Mothering Sunday Luke 2:33-35 Colossians 3:12-17When I say, ‘Sorry seems to be the hardest word’, do you then immediately hear those words in your minds, set to music, as in a particular pop song, sung by a famous artist? Possibly… And it is quite sad that saying ‘sorry’ is sometimes the most difficult thing to do, even though it is often necessary for relationships that are struggling or broken to mend and flourish. Besides, we all need forgiveness, whether we realise it or not, for the mistakes we have made, for the way we have perhaps hurt somebody else, or not done the right things when we could. Is any of you perfect? Have any of you never done anything wrong? You would be a miracle; and I won’t believe you if you say ‘yes’ to those questions anyway… I know that I am not perfect, for sure; I’m a work in progress, as the Bible says, and thankfully so! For even if I myself or someone else would give up on me, God doesn’t give up on me, ever. That is very reassuring. The passage from Colossians 3 begins with confirming that, saying that in effect we have ‘died and our life is hidden with Christ in God, … we have clothed ourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator’. We are a new creation, but it is important to note that we are not the finished product; as our new self is being renewed day by day. Paired with this passage from Colossians is today’s Gospel reading from Luke, where we find Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus in the Temple, when those very particular words are spoken over Jesus, and especially to his mother Mary: ‘This child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’ A cryptic message, perhaps, at that moment, when Jesus is still an infant. Jesus is the child of the promise, and even if the full extent of the promise and what it contains is not grasped now, his death on a cross is probably not what Mary has in mind for her son. It is a prophecy that Mary may have pondered for a long time, and that she would have remembered most acutely at Jesus’ crucifixion: the moment when grief like a sword pierced her heart. Mothering Sunday is a day when we are encouraged to go to our mother churches, where we were baptised and entered into the fellowship of God’s family. We also honour mothers and those women who have played a supporting role in our lives, nurturing us and helping us grow. For many it is not an easy day; perhaps there is still the pain of unwanted childlessness, or the grief over a lost child, a mother who isn’t there or a rift in the relationship. This pain may surface especially today, all the more so if there is no possibility for restoration. We cannot imagine what Mary thought, when she witnessed her son’s death: did she fully understand the meaning of it all? Jesus died for the things that humankind had done wrong; taking on our need to say the deepest ‘sorry’ to God for failing our purpose and for the mess we had created. But, thanks be to God: he did not stay dead: he rose again, giving us hope of eternal life through faith. I trust that Mary came to see that too; that she understood how the promise of a Saviour would work out God’s plan for restoring all that was lost. There is even more good news in this: when we know that our own sins have been forgiven, we are encouraged to forgive the sins of others too. This is what we pray in The Lord’s Prayer: ‘forgive us our sins, as / in the same way we forgive those who sin against us.’ One of the features of a mother is that they most often forgive their children. And God, who, ‘as a mother tenderly gathers her children, […] has embraced a people as [his] own. When they turned away and rebelled [his] love remained steadfast.’ (Eucharistic Prayer G). Whenever we say ‘sorry’ for what we have done wrong, our relationship is restored. So, whether we are able to speak with our mothers or not today, for whatever reason, may we still rejoice in our restored relationship with God himself, who made mothers and involved them in raising his family. Thanks be to God for the loving care that he has shown through his own motherhood. Amen.
