“Let me be clear once more: the editors of the Greek New Testaments killed Junia. They killed her by silencing her into non-existence. They murdered that innocent woman by erasing her from the footnotes.”
So the argument goes that for 60 years of so there was some sort of plot to get rid of Junias by giving her a man’s name (albeit a highly unusual one). So I thought I’d have a look at the commentaries that line my shelves to see what they said. Now I don’t actually have a vast set of commentaries on Romans, in fact due to the oddities by which I gained my books it’s a poorer showing than for many smaller books. But I found the results interesting so here they are discussing Romans 16:7:
Mary gave her body
Joseph gave his reputation
Caesar gave his orders
The innkeeper gave his manger
The magi gave their gifts
The heavenly host gave their praise
And the shepherds gave their worship.
Mary gave birth
Joseph gave a name
Heaven gave a Saviour
The Father gave a Son.
The darkness gives way to the light
And death gives way to life.
I hope you all a Christmas filled with light and life.
If you hadn’t noticed it’s nearly Christmas, that time of year where we go slightly loco with money and stuff, and it’s a unique event. Rampant consumerism and the celebration of the birth of Christ in a stable, and it was combining those two things that led to this very clever advert. Of course in the race to condemn all this excess we may kill all the fun or so thinks Sarah Dunn. This chart shows Christmas spending by country.
Unsurprisingly, in America despite not having the most money they will spend nearly the most on gifts. This is because, as Eugene Peterson says in this short video, the most materialistic we have ever known and shows how to handle wealth! (Ht: Mark Meynell)
It was following a drive through America that Tim Challies began to seriously think about the issue of money. He found this prayer on stuff and contentment and then ways to think wrongly about money. He then asks the questions do I have to give? And if so how much do I give?
This all goes to show that we live in a consumer age and it’s a pressure not evenly felt. By that I mean, as this post says, ‘UK parents seem to find themselves under tremendous pressure to purchase a surfeit of material goods for their children. This compulsive consumption was almost completely absent in both Spain and Sweden.’ A thesis that our personal experience can anecdotally support.
The best antidote is to be generous and to cultivate gratitude and that takes some thought. It’s worth thinking about.
This will be a battleground within Western Christianity in particular probably for the rest of my life. It begins with shifts within civil society and then to the state churches, these things are not solved in a matter of months but years. However the spotlight will continue to bear down on Christians and evangelicals in particular (we are easy targets) and so I am convinced that church leaders need to be prepared to know how to articulate their beliefs without resorting to silly judgmental soundbites or mumbling meaningless platitudes. With this in mind we need to keep one eye open to the trends that are happening, the events that are taking place and consider carefully how we would respond when occasion demands it.
An investigation was carried out about whether to throw out leaders with such views, ‘However, a special church meeting decided his views were too widely shared among church thinkers for him to be singled out.’
And according to the priest, while these views are ‘changing what the Church has said’, but not apparently the “real meaning of Christianity”. Goodness knows how she knows what that is.
And here’s the real insight into why these views are not only tolerated but supported according to a member of the church for 20 years, ”I think it’s very liberating. [They are] using the Bible in a metaphorical way so I can bring it to my own way of thinking, my own way of doing.”
And, “Here you can believe what you want to think for yourself, what you really feel and believe is true.”
Ah, what I feel to be true…must be right then.
Who needs new atheists to undermine Christianity when the church is doing that perfectly well on its own?
But before I get all judgmental against Europe’s ‘christian’ liberals I wonder if a similar debate isn’t happening from time to time in evangelical churches. Take, for example, this debate on Vicky Beeching’s blog where she plays the advocate to both sides of a discussion about whether non-Christians should be on the worship team?
Having been asked that question a few times I know it’s sometimes a live issue, but where do you draw the line. If the drummer can be a pagan, why not the worship leader or indeed the church leader as is the case in this Dutch church? It’s not for me, those that contribute to the life of a church have to have the life of the one whose church it is. Another reason for me why baptism is so significant, it stands as a public declaration that ‘I no longer live but Christ who lives in me’ (Gal 2:20).
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I also note his sense of humour, self-deprecation and commendation of those who work for him. Good leadership whatever you think of his politics.
Despite all his trials and his present situation in chains, Paul was filled with joy (Php 1:5 and spent much time rejoicing Php 1:18; Php 2:17; Php 3:1; Php 4: 4 & 10) and expected the Philippians to be too. Php 1:25-26; Php 2:18; Php 3: 2-3; Php 4:4
Finally – if your Christ is the destroyer but He has become your Saviour, if Christ is Lord over everything and He cares for you, if you are stained by sin but you have been made whiter than the snow and Christ is your righteousness, if you do not how to live but Christ has become your example, if you were dead and now are alive because Christ has become your life, do you think you should be happy or sad?
That Jesus is Lord really is good news, it was never designed to just forgive you but to change everything, it was not intended to change what you do a couple of times a week on Sunday mornings or Friday nights. It was designed to fill you with joy and alter your destiny, your priorities, your hopes, dreams, heart, mind, body and soul. Which in case you’ve forgotten is how the Bible has always described we should love God.
I don’t know if you’ve ever been to churches where the congregation sings as if God really doesn’t exist but whatever church background you come from let me ask you this, can you really rejoice without smiling?
Joy and rejoicing is however more than praise and worship but not less than. Rejoicing and joy affect our anxiety levels, they reduce them, they affect our confidence levels, they raise them. Rejoicing and joy help you appreciate that in Christ you lack no good thing, that He has lavished his gifts of grace upon you.
Celebration is a gift and in the gifts God has given us there is much to celebrate. How would you celebrate amazing news? Well we should celebrate like this in the church. Your praise and your life should be marked by joy; inexpressible but overflowing joy.
So a final question, is your relationship with Christ marked by joy and rejoicing?
So let’s pray – I know I need God to help me in probably all six areas, maybe there’s an area in particular that you need God to help you with or you’ve not thought about before. Let’s come to him and ask Him to make Christ all for us.
This is the natural consequence of really grasping that Jesus is Lord in the way that Paul grasped it. As Paul says in Php 1:21-26, to live meant serving Christ. At what age or stage in life do you think you should start living like that?
The correct answer by the way is ‘now’.
One of the fundamental flaws in evangelicalism over the last 50 years is that we have asked people to respond to Jesus on the basis of sins forgiven and not on the basis of Jesus as Lord. As Dallas Willard says,
“Not having made converts disciples, it is impossible for us to teach them how to live as Christ lived and taught. That was not part of the package, not what they converted to. When confronted with the example and teachings of Christ, the response today is less one of rebellion or rejection than of puzzlement: How do we relate to these? What have they to do with us?”
Jesus calls disciples so Paul is not raising the bar any higher than Jesus set it. If you doubt that consider Jesus here in Luke 14:33. This is pretty much Jesus’ standard line to those who would be his followers. Which is why Dietrich Bonhoeffer says that, ‘When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.’
Then look at the sort of things that happens when we trust in Christ with our life – he guards our hearts and minds (Php 4:7), he meets our needs (Php 4:19), he transforms you (Php 3:21), he calls you heavenward (Php 3:14). For the disciple Christ is our life, He is what we are living for and while this calls for sacrifice if our eyes (like the rich young ruler) are on what we have to give up we will never see what we have to gain.
Christ is not someone you believe things about, He is someone you follow. So are you following? In what areas of life might Christ be asking you to follow Him?
Let’s return to Php 2:1-6, Paul is clear that because Christ is Lord and because He is our saviour and our righteousness He also serves as our example. Our energies must be devoted to be like Christ, in mind, in word, in deed and he encourages us to do this by reminding us of the benefits we have received from Christ.
Look again closely at Php 2:1-6 and we see that through our being in Christ we receive encouragement, comfort, fellowship, tenderness, compassion. We are nurtured, cared for, strengthened and equipped and we should then be like-minded that being that sort of person is the best choice.
And it is that example that is both challenging and essential. ‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition and vain conceit.’ Let me be honest this has been the hardest thing for me to live out. Just after I graduated from the University of Nottingham, I along with some friends were invited back by the CU to take part in their houseparty in the welsh hills at Cefn Lea. The speaker that year probably gave some of the most life-shaping and defining talks I’ve ever heard. The impact of which shaped me for years to come. He captured us students as we listened to him talk of what it meant to live for Christ.
I would be lying to you if I didn’t want that same impact to happen this weekend. But is that for God’s glory or mine? Do I want to be known as an inspirational speaker or do I want to be known as someone inspired by Christ. And this I think maybe some of what Paul is hinting at in Php 1:15. Not everyone preaching Christ is doing it for the glory of God but to be known, to be heard, to be praised and to be praised higher than others.
Honestly, I guess this is all still mixed up for me – there’s a part of me that wants to be known and praised and talked about – it’s vain conceit and it’s selfish ambition. So I have to confess my sin before God and say, you know what I can’t even talk about selfish ambition and vain conceit without selfish ambition and vain conceit so how desperate is my need for Christ to lift this up and use it, and help me Jesus be a servant to have your attitude, to not somehow consider equality with you something to be grasped.
In what area of this list do you need to follow Christ’s example? How can you be more like-minded?
Paul is really clear (Php 3:7-10) that righteousness comes only from faith in Christ. And in Php 1:11 Paul prays that the believers would be full of the fruit of this righteousness. When we place faith in Christ we are accorded new rights, new status, new identity and a new righteousness. This didn’t come through you getting up early to pray or reading through the Bible in a year or taking part in a grill a Christian event, it comes through your faith in what Christ did for you, you who were unable to fulfil the perfect requirements of God’s holiness.
Until you own the truth that you cannot be righteous by your own efforts it’s hard to fully grasp the fact the Christ is your righteousness. By faith in Christ we are placed in Christ so that when we stand before the Father it is not our sin that He sees but Christ’s righteousness. We are hidden in him.
Terry Virgo explained it this way. Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob but he loved Esau. When Jacob wanted his father’s blessing and his brother’s birthright he hid himself in the son that his father loved. He hid himself in Esau to gain what rightfully was Esau’s. We are hid in the Son that God loves, we are clothed in Him so we gain what is his – not in deception this time but in grace. Christ is your righteousness.
That new status however means a changed life, because I am free I should live free, because I am a citizen of heaven by His grace I should live as if I were one, the fruit of righteousness should flow out from me. But that righteousness is not my own, those privileges were not what I was owed but what I was given. On what basis am I citizen of heaven? On the basis of what Christ has done alone. You are not your own you were bought at a price (1 Cor 6:20), so we say with Paul, “to live is Christ.”
Paul said this knowing of Christ was of ‘surpassing worth’? Is there anything else that surpasses knowing Christ to you? Is it career, boyfriend, girlfriend, having a good time, travel, experiences? How is this thing of surpassing worth evidenced in your life? Talk about it, dream about it this weekend. How can we encourage each other to live in such a way that Christ really is of surpassing worth to me?
It was God’s plan to exalt Christ and proclaim Him Lord, to establish the government of His kingdom on the shoulders of His messiah. Php 1:28 says that the way Christians exhibit grace under pressure will be a sign that they are being saved and their oppressors will be judged and condemned and in Php 3:17-21 repeats that some will be destroyed. Christ is both destroyer and saviour. Jesus himself said to fear God in Mat 10:28.
It is frankly an unpalatable and unwelcome truth in today’s culture that not everyone will have an happy ending. That it would somehow be unfair of God to judge people too harshly and that should surely mean overlooking most of their sins.
Paul says some live as enemies of the cross, for some their destiny is destruction. Their sinfulness will be what condemns them and they will have lived for themselves and therefore already had their reward. The just and reasonable consequence of a chosen life without Christ is life without Christ.
Several reasons present themselves as to why we minimise this: firstly we do not think our sin is as serious as God does and secondly therefore that our need for a saviour is not as great as God thinks it is. We overestimate our abilities and underestimate the danger.
For Christians this adds a dimension that is often lost in our relationship with God and Paul calls ‘fear and trembling’. We remember that the salvation we find in Christ is a work of God, even the faith needed to trust him is a gift from God (Eph 2:9) and we see that here in Php 1:6 – that it is God who began a good work in you and it is God who will complete it and in Php 2:13 that God who works in you to will and to act. Without God we are lost utterly so the right response is to mix the intimacy we can enjoy with the Father with awe – we work out our salvation with fear and trembling. With reverence and awe that the God of the universe would save you, would love you, would rescue you, would redeem you – that while you were still a sinner Christ died for you. We don’t work hard to get to heaven but we make every effort because heaven came and got us.
Francis Chan talks of reminding himself before he prays of who God is in His might and power and that changing how he prays. In your relationship with God, is there room for awe and reverence, is there fear and trembling? What would that look like? How would it shape your prayers?
“Christ is our Lord. This for Paul is the good news, this is His gospel – the good news is that Jesus is Lord, that He sits at the right hand of the father (Php 2:9) and that everything is being brought under His control in His new kingdom (Php 3:20-21.)
You might be wondering whether I’ve missed something from that statement of the Gospel, what happened to the cross? Where are mentions of sin and repentance and the forgiveness of sins? And I will be very clear about this –they are not the whole Gospel. They are the result of the Gospel. How so?
Tom Schreiner puts it like this:
“Since Jesus is the Christ, the exalted Lord over all, the Son of God, the Prophet and the Servant of the Lord, he is to be preached and proclaimed to all. Because Jesus is the universal Lord, salvation is available only through him. He will judge the living and the dead on the last day. Hence people receive forgiveness of sins by believing in and trusting in Jesus Christ the Lord.”
For Paul Christ is Lord because God raised him from the dead and so it all hinged on the resurrection, but the need for forgiveness and salvation is a response to the news that Jesus is Lord. If God truly has appointed this Jesus to rule and reign over all things, if this Christ is going to put right what has gone wrong then there really is only one way to be right with God and that is through faith in Jesus and his finished work on the cross.
It’s important to get this right because it has massive implications for the way we respond to and live out our Christian lives, but we’ll come to that. But let’s look at the hymn to the Lordship of Christ (Php 2:6-11). This is probably one of the earliest hymns of the early church that we know of.
This is Paul’s reminder to the Philippians that above all else there is Christ. The hymn works in two parts with first the humiliation of Christ and ends with His exaltation. It’s a statement of belief in the deity of Christ – that in his very nature Jesus is divine, yet is fused with humility – there is no power struggle in the Trinity, the Son serves the father and brings him glory through His service.
Paul here states Christ’s divinity and his humanity as well as his humility. He was God and He was a servant and one willing to be obedient to death on a cross and because of His self-sacrifice and because of His total and perfect obedience God did not let his body see decay but raised him to life and exalted Him – made His name greater than all other names and put all things under His control and all this brings the Father glory.
Everything else flows out from this simple fact – Jesus is Lord.
The Lordship of Christ is an easy thing to say and a harder thing to put into practice. So if I were to ask you this question, ‘Is Jesus your Lord?’ Assuming you say, ‘yes’ what evidence would you give to support that answer? How is the Lordship of Christ put into effect in your life? Because it must, right?”
Anyway, I don’t normally blog my talks but I thought that here I’d make an exception and post some of the stuff on Philippians (lightly edited for blog format). Please critique and comment. Below is my introduction to how I approached it and the letter itself.
“Philippi was probably the first church to be established in mainland Europe and was founded amidst a flurry of activity and controversy which you can read about in Acts 16. By the end of the first week Lydia, a wealthy merchant, had been converted and baptised. The gospel had come to the upper classes.
Soon after an annoyed Paul frees a slave girl from demonic oppression. The gospel had come to the lowest classes. This caused an uproar and after a beating Paul & Silas were thrown in jail. After their singing caused an earthquake (sort of), Paul leads the jailer and his family to Christ and baptises them. The gospel had come to the middle classes. And then they leave.
However the Philippians had really taken Paul to heart, they loved him and were hugely committed to his cause giving sacrificially of themselves and their money. Paul praises them to the church in Corinth as an example of generosity and unlike in almost all his other personal letters, Philippians contains very little rebuke and is full of warmth and affection. This is a letter to a church that Paul loved and to a church that loved Paul. It is easily Paul’s letter of joy and as such it should be read with warmth, affection and should encourage, build you up and stir love for Christ in your hearts.
