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I have been enjoying the weekly meetings at which we have undertaken The Prayer Course. The group has been small; usually about ten in attendance, although last week there were thirteen. Slowly we have been considering different aspects of prayer with a focus on The Lord’s Prayer to guide us.
Last Wednesday we considered “listening”, which is probably what we do least in prayer. The line from The Lord’s Prayer was, “Give us today our daily bread.” A number of years ago now, when I took a weekly service at Firbank Grammar School, I was asked to talk about The Lord’s Prayer. As we considered this line of the prayer, we appreciated that it wasn’t just about bread or even about food. The line helped us to focus on our dependence upon God and his many provisions – yes our food, but clean water, good medical care, our education, friendships and so on. Something else that we must consider is how God communicates with us. We are dependent upon his word to us. There is his Word (the Bible), as well as advice from Christian friends and our own common sense. The presenter of the series, Pete Grieg, suggests that when listening to God we remember ABC – Advice, Bible, Common Sense. “Give us today our daily bread” might mean we are eager and listening for God’s voice. And we must also note that despite the fact that many of us say the prayer quietly and privately and individually, that the pro-nouns are plural. Give us today our daily bread. We might be praying for ourselves, but the prayer is for all humanity. The Lord’s Prayer is a great prayer, but it is more than a list of requests. As we offer the prayer slowly, we will find God speaking to us. The challenge we ask ourselves: are we listening? Bless you as you listen
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Luke 13:1 makes it clear that Jesus was teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Today’s gospel reading is about a healing that takes place that day. We read that a spirit had crippled a woman for 18 years.
The miracle itself is hardly described. Some miracles go to great lengths to show the run up and the miraculous action. Here Luke rushes past the description of the miracle to get to the conflict with the synagogue officials. The only thing Jesus does physically is to lay hands on the woman. The power of the miracle is in what precedes and follows it: Jesus announces her freedom from the crippling spirit (“Woman, you are set free from your ailment.”) with a word and when she is healed, the healing happens in the form of the divine passive (“she stood up straight” actually reads in the Greek as she “was straightened up” - assuming God as agent). All Jesus did was to lay on hands between the divine announcement and the divine action. Jesus is keen to show God’s concern to heal, liberate and unbind his people. Jesus wants us to have life in its fullness, and sets out to free us from everything that holds us captive. This means sickness, but also human attitude and judgements which imprison or constrict us. For Jesus mercy and compassion are paramount. Ask for a heart that is like the heart of Jesus, always compassionate and ready to defend the poor and suffering. Do you notice how easy it is to give a helping hand when it suits and find reasons to do otherwise when it doesn’t? Do you criticise how others go about aiding those who are less fortunate? What can you do about it? Most of us have had experiences that have forever changed our lives, either for the better or for the worse. We didn’t know when we got up that morning that before nightfall, our lives would be different, but that’s what happened. Maybe you were in an accident that left you permanently impaired. Or, positively, may-be you met a person who would become your lifelong friend.
Hearing about the Lord Jesus Christ is just such a watershed experience, whether a person recognises it or not. To hear about the unique person of Jesus Christ and what he came to do is a fork in the road of life. From that point, either you go down the path toward eternal life or you turn away toward the complete opposite. You cannot hear about Jesus Christ and remain the same. He draws a line in the sand. Either you cross that line and receive the salvation he offers, or you stay on your side of the line and eventually face his judgment. Last week we heard of the necessity to be ready for the Son of Man will come at an unexpected hour. Now (Luke 12:49-53) Jesus shows that his purpose was to cast fire on the earth and that fire would cause division, sometimes even amongst family members. So, the disciples need to be prepared for conflict. Then (12:54-59) Luke records Jesus’ words to the whole multitude, where he chides them for being able to analyse the weather, but unable to recognise the signs of the times, namely that the Messiah is in their very midst. Since Jesus draws a line that forces us to take sides, we have to ask ourselves which side we prefer. And your answer is? A task that Margie has commenced in retirement is the sorting of recipes.Some have been cut from magazines and others have been typed out on sheets of paper. Many years ago we bought a copy of the Brighton Grammar cookbook and the only recipe used is for a chocolate cake – its called One for the Boys. Margie bakes this cake so often that she must know the recipe by heart, but I suspect she is afraid that one step or ingredient might be omitted. Why keep a whole book when only one recipe is used? And, of course, for many things now we go online and actually watch
something being prepared step by step. Today’s gospel reading is giving some good teaching for the Christian life. It might seem demanding, but have you read this story before? A parishioner bumped into a man who hadn’t been seen at church for a long time. This led to a greeting and the man asked the parishioner why the world was in such a state with signs of poverty even in his suburb. The parishioner really didn’t have all the answers and so suggested that the man pray about it. The response was, “I’ve thought about asking God why he allows poverty to exist, but I’m afraid he might ask me the same question.” We have asked God this question at Parish Council and this has led to our connection with BayCISS. This doesn’t let us off the hook as individuals. Margie and I talk about donations that we might like to make to charitable agencies annually, but then there other opportunities we have to give to individuals. The two points that stood out for me were at the beginning and the end. Firstly, “Do not be afraid.” Lastly, “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” “Do not be afraid” suggests to me that this is something I can do. Hence a recipe is good for those specific steps and oven temperatures, etc. that will ultimately produce a delicious chocolate cake. I’m not wanting to undermine the gospel by likening it to a recipe, but I do believe that God gives us teaching/visions/ideas and specific commands for many aspects of life. The challenge is to be open to him and obedient. “… the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour” is a reminder to me that God’s grace is sufficient for me and that I can be ready to meet him. It takes me to the beginning “Do not be afraid.” It doesn’t load me with heaps of guilt, but it makes me stay in communication with the Lord Jesus so that I keep following him and hence be ready when he comes. Talk to the Lord about the next step in your life. When I was a school boy (okay many, many years ago) the popular lunch-time club was the English Club. The head of English, Mr Walkie, was a fantastic teacher. We would write poems, limericks (to read aloud and laugh uncontrollably) and have debates. My first foray into the English Club debating, when in form 3, was with the topic, “It is the opinion of this house that money is the root of all evil.” I argued the case and much to my embarrassment and pleasure a couple of older boys said I did a good job. Who asked for their opinion?
Of course, today’s gospel reading brings it all back. I appreciate that none of the passage from Luke should ever go to the back of my mind. Who doesn’t like money? Who could do with just a little bit more? The Bible has quite a bit to say about greed. I know that greed might apply to things apart from money, eg power. Elsewhere we read “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal” Matthew 6.19 and “You cannot serve God and wealth” Matthew 6.24. And concerning power we read “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Mark 10.43-45 It is the love of money, and not money itself, that is the problem. The love of money is a sin because it gets in the way of worshipping God. Think of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19. This man could not follow Jesus because he was following money. His love of this world interfered with his love for God. Greed refuses to be satisfied. More often than not, the more we get, the more we want. The gospel reading today reminds us that money and possessions will not protect us. Matthew 6.33 says, “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” A song I used to sing in youth group was: Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, And His righteousness, And all these things shall be added unto you , Allelu Alleluia. Ask and it shall be given unto you, Seek and ye shall find, Knock and it shall be opened unto you, Allelu Alleluia This chorus links well this week’s reading with that of last week. Bless you as you seek to follow the teaching. |
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