John 11:45-56

Meditation: Do you allow fear or opposition to hold you back
from doing God's will? Jesus set his face like flint toward Jerusalem,
knowing full well what awaited him there (Luke 9:51; Isaiah 50:7). It was
Jewish belief that when the high priest asked for God's counsel for the
nation, God spoke through him. What dramatic irony that Caiaphas prophesied
that Jesus must die for the nation. The prophet Ezekiel announced that
God would establish one people, one land, one prince, and one sanctuary
forever. Luke adds to Caiphas's prophecy that Jesus would gather into
one the children of God who are scattered abroad. Jesus came to lay
down his life for the many, but not in a foolish reckless manner so
as to throw it away before his work was done. He retired until the time
had come when nothing would stop his coming to Jerusalem to fulfill his
Father's mission.
Augustine wrote: "The passion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is
the hope of glory and a lesson in patience. ..He loved us so much that,
sinless himself, he suffered for us sinners the punishment we deserved
for our sins. How then can he fail to give us the reward we deserve for
our righteousness, for he is the source of righteousness? How can he, whose
promises are true, fail to reward the saints when he bore the punishment
of sinners, though without sin himself? Brethren, let us then fearlessly
acknowledge, and even openly proclaim, that Christ was crucified for us;
let us confess it, not in fear but in joy, not in shame but in glory."The
way to glory and victory for us is through the cross of Jesus Christ. Are
you ready to take up your cross and follow Christ in his way of victory?
"Lord Jesus, may we your disciples be ever ready to lay down our lives
in conformity to your will, to willingly suffer and die for you, that we
may also share in your victory and glory."
This reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager (c) 2012, whose website is located at http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings

John 10:31-42

Meditation: Is your life consecrated to God? The scriptural understanding
of consecration is to make holy for God – to be given over as a
free-will offering and sacrifice for God. Jesus made himself a sin-offering
for us, to ransom us from condemnation and slavery to sin. He spoke of
his Father consecrating him for this mission of salvation. Why were the
religious leaders so upset with Jesus that they wanted to kill him? They
charged him with blasphemy because he claimed to be the Son of God. Jesus
made two claims in his response: He was consecrated by the Father
to a special task and he was sent into the world to carry out his
Father's mission. Jesus challenged his opponents to accept his works
if they could not accept his words. One can argue with words, but
deeds are beyond argument. Jesus is the perfect teacher in that he does
not base his claims on what he says but on what he does. The word of God
is life and power to those who believe. Jesus shows us the way to walk
the path of truth and holiness. And he anoints us with his power to live
the gospel with joy and to be his witnesses in the world. Are you a doer
of God's word, or a forgetful hearer only?
"Write upon my heart, O Lord, the lessons of your holy word, and grant
that I may be a doer of your word, and not a forgetful hearer only."
This reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager (c) 2012, whose website is located at http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings

From my Samsung Galaxy Pro GT-B7510
Robin K Brookes
69 Beresford Road,
LOWESTOFT,
NR32 2NQ
UK
Mobile: +447920881439

Matthew 26:1-13 Tom Wright, Lent for Everyone

WEEK 5: FRIDAY

Time to become a fly on the wall again, this time in a little house just two or three miles east of Jerusalem. If you're in the old city of Jerusalem first thing in the morning, the chances are that when the sun rises it will come up right through Bethany, the village in question.

The word 'Bethany' means, most likely, 'house of the poor'. There is some evidence that it was a place where some of the poorest people could be cared for. And it was a place where Jesus had close friends, Mary, Martha and their brother Lazarus. On this occasion, though, he was in a different house, that of 'Simon the leper' — presumably a cured leper, or he wouldn't be living in the village at all. Let's join the gathering and see what happens.

Everyone is excited because it's Passover time. After what Jesus did in Jerusalem the other day, they're all wondering what's coming next. Is he going to make another move? Is he going to give the signal for a serious uprising? He has secret contacts all over the place; are they getting swords and clubs ready for action?

The meal that evening is in full swing, when suddenly one of the women comes in. Normally women didn't join the men; it wasn't the done thing. So that's a shock for a start. But then — you shrink back in embarrassment — she's bringing a jar full of ointment, and she begins to pour it out, all over Jesus' head! You smell the delicious aroma, above the various smells of the meal, and you watch the mixture of delight and dismay on everyone's faces. What a wonderful smell; but what on earth is she up to?

