A Pharisee and a tax collector

a verse or two - Luke 18:9-14

[Jesus] told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 'Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, "God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income."

'But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.'

Spiritual Walk and Musings: A Pharisee and a tax collector:

The problem with this story is that as soon as we hear that it is about a Pharisee we know that he is going to come out of it badly. Pharisees always do in Bible stories. Take a moment to appreciate the shock that Jesus' original audience must have felt on being told that a tax collector, treacherously collaborating with the occupying Roman government, was more acceptable to God than a religious celebrity. And then spare a thought for the Pharisee - think about going without water for a day in the dust of Jerusalem whilst praying for the nation, and then imagine yourself doing it regularly twice a week. 

The change of culture between Jesus' time and now tempts us to fall prey to exactly the same kind of self-righteousness. You can imagine a preacher finishing a rousing sermon about this parable by praying, 'God, we thank you that we are not like that proud Pharisee!' The fact is that the truth about us comes out when we are praying. Not when we are praying aloud for others to hear (when one is always aware of the reactions of the human audience as well), but when we are alone with God. 

That is when he listens to urgent, real, sincere prayer with a compassionate ear. But he will listen to proud or hypocritical prayer with a forgiving ear as well - that is the extent of how gracious God is. Why not, like the tax collector; go and stand in a place where you are quite alone, bow your head, put your hands on your chest, and tell God the truth about how you are feeling. [from www.surefish.co.uk]

To Pray and Ponder: A prayer by St Thomas More (1478 - 1535)

“Give me, good Lord, an humble, lowly, quiet, peaceable, patient, charitable, kind and tender mind - every shade, in fact, of charity, with all my words and all my works and all my thoughts, to have a taste of thy holy blessed Spirit.”

Spring

a verse or two - SPRING

Nothing is so beautiful as Spring—
    When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush; 
    Thrush's eggs look little low heavens, and thrush 
Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring
The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing;
    The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush 
    The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush 
With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.
What is all this juice and all this joy?
    A strain of the earth's sweet being in the beginning 
In Eden garden. Have, get, before it cloy,(*)
    Before it cloud, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning, 
Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy,
    Most, 0 maid's child, thy choice and worthy the winning. 

GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS (1844-1889) (*)turning sickly sweet 

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Spring

“GERALD MANLEY HOPKINS wrote some of the most ear-pleasing poetry of the nineteenth century. In his poetry Hopkins always tried to express the inner principle that gave a living object its delicate and surprising uniqueness. He sought to put into words the flow of the spirit's life that sweeps through the dull, dense world of matter and acts on the senses and, through them, makes the object alive to the beholder (or reader) . Here that object is a woodsy marsh in spring. 

Hopkins makes spring come alive to our senses by focusing on how the song of the thrush impacts the human ear rinsing and wringing it, striking it like lightning. He also does the same with the colour blue. This juicy and joyous spring is a "strain of the earth's sweet being in the beginning in Eden garden." But just as paradise didn't last long due to humanity's sin, so spring doesn't last long. Thus, Hopkins urges us to enjoy it before it cloys and clouds over.

At the same time he urges us by Christ's power to return to innocence. We can do this by ridding ourselves of this world's encumbrances and enjoying time alone with God in nature by a stream, near the ocean, on a mountaintop, or in the woods. These creations of God still breathe with his creativity and remind us of life before sin corrupted the world.”
[The comments about the poem are from “A Poem A Day” by Philip Comfort & Daniel Partner.]

To Pray and Ponder: Time with God:

As you go around and enjoy the beauty of spring—let your senses inspire you to sing and whisper praise to God. Look at the beauty of God’s handy work. Enjoy the scent of the flowers and the feeling of fresh grass between the toes, or warmer winds on the face. I was sailing last Wednesday evening—in the dark listening to the lapping of the water—heaven. And then there is the sweet taste of honey. 

Oh my soul does rejoice and delight
    in the wonder of Gods handiwork. 
For he made you and me and delights
    in the wonder of His handiwork.
 

God Bless
Jon

Love For All

a verse or two

“My friends, if someone is caught in any kind of wrongdoing, those of you who are spiritual should set them right; but you must do it in a gentle way”. Gal 6:1

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Love For All

Tax collectors were among the most unpopular people in Israel. They were making themselves rich by ripping off their fellow Jews. No wonder the people muttered when Jesus went home with the head tax collector Zacchaeus, a man who was good at being bad. Despite this Jesus loved him; in response, the little tax collector was changed forever. In every society, certain groups of people are considered outcasts because of their political views, immoral behaviour, or lifestyle. Don't give in to social pressure to avoid these people. Jesus loves them, and they need to hear his Good News.[adapted from LABC] 

To Pray and Ponder: A gentle way: I used this prayer halfway through last week's sermon - I thought some folk might like a copy of it.

