON A H T R, 1 S SHORT OF A P.... How did you do? Does it matter?

Is it possible to understand God?
We ask for wisdom to perceive God – but more than that, we need intelligence to understand Him.
What? Is that even possible? Isa 55:2 says “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord”. How can a mere sinful human being have a hope of understanding the creator and sustainer of all things? And yet...
Throughout scripture God chooses people of “understanding” to build temples, cities, rule his people. Solomon earned God's approval for asking for “Wisdom and understanding” rather than power and might. Don't be like a Donkey, says Psalm 32. Think! Thinking is Good.

Intelligence is a Renewed MindAugustine famously said “I believe that I may understand” - it is important to know that it is that way round in the life of faith. But you can't leave it out. The old US evangelist who would roar out “We don't want to theee-ology. We just want the Powwww-er of Gaaad” was on very thin ice. The Jeremy Clarkson approach to spirituality will make a wreckage in real life. The incarnation tells us that God can be expressed in all of human life – body, mind and spirit. It may be more than this -but it is definitely not less. You can't leave any of yourself out when you follow Him. He wants it all. Paul says “be transformed by the renewal of your mind” - renewal not anaesthetisation.

Intelligence is Learning from Mistakes
Questions are Good, We learn in theory and in practice – from our mistakes.

In Luke 9 we see some mistakes that people might learn from.

The “Quick fix” mistake. “Shall we call down fire from Heaven, Lord.” Yeah. Like you've been doing that for a while now, have you? Your path is singed with reluctant villages is it? Jesus rebukes them. Lesson: Don't be a twit. But also – Jesus is going to give up his life to save those who reject him. That's his whole purpose. Zapping them with judgement fire would be counter productive.

The “I can do it too” mistake. “I will follow you wherever you go”. Right. Before you know where I am going? Did you not here me says that where I am going you cannot come? You have to learnt to let Jesus be Saviour and Lord. Not you.

The “In your own time” mistake. “Let me first just.....” No. This is of prime importance. It's got to be all or nothing. Now or never. Not what I want but what you want. Now is the hour. You will not have this moment again; this meeting again; this chance again. Take it.
To understand something is to know what stands under it; what its foundations are.
For Jesus it is all about serving the Father in love.
As Father's say “When I say Jump you only ask How High?”

So what?
Jesus says “Follow me” - and he means all the way, now.
I expect we've made a few mistakes along the way?
The question is – do we have the intelligence to learn from them?



Give us intelligence to understand you” Amen.

Passionate Spirituality with Benedict 1 Wisdom

Almighty God, give us
Wisdom to perceive you
Intelligence to understand you
Diligence to seek you
Patience to wait for you
Vision to behold you
A heart to meditate upon you
A life to proclaim you;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord
Who lives with you 
and the Holy Spirit
One God now and forever.     A prayer of St. Benedict

Passionate Spirituality – means everyday encounters with Jesus.
Do we have these? Do we want them?
Do we sometimes fail to recognize God's moment with us?
Can we train ourselves to recognize them more often?

St. Benedict wanted to develop a way of approaching God in our daily lives. Through Work, Rest and Play. I'm surprised he didn't invent the Mars Bar! We are looking at his prayer which asks God to help us to develop our sensitivity to His presence.
Wisdom – Intelligence – Diligence - Patience - Vision – Meditation – Proclamation are all part of this spirituality.

We need Wisdom to perceive His presence.
Light enters the eye and an electro-chemical impulse is produced by the retina to stimulate the occipital cortex of the brain. But this raw data needs to be interpreted by the brain. It compares it in a millisecond to patterns held in the memory so that we become conscious of what provoked the response previously. That perception is what we call “sight”.

We need wisdom – the awareness of the presence of God. The “fear of the Lord”. And the more we know the patterns of God's activity – the more wisdom we have – the more we will be aware of His presence. Where do we see these patterns? First of all – in Jesus. Read the stories. Also in the testimony of others – Benedict and your Cell or small group. And in our own experience too. Look at this story: Mark 5:21-43

The woman was “incurable”, a hopeless case. The girl had become incurable, a hopeless case. There is some “resentment” here. – “Spent all her money”, “why bother!” but also perseverance in hope. “If I just...”
Don’t be too quick to limit what Jesus can do.

How can you perceive – meet - God this week? Keep D.R.Y!
Determined: Woman: ill for 12 yrs! Not put off by the crowd,ignoring the urgency of her “betters”, knowing what she wants. Jairus: putting his beloved daughter forst, waiting for Jesus to deal with this mad woman, deaf to the bad news, willing to trust Jesus word “Do not fear”. e.g. determination: “You’ll go on and go on until you go on”as my Mum used to say in exasperation at my importuning. Jesus responds to those who are determined. Do you know what you want of God today?