This is more remarkable when you consider the circumstances Paul found himself in as he wrote this letter. He was likely in prison in Rome and had been for some time, his trial was imminent and there was the real possibility of death. Paul’s joy and trust in Christ becomes even more compelling.
It is a Christ-centred letter with some of the most famous verses about Christ in them: ‘to live is Christ and to die is gain’, ‘at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…’, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus…’, ‘I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection…’. We’ll examine the work of God in Christ.
Philippians is also a letter to a church and the church is the bride of Christ and his agent, his new community, his colony here on earth. We’ll look at the work of God in the church.
Of course the church is made up of individuals, disciples of Christ and it contains a vast treasury of riches for the believer: ‘whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praise worthy, think about such things’. We’ll finish with something personal and practical as we look at the work of God in the Christian.“
“(this is)…the centrepiece of what Ratzinger actually did say in his Thought for the Day. ‘Christ destroyed death forever and restored life by means of his shameful death on the Cross.’ More shameful than the death itself is the Christian theory that it was necessary. It was necessary because all humans are born in sin.”
Absolutely, Christians believe that humanity is riddled inescapably with sin. Dawkins on the other hand resents the notion.
“That sin, with which every newborn baby is hideously stained (another charming notion), was so terrible that it could be forgiven only through the blood sacrifice of a scapegoat. But no ordinary scapegoat would do. The sin of humanity was so great that the only adequate sacrificial victim was God himself.
That’s right. The creator of the universe, sublime inventor of mathematics, of relativistic space-time, of quarks and quanta, of life itself, Almighty God, who reads our every thought and hears our every prayer, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God couldn’t think of a better way to forgive us than to have himself tortured and executed. For heaven’s sake, if he wanted to forgive us, why didn’t he just forgive us? Who, after all, needed to be impressed by the blood and the agony? Nobody but himself.”
Dawkins forgets completely about justice, refuses to think sin is all that serious, offensive or destructive. He fails to see in the cross God’s condemnation of sin, abhorrence of sin and rejection of sin because there is no price that needs paying. He’s God he can just let us off right? And so Dawkins fails to see the need for repentance and therefore of redemption. He misses the totality of forgiveness.
Dawkins sums up his feelings about the heart of the Christian faith, forget science, forget the creation of the universe, this is the key:
“But he [the Pope] is also guilty of promoting one of the most repugnant ideas ever to occur to a human mind: “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22).”
Sadly I don’t think Richard Dawkins would appreciate 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 but it’s what he needs to know.
At Christmas I’ll gladly stand up and promote, even boast in such repugnance. Not that I think it occurred to a human mind but instead began in the heart of God. Sin is costly, it is deadly, it is death. Sin is repugnant, repulsive and rancid. Frankly I need to be see that or I’d be complacent and reckless, and I’m grateful that someone stood in my place on the cross because when I stand in front of God in His place I’ll know I’m not out of place.
At Christmas we celebrate not just a birth but grace coming in human form, we celebrate salvation from repugnance. Merry Christmas.
It’s not a long book (79 pages) and asks an interesting question, ‘what crucified Jesus?’ as opposed to the more natural, ‘who crucified Jesus?’ Rivkin works on the historicity of the event of the gospel not from the gospels themselves but by creating a framework from the writings of Josephus. He basis the historicity of Jesus not on the contentious passages referring to him but to one that isn’t challenged when Josephus mentions the execution of James the brother of Jesus.
Then using various references to other events around the time of Jesus he builds a convincing picture of the times. A ruthless governor in Pilate, a high priest in Caiaphas who made compromises to protect his people, zealots who made Judaea a restless province, a fervent atmosphere where charismatic preachers like John the Baptist emerge to great support from the people and consternation from the authorities. The fate of these preachers and leaders is almost always the same – death. Not on religious grounds but on political ones. Rome will brook no challenge. As long as the religion is not messed with the leaders render unto Caesar, as long as they do they are free to render unto God.
Rivkin then describes what he calls ‘a charismatic of charismatics’, an anointed inspirational figure who because of his popularity, because of the crowds, because of the support, because of the inherent challenge to one called ‘Lord’ the fate that awaits would almost certainly be the cross. Interestingly, the similarities as well as the differences put the relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees as more complex than Jesus = good; Pharisees = bad.
