Wednesday In Holy Week: Mark 14: 1-11.

 Wednesday In Holy Week: Mark 14: 1-11.

The darkness deepens as the religious establishment in Jerusalem gather to plot Jesus’ destruction.  Some miles away Jesus is in Bethany where there is some relief from the pressures He has endured since His arrival in Jerusalem.  He is the guest of a man named Simon who has been cured of leprosy.  A dinner is given in His honour and present are Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary, a family whose hospitality Jesus has previously enjoyed.  (John 12: 1-3)

During the meal Mary poured very expensive perfume on Jesus’ head.   This was possibly a family heirloom used only on special occasions.  On the estimation of some other guests it is worth a year’s wages.  But Mary does not give this a thought.  Nothing is too good for Jesus.  He sees this as an anointing before His death

Did Mary know about the coming sacrifice?   In the past she had sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to His teaching.  (Luke 10: 38-42). Did she have insight that others close to Jesus had missed?  What is certain is that her extravagant expression of love stands as an example for all those who would follow Jesus.  Jesus said: ‘Wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.’  

Mary could sing wholeheartedly the words of the children’s hymn:

‘All that I have, all that I have,

 I will give Jesus all that I have.’  

Tuesday In Holy Week: Mark 11: 27 - 12: 43.

 Tuesday In Holy Week: Mark 11: 27 - 12: 44.

Jesus returns to the Temple.  A bold move considering what happened yesterday.  Not surprisingly the spiritual leaders challenge His right to make judgments on the administration of the Temple.  In what follows we see Jesus holding up a mirror to the souls of these men.  They are unfaithful guardians of the soul of Israel.  More concerned with divisive controversies and theological hair-splitting than genuinely seeking God and caring for His people.  

One teacher of the law has the right attitude.  To have your whole life oriented to God, to aspire to love Him and fulfil His will in caring for others, this is more important than rigid adherence to ritual law.  

Jesus warns the crowds against those in spiritual leadership whose priorities are wrong, more concerned with the trappings of religion than living faith.  He points to a poor widow who has got it right.  She gave all that she had to the Temple treasury.  A living rebuke to all those who compromise in their commitment to God.

Today is a day for us to consider whether in all the things that drive us, - theological, political, personal, - our obedience to Jesus’ command to seek first the Kingdom is our overwhelming priority.  

Monday In Holy Week: Mark 11: 12-19.

 Monday In Holy Week: Mark 11: 12-19.

Jesus and the disciples are returning to Jerusalem from Bethany.  We are told that Jesus was hungry.    He must have said this.  ‘I am hungry.’  

It was from a distance that He saw the fig-tree and he moves towards it ‘to find out if it had any fruit’.  Not being the season for figs, He could hardly expect to find any among the leaves.  Nonetheless he addresses the tree: ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’  

Is it disrespectful to say that this is a piece of theatre?  Jesus is acting out the spiritual hunger of humankind, the spiritual poverty of those who call themselves the people of God, their failure to respond to God’s call to be a light to the nations and their inability to satisfy the innate spiritual hunger of humankind.   Therefore God’s judgment is upon His people.  Their soul is reflected in the condition of the Temple.  The house of prayer has become ‘a den of robbers.’  

The story is not for us merely to mourn the spiritual corruption at the heart of an ancient nation.  It is for us to consider the danger of fruitlessness among the people of God in every age and culture arising from complacency before God.   It is to lead us to pray with the Psalmist:

‘Create in me a clean heart, O God,

 And renewer a steadfast spirit within me.’  (Psalm 51: 10)

Still Quarrying 193: 'The Lord Is King!'

 I switched on the wireless yesterday and it was all Alex Salmond.  One commentator recalled a colleague saying that days like today are ‘good trade’.   But you could say that about Scottish politics in general over the past few months.  I like to ‘keep up with things’ but the papers have had more of my attention lately along with the news media in general.  

It’s not entirely surprising that Alex Salmond has launched a new political party.  (He would probably object to me referring to it as ‘his’ party.). The rumours have been a gathering drum roll for some time.  An interviewee on BBC Radio 4 who is a member of the new Alba Party insisted that this is a positive move to increase the pro-independence thrust in the Hollywood Parliament.  That makes some sense but with many things that have emerged over the last few months it is difficult to accept that this is the only reason.  Salmond’s experience of his former party and the damage he claims certain elements have sought to bring to him are a consideration.  Is this pay-back time?  

The Salmond factor will have a significant influence in the success or failure of the new party.  How will the voters respond to a party led by a man who although not guilty of any criminal offence has conceded that on occasion his behaviour towards women has been inappropriate?   He and others obviously believe that this will not have a major effect on voting intentions.  

