What it takes to be a mission focused church - Luke 12

This is the last of my sermon posts for a while. We are on sabbatical from 1st May until 1st September.  Some of our visiting preachers may want to share their sermon notes with us.  You can have a look at those sermons by clicking here.

Isn’t it wonderful how things work together!  And they have done again today.

The hope and prayer we have had for the sabbatical as it has been in the planning not only for the good Felicity and me, but also for the good of the church is that it can be a time that’s purposeful.  For the church family to come together and to work together with a very real sense of purpose.

And so it was that we decided that in planning services for the four months Felicity and I won’t be around that we would invite those taking the services to focus on specific themes. It will be interesting to get different people’s perspectives on those themes.

We begin with one of those themes that we continue to focus on as a church family that goes to the heart of what we are about as a church.   When we shared the vision for our church and its growth we said how important it was for us to focus on mission and outreach.

And so we have asked those who are visiting us and taking services in May and June to reflect on the question – what does it take to be a mission focused church?

Paul Davis will be speaking from his perspective as a retired GP who has entered into ministry and contributed especially to the work of the Congregational Federation’s Pastoral Care Board.   Suzanne Nockels is the minister of two churches in Sheffield and also spearheads the Federation’s Learning Church initiative.  She will be spending Saturday, 16th May with our Ministry Leadership team and then joining us for services on Sunday.  

Pam Dix is an old friend of Highbury and has played a big part in inner city mission through our Stapleton Rd church in Bristol.  Dee Brierley Jones brings her experience as a head teacher and in different forms of ministry, not least sharing with Shirley in taking communion into care homes and doing a regular programme on Cotswold Hospital Radio, Radio Winchcombe and elsewhere. 

While she was training for ministry at Mansfield alongside Mark  Evans, Elaine Kinchin did a short pastoral placement with us at Highbury.  Elaine has been in our prayers as she has had to take early retirement on health grounds.  Her son, Oliver, is minister of our Padfield church in Cheshire and getting involved tutoring on the Congregational Federation’s courses. 

Nick Gleich is an old friend of Highbury.

On Sundays in June we will again be thinking about what it takes to be a mission-focused church.  Wayne Hawkins is well-placed to get us thinking about that challenge, working as he does as Regional Secretary for the European Region of the world mission partnership we are part of, the Council for World Mission.  He will be leading a Parade service in the morning and staying on to share in our evening service too.  Wayne’s wife, Lesley, is Diana and Dick Adams’ daughter and, all being well, we look forward to welcoming Thomas and Samuel too.

By the time she joins us this month Barbara Bridges will have finished her time as President of the Congregational Federation.  As Minister of our Morton in Marsh Congregational Church Barbara is one of our near neighbours.  Nigel Lindsay will be joining the Hy-Speed team on 21st June and staying on for the evening service too: Minister of our church in Wimbledon, Nigel is a former social worker who now spends two months of each year out in Kenya supporting a mission project his church is committed to.

Adrian Wyatt spent a life time in the police service before training on the Federation’s course for ministry.  He is a mission enabler in the South West and will get us thinking about being a mission focused church.  We will also be welcoming Dee Brierley Jones once again this month and also Kev who twenty-five years ago with Jenny was instrumental in getting Hy-Tec, our youth group, off the ground.

Do remember those who will be joining us this month in your prayers and may the thinking they share help to shape the life of our church here at Highbury.

Today we arrive at the halfway point in Luke’s Gospel … and a break as I hope, all being well, to return to Luke’s Gospel when we return on 1^st September.

And what do we find as Jesus continues on his journey to Jerusalem but a Jesus who is passionate that we should share our faith and live our lives in mission and outreach.

Two things come together in this chapter.

The first has to do with sharing our faith.

It’s something we can be very reluctant to do.   We even build in the expectation that in polite society we won’t – politics and religion are subjects to be avoided.

That’s not the kind of society Jesus moved in.  And it’s not what he expected of his followers.

