Ask...go on ask

If I'm honest I really don't pray like I think my prayers will be answered. Honestly.

If you asked me why I pray...well...I would talk a lot about adoration, about thanksgiving, I might even refer to prayers of relinquishment and prayers for internal, individual strength...and I do, in fact, have a little 'shopping list' in my prayer book, which prompts me to pray for my wife, my son (yes! I do even need to be reminded of this), my own needs, other people, events that are coming up, and work.

But as I consider the meaning of Rogation Days I am perplexed: when I ask for things from God, do I expect my prayers to be answered?

When I ask God to heal a friend's marriage,
or when I ask God to provide a buyer for my house,
or when I ask God to be with my non-Christian family...

...do I expect God to answer this?

More generally, I feel it is important God knows my mind, that I exhibit faithfulness and trust in his sovereignty, but do I believe the verses we're asked to read in Luke:

"So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11:9f. NRSV)

It feels like a pretty foundational question, really...

There is so much vagueness in our prayers, so much 'if it be your will' hand-wringing, that I worry we have lost the confidence to, persistently (which is as much about relationship as petitioning) pray.

On Rogation day we pray for the land, for commerce and industry, for the environment and creation. We don't have the same panicked relationship with God our ancestors may have done who saw weather as a sign of divine blessing. Have we lost some connection with our circumstances that has dulled our sense of dependence. For it is not merely our prayers that are ineffective if not in accord with God's will, but our very lives:

"Abide in me...because apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5)

As we look to a future that is one of ordination and priesthood, and as we make practical arrangements for the move away from Bradford, the question isn't so much 'will God answer my prayers?' (although I hope he will), but 'will I persist in my relationship with God, will I abide, will I knock, seek and ask?'

All Saints' Tide

Happy All Saints' Day!!

"The Lord takes delight in his people"

(Psalm 149:4)

It's yet another strange little season in the Anglican church. Indeed, it might be stretching it somewhat to describe it as a season...but you know me, I love a good season, so let's go with it.

All Saints' Tide (the period from All Saints' Day to the day before the first Sunday in Advent) is the last, the end of the Christian Liturgical year.

Now, I always bang on about the misuse of Advent. Advent is not simply about readying ourselves for Christmas...it is about preparing for Christ's return - his second coming. So in a sense you could say Advent starts the Christian year by focusing on the last things.

But in truth, the second coming of Christ is NOT the last thing...not even remotely. For after His return comes the glorious prospect of eternity in God's company.

All God's children will be gathered together and we will dwell, the bride and the bridegroom united. And we the church will be the bride!

So then...this season is the chance to be emboldened and encouraged to remember several things:

1. We are in this together.
We are all God's children. There is always a temptation to be independent, to try and do it ourselves. Our society values confident independence above all. Neediness is seen as weakness.

But Jesus himself say that we are but branches of his vine (John 15:5). We are inextricably linked to one another. We are one body (Ephesians 4:4). So let's have none of this lone ranger stuff.

This is so important when struggling in sin too. We stand in celebration that we are one church, but equally when I move away from church I quickly struggle in my temptations:
"See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful and unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. Let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, but let us encourage one another" (Hebrews 3:12f.; 10:25f)

- Are you prone to skipping church? Ducking out of a midweek meeting? Why?

But on a deep theological level it's not just about going to church, but togetherness across the world and time. Through baptism we become members of one another in Christ, members of a company of saints whose mutual belonging transcends death. We have been knit into one communion, which the All Saints' Day Collect affirms. It's a mutual belonging where we are able to look to the great heroes of faith, and those local faithful witness...and know we stand with them.

2. Death comes to us all
The season does, however, confront us with the reality of death.

And All Saints Tide contains a strong emphasis on remembering those who've died. Whereas All Saints Day focuses on those of the faith, and especially the great ones, who have proceeded us into glory (although we believe they are 'asleep' still at present), All Souls Day - 2nd November - the commemoration of the faithful departed is a day about our own departed. This day acknowledges human grief and fragility "in a way that would hardly find a palce when we celebrate the triumphs of the great ones on All Saints' Day". This day offers an opportunity to meditate and reflect on our own personal bereavements. We can remember friends and family we've lost in prayer.

I know I need this day.

But then there's Remembrance Sunday - a more public, civil side to our remembering. We make particular effort each year to "never forget" the lives laid down for us. Whether or not you agree with the political or militaristic posturing that takes place, we all have a chance to pay tribute to the lives set aside - the death of thousands upon thousands. We are forced to confront issues of war and peace - a reminder of the wisdom of Ecclesiastes that life is full of both.

