Luke 24:13-35 Emmaus Road

Whenever you go on a journey, what makes the journey special is the people who accompany you on it. For example, one of the highlights of my first trip to Taize was the coach journey from Birmingham to France. I can’t remember a time where I laughed so much, and had as much fun as on that trip.

Life has often been described as being like a journey. For example the expressions we use to talk about our lives conjures up images of travelling. We say things like, “Let's cross that bridge when we come to it, shall we?” or “My life has no direction at the moment,” or “I don’t’ know which way to turn!”, or “I’m at a crosswords in my life.”

The people that we meet on our journey through life can make a big impact on our lives for good or ill. Think for example about the impact friends, family, and colleagues have made on your life.
Today is a special occasion for us as a church family, as together we celebrate with Roger and Lilian their Ruby wedding anniversary. For over 40 years, Roger and Lilian have travelled together through life.

The Emmaus Road: Failure to recognise Jesus

Our reading this morning is all about a journey two people took on the very first Easter Day, three days after Jesus had been crucified. These two men, disciples of Jesus, were travelling from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus, a journey of about 7 miles. And as they walked, they discussed all that had happened over the last few days, trying to make sense of everything they had seen and heard. These two disciples, had seen their friend Jesus killed in a most horrific fashion, and now three days later strange reports were circulating that Jesus’ tomb was empty, and that Jesus was alive. They were confused, full of doubt and anxiety. When all of a sudden, Jesus appears alongside them. But for some reason they don’t recognise him?

Why not? Luke doesn’t tell us. Maybe it was because they were so caught up in their worries that they failed to recognise him. Sometimes our worries and fears prevent us from seeing God at work in our lives, because our focus is on our worries rather than on God. For example, I find that if I’m walking up a steep hill, I find that I tend to spend more time looking at the ground immediately in front of my feet that I fail to appreciate the wonderful views around me. Sometimes if we’re not careful our worries can completely overtake us so that we fail to see anything else. Because there are times in our lives when we don’t feel the presence of God, it doesn’t mean that he is not there. Just as on a cloudy day, when we cannot see the sun, it doesn’t mean that the sun is not there, it is just hidden from our view. So God is always with us, walking along side us, even if we are unaware of his presence. God doesn’t abandon us, even when the path we are following becomes difficult, he is right with us until the end.

Another reason why we sometimes fail to recognise Jesus is because life overtakes us, we simply so busy “getting on” with life, that we fail to recognise God’s presence with us, or don’t even make time to look for him. I know that this is a trap I have fallen into many times, and it is not only that I sometimes fail to notice Jesus, I can fail to notice other people.

Jesus Listens

As Jesus walked to Emmaus with his two disciples he asked them a question. “What are you discussing as you walk along?” One of the disciples, Cleopas responds “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”As the disciples tell this stranger walking with them everything that has happened. . They share with Jesus everything that is on their hearts, their pain, their confusion, their anger, their doubt, and their fear, and as they talk, Jesus listens.

Just as Jesus asked these disciples, what is it you’re discussing, so he also invites us to share with him all that is going on in our lives. We don’t have to pretend with God, we can be totally open and honest with him. Sharing everything that is going on in our lives, even sharing our hurt, pain, and anger.

Jesus in his own lifetime experienced the pain of bereavement, rejection, abandonment, persecution, and is therefore able to understand and sympathise with us. God is not indifferent to our sufferings, he is there right in the midst of them. The very act of sharing what is going on in our lives, can help us move forward with our lives, because we share our burdens with him. Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Mt 11:28) God is interested in everything that is going on in our lives, even those things that we may consider mundane, or seemingly unimportant or trivial. Jesus is intimately concerned about every aspect of our lives.

Jesus Speaks

After Jesus listened to the two disciples, he began to speak to them by addressing their worries, and responds to the things they have shared with him. He is not necessarily soft and gentle but comes at them with a sense of forceful rebuke! “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” (v. 25, 26). Suffering was the prerequisite to glory. These disciples, with their natural understanding of things, could only see the suffering of Christ as a defeat. They couldn’t have been further from the truth…for God had triumphed through the sufferings of Christ!

Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, maybe we sometimes fail to understand how and why God acts the way he does, but like the disciples we need to be open to allow God to speak into our lives. As the two disciples listened to Jesus, something began to change within them. They began to move from a state of despair to one of hope, and began to understand where God was to be found in the suffering of Jesus. They said to one another later, Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?

The challenge for us is to learn to listen to what God may be saying to us, and this requires us to keep open the channels of communication with God, praying, reading our Bibles, listening to the advice and guidance of Christian friends, and listening to the nudges & prompts that God gives us. If we do this, we can discover renewed hope and purpose, and direction for our journey.

Jesus is invited to stay

As the two disciples reach their destination, Jesus acts as if he is going further, but the two disciples invite him to stay and eat with them. That decision to invite Jesus to stay with them was to lead to a life changing encounter, what would have happened if they hadn’t invited Jesus to stay? The implication from the passage is that Jesus would have kept on going. Consider what the consequences are for us if we miss out on encounters with the living Christ because we quench the “nudge” that inspires us to invite the living Christ into our lives and our circumstances.

Jesus said, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” We have to make that invitation to Jesus, Jesus won’t force himself on us, we need to open the door to him.

Disciples Eyes Are Opened

In the home of these two disciples, Jesus took the bread, blessed it and then proceeded to break it and share it. Suddenly the disciples’ eyes are opened and they recognize that this stranger, is in fact the risen Jesus. Why is Jesus recognized at this particular time? Perhaps they see the nail marks in his hands as he grasps the bread to break it…or maybe it’s in the way that he intimately talks to his Father as he blessed the meal…or maybe it’s simply a matter of God’s timing. The amazing thing to note here is that Jesus was recognized in the commonplace routine of everyday life. The breaking of bread was an everyday occurrence, yet it is in this ordinary mundane moment that the fullness of Jesus’ presence is most realized and recognized.The disciples were transformed by their encounter with the risen Jesus. As soon as they recognised Jesus they were so overjoyed that the ran all the way back to Jerusalem to share this wonderful news with the other disciples. If we are open to God I believe that we too can experience that same change, discovering renewed purpose, hope and joy in our lives, knowing that Jesus who has conquered death, shares our journey, bringing us new hope and faith.

John 10:10 Abundant Life

Introduction: The Problem

A report on the BBC caught my attention this week, it stated that as a nation we are getting unhappier, Briton is now ranked only the 9th happiest country out of 15 EU nations. At the top of the league table are the Danish, Finish and Irish, and the least happy people in Europe are rather surprisingly the Italians. Clearly there is an issue here that needs to be addressed. The proportion of people in Britain saying they are 'very happy' is just 36% today, compared to 52% in 1957.

Why is it that as a nation we are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with life, when in many ways we have never had it so good? We have more disposable income than ever before; we are living longer and are healthier than we’ve ever been. But yet there are many unhappy and dissatisfied people in our world. How can we discover true happiness and freedom in life? People are searching for the answer to this question in many different places.

Leo Tolstoy, author of War and Peace wrote a book called A Confession, in which he tells the story of his search for meaning and purpose in life. He describes how he rejected Christianity as a child. As he went through life he became very ambitiuous. First of all, he thought pleasure was the answer. Having a great time. He entered the social world of Moscow and Petersburg, drinking heavily, sleeping around, gambling and leading a wild life. But it did not satisfy him. He then thought maybe money was the answer. He had inherited an estate and made a large amount of money out of his books. Yet that did not satisfy him either. He then sought success, fame and importance. But still he said, it didn’t satisfy. Then he thought, maybe the answer is family life, to give his family the best possible life. He married in 1862 and had a kind, loving wife and thirteen children. He had achieved all his ambitions and was surrounded by what appeared to be complete happiness. And yet one question brought him to the verge of suicide: ‘What meaning has my life that the inevitability of death does not destroy?’ He searched for the answer in every field of science and philosophy, but without satisfaction. Eventually he found that the peasant people of Russia had the answer he had been looking for, in their faith in God through Jesus Christ.

Jesus said “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)

Full/Abundant Life

So what does full or abundant life, look like? The Greek word that we translate as ‘full’ or ‘abundantly’ is perissos – which means ‘more than sufficient’ or ‘over & above what is required’. It can also mean 'out of the ordinary', or 'superior'. So the life Jesus offers us something totally extraordinary, quite unlike anything else we can experience. A life of completeness, fulfilment and joy.

Jesus said, "I have come, that they may have life, and have it to the full." What God desires, is for his children to live a life full of happiness, peace, and a genuine friendship with God. Paul in Galatians writes about the fruit of the spirit being love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22), to this we could also add purity, humility, modesty, faith, character, wisdom, enthusiasm, dignity, optimism, confidence, and honesty. This is the life that Jesus offers us, this is what it means to have life in all its fullness.

