Read John 9:1-12

What can we learn from these opening verses?

• In Jesus time there was a belief that calamity or suffering like this was the result of some great sin. But Jesus used this man’s condition to glorify God.
• We live in a fallen world where seemingly innocent people will suffer, whilst those who are perceived to be wicked might go unpunished.
• If God removed all pain and suffering, we would follow him for comfort and convenience, and not necessarily out of love.
• Questions such as, ‘What did I do to deserve this?’ and ‘Why is this happening to me?’ are common in times of suffering.

But what should we be asking God for to help us through those bad times?

Read John 9:13-34

Looking at the role of the Pharisees in these verses, what do we discover?

• People were being healed and lives were being changed, but they were too busy looking for ways to discredit Jesus.
• They were more interested in the letter of the law than the practicalities of it. But what about us today, how would we react in a similar situation?

What about the role of the parents of the blind man in these verses?

• They believed in what they saw, but were afraid to acknowledge this. How often are we afraid to acknowledge our beliefs, for whatever reasons?

Then we come to the man himself, what can we learn from him?

• He knew he had been healed, although unsure of exactly how this had happened. Yet he was no afraid to tell the truth when questioned by the authorities.
• Even when they press hard on him, still the man is defiant in the truth. What about us today, how faithful to the truth are we when we are sorely tested in this way?

Who are we more like here, the Pharisees or the blind man?

Read John 9:35-41

What do these final verses teach us?

• This man was physically healed of his blindness, but great as that was, it was nothing to the healing of his spiritual blindness
• The longer this man experienced his new life in Christ, the stronger and more confident he became in the one who healed him. Today the same applies to us, the longer and closer we walk with Christ, the stronger our faith and belief in Him will become.
• The spiritual blindness that Jesus is speaking of comes about as a result of selfishness, complacency and self-centeredness and we need to keep asking ourselves if any of these are beginning to creep into our lives, because once they do, it is then that we lose sight of Jesus.

In this passage we are introduced to four groups of people who react in different ways to what they witness:

• The man’s neighbours revealed surprise and scepticism, and didn’t commit themselves.
• The Pharisee’s showed disbelief and prejudice, and rejected the claims of Jesus.
• The man’s parents believed, but kept quiet through fear.
• The man himself believed and showed consistent growing faith in Jesus as a result of what He did for him.

The question is, where do we fit into this?

Loving God as we meet with You here today from our different homes and different circumstances, we ask that by Your Spirit You would unite us all together now as one. Help us to set aside all the busyness of the world around us and to be at one with You and with one another, that as individuals and as a community we may know the power of Your Spirit among us and may know You calling for us in the days and week ahead. And all this we ask in Jesus name…Amen.

Read Matthew 16:21-2

We’ve all no doubt heard the story of the young child at Sunday School, sitting quietly drawing a picture. When asked what she was drawing, back came the answer – a picture of God. And when it was suggested that no-one knew what God looked like, the response was almost immediate – well, they will now after I’m finished my picture!

Whether we perhaps think too much about it or not, the fact is that most of us have some picture, or some image, or some idea of who or what God is – and it’s a picture we carry with us as we walk with Him in faith. For the most part they are unvoiced and remain somewhere in our own sub-consciousness. But they are there and they help to shape our faith in terms of our actions and expectations.

And in a sense we begin to see this take place in our Gospel passage as we continue from where we left off last week. Because although last week we saw that Peter acknowledged Jesus to be the Messiah, the Son of the living God and that this revelation was given to Peter by God Himself. We now begin to see that maybe Peter didn’t fully understand just what that actually meant.

Maybe deep down Peter too was looking for Jesus to be another King David, another warrior, champion for the people. Someone who would not only stand up to the authorities, but possibly lead some form of rebellion against the occupying Roman forces and reclaim Israel for the people. I say maybe because the fact if that we don’t know for sure.

Yet in this exchange today what we do see is that the one thing that Peter didn’t expect Jesus to be was a weak and fragile Messiah who would ultimately be killed by the authorities. Indeed so upset was Peter by this that he took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him. And just pause for a moment to consider that. Peter rebuking His Saviour!!

However, maybe we can’t blame Peter too much for thinking as he did. Because let’s be honest with ourselves, have there not been times where all we want is a mighty and powerful God to make things right for us at that moment in time. And not just for us in our own lives, but for all we see wrong that is happening around us. Thankfully, however, neither Peter or we get the God that we want.

Instead what we do get is the God we need – not the God we want – the God we need.

We don’t get a God who will remain in heaven, distant and aloof from all of our pain, heartache and suffering. Instead we get a God who will abandon all pretext of glory and majesty, a God who came to us in grace and humility in order to take on our lot and our life.

Because the reality is that our God favours mercy over strength, forgiveness over judgment, and grace and vulnerability over power and glory. Our God not only understands us but also loves us. And, lest we forget, this God also is raised on the third day, promising that at the end of our struggles is peace.

But still the question many may ask, is what does that mean for us here and now, and how should we respond to this.

Well perhaps the first thing we can take from our passage today is that if we wish to be Disciples of Jesus, seeking to follow and to serve him as we live out the gospel message in his name, we need to be in it for the long haul. Being a Disciple of Jesus is not something that we can start and stop whenever we choose to do so or whenever the fancy takes us. It is a way of life. Indeed, it’s the only way of life…

Everyone and everything else around us may be living in a different way altogether but we have to learn to imitate Jesus as best we can at all times and in every situation. The Christian faith and the discipleship it entails is a constant following of our Saviour and a constant obedience in thought, word and action to Him. Walking in his footsteps, wherever He may lead us and whatever the cost may be to us.

There are no shortcuts at all if we are to be a Disciple of Jesus. Nor can we pick and choose where and how we want to follow Him and where and when we would choose not to. It’s all or nothing – a total commitment to Him for the rest of our lives here on earth. That’s what Jesus was speaking about when he tells His Disciples they must lose their own lives and take up their cross and follow Him.

