A few days before his execution, Jesus had plenty to say!

It seems that Jesus spent the whole day teaching, from early morning till late at night (Mark 11:20– 14:10). And when the sun went down his earthly, public teaching was done (though he still had plenty to say just to his disciples).

He spoke about faith and forgiveness when coming to God in prayer (11:22-25). In answer to questions put to him he spoke about his authority as the Son, paying taxes and the need to understand Scripture properly (11:27-12:27). At the heart of this long section, Jesus spoke of the Greatest or Most Important Commandment (12:28-31). He posed a teaser of a question, delighting the crowd listening to him and warned against the hypocritical egotism of the teachers of the law (12:35-40). He praised the otherwise unnoticed (generous) devotion of a poor widow before reminding everyone of the need to be alert to the signs of the end of the age (12:41-13:37). And then, at the end of this momentous day, Jesus was anointed with expensive perfume, an expression of devotion and love he was glad to receive (14:1-9).  Contrast that with the response of Judas (14:10,11).

What a day! Why not take some time to mull over this long section and see what speaks especially to you? For me it’s the Great Commandment. Perhaps today would be a good time to pray that as we consider the Cross (just a few days away) we may be renewed in the knowledge of God’s love for us and pray that our love for him and others would increase and overflow.

Mark 11:15-19 tells us that on Monday, Jesus was pretty angry as he overturned tables and drove people from the Temple. The fact that they were buying and selling wasn’t the issue. The money-changers and the traders were there to enable the worship of God. It was the corruption and exploitation of ordinary people as they sought to honour God that maddened Jesus. The Temple had become ‘a den of thieves’.

In Acts 17 we read of Paul’s great distress in Athens (verse 16) as he witnessed the idolatry that was rife throughout the city. He couldn’t help himself – he had to Talk Jesus! Have you ever thought of praying ‘Lord, greatly distress me so that I can’t help but tell people about Jesus’?

It’s not wrong to get angry. It’s what we get angry about that matters. We do, of course, need to acknowledge that our anger can be misplaced and/or misdirected. It has to be kept on a tight rein. After 9/11, I borrowed a phrase from Psalm 23 and prayed ‘Lord, lead my anger in paths of righteousness’. So here’s the challenge: while recognizing the dangers of our anger being infected by sin, we also need to avoid an indifferent numbness which smothers righteousness indignation. There are times when we should stick our necks out and say or do something.

John Stott, in his commentary on Ephesians 4:26 says this: “There is a great need in the contemporary world for more Christian anger … In the face of blatant evil we should be indignant not tolerant, angry not apathetic.”

What gets you angry in the cause of the Kingdom of God?
How about using the comment box below if you’d like to share your answer? No worries if not – I won’t be cross 😉

The crowds that lined the road as Jesus rode by cheered with joyful expectation, waving their palm branches and shouting ‘Hosanna’. Among them were political enthusiasts who thought that Jesus was at last going to fulfil their hopes and usher in the great Messianic age. I wouldn’t have been surprised to have found among them some of those whom Jesus had healed, along with their grateful relatives and friends. And perhaps there were those who had just found themselves caught up in the excitement of the moment and were going with the crowd.

There were also those who felt decidedly grumpy about the whole thing and wanted it Jesus to cancel the procession. And there were the Roman soldiers, keeping a very watchful and suspicious eye on the dubious proceedings. But only Jesus really knew and understood why he was riding into Jerusalem as he was. He was on a mission. Everyone else had an agenda.

There’s a lesson for this in this. Let’s beware the temptation of pushing our agendas onto God, of recruiting him to do our will. I have reflected in this Blog on previous occasions of the fact that in coming to Worle “many were the plans in [this] man’s heart” but it is the Lord’s purpose that must prevail (Proverbs 19:21). Because of Covid-19 this Palm Sunday (and Easter next week) is not what we planning for, and the same goes for who-knows-how-long. But, just as on that first Palm Sunday, so today, the Lord knows what he is doing. And in that knowledge we can rejoice and shout Hosanna!

Today let us humbly and prayerfully bring our agendas to God, all our hopes and all our fears, and surrender them to him that he may do with them as he will – all in the best interests of his Kingdom.

All four gospels could be described as ‘Edited Highlights of the Life, Ministry, Death and Resurrection of Jesus’. Each of them give most space to the last week of Jesus’ life on earth. In the run up to Easter I’ll be offering a reflection on something that happened on each of those days, asking “What Can we Learn from Holy Week?” We being with Saturday, the day before Palm Sunday …

And on this Saturday we find Jesus staying at the home of three of his closest friends in Bethany (about 2 miles from Jerusalem). It’s the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus (see John’s gospel ch.12). Jesus chose to spend time with his friends at the beginning of such awesome and awful days.

We all need friends, people to whom we can turn and just be with. We read in Genesis that “it is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). Human beings need one another, we need friends, close friends, with whom we can share and know their unconditional understanding and support. Jesus was no different.