Risky: the 4-letter word. Faith to be made well is true faith for Mark. Not doctrinal purity. Woman: Unclean but risks touching. Jairus: risks approaching this unrecognized teacher, risks leaving a dying daughter. Take a prayerful risk with God this week – how else will you know if he’s there? Speak, visit, invest, pray! Jesus responds to those who risk reaching out. Do you believe that God can and will do what you want?

Yourself: Jesus meets people face to face. Just a faceless, nameless woman - but He wanst to acknowledge her in public “Who touched me?”. At the home of  Jairus: “He took her by the hand.” He calls her by her name. A name says  "This is me".
Jesus calls us by our name – the real, now, you. As you are. It's personal.
Are you willing to trust yourself to Jesus today?


Almighty God, give us wisdom to perceive you. Amen.

Wednesday 19 June 2013

Is Religion Worthless?

Luke 7:36-8:3 Is religion without works worthless?


Is it no use to venerate the temple of the Lord?
Is it no use to know the law?
Is it no use to seek righteousness and to eschew the company of sinners?
Nope. Not on its own. OT and NT agree.
Jeremiah 7:6 links ethical behaviour to true religion. “do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm.”  So does Jesus in Matthew 25 – to serve the poor, the homeless, the destitute, the imprisonment – is to serve God. To refuse is to refuse God.

In Luke 7 Jesus stresses that this is not a matter of theory or ethical debate. He says quite plainly that our faith is shown by our actions. As James puts it: 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.
So the Pharisee Simon who is hosting this new Rabbi, Jesus, has been well taught. He knows the requirements of the law to maintain righteousness and ritual purity. He sets himself in judgement over Jesus. He wants to weigh up what Jesus does and so decide if he is a prophet or not.

But Jesus is not primarily interested in what Simon thinks of Him.
He is not primarily interested in what human beings think of Him. 
He is more interested in saving them – making them whole. So he demonstrates to Simon how to judge.

You judge a person by their actions. Actions speak louder than words. We need to take notice of what we are saying.

Is Jesus Welcome – where is the water for washing? - kiss? - oil? - love? The woman's response shows that she has been forgiven. That's the defining difference – love for Jesus. It's not that you earn forgiveness, of course, but that when you have been forgiven, forgiveness and gratitude flow out from you.

We rightly pour scorn on the tabloid newspaper presentation of those who think they can sin freely because they can go to confession afterwards. (Have you ever really met someone who lives like that?) But we are not so far from the faith called “Churchianity” as seen in Jer 7:4. The priority of buildings over ministry costs. The desperate need to cling onto our traditions – ancient or modern - even though they are not working. Schisms between people because of language, music, tradition or practice all simply demonstrate that these are people who do not have the love of Christ in them. They have not been forgiven. Therefore they cannot forgive others. Their “faith” is demonstrated by their actions. “Me, Us, Ours”.

How is “ethical behaviour” shown by Jesus? In welcoming sinners, touching  lepers, healing infirm women, rescuing the demon possessed. All those who are beyond the pale. It is relatively easy to learn to approve the latest trend, sing the latest songs, appreciate the latest choral piece, iron the surplice etc. but real love is too demanding. The cracks show.

What can we do? First remember the love of Jesus for you -just as you are – warts and all. Then let your gratitude to him flow out to those whom He loves. Sometimes, when people practice doing these things- especially when they are against their natural inclination, they find that something miraculous happens. They start to become the person that they are imitating. To be like Jesus.

Simon found no forgiveness, no healing, in Jesus but the woman did.


What failing, what illness, what need compels you to come to Jesus? What is on your heart? What is your passionate desire? Come and bring your concerns, your tears, your thanksgiving. And as you welcome Him in your daily life, He will assure you of His welcome.

