Category: February 2016

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February 2016

February 4th 2016: Matthew 27: 57-66

You can follow today’s reading by clicking on this sentence.

The chief priests and the Pharisees were scared. My reading is they were scared in case the disciples played a trick, pulled a fast one, as it were, and made it seem like Jesus had risen. It is interesting that they clearly knew the stories Jesus had been telling about what was to happen. I do wonder though if, somewhere deep down, hidden away there was the thought in some of their minds ‘what if it actually was true, what he was saying? What if he is who he said he was?’ I suppose when false messiahs are two-a-penny (as they remain today in different ways) a deal of weary cynicism must be at play. Of course Jesus wasn’t the Messiah. Of course he wouldn’t rise from the dead, but just in case, best make sure.

For me, as I read, the challenge is stark. Do I continue to think, trust and live that Jesus did break free from the tomb, having defeated death? Do I really? Sometimes I wonder if I’d rather Jesus did not keep breaking conventions and finding ever more exciting ways to show that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, here, today. If I can just control God for long enough to be able to fathom him out and communicate him, introduce him to others, then I can have the kind of Church and faith experience I was taught was the right one, things will be the way they were supposed to be. Sounds comforting doesn’t it.

Except that isn’t it. At all. This time the Messiah did in fact rise from the dead, break free from the tomb. Nothing could deny it. And nothing we do to try and make the life of faith more in line with how we think it ought to be can constrain our God. He will have his way. It is for us to get in line, not as dogmatic robots, but needing to follow the spark of the Creator as he redeems and reconciles in places, situations and ways we never previously thought possible. All for his glory.

When you think about it, we’re not much different from the chief priests and Pharisees after all.

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February 2016

February 3rd 2016: Matthew 27:45-56

You can follow today’s reading by clicking on this sentence.

I’ve often wondered which of the things in today’s reading actually caused the Centurion to utter the now immortal line ‘truly this man was the Son of God’, as Matthew records it. Ultimately though I’m not sure it really matters. The point is, a combination of circumstances caused Jesus to be recognised for who he was, by the very last person who should have been doing so, a member of the occupying force who had just put him to death.

As with all the readings I look at here, there’s lots we could delve into, and should, if we were trying to teach or preach on this passage, either individually or as a part of Matthew as a whole. Do take the time to look into it deeply, there’s lots to find. The challenge here is, I’m deliberately trying to see what particularly pricks my mind as I read rather than providing a grand exposition. On this occasion it is this thought:

In the excitement of being invited to live with and know Jesus, to follow his way, take on board his teachings, even move in power because of his name, am I, are we, in danger of losing sight of just how wonderful, powerful, victorious our God was on the Cross and is today? He is the Son of God, more than an impossibly good man full of good intentions who delivered on his promises. He is God. What difference will that make to how we live our days today?

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February 2016

February 2nd 2016: Romans 12:1-5

You can follow today’s passage by clicking on this sentence.

It might tell you a lot about me that of all the phrases I picked out as I read this short but potent passage was ‘sober judgement’. To me sober judgement has always been something which keeps me thinking of myself as ‘less-than’ other people. I am not to elevate myself. I am not to think too highly of myself. I am to try and view myself in a balanced, properly humble way. But how hard that is to maintain! How perspective shifts, as life changes, as we get older. So many days have been wasted in my own life, as I’ve worried, panicked and succumbed to downright paralysis of fear over exactly how God views me, what impact that might have on me and therefore how I should view myself. It is terrifically hard work. It is exhausting, in fact, seeking to keep one’s view of oneself and other people, in check. Particularly is this so when it is driven by fear: fear of what others will think, fear of what God thinks, fear of what will happen when I give in and close my eyes, what will I think?

All of this is very real, but it also very really misses the point. Entirely so. ‘We are one body, in Christ’, says Paul. You might be stronger or weaker. You might think my faith is better or worse than yours. You might think me a heretic. But I am part of the same body you are, within Christ, by the mysterious and wonderful grace of God. We are invited, called, equipped and sent to live as part of that body and to invite others to join with us, not as joyless, fearful, obedient worshipping drones, but as free, united, joyful and generous sharers and livers of love. The Way we walk is the way of freedom. So exercise sober judgement, but be sober in knowing that God has made us who we are, we are his and he is with us and for us.

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February 2016

February 1st 2016: Matthew 27:11-26

You can follow today’s reading by clicking on this sentence.

I talk too much. Especially under pressure. Especially when I’m under pressure and I think that the pressure being placed upon me is unjust, or has put me in danger, even the kind of danger that will end up with me looking stupid. I’ve never been in the position of having to defend myself for the sake of saving my life. I’ll be bluntly honest here and say I hope I never will be either. I can’t even begin to imagine what that would be like. Much is made of Jesus’s silence as he stands before Pilate here. He gives nothing away. He does not identify himself, he is not charged with anything, he does not accept or deny anything. He just is. In this moment of almost complete powerlessness, when the very real temptation to seek a way out must have been somewhere nearby, light shone simply by accepting what was to come.

What can I learn from this? I want to be less defensive. I want to be more positive. I want to be more aware, more confident in who I am, because of who God is and what Jesus did in going through this event and what was to follow. I want to keep things simple. I want to think and worry less. I want to be where I am and let God bring about what God is bringing about, even if it’s only through my obedience.