Luke 10. 25-37 Showing the Father's love through compassionate action

 “Who is my neighbour.”  
We all know the "Story of the Good Samaritan" - but in order to get what it's saying , we need also to know the story of the story.    This lawyer – an expert in the Old Testament  and probably sympathetic to the Pharisee party – came to check Jesus out: “What qualifies me for eternal life?  What  do I need to do?" Jesus answers with a reasonable enough question, “What does the book say?”  The lawyer is easily within his specialist area: “Love God, (Deut 6:5)  love neighbour (Lev 19:18)...”  Then Jesus says , "OK,do that and you have eternal life.”  That's simple enough.  The man maybe feels embarrassed he's made such a big issue of asking a fairly obvious question. Maybe he wants to find exactly how far this command actually extends. There is a theological point he needs to clear up.  “Who is my neighbour?” 

What should my attitude be to those who are outside of the Jewish race?  What should my attitude be to Romans, Greeks, Samaritans, Africans?  There's actually quite a lot of personal and cultural baggage hiding behind that question.  “Who is my neighbour?”

Jesus answers this time by telling a story.  “Once there was  man who got beaten up and robbed going from Jerusalem to Jericho.  Along came a priest.”  Everyone who was listening (Pharisee scribe as well as working people) would get a good laugh at that: priests and Levites were seen as toffs and hypocrites who benefited from the law that forced everyone to bring sacrifices and offerings but didn't keep the law themselves. 

The parable of the Good Samaritan by Conti

But nobody would be laughing as the next part of the story unfolded: “a Samaritan came along and helped the injured man with extravagant unstinting generosity at his own expense!" A denarius would buy you twelve days worth of bed and breakfast: this was going to cost the Samaritan a lot of money!.  And there was a considerable risk to himself if the robbers were still around.  Everyone would be spluttering.  Jews don't have anything to do with Samaritans.  There had been ugly incidents – on one occasion a group of Samaritans had thrown bones into the Temple during the Passover... a clear insult.  A few years later it would erupt into  violence.  The Lawyer, with his question, “Who is my neighbour?” would have a real sense of shock and challenge at the idea that a hated and despised Samaritan could perform an act of love and kindness for a Jew.  In fact Jews were not supposed to receive works of love or mercy from non-Jews.  Samaritans were kind of seen as people who should be Jewish but had broken away.   This story pushes into strange and dangerous territory.

"Becoming a neighbour"
Jesus then brings the point home, with at question of his own.   “Who was (literally became) neighbour to the man who was the victim of the crime?”   The idea of a “neighbour” for the lawyer was something to debate and discuss: “Who is my neighbour” precisely defines the limits of who I've got to love!

In the OT a neighbour was “an associate” of any sort and could be a companion, friend, or family member.  It's vague, deliberately so; and its roots are active, not passive. The root of the Hebrew word means “to tend a flock, that is, pasture it.”    It's not so much a matter of defining “Who is my neighbour” as simply being a neighbour.

Rembrandt's "Good Samaritan"

The priest and the Levite, walking by on the other side (more likely because they were going home to dinner than because they were going to work: Jericho was where a  lot of the priests lived) showed a  complete lack of concern or love or compassion for the injured man.  But the Samaritan showed exactly what it is to be a neighbour, with his risky delay on the road, gentle first aid and costly financial help.  This is what it is to be a neighbour.  This is how we are meant to live as disciples. This is how followers of Jesus are meant to live, showing mercy not just to each other but to any lost hungry sheep.  Mercy to the last, the lost and the least is part of our call as Kingdom people. 

To someone who had asked “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus says “Who was this needy, broken guy's neighbour?”  Crestfallen and embarrassed, the lawyer sees he isn’t going to get the better of Jesus.  “I suppose,” he grudgingly admits, “the one who showed mercy (or compassion)”.  He can't bring himself to say "It was the Samaritan."

Put yourself in the situation of the guy who got beaten up.  How does he feel when he realises the man who is standing over him is a Samaritan?  Is he expecting another beating?  How does he feel about Samaritans when he is resting up in the inn (at the Samaritan’s expense?  

Compassion will take you out of your comfort zone,  into a  place where you yourself are needy and vulnerable.  It's really interesting that Jesus broke the conventions and shattered the stereotypes by sitting down beside a well in a Samaritan village, and asked a Samaritan woman to give him a drink! 

To demonstrate the father's love by showing compassion will  bring  you to abandon prejudice, resentment, fear and self-interest.  It will call you to become a neighbour to the last the lost and the least. 

"Go and do the same"
 Jesus doesn't really answer the question “Who is my neighbour?”  He is more interested in the question “how do I show love?”  That’s what the Samaritan teaches us.  And Jesus finishes the whole conversation off at exactly the place where the lawyer started it.  Remember he had begun by asking, “What must I do to have eternal life?”   Once the lawyer  had admitted that the person who became a neighbour, who tended the broken one,who showed love, was the Samaritan, Jesus said, “Go and do the same.” 

That's what you do to inherit eternal life: do what the Samaritan did.  This isn't something to have great long debates about: “is it really gospel work, to feed the hungry?  Is it really Gospel work to sit with someone who is lonely or  to wipe the face of a disabled adult?” Well, yes, it is. 

One practical illustration, from many: there are people who are teaching “birth life saving skills” to expectant mums and dads in the developing world. A lot of is is very simple: just recognising the danger signs when something isn't going right. The result?  Mums get to hospital or get  a midwife called out if there are complications; lives, and souls  are saved regularly as a result.