He would no doubt resist any comparison with Donald Trump but his ‘toxic male’ behaviour became an issue in the 2016 Presidential Election and yet he was elected.  Voting analysis revealed that his star was surprisingly bright with white middle-class women.  And of course more people actually voted for him in 2020.  

So does the public really care about this kind of thing?    Sexual behaviour generally deemed to be inappropriate in those in high office used to be regarded as a resignation issue and more time spent with the family.   Admittedly what is deemed ‘inappropriate’ has shifted over the years and there is a greater tolerance even of marital infidelity.   If someone is perceived to be doing a good job then what does it really matter?  How far does personal morality affect a man’s or woman’s ability to render creditable service to his/her country?

As someone who seeks to approach public issues from a Christian perspective I have to bear in mind that we live in a fallen world, a world that despite its wonders and achievements is invariably in opposition to God.  What that means at a personal level is that we are all prone to behaving in ways that violate the pattern established by God in His Word.   Sometimes that can lead to criminal behaviour which will deserve a response in law.   More generally we can all behave in ways that do not become a public issue but are damaging to others and damaging to ourselves in that we have set aside the values that flow from God.  There may not be obvious harm done but at a spiritual level there is disturbance.   And that matters.

Given our fallenness it is not surprising that the political life of nations is often messy with those in power less than moral paragons.  That does not allow us to be negative or disparaging about politics and politicians.  There is an absolute obligation in Scripture for followers of Jesus to pray for those ‘in authority’.  No excuse, then, for anyone to regard political life as beneath contempt.  It may be beyond us at times but the call to Christian citizenship involves a commitment to see Christian values established in every aspect of a society.   It should never be forgotten that it was through the edicts of pagan kings that the exiled people of Judah were allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple and later the city itself.  

So we will be voting again in five weeks time.  I always say I am the man all the parties are after, the floating voter.  At this point I have made up my mind about some things but not others.  In the past I have described my attitude as holding my nose as I make my mark on the voting paper.  It’s a good line but not perhaps in keeping with what I have been working out today.  This time I will be praying as I make my mark that there will be a growing conviction of a declaration we find time and again in the Psalms: 

‘The Lord is King!’

Prayers For The Week 7

 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?  (Psalm 8: 3-4)

We who occupy a space come to the God who fills the universe.

We who struggle to understand come to the God from whom flows all wisdom.

We whose achievements are always limited come to the God who created the earth in the beginning and will be there at the end to renew and revitalise.  

We who sometimes find it difficult to love come to the God whose love reaches out to all humankind.

It’s all too much for us to accommodate in minds so often shallow, distracted and self absorbed.

But we are grateful that we can focus on your Son Jesus, that He is revealed to us in your Word, that your Holy Spirit establishes us in a relationship with Him.  

Make this time of devotion a moment of grace for each one of us.

That our vision of who You are would be expanded,

That our love for Jesus would be deepened,

That you would lead us forward in the power of your Holy Spirit.

Father, we thank you for this season of Spring, for brightness and warmth and colour and fragrance, all signs of new life.

We thank you that this is the work of your Holy Spirit in humankind, to renew us as we come to know your Son Jesus, as His Spirit lives within us, as we are shaped according to the pattern of His life.  

We thank you that this renewal is promised to the whole of Creation, that in the end the values embodied in Jesus will overcome everything that brings disorder and pain into our lives.  

We pray that you would take us forward to this day whose lives show the promise of the Kingdom in the way we love, in the way we proclaim the truth, in the way we stand for justice.  

We remember all those throughout the world called to be Kingdom people, especially those under pressure to be silent and inactive.

We remember those who govern in the world and have the power to change the things that devalue and brutalise  humankind.

We remember our own nation in this time of pandemic, that our leaders will be kept strong, our key-workers kept safe, our common life free from division and disorder.

We remember those we love in our families and circle of friendship, especially the sick, the bereaved and the troubled.  

Still Quarrying 192: Citizens of Cancervania.

 I don’t take ‘The Herald’ very often but some articles were flagged up for Saturday’s edition that I thought might be of interest.  In the end, though, it was an article in the Magazine that engaged me most.  It was written by Fidelma Cook who I believe has a regular column.  In Saturday’s offering she mentions in passing her ‘cancer musings’.  A wee bit of googling and I discover that last year she was diagnosed with ‘fast-acting metastatic lung cancer.’  In other words, it’s spreading fast.  

It happens.  You don’t want to be defined by your cancer.  You don’t want to feel or be perceived as a ‘cancer victim’ and yet you hear of other people and their experience and you are drawn in.  