So Rivkin accords the first three gospels with historical value (he rejects any real historical value to the gospel of John) and sees the picture they paint of Jesus as authentic. Where the stories differ is (unsurprisingly) at the resurrection. For Rivkin, the cry of ‘My God why have you forsaken me?’ was to be taken at face value. Jesus realised the kingdom had not come, his mission had failed, God had abandoned him.
As for the resurrection, well like the Pharisees Jesus believed the resurrection was inevitable for the righteous and his followers did too. So when Jesus died, well of course they saw Jesus alive again and how faithless for any to doubt it. It seems it was a consequence of people who really believed it. So the disciples didn’t die for something they knew was a lie, they died for something they really believed was true, they were deluded.
The point of all this though is to examine the causes of the death of Jesus and Rivkin puts the blame squarely with Rome. People died not because of religion but because of politics. The Sanhedrin wasn’t a religious council but a political tool used by Caiaphas in working with the governor. As our creeds state, Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate. Jews and Christians can disagree about the resurrection but that should not lead to anti-semitism, that was because Christians blamed Jews for the death of Jesus but really Rome is to blame. The case is made easier with a rejection of John’s gospel.
On the whole there is much to learn from this, the case for the historical Jesus through the framework of the writings of Josephus is probably a useful apologetic to those that doubt the gospels (synoptics anyway) and the insights into how the Pharisees tackled Jesus as they tested his claims to be a messiah is very helpful. Ultimately the differences on the resurrection mean that the usefulness extends only so far.
If you haven’t reacquainted yourself with the strength of feeling against religion (certainly amongst the liberal Guardian readership) then read the comments to this piece. Faith of all forms is provoking a very strong reaction.
It was no surprise to read something like this in the Guardian online (I share many of the Guardian’s views on the environment, economics, development, politics but definitely not faith). While this idea is probably in the realms of fantasy, it doesn’t hurt us to know what our opponents would like to do given the chance. In this case severely restrict, control and ban Christian youth festivals like Newday after all,
“A scrutiny of the youth evangelism strategies of one of the UK’s largest faith groups, evangelical Christians, should give liberals serious cause for concern.”
Among the ridiculous things we teach young people apparently, are that God will judge people for sinful thoughts, that witchcraft is bad and that God heals people. Ridiculous.
The author’s solution to such nonsense?
“I believe a public commission should be established that issues non-legally binding guidelines on the forms of doctrines that it is desirable that children are taught. The preaching of hellfire or of divine faith healings to children could form part of such guidelines. Non-compliers could be “named and shamed” by such a commission.”
Well aside from the fact that no government is going to want to appoint a doctrinal commission to rehash the Christian faith it is interesting that secularists do want to control, prescribe and mandate what is or is not acceptable to believe and apparently in a modern democracy – and it seems God as judge and healer is no longer acceptable.
This is not going to happen any time soon but like I said, nice to know their plans in advance.
“Evangelical Christianity has already opened wide its arms and its heart. I just hope that it will also open wide its mind.”
and
“The sense that you have been present at an event where something transformative has happened – not in this case the transformation of bread and wine, but the action of the Spirit – “now” – “wow!” – in a huge crowd of people of which you have been privileged to be a part.”
Is there more substance to it than the ‘now and wow’? I hope so.
God has called us to
1. He has called us to find out what the Koran says.
2. He has called us to point out to Muslims what the Koran says about Jesus.
3. Show them that they have fallen for a false, Jesusless Islam, and that he is the Saviour that every Muslim is looking for.
Read the whole thing
“I was particularly struck by this simple point which came up more than once in the series: every time we give, we take one more step in the process of releasing the grip of materialism”
Have a listen
I’m glad (in some ways) that the world chooses to largely ignore Easter and go shopping, because at least then we don’t face the same secularising effects that we have at Christmas, but in other ways it mystifies me that so many would choose to ignore such an incredible and frankly unbeatable offer. Jesus is better than chocolate.
Today is far more special to me than birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and the mindless consumer-fest that is Christmas. Because of what happened on this day I received a new spirit, a new heart, a new family. Because of what happened on this day I received new life, new hope, a new future, a new direction, a new beginning. His victory over death means life to me.