However, there is more to it than this because this passage also serves to remind us of the sacrifice of discipleship.

Just as being a Christian Disciple means being in it for the duration as we seek to follow and serve our Lord and Saviour, so it also means having to be prepared to make sacrifices to do so – sacrifices that may come in all shapes and sizes. Yet ultimately what it means is losing our own life in order to give our lives to Jesus. Not in the final, physical sense but in the lives that we lead each and every day.

In essence we are to abandon our own self as the dominant principle in our life in order to make God that dominant principle.

In his letter to the Romans the Apostle Paul tells us that we must be transformed by God for that to happen. We are no longer to conform to the ways of the world we live in but instead allow God to transform us from within. Love, kindness, compassion – these are all the kind of virtues that should dictate how we live our lives. Focussing not so much on self and our own selfish aims and desires, but on other people looking to the needs of others before ourselves.

And we should not aim to behave in this way out of any sense of duty or obligation. Nor should we do so in expectation of any gratitude or admiration from others. Instead we should be happy and willing to live this way in joyful hope because by doing so we know that we are living as best we can in the way that God would have us.

And with all that is happening in our communities today how important is it that we do seek to live in this kind of way and to continue to pray for those most affected by this virus at this time.
Of course we may say that we do – and as I said last week, throughout these past 5 months I have seen and heard of many examples of this. Yet, still we should not be complacent because living in this way isn’t always easy, especially when we have so many things impacting on our own lives and especially when we see and hear of things that test our own faith.

And yet Jesus makes it quite clear here how He expects us to live. However, not only did He tell us how we should live – He showed us how we should live. He led by example and He now calls on us to follow in His footsteps.

The way of Jesus may be tough and arduous. It may involve sacrifice and putting others before ourselves. And there may be times when we will come up short and when we stumble and fall. Taking up our cross and following after Jesus never has been and never will be the easiest thing for any of us to do. Yet it is the life we are called to if we would be a Disciple of Jesus. Indeed William Barclay once said that Christian witness is not one moment’s profession of our faith, however brave that moment may be…Christian witness is a whole-time job every day.

The only question we perhaps have to consider is this – is it a job that we are prepared to take on?

Eternal and loving God as we reflect on this passage and what it means to be Your Disciple, we have to confess how often we fall so far short of Your standards and expectations. Yet even as we do so, we remember that You have called us in all of our weakness and failing, not to live as You would have us by our own strength and merit, but by the power and guidance of Your Spirit. So help us we pray to look to Your Spirit each and every day and allow it to inspire, encourage, empower and equip us in Your name that we may indeed live our faith as the Disciples You have called us to be.

We continue to remember all in our own community who have fallen ill to Covid 19 and ask that You would be with them and all their loved ones, that You would lay Your healing hand upon them and keep them safe in Your love and tender care. We think of the impact this has had on the wider community and remember those who now feel that wee bit more vulnerable and anxious and we ask that You would embrace them too in You tender loving care. And as we look throughout our land we think of all whose lives have been affected by this virus, especially those who have lost loved ones to it and those who are still seriously ill and we ask that they would know that peace and comfort that only You can give.

And we remember those whose livelihoods, work and businesses have been so affected over these past months, those for whom the future seems so insecure and so uncertain, and we lift them before You too. As we do all our school children, students, teachers and staff who are now back in classrooms and about to head back to colleges. Watch over them we pray and be especially today with all in those schools where some have contracted this virus and let them know that we are thinking of them at this time.

So go with us now, Lord, and be with us and all of our loved ones in the week ahead. And all this we ask in Jesus name…Amen

As we discussed briefly previously there are seven ‘signs’ recorded in John’s Gospel, intended to reveal to those who witnessed them that Jesus was the living revelation of God Himself and that only through Him could they find salvation. Today we will look in more detail at the third of these signs, the curing of the paralysed man.

Read John 5:1-17

What do we make of the first few verses of this passage, in particular this idea of the ‘healing angel’?

• Whether this was some kind of myth or superstition or whether those sick people who stepped into the pool at the right time were cured, we do not know for certain. However, the fact that so many gathered by the pool – they obviously believed this.
• Would God send an angel in this way?

What does this remind us of today – and what are our views on Angels?

What do we think of verses 5 and 6, why are they so important and why does Jesus ask him if he wants to be made well?

• After 38 years the man’s illness had effectively become a way of life for him.
• All this time he had never been able to work but survived by begging. If he was healed his begging days would be over and he would have to work to get by. Would he want to?
• Maybe he felt his situation was now hopeless and that no-one would be able to help him.
• Yet still he goes to this pool, why? Surely this indicates that he still has hope of recovery.

How does our faith and hope hold out in terms of adversity and hardship?

What can we learn from verses 7 and 8?

• No matter how trapped or helpless we might feel, no matter how hopeless the future might look, if we truly believe in Christ, God can minister to our deepest needs.
• It may not always involve a physical cure as it did with this man, but a sense of peace and reconciliation within our hearts, that God can and will still use us in His service.

Do we truly believe all of this in our own hearts?

What do the remaining verses of this passage teach us?

• According to the Pharisees, carrying your mat, i.e. your bed, on the Sabbath day was work, therefore it was unlawful.
• It did not break any specific laws within the Torah, but the Pharisees interpretation of, ‘remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy’, was what made it unlawful.

Was this really unlawful? And what does this say to us today about our own interpretation of God’s commandments? Are we sometimes as guilty as the Pharisees – Are our guidelines for the way we live truly God made, or have we added to or taken bits from them?

• This curing of the paralysed man was a great miracle, but whilst he could now walk, this man need an even greater miracle, he needed spiritual healing and to have his sins forgiven. Hence Jesus words to him in verse 14.
• God’s gift of forgiveness through Christ is the greatest gift that any of us can receive, but we have to accept this gracious gift by seeking to turn from our sins.
• Despite what they witnessed here, as far as the Pharisees were concerned, the only issue at hand was the breaking of their rules.