A few weeks ago a member of the minister’s reading group I am a part of mentioned a book by an American theologian named Todd Billings about the importance of facing your own mortality.   Again some googling and it seems this man has written another book called Rejoicing In Lament.  My first thought is that this is a cheerful sort of chappie!  But then I see the subtitle: ‘Wrestling with Incurable Cancer & Life In Christ.’   So I am hooked - and even more so when I discover that the cancer in question is Multiple Myeloma.   

Todd was diagnosed at the age of 39 which is unusually young for a Myeloma sufferer.  His was a more advanced case than mine but I could identify with his experience of chemotherapy, stem-cell transplantation and the continuing regular blood tests.  It was also helpful to see him bring his wide theological learning to bear on his experience.  I may write more about this in a future blog.  

Again recently, I was brought into touch into touch with a Milngavie lady who was 6 months ahead of me in stem-cell transplant treatment.  There was a long telephone conversation, sharing experiences, hopes, anxieties.  

It’s like this when you have an experience in common with others.  In the midst of all the things that you might share with others and define who you are - race, gender, class, education, faith - there is this experience of lives touching at a deep level.  

It seems a long time ago but after my second chemo Gabrielle and I were in the Beatson Cafe and we met a Milngavie man and his wife.  He was waiting for a rehabilitation place in St Margaret’s Hospice.  Four people  with different lives but bound together by cancer.  It made me think of John Reid’s book later made into a movie, The Fault In Our Stars.  It’s the story of two teenagers, Hazel and Augustus, who come together through their common experience of cancer.   Hazel describes themselves as citizens in ‘the Republic of Cancervania.‘   It’s like that.  When you are in the Beatson so many people pass you by.  You don’t know them, perhaps will never see them again, but you have this disease in common.  

It’s difficult to actually put it into words but there is a reassurance in this.  You are not alone  in your experience and talking and listening can bring strength.  This points me to the ultimate assurance that we find in all our suffering which is that Jesus has gone before us into the dark valleys of human experience.  I’ve often turned to these words:

‘Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’  (Hebrews 4: 14-16.)

Still Quarrying 191: No Service No Glory!

‘What do you want me to do for you?’ said Jesus when James and John approached Him with what the NIV heading calls a ‘request’. (Mark 10: 35-45).   That makes their approach sound almost gentile, ‘Would you mind doing this for us?’  But the ‘request’ comes from a deeper and darker place.   This is what they want.  This is their great desire.  This impulse if dominating their inner being.  ‘Let one us us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.’  

Jesus response is: ‘You don’t know what you are asking.’  Before the glory the cup of suffering will be drunk and the baptism of persecution will be endured.  All of this will take place according to the pattern of Jesus’ life and in the providence of God.  

What James and John need to learn is that followers of Jesus cannot live by the prevailing standards of the world.  A world that creates places of honour and celebrity to which people are encouraged to aspire.  The vision for followers of Jesus is that they are motivated by the values of the coming Kingdom, chief among them service.  

This does not come naturally.  We may have characteristics that predispose us towards others: curiosity, sensitivity, empathy.  But the urge to place ourselves at the centre is the default position of humankind.  We need to be taught to serve others.  We need opportunities to serve others.  

The other disciples were ‘indignant’ with James and John.  Why?  Were they disturbed by their pride, their opportunism, their naked ambition?  That may have been part of it but Jesus called all his disciples with James and John to hear His teaching on the imperative of service.  Listen to this:

You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,  and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.  (vv. 42-45)

They all needed to hear this.  And in days to come they would reflect on this and how the teaching received its ultimate expression in the sacrifice of Jesus.  

I have a colleague who when at a meeting and is asked if he is happy with a decision will reply: ‘I’m not here to be happy.  I am here to serve.’   I’ve quoted this many times and it is interesting how people respond.  ‘What’s wrong with being happy?’  ‘Is it not possible to serve and be happy.’  The point is, to make happiness your great goal in life is to be on less than solid ground.  Happiness comes and goes.  I can be happy at your expense.  Some people can be happy with beliefs and circumstances that devalue, undermine and even destroy others.  In the life of a follower of Jesus the call to serve according to the pattern of Jesus’ life must dominate any other priority. Even that of being happy.   With grace to respond to that call we will bring the Kingdom closer to the here and now.  

 

Corpus Christi.

 It’s a familiar story in some ways.  A young priest enters a parish and stirs things up with his unorthodox approach.  Except that Daniel is not actually a priest.  He has served time in a juvenile detention centre for man-slaughter but while there has been convinced he is being called to the priesthood.   He is told by a Chaplain, however, that his criminal background would be an insurmountable barrier.  

