Morning Prayer 31st March

John 11:45 - end (For text click here)

Here is a picture of the way the world workswhen those in power want to hold ontothat  power. The Pharisees in this part of the unfolding passion drama find themselves in a difficult situation.

Jesus is clearly a good man at the very least. But much more than that He has been performing amazing works of power. These works all point towards who He is and for many have become unavoidable testimony that Jesus is the Messiah and is anointed by God.

But the possibilities for change do not even enter into the imagination of the Pharisaic party. This is a clash between true faith in the possibilities of God and decision they face. If Jesus is the Messiah of God and God is behind Him what is there to fear? Isn't God really in control? Isn't God demonstrating His presence in Jesus through His works and life? So why not believe it? 

Caiaphas the High Priestin is in a highly politicized situation with foreign occupation on the one hand, a corrupt King on the other and a people on the point of rebellion. He would need to be a shrewd politician, used to managing and dealing with situations on his own wits, to hold onto this job. 

In such a difficult situation, to retain power would require compromise and any compromise with an attempt at integrity requires some priorities to be drawn up and defended. And traditions are these easiest thing to name and identify as that which needs to be protected. 

It is natural to occupy a defensive mindset when surrounded. Cynically it is easy to dismiss Caiaphas for his spiritual weakness but John does not do that. Instead he writes that Caiaphas prophesies that one man must die for the nation.

So is God in this decision? Does God approve of his decision to sacrifice Jesus? He does not intervene to save Jesus instead the implication is that God inspires Caiaphas to be part of the crucifixion that is to follow? What is going on here?

The whole way of thinking among the Pharisees is so different to the way that Jesus is revealed as thinking. Jesus is focused on the Father - this connection brings an understanding of the train of events that is a contrast to the way in which all the other people think and act. Jesus is not concerned with cost - what will be lost; or risk - what is the safest way through this. The Pharisees feel like they're playing a game of chess, making the moves. Yet everyone, except Jesus, with their well rehearsed worldly attitudes are trapped in their grooves. Jesus is connected to a different track. He understands what is going on around Him and the implications of it but He is has a detachment from the worldly perspectives - clearly he undrstands them as he withdraws until the right time, but hey do not set his direction. Yet all the lines are converging. Everyoneis making different choices but the choices are the result of who they have become and they are all moving unavoidably towards the conclusion of events. 

Daily Prayer 30th March

John 11:28-44 (Click here for text)
The third part of the story of the resurrection of Lazarus. Tomorrow will deal with the fall out in the local area.

We are given so much curious and insightful details. As in the previous parts of this testimony, Jesus in a very different place to everyone around Him and all the characters seem to move around in isolation.

Martha, following her response of faith to Jesus statement of himself as the resurrection and the life has gone to fetch Mary. Martha feeling that peace that can be present in the midst of loss as a result of knowing that the one lost is safe and will be met again.

Mary, on the other hands, is still to find any peace. She appears cross with Jesus and says the words that Mary and Martha had been rehearsing - 'if you had been here he wouldn't have died'. It has resonances of the search for someone to blame that is often the case in these situations. Today, the accusation is more likely to be channeled in the direction of the medical profession!

The mourners are in their own world too. The follow Mary around and watch Jesus. They get everything wrong. They assume Mary is going out to mourn. They interpret Jesus' intense response as mourning and join in with Mary and Martha's challenge to Him that his authority must be somehow limited one so close was allowed to die.

Jesus, on the other hand, appears to have a totally different emotional track. He is moving in the knowledge that what has happened is going to bring glory to the Father through Him. He knows the end. His response to the weeping and wailing, to the lack of awareness of just how much He is in fact in control of the situation and the continued digs at Him not being there to save Lazarus get him riled. Jesus appears frustrated and angry at the lack of faith and hope in the situation.

So it is in this agitated stated that He orders the stone to be rolled away and in answer to the objections raised brings his own understanding of the situation to light and draws the others into what is really going. He proclaims again his prophetic understanding - God is being gloried her. He provides everyone with a glimpse of the connectedness at work between Him and the Father as He offers thanksgiving for the reality of the miraculous intervention that is happening and he brings the event to fulfilment with His command of "Lazarus come out". He explains that 'he knew' all along that the Father had heard his ongoing prayer.

And the event is completed. The narrative line will move onto 'the Jews' response and the next time we see these people together again will be before Passover and the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It seems that Mary has begun to understand as at that point she will be the one who anoints Jesus in preparation for His coming ordeal and death.