The Pharisees shut their eyes and their hearts to the work of God. But perhaps we need to ask ourselves, are we ever guilty of doing likewise today?

Loving God, as we come before You today, help us to look to Your Son and as best we can follow His example. Help us to serve You without fear and to bear witness to You in all we think, say and do. And all this we ask in Jesus name. Amen.

Reading Matthew 16:13-20

For about three years now Jesus Disciples had spent most of their time with Him. They followed Him through all the towns and villages, listening to everything he said, watching all that He did. They spent time with Him in their own small group, listening to His teaching and spending time with Him in quiet devotion. And in all that He said and did, Jesus was making it clear, without actually saying so, just who He was.

But it wasn’t only those Disciples who witnessed all of this. Everyone in those towns and villages that Jesus visited also saw and heard all that Jesus was doing. They heard His Sermon on the Mount, they witnessed Him feeding the multitudes and healing the sick. They saw Him raise the dead to new life. And everything that Jesus did, Jesus was clearly showing that He was their long awaited Messiah. But did the people know this?

Who do people say the Son of Man is? Jesus asked His Disciples.

Now at this point that’s not too difficult a question for the Disciples to answer, because they have heard what others have said. John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah – all good answers indeed. But this is where it now gets difficult for those Disciples, because Jesus now turns His attention to them. But what about you, who do you say that I am?

Have you ever been in a situation where you’re engaged in conversation with other people and suddenly you’re asked for your opinion on a specific topic and you don’t really know what to say. Either because you don’t have any real opinion to offer, through lack of any real knowledge or understanding of the topic in question. Or maybe because, although you do have an opinion, you’re a bit afraid to express it because you’re not quite sure how it will be received by those engaged in the conversation.

And I sometimes wonder if that’s perhaps how it was with the majority of those Disciples during this exchange with Jesus. Were they still uncertain, were they fearful of saying what they believed. Or did they perhaps think that it was something of an unfair question, taking all things into consideration.

After all, hadn’t they all shown by giving up all they had and all they had known to follow Jesus, exactly what they believed about Him. So why then is Jesus now pressing them on this question?

To know who Jesus really is – is vital. Like those of whom they spoke of comparing Jesus to John the Baptist and Elijah, the Disciples had no doubt that He was indeed someone who had come from God and that He was special and very important.

Someone who had been sent by God and who was clearly there to do the will of God.

They believed in His teaching and His preaching. They had witnessed how the multitudes had come to listen to Him and had been affected so much by what He said. And they believed in His power and authority. They believed in the evidence of his miracles – miracles that they themselves had taken part in on some occasions.

And yet for all that, still it would seem that in their hearts they had not come to know him as the Son of God – all of course, except Peter. And when peter declares… ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God…’ he is making a confession that all must make if we would indeed truly know who Jesus is and what we have through Him.

Jesus is the key to the relationship we have with God…And unless we know Him – unless we really know Him here in our very hearts and souls, we can never be at one with God. And we see how pivotal this is in the response of Jesus to Peter. Because it is on the basis of this confession – and only on this, that Peter will become the rock on which the Church will be built.

Of course when we consider the many weaknesses and failings of Peter that we read of in the Gospel passages, it might seem odd to some that Peter should be chosen as the foundation of the Church of Christ. Some might point to others among the chosen twelve who would have been a more suitable or adequate foundation for this Church. Someone who was perhaps more stable or more consistent in their behaviour.

And yes, there may well have been others who might have been more plausible candidates for such an honoured position. Disciples like John, or perhaps Andrew, the brother of Peter. However Peter’s confession of Jesus showed that in Jesus, Peter clearly recognised, not just the work of someone who had been sent from God, but the work of God Himself…

But for all that, perhaps the real question that we need to consider is how we would answer that question – do we really know who Jesus is? Do we know Him here in our hearts and souls, with every ounce of our being? And why is it so important that we do know Jesus.

It’s only when we truly know Jesus and know Him to be the living Son of God that He is that we can begin to understand that He is with us at all times. Wherever we go and whatever we face, through His Son and by His Spirit, God will be with us. And that’s important for us to remember.

As I come to record this time of reflection, this has been a difficult and anxious week for many. The news of Covid 19 being in our community has shaken us all and our first thoughts are of course with all who have been affected most by this. And as we await more news and developments in the coming days, our anxieties and concerns may be heightened and people may yet have difficult decisions to make if certain limitations are imposed upon us once again.

It’s at times like this when a good community spirit is important and that as friends and neighbours we all do what we can to help and support one another. And during the period of lockdown that was certainly self-evident.

Yet even when we have that good community spirit, even when we know that we can depend upon the love and support of family and those closest to us, still we might feel as if there is still something else that we need to help us through each day.

And that something – that someone is the living Son of God.

Knowing that through His Son God is always with us makes all the difference. To know that He is within us as we face difficult and anxious days, gives us a sense of inner peace that no-one or nothing else can. However, not only does Jesus fill that gap in our lives that no-one or nothing else can fill. The love that He pours upon us and surrounds us with holds all of those other things that are so important to us together.

We can only love because God first loved us. And we can only show those acts of love – kindness, compassion, concern, care – because of the love that God has demonstrated to us through His Son in the same way. Yes, within every one of us there is a part of us that seeks to do just this – because we were all created in the image of God. But when we truly know Jesus in our lives and know the fullness of His love for us, all of a sudden a new dimension is added to this as we know His Spirit working within us.

Yes we may still be anxious, concerned, even fearful. But if we know the love of Jesus in our lives and know that through Him God is always with us, not only will it give us renewed courage and faith each day. It will enable us to share that love through acts of kindness, generosity and compassion towards others. And at times like this, surely that’s what we all need.

So over the coming days let’s consider and reflect upon this question that Jesus asks His Disciples…What about you, who do you say I am…And let’s ask for the faith and boldness to respond as Peter did, and then share that with others in all we say and do…..Amen.