Money can’t buy abundant life

The abundant life that Jesus offers us, is life full of all the things money can’t buy. No matter how much money you have, you can not buy more patience, peace, joy, love or self-control. These things come from God, who is the giver of all good things. The Bible says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change..." (James 1:17). All we need to do is ask God for these gifts.

The "abundant life" is free from the things that are bad for us.

Just as love, joy, peace, self control are marks of the abundant life, so the opposite to that is selfishness, hatred, lust, unforgiveness, envy, jealousy, fear, drunkenness, sexual immorality, discord, anger, dishonesty, greed, gossipping, slander, pessimism and despair.

The more these negative qualities are a part of a person’s behaviour, the further they are from the abundant life God wants them to experience. But the good news is that God can remove all of these negative characteristics from a person’s life. God is greater than our sins, by his grace and mercy we can be set free from these harmful habits that prevent us living life in all its fullness.

If we struggle for example with a hot temper, it’s no longer an excuse to say, "This is who I am and I
can’t change that." God can change us, if we open our selves up to the power of his holy spirit to change and transform us into the people we were created to be. God is inviting you to experience an "Abundant Life".

It is God’s desire that as his children we discover happiness and satisfaction in life. But unfortunately, many Christians are still missing out on the abundant life. Perhaps, they do not believe that such a life is truly available to them. Notice in John 10:10 that Jesus did not say, "I come that (some) may have life to the full". We are all invited to discover abundant living. It is available to all God’s children, no matter what their circumstances are in life.

Many assume the abundant life depends on circumstances, or fate or luck, or their bank account, or their status in life, or their health. But wealth, power, status, and worldly pleasure have nothing to do with living the abundant life.

Abundant life is not:

1. It is not necessarily a life of comfort and ease.
2. It is not dependent on outside circumstances, but more on how we respond to circumstances
3. It is not necessarily obtained quickly. It may take time for us to experience abundant life, because it is a process that often takes time. For example, a person who is 100 lbs. over-weight may take longer to reach their ideal weight than someone who is only 10 lbs. over-weight. Nevertheless, they still can achieve their goal, even if it takes longer. In the same way, the process for some people to obtain life in all its abundance may take longer because some people carry around a little more "spiritual baggage" than others.

How can we know if we are living life in its abundance?
A good description of Abundant living is when:
1. We learn to live each day in the light of Christ.
2. When we can look back on the past, without it ruling the present.
3. You are filled with faith, hope, and love, and live without anger, greed, guilt, envy, or thoughts of revenge.
4. You are secure in who you are, so you are at peace with God.
5 You love the unlovable, give hope to the hopeless, friendship to the friendless, and encouragement to the discouraged.
6. You can look back in forgiveness, and forward in hope, with gratitude to God.
7. You recognize, develop, and use your God-given physical, mental, and spiritual abilities to the glory of God and for the benefit of mankind.

How to receive this "Abundant Life".

There is not a magic formula. God graciously gives it to all who seek it. "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives, he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened," Matthew 7:7-9.Jesus said "If you...know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him," Matt. 7:11.If we have said “yes” to Jesus, then we have already received eternal life, and so to receive “abundant life” all we need to do is ask God to help us grow into the fullness of life that he others us. Jesus said, "Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours," Mark 11:24. "I have come that you may have life to the full".

Matthew 28:1-10 Hope (Easter Day Talk)

Introduction

It was described as a great miracle, when hope had all but gone, the wonderful, the amazing happened. I am of course describing the discovery last week of nine year old Shannon Matthews, who went missing from her home in Dewsbery in West Yorkshire in February and was discovered safe and well three weeks later.

The safe discovery of Shannon has been one of the few positive items reported in the news for quite some time. Over the last few weeks the headlines have been dominated by news of the financial crisis affecting American and British institutions, riots in Tibet over Chinese rule, new evidence about the damaging effects of global warming, and the ongoing problems in Iraq five years after the toppling of Saddam’s regime. You can be forgiven when watching or reading the news not to feel rather despondent about the state that the world is in, and wonder whether there is any hope for the future.

But as Christians we believe that there is real hope, hope for ourselves and hope for our world, and it is this message that I want to talk about today. But before I do, when we talk about hope what do we actually mean? What is hope?

Definition of Hope

Wiklipedia defines hope as “a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life.” So for example we may say that we hope the weather might be good tomorrow, or we hope that our football team will do well in their next match. According to this definition hope is wishing for something, or expecting something to happen, but without any certainty of it being fulfilled. It is to desire something, without any real assurance of getting what you desire.
But the Christian understanding of hope is quite different to the definition I’ve just given. In Scripture, “Hope” means a strong and confident expectation. In other words the Christian understanding of hope is an indication of certainty. Christian hope is the confident expectation, the sure certainty that what God has promised through Scripture has occurred or will occur.
Hope in the Bible is never a static or passive thing. It is dynamic, active, directive and life sustaining. Christian hope is something that makes a difference, it has the power to change and transform.

We see this in the story of the resurrection of Christ from the dead. It was on early on a Sunday morning that Mary Magdalene and Mary the wife of Clopas, two of Jesus’ followers, went to the tomb of Jesus. They went to the tomb according to Luke’s Gospel, to anoint Jesus’ body with oils and spices, which they had not had an opportunity to do when he was first placed in the tomb. These two Mary’s went to the tomb where Jesus lay, with hearts heavy with grief and despair. They had followed Jesus for a long time, and like Jesus’ other followers, must have felt as though their lives had been shattered and their world turned up side down, when Jesus had been betrayed, arrested and crucified. On Good Friday when Jesus hung on the cross, it must have felt as though all their hopes and expectations had been completely Destroyed. Emptiness and despair must have filled their hearts and minds, as they watched Jesus die.

But what they discovered when they reached the tomb was to change them and change the world for ever. What they discovered when they got to the tomb was that the large stone that had sealed the grave had been rolled away, and where the body of Jesus had been laid, now stood an angel, telling the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.”

We could ask ourselves the question, why did the angel role away the stone? Jesus was already gone, he didn’t need help getting out. The stone was rolled away, not so that Jesus could get out, but so that the two Mary’s could get in and see the empty tomb, and to give them a profound new sense of hope and joy.

Jesus’ resurrection gives us also a profound sense of hope. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead vindicates and validates all that he said and did. Jesus declared “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.” (John 11:25). Jesus’ own resurrection from the dead gives us hope that these words are indeed true. Hope, not just in the sense of wishful thinking, but a hope which is based on certainty.

Just as the stone was rolled away from the tomb of Jesus, so Jesus comes to roll away the stones of fear, dread, uncertainty, purposelessness that can mark our lives. (John 10:10) Jesus comes to breathe new life, new joy and new hope into our lives. His resurrection gives us real hope for the present and for the future. In Jesus we can discover reason to live, we discover God’s true purpose for our lives, we can discover a freedom, a joy and a peace that no one else can give us.

Jesus’ resurrection from the dead proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ really is who he says he is. It shows us that we can trust his words. What’s more his resurrection tells us that God the Father accepted the sacrifice of His Son for you and for me. Paul said, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." But Christ has risen! "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." He did that in order to put us right with God, whom we can now call, Father. And as a result of being forgiven for the sake of Christ, He says, "Because I live, you also will live." He hands to us the sure gift and promise of eternal life! "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." Jesus Christ broke through death! He broke down death! There is now no death for those who are in Christ Jesus! Because of the empty tomb, you and I, by faith in Him, have life today and life forever, this is the Hope in Christ!The resurrection of Jesus from the dead, makes a huge difference to our lives if we allow it to. It turns night into day, despair into hope, and death into life. Jesus wants us to let him live at the centre of our lives so that we can experience purpose and meaning, hope and healing, peace, and joy that comes from God. He wants to be the risen Lord of your life!

The message of Jesus’ resurrection gives us a real hope.
- Because Jesus lives… We can have hope for today
- Because Jesus lives … We can have hope for tomorrow
- Because Jesus lives… We can have hope for eternity

So may “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13)

Christ's Passover

Sermon given at an Shared 'Agape' Meal on Maundy Thursday 2008

Sharing a meal together this evening acts as a powerful reminder of the last supper that Jesus shared with his disciples on the night that he was betrayed.

The final meal that Jesus shared with his disciples before his arrest was a Passover Meal. Although this is not made explicitly clear in John’s Gospel, is apparent from reading the Synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. The Apostle Matthew writes “On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” (Matthew 26:17) Luke records “Jesus sent Peter and John saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” (Luke 21:8)

The Passover meal commemorates the dramatic liberation of the Isarelite’s from slavery in Egypt, as recorded in the book of Exodus. The Israelite’s had been slaves in Egypt for 210 years, when God called Moses to lead the people of Israel out of slavery into the promised land. The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey… So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt." Exodus 3:7-10

Pharaoh initially refused to let the Israelite’s go, so God sent plagues on the Egyptians to prove his power. In each of the plagues it was only the Egyptians who were affected. The tenth and final plague was the killing of all first born sons in Egypt.