Then some of Jesus' followers, perhaps expressing complex social discomfort as much as real concern, start complaining. You can see their point. Here we are in a place set aside to look after the poor, and you go pouring out a month's wages just like that? What can you be thinking about?

There is a pause. The woman looks down, ashamed at being told off and yet still pleased to have done what she did. Everyone waits. There's only one person who can settle this.
Jesus speaks. 'What's your problem?' he asks. 'This was a good thing she's done. As for the poor, there will be plenty of time to look after them; but you haven't got long to look after me. You know what she's done? She has prepared my body for burial!'

A horrified gasp goes round the room, but Jesus goes on: 'Let me tell you this! Wherever the good news is announced, right around the world, what she has done will be told. That will be her memorial.'

Now the emotions are truly mixed. The woman is both thrilled at Jesus' affirmation and distraught at the mention of burial. People look this way and that. Does he actually mean it? I know he's been talking about the Son of Man being crucified, but we all assume — or we hope — that that's just a way of talking about a time of great struggle and suffering. If he is actually going to die, what good news will there be to tell around the world? How does that make any sense?

Jesus may or may not have known, but he will certainly have guessed, that after his actions in the Temple the chief priests would be looking for a chance to kill him. What none of the disciples yet realized is that, for Jesus, this was not only the direct and foreseeable result of his whole kingdom- mission. It was the means by which that mission would be accomplished.

You are left in a corner of the room with one or two friends, puzzling it over, wondering what to do next. Pause there awhile and listen to what the others are saying. Then imagine that Jesus himself comes over, pulls up a chair, and starts to talk a bit more, to you in particular. What's he going to say?

TODAY
Lord Jesus, give us wisdom to understand your strange vocation, and to tell your good news throughout the world.

John 8:51-59 Meditation

Meditation: Do you submit to Jesus' words as if your life depended
on it? Jesus made a claim which only God can make – "if any one keeps my
word, he will never see death." St. Augustine of Hippo, in his commentary
on John's Gospel, explains this verse: "It means nothing less than he saw
another death from which he came to free us – the second death, eternal
death, the death of hell, the death of the damned, which is shared with
the devil and his angels! This is the real death; the other kind
of death is only a passage." [Tractates on the Gospel of
John 43.10-11]
When God established a relationship with Abraham, he offered him an
unbreakable "everlasting covenant" (Genesis 17:7). Jesus came to fulfill
that covenant so that we could know the living God and be united with him
both now and for all eternity. God made us to know him and to be united
with him and he gives us the gift of faith and understanding so that we
may grow in the knowledge of what he has accomplished for us through his
Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus challenged the people of Israel to accept his
word as the very revelation of God himself. His claim challenged the very
foundation of their belief and understanding of God. Jesus made a series
of claims which are the very foundation of his life and mission. What are
these claims? First, Jesus claims unique knowledge of God as the only begotten
Son of the Father in heaven. Since he claims to be in direct personal communion
with his Father in heaven, he knows everything about the Father. Jesus
claims
that the only way to full knowledge of the mind and heart of God is through
himself. Jesus also claims unique obedience to God the Father. He thinks,
lives and acts in the knowledge of his Father's word. To look at his
life is to "see how God wishes me to live." In Jesus alone we see what
God wants us to know and what he wants us to be.
When the Jewish authorities asked Jesus who do you claim to be?
he answered, "before Abraham was, I am." Jesus claims to be timeless
and there is only one in the universe who is timeless, namely God. Scripture
tells us that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever"
(Hebrews 13:8). Jesus was not just a man who came, lived, died, and then
rose again. He is the immortal timeless One, who always was and always
will be. In Jesus we see the eternal God in visible flesh. He is God who
became a man for our sake and for our salvation. His death and resurrection
make it possible for us to share in his immortality. Do you believe the
words of Jesus and obey them with all your heart, mind, and strength?
"Lord Jesus, let your word be on my lips and in my heart that I may
walk in the freedom of your everlasting love, truth and goodness."
This reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager (c) 2012, whose website is located at http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings

John 8:21-30

Meditation: Do you know the healing power of the cross of Christ?
When the people of Israel were afflicted with serpents in the wilderness
because of their sin, God instructed Moses: "Make a fiery serpent, and
set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live"
(Numbers 21:8). The bronze serpent points to the cross of Christ which
defeats sin and death and obtains everlasting life for those who believe.
The result of Jesus "being lifted up on the cross" and his rising and exaltation
to the Father's right hand in heaven, is our "new birth in the Spirit"
and adoption as sons and daughters of God. God not only redeems us, but
he fills us with his own divine life and power that we might share in his
glory. Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit that we may have power to be his
witnesses and to spread and defend the gospel by word and action, and to
never be ashamed of Christ's Cross. Are you ready to witness the truth
and joy of the gospel to those around you?
While many believed in Jesus and his message, many others, including
the religious leaders, opposed him. Some openly mocked him when he warned
them about their sin of unbelief. It's impossible to be indifferent to
Jesus' word and his judgments. We are either for him or against him. There
is no middle ground or neutral parties. When Jesus spoke about going away
he was speaking about his return to his Father and to his glory. His opponents
could not follow him because by their continuous disobedience to the word
of God and their refusal to accept him, they had shut themselves off from
God. Jesus warned them that if they continued to refuse him they would
die
in their sins. Jesus' words echoed the prophetic warning given to Ezekiel
(see Ezekiel 3:18 and 18:18) where God warns his people to heed his word
before the time is too late. God gives us time to turn to him and to receive
his grace, but that time is right now.
To sin literally means to miss the mark or to be off target.
The essence of sin is that it diverts us from God and from our true purpose
in life – to know the source of all truth and beauty which is God himself
and to be united with God in everlasting joy. When Adam and Eve first sinned,
they hid themselves from God (Genesis 3:8-10). That is what sin does; it
separates us from the One who is all loving, all-wise, and all-just. Jesus
went on to explain that if people could not recognize him in his word,
they would have the opportunity to recognize him when he is "lifted up"on
the cross of Calvary. Jesus pointed to the atoning sacrifice of his life
on the cross as the true source of healing and victory over the sin of
the world. The sacrifice of Christ's life on the cross for our sins is
the ultimate proof of God's love for us.
God so loved the world that
he gave us his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish
but have eternal life (John 3:16). To fail to recognize Jesus and where
he came from is to remain in spiritual darkness; to believe Jesus and his
words is to walk in the joy and light of God's truth. There are certain
opportunities in life that come and do not return. Each of us is given
the opportunity to know and to accept Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Savior.
But that opportunity can be rejected and lost. Life here is limited and
short, but how we live it has everlasting consequences. Do you take advantage
of the present time to make room for God so that your life will count for
eternity?
"Lord Jesus, grant this day, to direct and sanctify, to rule and govern
our hearts and bodies, so that all our thoughts, words and deeds may be
according to your Father's law and thus may we be saved and protected through
your mighty help."
This reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager (c) 2012, whose website is located at http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings

From my Samsung Galaxy Pro GT-B7510
Robin K Brookes
69 Beresford Road,
LOWESTOFT,
NR32 2NQ
UK
Mobile: +447920881439

Joyce Meyer Meditation

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD's favor has come."

God Can Set You Free from the Prison of Your Past

I come from a background of abuse and was raised in a dysfunctional home. My childhood was filled with fear and torment.

As a young adult trying to live for Christ and follow the Christian lifestyle, I believed that my future would always be marred by my past. I thought, "How can anyone who has the kind of past I do ever be really all right? It's impossible!"

But Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me...He has sent Me to announce release to the captives...." Jesus came to open the prison doors and set the captives free.

I couldn't make any progress until I realized that God wanted to release me from the prison of my past. I had to believe that neither my past nor my present determined my future, unless I let it. I had to let God miraculously set me free.

You may have had a miserable past that continues to affect your present in negative and depressing ways. But I say to you boldly, your future is not determined by your past or your present! Let God break off the chains of your past.

Prayer Starter: God, I believe that You are more powerful than my past. I receive the freedom You give me. My past will not determine my future.

From my Samsung Galaxy Pro GT-B7510
Robin K Brookes
69 Beresford Road,
LOWESTOFT,
NR32 2NQ
UK
Mobile: +447920881439

