What drew me there? A sense of the advent-urous for certain. I took a lot of time earlier in the morning to prepare myself mentally for the visit. That fits with the definition of adventurous that I find in the dictionary… “willing to try new or difficult things, or exciting and often dangerous”  {See – http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/adventurous}. In this case, today, I was trying something difficult, and perhaps even dangerous. Yes, definitely challenging.

Many who know me may wonder why – after all going to church was not a new event for me, I grew up a regular participant in communion as a member of the Anglican/Church of England of Australia. I have even been to the Episcopalian Cathedral of St Johns, New York, for a Midnight Christmas Service. I have a Degree in Theology, and in the past have led church services and worshiped in both Anglican and Catholic churches in a handful of parishes across Australia, as well as at the Epiphany Cathedral in Second Life. To not participate in the Community of Christians would seem to be against all this and more.  Christ is Shepherd, Priest and King to his followers, finding us where we are at, meeting us wherever our need is, and leading us towards Heaven’s reign … and Church is where you get all of this … isn’t it?

Those who have known me in these settings will surely wonder: why is this now an unusual thing to do, and then ask why would it be difficult or challenging?

As this blog attests, spiritual times have been in drought for me. Silence is not spiritual death, however, and I have been wandering the desert times of life with a very keen eye and ear, listening to the lives and journeys of those who would never have felt a reason to go to church. I have done this knowing my own sense of pain and loss in NOT being attendant and participating in any church community… until I could not remember myself anymore.

I felt driven out to these desert places, and have been seeking to understand and respond with compassion to the world which God loves. I can’t remember the last time I entered a church, and for this church in particular it would have been longer still.

What have I learned from this experience? That churches are not the only hallowed places of the Spirit, and church people are rather ordinary folk who often have less of a clue than the average urban punter about where God is and what God is doing in the world. Sorry folks, I am not trying to be rude or have a go at anyone, although that may be what you think. There is an awful lot of pain and brokenness out there in the big wide world, and church people are not immune to experiencing it; but when you know how big the issues are, and how many people are hurting, why would you ever think that the church is the only place you can go to receive Grace and Healing, Forgiveness, Compassion, Love, or a sense of the Creator Redeemer Spirit? That would be like trying to change the colour of the Ocean with an eye dropper or a kiddies paint box set.  All that can be said is “Thank God!”

In some ways I have come to understand the average experience of Church as a kind of Kindergarten for Faith. A bit like school, when most people reach adulthood you graduate and leave.  That is certainly the pattern that most Churchgoers can see for themselves. The numbers of older teens through to 40 something adults are extremely low on the pews. It was a notable irony that today also happens to be National Church Life Survey week, and the statistics of who goes where of today will be available sometime after April. 2012. (http://www.ncls.org.au/)

So those faithful who remain, who keep the festive seasons and ordinary times of Church going round another cycle, are they stuck in some kind of Groundhog Day of spiritual life?

That is a very individual question, not able to be answered in generalised terms.

What happens to those who leave? Or have never been to church anywhere? Do they stop being Spiritual? Some baptismal doctrines go down that path…

I really value the ongoing life of the church as it presents the seasons of faith to the faithful, and hopefully to the wider world. I have learned, on a continuous spectrum, that God really loves the world… and is working in many varied ways to continuously renew the messages of life and love, suffering and sacrifice, peace and justice, healing and compassion … sometimes because of or through the church, as often as not despite the church.

People of faith we need to be advent-urous people!

Willing to go out into difficult and dangerous places and not simply to preach a rehashed gospel, but to live and breathe the Spirit of God as the Spirit moves across the face of the earth.

Bringing comfort to the people by being present to them, as God is always present to us all.

Living a sacramental life by being a sign that points to the substance which is already there!

But, we have to be able to see it is there in the first place…  We have to be able to  recognise the ADVENT of CHRIST in our own lives, and in the lives of our neighbours.

And, in recognition, finding compassionate responses to the reality of ourselves and others … building bridges and not walls between ourselves and others.

I hope that this reflection will help in the building… In the name of Jesus, Amen.

PS: If you have enjoyed this post and would like to read further topics on related subjects you might like to view: http://ruach.wordpress.com/

Thanks for your patience!

It is the most fitting sense of today’s Gospel that I could imagine.

I have shared this song in a variety of Christian settings over the last 30 years.

Each time it has carried deep meaning to all the participants in any setting.

The most meaningful settings, however, have been in the context of small prayer groups dedicated to living and learning together.

You may have been involved in some of these yourself.

Cursillo: is a Spanish word meaning “Short Course”.

It has been adopted as the name for a 3 day weekend retreat introducing people to Christian community experience.

This started in the late 1930′s in Spain.

“Life in the Spirit” Seminars, which are an introduction to the charismatic experience and of living and sharing the gifts of the Spirit with the whole body of Christ.