All in all it is an emotional roller-coaster getting to know Jesus. It means living most of the time with the realisation that the chances are that we have not got a good grasp on the situation - that our understanding and responses are flawed. It is living with the reality that we are probably frustrating Jesus with our continued spiritual blindness and lack of focus on the Father's will. But it is also living with the certainty that we are moving in the right direction - that we are following the one is the Resurrection and the Life and the life and death should hold no fear for us.

Morning Prayer 27th March

John 11:17-27 (Click here for reading)

This passage is the middle third of a triptych of meaning. Yesterday's reading provides the overall understanding of what is happening - God is revealing his glory in situations filled with loss and doubt. Tomorrow's reading will describe the event. This middle panel provides the temporal context for the sign.

Martha provides this temporal understanding. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. And then she adds the future - "the one who is to come". The resurrection of Lazarus is a sign - a sign of the coming judgement. Lazarus - a righteous man - will be raised and judged as such and Jesus is the one to do the judging. This hope of the future resurrection not only applies to that future time but also shapes the present.

Without Jesus, judgement is to be feared. There is a rejection of this concept in our current culture. The idea that we could be judged is almost seen as ridiculous and even unfair. The accusation is thrown back at God that if He is all loving then there is nothing to fear - no matter what. There is the hope that even the darkest deeds - unrepented wickedness, evil without remorse - can be wiped away without recourse to God or His work in Christ. It's almost a right to be forgiven as opposed to a responsibility to live well.

But even a momentary consideration can see the childishness of this attitude. The way a world view and moral framework are being constructed around a self-centredness that even a young child would be ashamed of.

So what is this saying? Are we to live in fear? Are we to tremble before a wrathful and angry God? Well, yes and no. We are to live with an awareness of the precarious nature of our situation and how prone we are to reject any accountability for our actions. And from this position to reject God and live selfish lives. Yet we can see in Jesus the offer of a lifeline as we tread this tightrope. The offer of support and forgiveness in response to a genuine orientation of the self towards God and the certainty that on that Day when our hearts are laid bare - we shall be known in Christ. This is life now and life in the resurrection - before and after the inevitable event of death and the inevitable event of judgement.

It is to this end that Lazarus becomes a tangible sign of the future and Jesus is revealed again as the true once and future King.

Morning Prayer 26th March

John 10:22-end (Click here for the text)

These passages from John 8 through to the end of Chapter 10 are set at the time of Hanukkah the festival of dedication and lights, which in its original Jewish context celebrated the reconsecration of the temple after the Syrians desecrated it. The passages are about spiritual blindness being defined by an ability to see Jesus as the true revelation of God and of not hearing his teaching as the revelation of God's mind to us. Those without this illumination are still in darkness and have not seen what is before them. In the passages, 'the Jews' personify those who cannot accept Jesus and Jesus' own 'sheep' are those that hear and see. The temple becomes a symbol of what is to be replaced by Jesus. The irony that Jesus is in the midst of that which is a mere shadow of Him and yet is not recognised is painfully obvious.

The irony is made absolutely clear and the choice to believes in Jesus is further forced as Jesus makes very clear statements about who he is. 'I and the Father are one'; 'I am in the Father and the Father is in me'; 'I am God's Son'. These are the sort of statements that demand a response. If these statements are not true then Jesus is indeed blaspheming and making himself equal to God when he isn't. But if they are true then Jesus is revealing is God.

John is primarily concerned with the person of Jesus - who He is. He is taking for granted that what he teaches is known from other sources. The question he keeps placing before us is - who is Jesus?

Morning Prayer on 25th March

Luke 1:26-38 (See here for text)

The annunciation is saturated with the language of fulfilment.

The child to be conceived is of the house of David.

His name will be Jesus (The Lord saves).

He will be called the Son of the Most High.

He will be given the throne of his ancestor David.

He will reign over the House of Jacob (Israel).

His kingdom shall have no end.

The Holy Spirit will overshadow.

The child will be holy and from a miraculous conception.

He will be called the Son of God.

Here is a list of messianic expectations, of all the roles and events that should surround the Messiah. There is little doubt that this event marks the beginning of the fulfilment of these expectations.

Each of these titles and events, although saturated with symbolic meaning arising from the Old Testament titles used, us actually historically concrete. The lineage, the place, the direct action of God the Holy Spirit, the prediction that Jesus will be understood as the Son of God, the saving effect for humanity - all these things are real. This is not the language of myth but of historic tradition reaching its fulfilment.

Add to this the experience of a young girl and her historical circumstances, he reaction and her response and this event becomes easier to accept.

The creative act of God bringing the divine being into the human realm is not meant to be understood as myth either. The biology of the event needs to be understood and explored but is not the basis for dismissal any more than than theories of evolution and the big bang dismiss the mystery of the ultimate cause and design behind the universe. Jesus' DNA will remain forever a mystery as there is no blood line and no body to test. But consideration of those questions  take a step in the right direction as we embrace the serious, historical proclamations of scripture.

