2 John

Truth and love. This is like a one chapter summary of the 5 chapter John 1.

Truth is the gift all Christians share, the truth of God’s love for us in Christ. Love is our obedience.

John is as concerned about truth being lost as in the previous book. He warns about the Antichrists who will deceive them.

I like all this. I can’t say right now it’s engaging me dramatically, it’s just sort of there.

John’s concern about the truth is speaking to me. That is where I need to learn most from this right now I think. I think I love easily and hopefully, but not always with a passion for truth as much as optimism.

That is a hard lesson, which is maybe why I’m engaging with it a bit flatly.

Things are crowding in, and I’m wondering if I’ll get shopping done etc. That rush towards Christmas and New year without much of a break to look forward to.

This is written to a church, one led by a woman.

The Christians who want churches to be able to be led by women believe it’s a literal woman and the Christians who don’t want that believe it’s a metaphor for a church, like a ship “she’s a beaut” kind of thing.

I don’t mind women leaders and have no trouble thinking it’s a literal female pastor, but I’m rather tired of gender wars in the church.

I’m just tired in general I suppose. There’s some sad stuff going around I probably shouldn’t blab about. The care clients are a bit sad at Christmas too.

Lots of happy stuff too.

If I have an end of year reflection about my faith it’s that I need to project my sense of the truth more confidently.

Hebrews 10

It concludes the teaching about sacrifice, and flicks into talking about the listeners’ response.

It’s the complete demolition of the temple system, the system of law which is but a shadow of the one true sacrifice of Jesus. Big emphasis on not needing repetition. Once for all does it. We have confidence.

It’s interesting to me that the author emphasises their subjective experience of forgiveness as much or more than the cosmic objective issue of sin.

It makes sense when discussing the temple, because actually killing the animal didn’t take away sin. It was only ever a reminder of God’s mercy. A ritual for humans, not essential for God. That’s why it was ongoing like communion. 

Otherwise:

…the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.

Verse 2

I was just interesting to me that he said “felt” guilty not “been guilty”.

And even with the forgiveness Jesus brings, my subjective experience of it plays a big part:

…let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Verse 22

Cleansed from a guilty conscience.

And it’s that confidence before God, the moral ease of being a Christian, the glorious comfort of that subjective realisation of God’s love, that the people who fight Christianity so often miss.

The author arguably goes on straight away to undermine that confidence, when he talks about continuing to sin being like trampling Jesus underfoot, and how much worse it will be for the person who does that than a slack Israelite under the old rules.

But I’m convinced this is designed strongly to inspire the audience. It’s oratorical, stating the case sweepingly and strongly for dramatic performative effect.

He refers to a background of persecution. When they were under attack, they had to be brave and united and take strong stances for their beliefs. But the stunning truth about Jesus should always inspire that response. Confidence should lead to clarity boldness and commitment.

Praying for clarity! There’s so much meat to chew in Hebrews I don’t have much space to relate it, at least in what I write here, to where I am at. But I’m confused, pessimistic and mixed up. Sigh sigh, pray. Confidence, clarity and boldness, yes please!

Colossians overview

There’s so much here, in just four short chapters. Chapter one includes a glorious poem about Jesus, a vision of his godly power, to emphasise that our faith begins and ends in him.

The book is about this template of Jesus’ death and resurrection, his saving grace, transforming every aspect of our lives.

In a simple way I lived it as I read it, working hard to have positive love in my household, my secular and church interactions. To put on Jesus’ morality like a coat.

So it’s very deep, it has the core of our theology, spectacularly articulated, but it’s also very simple. It’s about accepting Jesus as lord and living out the life he modelled for us and intends for us.

1 Paul’s prayer points for the Colossians sparks off his themes, the supremacy of Christ, a solid rock in a Christian journey that can go all over the place. On a day our holiday goes pear shaped.

2 similar content to chapter 1, receiving Christ, continuing in Christ. Our faith is one of positive action, like Christ.

3 Putting on Christ like a coat, and thinking on things above, a beautiful vision of Christian life to return to.

4 A reminder to pray, and have graceful but salty conversations about our faith. Not too bland, not too insensitive. I’m not in the most receptive mood, but it’s still good

Colossians 4

I’m feeling quite emotional, because I’m at a bit of a loose end.