On parole he is assigned to work in a sawmill in a small town.  When he arrives his first stop is to the local church where he passes himself off as a priest.   The parish priest believes him and while he leaves to undergo treatment for alcohol abuse leaves Daniel in charge. 

This is a Polish language movie with English subtitles.  The issue of fake priests is apparently not uncommon in Poland, the priesthood bringing as it does status spiritually and socially.   Not surprisingly the film caused a great deal of controversy in Poland.  But it is film we can all relate to.   It explores the nature of faith in broken and vulnerable lives; the expectations placed on Christian leaders; the motives behind the aspiration to be a Christian leader; the effect of tragedy on a small community.  It is the latter that leads to Daniel’s exposure as he takes an unpopular stance in relation to the man who caused the tragedy.  He is returned to the detention centre where the brother of the man he killed is now an inmate.   You can take it up from there if you feel inclined.

It is a bleak film in many ways and there are some scenes of brutal violence.   Yet Daniel’s time as a ‘priest’ brought some good to the community even as the consequences of the imposture and his crime press on him and eventually overtake him.  I had some difficulty with the final message but perhaps Daniel is showing us the tensions we all have to live with, the aspirations for good that are so often overshadowed by our moral and spiritual limitations.   Daniel is a picture of ourselves albeit painted with broader and darker strokes.  

I’m still thinking about the title: Corpus Christi - the body of Christ.   Maybe it is pointing to the reality of the world where Jesus came and was one of us.  He took on the body that was subject to limitation and pain, ‘descended into Hell’ as the Creed says, in order to redeem us and lead us towards the New Creation.  

That’s my take on it.  If you watch it and can take me froward let me know!  

Prayers For The Week 6

 ‘In the Lord I take refuge.’  (Psalm 11:1)

God our Father,

In these days 

When struggle is a shared experience;

When words of encouragement are hard to find;

When together we view the future with anxiety;

It’s good to be in touch with the ancient voices of faith who speak of a God in whose presence comfort is found, strength is renewed, hope is restored, the triumph of justice and goodness is assured.  

We come to You, our Father, as our refuge 

Whose Word connects to our inner being and brings light in the darkness;

Whose Son Jesus is our assurance that You are present in the midst of our worst of times;

Whose Spirit is constantly working to bring us closer to You and to form in us the image of Jesus.

Forgive us for everything that works against what you offer us as we find in you our refuge:

When we set aside Your Word and listen to the voice of the world;

When Jesus has nothing to say to us in our struggle and pain;

When we refuse the promptings of the Spirit to live and work according to Your ways.

Help us to find in this moment the grace once more to know Your love and goodness and from that to love You more deeply and serve You more fully.

God our Father,

We thank you for the identity we share as men and women in Christ.

A people who have surveyed the wondrous cross and found there the key to a renewed life:

Sins forgiven, a new pattern of living opened up, a new purpose in seeking to make the values of the coming Kingdom visible now.  

We thank you that all of this is sustained by the encouragement of Your Word and the power of Your Spirit.

We thank you for all those in whom all of this came alive:

Brothers and sisters faithful in this life and who now in eternity know the completeness of life in Christ.  

We remember the world-wide family of Christ especially in those places where Covid-19 has added to the challenges of hunger, homelessness and injustice.

We remember the nations where Christian witness is stifled by repression and pray for a change of heart within hostile governments.

We remember our own nation and pray that all those in positions of leadership will be kept strong in body and mind and aware of their accountability to You.  

We remember our front-line workers: those who care for the sick and bereaved, those who work in the emergency services.

We remember our families, our friends, especially those who are particularly hard-pressed or vulnerable.  

Prayers For The Week 5

 We who are strong ought top bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.

Each of us should please his neighbour for his good, to build him up.  (Romans 15: 1-2)

These Covid-19 days continue.

Days of isolation and frustration when personal horizons are limited.

When friends and family are at a distance, when plans for the future are daily subject to change, when times of celebration are muted, when our mourning is without the support we would normally depend upon. 

We are driven within ourselves despite our best efforts to be distracted, diverted, entertained.

What we need in this moment is to be turned out towards our broken world, 

What we need is to find ways to be connected with those whose lives have always been a relentless struggle.  

What we need is a new orientation towards others, a willingness to bear their burdens and to build them up.

What we need in this time of worship is a new awareness of the Spirit of Jesus refreshing our spirits and renewing our commitment to work and to pray for Your Kingdom to come.  

Forgive us our self-obsession, our reluctance to reach out to others,  our willingness to accept the world as it is and not as it should be.  

Give us the Spirit of Jesus and His drive to care for the sick, feed the hungry, and comfort those who mourn.