So that the tenth and final plague which was being sent on the Egyptians would not touch the Israelite’s, each Jewish household was told to take an unblemished, male lamb, slaughter it, and brush the blood from the lamb on the door frames. God instructed Moses that “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” What saved the Jews was the blood of the lamb that had been slaughtered.

Every Passover, Jewish families celebrate a special meal to recall how God delivered his people. This Seder meal, as it is known, consists of prescribed foods, each of which symbolizes some aspect of the ordeal undergone by the Jews during their enslavement in Egypt. It is this meal that Jesus shared with his disciples at the last supper.

• The Passover Lamb which was slaughtered on the Feast of Unleavened Bread which was the day before the Passover. This was extremely significant to commemorate God’s salvation from death by the lamb’s blood smeared on their doorposts. The lamb was the Hebrews last meal they ate before leaving Egypt.
• Unleavened bread was eaten to remind them of the haste with which their ancestors left Egypt.
• They had salt water to remind them of the many tears shed during the years of slavery in Egypt and also to remind them of the Red Sea which their ancestors miraculously cross over.
• They ate bitter herbs to remind them of the bitterness of slavery and the hyssop used to sprinkle the blood of the lamb on the door posts.
• A sweet mixture of apples, dates, pomegranate, nuts with cinnamon sticks which reminded them of the clay and straw their ancestors used to make bricks while in slavery.
• four cups of wine during the course of the meal to remind them of the four promises of God’s deliverance, and to symbolise liberty and joy.

At the Passover, Jesus would have celebrated with His disciples the deliverance and the salvation of God, they would have praised God and sang hymns together, but this meal was also to take on a new and even greater meaning.

Paul records what happened in his 1st letter to the Corinthians. The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

On the night when the Jews remembered how God delivered them from slavery in Egypt, we remember how Jesus through his death on the cross rescued us from the slavery of sin and death.
On the night when the Jews recalled how they were saved by the blood of lambs daubed on the door frames, so we remember how through the blood of The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, we too have been saved. In John 1:29 we read, Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” When Jesus died upon the cross for our sins, he became our Passover Lamb, the one whose death saves us all. The apostle Paul writes, “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.” (1 Corinthians 5:7) As followers of Jesus Christ, we have been washed clean by the blood of the lamb. It is the blood shed by Christ that saves us from sin and death.

At the Last Supper Jesus gave us two symbols to remind us of his great sacrifice, bread and wine. Bread to remind us of his body broken for us on the cross, and wine to remind us of the blood he shed for us. John 3:14-17 says, “. . . Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross], that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

In the Last Supper of Jesus, Jesus brought the focus of the Passover to Himself, to recall his great sacrifice. Jesus became the great sacrifice, the spotless unblemished Lamb of God, to take away our sin, and by doing so enables us to have a new relationship with God. We remember this every time we share together the Lord’s Supper.

So as we break bread and wine together this evening, we remember our Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ, who was died on the cross for our sake. "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen" (Hebrews 13:20 & 21).

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

This lecture is given by Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer. He gave his last lecture on Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving talk, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.

It is an extremely moving, very funny and very interesting talk, well worth watching all the way through.

Baptism of Jesus: Matthew 3:13-end

John’s Baptism

The baptism of Jesus is a key turning point in Jesus’ life, and is recorded in all four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. In contrast, the birth of Jesus, which we’ve just been celebrating, is only recorded in two of the Gospels, Matthew and Luke.

Because we are familiar with the idea of baptism as Christians, we probably don’t see anything that unusual in what John was doing by baptising people, but John’s baptism was unusual.

Up to this point in time, baptism in the Jewish religion was something that was administered to Gentiles who wanted to become Jews. When someone wanted to convert to Judaism, they underwent a process of initiation which had three stages to it. The first stage of the initiation was to take a ceremonial bath in a Mikveh, to wash away their ‘Gentile impurities’. After this special bath, the convert was said to be born anew, to have had their sins cleansed, imagery and language that we use when it comes to Christian baptism. Then following on from this, the males of the family were circumcised, and the head of the family would offer a sacrifice.

But there were some significant difference between the self administered baptism of a Gentile (non Jew) becoming a Jew, and the baptism that John was offering.

1) John’s baptism was given to those who were already Jews.
2) John’s baptism took place in the Jordan river, as opposed to the Mikveh
3) John’s baptism was not self administered, as proselyte baptism was.
4) Fourthly John’s was a baptism of repentance. All through the Bible God pleads with us to turn away from our sins, failures, and mistakes, and to turn toward him—trusting in God alone to save us. That is what repentance means, and John’s baptism—like Christian baptism—was intimately connected to repentance. Baptism marked the “turning point” for those who chose to turn toward God. In Matthew 3:1 John’s message is "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." And in verses 5 and 6 we’re told, “People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.” John the Baptist was calling people to turn away from their sins and return to God.
And whilst all this is going on, Jesus comes to John and asks to be baptised. Jesus’ baptism raises a very interesting question, which is why did he get baptised? The baptism John was offering was one of reprentenance, but of all the people ever to have lived, there was only been one person who did not need to repent, because they had never sinned, and that was Jesus. So why did Jesus feel it was important to be baptised by John, and what is its significance for us today?

There are three things I want to mention about Jesus’ baptism, that helps us to understand what our own baptism as Christians means. It’s about Belonging, Identification & Commissioning.

Belonging

When Jesus was baptised by John in the river Jordan a voice from heaven was heard saying "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." In his baptism Jesus was publicly declared as being God’s very own Son.

Baptism is a sign that we belong to God’s family, that we are children of God. The bible teaches us that we too are chosen and created by God. Psalm 139 says, “You created me, and knit me together in my mother’s womb.” And in Jeremiah we read. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;”

In baptism we are brought into the family of God, it is a public sign and acknowledgement that not only do we belong to our earthly family, but also to God’s family. Baptism is also a sign that we are loved and accepted by God. This is what the apostle John writes in his first letter. “See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children – think of it- and we really are… Yes, dear friends, we are already God’s children, right now.”

Baptism is not only a public sign that we are God’s children, but also that we are joining his family the church. This is why when someone is being baptized, we begin the service with the words, “In baptism the Lord is adding to our number those whom he is calling.” So baptism is a sign that we are joining God’s family the church.

Identification

Secondly baptism is about identification.

Why did Jesus need to undergo a baptism of repentance if he was without sin? When Jesus came to be baptised, John tried to deter him, saying “I am the one who needs to be baptised by you, not you by me.” So why was Jesus baptised?

He was baptised in order to identify himself with the message that John was preaching, which was message of turning back to God, placing God first in our life. When John questioned Jesus why he needed to be baptised, Jesus said, “It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." In other words Jesus is talking about living a life in total obedience and faith to God. So by submitting himself to baptism, Jesus is demonstrating his commitment to serve and obey his heavenly Father.

By his own baptism, Jesus shows us that a healthy relationship to God means submitting our lives to him. As Christians we are meant to give every part of our lives over to God, our relationships, our money, our time, our very selves. I’ll be honest and admit this is something I struggle with, something that does not come easily, but the more we do it, the more we experience God’s love and mercy in our lives.

Secondly, in his baptism Jesus identifies himself with a world where there is so much sin and suffering. God choose to reveal himself to the world, through his Son Jesus, by immersing himself in the world and in its struggles. And in that way God is able to identify with you and me. At his birth, Jesus stepped from heaven to take on our flesh. At his baptism he waded out into the water to stand with us in our sinfulness. Baptism was for the immoral, the impure, the liars, adulterers and thieves, and yet Jesus willingly plunged into the water as if to say, “I’m with them!” Jesus in his baptism identifies himself with you and me.

And through our own baptism we identify with Jesus. In baptism we identify with Jesus in his death and resurrection. When someone is baptised, the sign of the cross is made on their forehead as a reminder that Jesus died on the cross for them, and for each one of us, it is a mark of identity. And when we go into the waters of baptism, it is symbolic of dying to sin, and being raised to new life with God.

This next short video, reminds us of our identity in Christ as Christians:

The Jews saw baptism as a rite of passage for proselytes. John preached baptism with repentance for the forgiveness of sins—acknowledging that, apart from God, we are all unclean. But Jesus added a whole new level of meaning to baptism, as it came to be a living picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. This is why Paul writes, “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? When we were baptized into his death, we were placed into the tomb with him. As Christ was brought back from death to life by the glorious power of the Father, so we, too, should live a new kind of life.” (Rom. 6:3-4)Just as the waters of baptism provided Jesus with a way to identify with us, they also provide us with a way to identify with him.

Commissioning

Thirdly baptism is a commissioning.

When Jesus was baptised it marked the start of his public ministry. At his baptism the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus, affirming that he is indeed God’s Son, and equipping him for the task ahead. “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.”

