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Monthly Archives: January 2013

Looking at Jesus with fresh eyes

26 Saturday Jan 2013

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The first of my spiritual desires is to get to know God better, and one of the best ways of doing that is to get to know Jesus better.

So the first two books to be finished in 2013 were about Jesus.  Curiously, both of them have covers created from the same image though in different ways. 

I began Marcus J Borg’s Jesus: Uncovering the life, teachings, and relevance of a religious revolutionary well before Christmas.  I have read a number of Borg’s books and appreciated them, particularly The Last Week, which he wrote with Dominic Crossan.  I don’t always agree with Borg’s approach, but I do like to see his logic, and he does open up to me aspects of Jesus’ life.  Borg’s Jesus challenges the power and domination systems of the world.  Because God is Lord, we can have no other lords.  Because God is Father, we can have no other fathers (and thus all earthly patriarchy is subverted).

Borg’s epilogue in Jesus is profoundly personal.  I found it very moving.  This is not just a picture of Jesus by a liberal New Testament scholar, but a picture of Jesus from one who seeks to understand and through understanding love him. 

He ends thus:

“… for Christians, the unending conversation about Jesus is the most important conversation there is.  He is for us the decisive revelation of God – of what can be seen of God’s character and passion in human life.  There are other important conversations.  But for followers of Jesus, the unending conversation about Jesus is the conversation that matters most.” (p. 311)

John Dickson’s Jesus: A Short Life: The Historical Evidence was a Christmas present from my sister (thank you Frances) and was a quick and easy read.  It sets out what mainstream scholars know about Jesus over against the claims made about him by various contemporary writers and commentators such as Richard Dawkins and John Shelby Spong.  Concentrating on the historical evidence, Dickson doesn’t tackle the meaning of Jesus’ actions, for example, the crucifixion.  This is a useful book to lend to someone who is confused because of the different claims made about Jesus.  It could be a good text for a study group.

Both books have their place.  But of the two, it is Borg that helps me encounter Jesus afresh. 

Marcus J Borg, Jesus, 2006, SPCK

John Dickson, Jesus A Short Life, 2012, Lion Hudson

Scripture and Ministry

26 Saturday Jan 2013

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On Friday, I went to York Minster to attend the ordination of someone I know as a bishop.  During the service, the Archbishop of York presented him with a Bible.  To be honest, I was thinking, ‘hasn’t Glyn got enough bibles?’ When I was ordained deacon, I was given a New Testament.  When I was ordained priest, I was given a full Bible with the apocrypha, one which I use every day.  But the importance of giving a Bible, even to a bishop who probably has lots of them, is that it is a symbolic act.  It is saying to the new bishop, or the new priest or deacon, this is the foundation for your ministry and for your life.

 

Two of our readings this morning are about the reading of the Bible.  In the Old Testament story from the book of Nehemiah, all the people of Jerusalem come to a service held in front of the Temple and Ezra reads to them the law of Moses.  Most of these people have returned to Jerusalem from a 70-year exile in Babylon.  Going home hasn’t been easy; they have had to rebuild the temple, build homes for themselves, and re-create the structure of their society and how everything was going to work. 

 

So listening to the Law of Moses together, was about reconnecting with the rules and guidance for how their society and culture worked.  The old scriptures had to be reinterpreted, and that was part of what was happening that day: the scriptures were read out, and they were explained.  I can imagine that after the experience of exile and homecoming, they would hear the scriptures in a new way, and they would need help to understand what it meant for them in their new situation.  Because life is always moving on, and you need to engage with the holy writings to make sense of what it means to serve God here and now. 

 

Then in the Gospel story, Jesus goes to the synagogue in Nazareth and is invited to read the scripture.  He chooses an inspiring passage from the prophet Isaiah, which he reads, and then he rolls up the scroll and hands it back and, with all eyes upon him, offers his interpretation, which is, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”  Shockwaves went through the congregation.  They knew Jesus as the son of Joseph the carpenter, who had got involved with John the Baptist and started going about the neighbourhood preaching and teaching.  And now he is laying claim to God’s spirit and to a mission that rightly belonged to the messiah.  Who did he think he was? 

 

I have heard some of you make comments when someone you know is talking or behaving as if they are something better than you know them to be.  You hate it when people put on airs and graces. 

