The Gift Of Forgiveness
The Rev. R.C. (Bob) Garvin
Psalm 32:1-5; Acts 3:11-19; I John 3: 1-7His friends brought him every day to the temple to beg for money as he was lame and had no other means of support. As Peter and John were going into the temple for worship and prayer the man stretched out his hand for help. Peter said: “I have no silver or gold, but what I have, I give you; in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” Peter lifted him by the hand, helping him to his feet and, with immense joy, he found he was cured and could walk. Leaping and running he entered the temple praising and thanking God.
Great excitement erupted as the people witnessed the healed man and turned to Peter and John, the miracle workers. This event was the basis of the second Christian sermon. Peter first of all disassociated the healing from any power in them. They were not the healers but rather the conduit of God's healing power through Jesus Christ. Peter told them that the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, had glorified His servant, Jesus. He bluntly told them they were responsible for rejecting Jesus and handing Him over to the Roman authorities to be killed. Peter said, “..you rejected the holy and righteous one ... and you killed the author of life, whom God raised from the dead.”
We have here a synopsis of that sermon. Peter must have spoken somewhat of the life, ministry, arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. He affirmed that the lame man was healed in the name of and by the power of the risen Christ. Note his next words: “And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets that his Messiah would suffer. Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out.” In affirming they acted in ignorance Peter acknowledged that they had not realized that Jesus was the Messiah. Nonetheless, they had been the agents of killing an innocent man who was, in fact, the Messiah.
In Peter’s sermon a key word is repent. Two words are used in the New Testament regarding admission of wrongdoing. The first is confess. This means to admit your fault. Confession is the first step in receiving forgiveness. The second word is repent which literally means to turn and go the other way. Not only do you admit you’re wrong but you resolve to change and not repeat the sin. Peter exhorted the people to repent so that they might receive God's forgiveness. Humankind faces two major crises: the problem of sin and the dread of death. We know that sin separates people from people and from God and we know that death is the great enemy for it ends our earthly life. Today’s sermon focuses on the gift of forgiveness and new life through Christ.
Let's look at some of Jesus words. He stated that if the people followed him they would know the truth which would make them free. They did not understand so he continued: “Truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” This is strong language - to be a slave of sin. Paul picks up this concept in saying, “do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions.” These verses imply that sin is primarily a power, the power of evil, which enslaves people and dominates their lives. The power of sin results in individual acts of sin.
Think back then to Jesus' words that people were slaves to the power of sin but that he would free people from that dominating force. We only have to look about us to observe the power of evil in our society and world but Christ breaks that power, setting us free from it and therefore free for righteous living. As Christians we are called to a life of faithfulness and obedience to Jesus as our Savior and Lord.
In his first letter the apostle John states that all of us do sin. While the power of sin is broken we are still tempted to commit acts of sin. In Christ we can do what is right in any given situation. Problem is, we fail sometimes either because we do not ask God for the strength and courage to do what we know is right or because sin's allurement is so appealing that we yield to that temptation.
The Christian is neither sinless nor perfect. We are involved in a process called sanctification which means to be made holy or sinless. We are to increasingly do those things which please God and decreasingly those which grieve Him. Paul referred to this as working out our salvation. God's gift to us is salvation. Our gift to God is developing our salvation by growing increasingly like Jesus. There is nothing wrong with being tempted to sin. Yielding is what is wrong. In every temptation we can turn to God for help and he will never fail us. So John admonishes us in these terms: “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Paul put it this way: “If we confess our sins is faithful and just and forgives us.”
God extends to us the gift of forgiveness because of his tremendous love. This leads John to write: “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.” But then John throws a curve at us. He wrote: “Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him.... Those who have been born of God do not sin.” This appears to be absolutely contrary to what John wrote earlier in his admonition for Christians not to sin but, if they did, God's gracious forgiveness would be given to them. How do we solve this conundrum? The key is in the Greek grammar.
In Chapter 2 of I John we read: “I write this to you so that you will not sin.” He used the aorist tense which indicates a particular and definite act. So John here is saying that the Christian is not to commit an individual act of sin. However if she falls to temptation, there is forgiveness. In the third chapter John wrote: “Those who have been born of God do not sin.” In this instance John used the present tense which indicates continuous and habitual action. So John is saying here that the Christian cannot continue to walk is sinful ways. As Christians we are to follow Jesus. One cannot do this and at the same time consistently live in sinful ways such as immoral conduct, foul language, abusiveness, drunkenness, covetousness and deceitfulness. William Barclay summed this up by stating: “John is not saying that the man who abides in God cannot sin; but he is saying that the man who abides in God cannot continue to be a consistent and deliberate sinner.”
We are on a journey of walking with Jesus. Yes, sometimes we miss the mark, we fall to temptation and disobey God's commands. When that happens remember that we believe in the forgiveness of sins. Our endeavour should be to weigh every situation in the light of our Christian calling and to consistently seek both God's guidance regarding the correct course of action and his strength to follow that course.
The final verse from our John lesson today was this: “For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” This echoes Christ's commandments to love God and to love the neighbor as self. Where love abound, sin is vanquished. You and I are to flee from evil and walk the way of love and goodness. God's willingness to forgive in no way gives us license to sin. Our past has not been perfect. We must put this behind us and press on today to be faithful in following Jesus in loving God and in loving other people.
In his profound love God through Christ has extended to us the gift of forgiveness. As we consider this remember three G words:
Guilt: we are all guilty of sin, of disobeying God.
Grace: in spite of our sin God has extended to us his grace in freely and completely forgiving us.
Gratitude: our response to grace is gratitude shown by our deepening desire to be faithful to God and to love one another.
Guilt, grace and gratitude bring us to the conviction of Paul: “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14) Thank God for the gift of forgiveness. Show God your gratitude by pressing on to a closer walk with God.
Great excitement erupted as the people witnessed the healed man and turned to Peter and John, the miracle workers. This event was the basis of the second Christian sermon. Peter first of all disassociated the healing from any power in them. They were not the healers but rather the conduit of God's healing power through Jesus Christ. Peter told them that the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, had glorified His servant, Jesus. He bluntly told them they were responsible for rejecting Jesus and handing Him over to the Roman authorities to be killed. Peter said, “..you rejected the holy and righteous one ... and you killed the author of life, whom God raised from the dead.”
We have here a synopsis of that sermon. Peter must have spoken somewhat of the life, ministry, arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. He affirmed that the lame man was healed in the name of and by the power of the risen Christ. Note his next words: “And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets that his Messiah would suffer. Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out.” In affirming they acted in ignorance Peter acknowledged that they had not realized that Jesus was the Messiah. Nonetheless, they had been the agents of killing an innocent man who was, in fact, the Messiah.
In Peter’s sermon a key word is repent. Two words are used in the New Testament regarding admission of wrongdoing. The first is confess. This means to admit your fault. Confession is the first step in receiving forgiveness. The second word is repent which literally means to turn and go the other way. Not only do you admit you’re wrong but you resolve to change and not repeat the sin. Peter exhorted the people to repent so that they might receive God's forgiveness. Humankind faces two major crises: the problem of sin and the dread of death. We know that sin separates people from people and from God and we know that death is the great enemy for it ends our earthly life. Today’s sermon focuses on the gift of forgiveness and new life through Christ.
Let's look at some of Jesus words. He stated that if the people followed him they would know the truth which would make them free. They did not understand so he continued: “Truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” This is strong language - to be a slave of sin. Paul picks up this concept in saying, “do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions.” These verses imply that sin is primarily a power, the power of evil, which enslaves people and dominates their lives. The power of sin results in individual acts of sin.
Think back then to Jesus' words that people were slaves to the power of sin but that he would free people from that dominating force. We only have to look about us to observe the power of evil in our society and world but Christ breaks that power, setting us free from it and therefore free for righteous living. As Christians we are called to a life of faithfulness and obedience to Jesus as our Savior and Lord.
In his first letter the apostle John states that all of us do sin. While the power of sin is broken we are still tempted to commit acts of sin. In Christ we can do what is right in any given situation. Problem is, we fail sometimes either because we do not ask God for the strength and courage to do what we know is right or because sin's allurement is so appealing that we yield to that temptation.
The Christian is neither sinless nor perfect. We are involved in a process called sanctification which means to be made holy or sinless. We are to increasingly do those things which please God and decreasingly those which grieve Him. Paul referred to this as working out our salvation. God's gift to us is salvation. Our gift to God is developing our salvation by growing increasingly like Jesus. There is nothing wrong with being tempted to sin. Yielding is what is wrong. In every temptation we can turn to God for help and he will never fail us. So John admonishes us in these terms: “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Paul put it this way: “If we confess our sins is faithful and just and forgives us.”
God extends to us the gift of forgiveness because of his tremendous love. This leads John to write: “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.” But then John throws a curve at us. He wrote: “Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him.... Those who have been born of God do not sin.” This appears to be absolutely contrary to what John wrote earlier in his admonition for Christians not to sin but, if they did, God's gracious forgiveness would be given to them. How do we solve this conundrum? The key is in the Greek grammar.
In Chapter 2 of I John we read: “I write this to you so that you will not sin.” He used the aorist tense which indicates a particular and definite act. So John here is saying that the Christian is not to commit an individual act of sin. However if she falls to temptation, there is forgiveness. In the third chapter John wrote: “Those who have been born of God do not sin.” In this instance John used the present tense which indicates continuous and habitual action. So John is saying here that the Christian cannot continue to walk is sinful ways. As Christians we are to follow Jesus. One cannot do this and at the same time consistently live in sinful ways such as immoral conduct, foul language, abusiveness, drunkenness, covetousness and deceitfulness. William Barclay summed this up by stating: “John is not saying that the man who abides in God cannot sin; but he is saying that the man who abides in God cannot continue to be a consistent and deliberate sinner.”
We are on a journey of walking with Jesus. Yes, sometimes we miss the mark, we fall to temptation and disobey God's commands. When that happens remember that we believe in the forgiveness of sins. Our endeavour should be to weigh every situation in the light of our Christian calling and to consistently seek both God's guidance regarding the correct course of action and his strength to follow that course.
The final verse from our John lesson today was this: “For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” This echoes Christ's commandments to love God and to love the neighbor as self. Where love abound, sin is vanquished. You and I are to flee from evil and walk the way of love and goodness. God's willingness to forgive in no way gives us license to sin. Our past has not been perfect. We must put this behind us and press on today to be faithful in following Jesus in loving God and in loving other people.
In his profound love God through Christ has extended to us the gift of forgiveness. As we consider this remember three G words:
Guilt: we are all guilty of sin, of disobeying God.
Grace: in spite of our sin God has extended to us his grace in freely and completely forgiving us.
Gratitude: our response to grace is gratitude shown by our deepening desire to be faithful to God and to love one another.
Guilt, grace and gratitude bring us to the conviction of Paul: “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14) Thank God for the gift of forgiveness. Show God your gratitude by pressing on to a closer walk with God.
What would happen to you if you follow Jesus?
Dr. Rev. Gerard Booy
Mark 8:31-38Well, if you look at modern Christianity and how mundane and harmless it at times appears, you might think that not much will happen if you follow Christ. You might experience a few minor changes to your life; there might be some pleasant additions to your life. You might, for instance, become part of a nice community of believers and they might have interesting things for you to do, but really, not much will happen to you. Not too much will change. You’d be able to stay the same basic course. We are good people after all…
If you listen to some church advertisers and authors, you might get the idea that Christianity would help you to live a full and successful life; that faith in Christ would enable you to become “a better you”; that following Jesus would help you to “have the life you’ve always wanted”; that discipleship is the perfect medicine to save you from your deep-seated unhappiness and to help you overcome your stress …
But is that the message of Christ? Is that what the Gospels say about those who follow Jesus?
Mark records Jesus as saying, “You would die!”