The Jesus we meet on this journey is a pretty forthright Jesus who stands up for what he is about and has a gritty determination to press on towards a Jerusalem that he knows will be filled with hostility to the prophetic message he has to share.

When it comes to sharing the faith one of the things Jesus recognises is the need for us all to be genuine in our faith – people see through the sham that is only concerned with outward appearances.  And Jesus has no time for that kind of religion.

Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered in thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first to his disciples, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy. 2Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 3Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.

Jesus is advocating here a transparency, a genuiness.  How important it is for us to seek to live the faith we profess.   Words into action … are so important.  So important that sometimes we fall into the trap of imagining all we need is actions.  Let’s do as much good as we can and say as little as we can.

It’s the maxim attributed to St Farncis of St Francis – share your faith and only use words if necessary.

I did as you do and googled it to find according to that fount of Wisdom, Wikipedia, that it is falseyly attributed to St Francis.

All sorts of other quotes … but not quite St Francis.

Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words[edit]

Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words

Such expressions are widely attributed to Francis, but no published source has yet been located prior to the early 1990s. Variants include those listed below.

• Witness for Christ each day, and if necessary use words.
• Conspiracy of Kindness : A Refreshing New Approach to Sharing the Love of Jesus With Others (1993) by Steve Sjogren, p. 120.

• Always remember to preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.
• The Short-Term Missions Boom : A Guide to International and Domestic Involvement (1994) edited by Michael J. Anthony, p. 38.

• Wherever you go, preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words.
• What They Don't Always Teach You at a Christian College (1995) by Keith Anderson, p. 185.

• Share the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words
• The Basics of Life (1998) by Andy Chrisman, Kirk Sullivan, Mark Harris and Marty Magehee.

• Go into all the world and preach the gospel, and, if necessary, use words.
• The Boomerang Mandate : Returning the Ministry to the People of God(1999) by Jim L. Wilson and Tom Stringfellow, p. 70.

• Do all you can to preach the gospel and if necessary use words!
• The Lord is my Shepherd (1999) by Alf Droy, p. 84.

• Preach often, and if necessary, use words
• This Is Your Time : Make Every Moment Count (2000) by Michael Whitaker Smith and Gary Lee Thomas, p. 93.

• Preach the gospel always and if necessary, use words.
• Cease Fire, the War Is Over! (2005) by Eric Bumpus and Tim Moranville, p. 88

Close, authentic quotation:

• ...love one another, as the Lord says: "This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you." And let them show their love by the works they do for each other, according as the Apostle says: "let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth."
• Francis of Assisi, Rule of 1221, Rule 11 - That the Brothers ought not to speak or detract, but ought to love one another.

 Isn’t that interesting.

The basic idea is good …  but.  And it is a big BUT.  It’s not quite good enough.   Too often churches have hidden behind that maxim and not encouraged people to talk about their faith.  Actually it is something we are called on to do by Jesus … and we are called on to do it fearlessly.

The heading in the NRSV is pretty powerful and challenging.

Exhortation to Fearless Confession

4 ‘I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. 5But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! 6Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. 7But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

8 ‘And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; 9but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. 10And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say; 12for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.’

You will be given the right words to say.   How do you explain your faith? It’s worth reflecting on.  It’s one of the things Karen our Discipleship ministry leader is focusing on through the summer.

We are going to do a course inspired by a book by Philip Yancey.  What’s so amazing about grace?  It’s the kind of course to refresh your faith, to help you put your faith into words, to share your faith more effectively.

The simple story of why you believe, what you believe and how it helps you live your life more fully.  More and more as I tell my story I want to come back to Jesus – the one who maps out a way of life that can make a world of difference in love for God, love for neighbour too.  But he is the one who then comes alongside and forgives us when we make a pig’s ear of it and fail to do just that.  It’s that forgiveness that streams out from Jesus that is for me this amazing grace – and it picks me up to get me going again.  Not in my own strength, but in the strength of that unseen power of God with me.

That’s my story … and I’m sticking to it!

But mission is not just about telling the story of Jesus.

