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.

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.

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.

Luke 12:32-40: True Priorities

What is most important to you in your life? It is a simple question and obviously a fundamental one. Yet answering it often proves difficult.

There is a myth that to know oneself and answer such questions all we need to do is to 'look inwards' and 'see' what is there. However, in life we do not so much know ourselves in a complete fashion, as constantly discover what we really are through the situations we find ourselves in. For example, you can only know how brave you are by seeing how you react when actually faced with danger.

We are also sometimes surprised by our reactions to situations, and thereby discover what we really think about something. We might have thought we would react otherwise, but did not, and so learn something new about ourselves.

What I am getting at is that we may answer whatever we like to the question, 'What is most important to you in your life?' - but we can only discover the answer by looking at how we act and react in our daily lives. Look at where your heart is, and you will find out what you really want, what you really treasure. As today's gospel puts it:

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

In today's gospel Jesus speaks of material possessions as capturing the heart, not allowing one to be free to follow him. So he challenges his disciples to reveal what it is they really value, following him or being caught up in material wealth.

Such conflicts are a common feature of life in general. I might tell you, quite sincerely, that God is what is most important to me in my life, but if my actions do not bear that out, then in some way I am mistaken and deceive myself. And, when it comes to issues as fundamental as this, wrong answers can be very costly indeed. Relationships have been destroyed, lives have been wasted, and people have become trapped in illusions, focusing on false goals, because of wrong answers to our simple question, 'What is most important to you in your life?'

You may tell your spouse that you work every hour God sends you so as to provide your family with comfort and security. Is that really true, or is it that you are driven by ambition? You may go out of your way to help those in need, but is it because you wish to help them or gain praise?

You may claim that God is what is most important to you in your life, yet never get round to spending time in prayer. Or, conversely, you may hold yourself in low esteem, but treat people with great kindness and be prepared to stand up for principles you care about.

When we give false answers to our simple question, we not only miss the opportunity to discover the truth, we also reduce the possibility of being able to change and to grow, because we think we have the truth when we do not. We give ourselves false diagnoses, and stop ourselves from being healed.

Today's gospel takes issues such as that posed by our simple question very seriously indeed, even urgently. Jesus expresses this urgency in terms of having your lamps ready for when the master arrives. One way of understanding this passage is to view it in terms of the importance of getting your values sorted out before you die or before Christ comes again. But you can only do this if you can first give a true answer to our simple question.

However, our simple question is also highly relevant to the here and now. Throughout our lives we are presented with circumstances and opportunities which require that we make a choice. And if we are to make good choices, we need to have good values, and this requires knowing what values we have in reality.

Today's gospel is therefore a gift to us. It is a gift because it challenges us to face up to what is in fact most important to us, and in so doing how important God really is to us in our lives.
If we come to answer truthfully our simple question, 'What is most important to you in your life?' - we will have at least made a beginning to evaluating our lives, taken an important first step to living authentically and honestly. So a great deal hangs on how we answer it.

Luke 23:33 Forgiveness

As Jesus was being nailed to the cross he said, ‘Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’

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 racists 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 an interview she gave to the BBC in March 2006, she said "It's very difficult for me to stand behind an altar and celebrate the Eucharist Communion and lead people in words of peace and reconciliation and forgiveness when I feel very far from that myself... so for the time being, for the moment, that wound in me is having to heal."

In contrast however, the mother of Anthony Walker, Mrs Gee Walker, publicly forgive her sons killers in front of the gathered press. Explaining in an interview later, why she had done this, she said, “It was not me. Something inside came out of me.” 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, just as it must have been for Jesus, as he hung on the cross.

What lessons we learn from Jesus’ words on the cross, and how can we learn to forgive others?
What do we learn about forgiveness?

At St Martin’s we are running an Alpha Course, and one topic that has come up on numerous occasions over the course of the last few weeks is the topic of forgiveness. It is something that many people find difficult. In a tourist shop, on one button was written, “To err is human, to forgive is out of the question.” The reality is that many people do find it difficult to forgive.