In our baptism we too are commissioned and equipped to follow and serve God for the rest of our lives. We are commissioned to share the love of God that we have received with the world around us. We are all called to full time Christian ministry, because our calling is to live the Christian life 24/7, whatever we may do. his is both a tremendous privilege and a tremendous responsibility, and so we need help in doing this, and so in baptism we are equipped to do this by receiving God’s Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is a promise to everyone who places their faith in Jesus. The Bible says, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:38-39 NIV).God enters into our lives through his Holy Spirit, and it is the Holy Spirit that guides and directs us as we follow and serve God. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us our new identity in Christ so that we truly are born again spiritually.

Conclusion

So Jesus’ baptism tells us something very important about who Jesus is, and also reveals something important about who we are.

It reveals to us that through baptism we belong to God’s family, that just as God spoke ‘this is my son whom I love’ so he says this to you and I. He loves us, he calls us into his family.

We see that in baptism we are identified with Christ’s death and resurrection, and that through baptism we are commissioned to serve God in the world.

I want to finish by inviting you to renew the promises made at your baptism, as a way of recommitting ourselves to serving and following God. It doesn’t matter whether you can remember your baptism or not, and if there is anyone here who hasn’t been baptized, you also can join in with these words.

Renewal of Baptism Promises

Luke 2:4-7 And his shelter was a stable

Sermon based on article published in December's edition of 'Christianity Magazine' (2007)

Every Christmas, in schools, and playgroups throughout the country, Mary and Joseph, riding on a donkey, arrive in Bethlehem. There they knock on the door of an inn and are met by an innkeeper – or several inn keepers, and when they ask whether there is a room available, the innkeeper shakes their head. There is no room at the inn. Eventually, however, they are offered a stable round the back and there, in the cosy straw, surrounded by children wearing animal masks Jesus is born.

It’s a very familiar scene, but there is very strong likelihood that it never happened like that at all.

Here is what Luke says,

Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.’ (Luke 2:4-7)

The image of the manger and inn has firmly established itself in our imaginations, in nativity plays, and on Christmas cards, we have this picture of innkeepers and cattle gently lowing.

But the truth is that Luke may not have meant ‘inn’ at all. The Greek word he uses is Kataluma which can mean ‘inn’, but just as easily can mean guest room, or spare room, or anywhere you might put visitors.

Luke uses the word kataluma twice in his gospel: once in this passage and once to describe the room in which the Last Supper took place; the ‘upper room’. In Luke 22:11 two disciples are told to go and ask, ‘Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ No theologian, suggest that the last supper took place in an inn. In fact, the whole tone of Jesus’ preparations for the Last Supper indicate a concern to find a private space, a space away from threats and interruptions and away from the vast crowds in Jerusalem for the Passover.

When Luke does come to talk about an inn, he uses an entirely different word. In the story of the Good Samaritan, the victim of the thief’s is taken to an inn, and here Luke uses the word pandocheion.

This indicates that either Luke is being inconsistent in his choice or words, or he didn’t mean an inn at all. Luke is however someone he likes to get the details right. So Luke says, not that the inn was full, but that there was no room in the guest room, or spare room. And further more, Mary and Joseph weren’t staying at the travel lodge, but were probably staying with relatives, as it seems highly probable that Joseph had family links with Bethlehem.

This actually makes more sense of the story, because for Joseph to return to Bethlehem for a census meant that he had to have strong links there, and if he had relatives there, it would make sense that he and Mary would have stayed with them.

And just because Joseph travelled for the census doesn’t mean that a lot of other people did. There may have been compelling reasons for him to escape Nazareth for a while, to escape the rumours that must have circulated regarding Mary’s pregnancy. Certainly Luke gives no indication that Bethlehem was full.

This means that sadly for schools and playgroups everywhere, the story of the hardhearted innkeeper who grudgingly opens the stable round the back may well be a complete misreading of the story.

On top of this, there may not have even been a stable as well! Luke records that Jesus was placed in a manager, and animals feeding trough, but this would not have necessarily been in a stable.

We have to remember that Mary and Joseph were poor. When Mary receives news that she is going to give birth to the Messiah, she sings a song full of delight that the poor and hungry have been blessed by God. “He (God) has brought down the powerful from their thrones,” she sings, “and lifted up the lowly, he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich empty away.” (Luke 1:52-53)

This song makes no sense at all unless Mary – and the man she was to marry – were ‘lowly’, poor, and even hungry. The language is full of the idea that God has chosen to bless the oppressed, rather than the oppressors. And quite clearly Mary was ‘lovely’ in a number of ways. She was the subject of a scandal and she was a virgin. This probably means that she was quite young; although older marriages did occur, the usual age for a Jewish girl to be married was between 13 and 16. Parents usually arranged marriages through intermediaries. Betrothal was legally binding and could only be dissolved through death or divorce.

The fact that Mary and Joseph were poor is back up by the sacrifice they later give at the Temple. Luke records that they sacrificed a ‘pair or turtledoves or two young pigeons.’ – which was the sacrifice you gave if you were too poor to sacrifice a sheep.

Given this information, we can assume that Joseph came from a simple, poor background, and simple homes did not have stables!

The homes of ordinary poor families of the time were frequently built on two levels: there was the lower level where everyday living took place, and an upper level where the family slept. Or if they lived in caves, as many people did, the family would have slept in the central part of the cave, with the animals kept at the entrance.

Israel can get very cold at night, so the animals would have been a heating source for the house, a kind of primitive central heating. What Luke is saying is that there was no spare room in the residential part of the house. The place was packed out. So they had to go to the lower level, where the animals were kept. This would explain why a stable is never mentioned. There wasn’t one, the animals were kept downstairs in the home; what happened was that Jesus was put downstairs with the animals, because the rest of the house was full.

What difference does this make, apart from ruining many a nativity play? Well for one thing it shows the truth of the incarnation, of Jesus becoming man. It brings alive the fact that Jesus was born in a very specific place at a very specific time. And that place was a cramped peasant’s home in the tiny town of Bethlehem.

We can see that Jesus was born into a lower class family. It blows apart the cosy Christmas card picture of a nice warm, clean stable, with golden straw illuminated by the flowing halo round Jesus’ head. In many ways it’s a much more ‘ordinary’ scene. In some ways Jesus’ birth was highly unusual: very few births are announced by angelic choirs. But in other ways it was almost painfully normal. The home was an ordinary peasant dwelling; the first cot an animals feeding trough. In some ways, as well, the birth is more shocking. The Son of God is laid, not in some kind of rustic cot, but in the place where usually the animals ate. He slept in hay full of ticks and fleas, in a home that was small and cramped. His parents were poor, his mother was incredibly young.

Most of us accept the idea that Jesus was born into a poor family, but we don’t stop and picture what that meant. The Renaissance paintings which inform our view of the event were painted for rich, wealthy patrons. They did not want to see conditions of slum like poverty, even had the artist managed to interpret the text correctly. So we have become conditioned to see a roomy stable full of colourful characters. We have sanitised the unsanitary stable. We have swept it clean from the dirty straw, given the animals a wash and brush up, spared a bit of myrrh around to cover the unsavoury smell of sweat and animal dung.

To do so is to miss the point. The point behind Luke’s depiction of the birth of Jesus is that it WAS dirty and smelly and poor and cramped and hard and utterly, utterly, wonderful.

And this is surely the more wonderful deeper truth.

Freedom in Christ Session 11: Relating to Others

Understanding Grace

In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love you neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

As Christians are calling is to love others as we love ourselves. It’s a very challenging commandment. How can we love those who seem unlovable, how can we love those people who we find so difficult to get along with? The reality is that left to ourselves we cannot, but with God we can start to love others as we are meant.

Just as knowing who we are in Christ is the foundation for our Christian life, it also forms the basis for the way we relate to other people. “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) We give freely because we have received freely (Matthew 10:8). We are merciful because He has been merciful to us (Luke 6:36), and we forgive in the same way that Jesus has forgiven us.

We have received God’s amazing grace, his undeserved forgiveness, love and mercy, and the more we experience this, then the more we begin to find that we want to give it away to others.

We are responsible for our own character and others’ needs.

So how should we treat others?

First of all, as Christians we are called not to judge others. And yet we live in a culture that loves to judge other people. Think about the column inches that are devoted in newspapers and magazines to people in the public eye, the way in which people are built up, only to be teared down, and we are invited us to do the same. Or think for a moment how easy it is when you are involved in a dispute with someone to start broadening the issue and attacking the person’s character. For example, imagine two people are having an argument because one of them forgot to put the washing on, and all of the sudden one of the people says, ‘You’re so selfish’, or ‘You’re completely useless’, they have suddenly attacked the character of the other person and this can be tremendously hurtful.
Paul says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others. You attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” (Phillipians 2:3-5).

As Christians we have a responsibility for the way we behave, and the way we treat others. Imagine what life would be like if everyone assumed their responsibility to become like Christ in their character, and committed themselves to meet the needs of everyone around them. It would utterly transform our world!

I don’t think any of us would disagree with that. The big question is why we fail to live it out.