Loving and Gracious God, we thank You for Your loving kindness towards us. For Your many gifts and blessings, and for the love of family and friends to share these blessings with. But we especially thank You for the love You have shown to us through Your Son and for the life we now have through that love. In joy and thankfulness we acknowledge that the whole of life is bound up in the mystery of faith and ask that as Your Disciples here and now, You would enable us to witness to that faith in all we say and do. Give to us a new desire, a new passion and a new energy to serve You as You have called us – to share the Good News of Your Son wherever we are and in whatever we do.

We remember today those whose faith has been tested in recent weeks through situations and circumstances they have encountered and experienced in their lives and we ask for Your hand to be upon them. We think of our young ones, now back at school, and pray that you would be with them and all the teachers and staff at our schools and that You would watch over them. And we especially think at this time of our own community here and all who have contracted this awful illness.

We pray for them and their loved ones and ask that You would keep them safe and close to You. And we think of the wider community and the impact this may have and again ask that You be with everyone within our community, especially those who are now a little more anxious or concerned because of this.

So as we look to the coming week, we ask that You would be with us and that You would watch over us and all our loved ones in all we do. And all this we would ask in Jesus name. Amen.

Some Background Information:

As we know, John doesn’t use the term miracle in his Gospel, but rather refers to these displays of Jesus divine power and authority as signs. In all there are seven such signs recorded, although it is plain from chapter 20, verses 30-31, that he witnessed many others that are not recorded within his Gospel. The seven signs that are recorded are as follows:

• The wedding at Cana (2:1-11)
• The royal official’s son (4:46-54)
• The curing of the paralysed man (5:1-15)
• The feeding of the multitude (6:1-15)
• Walking on water (6:16-21)
• The curing of the blind man (9)
• The raising of Lazarus (11)

For John these signs, in turn, are intended to reveal the true nature of Christ, that He is the revelation of God Himself and our only hope of salvation. They are all entirely connected with faith and the only correct way for us to respond to them is through faith. The fact that John records only seven, as there would have been others, is possibly to do with the fact that this was the number of perfection in the ancient world.

However, having said all of this, although almost all theologians and commentators agree that there are seven signs recorded in John’s Gospel, some believe that 4 and 5 i.e. the feeding of the multitude and the walking on water should be tied together, and that the seventh sign is in fact the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ Himself – the ultimate revelation of Jesus as the Son of God. Nevertheless, the general consensus seems to be that the signs are as listed above and that another reason for there being seven, is that they in themselves all point to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, the perfect Son of God.

(Something else worth noting is that all of the above effectively happen in the first half of the Gospel and it is only after these that the Beloved Disciple is mentioned. But we will come to that at a later date.)

Three of the signs appear in the Synoptics as miracles; the offical’s son, the feeding the multitude and the walking on water. Three more are of a general healing type also found in the Synoptics, the curing of a paralytic, the healing of the blind man and the raising of a person from the dead (although no one in the Synoptics has been dead as long as Lazarus). The only sign that has no direct or indirect comparison anywhere in the Synoptics is this first one, The wedding at Cana.

Read John 2:1-11

What are our initial thoughts on reading this passage? What appears to be the overall theme?

• A new start: The New Covenant in Jesus replacing the Old Covenant within Judaism (Symbolised in the wedding itself and in the purification jars – of which there were six.)

What is the significance of Mary, the Mother of Jesus in this passage?

• She is present at the beginning of the Ministry of Jesus (She will also be there at the end)
• She shows faith in Jesus even before witnessing any of these signs.

What do we make of this idea that Jesus ‘Hour’ had not yet come?

• Probably a term used to denote the time of Jesus passion, death and resurrection.
• John uses these signs to point forward to Jesus ‘Hour of Glory’.
• And we see at the end of the passage that this sign was to reveal the glory of Jesus and that from then on, his disciples believed in Him.

Ultimately, then, this passage is all about the dawn of a new beginning in Christ and, for John at least, marks the beginning of Jesus ministry – a ministry in which He would ultimately reveal Himself to us as the living revelation of God. But what does this passage mean to us?

Do we believe that we can have a new beginning, a new and fresh start in Jesus?

Can we demonstrate the same faith as Mary and ‘stay the course’ as she did?

Have we come to believe in the same way as those who witnessed those events that day did?

Something for us to reflect and ponder upon!

 

 

Read Matthew 13:24-30

When we look at our Gospel passage this morning we perhaps think that the lesson for us all here is to do with patience and waiting patiently for the right time when certain things will happen. And that may indeed be a good lesson for us all to remember.

As Disciples of Jesus we can easily become impatient when we see little evidence of God’s Kingdom flourishing as it should, especially if we believe that certain things could happen a bit quicker. Times when we believe that we or others are guilty of not acting as quickly or as decisively as we should in our witness of the Gospel message.

However, what we have to remember is that the Kingdom does belong to God and ultimately things will happen in God’s own time. Yes we have part to play in sowing the seed and helping to yield a harvest when we can. But ultimately it is by God’s Spirit that God’s Kingdom will flourish.

But important as all that is there is perhaps another valuable lesson that we can take from these verses. Because if we look at this passage again from another perspective, what it speaks to us about is a loss of hope. And it does so in a comforting way.

Back then those who looked after the land knew that in their early stages it was difficult to distinguish been good plants and weeds. Just as they knew of the danger of attempting to removes those weeds, because they were intertwined with the good plants.

And Jesus would go on to explain that this parable was about the evil one planting wicked people in the world. People who would stand alongside those who follow Jesus and to all extent and purposes would be indistinguishable from those deemed righteous through faith in Jesus. Only at the end of the age would God then distinguish between the two.

Back then those who listened to Jesus speaking were tired of evil people among them, able it seemed to do whatever they wanted without fear of consequence or punishment. Whether that be the Roman occupation forces themselves or the corrupt authorities, leaders, tax collectors and others who colluded and co-operated with them for their own gain. Either way, for many it was a desperate situation.

