2 Corinthians 7

This chapter is a great example of the advantages of having letters rather than sermons collected in the bible. For me this is about the risks and rewards of being brutal with other Christians. And we’ve all had these moments in Christian relationships where things get cathartic.

Paul is talking to a subset of the Corinthians. Last chapter he’s told them not to be yoked with unbelievers, and follows it up here with encouragement to purify themselves to claim the promises he mentions in the last chapter, which are all about group purity.

So I think the purifying is not personal, purifying your heart, as much as corporate, purifying your group. Ignoring a few bad apples in the congregation who are clearly not even Christians.

This subset Paul is trusting to address here is far more praiseworthy than the church as whole from chapter one, which clearly had big problems.

But he’s still in this super awkward place of having hurt them with his missing letter, the brutal one where he told them all the ways they were pathetic.

Titus is the link here, because he has visited them since the mean letter, and now he is with Paul. And he’s reported that for this large chunk of the church they took it just the right way. They heard Gods voice, not just Paul in it. They repented.

It’s very risky pointing out to someone spiritual flaws which have hurt you personally. Trying to both teacher/truth telling prophet AND hurt puppy who needs more love.

And Paul was in struggle street in Macedonia when Titus arrived from his visit to the Corinthians. I loved his pithy summary of how badly it was going “harassed at every turn, conflicts on the outside, fears within”.

So the report that the letter has been taken in the right spirit filled Paul with joy and encouragement. He is so happy with the core of Corinthians who saw God, and accepted god’s voice, past the personal conflict.

You wouldn’t get all that from a sermon. I’ve know lots of people who have a hesitancy towards st Paul. I do too, like yesterday when I was thinking he was a bit much. But I suppose that partly reflects this exposed awkward relational dynamic. Other than Acts, we only know him though letters.

But it’s grace-building stuff, this struggle. It’s like the church’s super power. I know the grace that come from the risk of being real, it is wonderful!

Lockdown has given me, and many others I’m sure, permission to avoid a lot of that conflict for a while. But I’ve been swept over by an ennui that has come from avoiding this risk. Yesterday I caught up with Colin from church, who has been actually more active than me, but admitted to just letting some things slide himself, too.

So be risky, be real, tell your story even if you seem pathetic or demanding. Paul talks about godly sorrow verses worldly sorrow here. His letter caused godly sorrow, and he’s so relieved. And comforted in a tough time.

you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. … See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.

V 9 and 11

Be brave. Maybe that’s a title for a song about Corinthians 2. Lockdown is easing a little as vaccination rates increase. Our youth group will restart Friday week. Back into the fray, with this word to inspire me!

Also Kelly’s birthday today, but maybe this is NOT a moment for brutality. She’s very down, and I’m hopeless at birthdays. Praying for some simple silly joy!

Acts 28

A calm end to the book. After the shipwreck, they have a warm stay on Malta. Paul experiences supernatural protection from a snake bite which causes some of the locals to regard him as a God. He is the agent of many healings, including the father of the Maltese governor.

In Rome, virtually all pretense of him being a criminal is dropped. He never does get to see Caesar as far as the book relates. He lives with a guard at his house.

It’s virtually a state funded missionary journey. He is free enough to preach to the Jews in Rome, which he does with familiar divisive results, and then to the gentiles.

The book doesn’t record his death, or anything that happened after his two year stay in Rome. History doesn’t either, but it’s presumed he was martyred under Emperor Nero. I really hope not somehow, after all those amazing escapes, but it would be unlike him to be concerned about the possibility.

Starting another week with a deficit of things undone from the previous.

I’m allowing my time to be directed by others, an easy way to slide into avoiding wise priorities. Dad’s taxi is a coward ploy.

I will not get to the end of this week without revising my cv and applying for some jobs. As blog is my witness!!!

Looks like Friday I will do the first week of hip hop adventures with the deadly warriors. A project I potentially could have some larger plans for…

Praying I’ll step up to some fears right now, in the footsteps of that other Paul.

John 9

Christmas New-year moments…

John 9

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(Note, the feature above is a story… WordPress jumping a bit awkwardly onto the Snapchat/Instagram bandwagon…)

This chapter follows the story of a guy whose sight Jesus healed.

The Pharisees investigate. We are 9 chapters in, and 7 have included disputes between Jesus and “the Jews” / Pharisees.

This one provides a lot of insight into their power and the threat Jesus posed to it. They question both the healed man and his parents.

Neither want to stand up to their authority. They both confirm the healing, but tell the Pharisees to draw their own conclusions about Jesus. They are scared, the parents particularly, because these leaders have the power to marginalise them in their community.

But the healing itself stands as truth, truth of Jesus’ authority. Truth to power. It can’t not speak. It divides even the leaders a bit… I suppose we would talk of moderates and hardliners today.

The hardliners appear to be ascendant. In the end the healed man loses patience with them and confronts them with their refusal to accept the miracle before them. They throw him out rather than address the possibility of their error.