Sorry folks, that the good news. Discipleship is not for the faint-hearted. Jesus’ way isn’t the way to become a more successful, happier, and smarter you. Jesus did not come to improve who you are or to save you from unhappiness. There is more wrong with the world than our frustrations, unhappiness, emotional emptiness and stress. The effects of sin are pervasive and devastating. Christ came to die, that we might die with him. Unless we are united with Him in His death, unless our old, sinful selves die, we have no life.
The text follows right after Peter’s confession where Jesus first asked, “Who do the people say I am?” and then “But you, who do you say I am?” We know Peter’s answer, “You are the Christ” (8:29). This is a turning point in gospel. From now on Jesus deliberately teaches His disciples about the meaning of His Messiahship. We learn what we can expect of Him, why He came, what kind of Christ He is, and what the implications are for our lives. Gradually our eyes are opened so that we start to see Him for who He is. And we realize that we do not define Messiahship; nor do we set the parameters of discipleship. He is the Lord and we follow Him.
What he reveals is shocking. Jesus predicts His death three times (8:31, 9:31, 10:33-34). His way is the way of the cross. It involves rejection, suffering, and death. His way is best understood in terms of the Suffering Servant of the Lord (Isa 53) who was “despised and rejected, a man of sorrows familiar with suffering, yet one who took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, one who was pierced for our transgressions, who was crushed for our iniquities, who poured out His life unto death and bore the sins of many.” We understand Jesus in terms of the Suffering Servant of the Lord “by whose wounds we are healed.”
Jesus’ way is not a glamorous way. He did not die for His benefit. He did not come to receive earthly recognition or to achieve political success. He came to save sinners. He came for the salvation of the world that is so deeply loved by God. And His way is the way of the cross, instrument of torture, scorn, and agonizing death.
This does not sit well with Peter. This is not what he signed up for. He does not like all this death-talk. It is way too negative and depressing. We, like Peter, want to take Jesus aside and rebuke Him. “Jesus, you’ve got to work on your attitude. Think more positively. You’ve got to speak differently, in a more pleasant mode.” “Jesus, if you keep on saying these things, you might have no followers left. This is not the way to attract people.” Peter, like most modern Christians, likes his law and gospel light. We prefer to turn the gospel into good advice. There must be an easier, less demanding, less humiliating, more positive, more glamorous, more attractive way.
In Mark, each of the death-predictions is followed by a story on how the disciples failed to grasp the importance of the cross; how reluctant we are to take up their cross; how determined we are to make the gospel more affirming of who we already are. The first prediction of Jesus’ death (8:31) is followed immediately by Peter’s rebuke (8:34). The second prediction (9:31) is followed immediately by their argument about who is the greatest (9:33). And the third prediction (10:33-34) is followed right away by the request of James and John, “Lord, in Your kingdom, may we sit one on Your right hand and one on Your left hand?” (10:35). It results in a trivial, sentimental, and irrelevant gospel.
Peter, in rebuking Jesus, acts like Satan, the tempter, the distorter of truth, the father of the lie. He gets in the way of Jesus with his good intentions and all. And Peter is put in his place, “Get behind me.” That is,“get out of my way.” It also is, “Get behind me, so that you can follow Me.” Behind Jesus is where we belong!
There is purpose to Jesus’ death. It isn’t a nasty accident. It is God’s way to redeem the world; God’s way of paying the ransom to set us free from sin and death.
One of our greatest temptations is to think we can follow Jesus and avoid the cross; that we can follow Jesus and keep on living as before; that we can be His disciples and choose our own way of following Him. To us, Christ says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35)
What would happen to you if you follow Jesus? You would die! You would be called to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him. Now, our cross isn’t some heavy burden that we carry, an affliction that we suffer, or a difficult situation that face. This is the colloquial way in which we understand the phrase. But this is not the gospel’s intent. The cross is where Christ willingly gave His life. The cross represents the deepest love, the most selfless act of self-sacrifice. The cross is where Christ died for the sins of the world. Our cross is our lives that we surrender to Christ. To take up your cross means to die to yourself and to sin; to die with Christ; to surrender to the Lordship of Christ. It includes our repentance and confession of sins; it involves radical love (God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind, and our neighbours as ourselves), committed stewardship where we belong not to ourselves anymore, but to Christ, and faithful witnessing (to confess Christ before the people).
The church is also called to deny itself, take up its cross and follow Christ. Unless the church lose its life for Christ and the gospel – die to our own agendas, hopes and dreams; die to our habits and comforts; die to our sinful clinging to power and control – it will not be able to save itself. Could the church do that?
Followers of Jesus can expect suffering, rejection, and death. This was certainly the case for Christians in Mark’s time where they lived under the nose of Caesar in Rome in the late 60’s early 70’s of the Christian calendar, or in Judea during the time of the Jewish war when they pled to the mountains for safety. As followers of Christ, we might not win popularity contests in the world; we might not even have the easiest, happiest, and most fulfilling lives. Rejection might come from unexpected places; as in this story from well-intentioned Christians who want to comfort us and keep us happy at all costs; from religious authorities who are invested in the status quo, their institutions, their control over the religious landscape, and in keeping the Romans away; and from our own sinful reluctance to get behind Jesus, surrender all, and die.
To us, the gospel says, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me and for the gospel will save it.” You would die when you follow Christ. But those who die with Christ will also live with Christ.
To God be the glory.
If you listen to some church advertisers and authors, you might get the idea that Christianity would help you to live a full and successful life; that faith in Christ would enable you to become “a better you”; that following Jesus would help you to “have the life you’ve always wanted”; that discipleship is the perfect medicine to save you from your deep-seated unhappiness and to help you overcome your stress …
But is that the message of Christ? Is that what the Gospels say about those who follow Jesus?
Mark records Jesus as saying, “You would die!”
Sorry folks, that the good news. Discipleship is not for the faint-hearted. Jesus’ way isn’t the way to become a more successful, happier, and smarter you. Jesus did not come to improve who you are or to save you from unhappiness. There is more wrong with the world than our frustrations, unhappiness, emotional emptiness and stress. The effects of sin are pervasive and devastating. Christ came to die, that we might die with him. Unless we are united with Him in His death, unless our old, sinful selves die, we have no life.
The text follows right after Peter’s confession where Jesus first asked, “Who do the people say I am?” and then “But you, who do you say I am?” We know Peter’s answer, “You are the Christ” (8:29). This is a turning point in gospel. From now on Jesus deliberately teaches His disciples about the meaning of His Messiahship. We learn what we can expect of Him, why He came, what kind of Christ He is, and what the implications are for our lives. Gradually our eyes are opened so that we start to see Him for who He is. And we realize that we do not define Messiahship; nor do we set the parameters of discipleship. He is the Lord and we follow Him.
What he reveals is shocking. Jesus predicts His death three times (8:31, 9:31, 10:33-34). His way is the way of the cross. It involves rejection, suffering, and death. His way is best understood in terms of the Suffering Servant of the Lord (Isa 53) who was “despised and rejected, a man of sorrows familiar with suffering, yet one who took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, one who was pierced for our transgressions, who was crushed for our iniquities, who poured out His life unto death and bore the sins of many.” We understand Jesus in terms of the Suffering Servant of the Lord “by whose wounds we are healed.”
Jesus’ way is not a glamorous way. He did not die for His benefit. He did not come to receive earthly recognition or to achieve political success. He came to save sinners. He came for the salvation of the world that is so deeply loved by God. And His way is the way of the cross, instrument of torture, scorn, and agonizing death.
This does not sit well with Peter. This is not what he signed up for. He does not like all this death-talk. It is way too negative and depressing. We, like Peter, want to take Jesus aside and rebuke Him. “Jesus, you’ve got to work on your attitude. Think more positively. You’ve got to speak differently, in a more pleasant mode.” “Jesus, if you keep on saying these things, you might have no followers left. This is not the way to attract people.” Peter, like most modern Christians, likes his law and gospel light. We prefer to turn the gospel into good advice. There must be an easier, less demanding, less humiliating, more positive, more glamorous, more attractive way.
In Mark, each of the death-predictions is followed by a story on how the disciples failed to grasp the importance of the cross; how reluctant we are to take up their cross; how determined we are to make the gospel more affirming of who we already are. The first prediction of Jesus’ death (8:31) is followed immediately by Peter’s rebuke (8:34). The second prediction (9:31) is followed immediately by their argument about who is the greatest (9:33). And the third prediction (10:33-34) is followed right away by the request of James and John, “Lord, in Your kingdom, may we sit one on Your right hand and one on Your left hand?” (10:35). It results in a trivial, sentimental, and irrelevant gospel.
Peter, in rebuking Jesus, acts like Satan, the tempter, the distorter of truth, the father of the lie. He gets in the way of Jesus with his good intentions and all. And Peter is put in his place, “Get behind me.” That is,“get out of my way.” It also is, “Get behind me, so that you can follow Me.” Behind Jesus is where we belong!
There is purpose to Jesus’ death. It isn’t a nasty accident. It is God’s way to redeem the world; God’s way of paying the ransom to set us free from sin and death.
One of our greatest temptations is to think we can follow Jesus and avoid the cross; that we can follow Jesus and keep on living as before; that we can be His disciples and choose our own way of following Him. To us, Christ says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35)
What would happen to you if you follow Jesus? You would die! You would be called to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him. Now, our cross isn’t some heavy burden that we carry, an affliction that we suffer, or a difficult situation that face. This is the colloquial way in which we understand the phrase. But this is not the gospel’s intent. The cross is where Christ willingly gave His life. The cross represents the deepest love, the most selfless act of self-sacrifice. The cross is where Christ died for the sins of the world. Our cross is our lives that we surrender to Christ. To take up your cross means to die to yourself and to sin; to die with Christ; to surrender to the Lordship of Christ. It includes our repentance and confession of sins; it involves radical love (God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind, and our neighbours as ourselves), committed stewardship where we belong not to ourselves anymore, but to Christ, and faithful witnessing (to confess Christ before the people).
The church is also called to deny itself, take up its cross and follow Christ. Unless the church lose its life for Christ and the gospel – die to our own agendas, hopes and dreams; die to our habits and comforts; die to our sinful clinging to power and control – it will not be able to save itself. Could the church do that?
Followers of Jesus can expect suffering, rejection, and death. This was certainly the case for Christians in Mark’s time where they lived under the nose of Caesar in Rome in the late 60’s early 70’s of the Christian calendar, or in Judea during the time of the Jewish war when they pled to the mountains for safety. As followers of Christ, we might not win popularity contests in the world; we might not even have the easiest, happiest, and most fulfilling lives. Rejection might come from unexpected places; as in this story from well-intentioned Christians who want to comfort us and keep us happy at all costs; from religious authorities who are invested in the status quo, their institutions, their control over the religious landscape, and in keeping the Romans away; and from our own sinful reluctance to get behind Jesus, surrender all, and die.
To us, the gospel says, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me and for the gospel will save it.” You would die when you follow Christ. But those who die with Christ will also live with Christ.
To God be the glory.
FACING TEMPTATION
The Rev. R.C. (Bob) Garvin
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7;
Matthew 4:1-11
It didn’t take long for temptation to strike. The early chapters of Genesis weave thought provoking stories dealing with origins of the universes, of humankind and of God’s will for his creation. When we consider the creation of humankind we note that God required of them one thing - obedience. They were free to enjoy God's good world with only one rule: “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”
That prohibition was something like the sign “wet paint.” Somehow we have to touch it for ourselves. So along came temptation in the guise of a talking snake. Note the subtlety of temptation: “Did God say you shall not eat from any tree in the garden?” Herein are cast the seeds of doubt. Did God really say that or do you just think He said it? Eve stood her ground and actually intensified the prohibition: they could neither eat nor touch that one particular fruit. She knew the punishment for disobedience: “you shall die.” The tempter responded with a contradiction: “you shall not die”. First came doubt, then denial. I can relate to that. Who among us have not thought: I wonder if my desire is really all that bad? Are there circumstances when it would be acceptable? Compared to other things, it's really harmless. No one would be hurt if I did it and besides, who would know anyway?
