What are you looking for?

How are you going to vote in the General Election? What are you looking for?

We can imagine that all those in the political process are looking to get enough votes to shape the future of this country. How they do this is presented to us relentlessly.

For instance, Ed Milliband is suggesting that tuition fees for university students should be reduced, and that the difference might be made up from taxing wealthy pensioners. Most other political parties take a different view. 

Who will pay for the rising costs of health and social care? Will it be from bankers' bonuses or mansions taxes? Again, there are many options, of which we will hear much over the next few weeks.

All these different policies are designed to convince us that one party or another can give us the future we are looking for.

There is a fascinating discussion in John's Gospel, following the feeding of the 5000, in which Jesus tells the crowd to readjust their objectives. 

The crowd is curious to know where Jesus has been, and ask him how he got back to Capernaum. The conversation shows that Jesus is trying to get them to think about more serious matters. 'So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went across to Capernaum to look for him. They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.” (John 6.24-27)

Jesus sees that the crowd were just looking at surface issues, such as settling an argument about how he got back to Capernaum, from the scene of the feeding miracle. He notices that they did not understand what the miracle signified. His rebuke  - But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food - is something which strikes home for me, when we seem to spend so much time focusing on the daily business of getting through assorted practical stuff. 

Jesus challenges his hearers and us to raise our sights to a much higher target. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”

So today, while there are practical things to be done, and I need to make up my mind about voting in May, my energy should be focused on eternal issues. Or as the Lord's Prayer says, 'Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven'.

Best wishes,

Richard

Working Together

The £6bn health and social care budget for Greater Manchester is to be taken over by the region's councils and health groups, so reports the BBC today.

Many have been calling for these two warring factions to be brought together, locally and nationally, so that in working together, clients and patients benefit. 

We all wait to see whether these hopeful ideas turn out to become a working reality.

Much in the approaching General Election will be made of this issue.

Jesus spoke much of the need for his followers to learn to be those who are defined as people who are good at working together.

 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me." (John 17.20-21)

Jesus was not just praying for a cosmetic unity, but for deep and costly united identity, which reflects the very character of the God who is seen most clearly in the sent Jesus - sent to serve, live and die.

St. Paul expressed this 'working together' identity in a different way. 'The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.' (1 Corinthians 12.12-13)

I am very aware that there are many different sorts of Christian churches, and many different sorts of people in these churches. It is all too easy for us to keep ourselves separate from one another, and sadly that is what we often do.

But to be effective in reaching out to those who do not know Jesus, from whatever background, it is increasingly important that we start working together at all levels - praying, planning, serving, caring - so that the world may see Jesus in his compelling attractiveness.

During this Lent, will you pray with me that we see this happen?
Thank you.

Best wishes,

Richard

Band News again!

This week's news has been dismal

When we look at the Russia-Ukraine war and the struggles between the Greek government and the EU, we see nations struggling for dominance or survival.

On top of that, the continuing violence in the Middle East and further afield does not inspire any signs of hope. The summit called by President Obama, addressing the issues of radicalisation among Muslim young people in Europe and the West has been long on analysis and very short of useful strategies.

And then we have the HSBC scandal and the apparent failures of many to do much about it all.

In Jesus' day, he was also surrounded by relentless bad news. 

'About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple.' (Luke 13.1) And at a more personal level, we read,' One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight.' (Luke 13.10-11)

For most people in Jesus' day, there was little or no good news to be heard. And yet Jesus challenged that perception, and changed that by announcing Good News.

His challenge was not just to make a few things a bit better, but to announce God's rule breaking in. By word and deed, he brought about change. 'When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God!' (Luke 13.12-13)

In his stories, he hinted at the growing change which would be experienced. 'Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.” He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.” (Luke 13.18-21)

All of us are called to follow Jesus, in challenging the hopelessness of people around us. 

Hope comes from putting our lives in the hands of the King, who was willing to have his hands nailed to a cross, to die and then rise again, as the conqueror of all that would bring bad news to destroy our lives. 