This was an expression of faith that grew out of the 1970′s Catholic Charismatic Communities.

 ”Alpha” is a more modern expression of the same.

 I wonder what would be the expression that could arise out of Second Life (SL)?

I have set up ‘The Servant Song”  from U-tube to listen to here. [It took me some time to figure out how to do this without Cady's help!]  Marantha Singers present \”The Servant Song\” by Richard Gillard

When you have heard the song I would like your feedback on your experience of community here.

There are many ways that we can serve each other, but in

Second Life [SL] that is the hardest aspect of Christian life to follow through – because we are not physically able to reach out and do practical things, like brings a casserole to someone who is sick or to have a cup of coffee together.

How do you find community here, in the Digital Media?

The conversations and the prayers are very meaningful to me, and to others I know.  I believe this is a question that the Anglicans of Second Life needs to keep on asking and seeking ways to serve the SL groups and individuals: to realize the imaginative vision that has been begun here.  I hope that you will each think on this and talk about this until you find the action/s that give body to the Body of Christ.

Shall we now pray for this community and all who come here for solace and seek God’s Grace?

Jesus’ words today are paradoxical; last week we were told that we can only come to the Kingdom of God as a little child.

Today we are told this too is impossible, like a camel passing through the eye of a needle!

We learn too that we must be prepared to give up not only material possessions but also our most precious and loving relationships.

As the rich young ruler discovered, the challenge is huge, the cost is high, to truly be a disciple of this living loving God!!

Peter rightly reminds Jesus that the disciples with him then have already done all that, and Jesus assures them they will receive great reward in repayment.

The image of the camel and the eye of a needle still left the disciples questioning and wondering how this could be.

If it is so hard, who can enter the Kingdom of Heaven? By ourselves, as weak and frail human beings, we can do nothing to overcome our sin, shame and pain.

The eye of a needle, as I recall, is actually a very narrow door to the city, off to one side of the main gate. When the gate is locked at night the small narrow door is the only way into the city and it is also guarded well. If a caravan, or trader arrives at the city gate after dark they have to unload their camels outside the city wall, and bring their belongings and themselves in through this very narrow door. It was just big enough for an average camel to pass through without any additional burden.

The alternative was to camp outside and wait until morning. This meant that the whole caravan and their belongings were subject to the weathering storms and attack by gangs of thieves, without the protection of the city guard.So it was a very risky arrangement.

This is the door known as the eye of the needle, to which Jesus is referring. It is very poignant in light of the story of the rich young ruler, and that is probably why these two stories are placed together here in the Gospel. The rich young ruler quite likely owned a few camels and used them to trade across the land. The image would have been very real and familiar, and one that all traders would dread. The open desert lands at night were dangerous places to be.

This story also reinforces how real Jesus was about the rich young ruler giving up all of his possessions and following Jesus. When passing the camel through the eye of the needle, there was nothing that could be hidden and taken through with it. Absolutely everything had to go first… no holding on or holding back.

What is at stake is salvation: true safety in the city of God, as a citizen of the Kingdom of God. Once again a very all or nothing approach. I am sure we would all like to think that we see how foolish the rich young ruler was to walk away. I wonder though, how easily any one of us could walk away from everything precious to us, right here and now, to follow Jesus to an unknown and uncertain destiny? The disciples had done pretty much that, and they found this saying of Jesus difficult to accept.

Who could do this? Can you hear them say it? In our own human strength, not many really.

Fortunately the message and means of salvation is not about our actions, not about our merit, not about anything we can do; or say; or give; or not do.

It is not about us at all.

Except that it is us that God loves and seeks this amazing relationship with.

 That is why Jesus says it is only possible with God.

The crunch line, the heart of the matter is the action of God. God’s grace and love at work in our lives…

What is it that you are clinging to that prevents you from knowing the deep love and redeeming grace of God in your life?

Perhaps you can put yourself in the place of the rich young ruler today, and hear Jesus invite you into a deeper relationship with God, to accept what he has done for you and follow him?

What do you need to do to set aside your concerns and possessions, and accept the Grace and Love that Jesus would offer to you today?

For many years Charlie lived and ministered in a place called Silver Wattle, near Canberra, the Capital of Australia.

It was a place of great grace that many came to visit, spend time in retreat and seek answers to these same questions.

I asked Charlie to bring a picture of the Silver Wattle lands for our meditation today.