 

At Glyn’s ordination in York on Friday, the Archbishop of York said: “Give thanks to God that Glyn has no airs and graces.  In fact, David Hope says of him that he is as common as muck.”  Glyn is a Lancashire lad and his first career was as a nurse.  He would go down well in St Chad’s because he is dead straightforward.  He has been working at York Minster for a lot of years now, in a number of different roles, including being Acting Dean twice.  He told me that he wasn’t looking to be a bishop, but pressure was put on him, so he’s now the Bishop of Beverley. 

 

But Jesus is making a huge claim for himself.  Let’s look at what he says:

 

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

 

Jesus takes this passage as his mission statement.  This is the scripture at the foundation of his ministry.  This underpins everything he is going to do: the teachings, the stories, the healings and miracles, dying on the cross and rising again. 

 

It is a picture of what God’s kingdom is like, where the poor receive good news, the captives are set free, the blind receive their sight, and those who are put upon are liberated, and God’s blessings flow. 

 

We didn’t have this passage on Friday at the Minster, but we could just as well have.  It is just as much about the ministry of a bishop today, as it was about Jesus’ ministry then.  Bishops are also called to bring good news, freedom and liberation, and a new vision.  So even Glyn, with no airs and graces, is called to do this.  What you may or may not have realised is that, as Bishop of Beverley, Glyn will have a particular ministry to those parishes and priests who don’t hold with the ministry of women as priests and bishops in the Church of England.  He will be working in this diocese, but we probably won’t see him here at St Chad’s, though David Hope, the former Archbishop of York, who was preaching at the service on Friday, did say that Glyn was called to be a bishop of the whole church, not just a certain constituency. 

 

But if it’s a statement about the ministry of bishops, it is also a statement about the ministry of priests and deacons.  We too are called, under the anointing of the Spirit of the Lord, to proclaim good news, to set people free, to bring sight and insight, to bring God’s blessings. 

 

But my brothers and sisters, it is not just bishops and priests and deacons, you too are part of that calling.  Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.  And you are part of it.  It is the way of life that God longs for us; it is the way of life God calls us to; it is the way of life he wants us to help create. 

Wedding at Cana

19 Saturday Jan 2013

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I was watching a film on Film 4 on the television on Friday night, a romantic comedy.  Russell Crowe inherits his uncle’s vineyard in Provence and is trying to sell it.  His uncle’s cellar has lots of ordinary wine, the kind you and I might drink.  But there are also a few dusty bottles of the really good stuff, the type that connoisseurs understand and value.  And we see a flashback of Uncle giving a lecture on how a glass of wine contains truth.  Along comes the uncle’s illegitimate American daughter, and Tom Hollander (Rev), Russell Crowe’s friend and estate agent, falls in love with her, while Russell Crowe falls for a feisty French girl.  There are difficulties and misunderstanding, but it all comes good in the end.  A nice, undemanding, feel good movie.

 

But it was the wine that interested me.  It would be, wouldn’t it.  The ordinary wine and the really good wine. 

 

When we were on holiday in Italy last year, we stayed on an estate at the top of a mountain where they grew grapes and olives.  And we could buy wine and olive oil from the guy who owned the apartment.  He had different grades and categories of wine.  But even the cheapest, most ordinary wine, was really nice.  It was cheap because it hadn’t been through the process of classification.

 

I don’t have an educated palate when it comes to wine.  I tend to spend around £5-£6 a bottle, maybe £8 for special occasions.  But when my son comes home for Christmas, he buys the wine for Christmas day and he will spend £20 a bottle, because he likes nice wine, and he understands what he is buying. 

 

Not everybody likes wine.  Some people much prefer beer or spirits.  And some people won’t take alcohol at all, which could be because they don’t like it, or because they have made a choice to refrain, or because in their case, alcohol causes problems.  A friend of my husband’s, a Catholic priest, an Irishman, decided on his ordination retreat to become tee-total, because alcohol caused so many problems for the Irish people.  It was an act of witness.  And he remains tee-total, 20 or 30 years later. 

 

But in church, wine acquires a whole new meaning.  In fact, it comes with layers and layers of meaning. 

