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Showing posts from March, 2011

the pharisee and the tax collector

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Thursday 31st March To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’     “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’     “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”                                              Luke 18: 9-14 Does this parable sound a bit like a caricature of a hypocrite- we read it thinking ‘Obviously I’m not like th

night terrors

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Wednesday 30 th March After the earthquake, tsunami and radiation in Japan, comes news of how people are coping with the aftermath of the disasters: There has been some looting at supermarkets and liquor stores… Nightfall, without electricity or a fully functioning police force, brings its own terrors. Shoji Yoshiaki, a councillor who is overseeing the shelter, said “I’m worried about the tension. People are stressed out.” Several evacuees, as well as people still living in their ruined homes, reported that a burglar has been stabbed during a robbery. There were also reports of a sexual assault.                                                       Guardian Weekly, 25.03.11 Is this what happens when the fabric of a society breaks down? Is it only a ‘fully functioning police force’ that makes people behave decently to one another? Is being ‘stressed out’ a reason, or an excuse? These people are not poor, exploited, unedu

a shepherd and a sheep

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Tuesday 29 th March Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering round to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home…. I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”                                                       Luke 15: 1-7 Who was making the rules here? Who decided on the definition of those labels, “sinner” and “righteous”? What would have been necessary, according to them, for someone to cross from one category to another? Maybe, as teachers of

failure

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Monday 28 th March What does failure look like? Who decides? Who sets the pass mark? Does it only matter if you get caught? On today’s bit of the journey, look out for how those around you judge success or failure. What standards are being used? What expectations are there? Are you setting yourself standards, and how do you feel if you don’t meet them? Listen to the news, and to the rules operating in our world. Whose fault is it when something goes wrong? What happens when the law in one culture contradicts the law in another? Where does the balance lie between rights and responsibilities? And listen carefully to the voices around you today- does anyone mention sin?

why did Jesus die?

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Saturday 26 th March It’s the weekend! What was it all for- Jesus’ death? Why did Jesus have to die? Did he have to die anyway? Rob Bell’s controversial book ‘Love Wins’ has just been published, and in it he asks ‘What happened on the cross? Is the cross about the end of the sacrificial system Or a broken relationship that’s been reconciled Or a guilty defendant who’s been set free Or a battle that’s been won Or the redeeming of something that was lost? Which is it? Which perspective is the right one? Which metaphor is correct? Which explanation is true?’                                                                         ‘Love Wins’ p. 127 This weekend, spend some time figuring out what you believe and why. And, maybe, ask yourself whether it is better to have questions or answers…

hospitality

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Friday 25 th March While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him: so he went in and took his place at the table.                                              Luke 11: 17 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.”                                              Luke 19: 5 Jesus’ journey was not all about walking- he stopped on the way, and enjoyed hospitality- from his friends, Mary and Martha; from those who had just met him, like Zaccheus; and from those who were suspicious of him and wanted to find out more about him. There seems to have been something special for Jesus about sharing a meal with people. He had no problems receiving from these people, no pride which meant he tried to offer to help, to pay, to clear up. He was not uncomfortable if the atmosphere got tense, and he certainly did not weigh up the respectab

glue

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Thursday 24 th March I'm sticking with you 'cos I'm made out of glue                            Velvet Underground What would it be like to be made out of glue? Sticky, I suppose. The problem with glue is that it’s indiscriminate about what it sticks to. In fact, whatever blows past tends to stick. Dirt, dust, random crumbs or hairs- in fact, glue seems to attract all sorts of rubbish. If glue is not applied very carefully and deliberately, and joined exactly and completely to what it is intended to stick to, any stray bits of glue leaking from round the edges can soon become unsightly. The leaking glue might stick to something else that has to be torn off, causing the whole project to be less than it might have been. Or if not enough of the glue was touching the object, the join becomes unstable and can easily get unstuck. If I were made out of glue, who would I stick to? Wholeheartedly, completely, so t

do not worry

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Wednesday 23 rd    March What is on your mind today? What thoughts preoccupy you? And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.                                                                Luke 12: 29-32 Some of us worry about money, others about our weight or our health, our children or our parents, our job or the state of our house. And sometimes, when we become a Christian, we add a whole new set of worries- I haven’t found time to pray today, I was too afraid to witness to my neighbour, I shouted at my kids instead of being patient and kind. ‘Striving for the kingdom’ sounds

