Can't make it to church? 10 January 2016

Today we look at the Baptism of Jesus  - but what is it  really about?

Water, John the Baptist, Jesus (isn’t it always?), repentance, our baptism, belonging, the start of something, salvation, the Cross, forgiveness, repentance, obedience and more besides! All are found in our readings today and undoubtedly some of these will appear in sermons people deliver today too.

Many of us have the image of Jesus and John in the river with the dove descending. This theophany (heavenly turning up) is the first time God speaks up regarding Jesus and it confirms to those then what we know now by hindsight and Bible. Having done Advent, where John the Baptist features large in the readings, we all know this strange and amazing man with his weird clothes and odd eating habits. The man who is, for us, a prophet announcing the present evil age would end and be replaced my the kingdom of God. This is what Jesus’ baptism is about. A new beginning and the ending of the old.

The old ways. The old habits. The old attitudes. The being in slavery to sin. 2 Corinthians 5 Speaks of the ‘the old going and the new having come’. That’s one of the aspects of baptism we consider today – and we should rightly reflect on our baptism and the hallmarks and effects that had on us.

In David Pawson’s book “The Normal Christian Birth’ we find reference to RBBR - Repent, Believe, be Baptised, Receive the Holy Spirit. John called those around him to people to repent and be baptised, not in the name of Jesus but for the forgiveness of their sins so that they might be part of that which is to come (ie. eternity).

Repent means ‘turning away’ – a 180 degree turn) from the old life – it is a binary act. It is more than just 'sorry' - it is a lifestyle change moment.

Life consists of two states; things are either 'on' or 'off' (‘0’ or a ‘1’) -  'good' or 'bad'  - right or wrong. John’s baptism was more than a ‘wet witness’ it marked a change of life and lifestyle. It was a wiping clean of the slate and a public statement of intent (hopefully) and a looking, and preparation, for the ‘age to come’. It was then, and should be for us, the beginning of living life as a '1' and putting aside of the zeroes in our lives.

In the Luke 3:15-17 passage we are told that John is merely the signpost rather than the means by which this new age will come. And, perhaps ironically, it is Jesus (who is baptised by John) who will do the deed, baptising with the Holy Spirit and carrying out the final judgement with an ‘unquenchable’ fire. It is Jesus who will redeem those who God created ‘for His glory’ – and those who bear the name ‘beloved’ will be that same community as found in the Isaiah 42:1-4 reading. Those who are loved and redeemed from the ends of the earth.  In this first of the ‘servant’ passages from Isaiah we learn much and see much that is fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus which, with the baptism, becomes public today.

There were four hundred silent years between Malachi and the coming of Jesus, the Christ, and today we look at Jesus and ask what His, and our baptism means. Jesus did everything in the light – in clear view of all, from His baptism to His death and resurrection. Can we say the same of the way that we live our lives and our faith? Are they one and the same or do we keep life in boxes labelled ‘Me, Church, Work, Family, Hobbies, etc.)?

Are we looking to the reality of a coming kingdom or warming a pew out of habit and a vague hope?

Where is our faith and how does it change us?

This is God’s Son with whom He (the Father) is ‘well pleased’ – can He say that of us and the way we act today? If you’ve answered ‘No’ somewhere in your head, what are you going to do about it?

The ‘well pleased’ speaks of the man and, more importantly, the mission – God is looking at the rescue mission the baptism begins and celebrates in it. Can we? Do we? The dove is a physical manifestation of a spiritual reality – but as we so often say, “Seeing is believing!’ so they saw it as well – just remember this doesn’t mean that the dove is the only way the Holy Spirit is manifested, it’s merely a visual aid for us – a people who are always looking for a sign!

And what sign dip people see in us? Today's Collect sums it up, and informs our prayers, rather nicely:

The Collect
Heavenly Father, at the Jordan you revealed Jesus as your Son: may we recognise him as our Lord and know ourselves to be your beloved children; through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Isaiah 43.1-7
Family of Jacob, the Lord created you. People of Israel, he formed you. He says, “Do not be afraid. I will set you free. I will send for you by name.  You belong to me.