John 5:17-30

Meditation: Who can claim all authority and power over life and
death itself? Jesus not only made such a claim, he showed God's power to
heal and restore people to wholeness of life. He also showed the mercy
of God by releasing people from their burden of sin and guilt. He even
claimed to have the power to raise the dead to life and to execute judgment
on all the living and dead. The Jewish authorities were troubled with Jesus'
claims and looked for a way to get rid of him. He either had to be a mad
man and an imposter or who he claimed to be – God's divine son. Unfortunately,
they could not accept Jesus' claim to be the Messiah, the anointed one
sent by the Father to redeem his people. They sought to kill him because
he claimed an authority and equality with God which they could not accept.
They failed to recognize that this was God's answer to the long-awaited
prayers of his people: "In a time of favor I have answered you, in a day
of salvation I have helped you" (Isaiah 49:8). Jesus was sent by the Father
as "a covenant to the people" to reconcile them with God and  restore
to them the promise of paradise and everlasting life. Jesus' words and
actions reveal God's mercy and  justice. Jesus fulfills the prophecy
of Isaiah when he brings healing, restoration, and forgiveness to those
who accept his divine message.
The religious authorities charged Jesus as a Sabbath-breaker and a blasphemer.
They wanted to kill Jesus because he claimed equality with God – something
they thought no mortal could say without blaspheming. Little did they understand
that Jesus was both human and divine – the eternal Son with the Father
and the human son, conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary. Jesus
answered their charge of breaking the Sabbath law by demonstrating God's
purpose for creation and redemption – to save and restore life. God's love
and mercy never ceases for a moment. Jesus continues to show the Father's
mercy by healing and restoring people, even on the Sabbath day of rest.
When the religious leaders charged that Jesus was making himself equal
with God, Jesus replied that he was not acting independently of God because
his relationship is a close personal Father-Son relationship. He and the
Father are united in heart, mind, and will. The mind of Jesus is the mind
of God, and the words of Jesus are the words of God.
Jesus also states that his identity with the Father is based on complete
trust and obedience. Jesus always did what his Father wanted him to do.
His obedience was not just based on submission, but on love. He obeyed
because he loved his Father. The unity between Jesus and the Father is
a unity of love – a total giving of oneself for the sake of another. That
is why their mutual love for each other is perfect and complete. The Son
loves the Father and gives himself in total obedience to the Father's will.
The Father loves the Son and shares with him all that he is and has. We
are called to submit our lives to God with the same love, trust, and obedience
which Jesus demonstrated for his Father.
If we wish to understand how God deals with sin and how he responds
to our sinful condition, then we must look to Jesus. Jesus took our sins
upon himself and nailed them to the cross. He, who is equal in dignity
and stature with the Father, became a servant for our sake to ransom us
from slavery to sin. He has the power to forgive us and to restore our
relationship with God because he paid the price for our sins. Jesus states
that to accept him is life
– a life of abundant peace and joy with God. But if we reject him, then
we freely choose for death
– an endless separation with an all-loving and merciful God. Do you want
the abundant life which Jesus offers? Believe in him, the living Word of
God, who became a man for our sake and our salvation, and reject whatever
is false and contrary to the gospel – the good news he came to give us.
"Lord Jesus, increase my love for you and unite my heart and will with
yours, that I may only seek and desire what is pleasing to you."
This reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager (c) 2012, whose website is located at http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings

From my Samsung Galaxy Pro GT-B7510
Robin K Brookes
69 Beresford Road,
LOWESTOFT,
NR32 2NQ
UK
Mobile: +447920881439

Tom Wright Lent for All

WEEK 3: SATURDAY

There are at least three levels at which we should read this sharp and startling story. And at least three levels at which we should apply it to our lives, not least our lives in church.

Start, though, with Peter's question. It seems practical, almost common sense, but also a bit naive. Jesus has told us to forgive; very well, but supposing someone does the same bad thing again and again. Isn't there a limit? Wouldn't seven times be enough?

Some translations make out that Jesus said 'seventy-seven times'; but actually the word more likely means 'seventy times seven'. Four hundred and ninety! What's that about?

Jesus, of course, didn't mean that you should be counting up, through clenched teeth, so that on the four hundred and ninety-first time you could finally take revenge. If that was how you were thinking about it, it would show you'd never really forgiven once, let alone seven times or seventy times seven. So what was he meaning?

The story he tells takes us straight to the first level of meaning. If you yourself have been forgiven, then your gratitude for that ought to make you ready to forgive others. It's that straightforward. When someone annoys you — drives across in front of you when it was your right of way, takes your seat on the bus, or even, in church, sings loudly out of tune right behind you — then it's easy to allow it to fester. You may still be thinking about it a day or a week later. With larger annoyances it can go on for months or years. Your entire life can be blighted by these angry memories, by the sense of frustration and self-righteousness. How could they behave like that to me?