Eve drooled over the forbidden fruit. Temptation was too great for she took the fruit and ate it. She then said, “Hey, Adam, have a bite. It’s really good”. They disobeyed the one rule God had given them. They had thought about it, knew it was wrong yet reasoned their way to disobedience anyway. And the result? “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.” As soon as they had sinned, they knew they were wrong and sought to cover up. The scriptural analogy was embarrassment over their nakedness. Simply put, they tried to cover their sin and hide from God. They took evasive actions so that they wouldn't get caught. I think all of us can relate to that. We know what it is like to disobey and cover our tracks so we don't get caught - we hope.
This story of Adam and Eve is really our story. Temptations can be so alluring, so attractive, and so enticing. So we fall on our faces, again. But note one other point in this story. In the end, who sought whom? It was God who went looking for the sinners, not the sinners who went looking for God. We will come back to this thought.
Our Gospel lesson was another temptation story with a very different ending. One of the most basic convictions of the Israelites was this: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might.” At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus was tempted to disobey this ancient command. Whatever name you want to give it, there is a power at work in the world seeking to undermine that which is of God, that which is good and just and righteous. Genesis 3 equated this with a snake. Matthew called it the devil. You know God is real and you also know the power of temptation is real. Jesus was subjected to the temptation to put God second, to love God with some of His heart and soul and might.
His temptation was three fold. The first was to satisfy His desires. He was hungry and was tempted to use His great power to create food from stones and thereby satisfy His own needs. This certainly is one of the marks of our contemporary society. Many live by the conviction that they first of all have to look after their own needs and desires for nobody else will do that for them. But that is not in accordance with Jesus who said we are to seek first the Kingdom of God. Our society seeks first of all the kingdom of self. Individual rights supersede those of society. Jesus’ first temptation was very real: “Hey, Jesus, look after your own needs”. Jesus' response was to affirm that there was something more basic than self-satisfaction and that was to seek first and foremost the will of God, to love and obey the Lord our God.
The second temptation was of a religious nature. People are impressed by the dramatic and intrigued by the inexplicable. Some television religious programming and some denominations' church services verge on the dramatic. They are great productions, first class religious concerts, and fine religious entertainment. They readily enthuse the audience and fan the flames of the emotion. And they seem to succeed. The T.V. shows receive massive amounts of money from the listeners and the upbeat congregations grow. Some have said to me that we should be like some other churches and then we would get lots of young people and experience great growth. I'm not convinced we are in the religious entertainment business. Nor is it our role to mimic what other churches do.
Jesus was tempted to use our modern day flare for the dramatic. The devil, in effect, said: “Look, Jesus, you're just beginning your work. How about really impressing the crowd. Give them something to talk about. Put on a good show and get an instant following”. Jesus was urged to jump off the high roof of the temple and be saved from injury. How? The devil knows scripture and so quoted: “God will command his angels concerning you and they will bear you up on their hands so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” Jesus response was: “you shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” If Jesus had followed the temptation for instant religious success, He would have focused attention on Himself, not on God and the will of God. Jesus said that His purpose was “to do the will of Him who sent me and to complete His work.” Religious grandstanding was not the route for Christ; neither is it for us.
The third temptation was political in nature. The devil gave Jesus a bird's eye view of the nations of the world. Wherever there are people there are resources, powers, wealth and government. Many people today are climbers, ever ascending the ladder of success and increasing authority and control. Jesus’ temptation was to gain instant authority, influence and control of people the world over. Instant success. But there was a condition: “all of this is yours if you fall down and worship me.” So Jesus replied: “Away with you, Satan. It is written, Worship the Lord you God and serve only him.” Jesus came to do the Father's will, not His own will and not that of the devil. How important for us to note that when Jesus repulsed the devil, the devil left Him.
Hear again that ancient confession: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might.” To love God, to put Him first in our lives means that we worship Him, that is, we bow before Him in thanksgiving, awe and with a desire to do His will. Our weekly Sunday service is one way in which we worship God. While there is great variety in the way Christians worship, the fundamental purpose is to worship Him who has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ.
To worship means to bow before the Almighty God and ask: what does the Lord require of us? The one word answer is obedience. Jesus did not choose to hold worship services or seek political gain but rather He chose the way of obedience which led Him straight to the cross. We have not gathered here to enjoy a nice service and go home feeling better. We have not gathered here to get a religious transfusion to help us through another week. We have gathered here to praise and thank God and subsequently to understand more of God’s will for us and then to go out into our daily lives seeking to conform our activities to God’s will.
Remember Adam and Eve and their failure when faced with temptation. They did what we do: tried to cover up and hide from God. But, as we saw, God came looking for them as He has come looking for us! And He comes not to damn us to hell but to call us to repentance and faith and life. He comes to us as the prodigal's father with open arms of love. He cleans us up and re-establishes us on our Christian journey with one instruction: obey me!
Today is the first Sunday of Lent, the season of the church year focusing on personal evaluation, preparation, repentance and renewal. What better way to begin Lent than by praying: Lord, show me what You want me to do for I want to obey You. We have before us two examples of the reality of temptation in which Adam and Eve yielded while Christ resisted. As we seek to be faithful to God we will be faced with many temptations. There is nothing wrong in being tempted but everything wrong in yielding to that temptation. Hear the Word of the Lord spoken by Paul: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”
With the temptation God will provide a way out, a way of escape. The Greek word for “way of escape” paints a word picture. Someone is being pursued by a foe and finds himself running down a narrow canyon. Looking ahead is terrifying for all he could see was the steep canyon walls on both sides and ahead of him. But just as he was about to run into the end of the canyon, off to one side opened a valley, a way of escape. Temptations can be so powerful but God will always provide us a way of escape, a way of saying “no”.
As we begin Lent it is most fitting for us to reflect on the theme of obedience to God. How did Christ resist temptation? He used His knowledge of scripture coupled with that intense desire to do God’s will. No matter what the temptation, God is able to give us victory if we, in the throws of temptation, cry out for the help and grace of God. In any given situation we, in Christ, can be obedient to the will of God. Part of our Lenten prayers must be the sincere desire to grow in our faith so that increasingly we will be given the will and determination to place each temptation squarely before God with the prayer: Help me, Lord, to resist this temptation and be obedient to what I know is Your will for me. God will answer that prayer and we will have victory! Thanks be to God.
That prohibition was something like the sign “wet paint.” Somehow we have to touch it for ourselves. So along came temptation in the guise of a talking snake. Note the subtlety of temptation: “Did God say you shall not eat from any tree in the garden?” Herein are cast the seeds of doubt. Did God really say that or do you just think He said it? Eve stood her ground and actually intensified the prohibition: they could neither eat nor touch that one particular fruit. She knew the punishment for disobedience: “you shall die.” The tempter responded with a contradiction: “you shall not die”. First came doubt, then denial. I can relate to that. Who among us have not thought: I wonder if my desire is really all that bad? Are there circumstances when it would be acceptable? Compared to other things, it's really harmless. No one would be hurt if I did it and besides, who would know anyway?
Eve drooled over the forbidden fruit. Temptation was too great for she took the fruit and ate it. She then said, “Hey, Adam, have a bite. It’s really good”. They disobeyed the one rule God had given them. They had thought about it, knew it was wrong yet reasoned their way to disobedience anyway. And the result? “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.” As soon as they had sinned, they knew they were wrong and sought to cover up. The scriptural analogy was embarrassment over their nakedness. Simply put, they tried to cover their sin and hide from God. They took evasive actions so that they wouldn't get caught. I think all of us can relate to that. We know what it is like to disobey and cover our tracks so we don't get caught - we hope.
This story of Adam and Eve is really our story. Temptations can be so alluring, so attractive, and so enticing. So we fall on our faces, again. But note one other point in this story. In the end, who sought whom? It was God who went looking for the sinners, not the sinners who went looking for God. We will come back to this thought.
Our Gospel lesson was another temptation story with a very different ending. One of the most basic convictions of the Israelites was this: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might.” At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus was tempted to disobey this ancient command. Whatever name you want to give it, there is a power at work in the world seeking to undermine that which is of God, that which is good and just and righteous. Genesis 3 equated this with a snake. Matthew called it the devil. You know God is real and you also know the power of temptation is real. Jesus was subjected to the temptation to put God second, to love God with some of His heart and soul and might.
His temptation was three fold. The first was to satisfy His desires. He was hungry and was tempted to use His great power to create food from stones and thereby satisfy His own needs. This certainly is one of the marks of our contemporary society. Many live by the conviction that they first of all have to look after their own needs and desires for nobody else will do that for them. But that is not in accordance with Jesus who said we are to seek first the Kingdom of God. Our society seeks first of all the kingdom of self. Individual rights supersede those of society. Jesus’ first temptation was very real: “Hey, Jesus, look after your own needs”. Jesus' response was to affirm that there was something more basic than self-satisfaction and that was to seek first and foremost the will of God, to love and obey the Lord our God.
The second temptation was of a religious nature. People are impressed by the dramatic and intrigued by the inexplicable. Some television religious programming and some denominations' church services verge on the dramatic. They are great productions, first class religious concerts, and fine religious entertainment. They readily enthuse the audience and fan the flames of the emotion. And they seem to succeed. The T.V. shows receive massive amounts of money from the listeners and the upbeat congregations grow. Some have said to me that we should be like some other churches and then we would get lots of young people and experience great growth. I'm not convinced we are in the religious entertainment business. Nor is it our role to mimic what other churches do.
Jesus was tempted to use our modern day flare for the dramatic. The devil, in effect, said: “Look, Jesus, you're just beginning your work. How about really impressing the crowd. Give them something to talk about. Put on a good show and get an instant following”. Jesus was urged to jump off the high roof of the temple and be saved from injury. How? The devil knows scripture and so quoted: “God will command his angels concerning you and they will bear you up on their hands so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” Jesus response was: “you shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” If Jesus had followed the temptation for instant religious success, He would have focused attention on Himself, not on God and the will of God. Jesus said that His purpose was “to do the will of Him who sent me and to complete His work.” Religious grandstanding was not the route for Christ; neither is it for us.
The third temptation was political in nature. The devil gave Jesus a bird's eye view of the nations of the world. Wherever there are people there are resources, powers, wealth and government. Many people today are climbers, ever ascending the ladder of success and increasing authority and control. Jesus’ temptation was to gain instant authority, influence and control of people the world over. Instant success. But there was a condition: “all of this is yours if you fall down and worship me.” So Jesus replied: “Away with you, Satan. It is written, Worship the Lord you God and serve only him.” Jesus came to do the Father's will, not His own will and not that of the devil. How important for us to note that when Jesus repulsed the devil, the devil left Him.
Hear again that ancient confession: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might.” To love God, to put Him first in our lives means that we worship Him, that is, we bow before Him in thanksgiving, awe and with a desire to do His will. Our weekly Sunday service is one way in which we worship God. While there is great variety in the way Christians worship, the fundamental purpose is to worship Him who has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ.
To worship means to bow before the Almighty God and ask: what does the Lord require of us? The one word answer is obedience. Jesus did not choose to hold worship services or seek political gain but rather He chose the way of obedience which led Him straight to the cross. We have not gathered here to enjoy a nice service and go home feeling better. We have not gathered here to get a religious transfusion to help us through another week. We have gathered here to praise and thank God and subsequently to understand more of God’s will for us and then to go out into our daily lives seeking to conform our activities to God’s will.
Remember Adam and Eve and their failure when faced with temptation. They did what we do: tried to cover up and hide from God. But, as we saw, God came looking for them as He has come looking for us! And He comes not to damn us to hell but to call us to repentance and faith and life. He comes to us as the prodigal's father with open arms of love. He cleans us up and re-establishes us on our Christian journey with one instruction: obey me!
