May 27th 2012

Those of you who have travelled to the Holy Land no doubt will have been taken to the place believed to be the Upper Room. Many are surprised that it is so large and spacious. We think of it as the place where Jesus was with just the twelve, an intimate space. However, in Acts One we read that about one hundred and twenty people gathered there in hope and expectancy and above all in prayer. Especially noted are certain women including Mary, Jesus’ Mother and we rejoice to note that Jesus’ brothers were there. They had not always been supportive as we read in Matthew 12: 26 and also in the other synoptic gospels. Peter assumed a leadership role and organizes the election of Matthias to take the place of Judas Iscariot among the twelve. They all continued together in prayer and fellowship. On the Jewish festival of Pentecost, they were all together there as usual and that which Jesus had promised them happened. The Holy Spirit came among them in the form of wind and fire and entered into each one. Wonderful things happened.

You remember at the time of Jesus’ ascension, the disciples asked “Is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel”? They still clung to the belief that they would be freed from the power of Rome, their earthly oppressors. Now each one of them received power through the coming of the Holy Spirit into their own personal lives. As Peter proclaimed to the crowds, “therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified”. On that day alone, about three thousand people joined the company of believers and were baptized. The power they received did not send them forth to fight earthly battles but “they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship and to the breaking of bread and the prayers” Act 2: 42. The apostles led them as they grew into a new life in the Holy Spirit.

There were opposition and trials which were an opportunity for witness. Some lost their lives. We remember especially James and Stephen. The church grew in Jerusalem and beyond and throughout the whole world. It grew from that first Pentecost down the ages to you and me. We have faced trials and tribulations but as we open ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit, we will go forward in faith and love.

May 20th 2012

This past Thursday was Ascension Day. It is a festival when we remember that mysterious event when Jesus was lifted to his throne in heaven, as a cloud separated him from his disciples. We tend not to celebrate this festival as we should. Perhaps it is because it is hard to grasp this happening. We try to understand with our minds only and are afraid to enter into the mystery.

Our chaplain here in the IOOF Home from time to time brings me articles to read. Recently he brought me one by an unnamed writer which I found to be very profound and I relate to many of his observations. For starters, he worships in Durham cathedral.  As a student I was in the Diocese of Durham to do some supervised practical work. The awe that ancient building inspired is still with me. To quote the article.

“I stare at the vast arches and pillars 

I soak in the depth of the lyrics in the hymns.

The whole experience is one of resurrection wonder - wonder springs up when

 something feels much bigger than us, beyond our understanding, 

beyond our ability to put it in a box.”

Little children are born with a sense of wonder. Their eyes open wide to take in some new marvel. They look intently as they watch a ladybug or a worm. They do not try to understand; that will come later. Now they are filled with awe. Later they will want answers and that is good but we must never lose our sense of awe. That is how we enter his presence.

Please do not think that I would cast aside intellectual striving after God’s truth, the joyous study in finding more about him or that I would substitute for it a mindless entry into a state of ecstatic nothingness.  When we are filled with awe, we reach out to him as he does to us. We experience his presence and we grow in his knowledge – the knowledge of him who is the father, the divine creator of the universe through the son, the revelation of his love through his life on earth and death on the cross. Finally we experience him through the Holy Spirit who enters into our lives to move and direct us by his uplifting and purposeful power.

May 13th 2012

Each one of us, I hope has experienced special epiphanies, wonderful moments when we feel someone’s outgoing love to us. It may be when a small grandchild comes running to us, arms outstretched, face alight with joy. I can remember my mother and her mother greeting one another after being parted for several years. So much love, it is the essence of joy in our lives. Some have no doubt received more such moments than others but it all comes from the same source. They are outward visible signs of his grace, his love in us.

Today’s sentence (BAS 341) comes from that deep and powerful passage John 14: 23 and following. Jesus knows he is having his last supper with his loved disciples and is pouring out his last words answering their puzzled questions.

Let us look at one or two highlights we may use to meditate on these verses by ourselves:

First there is the promise – the promise of the Holy Spirit – what will the Holy Spirit do – it will teach us. Not only tat but remind us of things we have forgotten – that is indeed a blessing.