The theme of ezekiel is that God is not constrained to the temple. He rolls around the desert to where the exiles are, he transforms our hearts from stone to flesh, dwelling in us.

Over and over, 7 out of 9 chapters: hearts of stone.

So I have a new years resolution to live by my heart. This blog and my Bible themed songs have been witness into a chasm. Good things, but not brave.

I have relationships around me every day. I want to speak the truth to them in ways they can understand. That’s not easy for me. I’d rather write 100 blog entries, in fact I have.

But what’s the point of me bringing a beating heart to each moment of my life if I don’t listen to it, and act on it occasionally?

Give me wisdom to speak and act, Lord.

And I’m going to drink a little less.

Matthew 4

The indigenous church within our church has gone digital with COVID, and has input from across Australia. We have wonderful free ranging discussions. Last week was on shame and honour.

Theirs is a shame and honour culture, morality is understood in relational rather than absolute and individualistic terms, such as guilt or righteousness.

In passing the pastor, uncle Ray, mentioned the white addictions: wealth, power and control. It was a fair cop, he was also being very open about the way shame culture can do a lot of damage within his community.

Jesus is tempted in this chapter with his God qualities after 40 days of starving his human body.

“Why? Why?” says the devil. “Make all the food you want! Throw yourself off a tower and watch the angels catch you. Rule the world”. Wealth, power and control.

I’m trying to stay calm, but on some level fear and sadness have gripped me as, months after being made redundant my income has actually finally reduced by half this pay cycle. At the end of July, it’s down to zero.

After this temptation Jesus starts public preaching and healing. He gets fame. People with needs come for healing, plus those with spiritual longing, presumably, to hear his “good news” of the kingdom of God.

Giving him a listen, taking advantage of the medical element, is a fairly low commitment, high potential benefit transaction for the crowds who come.

But between Jesus’ extraordinary voluntary commitment to his human condition and mission, and his initial surge of popularity we have the calling of the disciples.

Matthew makes almost no record of why they found Jesus so attractive. He said “I’ll make you fishers of men” and the just drop everything and follow.

I doubt it would have been enough for me. To end my addiction to my feeble portions of wealth, power and control.

But that is where I feel called and challenged now. To let go. To follow.

Going away this weekend. With a couple of friends. Myself and Kelly quite stressed. Hope it is relaxing.

Hope I have some time for mediation and contemplation.

Hosea 10

A chapter promising, warning, Israel of coming destruction. Their particular combination of idols, political alliances and a hollow show of ritual, the deception of it, makes God angry.

It’s anything but God. They won’t accept that their prosperity comes from God. They look anywhere else to trust for their success. It’s pride I suppose.

The only way God can show he is God is to take it away.

A had a nice exchange with Mark our pastor, who is clearly going a bit stir crazy not being able to minister to as many people as he was, because of the virus lockdown. He’d put a post on Facebook denying that the pandemic is a direct punishment from God for specific sin. It doesn’t work any more like it does in the old testament.

So I shared with him some of the blankness I have been feeling here. If you can’t draw lines to punishment, where can you draw them? Does it all mean nothing? He teased that a sermon is in the works.

Certainly the “anything but God” pride is still evident all round the place. That hasn’t changed one bit.

I’m in a quiet place emotionally. I’m pessimistic about continuing when my three month contract is up in early June. I’m one of 7 very capable “content specialists” in my team. Not very special, not much for me to do as far as I can tell.

I’m still furious with my boss Rod for making me redundant. He did it so that the events team could have extra resources because they were so busy. All the events are now cancelled. I’m way less likely to get a job with the state of the economy. He couldn’t have known how the virus situation would develop, but he could have been more kind, well before I was made redundant. Roles switched, I would not have done it to him.

But enough venting. I will await my rector’s online sermon with interest.

Ezekiel 38

Leave it to heaven.

This is about Gog and Magog. Gog a leader, Magog a place.

They are easily mythologised as hostile nations. Ezekiel says they will attack the restored Israel. They return in the book of Revelation, in a final battle that is the end of opposition to God’s rule.

Islamic texts refer to them as well, as unruly attackers of civilisation. Vikings.

Ironically it’s the Islamic nations who would be seen as unruly today, by Christians affearded of attack. And the LGBTQI lobby can get pretty hostile, not entirely without cause.

Whatever; the message is that God will not be thwarted by hostile nations. God will be victorious, hostility will suffer defeat.

Another approach is not to let difference breed hostility.

Christians who aren’t afraid of multiculturalism or xenophobic, and moderate Islamic people… (pretty much all Muslims in Australia), are able to agree to differ, embrace tolerance and get along just fine.

Radical Muslims and their Christian equivalents: racists who regard the loss of Anglo Saxon dominance as an existential threat to their safety and culture, are sources of hostility.

With LGBTQI issues, I think there ought to be scope for a range of Christian attitudes, from thinking it’s a non issue to thinking queer lifestyles are not god’s plan, which don’t involve hostility. Abortion is not god’s plan, divorce is not, any heterosexual sex, even lustful thoughts, outside of marriage, is not god’s plan.

We need to leave the judgement to God. No matter how dimly we view any of those things, we need to stay Kingdom-focussed and grace focussed. Who did Jesus view as hostile, other than the chisler money-changers in the temple, the Pharisees and the Sadducees?

He wept for the people, who were like sheep in need of a shepherd, forgave the roman overlords (they don’t know what they are doing), watched the rich young ruler walk away sadly, and in his story the Samaritan was the neighbour.

Ezekiel 36

“He’s got the whole world in his hands”

It’s the start of the sugar. Reading the prophets, there’s so much death and destruction, you hang out for the sweet stuff.

The land has been emptied, but this is about hope for the mountains. Hope starts with the land itself.

Disappointed pilgrims observed over the years that the mountains of Israel are no great shakes. It’s quite a harsh, stony, dusty land.

But god’s blessing will make it bloom, will return the people and have them flourish.

Rain will cleanse the land of spiritual betrayal, the idols. Rain, beautiful rain. We don’t get that any more here.

The people’s hard hearts will be replaced with hearts of flesh. Beating, living hearts.

In every sense metaphorical and literal, God’s wonderful unique creative power of life will abound.

Oh dear God, our land is not beyond your blessing, our hearts are not beyond caring.

As it dries, bakes and burns more than we’ve ever known, and we argue and blame, and build more coal mines.

Give us hearts of flesh, send sweet rain to wash us of our idols.

I wrote a song that used this passage for the chorus and Ephesians 4 for the verse.  Goodness me, I’m a try hard! Almost 15 years ago now. Not one of my best,  but the beating heart and the anticipation of the rain are there.

 

Ezekiel 24

Signs for the very day of Jerusalem’s siege. Ezekiel had been prophesying for almost 10 years when Jerusalem finally fell to the Babylonians.

He has two prophetic signs.

A cooking pot, described in ghastly terms, an arbitrary mix of dead flesh in it, scum coming out, an intense fire fuelled by bones, so intense that it chars and melts the pot itself. The destruction of the city and the people.

His wife dies. The loss of a cherished beautiful living loved one, echoing the destruction of the temple. The ending of God’s presence. Ezekiel is allowed to show no sign of mourning, and the Israelites are to do the same when the official news comes though about the temple.

Living among the Babylonians already, it will show them presumably that there is something bigger afoot, God is in control still somehow.

Always in calamity, in the worst you can imagine, the deepest loss, the most deserved fall: hope, plans.

Ezekiel 21

This chapter has one big terrifying idea. Babylon is the sword of God drawn and unleashed against Israel. The thing most terrible, seemingly most unlike God, is part of his plan.

The doctrine of original sin makes god’s accommodation of evil and chaos inevitable.

Humanity has this spiritual and emotional overlay on top of natural functions.

Animals and plants reproduce. Humans fall in love, have lust and desire. We build a million things of beauty and ugliness on top of mere reproduction.

Likewise, nature replenishes. Things die, things are born. Things eat and get eaten.

With eternity in our hearts, we imagine our ancestors and our future generations. Our imagination fuels empires, noble and cruel. More than simply surviving, we have lives of generosity and greed driving us though our life span.

Made in god’s image, we think individuals matter. But we rise up and are cut down like grass.

Jesus lived in our perpetually unresolved state, eternal and mortal. God knows all about it.

Yet still it shocks. I recoil from god’s sword of judgement. It’s supposed to terrify me, and it does.

Ezekiel 19

The theologically correct response to bad leadership.

It’s a lament, a song expressing sadness over the last Kings of Israel. I think it is part prophesy, as one king had not experienced the failure of his leadership yet.

The first two are compared to lion cubs that fall into traps, and the third to a fruitful vine that, ironically is burned to uselessness by a fire lit by a staff made of is own wood.

The change of metaphor signifies that the first two Kings, Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin were not of the line of David.

The lament calls them Princes of Judah, as opposed to the third, Zedekiah, who is described as of the vine from the glory days of David and Solomon, when the southern kingdom of Judah and Israel were one.

They are all Kings that I just wrote off as pathetic when I read Kings and Chronicles. But to the Israelites who lived though the cruel 3 month reign of Jehoahaz, he was the leader, he briefly represented hope. King is a role which parallels in many ways that of God.

Sadness, singing of how far things are from right. That is a good response to the failure of human leadership.

Anger can galvanise you to action… occasionally. But it must subside to indignation and outrage to be effective, because it only harms you in the long run to live in the grip of the emotion of anger. Surely.

Lament is the start of the process of pointing the frustrations of this wrongness back to God.

They hoped in these kings in some small way, or at very least were poignantly reminded of a time when they could trust in them.

I feel it strongest when narratives won’t be neat. When dumb decisions are made. When you can see the happy ending but it won’t just fall into place, whether it’s affecting you or others. The sadness of the fall.