I invite you to think on this whilst I stream this beautiful song to you – “Only by Grace”:

If you have trouble with the streaming sound please take a copy of this web address to access this later:

http://thismomentprayergroup.blogspot.com/2008/10/youtube-only-by-grace-can-we-enter.html

Only by grace can we enter
Only by grace can we stand
Not by our human endeavour
But by the blood of the Lamb

Into Your presence You call us
You call us to come
Into Your presence You draw us
And now by Your grace we come
Now by Your grace we come

Lord if You mark my transgressions
Who would stand?
Thanks to Your grace we are cleansed
By the blood of the Lamb

Precious Lamb

Lord if You mark our transgressions
Who would stand? … Father…
Thanks to Your grace we are cleansed
By the blood of the Lamb

Only by grace can we enter
Only by grace can we stand
Not by our human endeavour
But by the blood of the Lamb

Into Your presence You call us
You call us to come
Into Your presence You draw us
And now by Your grace we come
Now by Your grace we come

Precious Jesus

Now by Your grace we come
Lord if You mark our transgressions
Who would stand?
Thanks to Your grace we are cleansed
By the blood of the Lamb         Lord if You mark our transgressions
Who would stand? … My Jesus…
Thanks to Your grace we are cleansed
By the blood of the Lamb

Only by grace can we enter
Only by grace can we stand
Not by our human endeavour
But by the blood of the Lamb

Into Your presence You call us
You call us to come
Into Your presence You draw us
And now by Your grace we come

Lord we come,

Now by Your grace we come

Lord by your grace

Now by Your grace we come

Now by Your grace we come

Lord we come

May the love and Grace of God, through Jesus, be more evidenced in your life, today and every day.

In the strong name of Jesus, AMEN

Jesus said: “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.  Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”
And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

This part of the reading is most appropriate for today as it is the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi, who is internationally recognized as the Champion of Peace and friend of all animals and the environment.

To help me with this reflection I also asked for help from my friend Xena, the wonder dog.
Xena is a Staffordshire bullterrier, usually called a ‘Staffy’ in shorthand by Australians.
Xena lives with a good friend of mine and has the most placid and “peoplised” manner of any dog I have met.
Xena has exceptional manners and can be taken anywhere a people should want to go with no doubts at all that she will behave appropriately and charmingly at all times.
There is one place only where this rule is challenged, but it is a rare event, so we can let that discussion go until later.
I call her the wonder dog for two reasons:

1. I wonder if she really is a dog, she is so peoplised and well behaved.

2. I look at her as I explore life, and find myself asking: “I wonder, dog, what you are thinking about life now?”

If Xena could answer that question I am sure she would tell you about her life like this:
Xena accepts life as it comes.
She neither toils nor reaps, and yet she is fed and clothed;
she is not anxious for tomorrow, as today has enough troubles of its own;
and Xena is the kind of person/dog that is always a welcome blessing in life.
With a calm and happy outlook she rarely barks or snaps at anyone or anything.
She would make a good Quaker I suspect.
Xena wags her tail when she is happy; and will bark if very excited.
Xena does not bark at strangers or other dogs,
but looks to her owner to deal with any potential encounters,
and waits for her owner to tell her what is OK to do if she is unsure.
Xena rarely has little accidents,
she just waits patiently until taken to a grassed area suitable for such matters.
Xena does not need a lead as she always stays near and is obedient when called, (unless she is looking for a good spot to whizz ).
Xena sleeps when she is tired, and follows her owner closely whenever they go anywhere.
Xena waits patiently at home, in the car, at the office, in familiar and in strange places,
and takes in all the lovely smells, sights and sounds that flood over and through her fine physical body.
When Xena meets other dogs she does not care if they are huge French poodles, or tiny chihuahua’s;
furry or furless; white, black or brindle, they all smell like dog to her.
Xena does care if the dog barks or is rude, and generally ignores that behaviour,
it does not interest her.
Xena does not worry about paying the mortgage, or where her next meal is coming from.
Xena likes pink, and is comfortable in her own skin.
Xena does not compare herself or her lot with other dogs, and does not hoard things.
Xena is happy.
It is as simple as that really. No, really.

No deep intellectual thought is needed:
only genuine feeling, and being satisfied with being who she is right now, right where she is.
That, and the sense of complete trust that her owner is looking after her best interests,
and will not do anything to hurt her. This is what I believe is the key to both the first and second parts of this Gospel reading.

Trust in God, acceptance of what is, and willingness to follow where God is leading.
These are the same attributes that St Francis of Assisi demonstrated when he stood at the San Damiano Chapel, heard the call of God, and gave up everything to follow.

Francis was a young man from a wealthy family, with many worldly opportunities ahead of him.
Instead he chose poverty, and made a commitment to follow where God’s Holy Spirit lead him.
In one sense: a very radical and challenging choice; in another, the simplest thing in the world.

After all what is really important in life? Life and Love itself!

So, how is your relationship with Jesus?
Do you follow where he leads?
And do you know how to behave, in whatever circumstances that you find yourself,
In a way that will bring Peace to those you meet?
Can you trust him, with your whole life, like Xena trusts?
Do you know that Jesus loves you, profoundly, deeply and completely, wherever you are, whatever your story.
I hope you are on that path, and if you would like to talk to someone, please do take the time to leave a comment, or contact the Anglicans of the Second Life leadership team when you are ready.
In the strong name of Jesus, Amen.