Or think abut a little Methodist church in an English village.  It was dwindling – almost closed down.  But there was a school in the village, and as often happens in villages as well as towns,there were  children turning up for school without having had any breakfast. The little group of ladies in the church had been thinking, “what can we do to serve our community?”  Then  they realised “We can make toast!”  A breakfast club was launched and as a result that wee church began to thrive and grow as its members served the community.

Demonstrating the Father’s love through character; demonstrating the Father's love through compassion.  It's the boring, ordinary stuff.  But it makes a difference.  It is part of discipleship and it is part of mission.  It's not something just to be talked about.   Go and do it.


© Gilmour Lilly September 2012

Matthew 5. 1-16 Showing God's love through "Godly character"

What does salt taste like?  How would you describe the taste of salt?  Basically, it tastes salty!  Salt isn't the same as potato crisps or roast beef or porridge or chow mein.  It adds something to food but it's different to food. Light does something to darkness because it is different to the darkness.  Jesus uses the images of salt and light to show that he expects us to be different from the world they live in. He is speaking about Christian character: an inner quality of our lives that is different from the world and makes a difference to the world we live in.

Being Different
What is the saltiness Jesus refers to here?  What is Christian character like?  Jesus describes it in verses Matthew 5. 1-12:  there are nine things about Christian character...

1. The first of these is so obvious you could almost miss it. Jesus says "Blessed are the poor in spirit; blessed are the meek, blessed... blessed..."  "Blessed" means, "Made happy by God" (Michael Green).  It's real, joyful, glorious. It's the antidote for those who think religion is a sad, miserable affair. Joy, not complaining. But it's an "upside down" Mr Topsy-Turvy joy that isn't dependent the circumstances of this life but on how we respond to those circumstances. The beatitudes focus on those responses.
2. Blessed are the poor in spirit.  Dependence on God. You're in a good place, a joyful place, when you realise you have nothing to offer, that your own resources are not enough. I like some of the beatitudes in "The Message", but not all of hem.  So I'll use them when they are helpful. You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. Joy comes through Dependence not self-reliance. 
3. Blessed are those who mourn. Happy to be sad!  This is not about depression or restricted to those in bereavement although it offers hope to those in times of loss. It also speaks as Michael Green says, to tall who "have seen the depth of the world's suffering and their own sin and it ha broken their heart."  Repentance not denial
4. Blessed are the meek. "The Message" says, You're blessed when you're content with just who you are-no more, no less.  Those who make themselves small and are teachable. Humility not arrogance
5. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Many in impoverished Galilee would go hungry.  Hunger and even more so, thirst, is not something you can ignore.  It's not the same as suddenly feeling peckish between meals. There's a sense of urgency about real hunger and thirst. Normally we are hungry and thirsty for  "Some food, some water."  But here, the hunger is for all the food, the thirst is for all the water.   We need to be passionate for what is right. How desperately do we desire the Kingdom of God?  Urgency not apathy
6. Blessed are the merciful. God has mercifully welcomed us into his Kingdom, and forgiven all our sins. Jesus warns us over and again that we gamble that grace every time we fail to show forgiveness to someone else. Forgiving not legalism. Grace not law
7. Blessed are the pure in heart. "The Message" says You're blessed when you get your inside world-your mind and heart-put right. Free from lust; free from greed; free from resentment and showmanship; free from mixed motives. . Transparency not hypocrisy
8. Blessed are the peacemakers. "The Message" says You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight.  - uniting not dividing
9. Blessed are the Persecuted.  That's for all of us.  There is always a call to count the cost of following Jesus: it may be having to hear the constant trickle of anti-Christian humour; it may be that there are things our faith will not allow us to do. "The Message" says You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution.    Committed and paying the cost.  Courage not cowardice.

That, then, is what kingdom salt tastes like. That's the spectrum of kingdom light
Salt is a preservative, a cleansing agent that stops things from going bad.  Salt needs to be different - but in the place where it is needed.  Light needs to be shining, contrasting with the darkness - and in the place where it can be seen.

Making a difference
The light (our light) has to shine before men so that they can see our good works and give glory to our Father in Heaven.  

That's the way it was with Daniel.  He was taken as a teenage lad from Judea to a foreign, heathen country, Babylon.  Because he was intelligent and from a good family, he was picked out for a privileged life as a trainee government official. It was like getting an all-expenses paid place at University, only the food came from the Royal kitchens.  Daniel and his friends wanted to be true to God, and were not keen to eat unclean meat, so they got permission to eat only vegetables.  It made them different; they had to have courage and self-sacrifice. But after a trial period they looked healthier than the other students, so the steward looking after them was impressed. As they studied and worked and held on to what they believed - showing Godly character - the King was impressed too, and Daniel became a senior official in Babylon. When he was an older man, a law was passed that nobody could pray except to the King, Darius. Daniel went out every morning onto his balcony and prayed, aloud and in public... and was thrown into the den of lions. He was humble, he was totally committed, courageous, and made a significant difference to the world he lived in under different rulers.

That's the way it was with Paul.  He was arrested in Philippi on trumped up charges; and spent the night singing God's praises. When God intervened and an earthquake demolished the prison, Paul, and the other prisoners, instead of running away, stayed put. As a result of what happened, the prison warden became a Christian.  Later, Paul was arrested again and eventually ended up under house arrest in Rome.  He wrote from there "I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ." (Phil 1:12f) Every day a detail of soldiers would be sent to make sure Paul didn't escape. Word got around!   Speaking to people whose partners were not believers, Paul says (1Cor 7.16) "how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?"  Within our home life, our business life, at school or wherever we are, we can make a difference for Jesus, we can earn the right to speak about him, as we show the father's love through Godly Character.