Jesus' first and best answer would be this. Just imagine what God and his angels think about what you did yesterday to the person you bumped into on the street when you weren't looking. Just think how many people may quite rightly be angry with you for your carelessness, your arrogance, your selfishness. And just think how the angels think about the way you some- times sing in church. And yet you have been forgiven. When you say your prayers today, God isn't sitting there thinking crossly 'How dare you! I'm still angry with you after what you did last week!' He has forgiven you. Is it then too much to ask that you do the same?

Underneath that, there is a second level. My wife and I once had long conversations with a student who found herself in- capable of feeling God's love. She believed in Jesus; she had prayed and read the Bible; but she couldn't feel a thing. She wanted to know God's love the way her friends said they did. But it wasn't happening. Eventually, as we talked about her life, it all came out. She hated her parents. She resented the sort of people they were, the way they'd treated her. So she had closed up her heart. Where there should have been an open readiness for God's love, there was a steel wall. It was as though you cut off the telephone line to stop certain people ringing you up and then grumbled because you couldn't phone your best friend. Forgiveness and love are a two-way street. The same part of you, spiritually, both gives and receives. If you shut down the part labelled 'forgiveness', you shut down the part labelled 'forgiveness' — in both directions. The ending of the story seems harsh. But at the level of psychological reality, it rings true.

The third level of meaning is altogether bigger, and goes back to the 'seventy times seven'. In the book of Daniel (9.24) the prophet is told, after praying that Jerusalem will be forgiven, that it will take 'seventy weeks of years' — in other words, seventy times seven years — before transgression, sin and iniquity are finally dealt with. This takes us back even further, to the ancient law of the Jubilee (Leviticus 25), which lays down that every forty-nine years (seven times seven) all debts must be remitted, with land returning to its original owners. Daniel is speaking of a Great Jubilee, a cosmic version of the Jubilee law. There will come a time when God will deal, once and for all, with all debts of every kind.

And Jesus? Well, Jesus announced that the moment had come. He was the Great Jubilee in person. His entire mission was about implementing God's age-old plan to deal with the evil that had infected the whole world. Forgiveness wasn't an incidental feature of his kingdom-movement. It was the name of the game. Those of us who find ourselves drawn into that movement must learn how to play that game, all the time. It's what we're about. It's what God is about.

TODAY
Loving Lord, teach us to forgive as we have been forgiven.

Daily Meditation

Meditation: What is the best protection which brings lasting
security to our lives? Scripture tells us that true peace and security
come to those who trust in God and obey his word. "Obey my voice and walk
in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you" (Jeremiah
7:23). The struggle between choosing to do good or evil, yielding to my
will or God's will, God's way or my way, cannot be won by human strength
or will-power alone. Our enemy, the devil, conspires with the world and
our flesh, to lead us into hurful and sinful desires. Peter the Apostles
tells us, Our adversary, the devil prowls the earth seeking the ruin
of souls (1 Peter 5:8-9). God offers us grace and protection if we
are willing to obey his word and resist the devil. Because you have
made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your habitation, no evil shall
befall you, no scourge come near your tent. For he will give his angels
charge of you to guard you in all your ways
(Psalm 91:9-11)
Jesus' numerous exorcisms brought freedom to many who were troubled
and oppressed by the work of evil spirits. Jesus himself encountered personal
opposition and battled with Satan when he was put to the test in the wilderness
just before his public ministry. He overcame the evil one through his obedience
to the will of his Father. Some of the Jewish leaders reacted vehemently
to Jesus' healings and exorcisms and they opposed him with malicious slander.
How could he get the power and authority to release individuals from Satan's
power? They assumed that he had to be in league with Satan. They attributed
his power to Satan rather than to God.
Jesus answers their charge with two arguments. There were many exorcists
in Palestine in Jesus' time. So Jesus retorted by saying that they also
incriminate their own kin who cast out demons. If they condemn Jesus they
also condemn themselves. In his second argument he asserts that no kingdom
divided against itself can survive for long? We have witnessed enough civil
wars in our own time to prove the destructive force at work here for the
annihilation of whole peoples and their land. If Satan lends his power
against his own forces then he is finished. How can a strong person be
defeated except by someone who is stronger? Jesus asserted his power and
authority to cast out demons as a clear demonstration of the reign of God.
Jesus' reference to the finger of God points back to Moses' confrontation
with Pharoah and his magicians who represented Satan and the kingdom of
darkness (see Exodus 8:19). Jesus claims to be carrying on the tradition
of Moses whose miracles freed the Israelites from bondage by the finger
of God. God's power is clearly at work in the exorcisms which Jesus
performed and they give evidence that God's kingdom has come.
Jesus makes it clear that there are no neutral parties. We are either
for Jesus or against him, for the kingdom of God or against it. There are
two kingdoms in opposition to one another – the kingdom of God and the
kingdom of darkness under the rule of Satan. If we disobey God's word,
we open to door to the power of sin and Satan in our lives. If you want
to live in freedom from sin and Satan, then your house – your life and
all you possess –  must be occupied by Jesus where he is enthroned
as Lord and Savior. Is the Lord Jesus the Master of your home, heart, mind,
and will?
"O Lord, our God, grant us, we beseech you, patience in troubles, humility
in comforts, constancy in temptations, and victory over all our spiritual
foes. Grant us sorrow for our sins, thankfulness for your benefits, fear
of your judgment, love of your mercies, and mindfulness of your presence;
now and for ever."  (Prayer by John Cosin)
This reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager (c) 2012, whose website is located at http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings

From my Samsung Galaxy Pro GT-B7510
Robin K Brookes
69 Beresford Road,
LOWESTOFT,
NR32 2NQ
UK
Mobile: +447920881439

Reflection

Meditation: Do you want to be made clean and whole, free from
sin, pride, and a willful heart that refuses God's grace and instruction?
God makes us a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), but sinful
pride, indifference, and unbelief can block that transformation from taking
full effect in us. God repeatedly sent his prophets to the chosen people
of Israel to shake from them their indifference and unbelief, but their
ears grew dull of hearing. They forgot to ask for healing and pardon. We
all stand in need of God's grace and help every day and every moment of
our lives. Scripture tells us that "the steadfast love of the Lord never
ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning" (Lamentations
3:22-23). God gives grace to the humble who seek him with sincerity, with
expectant faith, and with a repentant heart that wants to be made whole
and clean again. When Naaman, a non-Jew went to Jerusalem to seek a cure
for his leprosy, the prophet Elisha instructed him to bathe seven times
in the Jordan river. He humbly followed the prophet's instructions and
was immediately restored in body and spirit.
When Jesus proclaimed the good news of God's kingdom to his own people,
he did not hesitate to confront them with their sin of indifference and
unbelief. He startled his listeners in the synagogue at Nazareth with a
seeming rebuke that no prophet or servant of God can receive honor among
his own people. He then angered them when he complimented the Gentiles
who seemed to have shown more faith in God than the "chosen ones" of Israel.
The Jews regarded the unbelieving Gentiles as "fuel for the fires of hell."
Jesus' praise for "outsiders" offended the ears of his own people
because they were blind-sighted to God's mercy and plan of redemption for
all nations. The word of warning and judgment spoken by Jesus was met with
hostility by his own people. They forcibly threw him out of the town and
would have done him harm had he not stopped them.
The Lord Jesus offers healing and pardon to all who humbly ask for his
mercy and help. He will set us free from every sinful habit and every harmful
way of relating to our neighbor, if we allow him to cleanse and heal us.
If we want to walk in freedom and grow in love and holiness, then we must
humbly renounce our sinful ways and submit to Christ's instruction and
healing for our lives. Scripture tells us that the Lord disciplines us
for
our good that we may share his holiness (Hebrews 12:10). Do you want
the Lord Jesus to set you free from every sinful pattern and to make you
whole and well again? Ask him to show you the way to walk in his love and
truth.
"Lord Jesus, teach me to love your ways that I may be quick to renounce
sin and wilfulness in my life. Make me whole and clean again that I may
I delight to do your will."
This reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager (c) 2012, whose website is located at http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings

From my Samsung Galaxy Pro GT-B7510
Robin K Brookes
69 Beresford Road,
LOWESTOFT,
NR32 2NQ
UK
Mobile: +447920881439

Tom Wright - Lent for Everyone

WEEK 2: SATURDAY

'An earthly story with a heavenly meaning.' I used to think that that old Sunday-school definition of a parable was a harmless comment. I now think it's more likely to be dangerous nonsense. Jesus didn't tell parables to provide friendly little illustrations of abstract theology. He told parables because what he was doing was so different, so explosive, and so dangerous, that the only way he could talk about it was to use stories. These are earthly, and sometimes heavenly, stories with an emphatically earthly meaning. They explain the full meaning not of distant timeless truths, but of what Jesus was up to then and there. This is what is going on, they say, if only you had eyes to see. Or, indeed, as Jesus frequently says, ears to hear.