That is quite a change from the relentless bad news we see all around!

Best wishes,

Richard

Getting down to work!

Yesterday, I started a new project! 

The previous residents at our address were not keen gardeners, so they laid large quantities of slate chippings. In order to grow some rewarding fruit, I need to remove the thick layer of slate chippings, so that I can plant fruit bushes. There is plenty to do, and I am hoping local people will want to make use of the slate chippings for their gardens, and so take them away from our garden!

Removing what I don't want is going to be harder than planting what I do want. But this is how it is in our lives as well.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. We are challenged to work towards removing what we don't want - lives blighted by sin and failure - in order to grow to be more like Jesus.

St. Paul often reminded his friends of this basic spiritual battle, which remains with us throughout our lives.

'Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.' (Ephesians 4.21-24)

To be constantly changed, to become more like Jesus, requires our constant cooperation with the Spirit of Jesus. As the song says, 'One day at a time, sweet Jesus.'

May we all engage wholeheartedly with Jesus in this hard work!

Best wishes,

Richard

Beautiful Feet

Many people I know are not impressed with the beauty of their own feet. Wearing ill fitting shoes in the past, in order to fit in with fashions, have often had a terrible effect, leaving their feet mis-shaped and very hard to live with. All this makes walking difficult and painful. Not very beautiful!

But the Bible has an evocative description of people who have beautiful feet, and that without having bothered with expensive pedicures!

'How beautiful on the mountains
    are the feet of the messenger who brings good news,
the good news of peace and salvation,
    the news that the God of Israel reigns!' (Isaiah 52.7)

What makes these feet beautiful is not some inherent natural beauty - well shaped and elegant, with proportions right and toes that seem the right length - but what these feet allow the owner to do and say. In those days, all news had to be brought by human agents - with or without the help of animals like horses or camels. All news was brought be people who traveled, possibly long distances, in order to bring the message.

These days, we can use so many different platforms for our messages - from computers, phones, tablets, letters and even human contact. 

Most of our modern ways are very fast - whereas the ancient messengers had to invest lots of time to get their message across.

I am challenged to think of the ways in which I might use any and all of these to bring the good news of peace and salvation.

But I am also challenged to think of the content of the Good News which I am commissioned to share. 'Peace and salvation' isn't on everyone's wish list! Most people I know seem too busy chasing one thing or another - even the retired ones - to find genuine peace. There doesn't seem to be a quick fix for any of this. 

So it may be that the lesson from the text is that we have to walk slowly up mountains and across difficult paths, like messengers of old, to tell the stories of God's good activity in the lives of people like us.  

Best wishes,

Richard

Ambassadors

Hans Holbein (the younger!), while working for Henry VIII, painted a picture now called The Ambassadors. As part of my current obsession with all things Tudor (related to watching the Wolf Hall TV series), I watched a programme about his paintings, and much was made of this very clever picture. 

In it, we see two people, both French, the ambassador to Henry's court and a bishop. Both are young men, and yet they are surrounded by items suggesting the inevitable onset of death. This being Henry's court, that was quite a fair comment to make.

St. Paul reminds ordinary Christians that we are all ambassadors for Jesus. 'God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” (2 Corinthians 5.19-20)

To be an ambassador is a great privilege - and the French ambassador in Holbein's picture looks very aware that he is in a very privileged position.

But as ambassadors for Jesus, we know that we have been reconciled to God through the death of Jesus, so we have nothing to be smug about. But having been reconciled, we then become God's agents of helping others to come back home to the Father's family. But how does being an ambassador affect our lives?

Every day, we all meet people who do not know that they could come back to God. 

A good ambassador takes time to build good relationships with the people to whom he or she is sent. So, with prayerful care and attention, we may find that we have opportunities, to speak on behalf of Jesus to those who have never heard his voice before. What a privilege.

Best wishes,

Richard

20 years later

What will we be like in 20 years time?

Today's news from IS and Jordan may bring a terrible sense of shock and horror to us. Where is this going?