Friday 17 May 2013

Pentecost 2013

1. Pentecost.
40 days of resurrection joy – Ascension triumph.....
Waiting: what do you do? Read, Play, Work, Sleep
Waiting for something. The Promise: "I will ask the Father and He will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth." Jn 14:16
If.... John 14:15

 2. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is not a new idea. It is part of God's plan of salvation. His Spirit is not to be confined to Priests or Temples. Holy People or Holy Places. All peoples. This is the same Spirit who moved over the waters in Creation, spoke through the ancient prophets, incarnated Jesus and raised Him from the dead. This is the promise in Joel 2.
 If.... John 14:15


 3. The disciples had experienced the Spirit without recognizing Him because He is the Spirit of Jesus. When Jesus says “He lives with you” he meant “I live with you”.
We can live in an environment of faith and experience Christian fellowship, appreciate it, benefit from it before realizing that “It could be in me too”. There is another, deeper, more personal level of relationship that is awakened in us.
 If.... John 14:15

 4. What has Jesus been doing? Giving his own life up to serve the Father by saving his lost children. Yes there have been miracles, inspired teaching, liberation, healing, confrontation with evil. These are all means of bringing in the Kingdom rule of God

 5. Is that your experience?
Did you grasp this promise eventually. (I can be a bit slow. A bit fearful). But you step out tentatively in faith. Praying for something in secret and being amazed when God answers.
Sitting in a meeting for an hour with something you ought to say on the tip of your tongue, waiting for the courage to speak.
Inviting someone to the carols service by gong round when you're sure they are out and still crawling up the drive and creeping under the front windows so you can put a card through and run away before you have to speak.
Then you get hit by a storm – something that challenges your thinking. Why did that happen?

6. If we believe that Jesus succeeded, then we will be able to do the same things. And there are more of us! Thousands, Millions, Billions. Other people have the Spirit too. They shield you. Pick you up sometimes. Help you to laugh at your weakness. It's hard to grow on your own. In a team sport individual talent has to be blended in. The winger who only played on the beach gave away lots of throw ins and couldn't cross when confined to a pitch. “Cross” might be the instruction to the self focused christian. Give yourself up to save those in need. The church. The kingdom is not diminishing but increasing.

 7. Of course Life has a way of tripping you up. Illness, family responsibilities, work pressure, relationships, bereavement, finances – can all flatten you when you feel you just got going. What's going on? Do you have to pretend to be happy and satisfied and spiritual when your life is falling apart? Or is it better to shout “HELP!” When we suffer, can this be part of “do what I have been doing”? Well it can.
If...Jn 14:15

8. Orphans know that their parent will never return. Jesus says that He will return. And we have phone, email, facebook, skype.... distant, yet here in your living room, car, church. Kids don't always want their parent to come home – party, girlfriend, french polisher... Yet Jesus promises that, even when we have been flattened, or have fallen or failed, “I will come to you”. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to find Him. He will raise you up. Again and Again

 9." But my situation is more serious.I'll never get over it. I'll never forgive them. I've lost hope and faith. I'm helpless under the weight of sin or failure. That “If...” Jn 14:8 seems to rule me out. I can't obey. I can't love. What can I do?"
 Call!
Not in your own “name” – depending on your character – but on His. He is love. He promises. He is to be trusted. Refreshment. Renewal. Revival. Rescue He says “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh”

Yours included.


 10. 11. 12.

Saturday 30 March 2013

Jesus is Alive: What's chocolate got to do with it?


Jesus is Alive  What's chocolate got to do with it? 

 John 20:1-18 Easter 2013
You might be expecting a model of the Easter grotto, lots of moss, a few violets and daffs (which probably weren't there) and with a stone rolled away? (Because it was)

Perhaps a dramatic powerpoint grave with carefully positioned grave clothes as if the body had been teleported leaving the clothes to collapse in a heap? (Because they were).
Maybe an angel or two complete with a bemused and grieving disciples? (Yes, They were there alright).
A sunrise, a spring bulb, even an Easter chick as a not-too-subtle symbolism of new life might be unsurprising?
But chocolate?
They didn't even have chocolate in Jesus time.
And Easter eggs are no longer very closely attached to our festive season – you can buy them on boxing day these days. Why chocolate?

Mark 16. Matthew 28. Luke 24. John 20. You can read these eye witness accounts of an experience that changed and shaped the lives of the first disciples; completely transforming them from feeble doubters afraid for their own skins to a group so filled with certainty and zeal that they have changed the world with their message of resurrection. It's all true. You can piece the picture together from their different standpoints just as you do when you read a newspaper article.

But try as you might, you will find – there's no chocolate!