And maybe today we believe that we can see signs of that in our modern day society. Powerful, influential people who seem to be able to say or do whatever they want to the detriment of others – and get away with it. Groups, companies and individuals whose behaviour is in direct opposition to the Gospel message and the will of God – and more than that causes pain and heartache for others.

And perhaps even in our everyday life, in our everyday business, we see and hear of people who seem to behave in an unacceptable way, leaving others in their wake of turmoil and chaos and we are left bewildered. Maybe we ourselves have at times been guilty of behaving in a way which is contrary to all that we believe God’s Kingdom is all about.

Faced with such circumstances it is easy to despair and lose hope in all we see around us. But here Jesus challenges this loss of hope…

Don’t lose hope in people around us, Jesus is saying. There may well be times when we are standing among weeds who appear to us to be good Disciples of Jesus. However, by the same token we may find ourselves among wheat whose behaviour would seem to suggest the complete opposite.

Either way, however, it is not up to us to attempt to separate the two. All we are called to do is live as the Disciples of Jesus that we are – not allowing the weeds to choke us – and to bear witness to God’s Kingdom in the midst of all that is happening around us – good or bad.

But Jesus is also perhaps challenging us on a more personal level, concerning those seeds growing in our own hearts. Often the one we judge most severely is ourselves, especially in our lives of faith. But Jesus is telling us not to be too severe or too harsh on ourselves. Sometimes those seeds that we are fearful or shameful of turn out to be seeds of life – for us and others we witness too.

And finally Jesus is challenging us not to lose faith in God – to never lose faith in God. No matter what we see all around us, no matter what is happening in our own lives, God’s intention has always been and will always be for goodness and love to overcome.

And maybe we are now going back to the idea of waiting patiently.

Because the thing is, God’s timetable doesn’t work in the same way ours does. God’s timetable is driven purely by grace, by forgiveness and by compassion. And one day His Kingdom will be established once and for all and we will all be judged. Then, and only then, will God separate the wheat from the weeds.

Until then we are called to live in a manner befitting our calling as a Disciple of Jesus and to put our faith, trust and hope completely in Him – knowing that His reign as Sovereign over all creation is at work, even if it doesn’t appear to be.

There are many things in life we will never understand and there will be many times when we will see and hear things that cause us to doubt, question and even lose faith. Times when it might seem as if everyone and everything in our society stands in opposition to God’s Kingdom.

And so for many reasons this parable is a tough lesson for us all. Because no matter what we see or hear we are called not to be judgemental in any way – of others, of ourselves and of God.

Instead we are called to be the Disciples that Jesus would have us be and to put our faith and hope completely in God, patiently believing that one day His Kingdom will be established once and for all – to the glory and honour of His name…Amen

Almighty and everlasting God, as we come before you once again we ask that you would enable us to seek your Holy being through the love of Jesus Christ, that in so doing, we might come closer to you with every passing day. And as we think of Your church here on earth, we pray that it would continue to speak out against all injustice and unrighteousness and stand up for those most in need.

We pray for those who are persecuted in Your name, those who are suffering because of their faith and those whose faith leaves them isolated and alone. We ask loving God that Your hand would be upon them. Uphold and support them we pray, that they may continue to hold on to their faith in their adversity. Indeed we pray for all who are persecuted in any way, those who are forced to leave homes and loved ones and we would ask that you might be with them also.

Be with all those in our own parish and communities, especially those who are sick or bereaved, and those whose needs are greater than ours. Grant them the assurance of your presence in their lives and let them know that you will never abandon them…And all these things we ask in Jesus name…Amen.

Read John 1:19-34

Why did the Pharisees come out to see John the Baptist?

• Their duty as guardians and defenders of the faith demanded that they investigated any new preaching.
• They wanted to see if John had the proper credentials to be thought of as a prophet and preacher. He wasn’t a Rabbi as such and had no official power or position within the Jewish ‘system’.
• John had attracted quite a following – he was becoming quite popular, more so than the Pharisees themselves. The chances are that the Pharisees were now jealous of this and concerned about their own status.

The reality is that the Pharisees really wanted to find out all they could about John largely for their own personal reasons, but John simply repeated the message of why he had come – to prepare the way for the Messiah. The Pharisees missed the point. They wanted to know who John was – but John wanted them to know who Jesus was.

What lessons can we learn from the behaviour of the Pharisees here?

How did John the Baptist respond to the Pharisees?

• That he was fearless and uncompromising – even confrontational.
• For all his following and popularity John knew his own ‘position’  – he knew that he was not even worthy to perform the humble task of loosening the sandal of the one who was to come.
• John was completely dedicated and faithful to his mission and had great faith in God.

What can John teach us in terms of our own faith?

John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the Lamb of God. Why might that have been?

• Perhaps an allusion to the Passover lamb slaughtered in the Temple every spring. Possibly – although this sacrifice is in fact used to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt rather than the forgiveness of sins. (See exodus 12)
• Perhaps a reference to the scapegoat sent out to the wilderness on the Day of Atonement. Again, possibly – this was for the forgiveness of the people’s sins, however, it was a goat and not a lamb. (See Leviticus 16)
• Maybe in reference to the daily Temple sacrifices offered in obedience to Exodus 29:38-42.

The fact is that we will never know for sure but whatever John had in mind here, he was clearly pointing towards the death of Jesus and this particular reference is something that we will come back to later.

But what do we understand by Jesus being the Lamb of God?

Read John 1:35-51

What do we learn from John’s account of the calling of Jesus first disciples and what does it teach us about discipleship?

• As soon as the disciples encounter Jesus they abandon what they are doing and follow Him at once.
• They witness to others by expressing their belief in a confession of faith.
• The disciples themselves are intimately known by Jesus.
• Saying yes to Jesus is never enough. We have to say yes for the right reasons and then get to know Him more each day.
• We shouldn’t let any prejudices we have come in the way of our relationship with Jesus and don’t allow the stereotypes that others may have of Christ weaken our faith.