Being aware of our own sins

All too often we are very aware of the character failures of others while appearing blind to our own. We notice the speck of dust in our brother’s eye, whilst ignoring the whopping great plank that sticks out of our own eye.
In the Bible, whenever anyone has a powerful encounter with God, their response is to suddenly become aware of their own sinfulness, rather than the sinfulness of others. For example, when Isaiah has a vision of God in the Temple his immediate response is “Who to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” In Luke 5, when Jesus appropriated Peter’s boat to speak to the crowds that had gathered, Jesus orders Peter to put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch. Peter obeys, and starts pulling in fish after fish, and he suddenly realises that someone very special was in the boat with him, and his response is “Go away from me Lord, I am a sinful man.”

When we see God for who He is, we become much more aware of our own failings and short comings. But when our relationship with God is lukewarm, we tend to overlook our own sin and see the sin of others. And so when people don’t match up to our expectations, we have a tendency to say they are doing wrong and point it out.

Focus on responsibilities rather than rights

In every relationship we have both rights and responsibilities, the temptation we are often faced with, is to focus more on our rights rather than our responsibilities.

For example, do parents have a right to expect their children to be obedient? Or do they have a responsibility to bring them up lovingly and wisely? Do we have the right to criticise others, or do we have a responsibility to relate to one another with the same love and acceptance we have received from Christ?

The answer is that as Christians we need to focus on our responsibilities before our rights, which in today’s climate is very counter cultural.

Paul in Ephesians 4:29 says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up others according to their needs, that it might benefit those who listen.” As Christians we are to build one another up. One of the most destructive and damaging forces that we see at work in the world, and also within church is gossip. I have known many situations where tremendous harm has been caused by gossip, and there should be absolutely no place for it in the life of the church. But yet the temptation to gossip is very strong indeed.

There were four vicars who met for a friendly gathering. During the conversation one vicar said, "Our people come to us and pour out their hears, confess certain sins and needs. Let's do the same. Confession is good for the soul." In due time all agreed. One confessed he liked to go to movies and would sneak off when away from his church. The second confessed to liking to smoke cigars and the third one confessed to liking to play cards. When it came to the fourth one, he wouldn't confess. The others pressed him saying, "Come now, we confessed ours. What is your secret or vice?" Finally he answered, "It is gossiping and I can hardly wait to get out of here."

The evangelist Billy Graham once said, “A real Christian is a person who can give his pet parrot to the town gossip!”

As Christians the three essential rules we need to remember when speaking about others are:
1 Is it true?
2 Is it kind?
3 Is it necessary?

When we are attacked

How do we respond if someone attacks our character? Should we be defensive? The temptation certainly is to be. But how did Jesus react when it happened to him? “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:23)

When someone says something to attack us, the natural and immediate response is to try and defend ourselves, but sometimes this leads only to further conflict.

For example, a women called her pastor and made an appointment to see him. She had written a list of the good and bad points about him that she wanted to discuss. There were just two good points and a whole page of bad ones! As she read each point, the pastor was tempted to defend himself, but said nothing. When she had finished, he said to her, “it must have taken a lot of courage to share that list with me. What do you suggest I do?” At that point she started crying and said, “Oh, it’s not you, it’s me!” A helpful discussion followed which led her to a different ministry position which was more suited to her gifting. What if the pastor had defended himself against any one of her allegations, we can’t say for certain, but it is unlikely the matter would have been resolved so positively.

If you can learn not be defensive when someone exposes your character defects or attacks your performance you may have an opportunity to turn the situation around and minister to that person.

Acceptance & Love

As Christians we are accepted and loved unconditionally by our Heavenly Father. And as Christians we too should learn to accept and affirm others for who they are, rather than what we would like them to be.

For example, suppose a teenager comes home late and a parent responds in an overbearing way and asks angrily, “Where have you been?” The teenager will probably say just one word: “Out!” At which the parent asks, “What were you doing?” And the teenager will respond by saying “Nothing!” But if that parent had approached that teenager with an attitude of acceptance rather than rejection, of love rather than condemnation, the response may have been very different.

Our own needs

What about our own needs, how do we express these in a helpful and constructive and helpful manner?

If we have a particular need, we need to be very careful how we express it. The problem is that it can all too easily come out as a criticism rather than as a need. A need must be stated as a need, and not a judgement. Suppose a wife doesn’t feel loved; she might say to her husband “You don’t love me any more, do you?” And you can imagine the husband responding “Of course I do!” And that’s the end of that. It wasn’t stated as a need. It was judgement of her husband’s character. Suppose she said, “I just don’t feel loved right now, and I need to be.” By turning the ‘you’ judgement to an ‘I’ need, she has expressed her need without blaming anybody. Her husband now has the opportunity to meet that need.

We all need to feel loved, accepted and affirmed. In Galatians 6 Paul writes that we reap what we sow. Jesus said “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). It is one of life’s great compensations that we cannot sincerely help somebody else without helping ourselves in the process. If you want somebody to love you, love somebody. If you want to a friend, be a friend. You get out of life what you put into it. Jesus said in Luke 6:38 “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” If we do just enough to “get by” the truth is we are robbing ourselves.

If you wanted to give someone a bushel of wheat, you could slowly fill the bushel basket and scrape off the top with a board. That would be a fair measure. The Lord is suggesting, however, that we fill it until it overflows, and even shake it so that it settles. Whatever we measure out to others comes measuring back to us. Whatever life asks of you, give just a little bit more. Do that with everything and you will be amazed at what life has to offer.

A remarkable phone call from a 12-yr old boy to Houston radio station KSBJ FM 89.3. So profound, the station has it posted on their website.

Luke 2:4-7 And his shelter was a stable

Sermon taken from article by Nick Page in December's edition of 'Christianity' Magazine.

Every Christmas, in schools, and playgroups throughout the country, Mary and Joseph, riding on a donkey, arrive in Bethlehem. There they knock on the door of an inn and are met by an innkeeper – or several inn keepers, and when they ask whether there is a room available, the innkeeper shakes their head. There is no room at the inn. Eventually, however, they are offered a stable round the back and there, in the cosy straw, surrounded by children wearing animal masks Jesus is born.

It’s a very familiar scene, but there is very strong likelihood that it never happened like that at all.

Here is what Luke says,

Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.’ (Luke 2:4-7)

The image of the manger and inn has firmly established itself in our imaginations, in nativity plays, and on Christmas cards, we have this picture of innkeepers and cattle gently lowing.

The Inn

But the truth is that Luke may not have meant ‘inn’ at all. The Greek word he uses is Kataluma which can mean ‘inn’, but just as easily can mean guest room, or spare room, or anywhere you might put visitors.

Luke uses the word kataluma twice in his gospel: once in this passage and once to describe the room in which the Last Supper took place; the ‘upper room’. In Luke 22:11 two disciples are told to go and ask, ‘Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ No theologian suggests that the last supper took place in an inn. In fact, the whole tone of Jesus’ preparations for the Last Supper indicate a concern to find a private space, a space away from threats and interruptions and away from the vast crowds in Jerusalem for the Passover.

When Luke does come to talk about an inn, he uses an entirely different word. In the story of the Good Samaritan, the victim of the thief’s is taken to an inn, and here Luke uses the word pandocheion.

This indicates that either Luke is being inconsistent in his choice or words, or he didn’t mean an inn at all. Luke is however someone he likes to get the details right. So Luke says, not that the inn was full, but that there was no room in the guest room, or spare room. It is also likely that Mary and Joseph were probably staying with relatives in Bethlehem, rather than trying to find the nearest travel inn.

This actually makes more sense of the story, because for Joseph to return to Bethlehem for a census meant that he had to have strong links there, and if he had relatives there, it would make sense that he and Mary would have stayed with them.
And just because Joseph travelled for the census doesn’t mean that a lot of other people did. There may have been compelling reasons for him to escape Nazareth for a while, to escape the rumours that must have circulated regarding Mary’s pregnancy. Certainly Luke gives no indication that Bethlehem was full.

This means that sadly for schools and playgroups everywhere, the story of the hardhearted innkeeper who grudgingly opens the stable round the back may well be a complete misreading of the story.

The Stable

On top of this, there may not have even been a stable as well! Luke records that Jesus was placed in a manager, an animals feeding trough, but this would not have necessarily been in a stable.

We have to remember that Mary and Joseph were poor. When Mary receives news that she is going to give birth to the Messiah, she sings a song full of delight that the poor and hungry have been blessed by God. “He (God) has brought down the powerful from their thrones,” she sings, “and lifted up the lowly, he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich empty away.” (Luke 1:52-53)

This song makes no sense at all unless Mary – and the man she was to marry – were ‘lowly’, poor, and even hungry. The language is full of the idea that God has chosen to bless the oppressed, rather than the oppressors. And quite clearly Mary was ‘lovely’ in a number of ways. She was the subject of a scandal and she was a virgin. This probably means that she was quite young; although older marriages did occur, the usual age for a Jewish girl to be married was between 13 and 16. Parents usually arranged marriages through intermediaries. Betrothal was legally binding and could only be dissolved through death or divorce.