Today is the first Sunday of Lent, the season of the church year focusing on personal evaluation, preparation, repentance and renewal. What better way to begin Lent than by praying: Lord, show me what You want me to do for I want to obey You. We have before us two examples of the reality of temptation in which Adam and Eve yielded while Christ resisted. As we seek to be faithful to God we will be faced with many temptations. There is nothing wrong in being tempted but everything wrong in yielding to that temptation. Hear the Word of the Lord spoken by Paul: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”
With the temptation God will provide a way out, a way of escape. The Greek word for “way of escape” paints a word picture. Someone is being pursued by a foe and finds himself running down a narrow canyon. Looking ahead is terrifying for all he could see was the steep canyon walls on both sides and ahead of him. But just as he was about to run into the end of the canyon, off to one side opened a valley, a way of escape. Temptations can be so powerful but God will always provide us a way of escape, a way of saying “no”.
As we begin Lent it is most fitting for us to reflect on the theme of obedience to God. How did Christ resist temptation? He used His knowledge of scripture coupled with that intense desire to do God’s will. No matter what the temptation, God is able to give us victory if we, in the throws of temptation, cry out for the help and grace of God. In any given situation we, in Christ, can be obedient to the will of God. Part of our Lenten prayers must be the sincere desire to grow in our faith so that increasingly we will be given the will and determination to place each temptation squarely before God with the prayer: Help me, Lord, to resist this temptation and be obedient to what I know is Your will for me. God will answer that prayer and we will have victory! Thanks be to God.
Children of God
Rev. Dr. Gerard Booy
Galatians 3:26-4:7Who are we in Christ? We are children of God.
This is how Paul describes our identity:
• You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus (3:26)
• God sent His Son … to redeem those who are under the law that we might have the full rights of sons (4:5)
• So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has also made you an heir (4:7)
We have received the right to be called children of God; we are sons and daughters of God. The same word that describes Jesus’ identity as the Son of God is now used to describe our relationship with the Father. Son – just as daughter and children - are relationship words.
So how does this work? Paul emphasizes that it happens in Christ; it is something we receive through faith in Christ. He takes us back to the time of our baptism.
• “Remember what happened when you were baptized? You were baptized into Christ; your baptism symbolized your dying with Christ and your rising to new life through the resurrection of Christ.”
• “Remember how you put on baptismal robes? You received Christ through faith; you are now clothed with Christ.”
• He stacks up the words that indicate this: “through faith in Christ Jesus”, “baptized into Christ”, “clothed yourself with Christ”, “you are all one in Christ”, “you belong to Christ”
Being sons and daughters of God is not something to be taken for granted. We sometimes have the notion that we are children of God simply because we are. That is not the Biblical message. We are not children of God by nature or by birth; we are not children of God because we have an inherent right. We are by nature slaves, slaves to the elemental principles of the world, slaves of our own sinful desires, slaves under the law. Jewish Christians in Paul’s time thought, for instance, that they might have a little advantage, being children of Abraham and all of that. They came to it honestly, one might say. Paul makes it clear that they have no advantage at all. In speaking to them he calls them little children who are still under the care of guardians and trustees – in effect they are not all that different from slaves. Even though they are heirs of the promises, they are not free. They are subject to the law just as little children are subject to their trustees and guardians. They are slaves, and will remain slaves unless they are freed, redeemed.
Read verse 4-5. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born under law, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. In Christ we are free. He sets us free. The word Paul uses is “redeemed”. This calls to mind the process of freeing slaves in ancient Greco-Roman world. A free person could decide to free a slave for reasons of compassion, justice, or gratitude. That person would then go to a local temple and pay the amount of money required as a ransom. The priest would deliver an oracle, “the god … purchased this slave so and so from owners so and so and he or she is now free”, and hand the money to the owner, at which point the former slave is free. Listen to the scripture text again: Verse 5, “God sent His Son to redeem those under the law …” We are singled out for redemption, to live in a new relationship with God. God is the free person who pays the ransom. Christ paid the ransom for us with His own life.
And God adopts us as children. The English translation of the text reads, “…that we might receive full rights of sons”, but the word used in Greek is adoption. Adoption speaks of God’s choice. God decides to take us as children, to include us as children in His household, to treat us as His own children through Christ. And we receive the inheritance that children would normally receive.
What are the implications of our redemptions and adoption as children?
First, it changes the way we relate to one another in the household of God. All who are in Christ are part of God’s family, sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters in Christ. It doesn’t matter what other differences there might be between us – everything is subordinate to the one relationship we all have with God in Christ. In the ancient world, as in ours, societies made many distinctions between people. These distinctions were based on things like heritage or nationality, social status, and gender. People were Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, males or females. Because of our sinfulness these differences are the cause of discrimination, competitions, pride, and envy. But in Christ we are all loved with the same love. We are all saved by the same grace. The Holy Spirit dwells in all who are in Christ. We are all children of the same Father. Paul emphasizes all. In the one family of God, other people are no longer a threat to us. We are not competitors for God’s grace and love. We all participate in the fullness of life in Christ. And this extends beyond church boundaries as we, in the family, learn to love our neighbours as ourselves.
Secondly, because we are redeemed and adopted, we pray differently. We approach God as sons and daughters, with the freedom a child has in his/her home. As children we have free access to the Father. We speak intimately to the Father. We don’t have to make appointments. We don’t have to follow protocol, dress up, or use formal language. Because we are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba’ (verse 6). Abba says it all – daddy – the intimate way a child talks to a parent, the way Jesus talks to His Father. Addressing God as Father is unique to Jesus. Even though the Jews confessed that God is like a father to His children, they did not address God as Father; they did not even pronounce God’s name. But Jesus is different. He calls God Abba and gives us the right to speak to God in the same way. He sends the Holy Spirit to draw us into the conversation.
Thirdly, we live right here and now as heirs, not slaves. We live by the promises of God. We are recipients of everything that God has promised. We live here and now, every moment, by all the riches of God.
Eugene Peterson writes about this. Slaves live within predictable limitations; sons and daughters live within expanding opportunities. We are free to receive. We do not have to live off the diminishing capital of a sum which was deposited to our account in the past, so that each day means that there is less to live on than the day before. Each day now opens up into a more. (Travelling Light)
One of Paul’s biggest concerns for the church is that we would enslave ourselves again; that we would not live out of the freedom we have in Christ; that we would deny ourselves and others the freedom to just be God’s children; that we would reduce ourselves to be slaves, enslaving ourselves to cultural expectations, routines, obligations, rules, laws, traditions and practices; that we would live in such a way that we look for salvation to ourselves and our traditions and not to Christ.
In Christ, we are free to be children of God. Let us live in His freedom.
This is how Paul describes our identity:
• You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus (3:26)
• God sent His Son … to redeem those who are under the law that we might have the full rights of sons (4:5)
• So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has also made you an heir (4:7)
We have received the right to be called children of God; we are sons and daughters of God. The same word that describes Jesus’ identity as the Son of God is now used to describe our relationship with the Father. Son – just as daughter and children - are relationship words.
So how does this work? Paul emphasizes that it happens in Christ; it is something we receive through faith in Christ. He takes us back to the time of our baptism.
• “Remember what happened when you were baptized? You were baptized into Christ; your baptism symbolized your dying with Christ and your rising to new life through the resurrection of Christ.”
• “Remember how you put on baptismal robes? You received Christ through faith; you are now clothed with Christ.”
• He stacks up the words that indicate this: “through faith in Christ Jesus”, “baptized into Christ”, “clothed yourself with Christ”, “you are all one in Christ”, “you belong to Christ”
Being sons and daughters of God is not something to be taken for granted. We sometimes have the notion that we are children of God simply because we are. That is not the Biblical message. We are not children of God by nature or by birth; we are not children of God because we have an inherent right. We are by nature slaves, slaves to the elemental principles of the world, slaves of our own sinful desires, slaves under the law. Jewish Christians in Paul’s time thought, for instance, that they might have a little advantage, being children of Abraham and all of that. They came to it honestly, one might say. Paul makes it clear that they have no advantage at all. In speaking to them he calls them little children who are still under the care of guardians and trustees – in effect they are not all that different from slaves. Even though they are heirs of the promises, they are not free. They are subject to the law just as little children are subject to their trustees and guardians. They are slaves, and will remain slaves unless they are freed, redeemed.
Read verse 4-5. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born under law, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. In Christ we are free. He sets us free. The word Paul uses is “redeemed”. This calls to mind the process of freeing slaves in ancient Greco-Roman world. A free person could decide to free a slave for reasons of compassion, justice, or gratitude. That person would then go to a local temple and pay the amount of money required as a ransom. The priest would deliver an oracle, “the god … purchased this slave so and so from owners so and so and he or she is now free”, and hand the money to the owner, at which point the former slave is free. Listen to the scripture text again: Verse 5, “God sent His Son to redeem those under the law …” We are singled out for redemption, to live in a new relationship with God. God is the free person who pays the ransom. Christ paid the ransom for us with His own life.
And God adopts us as children. The English translation of the text reads, “…that we might receive full rights of sons”, but the word used in Greek is adoption. Adoption speaks of God’s choice. God decides to take us as children, to include us as children in His household, to treat us as His own children through Christ. And we receive the inheritance that children would normally receive.
What are the implications of our redemptions and adoption as children?
First, it changes the way we relate to one another in the household of God. All who are in Christ are part of God’s family, sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters in Christ. It doesn’t matter what other differences there might be between us – everything is subordinate to the one relationship we all have with God in Christ. In the ancient world, as in ours, societies made many distinctions between people. These distinctions were based on things like heritage or nationality, social status, and gender. People were Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, males or females. Because of our sinfulness these differences are the cause of discrimination, competitions, pride, and envy. But in Christ we are all loved with the same love. We are all saved by the same grace. The Holy Spirit dwells in all who are in Christ. We are all children of the same Father. Paul emphasizes all. In the one family of God, other people are no longer a threat to us. We are not competitors for God’s grace and love. We all participate in the fullness of life in Christ. And this extends beyond church boundaries as we, in the family, learn to love our neighbours as ourselves.
Secondly, because we are redeemed and adopted, we pray differently. We approach God as sons and daughters, with the freedom a child has in his/her home. As children we have free access to the Father. We speak intimately to the Father. We don’t have to make appointments. We don’t have to follow protocol, dress up, or use formal language. Because we are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba’ (verse 6). Abba says it all – daddy – the intimate way a child talks to a parent, the way Jesus talks to His Father. Addressing God as Father is unique to Jesus. Even though the Jews confessed that God is like a father to His children, they did not address God as Father; they did not even pronounce God’s name. But Jesus is different. He calls God Abba and gives us the right to speak to God in the same way. He sends the Holy Spirit to draw us into the conversation.
Thirdly, we live right here and now as heirs, not slaves. We live by the promises of God. We are recipients of everything that God has promised. We live here and now, every moment, by all the riches of God.
Eugene Peterson writes about this. Slaves live within predictable limitations; sons and daughters live within expanding opportunities. We are free to receive. We do not have to live off the diminishing capital of a sum which was deposited to our account in the past, so that each day means that there is less to live on than the day before. Each day now opens up into a more. (Travelling Light)
One of Paul’s biggest concerns for the church is that we would enslave ourselves again; that we would not live out of the freedom we have in Christ; that we would deny ourselves and others the freedom to just be God’s children; that we would reduce ourselves to be slaves, enslaving ourselves to cultural expectations, routines, obligations, rules, laws, traditions and practices; that we would live in such a way that we look for salvation to ourselves and our traditions and not to Christ.
In Christ, we are free to be children of God. Let us live in His freedom.
Christ and the people
(Communion Service)
Rev. Dr. Gerard Booy Mark 2:1-12You might have noticed that I changed the theme of the sermon. The initial theme was stretcher-bearers, but as I continued to work with the text, I realize that “stretcher-bearers” as a theme puts too much emphasis on us, whereas stories in Mark are always about Jesus first. Mark preaches Jesus, affirming Jesus’ identity, communicating His purpose, and revealing to us what we can expect of Jesus.
But Jesus is never seen in isolation. We always read about Jesus in relation to the people He came to save. We see His work in relation to our needs. He reveals our deepest need and asks, what do you expect of Jesus?