Jesus' parables invite the hearer to look at the world, and particularly to look at Jesus himself, in a whole new way. You can see the force of this if you imagine for a moment the standard objection to Jesus' announcement of God's kingdom, from that day to this. 'Of course God's kingdom hasn't come,' say the objectors (including many devout Jews, to this day). 'Read the newspapers! Look out of the window! If God's kingdom had really come, the world wouldn't still be in such a mess!'

And of course they are right — at one level. If 'God's kingdom coming on earth as in heaven' means the complete abolition of all evil, and ultimately of death itself, then of course it is not yet here. But — as Jesus insisted in the passage we looked at yesterday — if Jesus was indeed winning the victory over the oldest and deadliest enemy, liberating people who had been completely taken over by the forces and powers of darkness, and if he was doing so in the power of God's spirit, then God's sovereign, saving, healing power was indeed being let loose into the world in a new, unprecedented fashion. And the sharpest way of describing that was to say, 'then God's kingdom has come upon you'.

But another way of saying the same thing, more obliquely perhaps but ultimately more effectively, was to tell stories. Jesus told a great many, and lots of them were different ways of coming at the same point: that yes, the full victory, the final abolition of evil, still remained in the future, but no, that didn't mean that nothing was really happening, that God's kingdom wasn't really present in some way or other.

The stories that make this point most effectively include the two little parables in verses 31, 32 and 33. A grain of mustard seed is tiny. But when it grows, it turns into a large shrub, and the birds can nest in it. What is Jesus saying? 'Don't despise the small beginnings of the kingdom. What I (Jesus) am doing is planting seeds. They may not look much at the moment. But they're going to grow. And when they do, then you'll be surprised at the birds that come to roost.' Many people have detected here a reference to foreign nations coming to share in Israel's privileges.

The same point emerges from the parable of the yeast. I once had a breadmaking machine, and I never tired of the apparent miracle by which a tiny amount of yeast made the whole loaf rise. In the same way, the kingdom-work that Jesus is doing may be small and insignificant. In his whole life he can't have travelled more than a few hundred miles. He met a comparatively small number of people — though considerably more than an ordinary Galilean villager might expect to meet — and, so far as we know, never went and preached before kings or rulers. He wrote no book; television hadn't been invented, so he was never invited to appear on chat shows or I'm a Celebrity. And yet the yeast that he stirred into the loaf — the kingdom-work he did in a very short time in a very small place — has leavened the loaf of the whole world. Almost everybody now dates world history in relation to his birth. Even those who do their best to ignore his message still have to refer to him sooner or later. His way of love, forgiveness, humility and service has woven itself into the fabric of many societies, so that even where it's ignored people know that something happened in his life and death that changed the world.

There is more. The yeast hasn't completed its work. The plant that has grown from the mustard seed has further still to go. That's why today's other pair of little parables still matter. The other main message of this chapter is that Jesus is looking for people to sign on, people who are prepared to take his kingdom-movement forward in their own day. Here the stories are about someone finding something of enormous value and selling everything they possess in order to buy it. This could be heard in a rather selfish fashion: if I give up everything else for Jesus I will have a wonderful spiritual life. That is no doubt true, but the kingdom of heaven is far, far more than 'me and my spiritual life' now and salvation in the end. The kingdom of heaven is about God's rule sweeping through the sad, decaying world we live in. That is a goal worth working for! That is a vocation to beat all others. Give up your other treasures, Jesus is saying, and buy this one. Give up the small collection of pearls which have meant so much to you. Here is the biggest, finest one you could ever imagine.

Jesus still holds out that clear, almost teasing invitation to us today. His kingdom is still growing, still meeting sharp opposition to be sure, but still making its way in the world. To be part of that work is the greatest privilege you could imagine.

TODAY
Lord Jesus, tell us again the story of your kingdom, and draw us to follow you, to find the treasure, to help in the work of making that kingdom grow.