So why is forgiving people so important?

Jesus’ cry of forgiveness from the cross, are for me the most remarkable words that are spoken from the cross. We have to remember that before Jesus was nailed to the cross, he had experienced many terrible things. He had been abandoned by his friends and supporters, he had been falsely accused, he was then flocked, beaten and insulted, before being made to carry his own cross to the place of execution. And what is Jesus’ response, as he hangs on the cross, in the most unbelievable agony? It is to say, Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

Jesus asked his Father to forgive the very ones who abused, rejected and humiliated him. It demonstrates the compassionate heart of our saviour.

What lessons do we learn from Jesus.

1 Forgiveness reaches out to the undeserving.

The people who had beat Jesus, mocked Him, and nailed Him to the cross did not deserve forgiveness. But Jesus through His kindness offered it to them. The point is that forgiveness reaches out to the undeserving.

It is a reminder 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 may be people here today, who are carrying a burden of guilt or shame, and if that is you, then the message for you today is that God can take that from you. 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, 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 also 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. Again, Forgive us, as we forgive others. Jesus in effect taught us to pray, Lord forgive me, in just the same way that I am prepared to forgive others. I wonder how often we have prayed this prayer, without realising just what it is we are saying. If you am not prepared to forgive someone, and you say the Lord’s Prayer, you need to think very carefully about what it is you are praying for.

Jesus in Mark 11:25 Jesus told his disciples, “when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” And in Matthew 6:14, he said "If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you". Our own forgiveness depends upon our willingness to forgive others.

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.

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.

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.

For example, there was a situation many years ago, when a friend upset me by something they did. The anger and resentment I felt towards what they had done, grew inside me, until eventually I realised that it was affecting me in a very negative way, and I realised that I needed to forgive them, so I asked God to help me let go of the anger I felt, and the feelings of hurt and resentment that had been building in me disappeared, and I felt a sense of release and peace that I had not felt for a long time.

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.

Forgiveness is extremely difficult, so 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.

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, 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.

This raises a further question. Does forgiveness always mean reconciliation with the offender? The answer is not necessarily, although it can be a healing experience. Forgiveness is about our own attitude. Martin Luther King said, Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a permanent attitude. It is not always possible to restore the damaged relationship, for example if the offender is dead. And there may be occasions when it is not always desirable to restore the relationship, for example if a relationship was abusive.

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.

Acknowledging our own faults

It is important to recognise that we may need to apologise or seek the forgiveness of others for things we have done wrong ourselves. A number of years ago, I wrote to two former friends, asking for their forgiveness for things I had said and done. I realised that I had hurt them by my actions, and had never apologised, and because of this I wasn’t at peace with myself. So I wrote to them and asked for their forgiveness. Through that process of seeking their forgiveness, I felt released from all the guilt and shame. Jesus taught us, about the importance of being reconciled, with one another. If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. (Mt. 5:23-24) This is the reason we exchange the peace before we receive Holy Communion. It is not simply intended as a polite handshake, but an opportunity for us to make peace with one another, and forgive one another any harm we may have caused.

There may be some people her 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 born in in Haarlem, Holland in 1892 into a Christian family. When the German army invaded Holland on the 10th May 1940, Corrie and her family took the courageous decision to help Jews escape from the Germans. Through their action they helped save many lives. However on 28th February 1944 the Gestapo arrested Corrie and nine members of her family, and she ended up at the Ravensbruck concentration camp in Germany. Although Corrie survived the concentration camp, many of her family didn’t, including her sister Betsie.
After the war Corrie was invited to speak in many countries about her experiences and about her faith. Corrie had always talked about the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation, but in 1947 she had to come face to face with the challenge and cost of true forgiveness. She was speaking at a church in Munich, when she met one of her former guards at Ravensbruck. And this what Corrie said about this 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," he went on, "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. 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. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. "If you do not forgive men their trespasses," Jesus says, "neither will your Father in Heaven forgive your trespasses."