Turning the phrase around, as Jesus did, has quite profound effects. “Whoever is not against us is for us.” How do you measure if someone is not against you? Like the measure of the enemy in C.S. Lewis’ “Last Battle”, it is no longer about which football team you follow, and whether you are wearing the right ‘colours’.

It is much more a matter of really knowing what is it that we stand FOR, what are the things that are really important.
What are our values, priorities, and relationships, with ourselves, with each other and with Jesus -and how do we express these?

I have a card game called “Expressions”. It has been developed in Australia by Ozchild, a team of people who work with foster families and children from highly traumatised backgrounds. You can get an overview of their work from their website at http://www.ozchild.org.au/.

The purpose of the cards is to help develop language and understanding around feelings and inclusion. The cards are all different, so playing a simple game like “Go Fish” is a process of acknowledging same to same; but not identical to identical. The point of the game is not to get all the pairs, but to have a meaningful conversation about the expressions on the cards and how each person will interpret them slightly differently. It is about looking outward and exploring what we really see in others, and how they see us.

I believe that this is the kind of conversation that we need to be open to, and creating, within our churches, and with the world at large. Start with asking: how are we the same? What are the passions and beliefs about the world at large that drives us to do the things we do? These conversations can help us in identifying in non-judgemental ways how the spirit of God is already at work around us and making those connections.

Being open about our spiritual and theological reflections can also help others to recognise when they are engaged in that process but often without the labels.

My family moved over 4,500 kilometres (over 2,800 miles) to come from the West Coast to the East Coast of Australia and provide some support to my sister. Since we have been here we have regularly attended the local churches.
As you might expect, we have experienced lack of employment, illness, bereavement and separation suffering, all at different levels over the last two years. We came knowing that would be the journey. What has really interested me as I have made new connections and established this new life, is observing the reactions and responses of our new acquaintances’ and friends, and some of our ‘old’ friends too..

I have to be honest and say that the most supportive people, the ones most interested in how we are doing and how we can connect and contribute to this new community are NOT the church goers. We have made an effort to go out into the community and find ways that we can serve and meet people, and they have responded. Our motivation has been to be the feet and hands, and heart of Jesus, without ‘bible bashing”.

This is where we go after church, and reflect openly both spiritually and theologically. I have often said: “You know that is what I think Jesus was on about when…” and the most interesting conversations have followed. We have been well rewarded through the friendships formed. I personally believe that these non Christian, non churchgoing friends are far more sincere and welcomed within the heavenly communion than many of those at church who claim to be ‘born again”.

The non Christians have been the first to ask questions and engage meaningfully in dialogues about what faith is and means to us, and shared honestly about themselves. They have also been the first to send sympathy cards and to call when they think (that is think, not know) that something is not going too well.

I think that this is what Jesus is on about when he says “For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.” These friends deserve to be acclaimed as Light bearers in our lives, and in the lives of many others whom they support so positively. They are Christ like in so many ways; and the things that they deplore and find hardest to deal with within churches, I believe God also weeps over.
These non churchgoers have often put so much thought and personal struggle into their decisions NOT to attend church, AND it does not mean that they are without faith or godly purpose in what they do and how they engage then with others.

They are FOR the heart of the Gospel, FOR the compassion and love and life-giving embrace of Jesus, and they are FOR self-sacrificial suffering and walking with and in the shoes of others who are disadvantaged and hurt by society.
They are FOR giving their time, money, experience and personal talents to make life better for themselves and others within the community that they live. In my life, these ‘others’ are the Salt of the Earth.

How much more do we as “Church” need to take seriously the challenges of these words of Jesus today, in Mark’s gospel: “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.”

Jesus uses radical language to emphasis his point here. Pluck out your eyes! Chop off your hands and feet! I recognise in this literary exaggeration; we do it often in our talking to others. Just the same, perhaps we could ask the Holy Spirit for help here. Body parts transplants in a spiritual sense could achieve a similar end.

Do you need fresh eyes? Do you need to rethink how you engage with those around you, be it in church, with family, at work, within the wider community? Are you able to see what Jesus sees, and ask what would Jesus have me do in this situation? Even more so, are we able to see in others the work of the Holy Spirit and the actions of Jesus alive in the world today, regardless of the labels and the outward appearances of those ‘non’ churchy people? Are we willing to go beyond our comfort zones and meaningfully get involved in the community to be the salt and light and love of Jesus in these places where people have gone to escape the enclaves of the church?

Perhaps it is time we were evangelised by them? Can you let Jesus final words in this passage sit with you and move you to do something extraordinarily different this week, and perhaps every day thereafter? Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

We have the advantage of two thousand years of reflection and engagement across human experience.