Our Father

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Tuesday 22 nd   March One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”  He said to them, “When you pray, say:    “‘Father, 
hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”                                                       Luke 11: 1-4 A disciple learned from a master by watching what he did, asking questions when something was puzzling, and spending long periods of time with the master so that learning became not just an intellectual thing, understood with the head, but a lesson learned by feet, hands, eyes, mouth and heart. Jesus’ disciples are learning here words to say when you pray: words of simplicity, immediacy and familiarity, words that assume a listener, words whic

Martha

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Monday 21 st March As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”    “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”                                                       Luke 10: 38-42 What is on your “to do list” today? What jobs and demands are you looking forward to? How do you feel when you have achieved something, when you can tick it off your list? What would the consequences be if a job was not done? How would you fe

it is well with my soul

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus It’s the weekend!   Saturday March 19 th / Sunday March 20 th If you want to think through the subject of the life God blesses, go then to the soul, to the deepest parts of “inner space” where God is most likely to visit with a person, whisper His secrets, establish connections, heal spiritual wounds, generate hope and courage. The soul is the deeper part of all of us that others cannot see. It is the quiet part where people are most apt to connect with God. In that deeper, quiet place of spiritual geography there was, in biblical times, and is today, dialogue with heaven, events of repentance, praise and worship, and the formation of intentions to life and knowledge that enable people to become what I like to call kingdom-builders.                                     Gordon MacDonald ‘The Life God Blesses’ How is your soul? Do you spend much time looking after it? What are you feeding your inner life? What exercise d

a drop of kindness

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Friday 18 th March Who will you journey with today? Watch those around you as you travel throughout the day. Who is in a hurry, impatient and stressed? Who is multi-tasking, travelling at the same time as touching up their make-up, making a phone-call, doing the crossword or reading the paper? Who is trying to escape from the tedium of their day, or the press of those around them, by plugging in ear-phones or reading a book? Who is happy, relaxed, serene, courteous? Be present today in your travels. Pray for those around you. Be aware of where you are going, your destination, and the transport that gets you there. And if you have the chance, drop a touch of kindness onto those around you. Smile, hold a door open, move along or give up your seat. Be patient in traffic jams, or with the very old and very young. Offer a lift, lend an umbrella, spare some change. Be a blessing today to those who travel alongside you.

a more dangerous journey

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Thursday 17 th March Yesterday we looked at the story of a dangerous journey- physically dangerous for the man travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho, and with challenging decisions to be made by those who came across him on the road. But Lent is also a time for another kind of journey- a journey towards truth, truth about ourselves, awareness of who we are. This could be the most dangerous journey of all. Can we bear to be honest about ourselves? Can we let God’s light shine in the darkness? Are we ready to take a step towards knowing ourselves? Search me, O God, and know my heart; Test me and know my thoughts.                                              Psalm 139:23

dangerous journeys

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Wednesday 16 th March A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell down into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.                                                                         Luke 10: 30 There are those who argue that Christianity is for the weak- that it’s a crutch, an emotional prop for those who are unable to face life on their own. Journeying with Jesus suggests otherwise. His stories are not of weak people, who are looking for an escape from the problems of their world. They are of people whose faith leads them into difficult situations, not away from them. The challenges faced by the characters in this story are not only the obvious physical ones of being robbed and beaten. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed

pray

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Tuesday 15 th March Jesus would withdraw to deserted places and pray Luke 5: 16 This journey is a long-distance one, not a sprint. For Jesus, although he was heading in the direction of Jerusalem, it would be some time before he got there. For us, the steps we take each day may seem to get us nowhere. How do we get the energy to keep going? Jesus prayed. Often in the gospels we hear about him praying- early in the morning, away from the demands of the day, in places free from distractions. These were Jesus’ recharging sessions, and they were vital to his ability to keep going. Perhaps today you need some recharging time. You need to withdraw from whatever is making demands on you- the jobs you have not yet done, the family or friends who want your time, the TV to watch, the internet to surf…….. ….and pray. Be still and know that I am God                                       Psalm 46: 10

hard times

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Monday 14 th March Japan is experiencing its greatest hardships since World War II, Prime Minister Naoto Kan says, in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, and a growing crisis at a nuclear plant. Police warn that the death toll in one of the worst-hit areas is likely to exceed 10,000. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ Why should we follow Jesus on this journey? What answers does he give to the hard questions of this life? Perhaps the only answer is found at the destination- at the cross, where God met pain, and suffering, and death. We follow Jesus because even at the hardest of times, he does not flinch. He is not  a fair-weather Saviour, luring us in with promises of a good life but with nothing to say when life gets hard. His promises are not of health, wealth and happiness, but of truth. And the truth is that this world, and each person in it, is damaged and needs healing. I consider that our present sufferings are

It's the weekend!