Third Sunday of Lent John 2:13-22 Exodus 20:1-17The Temple was the beating heart of the Jewish faith. It was their holy place, where the acts of worship and sacrifice, with music and teaching, happened for the nation, and where they were drawn into the presence of God. God himself had promised that he would be there, living in the midst of his people. Imagine, then, the sudden bursting in of another Teacher, who upturns all of this, literally, and sweeps the place clean of the money-changers and others who were there selling cattle, sheep and doves, for the people’s sacrifices. The system, that they had all relied on for their religious observance being driven out by this person, who even uses a whip to chase them out. His anger at their practices was made quite clear! What’s more, he refers to the Temple as ‘his Father’s house’… and saying that it has been made into a market place! I suppose Jesus’ actions in the Temple that day raised a few hackles. So, what was going on? Animals were sold for the sacrifices and the Temple tax had to be paid in Jewish coin, and all the different currencies that people used had to be changed into Jewish money. Among these currencies was the hated Roman coin, with the image of the Emperor. No doubt, the money-changers earned a nice living here. Jesus’ indignation was not aimed at those engaged in worship, but at the ones who detracted from it. The whole system had become corrupt when materialism crept in. This incident also occurs in the other three Gospels, but in Matthew, Mark and Luke, it happens towards the end of Jesus’ ministry, not at the beginning as in John’s account. Why would that be? Possibly, because it explains what comes afterwards. One thing is perhaps helpful to note: it was the Passover. And Jesus, when asked by the religious authorities what he thinks he is doing, replies rather cryptically that he is the true Temple; that he, as the Word made flesh, is the true place where God dwells. When he mentions its destruction, it is a reference, then, to his death and resurrection as the ultimate sacrificial lamb, who would set the people free from their sins. This reference, saying, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’, was going to be used as part of the accusations against him at his mock trial. The disciples, though, would remember it later in the correct context and believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. Jesus is also giving the Passover a new meaning: John has already said that he is the Passover lamb that God has sent. And Jesus is going to Jerusalem when the liberation of the people and their rescue from slavery is being celebrated. In the reading from Exodus 20, which is the Ten Commandments, we are reminded of God’s first act of liberation: ‘God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.’ Now, with Jesus, God’s Son, going to perform the second act of liberation, he is reminding the people of their true calling as God’s people. Jesus is the new reality; the new Temple, the Word made flesh, bringing God among the people in a totally new sense. In a way, God has never been this close and living in the midst of the people, as now, in Jesus. His work of salvation in his death and resurrection, is to be the reality to which the Passover is pointing. The final sentence of today’s Gospel reading mentions that the disciples believed. We are also called to believe; to accept that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are our ways his ways (Isaiah 55:8). When we see the signs that Jesus is doing, we may respond by trusting him and believing him. As he has said, he knows us better than we know ourselves, and he is faithful. Amen.
Second Sunday of Lent Mark 8:31-end Genesis 17:1-7; 15-16There had just been a wonderful moment, when Jesus had asked the disciples, ‘But you, who do you say that I am?’ And Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’ A moment of enlightenment; of excitement even, when Peter, with the other disciples, finally ‘saw’ who Jesus was. From this high, though, Jesus had to bring them down rather swiftly. As Mark records, Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, etcetera, and be killed, and after three days rise again. Of course, this is not something that would go down easily. Peter won’t have any of it. He can’t imagine that the Messiah, of all people, would have to be treated in this way. He takes Jesus aside and rebukes him. But Jesus turns and looks at him, saying, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’ That is quite a rebuff! We might feel sorry for Peter: he got it so right just before and his indignation at Jesus’ words would be totally understandable from a human point of view – but he got it so wrong too! Poor Peter! But Jesus had to teach them, forewarn them, about the purpose and the will of God for his people, so that they got the message right eventually. For the purposes that human beings may have for themselves are not the ones that God has chosen. He has a different plan for them, a plan that ultimately will save them. And so Jesus continues and says, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.’ Now this, again, from a human point of view, is not easy to swallow; probably making it worse! Jesus is clearly not a crowd-pleaser! But then, there is no glory without a cross, is what Jesus is saying. You can’t have Easter Day without Good Friday. The disciples have to learn the ‘upside-down’ way of the Kingdom of God. Not an easy lesson to learn but it is essential. Peter and the others may not have seen Jesus as a military leader, perhaps; rather as a religious one, I expect. But they certainly didn’t see him as a sacrificial lamb, going to his death. It would defy reason! And yet, that is the path that Jesus is taking, as a martyr-Messiah, and, there will be a vindication. For he has also said, he is to rise again in three days. The language Jesus is using may be cryptic and startling, when he rebukes Peter and teaches the true meaning of following the Son of Man. But then Peter, and the other disciples, need to learn what the Church has always had to grapple with, which is the challenge of God’s point of view. God’s Kingdom doesn’t come through the destruction of the world, but rather through the total defeat of the evil in it. And that defeat is to come through the suffering of Jesus, the Messiah himself. Glory will come but not before the cross. And anything that would hinder Jesus from carrying out the work of salvation that he has come to perform in that way, is seen as ‘satanic’, as clear opposition to God’s plan. When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, he was challenged to use his divine power for selfish purposes, like turning stones into bread. His answer was, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ He successfully thwarted the attack and put his feet resolutely on the way to the cross. Even if Peter said something very good earlier, he is not to deter Jesus from his task. Now, as we are well into Lent, we may wonder at the journey that Jesus went. It is a time for us to go deeper, in terms of focussing on the Lord and strengthening our relationship with him. Yes, we may want to stop a certain indulgence for a time; it may be good for our health too. But it is also a chance to reset our perception of what it means to be a Christian and our own walk with Jesus. What Jesus is saying is that following him is not a walk in the park. But what glory awaits when the walk is done and we are being welcomed in the very presence of God! What’s more, we have the opportunity to enjoy his presence with us even now. So let us rejoice, and continue our journey of Lent, steadily, faithfully, so that we may also celebrate the wonder of Easter Day even more. Amen.
First Sunday of Lent Mark 1:9-15 1 Peter 3:18-endMark’s Gospel is known for its swift action and movement in the amazing story of God’s work of salvation for his people. It starts as follows: ‘The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’”’. Then, at verse 9, Mark continues with the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan by John the Baptist (the messenger from Isaiah’s prophecy) and the temptation in the wilderness. In verse 15 this section finishes. Swift and bold, and stating the facts, which are bewildering enough, and painting a picture of ‘how it all began’. If we want to know more about the details, we need to resort to the gospels according to Matthew and Luke, but the basis is there in Mark, what it is all about: the good news of the Saviour, who came to do for us what we could never do for ourselves, to get us out of the murky waters of where our life went wrong, and set our feet on the straight path of God’s will and wisdom. As we have just begun the season of Lent, the focus for today is the temptation in the wilderness. Just two verses in Mark which I might just as well simply quote here: ‘And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.’ It may sound a bit unexpected, after that earlier statement from Isaiah and Jesus’ baptism with God’s voice speaking from heaven, saying, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ Why, we could possibly ask, should Jesus be tempted for a considerable length of time in a desert no less, if he is God’s Son, and doing everything right? It reminds us, perhaps, of the trial and testing of Elijah in 1 Kings 19 but why would God’s Son have to undergo such treatment? We may find an answer in the New Testament letters that remind us of the battle that Jesus was to engage in for our sake, and ‘just as we are’. The confrontation with the devil was a serious matter and Jesus had to be prepared for it as well as he could be. His baptism was an important first step, equipping him for battle, as it were, like putting on the armour necessary to thwart the arrows of Satan. A major defence and shield was love. Love is very powerful. At Jesus’ baptism, God the Father spoke those wonderful words, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved’, and that must have played a very important part in giving Jesus the confidence to go into the desert, prompted by the Holy Spirit. It was like acting out the great drama of the Exodus, when the people of Israel were being led out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land. Maybe it was precisely because of Jesus’ identity as God’s Son, that he was to undergo this time of testing, having to tread the path of danger, and going the way that every human being must go. And being rewarded at the end with a deeper assurance of God the Father watching over him, being with him, loving him and acting through him, even on the road to Calvary. The words of love that he had heard the Father speak to him and over him, enabled Jesus to carry out the horrendous task ahead. The Holy Spirit, poured out over him, would guide him on the way. The verses from the first letter of Peter tell us how we also are helped through the obedience of Christ. All of God’s work in Jesus was done having us in mind. Isn’t that amazing! The words of love that God spoke to Jesus, now, through faith, also apply to us. May you hear it this season of Lent, preparing for Easter, for the words of love that God speaks are words of life, enabling us to ‘rise with Christ’ on the day of Easter. Amen.