Mission has to do with the values of the Kingdom of God that Jesus came to proclaim.  And those values turn upside down the values of the world.

So much of the world’s way of thinking effectively reinforces the selfishness that’s in each of us and can be so destructive when unleashed.

One thing that troubles me in the election as in so many elections is that sense you have of things that are being offered that will satisfy our selfishness.

And not just our selfishness but our desire for money and riches and wealth.

It ever has been thus.

It was the case in the world of Jesus’ day.

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ 14But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’ 15And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’

Wow – that’s something for the politicians to  hear.  It’s something for us to heed as we weigh up what those who are offering to lead our country are offering us.

How better to push the point home than in a parable.

And that’s what Jesus tells.  One of those story parables that Jesus tells on the journey and are only to be found in Luke 10-19

16Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” 18Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” 20But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” 21So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’

It’s a powerful story.  Brilliantly told.  Look how many times the word ‘I’ appears.  It’s I, me, mine that count.

How we need to take it to heart.

But it’s scary not to pin our hopes on possessions.

Do Not Worry, says Jesus.

22 He said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. 23For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 26If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? 27Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 28But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. 30For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32 ‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

This is unsettling for us.  How important we heed these words.

This is where we take a stand.  Generous giving.

More stories follow about the need to be on the watch, the need to be faithful in our service of Christ.    There is a cost to following in the footsteps of Jesus as sometimes it will mean we lose friends – it’s not a popularity contest.  How important it is to seek to build bridges on the way.

Share the faith and live the mission.

Live the faith and share the mission.

Let’s put all that lies ahead of us into the hands of God.

Watchful Slaves

35 ‘Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

39 ‘But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’

The Faithful or the Unfaithful Slave

41 Peter said, ‘Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?’ 42And the Lord said, ‘Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? 43Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. 44Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. 45But if that slave says to himself, “My master is delayed in coming”, and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful. 47That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. 48But one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.

Jesus the Cause of Division

49 ‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53they will be divided:

father against son

   and son against father,

mother against daughter

   and daughter against mother,

mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law

   and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’

Interpreting the Time

54 He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, “It is going to rain”; and so it happens. 55And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, “There will be scorching heat”; and it happens. 56You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Settling with Your Opponent

57 ‘And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58Thus, when you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to settle the case, or you may be dragged before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you in prison. 59I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.’

Luke 11 The Power of Prayer in the Desert of a Divided World

It’s almost upon us … and it seems so long in the planning.

It must be three years and more since we had a Deacons day over in Warden Hill.  We dreamed dreams and shared visions for the life of our church.

One of the many visions we shared was to build up a team ministry to help lead the life of the church here at Highbury.

It was the start of a process that resulted in us a year ago re-shaping the life of the church here at Highbury.   We moved to a smaller Diaconate and introduced a shared Ministry Leadership Team.

The idea was that we would let that Ministry Leadership team bed in with a new way of doing things and then arrange for Felicity and me to have a sabbatical.

Now, the moment has arrived.

From 1st May Felicity and I will be on sabbatical.  That means that we won’t be on call as we usually are, and we won’t be taking part in the day to day life of the church from now through until 1st September.  We have a number of projects we are planning to pursue which we will share on our return.

Now is the moment when our new Ministry Leadership team comes into its own.

The Deacons arranged for me to have what they called an ‘exit interview’ – it was great to share that on Wednesday evening.  I expressed my hopes and fears for the sabbatical on a personal level … and my hopes and fears for the church.

Let’s make these four months a really purposeful time in the life of the church.   Things will be happening from the lunches to the community café, from the film club to Sunday Specials – it’s really important to support them!  Explore is going to do a new course put together by Philip Yancey, an inspiring author.  It goes to the heart of the Christian faith – What’s so amazing about grace?  Well worth coming … but also the kind of thing that we can invite others too.

In our Sunday services we are looking forward to welcoming people who we hope will get us thinking about the life of our church and the faith we share.

One of the priorities we have set ourselves as a church is to grow in our mis-sion and outreach.  As this sabbatical period begins that’s what we are going to focus on.  Shirley has invited those who are joining us for our Sunday services to share with us on what it takes to be a mission-focused church – I am going to share a little more about that next Sunday.

In July and August we are asking those who take our services on a Sunday to share with us stories from the Bible, from history and from their own lives that have been an inspiration to them.  So let Helen Roberts have any stories you might have of people who have inspired you so that we can tell them on the Notice sheet!  And Sue more stories for Highbury News!

We start by welcoming back Mark and Denise Evans.  It’s five years since a crowd of us shared in their wedding.  Mark was one of our youth leaders at Hy-Tec and served the church as a Deacon before going on to train for the ministry at Mansfield College, Oxford.  Having now been in Newport, Isle of Wight for three years Mark and Denise will be sharing the stories of people who have been an inspiration to them.  Vince Carrington has been Minister of our church in Taunton for many years where he has also played a big role in Christian mission in the town, not least through Street Pastors.  Janet Wootton is the Congregational Federation’s Director of Studies and has a passion for her faith which is infectious.   Robert Pestell is a good friend of Highbury’s and now works as chaplain at the Sue Ryder Home in Leckhampton.  Dee Brierley Jones will also be joining us this month too.

In August once again we have invited those joining us to share their stories of people who have inspired them.  Jason Boyd is Minister of our Witney church: he has recently completed a PhD focusing on preaching and the impact it has on the local church.  Graham Adams is also joining us for the day at the end of the month.  After a ministry at Lees Street in Manchester Graham has moved on to become lecturer at Northern College, the college we have links with in Manchester.  As we welcome Graham and Sheryl we will be thinking of Graham’s parents, Diana and Dick.

As we prepare for the Autumn and its new challenges Karen Haden will be inviting us to grow in our faith and discipleship as she shares with Shirley Fiddimore.  We will be welcoming our own Martin Evans and Dee Brierley Jones and also extending a welcome to Andrew Cox from the Hester’s Way Baptist church.   Judi Holloway from Witney will also be joining us at the end of the month when we shall also be extending a warm welcome to Michael Garland, vicar of St Mary’s church, Charlton Kings.  Michael is very involved along with our own Janet Wootton in the Hymn Society.

With all sorts of things going on through the summer, my hope and prayer is that it can be a time when as a church family we can go from strength to strength.

If you need help or have to contact someone from church at any time, then please contact one of our Ministry leadership team, one of the Deacons or one of our Church officers - they will be pleased to be able to help.

Today we arrive at Luke 11 and teaching of Jesus that speaks very much to the lives of each one of us and to the world we see around us.  There is an inspiration in the words of Jesus for us all …

The Power of Prayer in the desert of a divided world

The call to hear God’s word and act on it

·         A word of mercy in a world of hostility

·         A word of light in in a world of darkness

·         A word of justice in a world of injustice

·         A word of wisdom in a world that ignores the prophets who speak truth to power

What keeps Jesus going is prayer.  And the disciples know it.  So they want to know how Jesus does it.  Jesus replies with something that goes to the heart of our faith and is the thing more than any other to keep us going on the journey.

He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ 2He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name.

   Your kingdom come.

3   Give us each day our daily bread.

4   And forgive us our sins,

     for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.

   And do not bring us to the time of trial.’

The words are different in Matthew and Luke.  The manuscripts have different versions.  But it’s something for us to take to heart.

Call it the Lord’s prayer and pray it knowing that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour and if this was the key he had to the power of prayer let’s use it.

Call it the family prayer and recognise that as we pray it we part of a family of Christ’s people here in this place, a family that spreads out over the globe, a family that reaches down through the ages.

Call it the Prayer of the Kingdom and see it as the prayer that shapes the very way we lead our lives in God’s way, under God’s rule.

We know prayer is important, but sometimes it can lapse.  We must keep at it and persevere so Jesus tells the story of the friend who calls at midnight and asks for bread and keeps on knocking until the bread is given.  Keep on praying.