In our time the taboos, misunderstanding, and the natural instincts of societies built by and for the strong and beautiful, no longer openly supports the outright suppression of foreigners, women and children.

These attitudes do still exist though, and don’t be mistaken about that.
We tend to hide our racism and prejudices economically and socially in a number of ways that make it less obvious how poorly our world is structured still. I wonder how each one of us would cope with our world views’ being DAILY challenged in the words, example and life demands that Jesus is putting his disciples through.

For myself I can say that whilst this is perhaps not DAILY, it is certainly constant, as I engage with the scriptures and prepare for this service every week. I hope that I bring some of that journey to this service in a meaningful way for each of you to take a piece and reflect upon in your own lives.
The key depends on our life circumstances and just how close to the rubber hitting the road that our life actually brings us to these examples Jesus is giving.

Jesus did not only talk to his disciples about the scriptures and teach them academically how to understand them, as the Pharisees did. As the scriptures say today: “for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.””

No doubt this was a difficult teaching. Israel today is still busy trying to carve out its own place on the planet through the blood of its neighbours.
Non-Christians, and Christians alike, around the world engage in all manner of activities that continue to keep the oppressors happy, at the expense of the poor and weak. Much of the world has still not grasped the fundamental principles behind the self-sacrificial love of God as demonstrated by Jesus.
As the first hearers of this challenging and divisive teaching, is it any wonder the disciples struggled to understand?

Jesus did not only teach by exposition of the scriptures, as he also observed their conversations and personal development, he drew their attention to those issues that showed clearly they had not understood and integrated their new learning.

As the Gospel states he asked them: “What were you arguing about on the way?” Their argument is so typically human. As a parent I have asked that question many times of my children! Even amongst adults, and clearly amongst Nations, the number of times issues and arguments revolve around ego and individual agenda’s for power and position and the amount of resources put literally and figuratively to the battlefront to decide, is frankly not just scary but deeply disturbing!

Jesus does not answer them on an intellectual and academic level, although his response certainly requires some serious thought and process to grasp.
Jesus takes the disciples, and us, to the core of human behaviour and experience, and teaches them at the point of emotional understanding.

He stands a child in their midst. However the focus needs not to rest on the child, even though Jesus has placed this child firmly in the centre of the dialogue. The focus is resting on how the disciples perceived this child, and themselves in relation to the child, within the world that they lived.
This is perhaps the hardest part for us to relate to.

We can possibly understand the sense of wonder and interest that a child’s view of the world can be, but that may be reading into the text what is not actually there. Children in the 21st Century have their own United Nations Charter for the Rights of the Child. For those children lucky enough to live in a developed nation, there are professionals at every point in a child’s life employed with the sole purpose of trying to ensure they are looked after well.
Entire Government bodies, non-Government organizations and millions of voluntary hours are dedicated to improving the lot of children across the globe, and in our own neighbourhoods. So we cannot really grasp how a child of 1st Century Palestine was viewed.

We can perhaps understand how vulnerable and dependant this child was.
When you think on this vulnerable child, who was not valued at all as our children are, where do you stand? What are your thoughts and feelings?
[Now this next part will be difficult to do straight away, unless you get someone else to read it for you. Just the same attempt it the best way you can, and perhaps take this idea into your next prayer time.] Close your eyes and imagine that you are this child, standing nearby in the shade of a tree, listening to Jesus and his disciples. What attracts your attention? How do you feel?

Look into Jesus eyes and feel his warmth and acceptance as he comes over to you and holds you. Listen to the words of the story that are now about YOU.
“Then Jesus took a little child and put [you] among the disciples; and taking [you] in his arms, he says to them: “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

Look around at the disciples as they look at you. What do you see in their eyes and faces? How are you feeling now? How will you remember this experience and what you are learning about yourself and Jesus?

Now let Jesus take you quietly out of that circle and sit you back safely in the shade nearby. Look again at Jesus and ask him what would he like you to do differently in your life, because you have this new knowledge and experience. What does Jesus give you so you will remember and be able to do whatever you have learnt from him today? Hold it, look at it carefully, and slip it into a special place that you will remember and keep it safe.

Breathe in and out slowly, three times.

Now slowly open your eyes and look around where you are now.

What Jesus asks of his disciples hasn’t changed.

Many years ago I was on a spiritual retreat and we were asked to do a similar exercise.

The images that came to me in that time, still inform my ministry today.

If you have the time and desire, please share your experience through the comments on this blog,

or privately by email to <spiritchat@live.com> if you prefer.

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, I pray that you have a deeper appreciation of how significant even the smallest act of love can be, and how important it is to allow this to motivate and animate all that you do.

You may also find this link to George Michael’s song “Jesus to a child” another helpful way to meditate on the love of God at work in you.

In the strong name of Jesus… Amen.