And through this all my own mortality looms large. Every year I am older, and as Pink Floyd sang, "one year closer to death".

3. We are to be inspired and encouraged by those who have gone before us.
But in the remembrance we are to be inspired. In our pilgrimage, "we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1). We are to look to those who've gone before us and be thankful:

"It is a time to be encouraged by the example of the saints and to recall that sanctity may grow in the ordinary circumstances, as well as the extraordinary crises, of human living"

We remember the apostles, the prophets, the martyrs.

We remember the Sunday school teachers, the youth workers, the old batty Christian neighbour who unbeknownst to us prayed regularly for us.

We remember our parents, our grandparents, our ancestors who walked the path we now tread.

We may even remember our children and grandchildren taken before their time.

There is witness in every life.

 - During this season - who's example as a Christian inspires you?

4. There is life beyond the grave
From the pages of the Bible, in this season we also stop to remind ourselves of the promise of the resurrected life. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies" (John 11:25).
This promise, in a sense, is effected now; we're not waiting to be saved. We who are counted amongst the people of God - who believe in Jesus - who have called on the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13) - we are already saved. Redemption is a work of God's grace; it is God who redeems us in Christ. Although we shall die - we are already redeemed from its power!

- Are you joyful and thankful that you are saved - today?

5. The promise of life everlasting
But it's not enough to simply think of life somehow being resuscitated...no, the promise is much greater!
In this season, unlike the focus on judgment in Advent, we are mindful of the great, final consummation of God's new creation in Christ. We focus on our hope and longing for that fulness that will one day come. The day when we'll gaze on out beloved with our own eyes - not dimly in a mirror.

That's why we have readings from Isaiah 25 and 35 on All Saints' Day - we're reminded that Heaven is a place of abudance - abundant life, abundant wine, abundant food. It is a place of security, with a complete absence of pain and suffering. We are, in fact, looking to the promise of Revelation:

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” ⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

⁶ He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. ⁷ Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. (Revelation 21:1-7)

Heaven is where our TRUE citizenship rests. The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that we are "looking for the city that is to come" (Hebrews 13:14)...but please note carefully...it is not Heaven above - NO!

The glorious city of God descends from above - God comes and dwells with us - a new heaven and a new earth!!!


So then.... we have five things to remember in All Saints' Tide:

1. We are in this together

2. Death comes to us all

3. We are to be inspired and encouraged by those who have gone before us.

4. There is life beyond the grave

5. The promise of everlasting life

...But finally, we find that this season does lead us naturally to Advent...does it not?

We also sense that it is a fearful thing to come before the unutterable goodness and holiness of God, even for those redeemed in Christ. When we come to his presence we shall be clothed in garments of righteousness. But this standing before God's throne reminds us that while called to be saints, we are often sinners...and so we come once more to the place where we permanently remember our need for Christ.

We conclude the season thinking of Christ as King, and then into Advent where we think of his first coming to save our sins, and his return to judge the world. Amen!

HAVE FAITH! Hebrews walkthrough - Day 1

1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. ³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. ⁴ So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
(Hebrews 1:1-4)

The weather this summer has been truly horrendous - wet, miserable and frequently cloudy. A gloominess pervades the nation still now. I sense it even amongst Christian friends.

Sometimes we are prone to weather-affected faith crises, I think.

We let the clouds of life - the busyness, the stress, the commitments, the family, the chores, the bills, the holidays - crowd into our skies and we are starved of the sun.

When this happens I think we stop believing the sun will shine again - we may even doubt the sun's existence. This week I read about the year of dark (536CE) where there was virtually no sun for a year - its effects were catastrophic. And let's not think this is not a serious health issue - a lack of sunshine causes all sorts of vitamin deficiencies - including Rickets - a condition reemerging in our country.

We become spiritually unwell when we are taken out of the shine of Jesus - if his glory.

This passage is such a bold statement of Jesus, who he is and what he does. It should bring life to our aching and tired limbs - it should fill us with enormous confidence.

Seven characteristics are listed:

He is...
...the heir of all things
...the creator
...the radiance of God's glory
...the exact representation of God
...the sustainer
...the sacrifice for our sins (the purifier)
...and he is seated at the right hand of God

Working backward what does this mean?

He is ascended into heaven - seated with God. This means he is the Lord, the ruler...now! Not in the future - he is King of the universe as I write this. Don't let anyone try and trick you that Jesus' lordship is conditional on our responses or ability to resist - he is Lord now.