Staying Different.
Salt that isn't salty is useless. When the salt leeches out of rock-salt, what are you left with? Just grit. It's good for nothing. Salt needs to be in something that isn't salt - but to stay different.  How can we stay different? How can we get and keep the character of disciples that makes a difference in our world?
1. Absorb God's Word.  We need to take time and read some Scriptures over and over again until they become part of us: passages like Psalm 23, 1 Cor 13, Galatians 5... and this!  Meditating on this passage over the last three weeks has had a profound influence in my life.
2. Agree with God's Word. That's about faith. We need to agree with God, that this is a good way to be.  The Kingdom does belong to the poor in spirit and to those whose commitment brings persecution; the meek shall inherit the earth; when we are mourning the Comforter comes. When we are hungry for God's Kingdom, we shall be filled.  When we are merciful we receive mercy; Peacemakers are known as God's kids. The pure in Spirit will see God.  And these attitudes - dependence, humility, forgiveness, bring joy!
3. Admit your need.  You can't live like this. It's frustrating! Right? God's word says, "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse."(1 John 1. 9)  There is freedom simply in admitting we ache a problem.
4. Ask.  Ask the Lord to form these qualities in your life.
5. Abide. Jesus says "He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit"  (John 15. 5) To show the love of a heavenly father, we need to hang out with our Father. To show the character of Jesus, we need to spend time with him.  To have the fruit of the Spirit, we need to allow the Spirit to flow through us, to soak in him.  It is in abiding, in presence, that healing comes for the wounds and sins that mar the Father's image in us.
6. Act! Faith in the word, time with Jesus, letting the Lord deal with the inner obstacles, doesn't take responsibility away from us. We need to co-operate with the Word and the Spirit, put our faith into practise and act different!



© Gilmour Lilly September 2012

John 11 - Life from the Dead

Why Jesus waits
Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  (v. 21)

When Lazarus became dangerously ill, his sisters sent for Jesus.  It was at least five days, maybe a week or more, before Jesus arrived. (That all depends how far away he was the southern reaches of Galilee would be two days' journey). He doesn't start out for two days.  What's going on? Why does he wait?

Firstly, the delay is not a reflection of how Jesus feels about Mary, Martha and Lazarus.  He loves them dearly.   We often teach children that God's answer to our prayers can be a green light that says "Yes", a red light that says "No" or an amber light that says "Wait a while." But when God delays in answering our prayers, we often feel, that he has forgotten about us, or that somehow he is cross with us. He wasn't short of love.

Secondly, Jesus did not wait because he was afraid to go.  Sure, it would be dangerous. The Jewish authorities were out to get Jesus.  But why should Jesus be afraid of the situation in Judea? He is, after all, the Resurrection and the Life. When the time was right he came, even though Thomas, ever the cynic was saying, "Let's go with him - se we're ready to die with him!"   He wasn't short of courage.

Thirdly, Jesus didn't misunderstand the message.  In fact, he knew more than the messenger told him.  The Holy Spirit revealed to him when Lazarus died.  (v. 11-14) and he knew what he was going to do in the situation.  He wasn't short of knowledge. There's perfect timing at work here: four days in Jewish thinking is the "point of no return".  The first three days after a death were days of the most intense mourning.  The soul of the departed was thought to be nearby until the fourth day.  Jesus had waited until the right moment, when hope has been completely relinquished, then he is there, ready to intervene. Like in the story of the man born blind, Jesus wants to demonstrate something of the power and character of his Father, so the "Glory of God" might be seen (v. 40) and people might believe (v. 15)

When will we learn to accept the element of mystery in God's delays? He still loves us; he is doing what is best; not necessarily teaching us something; not necessarily withholding his gifts for ever... there may be purposes that we can only guess at.  We need to trust him, love him and live with the mystery.

Who Jesus is
Martha continues with a hint at faith: "even now I know God answers your prayers" (v 22) Maybe no more than "Jesus, your prayers can give us some peace right now."   Jesus goes on to talk about the resurrection. Martha can, in faith, look forward to the coming of Messiah, the end of time when the dead are raised.  Jesus comes out with another of those "I am" sayings. "I am the resurrection and the life." In other words

• I am... Whenever Jesus says "I am" in John's gospel, he is pointing us bakc to Exodus 3. 14, where God says "I am who I am".
•  I am messiah; these are the last days.  
• I am Creator, one with the father.  The life I give is the "very life of the deathless god himself" (to quote Bruce Milne.  I am the one who spoke life into creation.

Because Jesus is who he is, resurrection life starts now.  The Kingdom is present; it is here, now.  Resurrection is not something to be looked forward to in a future life: the future is now.  Those who believe in me, though they die physically will live.  Those who believe in me, will, spiritually, never die.  Martha, do you believe this?  "Well, I believe you're Messiah." It's a start! This is the point.  Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

How Jesus Feels
Martha runs off to fetch Mary - the younger, more intuitive and spiritually sensitive of the two sisters.  The three days of intense mourning may be over, but Mary's grief is still as intense.  She falls at Jesus feet in a flood of tears.  Jesus is in the midst of all this raw emotion.  What is going on inside him? How does Jesus feel?  Is he simply dealing in the hard facts of Scriptural truth?

Jesus is angry.  Verse 33 is translated something like "Jesus was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled."  English translators have let us down here. Troubled, groaning, deeply moved, sad, upset - all are inadequate translations.  Jesus was angry in spirit.  He was angry and what Calvin calls the "vicious tyranny" of death.  "What is this gatecrasher doing here in God's world?"