Having considered all this, what can we say about our discipleship today?

Very early on in John’s Gospel the scene has now been set for Jesus to begin His ministry and over the next few weeks we will look at the ‘signs’ that John elaborates upon, which for him prove that Jesus was the living revelation of God Himself, and that only through Him could we be saved.

Sunday Reflection 12th July

Loving God, as we seek to spend some time with You now, we ask that that by Your Spirit You would enable us to draw close to You, wherever we are. Help us, as we listen to and meditate upon Your Word, to discern what You are saying to us today and how we might best serve You at this time, to the glory and honour of Your name…Amen.

Read Matthew 13:1-9

Every day of our lives we speak with other people – at home, at work, in our leisure time. And every day of our lives we hear news stories on our televisions or we read about them in our newspapers. But how many of them make any kind of lasting impression or impact in our lives. How many of them have changed our lives in some way. A headline from a newspaper, perhaps, something said to us by a loved one or someone close to us, a line from a song, book or poem, even some innocuous throw away comment made by someone.

The words we speak or listen to can make a difference in our lives and sometimes help to bring about real change. Think back to the moment you were told that you had passed your driving test, for example, or that your interview for a job had been successful – what impact did those words have in your life at that time. Think back to the first time you told someone you loved them, how did your life change after that. Or when you were told you were expecting your first child. How did your life change then?

A few simple words can change our lives in such a dramatic way – but they can also change us quite fundamentally too. Yet perhaps the words that can impact on our lives most are those that we find contained within the Word of God.

When we hear the voice of God speak to us for the first time – when we are suddenly made aware of His grace and mercy, of His overwhelming love for us – that’s the moment that our lives are changed forever.

However, for this change to come about, we actually need not only to hear the voice of God speaking to us but also to listen to it. What’s the difference between hearing and listening? Hearing is when we are aware of certain sounds, like someone speaking to us. Listening is when we make the conscious effort to understand and pay attention to that sound – in this case to the voice speaking to us. And in many ways our Gospel passage highlights this difference.

Sometimes we might find ourselves in a situation where we simply don’t want to listen to what someone is saying to us. We can hear them, but we don’t want to listen – and that could be for a whole host of reasons. Maybe, we don’t agree with what they are saying, we don’t like what they are saying, what they are saying offends or upsets us, or we are just simply not interested in what is being said.

In this kind of situation, understanding or paying attention is no less difficult than attempting to sow seed on a road or pavement. None of what is being said will ever sink in and will vanish as quickly as the seed being eaten by the birds without any of it ever making any impact on our lives.
And so it is for many with the Gospel message today – they are simply not interested in listening and as a consequence they have no idea what it is to know Jesus in their lives.

Then we have those occasions when after hearing something we do want to listen more attentively and maybe even take some action. What has been said appeals to us, excites us, challenges us in some way and so we endeavour to set out on some new venture or some new course of action.

However, as we proceed we realise that this course of action involves more than we anticipated or expected – in respect of energy, time, commitment or sacrifice and we haven’t made enough preparation or allowances for that. So after a wee while our enthusiasm begins to wane and wither, much like the seed scorched by the sun, until we get to the point where the words we first listened to, no longer have any influence in our lives.

We may have heard and listened to the Word of God, but when we then discover what difference it might make in our lives, we no longer choose to listen or to act upon it.

And finally we have those occasions where we might want to listen, but for some reason seem unable to do so. Theologian Henri Nouwen once confessed to God, ‘ I am so busy with other things that I cannot hear you…’ and maybe this too sometimes applies to us.

Maybe there have been times when someone has been speaking to us, and although we may have been engaged in that conversation we weren’t actually listening to what was being said. Instead we were preoccupied with other things in life – our daily business, our concerns and fears, whatever – the point is that our minds were elsewhere. Now ask yourself, how often has this happened to us when we have been reading or listening to the Word of God.

We may have heard the Word of God, but because our minds and hearts have been on other things we have not been listening and as a consequence it has not taken root and made any lasting impact on our lives.

The lesson for us in all of these examples is clear. Sometimes in life God will speak to us through His Word and we will not listen to that Word as we should. We may hear Him, but we will not listen as we should and consequently not act as we should.

We live in a world today where we are continually bombarded by words telling what we should say and do – how we should live our lives. And the harsh reality is that sometimes we get distracted by them. Voices which call out to us things like, if you want to realise your full potential, do this….If you want to achieve these goals, do that…. If you want to get on in life and be all you can be, listen to us….

And in amongst all of this, suddenly the voice of God is lost to us. Except, of course, it isn’t lost – it is still there, and always will be there……All we need to do is listen – not hear – listen.

Listening for and discerning the Word of God can at times be difficult and if we’re completely honest with ourselves we will all acknowledge those times when we have failed to do so. So it’s important that we set aside time every day – no matter how busy we are – to spend that time in quiet communion with God. Speaking to Him and listening to Him. Only then will we be able to grow and flourish in our own faith.

But more than that, the more we spend time listening to God, speaking to us through His Word, or in a time of devotion, the more we will be able to share that Word with others – and ultimately that is what we are all called to do. To share with others the Good News of Jesus Christ and the Salvation we have through Him. Whether that yield be a hundred-fold, or sixty-fold or even only ten-fold – it doesn’t matter – as long as we share that Word with others.

So as we recall this passage once again, let’s do our best to listen for the Word of God speaking to us, in whatever way that may be. And having listened let’s go and share it with others that they in turn may do likewise. That when the harvest time does come, the yield may be bountiful….Amen

Loving Jesus, You have called us to be Your witnesses, to proclaim Your name and to make Your love known in all that we say and do. Yet we confess that so often whenever we try to respond to that challenge we find it ever so difficult. Sometimes it seems that whenever we speak of You we are met with apathy, indifference and even hostility.