There are some Easter truths hidden in the easter egg though if you think about it. (It's always better to think about it yourself than to read a long sanctimonious sermon) – think about this.....
(- volunteer to eat a cadburys crème egg in one mouthful)
  • There's much more to resurrection than you can handle. At least in one sitting.
    (how about trying to get THIS in your mouth instead – BIG Egg)
  • You have to break it up to eat it. Take one aspect of resurrection at a time and savour it. Death defeated. Sin forgiven. Old lives can be changed. Pain sanctified.
    (smash it and eat some)
  • You can't keep chocolate without eating it: it will go white and inedible. Resurrection becomes just a “happy ending” if it is just kept as a memento of the past. You have to live the new life out. In the real world.
    (give some to children to hold tightly)
  • If you hold it close it will soften and melt, covering every part of your life with its sweetness. (If you don't, it won't). It's best to do this in your mouth! Resurrection should be on your tongue – Jesus is alive, so tell everyone you know.
    (Lick it off!)
  • It will become part of your body – Resurrection life fills you with life, energy and power to serve others....
(put on plates and pas it round)
  • It is so good that you will have to share it with those around you.
That's what Matthew. Mark, Luke, John, Mary, Billy, Fred, Sue, Pam, George, Tracey, Jason – in fact everyone who has ever realised the truth about Jesus has discovered.

So we can all celebrate at Easter that God loved the world so much that he gave his only son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have everlasting life. Sweet! 

Thursday 21 March 2013

Passionate Spirituality 10 - Social Action


The Sore Thumb: Luke 19:28-40 Passionate Spirituality: Social Action

When we grow in our passionate spirituality it means becoming more attuned to the heart of God. Thus the things that offend the heart of God become more offensive to us and we will find ourselves wanting to act for social justice.

Our awareness of social injustice is like a sore thumb. How?

Irritation: When we have a sore thumb we try our hardest not to knock it or catch it on things. And guess what? The more you try to guard it, protect it, forget it – the more often you bash it, catch it and have it jump painfully into the forefront of our consciousness. It just won't let us alone.
Safe in the cinema, sitting down – it makes you spill your popcorn. It catches on your pocket if you try to wander casually. It bashes on the bannister. It presses the wrong lift button. You can't get your gloves on so your hands get cold. You can't pick up the credit card you dropped. Irritating!
An awareness of social justice won't leave us alone either.
Walking down the street we become aware of the unkempt house, the broken water main, the littering, the second homes, the discarded syringes and we feel provoked to love those who are struggling. We feel prompted to pray for them. We feel prompted to act. Maybe not the first time, or the second – but in the end we will be unable to stop ourselves.
Jesus enters Jerusalem because the people needed a saviour. Hosanna! The Lord Saves.
Because we love God we will welcome the irritation.

Limitation: Grab, grasp, grip, hold, handle, hang on – all these words and phrases are used to signify being in control of ourselves or our situation, obtaining things for our own well-being or preservation. It's a good thing. It's what we have been brought up, educated, trained to become. But it can get “out of hand”!
With our “sore thumb” of social justice, we find it much harder to be grasping in desperation for our own survival or our own needs. In fact its much easier, much more comfortable to be “open handed” - to offer up rather than to hold tight.
As we become more aware of the poor, the refugee, the homeless, the addict, the victim, the foolish and all those who are unable to cope with the pressures of the society that we have helped to create. We will be unable to walk by on the other side of the road, holding on to our extra coat, blanket, food, cash. When the government tries to create help for the poor to buy houses we will realise that the rich and greedy will be able to hijack this help – and we assume that, in our society, they will – but we will not be able to. We won't be able to grasp the best for ourselves. Our sore thumb will get in the way.
Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey because the people needed a humble king. Hosanna! The Lord Saves.
Because we love God we will embrace the limitation.

Manifestation: What have you done to your thumb? When people see an injury or even the bandage, they want to ask how it happened. That's why people have skin shade plasters – or bright blue dinosaur ones if you want sympathy. We like to cover up our weaknesses and hurts. With out heightened awareness of society's illness we will be asked more and more “How on earth did you get to be like that?”. You may well stick out like a sore thumb. Woolly liberal. Holier than thou. Twit.
And some may see it as our own carelessness or foolishness on display.
Worried too much about the poor and bit my nail too far. Making soup for the homeless I tried to clean the liquidiser blade. Wanting to brighten up someone's life I trimmed the flower stalks with the bread knife. Building a shelter I hit my thumb with a hammer.
People often don't like it. They take it as an attack. Are you saying that I didn't love my neighbour? I voted for my own interests? I read the wrong newspaper? I am culpable too? Who told you to do all this anyway?
That's the question. That's what we need to ask. The answer is, as always, Jesus.
Jesus enters Jerusalem with a children's parade because the people needed to be released in praise. Hosanna! The Lord Saves.
Because we love God we will celebrate the manifestation.

