Slyly it lures and entices.
Whispers and cajoles.
“You will know the truth.”
“You will not die.”
“You will be like God!”
“Bite, chew, enjoy!”
“Savour the taste.”
…
The world still tugs, wrenches and lures. Double minded heart. Dissembling mind.…
The drag and pull relentless, But life is at hand. The Calvary comes, Spirit descends. Still at war … … but my side is winning.“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” John 21:15-17
Jesus looks you in the eye and says, “Do you love me?” but then adds, “more than these?”
His warm but firm gaze is on you. You can’t escape his eyes.
Is your response the same as Peter’s? “You know I love you.” Is it true? Is it unshakeable? Will it stand the test of temptation, persecution or, more likely, ridicule?
And what about, ” … more than these?” Are “these”, other people or are they things, self-esteem and prestige that clutter your life? Either way, do you love Jesus more than “these”?
As Peter is being restored to his relationship with Jesus, he is also being prepared for the hard task of Kingdom work … the hard task of being Christ’s hands and feet when Jesus returns to heaven.
Against this backdrop, Jesus looks at you and me with his penetrating eyes and says, “Do you love me more than these?”
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you 
will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
We fear the unknown. I remember when I purchased my first computer, an Apple 2C, for wordprocessing in 1984. One ministerial colleague told me that the Holy Spirit only worked through a pen. Socrates, I believe, feared writing, as he saw it as a threat to learning and memory.
Today we have much more to fear. The future races upon us daily with an amazing rapidity. Pundits tell us that many of the jobs our young people will have in the future, haven’t been invented yet.
Matt 6:25 ff. reminds us where our trust should lie – whatever happens in the future. Or in the words of the hymn, “Known Only to Him” written by Stuart Hamblen and sung by Elvis, we hear the line:
I know not what the future holds
But I know who holds the future
This is the core of Matt 6:25ff. The Christian knows that the future is in God’s hands and not that of the scientist, politician or media star. There is no excuse for passivity or complacency here. We still need to be Kingdom workers. There is however, every reason for joy and comfort, knowing who holds the future.
… for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4: 11b -13
Could I be content in a work gang? Above, is a picture of my dad as a 23 year old in a World War 2 work gang in Germany. During WW2 he was conscripted by the Germans to work for the Reich. Some of the best years of his life were handed over to a foreign power. As a baby boomer I have often wondered how I would have reacted.
In the words of Paul, would I have been content in any and every situation? I don’t think so. Even now, I feel angry on my father’s behalf, for those stolen years.
To be content in any circumstance means we need to re-prioritise our lives away from our wants to the conviction that our relationship with God and our place and purpose in His Kingdom is where our true identity lies.
Easier said than done. That is true for me but I don’t believe I am the only one.
How do we refocus our lives? In the wonderful film “Life is Beautiful”, the dad, Guido, deflects his son Joshua’s attention away from the horrors of the concentration camp by suggesting they were involved in a game which had a real tank as the main prize. Guido constructed an alternative meaning to the reality they faced. This new meaning provided hope and possibility.
Paul reminds us that in Christ, the Christian is already part of an eternal alternative reality. The Christian’s task is be a willing participant in bringing that new reality about. So the current world, although not unimportant, is not where the Christian finds his or her identity.
Paul prompts us to acknowledge that God knows our needs and for provides them, and much more as well. To be content means not to find ultimate meaning in, and be obsessed with, what the world offers or fails to offer.
But as I said, that journey is a daily challenge … for me at least.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1&2
There is a natural, or we may call it, human leaning towards complacency. We take people and things for granted. For Christians, sadly, this even includes their relationship with God.
In my own life I find that God confronts that smug self absorption with the passage above. For me it is an auditor’s check-list; a reminder of a higher purpose and direction. It is a means to refocus my life.
The check-list is simple, but the challenge profound:
The Challenge: Am I striving to be a living sacrifice? In other words, am I living a life of gratitude to the glory of God, or is it focused on my own wants?
The Warning: Where is my life being shaped by the values and attitudes of the world – those insidious ideas we take on without realising their implications?
The Command: To be transformed. Are my heart and mind open to the restorative and life changing work of the Holy Spirit?
The Reason and Result: Paul reminds me that when the person of faith, lives before God with an openness to His divine hand, then we will be integrated/enveloped by God’s perfect will for His Kingdom and our place in it.
Is this easy? Not in any way as we are often fighting our own perverse wills. Is it important? Certainly! It is about being who God calls you and me to be.
St. Cuthbert, Lindisfarne
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph 2:10
Lovingly planned,
Gently formed.
Carved and shaped by sublime hands.
Sanded and smoothed,
Rubbed and polished.
Crafted with pride and purpose.
Breathed into miraculous life.
Accompanied by the maker’s instructions;
To serve,
Be,
Do,
To the glory of the
The Master Craftsman.