5 And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” 7And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” 8I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

9 ‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

The point of prayer is the power it produces.   For more than anything else we ever may ask what Jesus gives is that power from beyond ourselves that can enable us to live in the face of all the horrors the world can hurl at us, the Holy Spirit.

11Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’

It is the power of prayer that enables us to live in a world that so often is divided.  It can seem over-run by evil.   Jesus engages in conversation about the divisions that tear the world apart, tear a household apart – and are the work of the darkness of that power of evil which.  He warns of the way when one evil is got rid of there is a danger of all manner of other evils getting in and making matters worse.

This is the world we live in – the evils of the cold war, and into the vacuum come the devastation of the oligarchs and the divisions that have happened since, into the vacuum left by the overthrow of Gadaafi in Libya comes ISIS and the news today of the execution of Ethiopian Christians and hundreds more drowned in the Mediterranean.  Each one of the candidates spoke of the crying need for a humanitarian response.

Jesus and Beelzebul

14 Now he was casting out a demon that was mute; when the demon had gone out, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed. 15But some of them said, ‘He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.’ 16Others, to test him, kept demanding from him a sign from heaven. 17But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house. 18If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? —for you say that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul. 19Now if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. 21When a strong man, fully armed, guards his castle, his property is safe. 22But when one stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his armour in which he trusted and divides his plunder. 23Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

The Return of the Unclean Spirit

24 ‘When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting-place, but not finding any, it says, “I will return to my house from which I came.” 25When it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. 26Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.’

There is the power of prayer in the desert of a divided world.

But prayer alone is not enough

There’s a wonderful moment in the story then …

True Blessedness

27 While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!’ 28But he said, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!’

That’s it.  That’s what the power of prayer needs to be accompanied by.  It is the call to hear God’s word and act on it.

It is a word of mercy in a world of hostility

That’s the sign of Jonah.

The prophet who urged on the people of Nineveh a whole new way of thinking … and when miracle of miracle they changed Jonah couldn’t take it.

I cannot read references to Nineveh as here without thinking of what’s happening in Mosul, Nineveh today.  2,500 year old Jewish community, 2000 year old Christian community – mixed Muslim community.  And now such a massively hostile world.  We have to hold on to the word of Christ and act on it.

The Sign of Jonah

29 When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, ‘This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation. 31The queen of the South will rise at the judgement with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here! 32The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here!

It’s a word of light in a world of darkness

Fill the darknesses of your heart … and also of your world with the light of Chrsit’as presence.

The Light of the Body

33 ‘No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar, but on the lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. 34Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness. 35Therefore consider whether the light in you is not darkness. 36If then your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays.’

Hear God’s word and act on it.

It is a word of justice in a world of injustice

The Pharisees and lawyers are incensed with Jesus because he doesn’t keep to the traditions that were all important to them – certain things you must do as you come into a house.  It had to do with ritual cleansing.  And Jesus hadn’t done it.

Jesus is incensed.  Don’t spend your time getting worked up about the outward things.  It’s not what’s on the outside that counts – but what’s inside.

What’s most important of all?

Justice.

Jesus Denounces Pharisees and Lawyers

37 While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. 38The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. 39Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you.

42 ‘But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practised, without neglecting the others. 43Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honour in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the market-places. 44Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it.’

All these reflections started with the disciples of John wanting Jesus to help them release the power of prayer into their lives.

Thinking back to the way John had come as a prophet, Jesus turns on the Pharisees and Lawyers for ignoring the prophets – with their message of justice …  what they are effectively doing is building tombs for the prophets – it’s what’s happened to  prophets fro mtime immemorial.  It’s what happened to John the Baptist.  And it’s what’s going to happen to Jesus.

Hear the word of God and act on it …

For it is the word of wisdom of the prophets who speak truth to power in a world that won’t heed them.

45 One of the lawyers answered him, ‘Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us too.’ 46And he said, ‘Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them. 47Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. 48So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, “I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute”, 50so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, 51from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation. 52Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.’

