Renew Your Mind

"But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared." Luke 24:1 The sun comes up , again, on a garden. This was where our journey began- in a perfect garden, where God walked in the evening breeze. So much has happened to the human beings that God created- their journey has taken them far away from that garden, and by Friday it seemed that they had put to death their only hope of walking in the garden again. But today, in a garden of tombs, God walks again. "But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' She said to them, 'They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.' When she said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did...

"Something strange is happening- there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and has raised up all who have fallen asleep ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh, and he'll trmbles in fear. He has gone to search for our first parents, as for lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him victory. At th sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone, "My Lord be with you all!" Christ answered him, "And with your spirit." He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying "Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, an...

Mid-afternoon Darkness drops Like a stone. Day, interrupted Hold your breath- Here God meets death. Son, separated From the Father. Torn apart From light, From love, From life. Journey's unexpected end..... It is finished.

Every year, for hundreds of years, Jews had prepared their Passover meal according to the instructions in the Old Testament. It reminded them who they were, it spoke of their suffering as slaves in Egypt, but most of all it reminded them of who God is. "Then came the day of the Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, 'Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.' " Luke 22: 7,8 This was to be the Last Passover, and also the First- we call it the Last Supper, but it was also the first Lord's Supper. This meal that Jesus shared with his disciples reminded them of who they were- yesterday we read Jesus' prayer for them. It spoke of suffering, even if the disciples didn't really understood that. And most of all, and the reason we continue to share this meal together, is that it reminded them who God is. "Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he bro...

In the Upper Room, hours before his arrest and with the knowledge of what was to come weighing heavily upon him, Jesus speaks to His Father. He speaks private, passionate words but he does not speak them privately, as he has done in the past when he has withdrawn to spend time alone with his Father. These were spoken at the table, for the disciples to hear, and John records them in his gospel. Is he sharing with his closest friends a glimpse of what his suffering will make possible- a relationship with God as Father? "Father, the hour has come.... I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, ...

The journey of Holy Week is rich in resonance- in the path Jesus travels we hear the footsteps of Adam, of Moses, of Rahab, of David.... "After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with the police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, 'For whom are you looking?' " John 18: 1-4 The first betrayal happened in a garden. It was the act that sent man and woman out of Eden on their journey, seeking a way back home. And now it is again in a garden, a place pregnant with the promise of rest, renewal and life, that death is traded instead. God creates us with fre...

Stephen Cherry writes this: Untie my Depths My mind is still, my body is at rest; you are my desire But I am alone; alone with a knot- a knot in my depths. A tight, congested inner tangle, I would love to tease it out. I pull a strand, the whole know tightens. I leave it alone. It does not go aways. I raise my feelings to my throat, the energy is caught below, I raise my thoughts high in my head, they are anchored to the knot. What is this multi-threaded mass? Who or what makes it rest here? It drags me down, seals me within, constricts my soul. Disentangle me, Lord. Unpick my inner knot. Unravel my complexity. Unweave my deepest confusion. Untwist the channels of spirit within. Pull apart the strands. Prune the nuisance strings. See my spiritual sclerosis and soften, soften, soften. Stretch me from without. Bless me from above. Breathe your Spirit through me and, by your mercy, untie my depths. Stephen Cherry 'Barefoot Prayers- A medit...

Hebrews 12:1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. We have been on a great journey, through the pages of the Bible almost from beginning to end. We have shared journeys of national importance, and private, personal travel. And we have seen that most journeys are complex things, more than a straightforward movement forward, but usually holding in tension excitement and fear, promise and challenge, good news and bad. And now, surrounded by this great crowd of witnesses, we stand on the brink of the Last Journey- as we fix our eyes o...

Paul was a man full of energy and purpose, a man on the move, and perhaps it is not surprising that he should use the idea of movement to express what life as a Christian was like. He describes it not just as a journey, but a race: "Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one wins the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable garland, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified." 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27 He writes these words to the believers in Corinth, an important Greco-Roman town where athletes and gladiators were the celebrities of the day. They trained and competed for the temporary glory of winning- and Paul asks what we can learn from them? In what areas of my life is it a challenge for me to exercis...

Once Paul became a follower of Jesus, his energy and enthusiasm sent him travelling. "As they went from town to town, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in numbers." Acts 16:4,5 Paul didn't have any of our 21st century ways of sharing his message- he knew that he had to personally travel, speaking to people and sometimes living and working among them for months as he taught them about Jesus and how to live as Christians. How lucky we are today to be able to not only read the words of Paul in our own language, but without leaving our armchairs to be able to access the thoughts, sermons and lives of men and women from all over the world who can share with us what it means to follow Jesus. We can travel across continents and across time to be encouraged, challenged and inspired. Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica: "...

Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus is maybe one of the most famous journeys of the Bible. He set out on his journey that day with a clear goal in mind, a clear direction to travel- but God interrupted his plans in a dramatic fashion. Paul changed completely, from persecuting the followers of Christ to becoming one of Jesus' most passionate and zealous ambassadors. Not many of us have a conversion story to tell that is quite as dramatic as Paul's. But I wonder how many of us are open to God interrupting our plans? If something happens to disrupt our schedule, do we see it as an irritation or an opportunity? Maybe the journey God has ahead of us looks quite different from the one we imagine for ourselves.....