For us in these days of having to stay at home, avoiding physical contact with others, we are experiencing something of the ‘not good’ of being alone. So, in our prayers,

• let’s thank God for friends who in the past or in these days have ‘been there’ for us
• let’s pray for those in need of a friend
• let’s pray that we might be a good friend when someone needs us

And let’s thank God for Jesus who later in the week called his disciples his friends (see John 15:13-15).

We’re into our second week of ‘lockdown’. Some say that there’s a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, others aren’t quite so sure. Whatever the truth, the fact is, light or no light, we’re in this for quite a while yet and we have to make the most of it.

I’ve been thinking about the apostle Paul. He had plans to go to Rome and establish a ‘mission base’ on his way to Spain (see Romans 15:22-28). In my mind, I had plans when I arrived in Worle to do this, that and the other. Things didn’t work out for Paul as he expected. He got to Rome, but not as a free man. He was a prisoner of Caeser (under house arrest) on trial for his life. Things aren’t that bad for me in Worle, but at least Paul was allowed visitors!

Paul’s friends in Philippi were concerned about him. Things had not worked out for him as expected but Paul wrote to re-assure them that, although the circumstances were not those he would have chosen, it did mean he had opportunities to share his faith with people he otherwise would not have met – see Philippians 1:12-13. We are all in circumstances we would not have chosen. But we are where we are and as a consequence we have opportunities to Talk Jesus that otherwise might not have come our way. I’m praying that the church will not just survive but thrive (check out Ephesians 3:20,21)

And in other news … tomorrow (Wednesday) Helen has an appointment with her oncologist in Exeter.

And these made me chuckle:  
“Was it you or your brother that was killed in the war?” (Rev Archibald Spooner, nineteenth century clergyman).

And here are some more spoonerisms: “Tomorrow’s weather will be frog and fost.” (Mary Malcolm, BBC announcer) She was on a roll … next it was “There will also be drain and rizzle in many parts.”

And one more from Archibald Spooner with which to sign off: “You have hissed all my mystery lectures.”

This morning Helen asked me what today’s date was. I had to stop and think. In fact, I had to work out what day of the week it was as well! With all our usual routines shot to bits, it’s all to easy to lose track of time. Because of the way my brain works, I immediately started thinking about our experience of time in a broader sense and this reminded me of an article I wrote some years ago (doesn’t time fly!) for Pinhoe Road’s monthly magazine. Called A Brief Theology of Time, it’s a little bit longer (did I say ‘brief’ just now?) than what I would normally post in my blog, but if you’re in any way intrigued, and you have time to spare, you can read it by clicking on the link.

And in other musings … Helen and I are in splendid isolation, but we have managed a couple of walks, choosing routes that have wide pavements or quiet roads so that we can keep a safe distance from any passers-by. And yesterday, I mowed the grass for the first time, but there’s no-one in the empty buses going past to appreciate it!

Time for a chuckle:

“Now to the subjects of law and international law – subjects usually as dry as ditch-water.” (Joan Bakewell, broadcaster)

“I definitely want Brooklyn to be christened, but I don’t know into what religion yet.” (David Beckham, footballer)

“I’ve never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body.” (Winston Bennett, American basketball player)

It’s been a steep learning curve. Yesterday I preached my first sermon using Facebook Live as my ‘pulpit’. And we’ve had leadership team meetings using Zoom. All this is part of the new ‘normal’ in terms of being and doing church from home.

Yesterday morning I anchored my message in the Old Testament book of Daniel, asking how did Daniel’s faith not only survive but thrive in times of catastrophic change (i.e. the destruction of Jerusalem and his exile in Babylon). The Jerusalem Temple had been the symbol and guarantee of God being with his people, guiding and protecting them in a hostile world. Now it was gone and with it the usual rhythms of faith and life.

I highlighted Daniel’s
– determination to be different
– supportive friends
– love of Scripture
– courageous witness
– openness to the Spirit of God
– commitment to prayer

If you’d like to hear the full message (less than 10 minutes!!) then it’s on Worle Baptist Church’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pg/WorleBaptist/videos/?ref=page_internal

These made me chuckle:
“Why did they build Windsor Castle beneath the Heathrow flight path?” (To a tour guide)
“Is this where Sharon and Ozzie actually live?” (Visitor to Osborne House, former residence of Queen Victoria, on the Isle of Wight)

After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. (Revelation 4:1-2)

Things were going from bad to worse. At the end of the first century the persecution of the church in the Roman Empire was becoming vicious. Who could blame Christians at the time from wondering where God was in it all? Caesar seemed to be calling all the shots. The apostle John was himself in exile on Patmos, separated from the people he loved and cared for. But it was there that the risen Christ in all his stunning glory appeared to him (Revelation 1:9-20).