53 When he went outside, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile towards him and to cross-examine him about many things, 54lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

The Power of Prayer in the desert of a divided world

The call to hear God’s word and act on it

·         A word of mercy in a world of hostility

·         A word of light in in a world of darkness

·         A word of justice in a world of injustice

·         A word of wisdom in a world that ignores the prophets who speak truth to power

Luke 10 - the Cost of Discipleship

It’s Easter!

The season goes on!

Jesus Christ is risen .. he is risen indeed!  Halleljuah.

The Christ who is risen is the Jesus who shared so much in deed and in word with his closest friends.

So, I make no apology to go back to the point at which we broke off our reading of the story of Jesus in Luke’s gospel.

As we go back to that story – we know this Jesus is risen, we know this Jesus is with us … and that should make a difference to the way we read this story.

For what this Jesus expected of his first friends and followers is what this Jesus expects of us.

In passion tide, Holy Week and Easter we truncate the journey Jesus mzade to Jerusalem.

That journey itself takes centre stage in Luke’s Gospel.

It starts at Luke 9:51 with those words

51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

And the journey finishes with that triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey of all things – the journey we celebrate at Holy Week.

As the jouney unfolds something becomes apparent right at the outset.

The message Jesus has to share is a message of love – love for everyone.  It’s a message the followers of Jesus find difficult to take.  It’s a planned journey, a planned mission.  What Jesus does is to send people on ahead of him in order to prepare the way for him.  We have already met the women whose task it was to do just that.  Now we find two friends of Jesus going ahead and finding a hostile welcome awaits in a village Jesus is planning to go through.

It should come as no surprise it was a hostile welcome as the village was a Samaritan village.

52And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. 54When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ 55But he turned and rebuked them., and said, You do not know what spirit you are of, for the Son of Man has not come to destroy the lives of human beings but to save them./  Then they went on to another village.

It takes some doing to follow a Jesus who is on a journey to save the lives of people of all sorts – no respecter of persons.  This is a different kind of Messiah from the one those two had been expecting!

It’s a journey that Jesus wants his followers to follow.  But that takes some doing … it calls for commitment.

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ 58And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ 59To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ 60But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ 61Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ 62Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

Wow, quite some challenge.  The challenge Jesus asks of us.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the middle of 1930’s Germany, wrote a book that was an exposition of the Sermon of the Mount he called it the Cost of Discipleship.  In it he spoke of the cost of following in the footsteps of Jesus.

There is a cost incurred this Easter by the Christians of Kenya.  Wasn’t it moving to see the response they made to the Al Shabab massacre of those students – they celebrated Easter more fervently than ever – and many of othem spoke of the compassion of Christ that was called for in the face of the atrocities that had been directed at them.  Humbling.   Maybe we should pray not for those Chrsitians of Kenya, but pray with them.

IT’s easy, suggested Bonhoeffer to think of cheap grace – but there is a cost to following Jesus.

There is an allusion here to the moment when Elijah casts the mantle on to Elisha – what is Elisha doing … but ploughing with 12 yoke of oxen … what does he want to do when Elijah casts the mantle on to him, but first go an say good bye to his mother and father.  There’s just a hint here of the what’s happening in the big picture as Jesus takes on the mantle of John, passes on the mantle to his followers.  (See I Kings 19:19-21)

Jesus wants people to follow him.

The message of the kingdom is so precious.

In chapter 9 he had sent out the twelve.

As chapter 10 opens he sends out 70 … or is it 72?

The numbers are significant in the way L:uke tells the story.  12 tribes of Israel is a reminder that Jesus sent the 12 as it were to the Jewish villages around.

Now, he is breaking out beyond the Jewish villages into Samaria … and to the ends of the world.  And so he sends out 70 or 72 – the figure  of the nations of the world.

12 go out in pairs and come back.  And then Jesus sends out 72 in  pairs with exactly the same message – does each pair of the 12 have 12 to mentor?  What a powerful thought.