The book of Acts is full of movement, energy and purpose. This was an exciting time in the history of God's people- but the journeys of Jesus' faithful followers were often full of danger. Sometimes when we read Acts we wish that our churches today could be like the early church, but would we really want our journeys to be like those of these early Christians? In Acts 6: 7 we read, "The word of God continued to spread; the number of disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many priests became obedient to the faith. Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people." But only a chapter later, we read that Stephen is on trial for his life. The journey that he is on is taking him to new and exciting places, but for some of those around him, the challenge was too great so instead of joining him, their fear led them to attack him. "Some of them...stood up and argued with Stephen. They set up false witnesses who said ...

The book of Psalms is not at the end of the Old Testament, but it is the book with which we will end the Old Testament part of our journey. We have met travellers whose journey changed the future for themselves, their families and the history of God's people, and we have met travellers whose journey was seemingly insignificant, mattering only for them. We have shared the journeys of those who travelled in hope and excitement, looking forward to better things, and those whose journey was one of escape or desperation, forced to run away or reluctant to leave. We have begun to see that while travelling is not inevitable, it is a reality for many of God's people and it is often by undertaking a journey that we learn new things about ourselves, about what matters to us and most of all, about the God we worship. Psalms 120 to 134 are called the Songs of Ascent, and are traditionally thought to have been used as songs to sing while travelling- specifically on a pilgrimage to the tem...

If Lamentations speaks tears of sorrow, then Hosea shows us the tender heart of God, who wipes away our tears. Through the long arc of human history, we see the same themes- human beings deciding that they can figure out the best route for their journey, that the alternative paths on offer look so much more enticing than the straight and narrow path of righteousness. And then the consequences of that pride- a journey that becomes more and more lonely and dangerous, until it becomes obvious that we are lost and in need of rescue. Hosea uses soft and tender images of family to show us God's love, which over and over again sends him to find us. "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and offering incense to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of human ...

Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us; look, and see our disgrace! Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to aliens. We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widows. We must pay for the water we drink; the wood we get must be bought. With a yoke on our necks we are hard driven; we are weary, we are given no rest.                                                                     Lamentations 5: 1-5 Let's pray today for those whose journeys are forced on them- for refugees, for those who have lost their homes and their families, and all that they have worked for. Lamentations is a book of sorrow, a chorus of pain and disappointment, a search for reasons and blame which gives no answers. As we read the news today, as we look out of the windows of our cars, our offices, our...

'Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.' Jeremiah 6: 16 This is our quest, this Lenten journey- to look back at ancient paths, paths which have been trod long ago and written about in the pages of our Scriptures. We have been asking questions of these journeys, because we want to know where the good way lies. As we walk together with these travellers of old, towards the Cross, our prayer if that we will indeed find rest for our souls.

Halfway through the Old Testament, the genre changes from narrative to....well, to a collection of books which are less easy to categorize. Sometimes we call them Prophets and Wisdom literature, and it is probably true that most of us are less familiar with them than we are with the stories and characters of Genesis, Exodus and Kings. Perhaps it is good to be reminded that journeys should provoke not just action, movement and progress, but also a time for reflection on where we are heading and what we are learning. Today's reflection come from the book of Isaiah- an often confusing book of prophecy, which sometimes seems to have little to say to us today: but spend some time with the emotions, longings and sorrow of Isaiah and you will meet a man who is seeking to communicate just how much God loves His people. In Isaiah chapter 35 we read this alluring vision of the future- is this a future that your journey is leading to? 'The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad...

David's journey had begun with such promise. As the oil from Samuel's anointing dripped down his face, he might easily have believed that his life would change- for the better. But for the next chapters of 1 Samuel, we read again and again of Saul's jealousy and suspicion, of threats to his life, of David running to caves, deserts and foreign kings. How do we react when our journey is difficult? Do we complain that it is not fair- what have we done to deserve this? Do we harbour a belief that our life was supposed to be easier than this? Have we believed the myth that if we trust God, He will make our journey easy? David's story reminds us that even though we live as sons and daughters of the King, we live here and now in a world blighted by sin and our journey was never going to be easy. This weekend, read some of David's own words... O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good His steadfast love endures for ever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Those...

Samuel the prophet has come to the family of Jesse on the Lord's business. He is to anoint the next King of Israel. The only problem he has is although God has told him where to go, he has not told him who to anoint, and Jesse had eight sons. So Samuel assumes that it must be the eldest son who is the chosen one- but God has other ideas. The Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 We hear clearly here the truth that we saw played out in the story of Ruth- that we are all significant to God, and whatever the world around us might think, He sees our heart and has great plans for us. Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring ...

The Bible is a great treasure of stories: from the dramatic ups and downs in the life of the nation of Israel as they journey out of Eden, into Egypt and to the Promised Land; to the small, homely stories of one person and how they travelled on the journey that unfurled for them. The story of Ruth is one of these- like a burnished miniature, her story sits quietly between the grander, more important stories of Judges and Kings. There would be so many reasons to overlook the story of Ruth- she was a woman, which in the world of the Old Testament would be reason enough. She was a widow, and she had no children, which meant that in the economy of the day she was worth nothing. And she was not even an Israelite- she was from the country of Moab. And yet her story is written in the pages of God's book. Ruth has a journey to make, and her journey leads her to meet this God. He does not see people as we do- He does not give them value according to their gender, their race or their sta...