And so in our hearts and souls we sometimes give up, if only for a brief moment, no longer expecting lives to be changed by Your Word. So we ask that You would help us to look beyond what we appear to see and to recognise that, though we may not always see it, the seed we sow may well bear fruit in unexpected ways and places. Help us to put our faith not in our own ability but in your gracious life-giving power, confident that if we play our part, You will play Yours too.

And as we come before You now we pray for those who today have been weighed down the many burdens of life. Those who have been bereaved, those who are ill and suffering in some way, those in most need. Look to them as only You can and lay Your hand upon them. Be with all in our own communities and all within our own families. Draw each one to You and embrace them in Your heart, for we ask all of these things in Jesus name…Amen

As we look forward to being able to gather for worship once again I hope to be able to continue to post some form of Reflection or Bible Study on a weekly basis – and would like to start with the Gospel of John. Some of this week’s has already been published in an earlier Isla Link article, however, as it is at the beginning of John’s Gospel I thought we could just remind ourselves of it.

Background Information:

John’s Gospel is believed to have been written in Ephesus around 82-95 AD, after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD and, like the others, was first circulated anonymously. It wasn’t until later on in the second century, in the fight against heretics, that the Gospels were assigned to authors. So ultimately, no-one knows for sure who wrote John’s Gospel, or indeed any of the others.

Tradition, however, has the author of the fourth Gospel as the disciple John, the brother of James and son of Zebedee. This same tradition has also identified this disciple as the ‘Beloved Disciple’ that we see pop up in the fourth gospel. One of the main reasons for assuming that the disciples John is both the author and the beloved disciple, is the fact that his name is not mentioned in the Gospel itself. If that is the case, then what we have is a first hand witness account of the ministry and mission of Christ

As to why John wrote this Gospel, we see the short answer to that question at John 20:31, ‘…that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in his name…’ However, as we shall discover as we explore this Gospel in more detail, we will see that from the outset it was John’s aim to present to us that Jesus Christ was the living revelation of God Himself and he does so in a way that none of the Synoptic Gospels come close to. The tone, style and content are completely different from the others, leaving some to refer to this as a more ‘spiritual’ gospel than any of the Synoptics.

Differences between John’s Gospel and the Synoptics include the fact that the miracles we read of in Matthew, Mark and Luke are replaced by ‘signs’ in John; in John we don’t have the same ‘short stories’ that the others do, but rather ‘longer discourses’; the timing of events is slightly different and in John we do have a ministry that extended for some three years (we know this from the number of visits to Jerusalem for specific festivals); the fourth Gospel introduces us to characters not mentioned elsewhere (The Samaritan woman, Nicodemus, Lazarus the brother or Mary and Martha, Nathanael and of course the Beloved Disciple); and we will look at some of these in more detail over the coming weeks.

Read John 1:1-18

What are the main three things that this opening prologue to John’s Gospel touches on?

• It tells us exactly who Jesus is.
• It tells us of the relationship between Jesus and God.
• It hints that His mission will not meet with universal success.

What key themes are we introduced to in the verses, themes that will crop up again and again as we read through the Gospel?

• Eternal life- Instead of talking of the Kingdom of God
• The ‘World’- used not only when speaking about the created order, but also used in a way to depict those who do not accept the revelation of Christ.
• Truth – Jesus Himself not only reveals this truth, He is the personification of truth.
• Glory – Unlike the synoptics, Jesus death is the supreme moment of glorification.
• Dualism – John’s Gospel is full of dualistic pairs of opposites – belief/unbelief, light/darkness, from below/from above – All ultimately good/evil.

What else can we learn from these opening verses?

• In a sense they are like a ‘mini-gospel.
  • Verses 1-5 speak to us of the unity of Christ and God, a theme which we see throughout the fourth Gospel.
  • Verses 6-8 introduce us to John the Baptist, sent to prepare the way for Christ.
  • Verses 9-13 speak to us of the coming of Christ into the world, the light of the world that not all would recognise.
  • Verses 14-18 speak to us of the incarnation and salvation, God becoming flesh and the salvation that this would bring those who accepted Him.

John’s Gospel is unlike any of the other Gospels, of that there is no doubt and many believe it to be the most accurate of all. Over the next couple of months we will look at it in more detail and perhaps discover that there is even more to it than we first thought.

 

Read Luke 14:25-35

Anything we do in life, if we want to do it justice, will involve some kind of commitment and some cost to us, no matter what we do. That may come in financial terms, it may be in the giving of our time and energy, and it may involve putting other things on hold so that we can focus all of these on the mission at hand. But what about the cost of being a Disciple of Jesus Christ.

In the short passage we thought of today the cost outlined seems to be quite steep – or at least that’s how it appears. We are to hate members of our own family, we are to carry our own cross and we are to give up everything we have. Only then can we become Disciples of Jesus….but is that what Jesus is really asking of us here.

Knowing the Gospel message as we do this just doesn’t make sense – and that’s not to show any hesitancy of faith on our part. But maybe we can begin to understand a wee bit more of what Jesus is actually getting at here when we look at the two short stories that go along with this.

In the story of the builder, he made the mistake of not doing his sums and calculating what the full cost of his project would be. As a consequence he wasn’t able to fulfil his task – he ended up looking foolish and being ridiculed by others. Could it be here that Jesus is warning against some kind of half-hearted commitment to our faith? A faith that has no substance to it and subsequently leads to other mocking it.

Then we have the story of the King about to go into battle against an enemy. Before he does so he must weigh up all the odds and determine what the outcome might be before fully committing himself and all his resources. Could it be that here Jesus is challenging us to weigh up all the odds before we follow him because once we follow him there can be no turning back.

If we were to look deep into our hearts and souls, we would know without doubt that accepting Jesus as our Saviour and becoming His Disciple is the best thing we have ever done. And if there was ever any doubt about this, we perhaps only need to look at our lives before we came to faith and see how much they have changed for the better since doing so – or at least that’s how it should be.