Lord we pray that you would irritate us, limit our freedom to be selfish, and help us to be a manifestation of your love for all your needy children. Amen,

Saturday 16 March 2013

Passionate Spirituality 9 - Contemplative


Passionate Spirituality- CONTEMPLATION

Passionate Spirituality is not only to do with developing our relationship with God but allowing ourselves to be transformed by it and to have our deepened understanding direct our actions. This takes time as we meditate on scripture and on the person and actions of Jesus/God

Mary of Bethany was a contemplative person. Naturally retiring she was attracted to Jesus and loved to sit at His feet listening. When Jesus visited the family home she shared with Lazarus and Martha it was her chief delight. Martha whose expression of love was shown through service was irritated by her lack of support. She was unable to understand that Mary was also doing something worthwhile. But in a situation where so many people were demanding things from Jesus I think that He was blessed by Mary’s committed undemanding love.
When Martha asked Jesus to tell her to help He defended her saying that Mary had made the best choice.

As we follow the story of Mary we discover that she was changed by her time spent with Jesus. When Lazarus died it is Martha that goes to greet His late arrival but when He asks for Mary, the stay at home girl, runs to meet Him and later sees Jesus raise Lazarus from death. She grows from a retiring girl to someone affirmed by spending time with Him and hearing His approval.

Our third account of Mary shows a transformed person who takes expensive perfume into a crowded room and pours it over Jesus’ feet and wipes them with her loosened hair. Her love is extravagant and embarrassing to some there. Judas accuses her for her wastefulness but again Jesus defends her. He appreciates her show of love and her understanding of His coming situation.

Mary’s life challenges us to spend time with Jesus contemplating Jesus’ love and ways so that our lives may be transformed too.

Fey Holtum 17-3-13

Friday 15 March 2013

Passionate Spirituality 8: Pregnant?


Incarnational Spirituality Luke 2:33-35

Mothering Sunday: I think I might be a bit pregnant...


No one is ever slightly pregnant. Its a yes or no situation. But its a long time coming. There's a lot of waiting, hoping, doubting, struggling, limitation, plans, hopes, dreams, fears.... but there is an endpoint.
Simeon is pregnant.
He's been pregnant for years. He's been waiting for the Messiah. The Hope of a Saviour has been incarnated in him. It has occupied his mind and his body. He has been “looking for” it for many years. He has developed it into a universal salvation – a light to lighten the gentiles/nations. He had arranged his days around watching in the Temple, praying, being on the lookout for God's promise. Now he rejoices because the birth pangs have begun. His task ends as the new life begins. It's called mothering.

Are you pregnant?
Life experiences.... Babies obviously, education, business opportunity, career change, creative project, DIY, Olympics, retirement. Anything that you order your life around before it has actually come into being. This project is incarnated in you. It occupies your mind and your body.
Are you pregnant with Kingdom expectations.... Faith, understanding, witnessing, holiness, spiritual gifting, peace, justice, conversion of children or partner... Are there things of God which you order your life around before it has actually come into being. Its part of your life – a core part, not an add on. Religion is not like an enthusiasm like Rugby, Eastenders, Knitting, Computer Games – it has to be embodied. This “now and not yet” is incarnational spirituality.

God is Pregnant
Mothering Creation = Conception – Ante-natal – Birth – Neo-natal – Post-natal – weaning – training – releasing. Where is creation now?
The Gentiles are not yet all enlightened. The Kingdom is not yet complete.
God's people have been squalling babies, precarious toddlers, obnoxious adolescents, dismissive adults, insatiable beggars.... there have been the odd bunch of daffs, but they have often forgotten Him.
Jesus came down to earth, not because the signal was poor, but because only in human life could God's love be fully expressed for us. It had to be incarnated.
God accepts the limitations, the pain, the sword piercing soul stuff .

Because it is worth it. “that you might have life. Life in all its fullness.

4. Incarnational Exercise: This encourages us to see God active in the ordinary and the everyday. It appreciated that the creator is alive and active in his creation and the the saviour is alive and can be encountered in all God's children.
When Life Hurts
Where is God when things are all going wrong?
Think: Where are things painful for you
  • personally, family, community,
  • national or international situations?
Tell: Try to express your feelings to God.
When I see …. I feel......”
Read: Luke 2:33-35. Just because there is pain, it does not mean that God's will is not being done. Think about Mary. Luke 1:38.
Cross: look at or hold onto a cross. Remember that Jesus dies to take all our sin and shame. He knows how you feel. He is with you in this.
Jesus: How might you “be” Jesus, getting along someone else in pain.

(Picture: Image credit: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/photo_12495323_stages-of-pregnancy-of-the-woman-a-profile-full-growth-it-is-isolated-on-a-white-background.html'>galdzer / 123RF Stock Photo</a>