The fact that Mary and Joseph were poor is back up by the sacrifice they later give at the Temple. Luke records that they sacrificed a ‘pair or turtledoves or two young pigeons.’ – which was the sacrifice you gave if you were too poor to sacrifice a sheep.

Given this information, we can assume that Joseph came from a simple, poor background, and simple homes did not have stables!

The homes of ordinary poor families of the time were frequently built on two levels: there was the lower level where everyday living took place, and an upper level where the family slept. Or if they lived in caves, as many people did, the family would have slept in the central part of the cave, with the animals kept at the entrance.

Israel can get very cold at night, so the animals would have been a heating source for the house, a kind of primitive central heating. What Luke is saying is that there was no spare room in the residential part of the house. The place was packed out. So they had to go to the lower level, where the animals were kept. This would explain why a stable is never mentioned. There wasn’t one, the animals were kept downstairs in the home; what happened was that Jesus was put downstairs with the animals, because the rest of the house was full.

A Real Story

What difference does this make, apart from ruining many a nativity play? Well for one thing it shows the truth of the incarnation, of Jesus becoming man. It brings alive the fact that Jesus was born in a very specific place at a very specific time. And that place was a cramped peasant’s home in the tiny town of Bethlehem.

We can see that Jesus was born into a lower class family. It blows apart the cosy Christmas card picture of a nice warm, clean stable, with golden straw illuminated by the flowing halo round Jesus’ head. In many ways it’s a much more ‘ordinary’ scene. In some ways Jesus’ birth was highly unusual: very few births are announced by angelic choirs. But in other ways it was almost painfully normal. The home was an ordinary peasant dwelling; the first cot an animals feeding trough. In some ways, as well, the birth is more shocking. The Son of God is laid, not in some kind of rustic cot, but in the place where usually the animals ate. He slept in hay full of ticks and fleas, in a home that was small and cramped. His parents were poor, his mother was incredibly young.

Most of us accept the idea that Jesus was born into a poor family, but we don’t stop and picture what that meant. The Renaissance paintings which inform our view of the event were painted for rich, wealthy patrons. They did not want to see conditions of slum like poverty, even had the artist managed to interpret the text correctly. So we have become conditioned to see a roomy stable full of colourful characters. We have sanitised the unsanitary stable. We have swept it clean from the dirty straw, given the animals a wash and brush up, spared a bit of myrrh around to cover the unsavoury smell of sweat and animal dung.

To do so is to miss the point. The point behind Luke’s depiction of the birth of Jesus is that it WAS dirty and smelly and poor and cramped and hard and utterly, utterly, wonderful.

And this is surely the more wonderful deeper truth.

Joseph

Introduction:

A Sunday school teacher asked her class, “What was Jesus’ mother’s name?” One child answered, “Mary.” The teacher then asked, “Who knows what Jesus’ father’s name was?” A little child said, “Verge.” Confused, the teacher asked, “Where did you get that from?” The child said, “Well, you know how they are always talking about ‘Verge and Mary.’”

On Wednesday Beata and I went to Tomek’s school to see him take part in his first big performance as a sheep in the school nativity play! There is one very important character in the nativity play who often gets overlooked, and that is Joseph. Joseph is definitely the forgotten hero of the nativity story, and yet he plays such an important role.

The use & abuse of Joseph
Poor old Joseph has a hard time. He is often portrayed in art and literature as a passive, elderly, sexless and silent figure who is always in the background. But Joseph plays an extremely important role in the story of the birth of Christ. His faithfulness and responsiveness to what God called him to do, is no less impressive than Mary’s own response.

It significant that God choose Mary AND Joseph to be the parents of baby Jesus. Before Jesus learned to call his heavenly Father abba – daddy, he called Joseph his abba. In Luke chapter 2, we read about how when Jesus was twelve years old, his parents, Mary and Joseph took him to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. On the way home Mary and Joseph realise that Jesus is not with them, and they return to Jerusalem to search for him. Eventually they find him in the Temple, and these are Mary’s words to Jesus. “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."

The baby Jesus did not become the man Jesus by only being at the breast of Mary. The boy Jesus became the man Jesus by also being in the arms of a father. Joseph was the man who gave Jesus the sense that fatherhood was a glorious reality that imaged the infinite tenderness and strength of God.

Joseph has much to teach us. We need to allow him to regain his youth, his manhood, his marriage and his fatherhood in our imaginations, so that we can learn from him.

Joseph & Mary Give an Interview to Hello Magazine

Looking happy and relaxed together after their first Christmas as the Holy Family, Mary and Joseph welcome Hello readers to an exclusive tour of their new home.

As their adorable three week old baby Jesus plays happily on the floor- doing the Times crossword- Mary told us about the rush to get everything ready in time for the birth of Jesus. ‘We only exchanged on the property on Christmas Eve – it was all a bit last minute. Nothing was ready. Joseph was marvellous. He just got his tools out and soon had the place liveable’. She gazes lovingly up at his rugged handsome features- and affectionately squeezes those strong sensitive craftsman’s hands.

Joseph’s design skills are apparent throughout the house. He has retained the original rustic features of the cattle shed – in fact several animals still live there.

He proudly showed us the charming nursery with its unusual manger feature, designed in the style of a cattle trough. ‘Jesus loves it – in fact he loves everything – he’s just a perfect baby. Of course, since he’s been born we have a constant flow of visitors. It has been very busy, but we managed to find a child minder who been a real angel.’ (Continued on page 10)

The Real Joseph

So what do we know about the real Joseph.

If you look in the Bible, you will see that Joseph doesn’t say a single word. He listens and obeys. We might assume his words are recorded, because we can imagine the conversations he had with Mary, and the Angel Gabriel. He can “hear” him talking to the innkeeper. We can visualize him teaching Jesus about carpentry…but then he fades from the scene. It is widely thought that Joseph was much older than Mary, and when Jesus began His ministry, Mary appears alone, and although the Bible doesn’t say she’s a widow, we assume that Joseph has since died.

In Matthew’s Gospel we are told that Joseph was a righteous man and a man of integrity.
We see this in the way in which Joseph deals with the news of Mary’s pregnancy. We are told that Mary and Joseph were pledged to be married, this was a much more binding contract that being engaged is today. The pledge to be married was legally binding. Only a divorce writ could break it, and infidelity at that stage was considered adultery. Under Jewish law, Mary could have been stoned for this apparent act of adultery. But in the face of apparent appalling betrayal by his fiancée- who is pregnant by someone else – Joseph has no doubt he cannot marry her, but he is not willing to humiliate her in public, and so he resolves to dismiss her quietly.

There is a gentle & strong dignity here in the face of what for Joseph must have been awful pain and heartache.

But God intervenes in a dream, saying to Joseph, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

And Joseph says yes to God in a way that is every bit as amazing as Mary. Both of them step outside socially acceptable behaviour, into the costly adventure of faith. In our own time when fatherlessness has become an epidemic, Joseph’s example is a powerful one.

The brief portrait of Joseph in Scripture suggests he was a quiet, unobtrusive man, available when needed, willing to endure hardship and disappointment. Looking forward to fathering his own child, Joseph was faced with being a step-father to a child not his own. He accepted the humbling circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth. He trusted the providential care of God every step of the way. He didn’t have any parenting books, any training on how to be a father to the Son of God, but he possessed faith and compassion, and was clearly an effective provider and protector of the family.
Illustration
A Sunday School was putting on a Christmas pageant which included the story of Mary and Joseph coming to the inn. One boy wanted so very much to be Joseph, but when the parts were handed out, a boy he didn’t like was given that part, and he was assigned to be the inn-keeper instead. He was pretty upset about this but he didn’t say anything to the director.During all the rehearsals he thought what he might do the night of performance to get even with this rival who got to be Joseph. Finally, the night of the performance, Mary and Joseph came walking across the stage. They knocked on the door of the inn, and the inn-keeper opened the door and asked them gruffly what they wanted.Joseph answered, "We’d like to have a room for the night." Suddenly the inn-keeper threw the door open wide and said, "Great, come on in and I’ll give you the best room in the house!"For a few seconds poor little Joseph didn’t know what to do. Thinking quickly on his feet, he looked inside the door past the inn-keeper then said, "No wife of mine is going to stay in dump like this. Come on, Mary, let’s go to the barn."
In all the Christmas pageants performed, Joseph doesn’t get a starring role, but his part is so important. His task is to watch over Mary and the baby Jesus. When our lives go in a direction we don’t expect, we cry out, like Joseph must have cried out, "God, how can this be?" But like Joseph, we hear a still small voice from God saying, "Trust Me." God’s ways are not always our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and we may never understand everything that God is doing this side of heaven, but God says, "Trust Me, and all things will work together for good."What do we learn from Joseph?

