Free?

John 8:31-32

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

Simple words...

Simple message...

But a concept that sends folk off

into an unending spiral

of conflict

and doubt

and worry

and concern

and question

and debate...

Words that are used

for inclusion

and exclusion

for acceptance 

and rejection

So much for... and the truth will make you free.”

Pass it on...

Deuteronomy 4:9

But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children

The things we have seen

The truths we have heard

The difference we have known

are all for sharing

for giving away

for making known

for bearing witness

to the amazing love

and boundless grace

of God

Faithful

for all generations.

We are tasked

with passing it on.

Cold comfort

Jeremiah 12:5-6

God Replies to Jeremiah

If you have raced with foot-runners and they have wearied you,

how will you compete with horses?

And if in a safe land you fall down,

how will you fare in the thickets of the Jordan?

For even your kinsfolk and your own family,

even they have dealt treacherously with you;

they are in full cry after you;

do not believe them,

though they speak friendly words to you.

Sometimes

in our meandering through life

we need to hear

the voice of those

who do not agree with us

who will not readily encourage

or go along with

our wallowing 

or self pity.

Those who challenge

and incite us to do better

to "up our game"

those who provoke us

into becoming

better versions of ourselves

more courageous

more daring

the people we need to be

fuelled by the wisdom

of critical friends

and a God who demands

that, occasionally,

we bring our best selves

into the fray.

One of us

Matthew 13:54-58

The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth

He came to his hometown and began to teach the people in their synagogue, so that they were astounded and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all this?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor except in their own country and in their own house.” And he did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief.

Rejected

as one of their own

Written off

because "They kent his faither"

Restricted

Overlooked

Seen as an irritant

An offence

An upstart

Disempowered

by assumptions

and lack of expectation

Not so different today

and all the ways

we manage

intentionally

or unintentionally

to play down

to write off

to dishonour

and disempower

the Son of God

born among us.

Step by step

Exodus 17:1

From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.

Journeying by stages

Learning along the way

all the lessons

they did not even know

they needed.

Resisting at every turn

Longing for the safe and the familiar

- even the slavery and oppression

preferable over a changed landscape.

The effort of changing mindsets

of adapting to a new culture

deemed too difficult

too demanding

requiring more energy

than they were prepared to expend.

And so the wilderness stretched on

for generations

until there was the will

to embrace the Unknown

and to follow

the way of God

and God's faithfulness 

for every generation.

What it takes...

Luke 13:6-9

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”

A lot of manure

That's what it takes

Hard work 

And a lot of manure 

The willingness to graft

to do what we can

to provide the best possible conditions

to encourage growth and fruitfulness

And then patience and acceptance...

Patience to wait

on forces beyond our control

to play their part

to enhance and bless...

and acceptance of the outcome

whatever it will be

when another judges our effort.

Hard work

and a lot of manure.

That's what it takes.

Under construction

Matthew 21:42-43

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:

‘The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord’s doing,

and it is amazing in our eyes’?

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.

Faith is not ours to keep

not ours by right

or default

or heritage

Faith

that elusive

enigmatic

mysterious

bundle of becoming

is a gift

to embrace for a time

(for it doesn't remain static)

a way to live into

a hope to which to aspire.

a series of teachings

and truths

and beliefs

which gather

unassembled

and which,

just when it seems to make sense

just when it seems to have some coherence

or cohesion

falls apart

and the pieces

don't fit together neatly

ever again

but in their place

is a new set of building blocks

from which to put together

another semblance

another portrayal of belief

with which we can live for a time

until that, too must be given up

as more is revealed 

and as the kingdom of God

emerges

in the lived out

grappling with faith

that defies boundaries

but is evident

in changed lives

In changed communities

and in holding loosely

even giving away

what we imagine is ours

but belongs to God

and returns to God

when we surrender

our constructs

to the will

and purpose

of God.