They are to go into people’s homes and say – Peace to this house.

They are to go into the streets of the towns they village and say, the Kingdom of God has come near.

Jesus wants people to follow him.  And if people don’t the time is precious – move on from that house, move on from that town.

10After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. 3Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” 6And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 7Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” 10But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11“Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.” 12I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.

This is a powerful message for all people – all people everywhere.  It’s a new way of looking at the world that Jesus has confronted people with – and he says if you reject that way of seeing the world then you will reap the consequnences.

Stern words.

Just as in those illustrations in that first sermon at Nazareth were of Elijah and Elisha reaching out to Gentiles and those Gentiles changing their ways.  Jesus holds up the Gentile towns of Tyre and Sidon as a challenge to his own people in Bethsaida and Chorazin.

3 ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14But at the judgement it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15And you, Capernaum,

will you be exalted to heaven?

   No, you will be brought down to Hades.

There is a very real challenge to all to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Do we hear the call?  Will we follow?

16 ‘Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.’

The 70 or 72 return with joy – it works – wonderful things are happening – rejoice, says |jesus that your names are written in the book of heaven.

17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ 18He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’

There is one of those wonderful moments when we catch a glimpse of Jesus at prayer.

Jesus Rejoices

21 At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 22All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’

Something special is going on.  It’s the Kingdom of God that’s drawing near.  God’s rule on earth as it is in heaven, God’s will done on earth as it is in heaven.   It’s a new way of shaping the world of shaping people’s hearts.  And it is special.

To the 72, to the 12, to all the disciples Jesus has a message.

23 Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.’

It’s happening!

And what’s more it’s happening for everyone.

So what is going on?  What is being fulfilled from those Scriptures of old.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus.

This expert in the law wants to test out whether what Jesus stands for is right or not.

‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’

Not, what must I do to get to heaven.

What must I do to inherit from those who have gone before that life that is to be lived to the full here and now and is not bounded by death.

Felicity managed to go to John Copeland’s funeral on Thursday – it was in the Leicester diocesan centre, the St Martin’s centre.  In an old room that had once, I think been a school hall.  Far above at the front was a window, high up, a rose window.

John 10:10 inscribed there and the words said, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly

10 out of 10 for John who lived a full life.

26He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’

For Jesus the key is in the Scriptures.

But Jesus has a particular way of reading the Scrip[tures.

What is written there stretches from Genesis 1:1 to Deuteronomy 34:12.

But what do you read there?  What’s the nub of the matter.

The expert in the law gives a classic Jewish answer.

27He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ 28And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer;

That’s it.  That’s the right answer, says Jesus.

 do this, and you will live.’

Not, notice, do this and you will get to heaven.

But do this and you will have life, life in all its fullness, life that is not bounded by death.

29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’

This is the point at which Jesus presses home his message.

John Paul Isaak is the head of the department of Religious Studies and Theology at the University of Namibia.  In his commentary on Luke in the Africa Bible Commentary he writes powerfully of the significance of the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

People from countries such as the USA, South Africa, Namibia, Rwanda and Burundi and other countries racked by racial and ethnic divisions have a special appreciation of the story of the travellers.  It deals with racial harmony and what it means to be human and humane, or to be someone with Ubuntu, that is, someone who is welcoming, hospitable, warm and generous, with a servant spirit that affirms others and says, “I am because you are; you are because I am.”  Such a person recognises that we are one another’s brothers and sisters and that God has created us to ‘love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength and with all your mind; and love your neighbour as yourself.

30Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” 36Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ 37He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’

What a response from the expert in the law.  He knew his prophets as well as his law.  What the prophets wanted of people was a willingness to show mercy.

That’s the task.

Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

Mind you, to be a do-er, you need also to be a pray-er.

Jesus Visits Martha and Mary

38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ 41But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’

A wonderful glimpse of the rhythm of Jesus’ life, the rhythm of the life Jesus wants us to follow as we follow him on the journey.

It’s a rhythm of doing, and of withdrawal in prayer.