Jesus is preaching the Word. Large crowds are gathered to hear Him speak. Jesus is very popular and attractive to the crowds at this point in His ministry. His message is spoken with authority, and it is accompanied by healings and miracles of all sorts. Things happen when Jesus is around. In this passage, even the healing serves as a sermon, an illustration of who He is.
Let’s look at the people who are gathered there.
• The crowds: A large crowd are gathered. They are jammed into Peter’s house in anticipation of what Jesus might say and do for them. We soon learn that this actually presents a problem. The crowds are in the way. They are taken with Jesus. But they take up all the room. No one else can get to Jesus because of them. There is a way of attending to Jesus by which we want Him all for ourselves; by which we are so taken with the excitement and awesomeness of His presence that we do not pay attention to or make room for others.
• Then there are the four friends. They are different than the crowds. They are bringing someone to Jesus. They are stretcher-bearers. The man they bring is a paraplegic. This is an important service they render. But they are immediately faced with a huge obstacle – the crowds that are blocking the way. Yet it does not stop them – have to get him to Jesus. He is their only hope. They are not hindered or put off by problem. They get up on roof (probably through stairs on the outside that leads to the flat roof where people often sat), and they start digging through roof. But wait a minute. This is someone else’s house. You don’t do that to other people’s property. This is radical stuff. Yet their concern for their friend is greater than their concern for Peter’s property. Roofs can always be fixed again. And then they lower their friend in front of Jesus. We see their amazing faith.
And Jesus responds to their faith. Verse 5 got me, when I read it. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Our faith counts. Our faith is important - not just important for ourselves, but it is vital for others. Our faith makes a difference in the world and to others because Christ honours our faith. Remember that.
• The teachers of the law are the third group of people. They just sit there. They sit there like judges, keeping a watchful eye on this young preacher. Their response blows you away. This amazing thing happens. They hear Jesus announcing forgiveness to the paralytic. And what do they do? Hey, wait a minute Jesus! Point of order Jesus! Who do you think you are! Now, they are right to be concerned. Things like holiness, grace and forgiveness are not to be taken lightly. These are God’s works. It is holy work. But there’s a way of being concerned over orthodoxy while being unconcerned over people Christ came to save. There is a way of separating our concern for holiness, right practice, pure doctrine, and for protecting God from our concern for the salvation of people. They are the self-appointed guardians of the faith. It is not our job to protect God. God doesn’t need our protection. God seeks our faith, our witness, and our service.
So who do we resemble?
• The crowds who are taken with Jesus but block the way for others? • The teachers of the law, those self-appointed guardians of the faith? • The stretcher-bearing friends whose faith is lived out in the world for the healing of others?
Are we not all called to be stretcher-bearers?
But stretcher-bearing only makes sense in the light of who Jesus is. Jesus is the one who knows the real need of people. He sees our whole selves, every need: our obvious physical and emotional needs, those things on the surface of our lives that we are well aware of, but also our deeper spiritual need.
The man brought to Jesus is a paraplegic. His paralysis is a serious problem. It is a big deal; it defines him; it consumes his life. So we might think that his most pressing needs would have to do with his paralysis. But Jesus discerns differently. Jesus sees a deeper need – sin, and our need for forgiveness. We make light of sin. We don’t always recognize sin and forgiveness as our most basic problem and need. But it is. The consequences of sin is far more devastating than that of paralysis, than the consequences of the most vicious cancer, than the consequences of the worst depression, than the consequences of the most dreadful hunger. Sin leads to a different kind of death; a death not of the body but of the soul; death as separation from God. And that is hell.
This is not quite what they came for. They were probably seeking physical healing. But the man and his friends got so much more.
Forgiveness is what Jesus is all about. “Son your sins are forgiven,” is the truth that sets us free. It is Jesus’ mission statement. This is why He came, why He preached, why He performed healings, and why He died. Jesus not only proclaims forgiveness; He is the One who forgives! He has the authority to forgive. The teachers of the law were right. Forgiveness is God’s work. But they were also wrong. Jesus is not blaspheming. Jesus is not just a man; He is the Son of Man. He is God. Forgiveness is His!
Forgiveness is proven by the healing. How do you see forgiveness? It is invisible. But in this case, Jesus uses the healing as proof of His authority and the forgiveness that takes place. “I tell you, get up …”And the man did just that. He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of everyone. He is a new man, healed and restored in every way, forgiven and healed by the Word that Jesus spoke to him. And he responds in faith. How else do you explain his getting up and walk?
Wow! Have you ever seen anything like this before? Come then and join me at the table.
But Jesus is never seen in isolation. We always read about Jesus in relation to the people He came to save. We see His work in relation to our needs. He reveals our deepest need and asks, what do you expect of Jesus?
Jesus is preaching the Word. Large crowds are gathered to hear Him speak. Jesus is very popular and attractive to the crowds at this point in His ministry. His message is spoken with authority, and it is accompanied by healings and miracles of all sorts. Things happen when Jesus is around. In this passage, even the healing serves as a sermon, an illustration of who He is.
Let’s look at the people who are gathered there.
• The crowds: A large crowd are gathered. They are jammed into Peter’s house in anticipation of what Jesus might say and do for them. We soon learn that this actually presents a problem. The crowds are in the way. They are taken with Jesus. But they take up all the room. No one else can get to Jesus because of them. There is a way of attending to Jesus by which we want Him all for ourselves; by which we are so taken with the excitement and awesomeness of His presence that we do not pay attention to or make room for others.
• Then there are the four friends. They are different than the crowds. They are bringing someone to Jesus. They are stretcher-bearers. The man they bring is a paraplegic. This is an important service they render. But they are immediately faced with a huge obstacle – the crowds that are blocking the way. Yet it does not stop them – have to get him to Jesus. He is their only hope. They are not hindered or put off by problem. They get up on roof (probably through stairs on the outside that leads to the flat roof where people often sat), and they start digging through roof. But wait a minute. This is someone else’s house. You don’t do that to other people’s property. This is radical stuff. Yet their concern for their friend is greater than their concern for Peter’s property. Roofs can always be fixed again. And then they lower their friend in front of Jesus. We see their amazing faith.
And Jesus responds to their faith. Verse 5 got me, when I read it. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Our faith counts. Our faith is important - not just important for ourselves, but it is vital for others. Our faith makes a difference in the world and to others because Christ honours our faith. Remember that.
• The teachers of the law are the third group of people. They just sit there. They sit there like judges, keeping a watchful eye on this young preacher. Their response blows you away. This amazing thing happens. They hear Jesus announcing forgiveness to the paralytic. And what do they do? Hey, wait a minute Jesus! Point of order Jesus! Who do you think you are! Now, they are right to be concerned. Things like holiness, grace and forgiveness are not to be taken lightly. These are God’s works. It is holy work. But there’s a way of being concerned over orthodoxy while being unconcerned over people Christ came to save. There is a way of separating our concern for holiness, right practice, pure doctrine, and for protecting God from our concern for the salvation of people. They are the self-appointed guardians of the faith. It is not our job to protect God. God doesn’t need our protection. God seeks our faith, our witness, and our service.
So who do we resemble?
• The crowds who are taken with Jesus but block the way for others? • The teachers of the law, those self-appointed guardians of the faith? • The stretcher-bearing friends whose faith is lived out in the world for the healing of others?
Are we not all called to be stretcher-bearers?
But stretcher-bearing only makes sense in the light of who Jesus is. Jesus is the one who knows the real need of people. He sees our whole selves, every need: our obvious physical and emotional needs, those things on the surface of our lives that we are well aware of, but also our deeper spiritual need.
The man brought to Jesus is a paraplegic. His paralysis is a serious problem. It is a big deal; it defines him; it consumes his life. So we might think that his most pressing needs would have to do with his paralysis. But Jesus discerns differently. Jesus sees a deeper need – sin, and our need for forgiveness. We make light of sin. We don’t always recognize sin and forgiveness as our most basic problem and need. But it is. The consequences of sin is far more devastating than that of paralysis, than the consequences of the most vicious cancer, than the consequences of the worst depression, than the consequences of the most dreadful hunger. Sin leads to a different kind of death; a death not of the body but of the soul; death as separation from God. And that is hell.
This is not quite what they came for. They were probably seeking physical healing. But the man and his friends got so much more.
Forgiveness is what Jesus is all about. “Son your sins are forgiven,” is the truth that sets us free. It is Jesus’ mission statement. This is why He came, why He preached, why He performed healings, and why He died. Jesus not only proclaims forgiveness; He is the One who forgives! He has the authority to forgive. The teachers of the law were right. Forgiveness is God’s work. But they were also wrong. Jesus is not blaspheming. Jesus is not just a man; He is the Son of Man. He is God. Forgiveness is His!
Forgiveness is proven by the healing. How do you see forgiveness? It is invisible. But in this case, Jesus uses the healing as proof of His authority and the forgiveness that takes place. “I tell you, get up …”And the man did just that. He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of everyone. He is a new man, healed and restored in every way, forgiven and healed by the Word that Jesus spoke to him. And he responds in faith. How else do you explain his getting up and walk?
Wow! Have you ever seen anything like this before? Come then and join me at the table.
A community called to love one another as Christ has loved us
Rev. Dr. Gerard Booy
John 13:31-38I used to have two pictures that I used in youth ministry. The first showed a masked person wearing a balaclava or something. All you could see were two eyes peeping through a hole in the mask. The caption underneath the picture read “undercover Christian”. The second picture showed a person in court and asked this question, “If you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence against you?”
This seems to be an important matter for Christ. He does not want His disciples to go unnoticed. He is not looking for secret agents of the faith who can infiltrate the world without anybody knowing it. Christ wants us to be known as His disciples. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples… (verse 35a). We, on other hand, want to play it safe; we prefer not to stand out; we attempt to blend in and follow Christ quietly. “Psst, I’m a Christian,” is often the most we commit to say. Christ would have nothing of that, not even in a context that is obviously hostile.
You have to wonder about the wisdom of that? Is it advisable that we are so openly followers of Jesus in a hostile world? Christ is not ignorant of the dangers. It becomes increasingly clear during the conversation with His disciples. He prepares them for it. They will not listen to you, He said, because they do not listen to Me. We shall face rejection just as He was rejected; the world will hate us, just as it hated Christ; the world will persecute us as it persecuted Him. That is why the conversation ends with a long, passionate prayer of Jesus for His disciples (chapter 17). Nonetheless, He wants us to be known as His disciples.
Why? For the sake of witnessing to Him, of making Him known in the world. Christ wants us to be known as His disciples so that through our testimony and example more people will know Him and follow Him. At this point in the gospel, Christ has reached the point where His physical life on earth is coming to an end. He will be leaving soon and return to the Father. Yes, He will send the Holy Spirit to be with us. The Spirit will dwell in us, but this will not be a physical, visible, tangible presence in the same way that Christ was physically present with His disciples. The presence of Christ through the Spirit will only be visible when the fruit of the Spirit grows in us. From now on people wouldn’t see Him physically, or hear His words directly and audibly, or feel His hand on their shoulders. People today cannot yet look Him in the eyes, but they can see our eyes; they cannot yet hear His voice, but they can hear our voices; they cannot yet feel His hands on their shoulders, but they can feel our hands, observe our love for one another and see signs of Christ living in us.
So if you are put on trial, will there be enough evidence against you? What would be telltale evidence that you are a Christian? If I show you these pictures of big cats – a tiger and a leopard - how do you know which is which? By their distinguishing marks, of course. So what would the distinguishing mark of Christians be? “If you love one another,” says Jesus, “they’ll know you are my disciples” (verse 35b). As the song goes: They will know we are Christians by our love; by the way we bear with one another, forgive one another, laugh with one another, cry with one another, work together, sing together, pray together; by the way we put others first; by the people we reach out to and accept into our fellowship. The love of Christ that continues in our lives is the distinguishing mark that we are His.