You will pass through deep waters. But I will be with you.
You will pass through the rivers. But their waters will not sweep over you.
You will walk through fire. But you will not be burned. The flames will not harm you.
I am the Lord your God. I am the Holy One of Israel. I am the one who saves you.
I will give up Egypt to set you free. I will give up Cush and Seba for you. You are priceless to me. I love you and honour you.  So I will trade other people for you. I will give up other nations to save your lives.

Do not be afraid. I am with you.
I will bring your people back from the east.
I will gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Let them go!’
And I will say to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’

Bring my sons from far away.
Bring my daughters from the farthest places on earth.
Bring back everyone who belongs to me.
I created them to bring glory to me. I formed them and made them.”

Acts 8.14-17
The apostles in Jerusalem heard that people in Samaria had accepted God’s word. So they sent Peter and John to Samaria.  When they arrived there, they prayed for the new believers.  They prayed that they would receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them. They had only been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Then Peter and John placed their hands on them.  And they received the Holy Spirit.

Luke 3.15-17, 21,22
The people were waiting. They were expecting something. They were all wondering in their hearts if John might be the Messiah. John answered them all, “I baptise you with water. But one who is more powerful than I am will come. I’m not good enough to untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His pitchfork is in his hand to toss the straw away from his threshing floor. He will gather the wheat into his barn. But he will burn up the husks with fire that can’t be put out.”   When all the people were being baptised, Jesus was baptised too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened. The Holy Spirit came to rest on him in the form of a dove.  A voice came from heaven. It said, “You are my Son, and I love you. I am very pleased with you.”

Post Communion Prayer
Lord of all time and eternity, you opened the heavens and revealed yourself as Father in the baptism of Jesus your beloved Son: by the power of your Spirit complete the heavenly work of our rebirth through the waters of the new creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

When we act because there's No Choice!

Had a great discussion with someone today, they are struggling with a number of issues and they asked some specific questions, to which I have written some specific answers.

And here they are ...

Life presents us with a number of opportunities, but always only two choices:

We can choose to live as we wish, seeing ourselves as right in our own eyes and demanding what we want from those around us

OR

We can choose to live in obedience to God's Word and deny ourselves, our wishing to be in the spotlight, or applauded or given status and authority and forgive those who hurts us, love those who annoy us (and that is truly not always easy - I know, I try continuously with this one) and put others first.

Bringing things down to these two states and making the point that regardless of who we are and what we profess to believe (or disbelieve) that every action we take can be reduced to but two questions, 'Right' or 'Wrong', presents me (and therefore I hope this means 'you' too) with some real challenges.

Today I was told that someone's actions  were fixed because of who they were and this meant that they had 'no choice' regarding decisions they had made - and this is wrong thinking.

Someone I know is an alcoholic, but the fact they drink is recognised by all around them as being a choice they make, even if it is fuelled and influenced by their alcoholism.

Someone else I know is in a sexual relationship with another person. They tell me that they have no choice regarding that relationship and are unhappy when I tell them that they do. Those around them occupy various positions, some agree, some disagree and others merely look the other way and operate on the basis that 'not knowing means they don't have to have a viewpoint (and that's another choice that someone has made).

Another person, seeking to oppress others has used the power of breaking relationships and excluding people from the family. They  tell friends that they have no choice and yet we can be the peacemakers or we can be the aggressors. Once again it's a choice and the problem is that those on the sidelines are invited in to side with them (another choice made) and strengthen the factor and the viewpoint of the aggressor.

The reality is that everything is a choice: Each step, every action and all out thinking (unless there are real mental health issues that is). When we see people making choices that we think are wrong (in the Christian sense this means because their actions go against what God says is right) we are faced with a choice:

Do nothing - this might be ignoring the act or condoning it. Either way, nothing is done to correct the 'error', is it?

Do something -  we are called to challenge those caught up in sinful things (thought, action or lifestyle) in such a way that they are restored, not condemned, and that we should be careful that we do not sin in our correcting of others; a real and present danger when seeking to advise or correct.