So what can we learn from Joseph.

a) Obedience & trust in the face of the unknown

b) A man who listens to his dreams (Matt 1.20 & 2.13)

Joseph not only responds to the dream from God telling him to marry Mary, but he also responds to the dream warning him that take Mary and the infant to Egypt to escape from King Herod. He is someone who listens to God, and responds accordingly.

c) Willing to respond to God’s call

As we look ahead to 2008, I cannot think of a better example to follow than that of Joseph. I hope and pray that as a church and as Christians we will demonstrate the same level of obedience and trust that Joseph showed in the face of the unknown. I pray that we will be people who listen to what God is telling us, and that like Joseph we will be willing to respond to God’s call.

The best Christmas gift

Read thank you letter based on 12 days of Christmas (page 134 A Stocking Full of Christmas, compiled by Mark Stibbe & published by Monarch Books).

If you ask any child what they most look forward to about Christmas, chances are they will talk about receiving presents. I suspect it is true that Christmas time is, for most people, is about the giving and receiving of gifts. Do you know that in Britain we will spend around £15 billion pounds on gifts at Christmas! Someone once asked, what three words best sum up the Christmas season. “Peace on earth.” “Goodwill to all,” and “Batteries not included.”

Although I get pleasure out of being able to give gifts to my family, I don’t personally enjoy the process of shopping for those gifts. I hope that most of the time the gifts I buy are appreciated. I was looking at the BBC Cumbria website earlier in the week, and they have been running a competition to see what the worst gifts people had received. Amongst the ones that caught my attention were these gift ideas.

One man in Carlisle was sent by his mother industrial sized toilet paper and air freshener for Christmas. Another man in Berwick, a keen football support, was sent a book on football teams by his gran. The only problem was it was about teams he didn’t support, and it also happened to be three years out of date. But probably the award for most least inspired Christmas gift has to go to the man who sent his brother a pack of Bachelors Cup a Soup. However, I suppose we shouldn’t be too disparaging because as the saying goes, it is the thought that counts!

If you ask a child what they enjoy most about Christmas, probably at the top of their list will be receiving gifts. And Christmas is all about the celebration of the greatest gift that has ever been given. That is the gift of God Himself, revealed to us in his Son Jesus Christ. This is amazing message of Christmas, that God came into the mess and confusion of this world, to show us his love, and he came not as a powerful conquering King, but as a tiny baby. Christmas is really the ultimate love story, because it is about God’s love for you and me. Those famous words in John 3:16 remind that it is because ‘God so loved the world’ – that is you and me ‘that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’

Jesus brought special gifts to all those who encountered him, the gifts of love, joy, peace and hope. Every person in the Christmas story who encountered this child, had their lives touched in a very powerful and life transforming way. And to this day Jesus is still touching and transforming lives here in St Martin’s, in Walsall, in our nation, and throughout the world. Jesus today is bringing God’s gifts of love, joy, peace and hope to the lives of millions of people around the world. Jesus came into the world, to reveal to us God’s love, so that we might enjoy the fullness and abundance of life that God offers us all. It is the most wonderful gift that anyone can receive, the gift of knowing that we are God’s child.

How do we respond to this gift? When you wake up on Christmas morning and see the parcels under the tree, you have two choices, you can open the presents and receive the gift with gratitude, or you could choose to leave the present unopened under the tree. It is the same choice that we face with Jesus. Today Jesus is offering us the gift of God’s love, joy, hope and peace, he wants to come and fill our lives so that we can discover life in all its fullness. The question is do we receive this gift with joy, or do we choose to leave it unopened?

The reality is that at Christmas time, when we receive presents we don’t really need, God offers us a gift we cannot do without, his love, his joy, his hope and his peace in our lives. What will your response be this year?

Freedom in Christ: Session 10 Growing in Maturity

Introduction

What are the signs that you have matured?
1. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.
2. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.
3. You and your teeth don't sleep together
4. Your back goes out, but you stay at home
5. When you are on holiday your energy runs out before your money does
6. You sit in a rocking chair but can't get it going
7. Your actions Creak louder than your words
8. You are warned to slow down by your doctor instead of the police
9. Getting lucky means you found your car in the multi storey car park

Over the last four months we’ve been thinking about how to grow and mature as Christians. Being a mature Christian has nothing to do with how old we are, or even how long we’ve been a Christian, it’s about the depth and quality of our relationship with God, it is about becoming more like Christ.

Made in God's image

When God originally created people He said, “Let us make human beings in our image and likeness.” (Genesis 1:26) God is not talking here about physical likeness, but a spiritual likeness. To be made in God’s image means to reflect God’s character. The evidence of a godly character is that we produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This includes growing in “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). This is what the image of God “looks” like, this is what as Christians we should be aiming for, because this is what it means to be a mature Christian.

The Apostle Paul encourages Christians to “grow in the Lord” (Colossians 2:7) and that God wants us to bear His likeness and character. But how do we grow?
Holy Spirit

It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that God helps us to develop character (Philippians 2:13). Paul in Colossians writes, “the mystery revealed to the saints…is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:26-27). We do not develop Christ-likeness by imitation but by inhabitation. This means that our own efforts at becoming spiritually mature are useless unless it is Christ working in and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Spiritual growth does not happen automatically. Although God initiates the desire to grow spiritually within us and gives us the power to grow, we must be willing to accept and cooperate with His work. To grow spiritually requires intentional commitment to change our lives in order to conform to the likeness of Christ. God gives us the resources and opportunities for growth, but we must work them out. We are encouraged: “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13).

Changing thought patterns

What is the best way to grow spiritually? The first thing we need to know is that there are no short-cuts to spiritual growth. The most effective way to change your life is to change the way you think. Behind everything you do is a thought. Every behaviour is motivated by a belief, and every action is prompted by an attitude. Some people try to effect a change in their lives by sheer willpower. They will say, for example, “I’ll force myself to eat less…exercise more…quit being disorganized and late.” Whilst willpower can produce short-term change, it can also create internal stress because you haven’t dealt with the root cause of the problem. Eventually you will give up and revert to your old patterns.

There is a better and easier way to effect permanent change. The Bible says, “Let God transform you into a new person by the changing of the way you think” (Romans 12:2). Your first step in spiritual growth is to start changing the way you think. The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel influences the way you act. Paul said, “There must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes” (Ephesians 4:23).

Becoming like Christ means to develop the mind of Christ, laying hold of the truth about what God says about ourselves, other people, life, our future, and everything else. Growing spiritually means to take on Christ’s outlook and perspective.

Reading, Meditating & Struggling

How then do our minds become transformed? Martin Luther expressed his method for spiritual transformation through reading, meditating and struggling. The first step is reading the Scriptures. Here we expose ourselves to the mind of God. Here in the Word of God we find truth (John 17:17) and this truth has the power to transform our lives. God’s truth uncovers the lies in our lives. Spiritual growth, then, is the process of replacing lies with truth. Jesus put it this way: “The Spirit gives life. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63). God’s Word is living and active. It has power to generate life, create faith, produce change, cause miracles, heal hurts, build character, transform circumstances, impart joy, overcome adversity, defeat temptation, infuse hope, release power, cleanse our minds, bring things into being, and guarantee our future forever!

We cannot live without God’s Word. It is the spiritual nourishment you must have to fulfill your purpose in life. Therefore, your attitude towards God’s Word is the most important indicator for how you will grow spiritually. We must receive it, read it, study it, remember it, meditate it and apply it to our lives so it can change the way we think and act.

Essential to spiritual growth is reading and meditating on God’s Word. Another thing we need is to undergo struggles or temptations. The Bible says, “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17). God has a purpose behind every problem. Besides asking God to deliver us from our troubles, we are also to ask what spiritual lesson God wants us to learn from that circumstance. As any Christian can attest, no significant spiritual growth happens without struggles. God uses problems to draw you closer to Himself. The Bible says, “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted; He rescues those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).

Problems don’t automatically produce what God intends. Many people become bitter, rather than better, and never grow up. Therefore, we must respond to troubles in the way God would have us. We must remember that God’s plan is good and that He knows what is best for us. Corrie ten Boom, who survived a Nazi concentration camp explains what helped her through her struggles: “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest!”

Maturing spiritually also involves growing through temptations. Every temptation is an opportunity to grow spiritually. Temptation can be a stumbling block or a stepping stone to spiritual maturity. While temptation the Devil’s primary weapon to destroy you, God uses it to develop you. Every time you choose not to give in to temptation, you grow in the character of Christ; you develop the fruit of the Spirit.

Just as fruit takes time to develop and ripen, spiritual growth only happens slowly over time. God develops the fruit of the Spirit in your life by allowing you to experience circumstances in which you’re tempted to express the exact opposite quality! Character development always involves a choice, and temptation provides that opportunity.

For instance, God teaches us to love by putting some unlovely people around us. It takes no character to love people who are lovely and loving to you. Likewise, God teaches us real joy in the midst of sorrow. Happiness depends on external circumstances, but joy is based on your relationship to God. God develops real peace within us, not by making things go the way we planned, but by allowing times of chaos and confusion. Anyone can be peaceful when things are under control and running smoothly. But we learn real peace by choosing to trust God in circumstances when we are tempted to worry or be afraid. God uses the opposite situation of each spiritual fruit to allow us a choice. Every time you overcome a temptation you become more like Jesus!