Let me interrupt myself for a moment. People are sometimes embarrassed by the emphasis in Jesus’ commandment on brotherly love – “love one another”. “Should we not love all our neighbours as ourselves?” they rightly ask. Are we not called to love even our enemies? Of course we are. Christ does not exclude them. He does not contradict His earlier commandments. But at this point He emphasizes love for one another within the Christian community. This is home for us. Just like our homes are places where we learn, where we are formed and shaped, so too the church. This is where love grows; this is where love is practiced, encouraged, strengthened, and corrected, so that we are able to live in love outside the home of the church. If we can’t practice it among ourselves, how shall we ever be able to love our neighbours? Worse, how shall we ever be able to pray for those who persecute us and love of enemies?
Christ calls this a new commandment (verse 34) A new commandment I give you. That’s strange, isn’t it? To be honest, this commandment is not new; it is very, very old. People have known this commandment since Old Testament times. When Jesus answered the Pharisee’s question about the greatest commandment, He quoted Leviticus 19:18. And Jesus was not the only one who knew this by heart. When the teacher of the law asked Him about eternal life, and Jesus answered him with a counter question about the Scriptures, he too responded by quoting the Leviticus text.
So why does Jesus call it new? In what sense is it new?
• It is new because of the One who gives it – Jesus, the Christ, the servant of the Lord who just washed their feet and will wash them with His blood.
• It is new because of the clear connection that Jesus lays between the commandment to love one another and His own death and resurrection.
• It is new because Christ gives a new motivation for the commandment. “As I have loved you,” he says. Christ’s love as our example; His love is the standard that we live up to; our love is an expression of His love. Christ’s love continues in and through us. That’s the difference. Christ’s love is different; it is completely unselfish, and sacrificial. There is no gain for Himself. It is for us and the sake of our salvation.
As I have loved you, you must love one another. Is this possible? Can we love “as Christ has loved us”? We who are sinful and, because of our sinfulness, basically selfish? Yes! Christ would not have given this commandment if it were not possible. BUT, it does not flow from our capacity to love, or from our inherent goodness. It comes from Christ living in us through the Spirit; from Christ’s love in us. Christ commands us because He will continue to dwell in us through the Spirit and produce the fruits of His love.
We are not called to love one another because we feel sorry for people, or because people are worthy of our love. We are not called to love because it makes us feel good when we love others, or because we need friends. We are called to love, because Christ loves us, and His love dwells in us and compels us. It is His command!
That does not mean we always succeed. It is often not the case. Jesus gives the new commandment in the context of betrayal and denial. Judas just walked out the door and soon Peter will hear that he wouldn’t lay down his life for Christ but will deny Him three times that very night. John Chrysostom wrote about his time, Even now, there is nothing else that causes the heathen to stumble, except that there is no love. Their own doctrines they have long condemned, and in a like manner they admire ours, but they are hindered by our mode of life.
But where we love one another as Christ has loved us, there the gospel light shines brightly; there the Father is glorified by people who are clothed with Christ and whose lives display His love.
May we be such a congregation. May there be sufficient evidence against us that we are followers of Christ!
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
This seems to be an important matter for Christ. He does not want His disciples to go unnoticed. He is not looking for secret agents of the faith who can infiltrate the world without anybody knowing it. Christ wants us to be known as His disciples. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples… (verse 35a). We, on other hand, want to play it safe; we prefer not to stand out; we attempt to blend in and follow Christ quietly. “Psst, I’m a Christian,” is often the most we commit to say. Christ would have nothing of that, not even in a context that is obviously hostile.
You have to wonder about the wisdom of that? Is it advisable that we are so openly followers of Jesus in a hostile world? Christ is not ignorant of the dangers. It becomes increasingly clear during the conversation with His disciples. He prepares them for it. They will not listen to you, He said, because they do not listen to Me. We shall face rejection just as He was rejected; the world will hate us, just as it hated Christ; the world will persecute us as it persecuted Him. That is why the conversation ends with a long, passionate prayer of Jesus for His disciples (chapter 17). Nonetheless, He wants us to be known as His disciples.
Why? For the sake of witnessing to Him, of making Him known in the world. Christ wants us to be known as His disciples so that through our testimony and example more people will know Him and follow Him. At this point in the gospel, Christ has reached the point where His physical life on earth is coming to an end. He will be leaving soon and return to the Father. Yes, He will send the Holy Spirit to be with us. The Spirit will dwell in us, but this will not be a physical, visible, tangible presence in the same way that Christ was physically present with His disciples. The presence of Christ through the Spirit will only be visible when the fruit of the Spirit grows in us. From now on people wouldn’t see Him physically, or hear His words directly and audibly, or feel His hand on their shoulders. People today cannot yet look Him in the eyes, but they can see our eyes; they cannot yet hear His voice, but they can hear our voices; they cannot yet feel His hands on their shoulders, but they can feel our hands, observe our love for one another and see signs of Christ living in us.
So if you are put on trial, will there be enough evidence against you? What would be telltale evidence that you are a Christian? If I show you these pictures of big cats – a tiger and a leopard - how do you know which is which? By their distinguishing marks, of course. So what would the distinguishing mark of Christians be? “If you love one another,” says Jesus, “they’ll know you are my disciples” (verse 35b). As the song goes: They will know we are Christians by our love; by the way we bear with one another, forgive one another, laugh with one another, cry with one another, work together, sing together, pray together; by the way we put others first; by the people we reach out to and accept into our fellowship. The love of Christ that continues in our lives is the distinguishing mark that we are His.
Let me interrupt myself for a moment. People are sometimes embarrassed by the emphasis in Jesus’ commandment on brotherly love – “love one another”. “Should we not love all our neighbours as ourselves?” they rightly ask. Are we not called to love even our enemies? Of course we are. Christ does not exclude them. He does not contradict His earlier commandments. But at this point He emphasizes love for one another within the Christian community. This is home for us. Just like our homes are places where we learn, where we are formed and shaped, so too the church. This is where love grows; this is where love is practiced, encouraged, strengthened, and corrected, so that we are able to live in love outside the home of the church. If we can’t practice it among ourselves, how shall we ever be able to love our neighbours? Worse, how shall we ever be able to pray for those who persecute us and love of enemies?
Christ calls this a new commandment (verse 34) A new commandment I give you. That’s strange, isn’t it? To be honest, this commandment is not new; it is very, very old. People have known this commandment since Old Testament times. When Jesus answered the Pharisee’s question about the greatest commandment, He quoted Leviticus 19:18. And Jesus was not the only one who knew this by heart. When the teacher of the law asked Him about eternal life, and Jesus answered him with a counter question about the Scriptures, he too responded by quoting the Leviticus text.
So why does Jesus call it new? In what sense is it new?
• It is new because of the One who gives it – Jesus, the Christ, the servant of the Lord who just washed their feet and will wash them with His blood.
• It is new because of the clear connection that Jesus lays between the commandment to love one another and His own death and resurrection.
• It is new because Christ gives a new motivation for the commandment. “As I have loved you,” he says. Christ’s love as our example; His love is the standard that we live up to; our love is an expression of His love. Christ’s love continues in and through us. That’s the difference. Christ’s love is different; it is completely unselfish, and sacrificial. There is no gain for Himself. It is for us and the sake of our salvation.
As I have loved you, you must love one another. Is this possible? Can we love “as Christ has loved us”? We who are sinful and, because of our sinfulness, basically selfish? Yes! Christ would not have given this commandment if it were not possible. BUT, it does not flow from our capacity to love, or from our inherent goodness. It comes from Christ living in us through the Spirit; from Christ’s love in us. Christ commands us because He will continue to dwell in us through the Spirit and produce the fruits of His love.
We are not called to love one another because we feel sorry for people, or because people are worthy of our love. We are not called to love because it makes us feel good when we love others, or because we need friends. We are called to love, because Christ loves us, and His love dwells in us and compels us. It is His command!
That does not mean we always succeed. It is often not the case. Jesus gives the new commandment in the context of betrayal and denial. Judas just walked out the door and soon Peter will hear that he wouldn’t lay down his life for Christ but will deny Him three times that very night. John Chrysostom wrote about his time, Even now, there is nothing else that causes the heathen to stumble, except that there is no love. Their own doctrines they have long condemned, and in a like manner they admire ours, but they are hindered by our mode of life.
But where we love one another as Christ has loved us, there the gospel light shines brightly; there the Father is glorified by people who are clothed with Christ and whose lives display His love.
May we be such a congregation. May there be sufficient evidence against us that we are followers of Christ!
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
A Community of Feet-washers
Rev. Dr. Gerard Booy
John 13:1-17John 13 has had a profound influence on the church. Or has it? We love the story, but do we do it? Do we live up to its call?
In last week’s story we saw Christ gathering a witnessing community around himself, community of people who tell other people what they’ve found in Christ. Today we see another aspect of that community gathered around Christ: they humbly serve one another in the name of Christ.
Back to the story. The context is important for understanding the meaning of Jesus’ actions. This is the beginning of long conversation between Jesus and his disciples (John 13-17) where Jesus prepares them for the events that will follow. He wants them to be able to understand the meaning of His death. They are together at the table (John puts it in the context of the Passover meal), and Christ knew that time for Him has come to leave the world and return to Father, that Father has put everything under His power, that He came from God and was returning to God.
In this context, we are told that Christ loves “His own who were in the world”. He shows them the full extent of His love. How? He empties Himself and becomes their servant (see Phil 2, Mark 10:45). He washes their feet. Feet-washing is slave work. John tells this in great detail. The pace of the narration slows down. John carefully gives his full attention to this event just as Christ carefully gives His full attention to the disciples. Neither Jesus nor John misses a thing. Jesus gets up, takes off His outer clothing, put a towel around His waist, pours water in a basin, and begins to wash their feet, one by one, drying it with the towel around His waist.
Jesus does this willingly. He does not have to do it. He does not do it grudgingly. He doesn’t do it to teach the disciples a much deserved lesson in humility and to make them feel guilty. He wants to serve them. This reminds me of that other feet-washing story in John: Mary washing the feet of her master with expensive perfume and drying it with her hair. Both of these are acts of pure, selfless love, shown in the most personal manner.
Could this story be a sign (SEMEION) of a greater love? Could this be pointing to Christ’s self-sacrifice, that ultimate deed of self-emptying on the cross by which He washed not just our feet but our whole being with His blood? Could this be a sign of our communion with the body and blood of Christ? “Unless I wash you, you have no part of Me”.
Christ’s concern is not dirty, smelly feet around the dinner table; not even their poor table manners. Christ is not concerned here with the observation of social customs. His concern is that His disciples learn to understand the salvation that He achieved for us; that His disciples who are washed by His blood learn to live out of their salvation; that we who are washed by Christ learn to wash one another’s feet.
These people around the table are the ones whom He called to follow Him, to follow Him by washing one another’s feet. While He washes our whole selves, we are called to wash one another’s feet. What does this mean? What is feet-washing?
Feet washing consists first of all in a new attitude that comes from being loved, served, and washed by Christ, from being united with Christ in His death and resurrection. Paul speaks about this in Philippians 2 as “having the same attitude of mind that was in Christ.” He explains what this means by calling us to make his joy complete by being like-minded, by having the same love, by being one in spirit and in purpose.
Feet-washing is an act of hospitality. In Biblical times, servants washed the feet of guests on behalf of their masters.
Feet-washing is humble, selfless service – slave work. Serving one another like this, means that we consider the others better than ourselves; that we constantly look out for the interest of others first. We carefully give our full attention to the people we serve. The personal nature of Christ’s service to them comes out in the discussion with Peter. Notice the pronouns.
Peter: Are you going to wash my feet?
Peter: You shall never wash my feet.
Jesus: Unless I wash you, you will have no part of me.
Peter: Lord, then not just my feet, but my hands and head too.
Feet-washing is the purposeful service we render so that others can be fit and ready to sit at the table with our Host. We are serving others that they might have communion with the Lord. We extend the grace of the Lord to them.