* Here is a round-up of some other Easter Sunday posts from bloggers I read that I couldn’t link in the post*
I’m not sure how effective the witness bit was in the sense that it was a residential area and no one in particular seemed to be paying much attention but it was witness – we were outside not inside the church for a start. And not everything needs to be effective to be important.
It was also an uncomfortable experience, even though I don’t think anyone was watching – how strange to be carrying a cross, how strange to be singing, praying and just being there. I found when I paused to search my soul that I was a bit embarrassed, somewhat uncomfortable and awkward.
I volunteered to carry the cross because I knew that carrying those heavy pieces of wood even for a short distance would put paid to the feelings of discomfort, awkwardness and embarrassment. As I carried the cross I reflected that a man who changed my life forever carried a cross in great pain, in great shame and as a great display for all to see. Bleeding, naked and reviled Jesus carried his cross. But because I know Jesus is alive not dead, I asked him for forgiveness for being so easily ashamed.
As I thought about this some of the words from a song which always touches me deeply came to mind,
“You asked your Son to carry this
The heavy cross our weight of sinI love you Lord, I worship you
Hope which was lost, now stands renewed
I give my life to honour this
The love of Christ, the saviour king”
The wonder of Good Friday is precisely this, that the Father would ask the Son to die in the place of awkward, uncomfortable and embarrassed, sinful, shameful people so that those same awkward, uncomfortable and embarrassed, sinful, shameful people would have the opportunity of being friends not foes, family not strangers, saints not sinners. This is the love of Christ our Saviour King.
“People who are obsessed with God have an intimate relationship with Him. They are nourished by God’s Word throughout the day because they know that forty minutes on Sunday is not enough to sustain them for a whole week, especially when they will encounter so many distractions and alternative messages.”
- Francis Chan, Crazy Love
Any more?
This book is a response to the St Andrews Day Statement on homosexuality in the Church written by (amongst others) Oliver O’Donovan, David Wright, Timothy Bradshaw.
As a series of essays it’s both helpful and instructive. I appreciated better the positions of the revisionists from essays by Jeffrey John, Michael Vasey and Elizabeth Stuart. John’s and Vasey’s were both better argued than those put forward by Dan Via. Although in essence seem to come down to the same argument. Namely that what the Bible describes as homosexuality is not what we understand it today, therefore the injunctions in the Bible don’t apply.
There are good essays from the orthodox as well as pastoral perspectives. Even my old head of department Anthony Thiselton contributed with (as you might expect) a view from hermeneutics. Incredibly I both understood it and appreciated it which is more than I could say from my undergraduate years where I lacked comprehension. Other contributors include Gerald Bray, Martin Hallett, Simon Vibert and Rowan Williams.
Because of the variety and number of contributions (13), this is an immensely helpful volume. Carrying not just both sides of the argument but also differing views on each side and done in a thoughtful and respectful manner. It is also a strength of the book that some of its contributors are homosexual, which means this is more than ‘straight pondering’ of the ‘gay question’. I would suggest that for anyone wanting to get to grips with the controversy of homosexuality and the church (especially the Church of England) then this should probably be required reading.
I remain unconvinced by the revisionists arguments but as a result of reading this book I feel I understand and have heard them better and that made it an important learning step.
“I felt I wanted to write and say many thanks to you and Soul Purpose and to other kind friends who helped to arrange such a Happy Christmas Day.I’ve had ninety-six Christmas’ and the one Soul Purpose invited me to was one of the best I wasn’t looking forward this year to Christmas without my dear husband but you helped to take some of the sadness away. I thank you all for giving me a happy joyful time to share with others and for the hard work and hours of preparation to give so many lonely folk such a great time. A Happy New Year to you all. God Bless”
I nearly cried.
Merry Christmas – may the truth of God become flesh remind us of His great grace to us.
Have hope, there is light in the world!
I believe Jesus when he said 'life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions'. I believe he offers something better. This blog is mostly about that search.
I'm also a husband, a father, church planter, keen runner, reader, and motorcyclist. These and a few other things make guest appearances from time to time.
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