I recall, in 2003, on the eve of the second Iraq war, the local MP for Woking, Humfrey Malins, resigned from the Conservative front bench. He took this courageous decision because he said that the consequences of that war would be with us for at least 20 years. His long-sighted wisdom is being played out before our eyes, and it is more terrifying by the month.

Later this year, Harper Lee's first novel is to be published, in which she tells the story of what happened, 20 years later, to the members of the Finch family, after the events told so powerfully in 'To Kill a Mockingbird', her one and only book so far published. Her fans wait with baited breath to see what happened next.

But all of us live lives which move on from day to day, and sometimes we look back 20 years, and wonder how we are where we are. Taking the long view, backwards or forwards, can be challenging or daunting.

As many will know, over the last 20 years, I have become increasingly captivated by the life of Saul of Tarsus, who met the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus (capital of modern day Syria) in 34 AD.'As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” 

“Who are you, lord?” Saul asked.
And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9.3-6)

In the next 20 years, Paul travelled thousands of miles, telling the Good News about Jesus to Jews, Greeks, Romans and many others, He planted churches, wrote letters, and lived his life as a fully devoted follower of Jesus.

When writing to his friends in Corinth, in about 54 AD, Paul focused on the astonishing difference that Jesus makes to those who follow his way.' Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.' (1 Corinthians 13.4-7)

It is this radical love which will be the answer to the terrifying violence of IS or any other force in our world. This love, shown by Jesus in dying for us, is marked by deliberate sacrifice and healing action. 

Looking on 20 years, my prayer is that this love will be celebrated and experienced in the bleakest and most terrifying places on earth.

Best wishes,

Richard

Snow White

Returning from Stratford last night, after a wonderful production of Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost, we enjoyed driving through the falling snow, with the added challenge of making it home safely. This morning, we see the snow white road, roof tops and pavements in Rye Close.

Having done plenty of decorating at home, we realise there are many shades of white paint - not only the basic Brilliant White - but Snow White doesn't seem to be listed. But there seems to be a purity in freshly fallen snow which shows up every other sort of white as rather mucky.

Not only are there plenty of shades of white. There are also plenty of reds, from brilliant flame to warm-sun burnt ochre. All of us can tell the difference between a red and a white, even though we may have particular favourites within those colours.

The prophet Isaiah used these colours to make a startling point, about the way that only God can change the human heart. '“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.' (Isaiah 1.18)

It often takes a prophet or a wise friend to help us see our own scarlet or crimson life traits. It may show in our lack of love and generosity, or our willingness to pick holes in the lives of those closest to us. Such habits destroy trust and rot community.

Mercifully, the God who sent Jesus to us has the answer. Jesus shed his blood to make us snow white again. His willing self-sacrifice covers over our own self-obsessions. Red becomes white, at the cost of his life.

I have also been listening to a U2 song, White as Snow. Startling!

Looking at the snow, I want to thank Jesus for loving me that much.

Best wishes,

Richard

One of us?

With 94 days to go to the General Election, one question which we may be asking, about the leaders of the assorted political parties is this: 'is he one of us?'

Much has been made of the lack of connection between politicians and the electorate, and this seems to be accentuated with most of the leaders.

Today is 40 days since Christmas, and in the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. Joseph and Mary, as faithful Jewish parents, brought Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem, because they were under obligation to make a sacrifice on his behalf, because he was their first child. 

Every first child in a Jewish family had a special offering made on their behalf, as a way to remember that at the original Passover, God had redeemed the first-born Israelites in Egypt, as a means of bringing them to freedom.

As later Christian theologians reflected on this presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple, they saw that it marked him out as one of us, fully human.  

As he was fully human, so he alone was able to bring us the freedom that God longs for us to enjoy. 

As the writer to the Hebrews stated,'Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.' (Hebrews 2.17)

While I am very muddled about which party or politician to vote for, for many reasons, I am so glad that Jesus was  made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. 

That means that He understands me well, and has done all that needs to be done to deal with all my many failings. So today, I want to thank Jesus for being 'One of us!'

Best wishes,

Richard