************* The next time you feel like GOD can’t use you, just remember….

Noah was a drunk
Abraham  and Sarah were too old

Isaac was a daydreamer

Rebekah was a schemer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused

Moses had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Samson had long hair and was a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God

Naomi was a widow
Job  went bankrupt

Mary was an unmarried mother
Peter denied Christ (3 times!)
The Disciples fell asleep while praying

Martha worried about everything
Mary Magdalene was promiscuous

the Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once…
Zaccheus was too small
Paul was too religious

Timothy  had an ulcer….

AND Lazarus was dead !

Now! No more excuses! God  can use you to your full potential. Besides, you aren’t the message,

you are just the messenger. And one more thing…

Share this with a friend or two… In the Circle of God’s love, God is waiting to use your full potential.

1. God wants spiritual fruits, not religious nuts.
2. “Dear God : I have a problem. It’s me. ” My Dear Child: I have the solution. It’s Me ! !”
3. Growing old is inevitable … growing UP is optional.
4. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open.
5. Silence is often misinterpreted but never misquoted.
6. Do the math .. count your blessings.
7. Faith is the ability to not panic.
8. Laugh every day. It’s like inner jogging.
9. If you worry, you didn’t pray. If you pray, don’t worry.
10. As a child of God , prayer is kind of like calling home every day.
11. Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape..
12. The most important things in your house are the people! ..
13. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot.
14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.
15 He who dies with the most toys is still dead.

Have a great day!!! The SON is shining and He can certainly use you!

Clearly the answer is very significant to the ministry of Jesus: John the Baptist, Elijah or one of the prophets?
The expectations of the people are reflected in these statements.
They are seeing in Jesus the work and hand of God being revealed.
Jesus then asks the disciples to reflect on their own understanding in light of the statements of the crowds and of their own experiences. The direct question comes: “Who do you say that I am?”
Peter answers for them all: “You are the messiah!”
And Jesus begins to teach them, showing them a deeper understanding again.
From Peter’s reaction we can see that Jesus’ teaching is difficult for them to accept.
Jesus responds to Peter very strongly when he says: “Get thee behind me Satan!” This is a strong rebuke indeed!
Peter has not understood the deeper nature and purpose of the Messiah within God’s plan.
One moment he is a trusted disciple, the next, one who opposes God and is the source of every evil thing!
Yet this is not a break in relationship with Jesus, but an opportunity for Jesus to teach in more depth again, to bring them to even greater understanding.
When Peter reacts against this teaching Jesus does not go over and over his first explanation.  Jesus turns the focus on the disciples:
deny yourselves and follow me!
Lose your life in order to gain it!
Jesus is the Messiah, and to understand what this means we need to understand and accept the teaching on his suffering, rejection and death
– in order that he may be raised again.
This is difficult to grasp, but to not grasp it has dire consequences! Action and commitment are demanded by the Son of God.
Now this may sound shocking at first, but hear me out: personally, I do not think it is the kind of action and commitment that is most commonly taught by any evangelist I have ever heard.

As I read this text, and in light of my own experiences, I do NOT see that Jesus is asking the disciples to agree to a doctrinal statement
and then comply with a set of expected behaviours that form the norm for Christian living. The disciples were probably already living like that anyway.
They had already left their families, occupations and any sense of ordinary security of life, and were travelling like vagrants around the countryside to follow Jesus. They were living off his words of teaching daily.

So what was Jesus challenging them with when he said “deny yourself, and follow me… for those who want to save their life will lose it…”?
Think about it for yourself a moment. Is conforming to the norm really what Jesus was all about?

There is a way of living that is more miserable than sin. That is: attempting to live according to the norms of ‘Church’ without the authentic engagement of your own self. Deny yourself and follow me misapplied.

In making his statement, I cannot see that Jesus ever intended people to come to Church and pretend to fit in to a culture and practise that they deep down struggle with. It is the deep down stuff that really concerns Jesus, not the surface behaviours!
The HEART of each person is sacred space!

Spiritually and psychologically speaking, to deny that is to live without authenticity. That just does not fit with the Jesus I know, or the wider implications of the Gospels and Biblical readings. There is a mystery far more radical at work here. Let me see if I can help to tease that out with you.

In the interchange between Peter and Jesus, when Peter did not get or accept what Jesus was saying about himself and the Messiah,
Jesus did NOT say: hang on Peter, you need to get this right … this IS WHO I AM! Jesus instead told Peter who he (Peter) was in light of his statement about Jesus. The statement seems harsh: “Get thee behind me SATAN!” In weighing up these words, we need to take into account the fact that over exaggeration is a common use of language to emphasis a point. Jesus clearly was not condemning Peter to Hell. The rest of the Gospel history shows us that Peter retains a special place and role amongst the disciples and within the early Christian church. Just the same, this statement drives home the question of identity for Peter, should he have continued to try to persuade Jesus that being Messiah was something less than sacrificial love.

Denying the self sacrificial love of God;
the nature of God who chooses to live and breathe and die amongst us;
in order to show us how to live an authentic life of love;
denying this life is the role and identity of SATAN, and all that is evil.
It is stated in radical terms, because the choice is real.
One brings Life, the other death.

So Jesus addresses Peter’s choice by effectively saying: This is who YOU are when you choose to deny Who I AM.
Then Jesus turns it over to the crowds as well:
If we hang on to our life, our understanding, and do not engage or embrace who Jesus IS,
we risk losing it all.
Now I want to be really clear here, again, that I AM NOT advocating for conformity with the church in this message.
That may be a consequence of choice for some, I know it will not be for others.

I believe that the heart of what Jesus is saying, and what I am trying to explore, is far deeper and more important than if we go to church or not.
Jesus asks us to consider the question: Who do you say that I AM?
Not for his own sake.
He is who he is.
The Creator of the Universe really does not need affirmation,
confirmation
or adulation,
He is pretty self complete in that respect.

As we explore that question:
Who do you say that I AM?
The next step can change our lives radically.

If Jesus is really who he claims to be, what does that mean for us? If we engage that meaningfully, it ought to have an impact on ourselves in light of our own answers: Who am I?
Where do I stand in relation to Jesus and the radical nature of GOD that his life, death and resurrection reveals?

For me, that question was not made real until I stepped out of conformity within a church.

I went through a broken relationship and I was broken,
my life felt shattered,
like a large mirror smashed into a thousand tiny pieces on the ground.
No one in my church understood,
and most rejected me
as the circumstances of my life were suddenly different,
and that became too “difficult” for them to deal with.

I had to ask: Who was Jesus then to me?
Dead and hanging on a cross, ready to judge me and my circumstances
just like my ‘Christian’ church friends had?
Or, Alive,
Living,
Loving,
Truly God,
Saviour,
Redeemer,
Healer,
One who could take the shattered pieces and rebuild my life?

In a very real sense I lost my ‘life’ on the journey to authenticity.
I said NO to living in-authentically,
and my life as I had known it dissolved in a puddle.
Like water running through my fingers,
I could not hold it any more.

But I found in Christ new life as he stepped in.
Jesus showed me He is the saviour of the Lost,
not just the conformers,
He is the lover of the broken, crippled and incomplete me,
the redeemer of ALL my sins and failures,
and no stranger to those who live outside the city wall.

Who I am and who I am becoming is a daily journey with Jesus …
because of my willingness to let the reality of who I say that he is drive my life choices.
I know that I am loved, no matter what,
and so I have the freedom to be truly who I am
whilst at the same time constantly referring to Jesus
for the love and grace,
healing and forgiveness, I need to grow as a whole person,
and to serve with purpose in all that I do.
I make mistakes, it is OK.
I don’t agree, it is OK,
I get angry, it is OK.
I am different, when others want me to conform, it is OK.
I hurt and am vulnerable, it is OK.
Because Jesus is who he is,
and I daily recognise his abiding love at work in the world and in me,
I am who I am, and it is OK!

This life I live now, in relationship to Christ first, and the church second,

constantly challenges me to be renewed daily
to becoming more alive,
more radical,
more authentic,
more loving,
more open,
more like Jesus every day.
Who are YOU and what difference does it make for you,
when you are asked by Jesus:
“Who do you say that I am?”

We have seen in the past where Jairus approached Jesus in the crowd, how Jesus spoke to encourage him, and strengthen his faith as they made that journey from death to life. In this setting, in a home away from the crowds, Jesus takes no such steps. He initially refuses her request and instead challenges her right to even ask from him.

Jesus is tired, and needs refreshment himself. We have already encountered this. The Gospels have all recorded how he withdraws frequently to the mountains, away from people, to seek his Father.  This encounter is very different. It is a glimpse into the human side of Jesus that we do not often see.

In the serious, distant and analytical world of University based theology studies Jesus words are often seen as harsh, as reprimanding and as drawing distinctions between the Jews as the rightful Children of God, and this Gentile woman. He is putting her in her place.

That may be so.

However, it is a well know fact that 97% of our communication is not verbal. Context is everything.

In Australia, working in an industry which is attempting to support high needs and difficult circumstances of children and young people who are so often treated like the dogs of society, I have a different perspective. Part of the culture of working in this environment that is filled with the pain and chaos of very broken people; is to laugh, to celebrate the life we do have, and to poke friendly fun at any and every situation possible to find the place of sanity. Sometimes, words spoken in this context, might also too easily seem a bit harsh reported outside of that. It is all about relationship really.

What relationship do I have with the other? What, in this situation, will bring life, love and laughter to a difficult circumstance? Literally, lighten the load.

So, if I imagine Jesus in my space and place in time, I can see that he has just got off a month of double shifts with some young people who have been acting out extreme behaviours from high needs, and then taken the On-Call phone for a month straight…. it happens when resources are tight and services are struggling to deliver. At last, he finds a place of respite and begins to relax; and the on-call phone rings one last time….

He could let it go through, l am sure that many others asked or sought help and the disciples would have seen Jesus walk past people who were in need of healing, beggars along the streets. Why is this woman any different?

Maybe Jesus was sitting at a table with friends, and she has intruded. Yet, in other places the Gospels clearly state that Jesus frequently sat at table with the tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners. He is criticised for it heavily by the religious Pharisees. Surely her intrusion, if it is at all, cannot be that great.

She is not a Jew, and yet she finds the place that he is staying. How did she even come to be in that context?  I find myself wondering if perhaps she is a slave, working in the kitchen to provide the meal he has been served. That has a ring of truth about it for me, although I have no real evidence for the assumption. All I have is the seeking of congruency in the life of Jesus, the desire to understand; and a limited capacity to put myself somewhere in the shoes of a woman who lived 2000 years ago.

Context is everything. What if she were the cook that had prepared his meal? Does that make the reading of this text any different? Surely it does. For now she is not intruding, but has real place and meaning in that setting. Now, too, the scraps that Jesus shares with her are not those that belong to someone else, but have come from her very hands. Are these the only words that they have exchanged? As a random intruder, perhaps so; but as a part of the household, bringing food for the needs of a guest, probably not.

Perhaps is goes more like this: here is she serving him, providing for his needs to be refreshed and seeing that here is one who can help her, who has the means to answer her prayers for refreshment. I don’t think that the children and young people I am working with are ‘demon possessed’ but they give me a glimpse in the acting out behaviours, of how hard it must have been for this woman to try to help her sick daughter; and of her longing for health and well-being for a child she loves.

Relationship and context give this woman of my imagination opportunity.

Perhaps I am wrong, and she has no part in that place, what then? She must be determined to find Jesus to seek his help. She must have courage to go into a place that is not welcoming of her. She must have some relationship with someone, to be allowed to enter in and not be turned away. Is Jesus dismissing her by telling her the dogs do not receive the food from the children’s table? Can we imagine his tone is high-handed and imperious; harsh and distant? Is that the Jesus I know?

I can imagine a man who is weary to the bone, tired and in need of peace. Impatient at an interruption, yes; harsh? No.

His words in this imagined context speak to me of a man who is begging to be left alone, to have some space to relax and be free from demands; to refresh and renew with friends.

Does the image of Jesus begging for peace change the reading of this text? It certainly does. The tone of dismissal is no longer harsh, but real: I am tired!

It becomes a statement of the state and place of Jesus as human flesh and blood. The delivery of the statement: no longer a pious and imperious claim to preferential treatment of one group of people over the other; a weary recognition that there has to be a point for the human Jesus to be renewed as a person.

And the tables are turned. It is no longer the woman in need seeking to receive from Jesus, but Jesus in need and seeking to receive some respite from her. He asks for recognition and acknowledgement, he asks her… and perhaps that is not socially or personally appropriate, so it is done through the banter of daily images and playful words.

And she responds, not to argue with him or challenge him in an obvious way, but out of relationship with him. Understanding, as she does, that life for far too many is not a banquet; and knowing his need too is real.

In her own way she is asking what is the relationship that Jesus has with the dogs he speaks of ? Are they the unwanted and abandoned, mangy curr’s that wander the streets and scavenge, and savage if they are threatened: a danger to all. Or, are they part of the family? Sitting under the feet of the children opportunistically, well kept, and loved; and serving the family as guards and loved companions?

Once again, context and relationship is everything; and her child is healed.

Is this text a reason for justifying exclusion: setting aside who deserves and is able to receive the graces of God, and share at the table of the Saviour, and who does not?

In reality it is about inclusion and relationship. We have relationship even with those whom society may consider less worthy; and if we follow Jesus, we have a responsibility to act like Jesus and help and serve them – even if we are tired and weary and feel we have nothing left to give. But let us not do this from distant ivory towers of a theology that dictates we ‘should’; and from that distance fail to understand how our very approach can make others feel like dogs whom need to beg for their daily bread.

May we find in our hearts the places of understanding and compassion, of shared humanity with Jesus and with others, of relationship and context, from which to act with Love. Perhaps the greatest gift we can give is the acceptance of place and being, and working from the reality that all have needs that deserve to be met. Needs that can be met, if we are prepared to be gracious to one another.

May we, like the deaf and mute man, be healed so we may have ears to hear and speak the words of Jesus to others: “Ephphatha: be opened” to the Word of God at work in us, and live with a new vision of ourselves and our  relationships with others around us.