Reflecting on this photo it reminded me that some of us, either because of our background or natural disposition frown on relaxation. It is not productive, there are things to be done and we shouldn’t waste time. Some of us, especially those of us brought up under the spectre of the “Calvinist work ethic”, see relaxation as sinful, or if not sinful, certainly heading in that direction.
Is this driven lifestyle something that God wants? Is it healthy?
When reading the Psalms it strikes me that Psalmist, stopped, stood down from his business and basked in the beauty of the creation around him
“You have set your glory above the heavens” (Psalm 8:1b)
“The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1a)
“Sing to him a new song; play skilfully and shout for joy” (Psalm 33:3)
There are many, many more examples.
What they reveal is a person delighting in his relationship with God and rejoicing in the beauty and majesty of his God’s creation.
For the hard nosed, star gazing and lyre plucking are not productive activities. However, for the delighter in God, they are worship. There is a joy and celebration knowing that God has surrounded me with His creation – a creation not simply there to be productive and mined, but a creation that reveals God, His majesty and beauty.
So in your busy-ness stop and smell the flowers, or if you like, have a gelati and a read a paper. Even centurions need a break.
On a cold but sunny December day in 2005 I stood in the old ruined Cathedral in Coventry, UK.
I have two photos taken that day; one in the ruins of the old Cathedral and another outside the new. In their contrast and contradiction, they tell one unified story.
The first, is the altar in the old bombed out Cathedral. On the 14th of November 1940 the Luftwaffe blitzed Coventry. One of the victims was its 800 year old Cathedral. Today, where the altar once stood, is a plaque that simply says, “Father Forgive”. Above this is a simple wooden cross made from charred beams which survived the conflagration. In front of this stands a board with a simple Litany of Reconciliation, the refrain to which is, “Father Forgive”, as well as a small bunch of flowers.
The other image is on the outside wall of the new Cathedral consecrated in 1962. It is of St Michael’s victory over Satan by Jacob Epstein. This dramatic sculpture represents St. Michael (meaning “who is like God”) a Biblical figure. We see references in Daniel 10:13,21 and possibly Joshua 5:13-15, Jude and Revelation. In Scripture St. Michael is presented as a protector of God’s people.
The obvious question is, where was St. Michael on the night the Cathedral was bombed? There is an irony in these two images.
The answer lies at the altar of the old cathedral. The cross revealing Christ’s sacrifice for all God’s people – both the bomber and the bombed. This is reinforced with the words, “Father Forgive”. Brokenness lies at the heart of all of us. It is not the exclusive domain of a culture or nation. George Bush’s “axis of evil” comment in 2002, forgets that evil or sin isn’t exclusive. It encompasses us all. It is a curse from which we all need to be relieved.
That a cultured country such as Germany could blitz Britain or a civilised community such as the UK be complicit in the razing of Dresden is a reminder that evil is not far off. We see it in Abu Ghraib, in Libya and in our own hearts.
Yes, God does protect His people. For all those who come to faith in Christ there is protection. Not just for a moment or a life time – but eternity. There is a payment for our brokenness and a reconciliation with God.
What sign should we look for that this truth is also ours. I think one sign must be our ability to say, like our Saviour, “Father Forgive”.
In John 13 we read the story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. I find that confronting. Not the act itself. I have had careers in toilet cleaning and garbage collecting, so a bit of tinea doesn’t bother me. No, it is the subservience, the humility that sticks in my throat. I don’t have a “natural” gift of service. It galls me.
Yet, this is what Jesus calls for and it is what St. Ignatius echoes.
The striking aspect of St. Ignatius’ poem is that it reminds us that our selfless, sacrificial service is a sign that we are growing in our reflection of Jesus. Once again, this challenges me, as it is not the way I want to live.
What should I do? This gracelessness in my life is a reminder that I still have so far to go in understanding Christ’s sacrifice for me, no matter how well I think I know my Bible. The more I understand and apprehend the cost of my salvation, eternal life and membership of His Kingdom, the more I will bow the knee in humble thankfulness.
To give without counting the cost,
To fight heedless of wounds,
To labour without seeking rest,
All these acts require a decision of the will, not simply a response of the emotions. Each act is one that I need to practise and practise again. If you, like I, do not find these actions come naturally our challenge is to actively seek to serve and labour. However, we must always remember that this is a response to, not a cause for, our salvation. In the words of St Ignatius it is what Jesus “deserves”.
Divine words creating
Shaping
Holy breath speaking into presence
Majestic imagination
Unfolding and weaving
Triunity
In partnership
Speaking, Breathing, Being
Creation blinks
Light streams forth
Air and water part
Land and sea claim their domains
Leaves shoot forth in their hallelujahs!
Stars, planets and comets scatter into space
The rhythm of being beats
The waters swirl with life
The land abounds
Then I am made
Like God!
Travels from Ur 