At the end of the day, the biggest problem I find when engaged with Christians especially is the excuse that the Bible is out of date and out of touch with the modern world and, better still, that 'God is silent on their particular issue. I'd like to offer a little graphic to those who tell me that last bit:

Baptism of Jesus, the Christ

Man on the radio talking about baptism
Bishop on the telephone
Chap in the studio
All wanting a baptism that works
Words need to be right or it doesn't work
Well that's what they say

Elsewhere
Two thousand years ago
Two thousand  miles away
There are two men standing in a river
No worry about words
Or Accessibility
Or Indices of Multiple Deprivation
Or Cultural attitudes

Just the call to 'Come'
Come and repent
Come and renounce evil
Turn away from our sins
Choose God not the Devil

But that was then and so today
Here and now
They are
Words that are rejected
And in their rejection there's rejoicing
But not from God

But back to the river

It's not about the words used
It's about the Word made flesh
It's not about the christening gown
Nor the cake the Grandmother's made
Nor the party that's waiting
Nor being popular with those outside the door

It is so simple really:
It's all about repentance - turning from sin
(Never been popular)

It's all about belief
(Not that popular - nothing new here either!)

It's all about submission
(Can we say that?)

It's all about obedience
(Which is good if others obeying I guess)

About joining
Joining in - signing up - being part
(Discipleship comes later)

Receiving the Holy Spirit
(Equipped, enables, released to be who we were made to be)

Baptism of Jesus
The beginning of a ministry
The acceptance of a calling to be, do, think and act
To live with, and for, and through God, with love

Beginning of the earthly ministry of Jesus

Beginning of end for John the Baptist

My 'Heroes of the Faith' - Francis of Assisi

Today is our church's Patronal festival .

This, for those of you who don't do this stuff, is the day when we celebrate the person, persons, act or whatever it is that the church we're in is named after. Today, being the celebration of my hero who is listed in the Church of England's 'who's who's' as:

 Francis of Assisi, Friar, Deacon, Founder of the Friars Minor, 1226

And here's his team photo':

Now, for many, Francis is remembered as the bloke covered in pigeon poo (thanks to the birds on his head and shoulders) and surrounded by animals. For me this man is so much more than the patron saint of animals (and now, apparently, ecology - so Greenpeace will be raising a glass today I guess) but unlike Patrick, the Guinness won't be flowing, but he is up there as one of my heroes of the faith. And here's why:

Born into money, luxury and privilege but he put it aside because of his faith in Jesus, the Christ.

When others were fleeing from lepers, he was caring for them and embracing them.

Saw past possessions, power and being served and lived a life of poverty, submission and faith.

Francis and his beliefs and attitudes (generally speaking) is compelling and were it to be displayed by the Church today, a winner. This is a man who we would never let into our church congregations today (after all, he's definitely a bit flaky, isn't he?) for he'd soon find himself in conflict with the PCC and it's members and the treasurer would have a field day with him.

This is what Church at its basest and purest is all about - being different and being the difference in the community and people around us.

So forget the bloke with animals on his head and shoulders (yes, we have one of those in our church building) and see a man who devoted himself to following Christ and, denying himself, being Christlike - andask yourself how we might emulate him.

Happy St Francis' Day people

Self - I, me, another?

Here are some scribblings from the shallows of the Vicar brain regarding my dealings with someone struggling with who they are. Our conversations are bringing me into a place where I am challenged to think about those two age old questions, "Who am I and why am I here?" Do I define myself by my otherness or by my sameness ("I'm a . . . " or "I'm not a . . ")? Do I reduce it to the Cartesian statement, "I think therefore I am," and be happy at that?

Who I am appears to be made firm through the reflection of self in something or someone else. I cannot be me in isolation and yet all too often the 'me' I am is defined by others and it is here we find the big problem. In the situation before my friend there is the overarching question, "Who am I?" screaming from the rooftops.