Tunnel on Hafod Estate,
Photo by G Lilly

Jesus is sad.  Verse 35 is the shortest verse in the Bible - and one of the biggest.  "Jesus wept."  Looking at the grave, all closed up, Jesus burst into tears.  What Mary is feeling, the sadness of loss, the broken state of God's world, just gets to Jesus and the tears flow.  There's an old hymn that says "when human hearts are breaking under sorrow's iron rod - all the sorrow, all the aching wrings with pain the heart of God."

What Jesus does 
Firstly, he tells them to move the stone. (v 39)    The stench if death and rotting flesh wafts out.  "Let's take the lid off this situation and face the full reality of it."  We need to take a look at our world: to take note of what's decaying and in need of kingdom healing and life; and to take note of what's good and in need of kingdom blessing. Remember the fields are white for harvest. (Jn 4.35 cf Le 10. 2) There is a harvest out there. Take the lid off and see it.

There and then, with the smell of death in his nostrils, he prays. Jesus' whole life is prayer - fellowship with his father. He doesn't need to say much in this prayer.  But he wants to show everyone that he is depending on his father so that those who watch and listen will believe.  Someone said, "Bold prayers honour God; God honours bold prayers"  Let's learn - for the sake of demonstrating the Kingdom - to pray bold prayers, prayers for life with the stench of death in our nostrils.

Secondly, he shouts to Lazarus: "Come out".  Lazarus is dead.  The smell of rotting flesh emanates from the tomb.  And Jesus orders him to come out.  He is the resurrection and the life.  He has the authority.  He speaks, and listening to his voice new life the dead receive.

When Jesus speaks ... 
Things happen!  Amazingly, Lazarus comes out of the tomb. When Jesus speaks this creative, powerful word, death itself lets go of Lazarus, and Lazarus emerges from the cave, warped in the grave cloths.  Jesus has authority.  The dead hear his voce. Death itself obeys his voice.  

The Raising of Lazarus
15th Century Russian Icon
in Public Domain

We respond. "Unwrap him and let him go!" says Jesus.  What are the bystanders going to do? Gawp at the miracle, or do what he says?   The onlookers are invited to get involved.  When Jesus speaks his creative word, we are not invited to listen. We are summoned to respond. We have to get involved in the things Jesus is doing.  For us today at Rosyth Baptist church, God is calling.  "I am speaking new life, speaking wholeness and freedom where there is the stench of decay.  Get involved; get your hands dirty!"

But there were some who in response to all this, were saying something different: "What can we do? As news of this travels, everyone will turn to him.  We need to stop this guy!"  When Jesus speaks, there will always be those who will want to silence Him.

When Jesus speaks, you can't hear his voice and carry on as normal.  You have to get involved.  Or not. But you can't ignore him. There will always be those who will speak against him....  When Jesus speaks, we respond.

Now is the day of salvation.  Now is a day when Jesus speaks, and acts to demonstrate the Father's love.  He calls us to engage with that.. How are we going to respond?

© Gilmour Lilly August 2012

The Father's Love: Luke 15. 11-32.

In this story of the "Prodigal Son", who did you identify with? For some of us, it's the father, dumped on, taken for granted, abandoned, grieving, shouted at.  For some of us, it's big brother, feeling ill done by, critical, envious.  "Why does God allow things to happen? Why do other people get all the breaks? Why should I bail out people who get themselves in a mess?"  For some of us, it's the younger brother.  Looking for a good time; getting in a mess, scared and daunted at the possibility of getting it all sorted out.

He wouldn't be the first, nor the last young person to decide he wanted to be free from the restrictions and narrowness and sheer boredom of life at home, joining the family business, working for a lifetime, then retiring and passing things over to the next generation.  There was a big world out there and this young man wanted to get out and enjoy it.  So he asked his Dad for his share in the inheritance.  By any standards, that is pretty crass. It's as good as saying to his father, "Dad, why don't you just drop dead in a corner somewhere!" Sure, it sounds pretty reasonable at one level: "it's mine anyway; you've got all this money and I have none, and there is a big world out there. Some of us just aren't wired for a stay-at-home, respectable life."  But it was an immense and hurtful insult to his Dad, to all the family had worked for over the years - and indeed to the driving force and spiritual heart of the nation in which he lived.  The land was a sacred trust; it historically had been allocated to the family and wasn't supposed to pass out of the family. In fact it really belonged to God.  It was wrong at almost every level. And what did Dad do?  Did he stop him? No. Did he lecture him? No. He gave him what he had asked for and let him go.

It didn't take long for all the money to be spent. A party lifestyle is an expensive business. As long as he had money, he had friends to help him spend it. As soon as the money was gone, so were the friends!  He hit rock bottom. You won't find a pork pie at a bar-mitzvah: pigs are unclean animals to Jews as to Muslims.  You couldn't get much lower than slopping stuff out for pigs.  So there he is, until, starving, humiliated, embarrassed and scared, he worked out a little plan. "I'll go home and ask dad for a job.  Just mucking out for the minimum wage, but Dad's always been a good employer; I'll get a piece at lunch time... but I better work out what I'm gong to say."