As a Disciple of Jesus we have something that nothing at all in this world can take away from us. We have a share in the inheritance of the Kingdom of God, something that will last into all eternity.  And in that faith we have something to turn to when we are sad, when we are weak, when we are tired and when everything else around us seems to make no sense whatsoever. That feeling we have within us of knowing Jesus as our Saviour and our friend and that He will never leave us, no matter where we are or what we are going through.

These are often the kind of things we perhaps think of when we consider what it means to be a believer in Jesus. And I know that over these past few months when so much of our lives have been turned upside down and when we have perhaps known loved ones who have been affected by coronavirus, that so many have leaned upon that faith and found comfort and strength in that.

But there is another side of discipleship that we need to consider and these verses remind us of that so vividly. That as we walk with Jesus we will encounter opposition, there will be battles to be won and there will be sacrifices that need to be made – on many different levels. And I suppose the question is, are we prepared for that.

When Jesus called His first Disciples he told them to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men – and they did. They put Jesus first, before their own families and friends and followed Him.  Indeed they left everything they had, everything they had known, to follow Jesus. They had no idea where they were going or what it might involve – but still they left and followed Him.

In doing this they maybe didn’t hate their families in the way that we might think of that word today – but they certainly put Jesus before them. Can we always say that we are willing to do that today? What’s more by doing all this they denied themselves of everything in their lives that offered them a livelihood, security, peace, love, comfort – the list goes on.

That’s what it means to deny ourselves – to forego all we knew and give ourselves over to Jesus. To live out the Gospel message as He would have us every day in the way that we communicate and interact with others, showing love, compassion and  care to all – even if it involves a sacrifice on our part. Again, can we say that we always do that?

Then we have this idea of carrying our own cross. In his letter to the Philippians the Apostle Paul said, the Son of God emptied himself taking the form of a bondservant…and being made in the likeness of men and found in the appearance of a man…He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross…(Phil 2:7-8)

What does this mean for us today? It means all we have already thought of in terms of putting Jesus first in our lives, but it goes beyond that. In the New Testament we find there are two conditions in order to find Salvation.

The first is that our salvation comes to us by the Grace of God – not by anything we can do or achieve or attain – purely by the Grace of God. But in order to fully receive this we must repent and believe. We must humbly acknowledge our need for God’s Grace and accept the price He has paid for us.

For us carrying the cross means carrying Jesus with us every minute of every day, knowing that in His love for us He paid the ultimate sacrifice that we might be saved. And that if we would be His Disciples in the world today we must seek to walk in His footsteps as best we can.

Today, when we pause to consider the cost of discipleship many might ask, why follow? Why did the Disciples leave everything behind and follow Jesus at the sound of his call? Why did the early Christians suffer persecution and death to follow Jesus?

Why, throughout the centuries, have there always been those who have continually accepted the cost of standing up for the upside down ways of God’s Kingdom in an unaccepting world. After all, there are few tangible rewards and there is no promise that life will be smooth. Indeed given all we have thought of today, it would seem quite the opposite.

The fact is that the decision to follow Jesus is not made with hope of any kind of reward, but because of the identity of the One who calls – because there is no greater joy than having a relationship with Jesus Christ. We respond out of love for our Saviour.

The call of Jesus surpasses any other loyalty, any other commitment, any other relationship. The call of Jesus defies logic. But above all, the joy of having a relationship with Jesus surpasses anything else that this life has to offer us – and will continue to do so for all eternity.

Jesus’ disciples answered the call to follow Jesus. And yes, they learned the cost of discipleship – but they also experienced the overwhelming joy of following Him. The question is, are we too going to follow that call…Amen.

Loving God, we thank You again for the wonderful gift of Jesus our Saviour and for the life we now have with Him. We know at times it is difficult to follow Him as we should and we thank You for the gift of Your Spirit to help us to do so. We think today of those whose faith has been tested in these past few weeks, of those who are ill or have loved ones ill in hospital and of those who are suffering emotionally and mentally as a consequence of this pandemic. Lay Your hand upon each and every one we pray and hold each close to You, assuring them of Your continued presence with them. And be with those whom we hold dear to us. Watch over them as only You can and encompass them in Your love and protection. And help us all in the coming days and weeks, in the face of all that we are going through, to continue to hold on to our faith in You – indeed not only to hold on to it but to bear witness to it wherever we go and whatever we do. And all this we ask in Jesus name…Amen

 

Sunday Evening – Call To Prayer

The following is taken from the Church of Scotland website as once again, with churches throughout the land, we respond in prayer to the Coronavirus pandemic.

“We live in challenging times. In truth, the challenge of these times is one that continues.

“However, the nature of that challenge has changed. In this present moment, we reflect on where we are now and this allows us to begin to try to understand the past months. Equally, we have the opportunity to anticipate what is to come.

“In the Letter to the Romans (6: 1-11), the Apostle Paul reflects on the foundation of the Christian life which is our sharing in the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“As a consequence, the life we live now is one shaped by the present reality of sharing in the life of Christ.

“As we journey together in the gradual exit from lockdown, we do so in the sure knowledge that we share in the life of the Risen Christ. We pray:”

We pray:

Faithful God, we thank you
That you are present with us now
As we share in the life of the Risen Christ.
Continue to be present with us we ask.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God who inspires faith, we thank you
That you have been with us
In times of anxiety and uncertainty.
Keep watch over our memories of the past.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Faithful God, we thank you
That you will be with us
In the days that are to come.
Journey with us in the days that lie before us.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God who inspires faith, we thank you
For the life of your Son
Who for our sakes embraced human form.
May his life shape our lives in these present times.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Faithful God, we thank you
For the reassurance that you are merciful and gracious
And that your love abounds.
In your compassion, remember us and those whom we love.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God who inspires faith, we thank you
For the knowledge that you will be with us
In all that we now face.
Go before us and provide for us we ask.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.