 

Jesus tells lots of stories in which he describes the kingdom of heaven as a feast, a banquet, to which ordinary people are invited, and all share in exquisite food and wonderful wines.  Wine is part of the celebration, a characteristic of the kingdom where God is in charge.  Though you always have to trust that no-one becomes too drunk, and certainly nobody ever becomes dependent on alcohol.  And Jesus is trying to show that the kingdom of heaven is for everybody and it is a huge celebration. 

 

The Gospel reading we heard just now is like one of Jesus’ stories, but acted out, a parable for real.  The wedding feast is a symbol of the kingdom, and Jesus has come to bring in the kingdom of heaven.  The kingdom of heaven means living with God in charge.  And when we choose to be citizens of God’s kingdom, then it’s like going to a party where the wine is a whole lot better than we have ever tasted anywhere else.  And there is so much of it, more than we can imagine drinking.  But its not about the citizens of heaven as consumers, but the citizens of heaven opening up the doors to everyone else and sharing the abundant wine that is available for all.  There is more than enough for everyone. 

 

In a few minutes, I will give thanks to God for the bread and the wine God gives us, and ask the Holy Spirit to enable the bread and wine to be for us the body and blood of Christ.  The wine of the wedding feast is offered to you here.  This is the feast of the kingdom, and we are part of it.  God in his generosity pours out upon us an unlimited supply of grace, of love, of forgiveness. 

 

And another layer of meaning has settled into place.  The wine of the kingdom is also the blood that was shed by Jesus when he died upon the cross, the blood.  Jesus died because of the sins of the world, because he was passionate about the kingdom, and his kingdom clashed with the kingdoms of the world.  The kingdom is not a pretty peaceful place, all in pastel shades.  It is a huge challenge to the way the world is set up in terms of power and money.  And the world reacted violently and killed the Son of God. 

 

So the wine of the kingdom becomes the blood of Christ.  And he invites us to share in it, to be part of it.  We are the beneficiaries.  We do it to remember him. 

 

We are citizens of the kingdom of heaven and we share in the abundance that God pours out upon us; we are part of the celebration. We also receive the wine that Jesus asks us to share, and we remember.  And we are changed, drop by precious drop.

 

Even Russell Crowe is changed by the good wine of the vineyard.  When all the problems have been resolved, Russell Crowe gives up trading in shares, gives up the lies and deceit, the focus completely on money, and instead takes the chateau off the market, marries the beautiful French girl and settles for being a vintner, a maker of good wine.  He has found the truth his uncle promised. 

 

We are invited to enter the kingdom and discover the truth about wine.  In real life, each one of us has a different relationship with wine, love it or hate it, but it is a symbol of what life in Christ is like, the wine of the kingdom and the wine of the Mass.  We are invited to a wedding feast, a great party.  Rejoice.  Rejoice.

That Wedding

18 Friday Jan 2013

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That Wedding

 

You weren’t ready, Jesus;

Not time yet to come from the shadows,

But she jumped you into it.

“Do what he says”, your mother insisted,

 

Did you take a deep breath there –

The risk of acting or not acting

Balancing on the slender thread

of darkness or disclosure?

 

So this is how you showed yourself

On that first occasion,

Organising a piss up in a brewery,

And a good one at that.

 

I hope the couple stayed together,

Remained faithful and full of joy.

Undoubtedly they had their troubles.

And in their darker days did they remember

a very good vintage?

 

So this is Kingdom:

A party where the good wine flows

And the empty bottle makes a lens

For gazing at a glimpse of God.

(c) Meg Gilley

Stars and other signposts

05 Saturday Jan 2013

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What do you see when you look at a star?

 

Edward, our Polish friend, who was here last week, looked at the stars in our Christmas decorations and wondered why one star had 7 points and all the rest had 5.  Actually, it was because they all came from Ikea or Hobbycraft and the number of points had no meaning whatsoever.  Edward said, “Not 6 points!”  His background is Jewish, so he expects stars in church to have 6 points.

 

We look for meaning in the world around us.  And sometimes there is a deep meaning in the messages of the universe, and sometimes there is none whatsoever, and it takes a wise person to discern the difference. 