Meanwhile, Dad is grieving.  He knows how long the money is likely to last. He figures that the younger son must be having a hard time by now. How he wishes he could just see him, hug him, look after him... Dad takes to spending every spare minute at the farm gate, looking down towards the main road.  Praying, hoping, watching, until one day he sees a stooped, ragged, broken figure walking hesitantly up the lane.  Dad recognised his son. And Dad ran. Now, in the Middle East 2000 years ago, mature men didn't run.  They walked at a dignified pace.  Running was for the teenagers, or slaves. If you wanted something urgently, you sent one of your lads, or you sent a slave.  You didn't run.  But this Dad ran.  He welcomed his lost son home, not as a slave but as a son; he honoured him and celebrated with him

I want to tell you that God is like that.  Despite the insults, the squandering of resources, the self-indulgences, the embarrassment and shame, God still loves you. He's out. Looking for you.  The first sign you show of coming to him, he comes running to meet you, to welcome you.  You have a loving heavenly Father who grieves over your mistakes, who cares for you, who seeks you and saves you.

That's what Jesus is all about:  Jesus told this story, along with two other shorter ones, in response to people moaning about the company he was keeping: "he hangs out with all the wrong kind of people..." He came and the mingled among the outcasts and the broken, walked alongside them in his life and his death, so that the outcasts and the broken could walk alongside him as sons and daughters of a heavenly Father. Dealing  with another rogue, Jesus says he came to seek and to save the lost. (Lk 19.10)

The whole of the Christian faith is about this Father's love.  It's not about being respectable, well-dressed, well-spoken, well-educated, well-behaved.  It's about coming to your heavenly Father and saying "I've messed up; I'm ashamed and embarrassed by some of the stuff in my life; will you have me back?"  And God says, "Yes! Welcome home! You're my son, my daughter; you belong; you're forgiven; I want to take care of you; let's party!"

But the big brother missed the party - or nearly did.  Busy on the farm, he came home for his tea, to be greeted with the sound of a party; to ask one of the labourers what was going on, and to be told, "Your wee brother has come home." And he ended up in a sulk... All of those negative feelings, jealousy, resentment, criticism, lashed out not just at his brother but also at his father for throwing this party.  Big brother was lost too: alienated from his father. But Dad had slipped out of the party, and was walking towards him, welcoming him in, too.

Maybe some of us are there. We've lived a respectable life. We're hard working and responsible. We feel God kind of owes us. Maybe we look down on people who have problems in their lives; maybe we get resentful and jealous and angry when we have struggles in our lives.  You know what? Father is out looking for you too.

Whoever you identify with in this story, I want to tell you that you have a Heavenly Father who is just like the father in this story.  This is the character of God himself.  Nothing needs to separate you from his love.  Not rebellion, nor guilt or shame, nor resentment or jealousy.  There is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, who comes back. Come home. Turn around. Come into the party. This is always your heavenly Father's heart for you. To look for you, to welcome you. To forgive you, to clean you up. To restore you. To nurture you. To make you like himself.  

Many years ago when my youngest son was about six, we were out for a walk, climbing our local hill.  Now this hill had a number of places where the path was very muddy and slippery. Peter fell in the mud. I suspect that - encouraged by his brothers - he rolled in it. He came back to us covered from head to foot, looking a bit ridiculous. But he put his middy wee paw in mine and walked with me down that hill, as though he was six feet tall. Did I mind? No. That's your heavenly Father's love. He wants you to take his hand and walk with him, whatever mess you're in.

© Gilmour Lilly August 2012

John 9: The "Sixth sign - sight to the blind"

INTRODUCTION: It's kind of tempting to home in on the story of how Jesus did the sign in vv. 6-7.  OK, these verses give us some pointers for how to engage in the healing ministry:-
(a) Jesus spat on the ground and made mud and put it on the man's eyes.  (Maybe that's why people are so reluctant to come forward for healing prayer!) But it shows us a point of contact.  Spit was associated with healing in the ancient world. And spit from the Soon of God has to be specially powerful.  And the soil is the stuff we are made of.  God understands our humanity and uses points of contact where his power and our human-ness come together.  Laying-on of hands, anointing with oil, a prayer, or a listening ear are all human actions that can be points of contact for the power of God.
(b) Jesus sent the man to wash in the Pool of Siloam.  He had to do something, an act of obedience and an act of faith. Sometimes - not always - there is something we have to do to receive God's touch.  Sometimes it is a matter of asking.  Sometimes it is about stepping into the healing: stretch out your hand, get up and walk. Go home, your servant will get better.
(c) Jesus did it! When the man did what Jesus told him to, he came back seeing!

But this isn't just a nice story like you could tell to the kids: "Once upon a time there was a blind man who came to Jesus and Jesus healed him. The End."  It takes the whole chapter to tell the story. The real message of this sign is in the 4 conversations that happened around it...

Conversation 1: Whose sin caused him to be born blind? (Verses 1-5)
The disciples believed - as most Jews did - that blessings, health and prosperity were rewards for being good; and that problems and tragedies were a punishment for being bad. Plain and simple.   They lived in a world of simple absolutes, rewards and consequences.  Because the Old Testament doesn't have a clear vision of heaven and hell, where rewards and punishments could be expected, they saw all the rewards and punishments in this life only. And as a result they were left with a rather ugly, harsh view of God.  So when they see this blind man, they ask Jesus "Who sinned to caused him to be born blind?"  But Jesus doesn't buy that idea.  His answer is "Neither - but the result of it will be that God's work is seen in him."

We need a right understanding of suffering.  If we decide that God sends all sorts of bad things in to our lives to teach us things, to punish us for past sins, it causes two problems.
(a) It messes up mission. We represent God as a very harsh and ugly being, rather than the loving heavenly father we find in the Bible.  People talk al lot about the question "does god exist?"  But there is another question. "Is God good?  Is God nice?"
(b) It messes up the healing ministry. If God sends all these things along, who are we to seek to be healed or set free?    But Jesus says "as long as it is day, we must do the works of the one who sent me."  (Note Jesus says "We."  It's Not just Jesus, it's Jesus and us!)  In the healing ministry we need to keep the space for mystery in how we understand suffering and in how we engage in healing: a crude world of rewards and consequences, of absolutes, where everything has an obvious explanation - whether sickness as Gods judgement, or lack of faith or whatever, messes up the healing ministry. We need the essential element of mystery.  "Father, how are you going to make your work seen in this station?  Through healing? Through triumphing over disability? Through someone dying well?"

Conversation 2: What happened Here? (Verses 8-12)
The whole neighbourhood realised quite quickly that something had happened. Some said, "This is the blind guy who was begging" and others said  "No, it's a look alike!"  Miracles are signs. They tell us something. They point in a particular direction.  But they can be disregarded or misinterpreted: there were in this story and there will always those who will explain miracles away.   Miracles point us in the direction of who Jesus is - the Light of the World; they point in the direction of a loving and powerful god. They start conversations; they make people ask "What happened here?" and give us the opportunity to say, as the formerly blind man did "The man called Jesus made me better."

Conversation 3: The Pharisees (Verses 13-34)
This'd is the biggest conversation and the toughest.  The man was dragged to the Pharisees for them to give an opinion about what had happened.  It's the high point of tension and conflict in the story and it shows us three types of people, three types of character and behaviour.
(a) The powerful, respectable establishment figures who see Jesus as a challenge and a threat.  Let's not be to quick to criticise them. They were the people who loved God's word; they were regular worshippers and sacrificial givers. They wanted to see everyone behaving right.  Buy they misinterpreted the Word they loved, so they made it a law apart from grace. They had narrowed their horizons.  As a result of their mistaken ideas they were using their power to keep the man in line; they tried to coerce him into speaking badly of Jesus.  They used every weapon in the book. First, a sneering intellectual superiority; and in the end, the simple power they had to chuck him out of the synagogue. How doe we use power?
(b) Fence sitters.  The beggar's parents are called before the Pharisees. They don't want to upset the powerful people, so they don't want to get involved in the conversation: "He is of age, ask him" is their answer.  They know the Pharisees had threatened to put followers of Jesus out of the synagogue. That would mean for 30 days one could have no dealings with other Israelites except one's immediate family.  That could make life difficult for; you could lose friends, who might avoid you after the ban for fear of coming under suspicion; and you couldn't carry on your business.  Are we going to keep silent and tolerate evil in our world, or are prepared to speak out even if it costs us?
(c) The powerless formerly blind beggar.  He has no official title, no formal education, and no respectable skills. He carries this stigma "born in sin".  But he was certainly a feisty and courageous guy who was prepared to stand up for what he believed, even in the face of bullying from the powerful.  And his faith is developing. He tells his story in a clear and challenging way - even daring to say "do you want to become his followers too?"  He shows us assertiveness; a strength of character that is further evidence of God's touch in his life.

This issue of character is important as we aim to be Learning to show the Father's Love".  How we handle disagreement and conflict is a test of character.  How we handle the power we have, and how we treat those less powerful than us, is a test of character.

Conversation 4: Do you believe? (Verses 35-41)
Jesus heard that the beggar had been thrown out and went and found him. He asked him "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"  This refers to Daniel 7.13, where Daniel saw "one like a son of man" presented before God the Father and given glory and a kingdom that shall never pass away."  That is Jesus.  The sign says that he is the light of the world (v.  5) and its only saviour.  The sign says that he comes to call people from darkness to light, to open the eyes of spiritually as well as physically blind people. That is what signs are for: they point to this amazing person called Jesus son of God, majestic Son of Man; light of the world!

And this Jesus finds us. It's not about us finding Jesus, it's about Jesus finding us. As William Temple says, "Our Fellowship with Him is rooted in his compassion". Jesus, he son of man, the Light of the world, finds us and wants to start a conversation with us. The last two conversations had been about Jesus.  This conversation is with Jesus.  It's vital that we move from conversations about Jesus to conversations with Jesus.  Signs that "Demonstrate the Father's love" are meant to bring people to have conversation with Jesus! Too much Church and Christian church activity is a conversation about Jesus: preaching, bible studies, and even business meetings, can easily just be conversations about Jesus! .

The beggar's faith had developed, from talking about "The man called Jesus" who healed him, to saying "He is a prophet" to answering "I believe"   Wherever you are on than faith journey, Jesus wants to have a conversation with you, to grow your faith and to reveal himself and his Father's love.  Signs are conversation starters. Let's have a conversation with Jesus.

© Gilmour Lilly August 2012

Seven Signs (4) Wilderness bread. John 6. 1-15.

The Passover was getting closer.  Jesus was up in Galilee, in the North Country again. A huge crowd had seen and heard of the healings he had done, and were reading the signs, and following him, out into the countryside; over the sea of Galilee (where he planned to have some retreat time with his disciples) and up the mountain that the began to climb to get away. These poor Galileans, farmhands and fisher folk, people of the soil, used to scraping a living, would have easily identified with the Passover story of liberation for a downtrodden nation. Some of the crowd may have been thinking, "It's just like the first Passover - out in the desert, up the mountain, like with Moses..." There's that sense of connecting with history, and of anticipation to see God at work in the way he did in history; maybe we can be part of it!