He offered himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sin. Do you feel weighed down with guilt, or despondent that your life is in a rut - Jesus redeems your life! It is finished. Yes - you are a sinner - but he has dealt with your sin. Day by day I struggle with my fallenness - my sin. I need to be reminded every day that Jesus has dealt with this. I am morally right with God.

He sustains me, therefore, by the breath of his spirit and the power of his word. Jesus sustains the universe. He wills me into being, sustains my life - but also equips me with his Spirit and Word to live life in his footsteps.

And in case I worry that Jesus is just a righteous man, or I believe those protesting voices - this passage affirms that JESUS IS GOD - he is the "exact representation". He is the Father's son - he is not part God, he is totally God. I'm not worshipping a wanabe, I'm worshipping the one who is worthy of our worship. Sometimes I think people are embarassed by the Jesus-love-in, but given who he is, and what he is in his nature I am profoundly moved to worship - for God is worthy.

In Jesus face we not only trace the nature of God, but the glory of God too. We catch glimpses of it in Scripture - the Transfiguration, the appearance to John on Patmos - Jesus is a heavenly being. John writes that "we have seen his glory - the glory of the One and Only" (John 1:14). What difference should these last two facts make to my day...I should be deeply enthralled. Can you imagine what it will be like to finally stand before Jesus, to see him as he really is, when we compare him to the most beautiful, attractive people, or the staggering beauty of creation...we shall be filled with awe and wonder - my response is to worship. And when I look at the struggle of my life - the challenges and disappointments - I am glad the Bible reminds me that I will not be disappointed when I reach heaven.

And yet... I worship Jesus not only for his nature - his inherent God-ness - but because of his glorious work in creation. Yesterday evening was a perfect autumnal sunset - the misty day giving way to a chilly night, with the light fractured into a myriad shades and colours - beautiful. And he designed it.

Finally (firstly), we are told Jesus is the heir of all things. He came to us - setting aside his glory - and after suffering, death and resurrection was welcomed back into heaven where God has passed everything to Jesus - power, glory, honour, majesty...everything.

And here's the remarkable thing - we share in this:
"If we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17)

We shall in some strange and mystical way share in Jesus' majesty when we attain to glory.

However, Paul says this will be so if we share in his sufferings (Rom 8:17).

 

So what...........

Today - right now - whatever you are doing - STOP!
Are you discouraged?
Are you in despair?
Are you doubting Jesus?
Are you facing challenges to your faith?
Are you thinking of jacking it all in?

Don't!

Look to Jesus - look at his glory, his forgiveness, his nature, his creation - he is above all - the one and the only.

Be encouraged that your faith is not in vain.

Rogation Day

It's Rogation Day!

"Eh? What's that?"

Well...um...let me see. Well, actually, today is the second of a set of three.

"There are three?"

Yes...these three days fall immediately prior to Ascension Day.

It's quite an ancient tradition - taking its root from the Latin 'Rogare', to ask - we spend time praying for our needs...for fruitful seasons and those who work on the land and sea; for our commerce and industry; and for the environment that God might help us care for the world, to help us be good stewards.

There are three special prayers (collects) for these days:

Almighty God,
whose will it is that the earth and the sea
should bear fruit in due season:
bless the labours of those who work on land and sea,
grant us a good harvest
and the grace always to rejoice in your fatherly care;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Almighty God and Father,
you have so ordered our life
that we are dependent on one another:
prosper those engaged in commerce and industry
and direct their minds and hands
that they may rightly use your gifts in the service of others;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God our Father,
you never cease the work you have begun
and prosper with your blessing all human labour:
make us wise and faithful stewards of your gifts
that we may serve the common good,
maintain the fabric of our world
and seek that justice where all may share
the good things you pour upon us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We often think that prayers of request are somehow crude, ugly and selfish. You must be a shallow Christian to pray such prayers...

The truth, of course, is that we never graduate from this form of prayer - all the meditation and mysticism cannot erase the fact that we NEED God. And this need drives us to our needs...we need forgiveness, guidance, energy, insight, healing, support, etc, etc.

Indeed, one could argue that we disobey God when we fail to ask..."until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete" (John 16:24)


You can read more about the roots of Rogation Days here.

Grief or Gladness: the dilemma of Easter Saturday

I’m always confused about how to behave on the big feast/holy days through the year.

I am unhappy to ‘pretend’ to be an Israelite waiting for their Messiah, or a Shepherd hearing the angel’s good news (Advent and Christmas). We live in the aftermath of Jesus’ incarnation and we are in fact waiting for his return.

But I also appreciate the power of re-enactment. The nativity play somehow keeps the story alive, it reminds us of the cost. Buy also, Nativity plays are quite cute.

So imagine how I feel about Holy Week?!