Meditation: What sustains you when trials and affliction come
your way? Jeremiah tells us that whoever relies on God will not be disappointed
or be in want when everything around them dries up or disappears. God will
not only be their consolation, but their inexhaustible source of joy as
well. Jesus' parable about the afflictions of the poor man Lazarus brings
home a similar point. In this story Jesus paints a dramatic scene of contrasts
– riches and poverty, heaven and hell, compassion and indifference, inclusion
and exclusion. We also see an abrupt and dramatic reversal of fortune.
Lazarus was not only poor, but sick and unable to lift himself.  He
was "laid" at the gates of the rich man's house. The dogs which licked
his sores probably also stole the little bread he got for himself. Dogs
in the ancient world symbolized contempt. Enduring the torment of these
savage dogs only added to the poor man's miseries and sufferings. The rich
man treated the beggar with contempt and indifference, until he found his
fortunes reversed at the end of his life! In God's economy, those who hold
on possessively to what they have, lose it all in the end, while those
who share generously receive back many times more than they gave way.
The name Lazarus means God is my help. Despite a life
of misfortune and suffering, Lazarus did not lose hope in God. His eyes
were set on a treasure stored up for him in heaven. The rich man, however,
could not see beyond his material wealth and possessions. He not only had
every thing he needed, he selfishly spent all he had on himself. He was
too absorbed in what he possessed to notice the needs of those around him.
He lost sight of God and  the treasure of heaven because he was preoccupied
with seeking happiness in material things. He served wealth rather than
God. In the end the rich man became a beggar! Do you know the joy and freedom
of possessing God as your true and lasting treasure? Those who put their
hope and security in heaven will not be disappointed (see
Hebrews 6:19)?
"Lord Jesus, you are my joy and my treasure. Make me rich in the things
of heaven and give me a generous heart  that I may freely share with
others the spiritual and material treasures you have given to me."
This reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager (c) 2012, whose website is located at http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings

From my Samsung Galaxy Pro GT-B7510
Robin K Brookes
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Meditation: Who or what takes first place in your life? Selfish
ambition drives us to get ahead of others. The prophet Jeremiah complained
to God when others plotted to destroy him. Rather than plot his revenge,
he prayed for his enemies. When two of Jesus' disciples tried to get ahead,
Jesus did the unthinkable! He told them that the path to glory would be
through suffering and the cross. And he wedded authority with selfless-service
and with sacrifice – the willing offering of one's life for the sake of
another. Authority without sacrificial love is brutish and self-serving.
Jesus used stark language to explain what kind of sacrifice he had in mind.
His disciples must drink his cup if they expect to reign with him in his
kingdom. The cup he had in mind was a bitter one involving crucifixion.
What kind of cup does the Lord have in mind for us? For some disciples
such a cup entails physical suffering and the painful struggle of martyrdom.
But for many, it entails the long routine of the Christian life, with all
its daily sacrifices, disappointments, set-backs, struggles, and temptations.
A disciple must be ready to lay down his or her life in martyrdom and be
ready to lay it down each and every day in the little and big sacrifices
required. An early church father summed up Jesus' teaching with the expression:
to serve is to reign with Christ. We share in God's reign by laying down
our lives in humble service of one another as Jesus did for our sake. Are
you ready to lay down your life and to serve others as Jesus did?
On three different occasions the Gospels record that Jesus predicted
he would endure great suffering through betrayal, rejection, and the punishment
of a cruel death. The Jews resorted to stoning and the Romans to crucifixion
– the most painful and humiliating death they could devise for criminals
they wanted to eliminate. No wonder the apostles were greatly distressed
at such a prediction! If Jesus their Master were put to death, then they
would likely receive the same treatment by their enemies. Jesus called
himself the "Son of Man" because this was a common Jewish title for the
Messiah. Why must the Messiah be rejected and killed? Did not God promise
that his Anointed One would deliver his people from their oppression and
establish a kingdom of peace and justice? The prophet Isaiah had foretold
that it was God's will that the "Suffering Servant" make atonement for
sins through his suffering and death (Isaiah 53:5-12). Jesus paid the price
for our redemption with his blood. Slavery to sin is to want the wrong
things and to  be in bondage to destructive desires. The ransom Jesus
paid sets us free from the worst tyranny possible – the tyranny of sin
and the fear of death. Jesus' victory did not end with death but triumphed
over the tomb. Jesus defeated the powers of death through his resurrection.
Do you want the greatest freedom possible, the freedom to live as God truly
meant us to live as his sons and daughters?
"Lord Jesus, make me a servant of love for your kingdom, that I may
seek to serve rather than be served. Inflame my heart with love that I
may give generously and serve others joyfully for your sake."
This reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager (c) 2012, whose website is located at http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings