If you were like me, when you were very young, there were only two really important events in your life. You felt like they could not come soon enough. What were they? The first was… your birthday. The second was… Jesus’ birthday. Both involved presents. Lots of presents. Then when you were old enough to know that Father Christmas was not in the Nativity Play and you were allowed to stay up late, there was a third special day. New Year’s Eve. There were no presents but you still looked forward to the party and seeing in the New Year. We love to celebrate beginnings. We celebrate new life. Our birthday. Family birthdays. Jesus’ birthday. The birth of a new year.
So, what is it with the Church? When does the Church year begin? Not at Christmas and the birth of our Saviour. Not Easter and the resurrection to new life. Not even Pentecost and the birth of the Church. The Church year begins with Advent. Advent simply means coming. Our Bible readings reveal that Advent is not about Christmas or the birth of Jesus. No. Advent is about the return of Jesus. So why does the Church year begin with the return of Jesus? Because it is the most important event still to come. Jesus is coming to bring an end to this corrupt, godless world order. Jesus is coming to reign as Lord and King and inaugurate a new heaven and a new earth. Our gospel reading gives us three reasons why we begin the church year with the end of this world as we know it.
During the Munich Crisis of September 1938, as Hitler rallied his forces and the world slid inexorably toward war, more radios were sold than in any previous month. In this atmosphere of tension, Orson Welles and his staff prepared for their weekly Mercury Theater radio play. Auspiciously, on the night before Halloween, listeners found themselves listening to the innocent sounds of “Ramon Raquello and his orchestra”, only for the music to be interrupted by the first of a series of increasingly alarming news stories. First came reports of several explosions of “incandescent gas” observed on the planet Mars, then after a brief interlude of more music came a hook-up to Princeton Observatory professor Richard Pierson (played by Welles) who assures the listeners that there is nothing to be alarmed at. Then there are reports of a meteor impact in an unassuming sleepy little hamlet called Grover’s Mill. That night it became the centre of the universe as the beachhead for a Martian invasion advancing on New York City, brushing aside American defenders and destroying dozens of familiar place names along the way. An emergency government announcement gave credence to the story, and huddled about their radios, panicked listeners (all over the USA) began to bombard local police stations with calls. From Trenton comes the account.
“We were petrified. We just looked at each other, scared out of our wits. Someone was banging on our front door. It was our neighbour across the street. She had packed her seven kids in their car and she kept yelling, come on, lets get out of here.”
Life is a journey. It has a beginning and end. We are all travelers, somewhere on that journey, forever on the move, learning, growing, changing. When someone that we know and love dies, our loss invariably arouses strong emotions.
It may also raise questions about our own mortality. About the meaning and purpose of life now. Psalm 23 is probably the most widely known and best loved Psalm of all. I read it with Joanna in hospital the day before she died. Psalm 23 is a great comfort because it addresses the strong emotions we often feel at times such as this.
The English translation refers to the ‘Valley of the Shadow of Death’. In Hebrew it means ‘The Valley of Deep Darkness’. How can we handle the deep darkness we may feel as a family today? Let me draw out three ways God intends this Psalm to give us comfort and strength as we face the death of Joanna – a sister, grandmother, mother and wife.
Do not be Afraid
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil”. David says “I walk” — not “I run” or “I panic and run the other way”. To walk means calmly, deliberately taking steps through the valley. David says
“I’m not going to be afraid. I will calmly walk through the valley.” So today in the face of our loss and our own mortality, God says, do not be afraid. How can he say this?
God is with us
David said, “For You will be with me. You’re with me every moment.” God promises to be with us in the dark valleys. In the first part of the psalm all of the pronouns are in the 3rd person — David talks about God: “He leads me beside still waters, He guides me into green pastures, He restores my soul“. David is talking about God. But when he begins to walk through the dark valley, his language changes to the second person pronoun. “You are with me. Your rod and your staff comfort me.”
It is often only in the dark valleys of life that we turn to God, or find he is with us. In the dark valleys, the ultimate becomes the intimate. Religion becomes what it was always intended to be – a relationship. In the valley of deep darkness we learn from Psalm 23 not to be afraid because God is with us. But more than that, God promises,
God will Sustain us
David reminds himself that God’s rod and staff comfort him. The rod and staff were the two basic tools a shepherd used to protect and guide the sheep. God is saying,
“When you go through the dark valley, I’m not just with you but I am defending you. I’m protecting you.”
One final observation – David writes, “When I walk through the valley of the shadow of death“. He didn’t walk through the valley of death, but the valley of the shadow of death. When a shadow falls on you remember
Shadows are always bigger than the reality
Like a shadow, fear is always greater than the actual reality. It is fear that debilitates or paralyses, not the reality of our mortality. Shadows are always bigger than reality.
Shadows cannot hurt you
There is a difference between the shadow of a truck and a truck itself. Shadows are image without substance. They cannot hurt you. They may warn you, they may scare you, but they cannot hurt you. They are just shadows.
There is no shadow without a light somewhere
When we are going through a dark valley, we think the sun has stopped shining. We may feel alone. We may imagine we are in total darkness. But where there is a shadow there is a light somewhere. What happens if you turn your back on the shadow and look directly at the light? The shadow falls behind you. So if and when you’re afraid, don’t look at the shadow.
Jesus says, “I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will never walk in darkness.” (John 8:12). When you look to Jesus for wisdom, for guidance and strength, the shadows fall behind you.
As the old hymn says “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”
When you are walking through a valley of deep darkness, remember three things from Psalm 23. The Lord says, “do not be afraid, because I am with you and I will sustain you.”
The Beaufort scale measures…. wind speed. The Richter scale measures…. earthquakes. The Engels scale measures… faith. That’s right – faith. The Engel scale was developed by James F. Engel, as a way of representing the journey from no knowledge of God, through to spiritual maturity as a Christian believer.
Everyone in the world, and everyone who has ever lived, is somewhere on the Engel’s scale. The Engel’s scale is helpful in identifying where people are in their spiritual journey and how best to help lead them to Jesus Christ. In our gospel reading today, we can observe that as people encountered Jesus, three kinds of faith were exposed. Only one will do. Some had doubting faith, some displayed an unbelieving faith and some evidences a saving faith. Lets consider each and decide which one best describes yours. Which of the three are you relying on today?
“Treacherous colleagues, competitive friends, bloody-minded commuters – it’s a war out there. And according to Robert Greene, it’s a conflict we’re ill-equipped to deal with. After analyzing the moves of history’s great military leaders, he’s written a rulebook to achieving victory in life’s daily battles.”[1]
The blurb goes on to say, “Spanning world civilizations, synthesizing dozens of political, philosophical, and religious texts and thousands of years of violent conflict, The 33 Strategies of War is a comprehensive guide to the subtle social game of everyday life informed by the most ingenious and effective military principles in war. Learn the offensive strategies that require you to maintain the initiative and negotiate from a position of strength, or the defensive strategies designed to help you respond to dangerous situations and avoid unwinnable wars.”
According to Penguin the publishers, this is “An indispensable book… The great warriors of battlefields and drawing rooms alike demonstrate prudence, agility, balance, and calm, and a keen understanding that the rational, resourceful, and intuitive always defeat the panicked, the uncreative, and the stupid… The 33 Strategies of War provides all the psychological ammunition you need to overcome patterns of failure and forever gain the upper hand.”[2]
Today we are going to learn about Jesus’ strategy, not for war but for peace. We are going to compare Jesus’ strategy with that of the Pharisees (and by way of application – observe how the same tactics are used by Zionists today).
In anticipation of the forthcoming launch of the newly established Institute for the Study of Christian Zionism (ISCZ), you are invited to an important conversation, ‘Red Heifers’ from Texas’ & Misguided Attempts to Build the Temple: Countering the Destructive Consequences of Christian Zionism and Third-Temple Extremism, a conversation taking on a new urgency in light of recent events.
Organized by the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre in Jerusalem, Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA), and the Israel-Palestine Mission Network (IPMN) of the Presbyterian Church USA, this online conversation was birthed in response to an OPEN CALL from Palestinian Christian leaders to the global church as well as all persons of good will. This event is cosponsored by our dear friends with the Disciples Palestine-Israel Network (Disciples PIN), United Church of Christ Palestine Israel Network (UCC PIN), and Unitarian Universalists for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (UUJME).