As the day goes on, it became obvious that people were getting hungry.  Mark tells us that the disciples came to Jesus and suggested that he send the crowd home.  In John's version it looks as if Jesus started the conversation: "Where are we to get bread for this crowd?"  Once again, I don't believe John messed around with the story.  He gives us different bits of the jigsaw from Mark and the others.  The total picture is that, the disciples first suggested that Jesus send the crowd home; then Jesus told the disciples to give them something to eat, but threw in the question to Philip (maybe because he was from the local area) "Where are we to buy bread?"  In other words "You know the area - where are the shops?"


Jesus knew it would cost a year's wages for a labourer to feed that crowd: 5000 men plus women and kids. He also knew what he was going to do. But he was testing Philip. What is he and the other disciples made of? What are their priorities? How will they respond to the challenge?  Are they going to care more about the hungry crowd or about their own comfort? Are they going to bottle out of the challenge or are they going to face it with faith?

Jesus had the miracle lined up, ready to go.  He knew what he was going to do, and what and whom he was going to use.  But the big question is one of character: indeed, in this whole business of dealing with supernatural signs, Godly Character is vital: and godly character includes questions about our motives and our faith.

Jesus tests their priorities and motives. Is it all about "me"?  Self-motivation takes a variety of forms.  Sometimes, like the disciples, it's about our quiet, our spiritual boost, our rights, our traditions, and our time. Sometimes it's about our comfort, our convenience, our security. It is about keeping the effort to the minimum. It's about feeling entitled. We feel entitled to be looked after; we don't want to put ourselves out. Anything that involves being uncomfortable, taking risk, altering our plans or using or resources, is a problem.  "Send them away, Jesus; we don't want to be bothered.  It's all going to cost too much."

For others, self-motivation is about visibility: about being the most important, being in charge.  The question is always "what's in it for me?" The person who thinks like this may be keen to get busy with something - a new project, a new challenge - so long as I am in charge, so long as people acknowledge the contribution I am making.  So long as I benefit from this.  These are the people who will go out and feed the five thousand, but they want the crowd to make them king afterwards.  That's exactly what Jesus took pains to avoid: as soon as the miracle was done, and realizing how people were feeling about him, he took himself off up the mountain by himself.

Faith, courage, perseverance, a positive attitude to difficulties, is also part of character. The circumstances look impossible.  We have a crowd, we have no food, and we have no money.   No; wait a minute; here's someone with a "piece" ...  Andrew comes back and says, very honestly, "here is one lad (maybe a young slave on a day off rather than a child) with five loaves and two fishes"  Five tattie scones and two wee bits of pickled fish to give them some flavour. It was a poor lunch even for one!  No wonder Andrew says "What are they among a crowd this size?"  The resources look so small as to be almost laughable.  The best plan would be to give up: disperse the crowd; let it be their problem where they get something to eat.  It takes character to maintain a sense of hope, optimism, anticipation, faith, in the face of small resources.  It takes courage and faith to break chapattis and fish into twelve portions: it takes courage and faith to pick up one of these portions - less than half a scone with a wee scart of fish paste on - and hand them around. At least, it takes faith, until you see that every time you break a bit off there is a bit the same size left.

But it is godly Character, the motivation of love, the optimism of positive, forward looking hope, the deliberate exercise of faith, that releases God's resources and brings about a generous and extravagant miracle.  There were twelve basketfuls of leftovers after everyone had eaten enough.

So the poor, hungry, hard-bitten Galileans saw the sign: outrageous Compassionate generosity; a miraculous, charismatic gift, released by Godly character.  And at Passover time, this sign, wilderness bread, revealed who Jesus is.  It moved people along the journey.  Some were saying,  "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world."  That referred directly back to when Moses was nearing the end of his life's work, and he told the Israelites that God would send "another prophet like himself", only greater.  (Deut 18. 15) There in the countryside, as Passover drew near, some who had eaten the wilderness bread recognized Jesus as that other Moses, the one who was to come. And after this Passover sign Jesus himself went on to say, "I am the bread of life."  (John 6. 35)  "I am the Passover Bread: I am the Passover lamb, who takes away the sin of the world."

That's what signs are for.  They are to demonstrate something, not about us but about Jesus. They are to show the Father's love.  In our world, and in or lives, there are struggles. There are still people in our society and in other parts of the world, for whom life is a struggle for the basics.   Some of us are just scraping through. Some of us feel we need liberation in lots of ways

Bruce Milne says Jesus "still surveys the needy world with compassion, just as he surveys the micro-world of our personal needs. He is not without plans. He 'already has in mind what he will do' in our time and generation, and just as surely with the tangled threads of our personal present and future."  Jesus still wants to show the father's love: to give the signs through Godly character, generous compassion and charismatic gifts.  And we can be part of that.

William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury 1942-44 said "The need of the world is not too great for our resources if it is the Lord who directs these resources."


© Gilmour Lilly July 2012

John 4:46-54 Seven signs (2) Signs and faith.

Jesus is back in Cana of Galilee, the place where the turned water into wine (as John helpfully reminds us!)  He's been away in Jerusalem, where he has driven all the traders out for the temple - and worked a number of miracles that john doesn't bother to list) and then returned through Samaria. John tells us about an individual encounter in each place: in Jerusalem it's Nicodemus, and in Samaria it's a woman who's had a colourful past who had come to draw water from the well.  With both of them, the same themes emerge: Jesus is the life-giver, and his life can be received through faith.