I may be who I am, but that I is shaped by my familial situation, my schooling, the cultures that have embraced, and been embraced by, me. The expectation of following in the family traditions in terms of schooling, career, lifestyles are as marked and potent regardless of where you find yourself. Many will think of public school, a career in the Army, Medicine, Church or City and the like and a 'good' marriage bringing the continuance of the pattern in the genrations to come. But, the patterns are as strong and well defined in every stratum of our society. State school, minimal qualifications, blue-collar job, social housing and all the trappings are as much a tradition and shape many people into thinking they know who they are.

What shapes us and helps define who we are is a knowledge of what we really believe, what moves us, the places where we are passionate and the places where we can find peace and an internal stillness. Belief is a big part, not just in a creator or someone to ask for things or seek forgiveness from but in self and others too.

As I have discussed I have come to the opinion that being oneself is very much an issue of sameness rather than individuality. That said, as we compile a photofit made up of those who have moved us or been admired by us because we wish to find the same in us. So it is that 'I', as an individual, become a person made up of the attributes and characteristics of others. Our otherness is the result of our sameness and herein lies the rub!

If we base 'I' on just one person or people group there is the problem that we might become a parody or imitator of our focus and this results in the faux characters and their pastiche, almost parody, lives that we encounter. This, taken to it's extremes ends up with those people who live like their heroes, dressing, speaking and acting like them such that they become absurd.

If we base 'I' on many people we find ourselves faced with the danger of appearing to be a grasshopper, self-contradictory and rather haphazard person. If the things that we take upon ourselves or seek to emulate are coherent then we too will be coherent.

Now one of the problems is that as people are developing the 'I' that they are going to be there are people feeding in information, images, attitudes and views that lead the embryonic 'I' becoming malformed and confused. This can be clearly demonstrated in areas of morality, gender, politics, societal and social values and in the area of belief.

Not being the same as others does not always confer individuality any more than sameness does because we are one of many (and yet still different!) for we are dealing with more than a mere numerical consideration (although many still try to place such value on numbers on the basis that they confer a rightness. "Look how many people do . . . "). The problem comes from the fact that we have led our young people into a world of complementary states (black, white and grey?). Being 'us', taking upon ourselves an understand of who we are is the realisation that even when within a clearly defined group we are individuals. Who we are is us and no one else. We may be the same as others and yet will still be different and thus, I find, we may be different from others and yet find within that state, that we are also the same!

Sameness and difference are held in tension and who we are is, for all of us, a continuously evolving state. What we do and how we do it is underpinned by our ability, and obligation, to do it and this is where opportunity and the demands of society and a God come in. the person with whom I am engaged find themselves able to engage in something and yet prohibited from doing it because of their beliefs. Society is screaming 'Whatever floats your boat, get on and do it!" whilst God is apparently looking over His glasses and, Dumbledore like, calling upon them to, "do what is right rather than what is easy!" This bring us into the area of prescription and description (see, did listen to the lectures and even read the books!).

As a Christian we create an 'I' which is made in the image of God (F,S & HS) and of heroes of the faith and in our lives we might describe what we have before us, but prescription designs what we take up and act upon and we do this by living 'rightly' (we'll call this, 'ethically') with an eye on the 'rightness and desires' of our society (which we'll call 'morality'). The problem is that increasingly we find our society's morality becoming looser and more vague. Pleasure, self and 'rights' come to the fore and service, sacrifice, 'being right' fall into the background and neglect. The call of the faith group, of a God who seeks justice, mercy, humility, respect for others and self contrasts and collides greatly with this and the issue of self and individuality versus sameness is a battlefield.

Responsibility is diminished, for it is NEVER 'my' fault, it is how I am made, how my parents brought me up, what I learned at school and so on. But this is of course wrong. For instance a starving man may steal to feed himself (makes a good musical too!) but the fact is that he chose to steal. The argument that he was hungry does not change the fact that at some stage the man decided to engage in the act of stealing. That he was hungry does not cause the stealing to become something else, does it?