Sounds all very nice, but the story questions our willingness to let Christ wash us, teach us and change us. It questions our willingness to serve others in Christ’s manner and name. And it questions our willingness to let others serve us. Like Peter, we object and hold back. What is it that holds us back?
• We are afraid of this. Many people are afraid of God’s grace. We don’t want God to come too close to us; we don’t want to expose ourselves; we are afraid of what he might find, as if he does not already know. Unless we are open to God’s grace, we cannot pass his grace on to others.
• Pride is a big factor. Are you going to wash my feet? It is couched as humility, but it is actually Peter’s pride speaking. Christ is the example of humility in the story, not Peter. At this point, the other gospels tell the story of the disciples arguing about who is the greatest among them. John does not tell that story, but it comes out here as well. No one volunteers to wash the others’ feet. No one got up and took the towel and basin from Jesus. No one wants to be the least among the disciples. Peter objects about being washed, but it is not as if he takes the water and towel from Jesus. He is too important for that! We forget who we are; that we are the servants of the Lord, and not the Master; that we are the messengers of the Lord, and not the One who sends.
• Prejudice often plays a role and gets in the way of us washing other people’s feet.
• Our individualism screams against Jesus’ attitude and call. We do not think in terms of “us” but only in terms of “me”. We do not put others first and consider them better than ourselves.
• And finally, we are unwilling to let others wash our feet. It goes with pride, doesn’t it? We are not serving Christ’s agenda, but our own. Sadly, even here where Christ reveals the full extent of His love, there sounds the false note of betrayal. It is just there in the background of this story, but undeniably there, rearing its ugly head like a cancer growing in the community of disciples. Judas’ betrayal violates the table communion between Jesus and his disciples; it disrupts the unity among the believers; his heart and actions betray Christ, Christ’s love, Christ’s self-emptying, sacrificial love. It is devil work, John tells us, because Christ’s ultimate service to God and humanity would be the deathblow to the devil and his plans, and the devil wants to stop this sacrifice from happening so that the grace and love of Christ will not come to fruition.
Fortunately for us, Christ continues undisturbed, serving His people, doing the will of His Father.
We are Christ’s own. We have been washed with His blood. Now we are called to serve one another. How shall we do this?
• Small groups might be one way. It would help if we can organize ourselves and ministry so that we can know one another personally, be close to one another, and have natural opportunities to serve one another in love.
• Personal attention to one another is important: conversations, listening, praying, visiting, practical help, small acts of hospitality are ways to pay attention to others. The church is one place where we need a people focus more than we need a task focus.
• We need to work for the unity of the church, as much in adopting the right attitude, as in doing the things that will strengthen bonds and in letting go of the things that hurt the body of Christ.
• “Soul work” is another arena where we wash one another’s feet. We extend the grace of Christ, we care about one another’s faith, and we encourage and rebuke one another as we follow Christ together.
Let me close with three questions.
• How can you extend the love of Christ to others in humble, self-denying service?
• Think of one person whose feet you are called to wash …
• Think of one way in which you can serve the unity of the church …
To God be the glory.
In last week’s story we saw Christ gathering a witnessing community around himself, community of people who tell other people what they’ve found in Christ. Today we see another aspect of that community gathered around Christ: they humbly serve one another in the name of Christ.
Back to the story. The context is important for understanding the meaning of Jesus’ actions. This is the beginning of long conversation between Jesus and his disciples (John 13-17) where Jesus prepares them for the events that will follow. He wants them to be able to understand the meaning of His death. They are together at the table (John puts it in the context of the Passover meal), and Christ knew that time for Him has come to leave the world and return to Father, that Father has put everything under His power, that He came from God and was returning to God.
In this context, we are told that Christ loves “His own who were in the world”. He shows them the full extent of His love. How? He empties Himself and becomes their servant (see Phil 2, Mark 10:45). He washes their feet. Feet-washing is slave work. John tells this in great detail. The pace of the narration slows down. John carefully gives his full attention to this event just as Christ carefully gives His full attention to the disciples. Neither Jesus nor John misses a thing. Jesus gets up, takes off His outer clothing, put a towel around His waist, pours water in a basin, and begins to wash their feet, one by one, drying it with the towel around His waist.
Jesus does this willingly. He does not have to do it. He does not do it grudgingly. He doesn’t do it to teach the disciples a much deserved lesson in humility and to make them feel guilty. He wants to serve them. This reminds me of that other feet-washing story in John: Mary washing the feet of her master with expensive perfume and drying it with her hair. Both of these are acts of pure, selfless love, shown in the most personal manner.
Could this story be a sign (SEMEION) of a greater love? Could this be pointing to Christ’s self-sacrifice, that ultimate deed of self-emptying on the cross by which He washed not just our feet but our whole being with His blood? Could this be a sign of our communion with the body and blood of Christ? “Unless I wash you, you have no part of Me”.
Christ’s concern is not dirty, smelly feet around the dinner table; not even their poor table manners. Christ is not concerned here with the observation of social customs. His concern is that His disciples learn to understand the salvation that He achieved for us; that His disciples who are washed by His blood learn to live out of their salvation; that we who are washed by Christ learn to wash one another’s feet.
These people around the table are the ones whom He called to follow Him, to follow Him by washing one another’s feet. While He washes our whole selves, we are called to wash one another’s feet. What does this mean? What is feet-washing?
Feet washing consists first of all in a new attitude that comes from being loved, served, and washed by Christ, from being united with Christ in His death and resurrection. Paul speaks about this in Philippians 2 as “having the same attitude of mind that was in Christ.” He explains what this means by calling us to make his joy complete by being like-minded, by having the same love, by being one in spirit and in purpose.
Feet-washing is an act of hospitality. In Biblical times, servants washed the feet of guests on behalf of their masters.
Feet-washing is humble, selfless service – slave work. Serving one another like this, means that we consider the others better than ourselves; that we constantly look out for the interest of others first. We carefully give our full attention to the people we serve. The personal nature of Christ’s service to them comes out in the discussion with Peter. Notice the pronouns.
Peter: Are you going to wash my feet?
Peter: You shall never wash my feet.
Jesus: Unless I wash you, you will have no part of me.
Peter: Lord, then not just my feet, but my hands and head too.
Feet-washing is the purposeful service we render so that others can be fit and ready to sit at the table with our Host. We are serving others that they might have communion with the Lord. We extend the grace of the Lord to them.
Sounds all very nice, but the story questions our willingness to let Christ wash us, teach us and change us. It questions our willingness to serve others in Christ’s manner and name. And it questions our willingness to let others serve us. Like Peter, we object and hold back. What is it that holds us back?
• We are afraid of this. Many people are afraid of God’s grace. We don’t want God to come too close to us; we don’t want to expose ourselves; we are afraid of what he might find, as if he does not already know. Unless we are open to God’s grace, we cannot pass his grace on to others.
• Pride is a big factor. Are you going to wash my feet? It is couched as humility, but it is actually Peter’s pride speaking. Christ is the example of humility in the story, not Peter. At this point, the other gospels tell the story of the disciples arguing about who is the greatest among them. John does not tell that story, but it comes out here as well. No one volunteers to wash the others’ feet. No one got up and took the towel and basin from Jesus. No one wants to be the least among the disciples. Peter objects about being washed, but it is not as if he takes the water and towel from Jesus. He is too important for that! We forget who we are; that we are the servants of the Lord, and not the Master; that we are the messengers of the Lord, and not the One who sends.
• Prejudice often plays a role and gets in the way of us washing other people’s feet.
• Our individualism screams against Jesus’ attitude and call. We do not think in terms of “us” but only in terms of “me”. We do not put others first and consider them better than ourselves.
• And finally, we are unwilling to let others wash our feet. It goes with pride, doesn’t it? We are not serving Christ’s agenda, but our own. Sadly, even here where Christ reveals the full extent of His love, there sounds the false note of betrayal. It is just there in the background of this story, but undeniably there, rearing its ugly head like a cancer growing in the community of disciples. Judas’ betrayal violates the table communion between Jesus and his disciples; it disrupts the unity among the believers; his heart and actions betray Christ, Christ’s love, Christ’s self-emptying, sacrificial love. It is devil work, John tells us, because Christ’s ultimate service to God and humanity would be the deathblow to the devil and his plans, and the devil wants to stop this sacrifice from happening so that the grace and love of Christ will not come to fruition.
Fortunately for us, Christ continues undisturbed, serving His people, doing the will of His Father.
We are Christ’s own. We have been washed with His blood. Now we are called to serve one another. How shall we do this?
• Small groups might be one way. It would help if we can organize ourselves and ministry so that we can know one another personally, be close to one another, and have natural opportunities to serve one another in love.
• Personal attention to one another is important: conversations, listening, praying, visiting, practical help, small acts of hospitality are ways to pay attention to others. The church is one place where we need a people focus more than we need a task focus.
• We need to work for the unity of the church, as much in adopting the right attitude, as in doing the things that will strengthen bonds and in letting go of the things that hurt the body of Christ.
• “Soul work” is another arena where we wash one another’s feet. We extend the grace of Christ, we care about one another’s faith, and we encourage and rebuke one another as we follow Christ together.
Let me close with three questions.
• How can you extend the love of Christ to others in humble, self-denying service?
• Think of one person whose feet you are called to wash …
• Think of one way in which you can serve the unity of the church …
Gerard Booy
CHRIST GATHERS A COMMUNITY AROUND HIMSELF
Rev. Dr. Gerard Booy
John 1:35-51I am the church!
You are the church!
We are the church together!
All who follow Jesus all around the world,
Yes we’re the church together!
When we sang this song earlier in the service, we reminded ourselves that the church is not a building; the church is a people. The question is what kind of a people are we?
The first stories in John’s gospel are stories that remind us how Christ gathered people around himself. We are called to be a people who follow Christ; a community of followers who remain in Christ; a community of disciples who give witness to Christ.
Christ does not work alone. If anyone could work solo, it would have been Him. But He didn’t. He is only alone on the cross. There and in His death is He rejected by the people and forsaken by God. But His focus even there is not on Himself. He is fixed on the Father’s will and glory. He dies a substitutionary death; He dies in our place; it is for us.
From the beginning of His ministry, Christ calls people and gathers them around Himself. How does He do that? John emphasizes the role of people telling other people.
I think it is important because our witnessing is the context within which Christ finds people and people find Christ. A few words – We have found Messiah – and a simple invitation –Come and see – can lead to a meeting with the risen Christ. In every one of these stories, there is an element of Christ seeing the persons. And when He sees them, He speaks to them. And His words alter their lives.
• The two disciples of John the Baptist follow Jesus. Jesus turns around, He sees them, and He says to them… Three verbs portray the actions of Jesus: turn, see, say. And that changed the course and the meaning of their lives.
• Andrew brings his brother Simon to Jesus. Jesus looks at him and says …The actions of Jesus alter his identity. You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas (Peter).
• Nathanael approaches Jesus and learns that Jesus already saw him under the fig tree. And then Jesus says … a conversation develops in which Christ is more fully revealed. He receives a new imagination, a new hope.
Would Jesus have found Andrew, Simon, and Nathanael without the aid of human witnesses? Who knows? He could have, as the story of Philip clearly shows. But Christ somehow chooses to work through people telling other people.
This is how Christ finds us and we find Christ. Find is an important word in all these stories.
We’ve been talking about the importance of giving witness. But what about their message? What do we have to tell? When we look at the messages in this story, what do we see? They are all remarkably simple and brief. But here’s the thing, they are all clearly focused on Christ. They speak about Christ. They don’t defend Christ. They don’t make excuses for speaking about Christ. They don’t force their listeners to believe. They are clear, honest, Christ-focused and invitational. John the Baptist says: There is the Lamb of God. Andrew says: We have found the Messiah. He then brings his brother to Christ. Philip says: We have found the One about whom Moses and the Prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. He listens to Nathanaels objections and invites him: Come and see.