So that's the background to this "second" sign.  Now Jesus is back, he's a bit of a celebrity.  It's a bit like Andy Murray coming home to Dunblane with the Wimbledon men's trophy, or the Pars coming home to Dunfermline victorious from Hampden. (I don't know which of these is more likely!)  He's the local lad who has made a good impression in the big city.  People are proud of him, crowding around him, hearing rumours of what he has done, some have seen what he had done.  And one man travels the twenty miles or so from Capernaum.  He's a Royal official, probably working for Herod Antipas. He comes to Jesus to ask him to heal his son who is at death's door.  That took faith. His place while his son was dangerously ill was at the boy's bedside, or supporting his wife. Maybe, like a lot of men, he felt he would rather be doing something, anything to help. So instead of sending a servant, ho dashes off to Cana to get Jesus.  There is an element of faith whenever someone calls out to God for help in a difficult situation.

Jesus' response seems a wee bit prickly. But he's not actually criticising the official; he is talking more generally: "You people won't believe unless you see miracles."  He's challenging something in the culture. There was an appetite for the spectacular. It varied from the attitude of Herod himself who was so pleased when Pilate sent Jesus over to him (Luke 23. 8), because he wanted to see a miracle from him; through to those who said "Come down from the cross and we will believe in you."  (Mark 15. 32). There are still the same things today. There are those who will just gawp at healings and lap up stories of answered prayers, but it's only a matter of curiosity.  Thes don't actually engage with what is happening.  There are still those who take the attitude that if God will "prove himself" to them they will believe.  And there are still those who will explain away a miracle.  What's interesting is that Jesus knows all that. He won't ever let himself be just the genie we can call up when we need him, who says, "Your wish is my command."  But that doesn't mean he's not going to help.

The official isn't put off. Faith is persistent. "Sir (literally, Lord), come down before my bairn dies!"  His motive isn't curiosity, it's simply compassion. And that resonates with the heart of Jesus himself.  He answers "Away home. Your son has revived.  He's going to be OK." That was it.  No laying on of hands; no oil; no prayer.  Just "Away home: your son has revived. !" It is compassion that moves him.  The motive for any healing or prayer ministry is not "proving something" but showing the Father's love.

And the official believes it will be as Jesus says, and goes home.  He doesn't need to insist on Jesus coming down with him. He doesn't cajole or whine. He takes Jesus at his word and goes home to find out what has happened.  That's another expression of faith: being able to obey what Jesus says.

And while he heads down towards the lake, he meets his servants, breathless with the good news that he boy has indeed revived, turned the corner.  And the moment the fever left was the exact moment when Jesus spoke to the official.  This was no coincidence. This was a clear healing miracle.  A clear love-gift from Jesus to the official, his wee boy and his family.  In response to that, the official "believed" - and so did all his household.  That word again.  The sign does what it is sent out to do.  It demonstrates that Jesus is the life-giver; it shows the love of a heavenly Father.  And faith grows.  The official and his household believe. This isn't just the faith that comes hoping for a healing, or even the faith that persists in asking; it isn't even the faith that is prepared to take Jesus at his word and go home.  This is a conversion; it is the kind of faith that makes a person committed to Jesus.

The official believes, with all his household. You will find once or twice in Acts, the same expression: it happened with Cornelius and "all his household". The Holy Spirit just got them.  It happened in Philippi with a business woman called Lydia who was baptised, with all her household; then it happened with the Jailer at Philippi.  Then it happened in Corinth where Crispus, the leader of the synagogue believed, with his entire household.  So when the official believes, the circle of influence widens.  Wife, children, slaves, soldiers attached to this VIP's household, became followers of Jesus.  They were not just the people Jesus had been walking closely with.  They were at the very least not the respectable Jews of the synagogue. If they were Herod's people, they were rich, careless about the law, and compromised with the Romans. Maybe they weren't Jews at all.  They were - like the Samaritans - to some extent outsiders.

That's what we want, right?  All sorts of people, a rainbow of race and politics, class and culture, gender and age. We want to bring the prodigals and outsiders to believe in Jesus and commit to Him.  Part of how we do that is through "signs" - ways of demonstrating that Jesus is the life giver and the one who loves all people. That happens through gifts, generosity and godliness, through charismata, compassion, and character.

As a Church we are "Learning to show the Father's love".   But it's tempting to shy away from demonstration. We're afraid of sensation-seekers and freeloaders who are only here for what they can get. We don't want to encourage shallow, sensationalist and selfish versions of faith.  We've seen that Jesus had the same concerns.  But he was motivated by love, and in love he did the sign.  Sure, Jesus said "Blessed are those who have not seen, yet have believed" but he never said anything against those who come to faith through what they see.

So let's not be halted by an immature or incomplete faith. Faith can develop and grow.  As we show the father's love, we are motivated by love, and we introduce people to Jesus, the life giver. We will be able to help people along that faith journey to get to know Jesus.

And let's not be afraid of demonstration, of signs, of the miraculous.  As long as we are motivated by compassion and love, and seeking to point to Jesus the life-giver, our "signs" - charismata, compassion and character - will draw all sorts of people to Jesus.

It would be tempting to stop there.  But to stop there would leave it a s a matter of what we think.  We need to take it to what we do.  we need more than open-ness to the idea of demonstration Father's love. We need to pursue the practise of showing the Father;'s love, to press in to let God shape the signs in gifts, generosity and godliness.  And to do that we need to develop our faith and to pray, to call out to God; have the faith to ask. Have the faith to pray with perseverance and passion, have the faith to do what Jesus says; have the faith to commit, for life!


© Gilmour Lilly July 2012