Every day we find ourselves faced with choices, even when we don't choose to recognise them as such. The alarm goes off and we make the choice - roll over or get up? Later at the train station we look at the crowded train and decide to push our way on but we could decide to wait for an emptier train or merely pop over the café and throw a sicky! (now some will say that we have no choice because we have to go to work, but although that pressure is upon us, we still have a coice before us). Throughout the day we are faced with choices (we sometimes call this prioritising) and then it all begins again within other frames of reference - lunch, after work, home, evenings, weekends, etc.

Where we find our conversation coming to rest is that, in the task of constructing self, whilst we garner material from our life thus far, we also add material from many other places and the requirement to live as we believe we are called to live in secular or religious ways (or more accurately for many - both) and the sameness that we possess is actually a very different 'same' from the next person.

Everything we do is the result of choice and to plead that we have no choice is merely to embark along, and embrace, another choice.

We need to love the 'I' that we live with and where we can't we need to address that. We need to live with respect, justice, mercy and humility and this means living with, for and because of God. We need to accept that we are never prisoners of other forces or our own desires, ambitions and the like. If they influence us, challenge our thinking and call us to act in ways that stand opposed to the call of God or act against the good of our society, then we need to realise that we have another choice to make - and this, busy crossroads, is where the guilt, the striving for self and the demands of God meet.

What's your choice today?

Pax

ps. Sorry this is so long, found this to be a helpful scratchpad for me, let's hope it doesn't damage too many heads out there!

Living (and working) to rule

No, I'm not trying to organise industrial action, I'm trying to get people to realise that they need a rule of life and once they have one, to live by it!

When one is ordained there are a number of facets on the gem that is Christian ministry, namely:

We accept the Holy Scriptures as being the source of everything we need to know about eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
This means that the Bible is not a second thought and puts paid to all the universalist tosh that gets peddled. We preach Christ, and Him crucified, risen and alive and teach obedience to the word of God (written and living, logos and Logos!).

We will be active and consistent regarding prayer and in reading, and studying, the Bible and other stuff that will deepen our faith and help us to be witnesses to the truth of the gospel.
If we can't, won't or don't do this then we should never have taken the shilling. Without this we are not 'fit for role' and should remove ourselves from ministry. We are all called 'to stir up' the gift of God that makes us the living witnesses spoken of later - living in holiness and grace.

Believing the doctrine of the Christian faith as received (and practised) by the Church of England and teaching it.
Amazing how many people (many with dog-collars and some in purple) struggle with this.

Being a living witness, a type of Christ in the place you find yourself, living through teaching and example to make Christ's love and life known.
Amazingly, there are many who fall down on this one too!

Caring and serving those 'in the household of God' in the same way Christ came, as a servant, not the dog-collar whom must be served and have status.

Caring and serving, living in and running our own families as an example and as a discipline.
An old Vicar once told me that if you couldn't run your own life and the life of your family, you had no chance with a church!

Working together for the building of the whole Church, making disciples and displaying the unity of the Church across denominations and groupings.
We need to seek where we can share and be united rather than look for the things that separate us for being Church. Too many people taken up with their piddling little gatherings at the sake of a wider, and more effective, Church unity (which if present builds ALL the churches by making disciples and setting the conditions for growth).

Submit to those in authority.
This is a key point and makes sense of the fact that we need to be careful whom we entrust leadership (at all levels) to. Some of those who disregard all the above elements make themselves extremely difficult to obey or respect, for some are (sadly) barely Christian! Yet, there is still the question of rightly placed authority to be considered then!

There we are - everything that the ordinal (the ordaining rule book) requires from Christians not just for ordination but for those who truly wish to live their baptismal calling too!

Pax

Ministry as anarchy

One of the highlights of being Christian is that our (Judeo) Christian faith is, and has always been, counter-cultural. This means that we have generally been seen to be different from the culture we find ourselves. When those around the followed of YHWH has male and female courtesans to provide sexual release, they (and therefore WE) accentuated heterosexuality. Where cultic piercings and tattoos were to be seen, they (WE) had none.

When we move away from our counter-cultural position so that we can, by being no different from the rest of the world, we have nothing to offer for we have been evangelised by the world rather than it by the message of Christ crucified and risen.