Together, these simple testimonies, these individual witnesses form an impressive message about Christ. Names for Jesus are piled up in this story, a mounting to an amazing theology.
That is why the church is important. That is why we have to make sure that our church groups and activities are place and times where we can make the kind of connections that enable us to speak to one another about Christ. We need to form church groups where the focus is not simply on what we do and how we serve the church, or on what we learn, but where the focus is on being a community of disciples who are intentional about the formation of one another’s faith; Groups where we are together to listen, to share our stories, ask our questions, read the Scriptures, and pray together. The session is currently studying small group ministry and hope to share more with you in the future.
Nathanael, Andrew, Philip … These are the witnesses in our Bible story today. We don’t read a whole lot about them in the rest of the Bible. A little bit about Andrew and Philip, but almost nothing about Nathanael. But that doesn’t matter. They are faithful witnesses where they are, and that matters. With them started a process of hearing, following, finding, and telling others that goes on to our day. We are in on this as well. Christ has found us. Let us tell those around us.
To the glory of God.
Christ does not work alone. If anyone could work solo, it would have been Him. But He didn’t. He is only alone on the cross. There and in His death is He rejected by the people and forsaken by God. But His focus even there is not on Himself. He is fixed on the Father’s will and glory. He dies a substitutionary death; He dies in our place; it is for us.
From the beginning of His ministry, Christ calls people and gathers them around Himself. How does He do that? John emphasizes the role of people telling other people.
• The first two stories in chapter 1 are about John the Baptist testifying about the Lamb of God, pointing away from Himself, and to Jesus: There is the Lamb of God.
• Witnessing is such an important theme, that even the opening hymn about the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us (John 1) is interrupted at verse 6 with a comment about the witness sent by God. John’s testimony must have been very compelling, because two of his disciples decide to leave him and follow Jesus, when Jesus walks by the next day.
• The next two stories shows what happens to the people who encounter Jesus. They immediately become witnesses. Andrew, one of the two immediately goes and finds his brother Simon, tells him about Jesus, and brings him to Jesus. Philip, who is found and called by Jesus on the next day, immediately sets off and finds Nathanael who lives in the same town. He shares his news about Jesus and invites his sceptic friend: Come and see.
• Evangelism, telling the good news about Christ, is the most natural thing for followers of Jesus. It is in the genes of the Christian church.
Fast forward to our time: If witnessing to Christ is such a central and important theme in the gospel, why is it that we have become so shy about the good news? Why are we so reluctant to talk about Christ? Why is it that we so often reason that we don’t have to talk about our faith as long as we live it? The Presbyterian Record of October 2011 carried several articles on evangelism, interesting articles most of them. One author reminds us that just as words without actions are futile, so actions without words are devoid of meaning and content. So many Christians live by the good sounding but ill-advice of St. Francis who apparently once said: Preach Christ always, use words when necessary. It sounds good, but it is gospel nonsense. The gospels encourage us to do both; to speak our faith and to live our faith! On the cover of that edition of the Record, appeared these words: Many think evangelism is a dirty word, but the church was built on it and needs to take it back.
Why is it important that we reclaim our identity as a witnessing community?I think it is important because our witnessing is the context within which Christ finds people and people find Christ. A few words – We have found Messiah – and a simple invitation –Come and see – can lead to a meeting with the risen Christ. In every one of these stories, there is an element of Christ seeing the persons. And when He sees them, He speaks to them. And His words alter their lives.
• The two disciples of John the Baptist follow Jesus. Jesus turns around, He sees them, and He says to them… Three verbs portray the actions of Jesus: turn, see, say. And that changed the course and the meaning of their lives.
• Andrew brings his brother Simon to Jesus. Jesus looks at him and says …The actions of Jesus alter his identity. You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas (Peter).
• Nathanael approaches Jesus and learns that Jesus already saw him under the fig tree. And then Jesus says … a conversation develops in which Christ is more fully revealed. He receives a new imagination, a new hope.
Would Jesus have found Andrew, Simon, and Nathanael without the aid of human witnesses? Who knows? He could have, as the story of Philip clearly shows. But Christ somehow chooses to work through people telling other people.
This is how Christ finds us and we find Christ. Find is an important word in all these stories.
• Verse 41: Andrew encounters Christ and spends time with Him. The first thing he does (first thing!) is to find his brother Simon. And his message: We have found the Messiah.
• Verse 43: Jesus finds Philip and calls him. Again, what is the first thing Philip does? He goes and finds Nathanael, saying: We have found the One about whom Moses and the Prophets wrote.
That is how people get to see – another important word in the text. Isn’t that what we desire most for others; that they find and see; that they believe and follow?We’ve been talking about the importance of giving witness. But what about their message? What do we have to tell? When we look at the messages in this story, what do we see? They are all remarkably simple and brief. But here’s the thing, they are all clearly focused on Christ. They speak about Christ. They don’t defend Christ. They don’t make excuses for speaking about Christ. They don’t force their listeners to believe. They are clear, honest, Christ-focused and invitational. John the Baptist says: There is the Lamb of God. Andrew says: We have found the Messiah. He then brings his brother to Christ. Philip says: We have found the One about whom Moses and the Prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. He listens to Nathanaels objections and invites him: Come and see.
Together, these simple testimonies, these individual witnesses form an impressive message about Christ. Names for Jesus are piled up in this story, a mounting to an amazing theology.
• Lamb of God: the suffering servant, the “Passover Lamb” who gives his life for an atonement of our sins.
• Messiah: the anointed and expected Redeemer (notice the paradox between these names) about whom Moses and the Prophets wrote.
• Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph.
• Son of Man: God who became flesh; God who dwells among us; God who is present where we are. Jesus’ words to Nathanael about seeing the heavens open and the angels of God descending upon the Son of Man, alludes to the story of God’s presence with Jacob at Bethel. Jesus, the Son of Man, is the true Bethel, the house of God.
• Son of God
• King of Israel.
This Jesus is the One who sees us and calls us; who forms us into a community of followers to be His witnesses to the people around us.That is why the church is important. That is why we have to make sure that our church groups and activities are place and times where we can make the kind of connections that enable us to speak to one another about Christ. We need to form church groups where the focus is not simply on what we do and how we serve the church, or on what we learn, but where the focus is on being a community of disciples who are intentional about the formation of one another’s faith; Groups where we are together to listen, to share our stories, ask our questions, read the Scriptures, and pray together. The session is currently studying small group ministry and hope to share more with you in the future.
Nathanael, Andrew, Philip … These are the witnesses in our Bible story today. We don’t read a whole lot about them in the rest of the Bible. A little bit about Andrew and Philip, but almost nothing about Nathanael. But that doesn’t matter. They are faithful witnesses where they are, and that matters. With them started a process of hearing, following, finding, and telling others that goes on to our day. We are in on this as well. Christ has found us. Let us tell those around us.
To the glory of God.
IN GOD'S TIME
Rev. Dr. Gerard Booy
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
January 1, 2012
Another year is dawning. Time like an ever-rolling stream bears all our years away. Time passes relentlessly. It rolls on like a mighty wave, turning day into night, days into weeks, weeks into months, months into years, years into decades, and decades into life-times. Time does not wait for anyone.
Then we read this:
There is a time for everything,
9 What does the worker gain from his toil? There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Let me comment briefly on the list of times in verses 1-8. People often get hung up with the detail when they read a list like this, trying to explain every example that is mentioned. There is a time for that, I suppose, but I want to take a broader look at the list. We are given a long list of items that represent every activity under heaven: 14 pairs, 28 items. (The number of items could very well be symbolic of this because 28 is the product of 7 and 4, seven being the number of holiness, perfection and 4 being the number of the earth. (In Biblical times people thought about the 4 corners of the earth, while we would think of the 4 directions, North, South, East, and West.)
Why is it important to remember the passing nature of things? Everything about us and around us is subject to time, and is therefore ephemeral. God on the other hand is eternal. God is without end. God’s work is not fleeting or temporary. God’s work stands forever. The saving grace of our Lord is not subject to inflation. It does not fade away. God and God’s work endures.
Our lives, our times, our thoughts, our decisions, our actions, our emotions, our relationships, our world is therefore part of a much bigger whole. And that we notice as well. We often don’t see past the small things that we are fixed on; we often don’t see beyond the hills that surround us. And we often make life difficult because we expect outcomes from work, from study, from play, from investments, from family that they cannot give. We and everything about us is part of a bigger whole - God’s work with us; the work of God who makes everything beautiful in his time (verse 11), who gives food and drink to nourish us and work for us to do, who fills the earth with his presence and goodness.
God made us to search for God. God planted eternity in our hearts (verse 11) and gave us a longing for eternity, for God self. We often confuse our deep longing for eternity with a longing for this or that, something tangible, something immediate. We turn God’s gifts for life into objects from which we seek ultimate meaning. We turn life, work, food, knowledge, and games into idols. And our lives remain restless …
Our lives are lived in time, and time is God’s gift to us. Time, the moments and the seasons of our lives, the ordinary things with which we keep busy is the arena where God meets us; where we search for and find God; where we do good, love our neighbours; raise our children, and proclaim the good news.
Life may seem like an endless cycle of seasons and events. But there is more. At the beginning and at the end, and everywhere in between is God
Our help in ages past;
As time goes by, we sometimes wonder about life. What’s the point of everything we do? Whatever is has already been; what will be has been before, writes the Preacher (verse 15). There doesn’t seem to be anything new. Do things actually change? Is the world a better place for our working; for our being here? What does the worker gain from his toil (verse 9)? Is 2012 going to be any different from 2011?
Ecclesiastes is the book that peels the scales from our eyes. Eugene Peterson writes in the introduction to Ecclesiastes in The Message that “this is the book that exposes our incapacity for finding meaning and completion of our lives on our own. This is not a book we read to be fed; we read it to be cleansed. It scrubs us clean from illusion and sentiment, from idolatrous ideas, and from feelings that are cloy.”
Still, we try and we keep trying to complete our lives and fill them with meaning. Like Qohelet (the Hebrew name for this book) we pursue all kinds of things, hoping to find something that’ll work. Qohelet considered every possible avenue. This is abundantly clear from chapters 1 and 2. First, he pursued wisdom. Then he swung to the opposite, embracing folly and pleasures, and seeking laughter and fun. That turns out to be meaningless, so he resolved to undertake great projects. He started building campaigns and planted vineyards, thinking that he will find meaning by doing something significant and making his life count. But even that did not satisfy, so why not try to live big? He bought slaves galore, hired many court musicians and filled his harem with women (Imagine life at the courts of Solomon). He amassed gold and silver… Qohelet tried everything that has ever been tried. His conclusion at the end of chapter two: meaningless, a chasing after wind. All our efforts inevitably fail to produce meaning and to complete our lives.
And this:
and a season for every activity under heaven: ,
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men.
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.
13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God.
14 I know that everything God does will endure for ever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.
15 Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account. (Ecclesiastes 3:9-15)
The items are listed in pairs of opposites. This is a literary device. By naming and listing only the opposite extremes, the writer shows the range of activities and events that fall between these poles. Only birth and death is mentioned, but the writer includes everything in between, not just the two opposite ends. This list covers much more then than 28 examples of moments in life. It covers every possible season in life, every possible circumstance, every possible event or activity that we could engage in, every possible emotion we express and every possible relation we are in. It covers life from the cradle to the grave, with everything in between - pleasant and unpleasant, positive and negative, good and bad, constructive and destructive, beginnings and endings, hope and despair, love and hate, war and peace.
What do we notice then in this passage?
We notice the passing nature of all things. Whatever we keep ourselves busy with; whatever fills our lives and gives meaning at the moment is transitory. We see the list switching from item to item. Season follows season. The list moves from positive to negative and back again. For everything there is a season. This is sometimes sad. We want certain moments to last longer; we are not ready to let go. We do not like endings and would do anything to make things last. At other times this is good. We know, for instance, that pain, grief and affliction will not last either. It too will pass in time.
Our hope for years to come;
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.