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus It’s the weekend!   Saturday March 12 th / Sunday March 13 th As the weekend often has a different rhythm from the week days, so with our Lenten journey. Lent doesn’t have to be a miserable time, full of penitence and guilt. The journey can include rest, celebration, quiet and noise, business and stillness. This weekend, what are you most looking forward to? Make time to do one special thing with God….     Go for a walk, spot spring flowers and pray           Write a praise song and sing it in the shower, loudly!                Run, or dance, or stretch, and thank God for your body                       Find a time and a place to be really still and quiet for 30 minutes.    Sing to God a brand-new song, Sing his praise all over the world! Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause, With all the far-flung islands joining in. Let the desert and its camps raise a tune, Calling the Kedar nomads to join in. Let the

a journey with a destination in mind

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Friday 11 th March When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.                                                                                         Luke 9: 51 Jesus’ journey had a destination. This is only chapter 9 of Luke’s 24 chapters, but already the direction of Jesus’ life is clear- he set his face to go to Jerusalem. His journey, complete with all the detours, interruptions and pauses, was intentional- he was heading to Jerusalem. What is our destination? What decides the direction of our lives? Are we driven by ambition, an urge to succeed, to chase the next promotion, impress the boss? Do we desire more than anything else to be liked, so our lives are directed by our need to be popular? Do we feel out of control of the direction of our lives, buffeted by circumstances or others’ needs? What would it be like if, for this season of Lent, we deliberately looked where we w

Walking through Lent with Jesus

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Thursday 10 th March Anyone who enters upon Christ’s way will discover who Jesus really is: and anyone who really believes in Jesus as the Christ of God will follow him along the way he himself took.                                                Jurgen Moltmann ‘The Way of Jesus Christ’ p. xiv This is an exciting and challenging idea- that we might discover who Jesus really is. All at once, questions come crowding in- I know who Jesus is already, what else is there to discover? What if I don’t like what I find? Can anyone really know who Jesus is? Discovering who someone really is, is a dynamic process. It starts exactly where we are in our relationship with them- however much or little we think we know. And as we share a few steps of our life with them, we begin to discover more about them. We have coffee together, we play squash, we phone them with some news…. And at each step, we find out more about who they are, wh

beauty for ashes

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Wednesday 9 th March- Ash Wednesday The Parable of the prodigal son….. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating, and no-one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said…. “I will get up and go to my Father…”                                                                                      Luke 15: 14-18 This is the moment when the prodigal son’s life changed direction. Up to this point he had been full of himself- his rights to part of his Father’s wealth, his independence, his popularity- and then his collapse, his misery, his disgrace. He is wallowing in mud- or in the imagery of Ash Wednesday, all his hopes and efforts had gone up in smoke. He wa

Pancake Day

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Tuesday 8 th March- Pancake Day Pancake Day, Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Carnival…… In many countries, preparing for Lent involves feasting on all the food that will not be eaten during the 40 days of Lent. As we get ready for our Lent pilgrimage, it makes sense to clear out any extra baggage- anything that is not going to be helpful for the journey. The writer to the Hebrews says this- Let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.                                                       Hebrews 12:1 Is there on thing that we need to clear out of our spiritual larder today? One sin that is so tasty, we find it hard to resist? One habit which clings so persistently, we find it difficult to prise it loose? Perhaps our pancake day prayer should be the words of the psalmist- Search me, O God See if there is any wicked way in me And lea

Looking forward to Lent......

A Pilgrimage to the Cross Walking through Lent with Jesus Jesus was a man with a mission. He came, not only to tell people about God, not only to heal the sick and feed the hungry, and not only to do miracles. He came to save his people from their sins, as Gabriel told Joseph in Matt 1:21. His mission only slowly became obvious to those around him, and even when Jesus talked about it, they struggled to understand it. I wonder how often we too avoid the cross. We want to get on with the everyday business of living, and we haven’t got the time, or the inclination, to think about dying. Lent offers us time. For 40 days, let’s take the time to follow in Jesus’ footsteps as he heads to Calvary. Think of it as a virtual pilgrimage- no need to pack a rucksack, break in those walking boots or buy stocks of Kendall Mint Cake. All we need is a few minutes each day to take a walk with Jesus, or maybe a walk in our world, and head towards the cross, one step at a time. I hope you will joi