Moving on

Acts 14:21-23

The Return to Antioch in Syria

After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, then on to Iconium and Antioch. There they strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, “It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God.” And after they had appointed elders for them in each church, with prayer and fasting they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.

Moving on...

The hard part of the journey

Moving on...

Leaving it all behind

Moving on...

Putting faith in God and others.

The work of moving on

begins at the beginning

preparing others

equipping them

handing on

the tools to continue

before getting out of the way

and letting them do it.

And what if they get it wrong?

What if they change things?

What if there are difficulties?

Moving on

requires trust

and confidence in others

and in the God of grace and love

who is there in the beginning

and will be til the end.

Journeying in faith

is a journey of moving on.

In the way

1 Corinthians 2:1-4

Proclaiming Christ Crucified

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

One of the pieces of advice I was given when I started preaching was: "Proclaim the word and then get out of the way."

While I can understand the well meant sentiment behind that advice, I've come to think of it a flawed.

Our actions must mirror the words that we preach. Our walk must match the talk.

And, while God's spirit won't be hampered by our words or actions, it can only help if we practice what we preach.

Living the way of love.

Practising the grace of forgiveness. ( and it takes a LOT of practice)

Reaching out with the gospel of hospitality.

All these things draw much better pictures of the nature of God than we can paint with words.

May this Lent be a time of matching our actions to our words - or a time of preaching the gospel without words!

Full of the Spirit

Luke 4:1

The Temptation of Jesus

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.

Jesus entered the wilderness buoyed up by the affirmation, in baptism, that he was God's beloved son. That was enough to sustain him through trials and fasting.

However we practice baptism, be it in infancy, relying on the grace of God and guardians of the promise or in adulthood, as a public proclamation of faith, we often quickly lose sight of the import of baptism at whatever age - the import of God calling us beloved children, enabling and empowering us to do all things. Blessed to be a blessing.

Baptism is not only our affirmation but our elevation. In Baptism we are called out to serve. No one can refute that calling.

And, however long it might take us to embrace the gift, the blessing and the call, all three elements are present in that simple yet profound act.

It was enough to sustain Jesus for 40 days in the wilderness.

Enough to sustain him through an itinerant ministry.

Enough to sustain him through death and resurrection.

In these days of Lent, in whatever wilderness we may find ourselves, may we recall the affirmation and the ordination we received in baptism and may we respond as beloved children of God, called and equipped to serve and sustained in all things by one whose grace is sufficient.

If you loved me...

John 14:28

You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I.

If you loved me...

You would rejoice

If you loved me...

You would know

If you loved me...

You would understand 

If you loved me...

You would rejoice

God even with our hindsight

Even when we know the rest of the story

Even when, daily, you surround us

with your love and beauty,

Still we do not get it.

We fail to make the connections

We are slow to join the dots

And so we miss the joy

of loving and being loved

by the one whose name is love.

This day, O God,

Open our heart and mind and soul

to notice the presence

of your Holy Spirit

with which you confront us

in mystery and love.

Calm assurance

Matthew 6:30-31

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’

Colour and resilience

emerging from the frozen ground

signalling much more

than a change of season

promising much more

than beauty and life:

A symbol of faithfulness -

the faithfulness of God

who is present

in every season

alongside all who seek

accompaniment through life

through every time and season

promising and delivering

fullness of life.

Listen carefully

1 Samuel 3:19-21

As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

Hushed was the evening hymn,
The temple courts were dark,
The lamp was burning dim,
Before the sacred ark:
When suddenly a voice divine
Rang through the silence of the shrine.

Growing up in the church, this was one of my favourite hymns - and the call of Samuel was one of my favourite Bible stories.

The hymn goes on as a prayer for all of the attributes that Samuel had that allowed him to be an effective servant of God.

Looking again at the story, I am reminded that in Samuel's "elevation", there was also a message of judgement - the priest Eli, under whose instruction Samuel was nurtured in faith was censured for not acting to quash his sons' sins of blasphemy.

1 Samuel 3:13

For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them.

With adult eyes, I see a story much harsher than the carefully edited version with which I grew up, a story with many layers. 

In this season of Lent, may there be space and clarity that allows the layers to be uncovered, getting to the heart of God who calls, who empowers, who judges and equips, a God who demands much, who gives much and who rebukes and corrects. A God who calls real people to serve in a real world.

During this season, may there be space to listen carefully to the voice of God for our lives today and the wisdom to act on and to share the whole message.

Baptism, Eucharist, Death

Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return... (Genesis 3:19)

Ash Wednesday

The first day of the season of Lent

When, by a simple smudge of ashes

the whole gospel is proclaimed:

You are loved,

You are deeply loved

by the God who loved you before you were born

whose love accompanies you through all of life

and whose arms will be there to welcome you in death.

Affirming in baptism: You are my beloved child

Reaching out through the Eucharist: Remember me

Proclaiming in death: Love never ends

In all your sojourns in the wilderness of life

may you hear those whispers 

of the God who created you

of the God who redeems you

And of the God who waits to welcome you to eternal life.

Repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15)