In an even more profound sense, the faux-mourning and pretend grief get up my nose a bit. Why do we play-act at sadness? We live in the aftermath of Easter…that joyous defeat of death.

Furthermore, the reading from John 2 on Easter Saturday (I do prefer the moniker ‘Holy Saturday’ or ‘Silent Saturday’) drives this point home:

“18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your
authority to do all this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I
will raise it again in three days.” 20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six
years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But
the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead,
his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and
the words that Jesus had spoken.” (John 2:18-22, NIV)

The disciples had been told there would be a middle day. They just hadn’t remembered. But we do??! We know what follows Saturday.

So shouldn’t we actually be rather more upbeat about all this? Why mope about as though we had been abandoned by Jesus – let down, etc. Once we pass Good Friday shouldn't we get rather more excited - like the anticipation of a long-awaited film, or the return of a long-travelling loved one?

Perhaps; perhaps not.

But in truth I’m rather glad we re-live the grief. For, for in truth, as many commentators suggest, we find solace in Easter Saturday because our own lives are marked by great sorrow and sadness, abandonment and confusion. There is comfort in knowing God is comfortable with silent tears.

I think, however, we must remember Paul’s injunction in 1 Thessalonians to “not grieve as others who have no hope” (1 Thes. 4:13). We grieve with hope.

And this is perhaps why Easter Saturday is the great climax of Lent. The last day we use the Lenten liturgy.

After spending time during Lent meditating on our sin, we find ourselves in Holy Week reading from Lamentations which suggests we should respond in silence (Lam 2:10), penitence (2:10), weeping (v. 11, 18), crying out to God (v.18 – much like the Psalmist in Psalm 142, the morning prayer psalm for Easter Saturday), a sense in which we come and pour our heart out before God (v.19). This is no play acting. And yet is precisely the range of activites we imagine the disciples engaging in. We come on Easter Saturday and sit in our own place. We now know Jesus is resurrected, but this understanding also makes us realise our part in his death – it was not a failed political venture, but a great act of mercy.

I am constantly, throughout Lent, repeating in worship and in private prayer the great cry from Hosea: “Come, let us return to the LORD.”

There is great promise in Hosea – that God will heal, bind up, revive, raise up, but also that he’ll appear and come. (Hosea 6:1-6)

This Easter Saturday – knowing the full extent of God’s mercy – Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again – we may be moved to tears – that he did all this for me. In my sin, my own most grievous sin – he did all this for me. So perhaps my tears aren’t just from grief, but gratitude too.

Passiontide - Day 1

The 5th Sunday of Lent sees a shift in the tone of the season - it grows heavier, darker, deeper, sadder and more focused, almost transfixed to the cross.

Hence the reading, John 12:20-33, which is focused on the cost of the cross. But so many of us miss this...

Holy week is a funny thing you see. We have this dark, contemplative season where in a spirit of introspection and self-examination we seek to walk with Jesus and discern the many and varied ways our walk has become hobbled. Through Lent I realise that my walk is hampered by a limp, by ill-fitting shoes, by a rocky road...and then we hit Palm Sunday, which is all-too-often a joyous celebration. We play act and frankly lose the sheer irony of the day.

Yes - Jesus entered triumphally, but we know how it pans out. Why do we celebrate? Surely the spirit of lenten sadness should move us to weep that so many so quickly deserted Jesus, including his own.

And then we stumble into Easter Day - the high point in our calendar.

Consider this...if you take the four Sundays including Mothering Sunday (4th Sunday in Lent) you can quite easily lose entirely the Lent theme: Mothers' Day, 5th Sunday, Palm Sunday, and Easter Day...the effect is exacerbated if one doesn't go to any church events during Holy Week...one could ignore the agony of the cross entirely!

Therefore - allow me to try and take you on that path of lamentation that Passiontide requires...

In John 12:20-33 we find Jesus in a deeply contemplative mood. "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified". Not quite the response Andrew and Philip expect when informing Jesus he has some guests to entertain. One writer has suggested that the disciples have had to 'find' Jesus as he was withdrawing from public ministry. He is all too aware that his purpose was about to be fulfilled.

But this is not just his purpose - but he teaches us a valuable and essential Christian principle, "unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds"...and He goes on to repeat his thoughts on what discipleship looks like...a choice between life and death.

In our cell group we have been wrestling at length over this issue of following Jesus. In Mark 8 Jesus says you must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow. And we began to think the three things are separate...the first is about submission, which requires us to let go of our own agenda and ambition; the third is about obedience. But taking up your cross is not just a euphemism for 'deny yourself'...it speaks directly to what needs to happen to us - we have to die, not just make a decision to serve or submit.