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

As we look at the countless problems in our world, one of the most important things we need to see is forgiveness. For without forgiveness, there’s no future. And 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. Amen.

Luke 9:23-25 & Matthew 25:31-40: The Cost of Discipleship

Introduction

Advertising has become a huge business. You can’t escape from it, it is everywhere, on the radio, on tv, on our computers, on the clothes we wear, on the back of buses, everywhere.

The purpose of a good advert attempts not only to sell you a particular product, it tries to sell you a life style choice. For example, we are encouraged to believe that the type of car we drive, the sort of clothes we wear, the place where we choose to go on holiday, says something very important about the sort of people we are, it says something about our values and aspirations. Charles Revson, who owns a factory making lipstick, said this: “In our factory, we make lipstick. In our advertising, we sell hope.”

But when people came to Jesus and asked him what they would have to do to follow him, Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24) Clearly Jesus hadn’t had any lessons on advertising, because if you are going to try and sell something, talking about taking up your cross, and loosing one’s life, is probably not going to attract many takers.

The Royal Marines run a recruiting advert which has the strap line, 99.9% need not apply, the point being that clearly only a select few are good enough for the Royal Marines.

Although Jesus’ words are not to be interpreted in this way, he is making clear the cost of discipleship.

Firstly Jesus said we are to deny ourselves. But what does he mean by this? We are in Lent, and during Lent many Christians give up things that they like, is this is the sort of denial Jesus was referring to? The answer is no, although self denial of this sort is a good spiritual discipline.
Denying OurselvesBy denying ourselves, Jesus is saying we need to renounce self. We need to put God, and not ourselves at the centre of our lives. It is about letting God be the one who is in charge of our lives. It is about putting God in the number one spot, rather than ourselves.

We are living in a society, where so much emphasis is placed upon putting self first, and so Jesus’ words are incredibly counter cultural. As a rock star Alice Cooper, is very famous, he is also a Christian. In an interview about becoming a Christian this is what he said. “People think it’s ironic that Alice Cooper, this rock ‘n’ roll rebel, is a Christian. But it’s the most rebellious thing I’ve ever done. Drinking beer is easy. Trashing our hotel room is easy. But being a Christian – that’s a tough call. That’s real rebellion.”To put God first in our lives is not easy. Martin Luther said “Here is what Christian living entails: wishing in all things whatever God wishes; desiring his glory, seeking nothing for oneself, either now or in the hereafter.” Many people find this difficult. This is why many people find it easier to live their lives their way rather than God’s. C.K Chesterton said “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it’s been found difficult and not tried.”

Take up your crossThe other instruction Jesus gives is to ‘Take up your cross’. Mark was writing this gospel for Christians living in Rome, who were undergoing persecution. It would have been a familiar site to see a condemned man carrying his cross to the place of execution. This theme of having to suffer for your faith would have been very relevant for the Christians in Rome. And today many Christians around the world face real persecution for their faith.

But living in this country, we do not have to face the same hardships. So what does Jesus actually mean by ‘taking up our cross’? It means being prepared to surrender everything to God, giving our whole life over to him, submitting our lives to him. Just as Jesus submitted himself to the will of his Father. There is actually a great paradox in what Jesus is saying, because it is when we surrender our lives to God, that we discover true freedom.

Dietrich Bonheoffer was a German theologian and pastor, who established the Confessing Church in the 1930s, and was involved in the German resistance movement against Hitler. He wrote a book, called ‘The Cost of Discipleship’, first published in 1937. In this book he writes, To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only Him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us. … All that self-denial can say is: "He leads the way, keep close to Him.""…and take up his cross." … Only when we have become completely oblivious of self are we ready to bear the cross for His sake. If in the end we know only Him, if we have ceased to notice the pain of our own cross, we are indeed looking only unto Him. If Jesus had not so graciously prepared us for this word, we should have found it unbearable.

He goes on to write, “To endure the cross is not a tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ. When it comes, it is not an accident, but a necessity. … the suffering is an essential part of the specifically Christian life.