 

Do you ever stop at night to look up into the sky and look at the stars?  When was the last time you did that?  Can you tell a star from a planet?  Did you get up in the early hours of Thursday or Friday morning to see the shooting stars, the Quadrantids, in their annual display, the secret dance of lights when we were all asleep? No, me neither.  But they were there, whether or not we were paying any attention. (http://earthsky.org/tonight/quadrantid-meteor-shower-before-dawn-in-early-january)

 

Patrick Moore, who died last month, loved watching the stars and learning about them.  He was an amateur astronomer, and he passed on his enthusiasm to millions through the television programme “The Sky at Night”.  And later on this week, Brian Cox is introducing three programmes on astronomy on “Stargazing Live”.  Now is the moment if you are into stars. 

 

And in the church, this is the day when the star comes into its own.  This is the day when we think about the difference a star makes. 

 

In the first big story of Epiphany – and there are three altogether – we hear about the wise men who followed a star and found Jesus. 

 

This was in the days when studying the stars was cutting edge science.  The map of the heavens reflected what was happening on earth.  It took years of study to identify each constellation and understand the alignments.  Everything was connected.  And activity in the heavens all meant something about what was going on now.  So they put together a research project to go and test the theory that the new star in the skies meant the birth of a new king who would be a shining star on earth. This journey was not a whimsical adventure, travelling across dangerous deserts into strange lands, and dealing with corrupt and suspicious politicians and deadly potentates. 

 

They were naïve in thinking that the new king would be a welcome player in the tense politics of the middle east.  Would a new ruler be welcomed now in Egypt or Syria or Israel or Palestine?  You get the idea. 

 

They went looking for something, someone.  They didn’t really know what or whom.  And what they found was a young child, probably a toddler by then, despite every renaissance painting you have ever seen on the subject.  And when Matthew told the story, and only Matthew does tell the story, he was trying to show the wisdom of the gentile world coming to honour the Son of Man.  God’s baby was the anointed one for the whole world.

 

And people are still searching for Jesus, travelling into unknown territory, out of their comfort zones, looking for the One who will make sense of the niggle in the back of their souls. 

 

So, if the wise men looked for stars today, what would they find?

 

Stars of stage and screen, celebrity stars, beautiful people leading beautiful lives, glamour and glitz.  But empty, vacuous.  No sign of Jesus among these stars!

 

The stars that you reach for, the stars of achievement and self-fulfilment.  You can do whatever you want, accomplish all your goals.  Your own effort – you just have to believe in yourself.  No room for Jesus among these stars.

 

And related stars are the stars in your eyes when you want to be a performer, a singer, a dancer, a joker.  Aye – a joker.  And it’s great if you can make people happy – but is it about them, or about you?  I don’t really see Jesus among these stars either.

 

What about the political stars? Stars and stripes represent one of the more unequal nations in the world where the poor are trampled in the rush to a respectable church.  Or the red star which abolished faith only to give way to crime and corruption.  I don’t see Jesus reflected in these stars. 

 

There are the stars we award our children or each other, a sign that they have done well.  Teacher awards you a yellow star, a silver star, a gold star.  Affirming you, building confidence.  That’s great.  And Jesus might be there – with the kid who never gets stars. 

 

So if the stars won’t do it any more, how would they find their way to Jesus?

 

And where?  Where would a wise man find Jesus?  Where would a wise woman find Jesus?

 

The star, after all, is a means.  It is not the end.

 

SatNav wouldn’t work, because you have to know where you are going.  And the wise men didn’t know where they would end up.  And people who are searching for Jesus don’t know where they will end up. 

 

Another friend suggested the Hadron Collider and the work to find the God-particle, the one little something that explains matter and the structure of the universe.  Maybe looking for that is like finding God in a baby.  Cutting edge science finding ways to make sense of God, the universe and everything. 

 

Maybe, we have to look at the world around us and learn to read the clues, making sense of the signs, and discarding the red herrings.  That takes skill and you acquire the skill when you start to use it.  When you want to find your way to Jesus, you begin to see the signposts. 

 

Meg O’Hara asked me this week: What’s the difference between prayer and talking to God?  And the answer is: Not a lot. 

 

But that’s where the journey begins.  Tell God you want to find Jesus.  Then open your eyes, because the signs are all around you. 

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