Then is another gift - that gift is peace but it comes with a proviso – “I do not give as the world gives”. Is that a letdown? Is there a catch? No, we are not to be troubled or afraid – his gifts are perfect gifts.

Then there is the foretelling. He shared a little of little of what will happen to him and finally the reason for all this -  love.

Above all, that the world may see and try to understand the length and breadth of his supreme love for the father and the father for him. In total surrender he gave his life for us because he loved the father and did his will. Ponder on these things.

May 6th 2012

It often saddens me when some good kind delightful person, says that of course they believe in God and Jesus too but not in “organized” churches. What a sad thing, that we are who church members have presented such a negative picture. We have not shown ourselves as the body of Christ, people in whom Christ dwells and who reach out to the Christ in each other.

The Christian faith began with a basic love for Jesus in response to his love for us. It took hundreds of years to work out the basic belief that is in implicit in our commitment to him. For the individual, this process starts with us in childhood as we live and grow in him. We develop our beliefs supported by the community as we too support them. It is important that as little children, we feel accepted and loved and soon understand that love is the love of Jesus dwelling in each person. Early on it is important that we be accepted as young men and women, capable of responsibility. God’s children loved, his own and our own. We become “the blessed company of all faithful people”.

As we grow in faith, we also develop beliefs; some of our beliefs will grow in different directions. Let us pray that our faith and love remain strong. Let us not concentrate on proving ourselves right but meditate on his love so that we may eventually be shown his truth.

Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote a long poem in memory of a friend. In it are these words:

A strong son of God, immortal love

Whom we that have not seen thy face

By faith and faith alone, embrace

Believing where we cannot prove

St. Paul in his letter to the  Romans Chapter 1, verses 11- 12 wrote:

I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you - 

or rather that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

Hugh Latimer (c.1487 – 16 October 1555) was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge and Bishop of Worcester before the Reformation, and later Church of England chaplain to King Edward VI. In 1555, under Queen Mary, he was burnt at the stake, becoming one of the three Oxford Martyrs of Anglicanism. He said:

If you will build a glorious church onto God, 

see first yourselves to be in charity with your neighbours

and suffer not them to be offended by your works.

April 29th 2012

Last time we looked at the need to examine our faith with deeper understanding. It is very often good to give some thought and study to the times in which Biblical events took place, perhaps to compare those people and events to modern times. This is Good Shepherd Sunday when the Psalm, Collect and Prayers refer to the Good Shepherd. The role of the shepherd has not changed that much down through the centuries but we do tend to romanticize him. As you meditate, use all your senses. Can you hear the sound of the sheep and the lambs? Do you see the country side all around you? Is there better pasture ahead and what is that lamb doing over there? What does the ground feel like under your feet? Are you aware of the comfort of your strong shepherd’s crook? Does it give you confidence to defend yourself against wolves or to reach out and rescue lambs? Are you prepared to give your life for your sheep? Do you love them that much? Jesus did. You are one of his sheep? Do you hear his voice? Are you assured of his love? Do you feel safe in his care? There are many more inspirational thoughts to be gleaned from today’s Gospel reading John 10: 1-18.

In the latter half of this same chapter is recounted Jesus’ struggle with the wolves. We have a vivid picture of the scene. Jesus is in the temple In Jerusalem, a place he loved. It is winter so we can presume it is cold and he is walking up and down in Solomon’s portico. Suddenly he is surrounded by a group of Jews who want answers. Let us try and get into the hearts and minds of these men. God has promised them that they as Jews are his chosen people and that he will one day send them a Messiah, a Saviour. They interpret this to mean release from the constraining bonds of the Roman empire. They have some faint expectation that Jesus is the promised Messiah and are frustrated that he does not declare himself, produce a sword and lead them into battle. They had the right person but the wrong expectations of him. They became the wolves, anxious to destroy instead of being the sheep willing to follow.

Are we wolves out to destroy because we are set on the wrong course with the wrong expectation?

 Are we sheep trying to follow the Good Shepherd wherever he leads us?