At the beginning of chapter four he was beckoned to take a peek into heaven itself, to take a look behind (or should that be ‘above’?) the scenes. What did he see? He saw a throne in heaven. Was it an empty throne? Had God abdicated his rule, leaving his people to cope as best they could against the might of Rome? No. The throne was occupied. No matter how things appeared on earth (and they were bad), God remained sovereign on the throne of heaven (which was good). If I were John I would have been glad of such a powerful reassurance and would have wasted no time in getting the message out.

“It’s like life just slammed on the brakes, and we’re all reeling from the whiplash” – that’s how Lysea TerKeurst (in an article entitled God’s Goodness isn’t Cancelled) well describes how it presently feels. Many have had to cancel or postpone important life events that have been planned, dreamed of and invested in for many months or longer. Covid-19 appears to be calling all the shots at the moment. But if we take a look over John’s shoulder, we’ll see that God still occupies the glorious throne of heaven. No matter what the disappointments, however great the emotional devastation, our heavenly Father’s love and care is undiminished.

So let’s all fuel our faith and trust as we piggy-back John’s majestic vision. With the view on earth looking pretty grim, he looked into heaven and saw a throne with “someone sitting on it”. Read down to verse 8 to find that self-same throne surrounded by worship. Let’s join in!!

At a conference during the final year of the twentieth century, the speaker posed the question “What, according to the Bible, was the first human crisis?”. My mind instinctively turned to Genesis 3 and the human fall into sin. But, although it was the answer our speaker expected, it wasn’t the answer he wanted. Our attention was drawn to Genesis 2:18 It is not good for the man to be alone. Before sin is on the scene God himself declares that something is ‘not good’. Adam is alone. But he enjoyed fellowship with God untainted by sin, didn’t he? Not good enough it seems. The original Hebrew words are strong – they mean that the situation is disastrous. This was the first human crisis, not in Genesis 3 but in Genesis 2. So what does God do about it? He creates a ‘helper’, a word sometimes used elsewhere in the Old Testament to describe a ‘deliverer’ from disaster.

So, with this in mind, it’s probably a bit simplistic to say to someone who is alone ‘All you need is God’. If that were true Adam wouldn’t have needed Eve. Human beings are created to need God and food, God and sleep, God and one another. The God who is social (Father, Son and Spirit) created humanity in his own image as social creatures. Solitary confinement is experienced as a punishment, not a blessing! Have you spotted where I’m headed with this? The need to “self-isolate” is a tough call and I reckon we need to pray that it is for as short a time period as possible.

But there are ways to make being isolated more bearable. Keeping in touch with people by phone, email, WhatsApp, Blog, Skype, Twitter … and what about a good old-fashioned letter? Yesterday I added Zoom to my list … Even though all church services and meetings have been cancelled, that doesn’t mean that worship, fellowship and mission grind to a halt. We can still be sort of together for a heart-warming chat, an encouraging word, a strengthening prayer and so on. Not the same, I know, but better than nothing.

And in other news … Helen’s latest tests means that she can continue with the treatment of choice (further tests in a couple of weeks). But her immunity is already sufficiently compromised to necessitate ‘self-isolation’ which means missing Michael and Thea’s wedding on the 28^th. Speaking of which everything is cancelled though they’re still getting married with just a few of the immediate family present. The plan is for a big celebration on their first anniversary instead.

This made me chuckle: “We felt we needed an umbrella organisation to help flood victims.” Mary Dhonau (Flood Resilience Consultant)

Those who know me well know that I have a love-hate relationship with Christmas. So much so that anyone overheard mentioning ‘Christmas’ before the end of October was asked to put a pound in the ‘Season-After-Advent-Box’. Now why am I breaking my own rules and risking personal bankruptcy! It’s because my Bible-In-One-Year readings this morning included Luke 2:1-20, the story of Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem, Jesus in the manger and the angels and shepherds out in the hills.

In the notes accompanying the readings, Nicky Gumbel draws attention to the shepherds who faithfully went and told everyone what they had seen and heard. It was time to bear witness to what God had told them even though they didn’t understand fully what was going on.

What is going on today? The country is heading into lock-down because of Covoid 19. It’s unchartered territory – we’ve “not been this way before” (Joshua 3:4). How best can we bear witness to our faith? What will it look like? I find myself wondering if Sunday services will be cancelled until further notice. Is live-streaming my next tech learning-curve? How will I be pastor to my people? Will I need to stay at home, for my sake as much as for Helen’s? Just how will we do church? I think we’ve all got more questions than answers at the moment.

But with all the complex issues and knotty problems that Covoid 19 throws up, our calling to follow the shepherds’ example remains. Perhaps we’ll find that people will be more open to the Gospel than they otherwise would have been? Let’s demonstrate to all around us that our faith in Jesus makes a difference as we trust in Him for the days ahead, however different and difficult they might turn out to be.