Lord – help us not to use your tremendous grace as a place to wipe our feet of any responsibility to be responsible people.

Lord – help us not to use your tremendous grace as an excuse to not bother to self improve, to not bother to stop wrongdoing.

And yet Lord – sometimes life turns very difficult to cope with, family get sick, time collapses, prioritising hospital trips and what-not takes over. Or unwanted news from left field kicks when we are down, and Lord, there is no amount of saintliness that can get us through such difficult times without wrongdoing.

Lord - may we be spiritual enough to help, to help those who need help – and may we be able to do it in such a gentle way that no more hurt happens.

And may we who have been hurt, forgive; may we learn and may we move on with no tally of rights and wrongs.

And may we who have been hurt – be able to look at the hurter – and see beyond the hurt done to us and understand how the hurter is hurting, may we see their stress, their anguish, that they are overloaded, and Lord, may we see that they don’t need our judgement, they need our love, our forgiveness and your grace. Amen

God Bless, Jon

kingdom of heaven is like treasure

a verse or two

“[Jesus said,] 'The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44 (NRSV)

Spiritual Walk and Musings:

The following is written by Peter Graystone from www.surefish.co.uk
“I was brought up to go to church (never thinking there was a proper alternative), was dismayed by tragedy into dropping out of worship, and drifted through college life vaguely aware that some truly ghastly people met as a Christian Union. Then in my mid- twenties, not looking for him at all, Jesus took hold of me. It wasn't the church, nor middle-class Christian morality, nor the disciplines of faith (all of which I still struggle with many years later). It was the character of Jesus who reached out and grabbed me and he hasn't let me go, although I've shaken hard enough. The character of the man who - brought up in the artisan middle-classes, educated, intelligent - turned his back on all of that and made his home among the poor, relied on others, defied convention, stayed single, trod a delicate line between friends in the brothel and the synagogue, inspired people that a world of justice was not only possible but desirable, and died with words of love and forgiveness on his lips.

My godson has asked for a metal detector for his birthday. He has asked for it over and over again since February, because he's convinced that there is something buried in the local woods, where there was a Roman settlement. Have you any idea what a proper metal detector costs! But he is so single-minded that I don't see how I can get him anything else. And if he finds something and proves my scepticism wrong I will be so happy! I've got a hidden agenda to go with his hidden treasure. I'm praying that somewhere along the line in the future of a wonderful little boy (and preferably after he's had an opportunity to fling a small handful of wild oats as far as they can decently go) he stumbles upon Jesus as a treasure of inestimable value. He knows the name; he knows routine; he's been surrounded by the love of Christians all his life. But I'm waiting for the day when, unexpectedly I'm sure, Jesus reaches out and grabs hold of him. Because then he'll find that everything else that was important to him, metal detector and all, can be traded in with much rejoicing as he makes his journey home.”

To Pray and Ponder:

What in or around your home - alive or inert - do you treasure more than anything else? Before you sleep tonight, spend some time enjoying it. As you do so, think of the treasure that Jesus talked of which puts the values of the world into their proper perspective 

A prayer by George MacDonald (1824 - 1905)
Jesus, into thy hands I give the heart
Which left thee but to learn how good thou art. Amen

God Bless, Jon

Fruit of the Spirit

a verse or two

“ 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth).” Ephesians 5:8-9

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Fruit of the Spirit - LOVE

The following is William Barclay’s comments on the fruit of the Spirit—Love.

The New Testament word for love is agape. This is not a word which classical Greek uses commonly. In Greek there are four words for love. (a) Eros means the love of a man for a maid; it is the love which has passion in it. It is never used in the New Testament at all. (b) Philia is the warm love which we feel for our nearest and our dearest; it is a thing of the heart. (c) Storge rather means affection and is specially used of the love of parents and children. (d) Agape, the Christian word, means unconquerable benevolence. It means that no matter what a [person] may do to us by way of insult or injury or humiliation we will never seek anything else but [their] highest good. It is therefore a feeling of the mind as much as of the heart; it concerns the will as much as the emotions. It describes the deliberate effort—which we can make only with the help of God—never to seek anything but the best even for those who seek the worst for us.

To Pray and Ponder:

FRUITFULNESS:

The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are the by products of Christ's control; we can't obtain them by trying to get them without his help. If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our lives to his (see John 15:4-5). We must know him, love him, remember him, and imitate him. As a result, we will fulfil the intended purpose of the law: to love God and our neighbours. Which of these qualities do you want the Spirit to produce in you? [From the Life Application Bible Commentary]

GARDEN:
To understand the fruit of the Spirit, we must see ourselves, not as individual trees, but as an entire garden under the cultivation of God's Spirit. His purpose involves not simply the production of a single kind of fruit but all the fruit, each becoming ripe as it is needed. No one person can perfectly exemplify all the fruit all the time. We are all needed to produce God's harvest of virtue. We must not be discouraged if our love or patience is not perfect. It is the constant flow of the Spirit in all of us that produces all the fruit. Don't let your lack of fruitfulness in some areas destroy what the Holy Spirit is trying to do in you today. [From the Life Application Bible Commentary]

an Encounter with Martin Luther

a verse or two

^“4 And if you try to please God by obeying the Law, you have cut yourself off from Christ and his wonderful kindness. ⁵ But the Spirit makes us sure that God will accept us because of our faith in Christ.” Galatians 5:4-5 (CEV)

Spiritual Walk and Musings: Luther, Martin (1483-1546)

info for this blog is from http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/ 

The “Father of the Protestant Reformation.” Luther was a monk in Germany who became convinced that the doctrines of the church were not consistent with the Bible. In particular, he felt that the church ignored the biblical teaching of justification through faith by grace. In 1517 he posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg church. In this document he set forth his disagreements with the Roman authorities in the church, particularly with regard to the sale of Indulgences. His rallying cries became ‘by faith alone’, ‘by grace alone’, and ‘only the Scriptures’. By ‘by faith alone’ he meant that a person could be saved only through faith, not by indulgences granted by the church. In 1520 he was excommunicated by Pope Leo X, and in 1521 he received a hearing before an imperial diet in Worms. He was asked to recant his teachings, but he refused, saying, “Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me. Amen.” 

Luther’s ‘by faith alone’ effected all of society. What is it today in our society that needs reform? And what is the churches role in this?

To Pray and Ponder: ON FAITH - here are a few of quotes on faith.

“Faith can put a candle in the darkest night” Margaret Sangster (1838–1912) 

“Faith does not mean believing without evidence. It means believing in realities that go beyond sense and sight—for which a totally different sort of evidence is required.” John Baillie (1741–1806) 

“A Christian who walks by faith accepts all circumstances from God. He thanks God when everything goes good, when everything goes bad, and for the “blues” somewhere in-between. He thanks God whether he feels like it or not.” Erwin W. Lutzer (1941– ) 

What do you think about the quotes – do you agree? Disagree? Why? 

God Bless, Jon

An encounter with God

a verse or two

For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love. Galatians 5:6 [The Message]

Spiritual Walk and Musings: An encounter with God.

How are we to behave during the long wait for God to speak and act in response to the world's injustice? In parts of the book Habakkuk, the prophet talks about those who try to seal themselves off from noticing the distress of the world by accumulating so much personal gain that they never need to come into contact with suffering. And for others escapism is the only way of avoiding the issues (alcohol is the method he mentions). He also talks of those who, having made a fortune at the expense of others, rejoice in the system that allows it to happen (he compares them with fishermen who pillage the sea of every last fish and then worship their nets). 

In these verses Habakkuk warns that some will give up waiting for God and turn their worship to other things - inanimate things that shimmer with gold and silver (or bleep or speed or flash lights or gather dust in a hundred ways). 

Objects that humans have created can be valuable in the quest to alleviate poverty. But in the end only a change of heart can bring lasting justice, not a change of technology. And it is an encounter with the holy God which changes hearts. 

Why not today seek out silence. Try to find a place without the clamour of human voices or the buzz of machines. In the silence, remind yourself of the size and power of the holy God. Then tell him what your hopes, fears and priorities are at the moment. [adapted from www.surefish.co.uk]

To Pray and Ponder: The ancient 'Liturgy of St James' translated by Gerard Moultrie.

Let all mortal flesh keep silence, 
and with fear and trembling stand; 
Ponder nothing earthly-minded, 
for with blessing in his hand 
Christ our God on earth descendeth, 
our full homage to demand. 
Amen 

A short reading from Habakkuk 2:18-20 

“What use is an idol once its maker has shaped it - a cast image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in what has been made, though the product is only an idol that cannot speak! Alas for you who say to the wood, 'Wake up!' to silent stone, 'Rouse yourself!' Can it teach? See, it is gold and silver plated, and there is no breath in it at all. But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him!”

God Bless, Jon