Like Jesus we too have to die. Paul writes about this in Romans 6: "We died to sin" (v.2)

Death...it's not something I seek, but Jesus seems to be saying, "pursue death, run at it, ensure that you have been killed off - you are useless to me as you are - your sinful self will prevent my greater glory, and oddly - will stop you living. You are worth more to me dead than alive - for when your zombie nature is killed, then you can be really alive, for I shall bring resurrection. This shadowland you currently live in is as nothing compared to the bright gloriousness of you as you are truly meant to be..."

....And still...fear remains.

But trust is essential - and obedience. I follow; he leads.

And even Jesus shrank away from the fact of his death. Even he, my Lord and King. Even he said - I am scared of death, but for God's glory, and his known purpose he set his face toward the cross.

And that is passiontide. The fixing of Jesus' face on the cross. It is where our eyes must also turn. We must look upon the horror and glory of the cross...and in our turn, follow.

Your body needs rebuilding

I failed to get to church yesterday, which has left me feeling decidedly ill at ease. I miss the shared fellowship that comes from being stood with other Christians singing, praying and being challenged by God's word.

As a result, I committed to reading the evening service passages last night and briefly meditating on them, particularly as my close friend had preached at the evening service, so I was curious. I was quite struck how much jumped at me from Haggai 1:13-2:9, John 2:13-22, and 1 Corinthians 3:10-17.

Jesus is our temple (Jn 2:21). We do not, like the Jews, go to a physical temple made by hands. We worship Jesus, our holy place.

Yet, we believe that Jesus is in us (Col. 1:27) and we are in Jesus (Col. 3:3; Eph. 1:7).

Following the logic on, it then stands to reason that we are temples, if Jesus (our temple) is in us.

Now let's pause for a moment. I've heard this dozens of times...we are God's temple...blah blah blah...but what real significance does/should this make?

Firstly, we are made for the worship of God (Eph. 1:12). I consider this to be quite a profound thought, which does stand at odds with the randomness of evolution. I do not believe we are accidentally residents on earth, but made by God, for a reason - worship.

Secondly, in order to worship we are designed, if you will, to act as temples regardless of what we specifically worship. We're made to seek out things to worship, which is why the ten commandments injunctions are relevant for all mankind, we all seek to worship - but do we worship God? Sadly, the Israellite's own history tells us what is to happen when a temple is given over to false worship (1 Cor. 10:7-8). Paul states that idols have no place in our temples (2 Cor. 2:16) but we allow idols to reign - whether money, power, emotions, clothes, our family, our ambitions... Secondly, our temple is made unclean through sexual immorality (1 Cor. 6:19).

And here comes the clever theology...

We are temples, but like the temple in the Old Testament, we are given over to idolatry and all manner of sinful behaviours which make the temple both invalid (as a place of worship to God) and unclean (they could not be used for real worship even if purposed to be such). As a result, the only just thing to do with the temple - destroy it. The Babylonian exile speaks of our exile from God as humanity - both individually and corporately we have polluted our temples and God has declared that we should die (Romans 3:23). We retreat from this truth, but it seems quite stark. We are made to be places of worship, carrying around with us God's holy presence, but through our idolotrous and immoral behaviour we cease to be set apart, we cease to be holy and when this happens God retreats.

However, the return from exile includes important prefiguring: the temple can be rebuilt (and it is promised to be more splendid than the one that preceded it (Hag. 2:9)), and the temple, once rebuilt needs to be cleansed.

This is where Jesus comes in.

Jesus body is a temple, and as an untainted body, when he suffers the punishment (exile) we deserve (death) the temple is rebuilt (resurrection). However, unlike the second temple (which was not actually as grand as the first (Ezra 3:12)) Jesus resurrection body is a rebuild on quite a different scale. Furthermore, God promises that if we believe in Jesus - accept him as Lord and Saviour - God no longer sees us as ourselves alone with our broken temple, but he sees Jesus in us and us in Jesus with a temple that is holy and righteous, both clean and holy.

Which is why Paul is so unraged at the sin which threatens to pollute the new temple in us.

- Do I commit sins of idolatry?
- Do I commit sins of sexual immorality?

In our resurrection bodies we will worship Jesus forever.
In my current fallen body I can taste this in advance as I worship God and live a life of service.
Sin seeks to dominate, indeed Satan longs to cause our current temple to fall into ruin, into disrepair, and in time to be destroyed - he seeks my daily death.

I in turn am forced on God's grace which welcomes me to a daily return from exile, to a daily resurrection of the temple.