 

 

John 10:1-10 (For text see here)

It is a peculiar fact that the words of Jesus feel right even when they are counter-intuitive. The gospel always challenges those who listen, moving the world view to be closer in line with what Jesus speaks of. In this way, we recognise his voice and follow Him almost involuntarily. So what is it that happens when we hear teaching and recognise the challenge of it as truth? This internal reconciliation is not to reason because Jesus' teaching is not recorded as rational discourse; He teaches more through 'thought pictures' and stories creating feelings that are experienced. It is then the experience of the teaching that challenges the feelings of our daily lives and the process of reconciliation is therefore at a subliminal, emotional level.

This mode of 'hearing' that allows us to shape what we do such that the result of our actions measured emotionally (in our hearts). This way we act and feel in a way that does not refer to a rule or a law because we are operating at a deeper level.

In this particular example, the thought picture is of a gate - a way in and out of to a place of safety. The gatekeeper calls those who hear to safety - there is an easiness and sense of security - the one with the authority is the one who  provides shelter. It all feels as it should be - secure and sound and proper. The thieves and bandits on the other hand are the threat. They bring fear and uncertainty. They avoid the proper authority of the gate and threaten the place of safety. The feeling towards the thieves and bandits is therefore uncomfortable - a loss of the peace and security offered by the gate and the gatekeeper.

As a parable, it needs no further explanation. The feeling of spiritual safety and security offered by Jesus is enough to want to listen and hold on to Him. What threatens this is to be avoided. Simple as that.

 

 

Daily Prayer 23rd March

John 9:18-41 (f0r text see here:John 9:18-41)

The text reads like there are some serious undercurrents between John and the Pharisees. In the words of the parents of the healed blind man, the Pharisees have already made their mind up to remove anyone following Jesus from the synagogue. Fear of excommunication prevents them from even standing up for their own son. The blind man hmself is cagey and aggressive in his answers. He has a 'what's the point' attitude towards the Pharisees. There is nothing he can say to make them change their minds. But he is bold enough to have a dig, undermining their authority through their confession of ignorance. It is of course a little aggressive an interpretation of their claim to know Moses and where he came from but not to know where Jesus came from. The confrontation escalates and the blind man, left with the unavoidable miracle of vision, can do nothing but stand his ground. The Pharisees with their burdens of leadership feel they can only do likewise. The blind man is kicked out.

But the final paragraph of this reading provides the explanation through the words of Jesus. This is simply the way it must be as those who see what Jesus is saying can not "unsee" their revelation. Likewise, the same barriers to believing today still remain - who is He to say these things? Where does his authority come from and how can anyone really know?

This is the dilemma of faith and Jesus provides no way out. Rather, he forces the choice.

Daily Prayer Sunday 22nd Marxh

John 3:14-22 (see here for reading: (http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=104749356)

Why is it that God tells Moses to create a bronze snake - which later gets destroyed because it becomes a source of idolatry?

What purpose does the snake fulfil? Is it that the Israelites needed to see something to put their faith in? They were unable to believe that God would act to help them so something visible helps this. This feels like superstition rather than faith.

Is this why God needed to send Jesus at all? Because even though the world and our souls cry out the reality of the Creator we will not simply accept Him and seek His Him.

This is the basic cause and manifestation of sin - a reluctance for us to face God. In the story of the garden the first response of self-aware humanity is to hide from God. And from that moment on God has been calling us to seek Him - yet we do so little. Why is this?

There is without doubt an ongoing battle for our attention - from the physical distractions of bodily drives to the material aspirations and the fun things we can fill our time with.

And we can develop a theology to suit our perspective. The God the giver of life wants us to get on with life and enjoy it - God the Hedonist stands by and enjoys His children's enjoyment.

Or God the Creator of the natural order understands the drives and in fact is responsible for them in our make-up, so as long as we remember Him from time to time all is well.

But are these ideas mere saps to enable a guilt free engagement with the the things that actually distract us from God?

Jesus clearly calls us to God - not to a God in the background to whom we offer thanks to a distant rich uncle and beneficiary, nor is God the ultimate model maker watching his toys with interest. No, we are called to God - to a deep relationship with Him. This relationship calls us to be changed and feel the draw of eternity.

Even in my sin, I feel this call, deeper and more joyous than the trivialities that draw me away. This is the purpose of the cross and resurrection. Jesus takes away our superstition and connects us through faith in what we cannot see but feel deep within. This is God's ultimate gift and our ultimate call.