It is not suffering per se but suffering-and-rejection… for the sake of Christ. If our Christianity has ceased to be serious about discipleship, if we have watered down the gospel into emotional uplift which makes no costly demands and which fails to distinguish between natural and Christian existence, then we cannot help regarding the cross as an ordinary everyday calamity… We have then forgotten that the cross means rejection and shame as well as suffering.

Bonheoffer, had to carry his own cross, he was killed by the Nazi’s days before the end of the war.

The parable of the sheep and the goats, from Matthew’s Gospel is a reminder to us that we cannot live our Christian lives in isolation from other people. And this too, is part of the cost of discipleship. I have heard people say that their Christian faith is a private matter, but this parable demonstrates that it cannot be purely private. Our faith has to impact our life, and the way we treat others.

In James chapter 2 verse 14 we read, ‘What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

As Christians we are called to demonstrate God’s love through the love we show to others. These acts of love and compassion aren’t dependent upon wealth, ability or intelligence, they are simple acts freely given and freely received.

The people Jesus reached out to, and the people we also are called to reach out to, was the prostitutes, the alcoholics, the drug addicts, the homeless, those people on the margins of society. The challenge here is not only to demonstrate love to those people that are similar to us, but to those people who the rest of society would shun. This takes us beyond our comfort zone. To people and places we would rather not go to. And it can be costly. And Jesus makes it clear that we will be judged on the criteria of how we have treated others.

Being a Christian is not easy, we know from the Gospels, that there were many people who wished to follow Jesus, but found the demands too difficult, like the rich young man. The Christian life is challenging, and at times it can be a struggle, as we seek to overcome our own wills and passions, in order to put Christ first. Fortunately, the God we worship and follow is merciful and kind, and understands are struggles and our frailties. To be a disciple of Christ requires a full-time, long-term, commitment, being prepared to endure all manner of things for the sake of Jesus Christ, but which results in the reward of eternal life in the kingdom of God. Augustine said: “Christ is not valued at all unless he is valued above all.” God has called us be comfortable Christian consumers, silent spectators, or a half asleep half-hearted halfway follower, he has to be at the heart of our lives.

Luke 2:22-40 Waiting on God

Do you ever feel that it is difficult to hear God speaking? I know I do.
There are so many distractions around us. TVs, Radios, telephone, email, things calling on our time and attention. As well as the different competing voices telling us what to do, we are constantly bombarded with advertising which tells us how to spend our money, where we should go, what we should do, how we can live longer, be happier, be more successful, achieve our goals. With so many distractions around us, is it not surprising that sometimes we find it hard to hear God’s voice in all that is going on.

I actually think that sometimes we feel more comfortable with this noise, and that we are not very good when it comes to being still and silent. Have you noticed just how difficult it is to escape from the sound of human activity? Standing in the middle of Cannock Chase, you can hear the distant rumble of traffic or the sound of a plane flying overhead.

Too much noise can be bad for us. Excessive noise can damage our hearing. A report at the start of January revealed concerns that the ipod generation are storing up problems for themselves because of damage caused by ‘white noise’, the noise of the headphones which causes damage to the hearing. Excess noise can also lead to sleeplessness and stress.

But it is not just audible noise that is a problem. Our lives can often be filled up with noise, worries, doubts, fears, pressures of work, family life, church life. All these things can act as noisy distractions. I imagine all of us at one time or another, had those experiences of lying awake on our beds at night with thoughts rushing through our mind, making it difficult for us to switch off and sleep. This noise, which can affect our lives can so often prevent us from hearing God.

The other day as I was walking down Sutton Road, there was a brief pause in the traffic, and in those few short moments, I suddenly became aware of the sound of birds singing. They had been singing away all this time, but I had not heard them because of the sound of the traffic. Is the fact that we sometimes feel as though God is not speaking to us, not because he’s stopped speaking, but that we’re not listening?