As detailed in the letter, the extremist Temple Institute, aided by Christian Zionist extremists in the United States, aims to sacrifice a “red heifer,” claiming that such a sacrifice is necessary to purify a priest who would then be designated “clean” to enter the Holy of Holies of a rebuilt Jewish Temple.
The group’s plans would require the relocation or destruction of Masjid al-Aqsa, including the Dome of the Rock, within the Haram al-Sharif. Such a plan is not only a great affront to the hope of multi-religious coexistence in Jerusalem but an invitation to regional, if not global, warfare. In the face of this madness, Palestinian clergy have called upon all persons of goodwill to condemn this plan because actions like this accomplish nothing except for escalating hatred, instability, and violence.
As such, it is imperative that we inaugurate a global intra-Christian dialogue focused on the repudiation of Christian Zionism among other forms of political extremism. No religion has a monopoly on extremism, and it is the responsibility of the faithful first to challenge extremists within their own traditions. Today, the Christian Zionist promotion of violence alongside the genocidal assault on the people of Gaza presents an urgent challenge to Christians around the world.
We have been called to reject in the strongest terms any effort to make Jerusalem into an apocalyptic playground. Furthermore, the anti-Jewish and anti-Islamic apocalyptic fantasies promoted by many Christian Zionists view the Holy City as a place of war when God has called it to be a house of peace. What does this look like, and what can be done to confront the catastrophic consequences of Christian Zionism and Third-Temple extremism?
A homily given at the weekly Sabeel Jerusalem Service 25th April 2024
“I amthe true vine,and my Father is the gardener.2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,while every branch that does bear fruithe prunesso that it will be even more fruitful.3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you.No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit;apart from me you can do nothing.6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.7 If you remain in meand my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:1-7)
Who are God’s ‘chosen people’? Does God have one people or two? A simple question. In our gospel reading today, the Lord Jesus is crystal clear as to the answer. I am sure you have heard numerous sermons on John 15. We rightly focus on Jesus profound description of himself, “I am the Vine”. It is the last of the seven great “I am” statements Jesus made recorded uniquely in John’s gospel. What is the context? In Exodus 3, when Moses asks God his name, the Lord says “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14). The website Got Questions has a helpful explanation.
It is confession time. I didn’t mean to do it. I know I should not have done it. Every week I carefully avoid looking but this Friday I did. I don’t know what possessed me. I put it down to mid-life crisis. My eyes just wandered and there it was, the most enticing, the most tantalizing, the most tempting job offer I have ever read in the Church of England Newspaper.
“It’s True Adelaide is a great place… No doubt you’ve read about Adelaide’s fine weather, fine beaches, fine food and fine wine. Its all true! South Australia wants people who see their future in its progressive climate. The archbishop of Adelaide welcomes enquiries from clergy wishing to minister in parishes and schools. Find out more about South Australia at www.southaustralia.com. Send your expressions of interest to…” and then it gave the address.
The Book of Isaiah, written around 700 years before the coming of Jesus Christ, is quoted more times in the New Testament than any other book of the Hebrew Scriptures. Why is that? 754 of Isaiah’s 1292 verses are predicting the future. That means 59% of Isaiah is prophecy. Isaiah contains 11 direct prophecies concerning Jesus and it is cited or alluded to in at least 50 NT passages. Why? Why? Lets find out. With the eyes of faith we see Isaiah 53 so explicitly refers to the Lord Jesus it doesn’t need much by way of explanation. Indeed it became so obvious that Isaiah was referring to Jesus after he was crucified and rose again from the dead, that, as the Church separated from the Synagogue, Isaiah 53 was no longer read as part of the Jewish lectionary. There are five paragraphs, each of three verses, and it begins in chapter 52:13.
1. The Predicted Saviour: The Servant’s Role (52:13-15) 2. The Rejected Saviour: The Servant’s Life (53:1-3) 3. The Representative Saviour: The Servant’s Suffering (53:4-6) 4. The Crucified Saviour: The Servant’s Death (53:7-9) 5. The Glorious Saviour: The Servant’s Resurrection (53:10-12)