When we take up God's call to be involved in the 'cure of souls' we take upon ourselves the otherness that is Christianity. May we never put it aside for popularity. May we proclaim, and live in the counter-cultural reality of Scripture, Reason, Tradition and acceptance too (and for) all.

Pax

On Being Ordained

Petertide approaches and as I come to celebrate yet another year in Anglican ministry I was engaged in conversation with a friend about the nature of ministry and calling. This coming weekend will see people flocking into our Cathedrals and men and women are ordained deacon and rush off to serve their 'title' (this means your first job in the CofE as a minister) and be Assistant Curate (although we call them 'Curates', which refers to the person who has the 'cure of souls' in the parish (the incumbent), they assist this person and so are really (technically) bear the 'assistant' label) somewhere.

So, for those being ordained, for those who are seeking ordination and those who are merely interested, here are a few initial thoughts. A starting volley on a them I think I will run with this week. And we begin with a tough issue indeed:

I'm just not called to do that!

I'd like to set the scene for this post by posting the lyrics of a song by Keith Green called 'Sheep and Goats":

And when the Son Man comes, and all the Holy Angels with him,

Then shall he sit on His Glorious throne,
And he will divide the nations before Him, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
And He shall put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left,

And He shall say to the sheep; come ye, blessed of My Father,
inherit the Kingdom I have prepared for you from the foundation of the world,

For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat,
I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink,
I was naked, and you clothed me,
I was a stranger, and you invited me in,
I was sick, and I was in prison, and you came to me.
Thank you! Enter into your rest.

And they shall answer Him, yes, they shall answer Him,
And they'll say, Lord, when?
When were you hungry Lord, and we gave you something to eat?
Lord, when were you thirsty? I can't remember. And we gave you drink?
Huh, when were you naked Lord, and we clothed you?
And Lord, when were you a stranger and we invited you in?
I mean, we invited lots of people in.
But Lord, I could never forget that face.
And Lord, when were you sick and we visited you?
Or in prison, and we came to you? Lord, tell us?

In as much as you did it to the least of my bretheren, you've done it unto me.
Oh yes, as much as you've done it to the very least of my bretheren, you've done it, you've done it unto me. Enter into your rest.

Then He shall turn to those on His left, the goats.
Depart from me, you cursed ones, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat,
I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink,
I was naked, out in the cold, in exposure, and you sent me away,
I was a stranger, and I knocked at your door,
But you didn't open, you told me to go away,
I was sick, racked in pain upon my bed,
And I begged, and prayed, and pleaded that you'd come, but you didn't,
I was in prison, and I rotted there,
I'd prayed that you'd come.
I heard your programs on the radio, I read your magazines, but you never came.
Depart from me!!!

Lord, there must be some mistake, when?
Lord, when - I mean, when were you hungry Lord and we didn't give you something to eat?
And Lord, when were you thirsty, and we didn't give you drink? I mean, that's not fair
Well, would you like something now?
Would one of the Angels like to go out and get the Lord a hamburger and a coke?
Oh, you're not hungry, yeah, I lost my appetite too.
Uh Lord uh, Lord, when were you naked,
I mean Lord, that's not fair either Lord,
We didn't know what size you wear.
Oh Lord, when were you a stranger Lord,
You weren't one of those creepy people who used to come to the door, were you?
Oh Lord, that wasn't our ministry Lord. We just didn't feel led, you know?
Lord, when were you sick? What did you have, anyway?
Well, at least it wasn't fatal... oh, it was?
I'm sorry Lord, I would have sent you a card.
Lord, just one last thing we want to know,
When were you in prison Lord? What were you in for anyway? I had a friend in Levenworth..

ENOUGH!

In as much as you've not done it unto the least of my bretheren,
You've not done it unto me.
In as much as you've not done it unto the least of my bretheren,
You've not done it unto me.
Depart from Me.

And these shall go away into everlasting fire.
But the righteous into eternal life!

And my friends, the only difference between the sheep and the goats, according to this scripture, is what they did, and didn't do!!

And if you prefer to listen:


Back shortly!