The word ‘Listen’ appears 332 times in the Bible. Clearly this is something which is important for us to do. A lot of people are very poor when it comes to listening, myself included! The story is told of Franklin Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who passed down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.” The guests responded with phrases like, “Marvelous! Keep up the good work. We are proud of you. God bless you, sir.” It was not till the end of the line, while greeting the ambassador from Bolivia, that his words were actually heard. Nonplussed, the ambassador leaned over and whispered, “I’m sure she had it coming.”

Good listening is like tuning into a radio station. For good results, you can listen to only one station at a time. If I try to listen to Beata whilst also listening to the radio station, is like trying to receive two radio stations at the same time. I end up with distortion and frustration. Listening requires a choice of where I place my attention. If I’m talking to Beata, I need to put away all that will divide my attention. That might mean laying down the newspaper, moving away from the dishes in the sink, putting down the book I’m reading, setting aside my projects, or switching off the TV or radio. The same is true when it comes to God. We need to set aside time to be with him. The trouble is that I find I’m not very good at doing this. It takes time, and effort. One of the essential elements of Taize Worship is the 10 minutes of silence in the middle of the prayer. At first it takes a lot of getting used to, because there can be so many distractions, not least the noise of thoughts whirling around in your head. But after a while you begin to appreciate the space and stillness, and you start to hear God’s voice speaking. It is about creating space for God in our lives.

Why is it though, that we find being still so difficult? I think part of the problem is that we live in a world where everything is expected to happen quickly. The world has been transformed by global communications, it is no longer a surprise when we hear about a disaster the other side of the world within minutes of something happening.

We have similar expectations in our own lives. Britain is a country in debt, consumer debt in 2004 topped one trillion pounds. In the past people used to purchase good and products after they have saved up money. Now people buy now and hope to pay later. People are borrowing money on their credit cards, and finding that they are getting more and more in debt. In the first two weeks of January the National Debtline received 12000 calls from period worried about debt, and the average caller owed between 5 and 15 thousand pounds. This is all symtematic of a culture where we expect everything to be done instantly, the buy now pay later culture. It can be a problem in our Christian life as well. When we pray we expect to get instant answers. But God doesn’t act like this. In our reading this evening, we heard about Simeon, who had been promised by God that he would live to see the Lord’s Christ. How long did Simeon have to wait for this promise to be fulfilled? The Bible doesn’t say, but it may have been an extremely long time. In 1999 I remember clearly praying to God about my desire to marry Beata. I had to wait over four years for that prayer to be answered, and a lot happened in between.

Bill Hybels in the book ‘Too Busy Not to Pray’ says that:
• If the request is wrong, God says ‘No’
• If the timing in wrong, God says ‘Slow’
• If you are wrong, God says, ‘Grow’
But if the request is right, the timing is right and you are right, God says, ‘Go!’

I get the impression that Simeon must have been someone who learnt how to be still. He was someone who learnt how to listen to God. But also, he was someone who was prepared to wait on God. He knew that he would see the Christ one day, he didn’t know when, but he trusted God. Maybe one of the things God wants to teach us is to learn to be still. To learn to switch off from the other noises and distractions we have in our lives, and to tune into him, and learn to be still. The Psalmist writes: Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. I have to confess I often struggle to create the proper time for God in my life. It is all to easy to fill up our lives with things which do not matter, and neglect those things that really do matter.

It has been estimated that in a lifetime the average person will spend: Six months sitting at traffic lights, Eight months opening junk mail One year looking for misplaced objects 2 years unsuccessfully returning phone calls 4 years doing housework 5 years waiting in line 6 years eating I wonder how much time God gets from us?

The Psalmist writes, Be Still and Know that I am God. The well known Quaker George Fox used to say ‘Carry some quiet around inside yourself, be still in your own mind & spirit, from you own thoughts, and then you will be able to hear God.’ It is important to find time, during the day just to be still, to take a sabbatical moment, even if that is for only a few minutes every few hours. It helps us feel refreshed, and focus’ our direction back onto God.