Spiritual growth takes time. It takes time for us to develop a character that reflects the character of God. It happens when you expose yourself to the truth of God’s word; when you read it and meditate on it. It happens when you allow the Holy Spirit to transform your life through repentance and conforming your mind to that of Christ’s. Spiritual growth happens as you struggle with temptations and difficulties which God uses to develop your character.

The good news about spiritual growth is that God is the one who gives you the motivation and the power to grow. God has poured out His Spirit on all of you and all you need to do is to allow Him to do His work in your life. Who better to direct your life than your Creator who made you and loves you, your Redeemer who gave His life for you, and the Spirit who gives you the joy and peace that surpass all understanding? May God then bless you on your journey towards Christ-like maturity. Amen.

Freedom in Christ: Session 9 Forgiving from the heart

Introduction

On July 7th 2005, Jenny Nicholson, got on the tube at Paddington Station, to travel to the publishing company where she worked. It was a journey she had taken many times, but it was to be her last. She was one of fifty two people killed that day, as terrorists attacked the transport network in London, Jenny Nicholson was only 24 years old.

Just over three weeks later, on the 30th July 2005, Anthony Walker, a young 18 year with a very promising future ahead of him, was brutally murdered by a gang of racist thugs in Merseyside.

The one thing linking these two stories, is that both Jenny Nicholson and Anthony Walker came from Christian families. But the families have responded to their deaths, has been quite different.

The mother of Jenny Nicholson, the Revd Julie Nicholson, found it impossible to forgive her daughter’s attackers, and resigned from her role as Parish Priest. In contrast however, the mother of Anthony Walker, Mrs Gee Walker, publicly forgive her sons killers. She went on to say that she felt no hate for her son’s killers, only sadness, she said, “Jesus commanded, ‘Take up your cross and follow me.’ So I try to stay focused and my message is peace, love and forgiveness.”
Both stories, illustrate the challenge of forgiveness. As Christians we are called to be prepared to forgive, yet as we see from these two stories, forgiveness can be costly, and difficult
What do we learn about forgiveness?

So why is forgiving people so important?

1 Forgiveness reaches out to the undeserving.

When Jesus was being nailed to the cry, he cried out Father forgive them. The people who had beat Jesus, mocked Him, and nailed Him to the cross did not deserve forgiveness. But Jesus offered it to them, and this shows how forgiveness reaches out to the undeserving.

We are the undeserving. Jesus’ words on the cross, reminds us that God’s forgiveness also extends out to each one of us, and that none of us are beyond the reach of God’s love or forgiveness, now matter what it is we have done. There is nothing that God cannot forgive.

2 We are to follow Jesus’ example

As Christians we are to follow the example of Jesus, we are to be people who are willing to forgive others, to extend the hand of forgiveness to the undeserving, just as we have been forgiven ourselves. But the reality is that, many people find this extremely difficult, like the mother of Jenny Nicholson. To forgive someone who has wronged you is not easy.

You yourself may have been hurt in the past, and you may feel that the person who wronged you doesn’t deserve to be forgiven, but then again did the people who put Jesus to death deserve to be forgiven? No. Do we deserve to be forgiven by God when we sin against him? No. But yet God still forgives us. And we too are called to forgive because God has forgiven us. Paul in Ephesians 4:31-32 writes, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

1. Forgiving is linked to being forgiven ourselves:

We are called to forgive other people, because being prepared to forgive other people is linked to being forgiven ourselves.

In the Lord’s prayer, there is only one petition that has any condition attached to it: it is the petition of forgiveness. Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us”, and said “For if you do not forgive others from the heart, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your sins.”

Notice first of all, that Jesus assumed we would forgive others. Forgive us, AS WE forgive others… To forgive as Christians is not an optional extra, it is something we are meant to do. Notice also that our forgiveness in effect depends on our own willingness to forgive others. If we refuse to forgive those who have hurt us, it will have an impact upon our relationship with God. Jesus said, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

2 Because it is part of our spiritual growth

Another reason why we are to be prepared to forgive others, is that the more we learn and practice forgiveness, the more we become like God, who himself is merciful and forgiving. As Christians what enables us to forgive is the knowledge that we ourselves have been forgiven by God. God has forgiven us, not because we deserve it, but because he is full of grace and mercy. Those

3 Because it is in our own interest

An unwillingness to forgive people can have a detrimental effect upon us. If we hold on to resentment, anger or hatred, it can damage us, far more than the person we are unwilling to forgive. For example, I am sure we can all think of people, whose lives have been corrupted by the strong sense of bitterness and anger that they have felt towards a person or a situation. To refuse to forgive someone is a bit like walking past a fisherman and getting snagged by a fish hook in your cheek. How do get rid of the pain? By leaving the hook in place? No, by taking it out!

If we do not forgive, we shall not enter into the all the joy and freedom God wants for us. Unwillingness to forgive ties us to the past, so that we cannot move forward.

Reluctance to forgive

Sometimes we may be reluctant to forgive. It may be that we are afraid that if we do forgive, we will in effect by saying:
• That the offence didn’t really hurt me
• That I and my feelings don’t matter much
• That we believe the offender had a valid excuse to hurt us
• That the offender need not face any consequences for their actions
• That it is okay to hurt me again.

But forgiving someone doesn’t apply any of these things. Just as when Jesus said from the cross, Father forgive them, he wasn’t saying that our sin which took him to the cross wasn’t significant, it was, but he still forgave us.

What forgiving involves

So what does the process of forgiving involve?

Forgiveness doesn’t mean denying our feelings of hurt, anger, outrage, loss, but acknowledging them, and learning to let go of them so we can move forwards in freedom. And it means refusing to seek revenge, if you wrong me, and I forgive you, I shouldn’t then go and look for ways in which I can get my own back on you.

How can you forgive someone when you have been really hurt, especially when we have been hurt or let down by those who are closest to us?
But there are some things we can do which can help us.
• We can talk about it, especially to a wise and trusted friend.
• We can try to understand why the person who has upset us has acted in a certain way. For example, Professor Sheila Hollins, the mother of Abigail Witchalls, the young mother who was left paralysed after been attacked whilst walking with her young son, was able to forgive the attacker, Richard Cazaly, who later committed suicide. Professor Hollins said “His death is the real tragedy in this story because he lost his life and almost certainly this was the consequence of the mind-altering drugs he was using." She was able to forgive this man, in part because she understood the effect these drugs had upon him.
• We can pray:
1 Pray for ourselves, by sharing our feelings with God, and asking for his help and grace to lead us to a point where we feel we can forgive.
2 Pray for the person who has hurt us that God will bless them- this can be difficult but helpful. Jesus said pray for those who persecute you.
3 And we can pray that God will somehow use what has happened
for our good.

Forgiveness is not just a one off event, it is an ongoing thing. In Matthew 18:21 Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" To which Jesus replies, I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. In other words, it is an ongoing thing, and for some people, the process of forgiveness may take many years.

Corrie Ten Boom

There may be some people here today, thinking I know I should forgive, but I don’t think I can. I want to finish by telling the story of Corrie Ten Boom, and how she had to face the challenge of forgiving someone who had hurt her. Corrie was sent to the Ravensbruck concentration camp along with 9 members of her family, for sheltering Jews feeling from Nazi persecution in Holland. Although Corrie survived the camp, many of her family didn’t. In 1947 she came face to face with one of her former guards, and this is what she wrote about that encounter.

“Memories of the concentration camp came back with a rush: the huge room with its harsh overhead lights, the pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the center of the floor, the shame of walking naked past this man. I could see my sister's frail form ahead of me, ribs sharp beneath the parchment of skin.

Now he was in front of me, hand thrust out: "A fine message, fraulein! How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!" It was the first time since my release that I had been face to face with one of my captors and my blood seemed to freeze.

"You mentioned Ravensbruck in your talk," he was saying. "I was a guard there. But since that time I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fraulein--" again the hand came out--"will you forgive me?"

And I stood there--and could not. My sister Betsie had died in that place--could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking? It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out, but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do. For I had to do it--I knew that.

Still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. "Jesus, help me!" I prayed silently. "I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling." And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. "I forgive you, brother!" I cried. "With all my heart!"

For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then.
Conclusion

Forgiveness is to set a captive free and then to realise that you were the captive. God commands us to forgive because he loves us. He knows how refusal to forgive leads to the corrosive and destructive influence of bitterness, and causes us to miss out on the abundant life that Jesus came to give us.

The greatest symbol we have for forgiveness is the cross of Jesus. The cross also reveals to us just how costly forgiveness can be, but also how necessary it is. Mother Teresa said, If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive. In Christ’s suffering on the cross that not only do we see true love revealed, but also the power of forgiveness to bring healing & wholeness. This is what Corrie ten Boom discovered when she met her former capture, and this is what we too can discover if we are people who are prepared to forgive.