Our holiday, instead of being a recovery before settling into the year, was quite chaotic, leaving me car-less, affecting my shifts, making money issues worse, temporarily. It should all work out. And Daisy has lent me her car for the week!

It is unsettling for my identity not being the main earner, for the time being, and not being able to drive. Rennie is at a sensitive time, transitioning to post- school, Lewes is unwell and depressed, probably about the start of another year in his own struggle. Kelly found the holiday similarly unsatisfying. And the weather is awful. Hot, humid, grey, uninspiring.

For all that I had quite a useful day yesterday. Lots of active loving. I walked Kelly to the bus to soften the blow of work, I took Lewes to the doctor – he needed antibiotics. I made dinner for daisy and Daniel who visited.

I did my tax, late but done. A necessary pre-condition to applying for Centrelink, which even if they don’t pay anything, is a good precaution if we’re in a period of being working poor. Centrelink can support weeks where you don’t get enough shifts, and the uncertainty of Omicron is playing havoc with my bookings. It also may help reduce the cost of TAFE for Ren.

And I’m thinking of changing career yet again. At least possibly, back to communications, maybe part time, not sure. Unfortunately I’m not very good at straightforward communication, I’m more into complex, dense, eccentric and weird communication. But not many job descriptions want that. I’m hoping to slip in under the radar and grab a bit of cash before they find out and fire me again. Anyway, Centrelink may help support that transition.

Last chapter of Colossians is largely greetings.

The substance is about Paul’s prayer life. It’s strong.

It’s hard how much of Christianity is thinking and concepts. Prayer is thinking really, it requires concentration. It’s a bit like meditation I suppose. You have to find ways for it or (for me at least) it constantly falls off the table. Paul contends in prayer, his helpers do too, and he asks for earnest, ongoing prayer in return.

Also he drops his classic about conversation, being full of grace and seasoned with salt. This is in the context of using opportunities to interact with non-believers to stand out, be different, and create openings for the message of Christ.

Today the church is despairing that younger generations are turning from it in droves. But they have the same human needs as those first century people who lapped up the gospel in droves. The church has lost trust, it’s seen as cynical.

We need to fix ourselves, not our message. We can complain about being misunderstood, but authenticity wins out in the end. Better to be honest and real and actually good than work out how to curate your image, in my opinion.

Grace, seasoned with salt, is a groove we can only get back by being sincere. Paul spends most of his letters guiding Christians to live according to what they know to be right. Get that right, and the message will start to be attractive. Asking how to make the message attractive is the wrong question. It’s arrogant.

He mentions a church run by a woman, Nympha, and another letter, to the Laodicean church that some have speculated might be Ephesians.

These wealthy women who opened their houses to become churches are prominent among the 16 women Paul mentions in these parts of these letters. They were often apparently the best educated in the congregation, and would have read the letters. They were also key to distributing wealth to poorer members. Nympha only got her gender back in recent years, she spent centuries being translated as a man, because her gender didn’t fit her role to some of the early scholars.

Paul finishes with “remember my chains” The commentator observed that he’s more about looking for authority here than sympathy. Acts makes it clear he was in chains because he appealed to Caesar to avoid a local trial in Jerusalem that was an assassination plot by the Jews. The chains were evidence of the risk he took bringing the gospel to the gentiles. The commentator speculated that they may have clanked as he wrote his traditional last sentence himself.

Today is one of the messy days where I’m doing lots of processing, my mind is unsettled. No neat message, and I don’t know what to pray.

I pray that I will use my time wisely. And for family.

Colossians 2

Paul confirms that he has never met the Colossians. He struggles in prayer and concern for their spiritual journey, and those of many Christians he only knows by report.

This church has fallen into the pattern identified so clearly in that Mars Hill church podcast I listened to: law, grace, law. Rules tend to come back into the community of a church and steal away its grace. Ditto a Christian life.

This is why this letter is such a song of praise to Christ. The content of this chapter is that of the first chapter again really, talking about receiving Christ, and then continuing in Christ.

As usual I find questions of inclusion and exclusion nagging away at me. I was struck that Paul included both the Jewish Sabbath and the pagan new moon festivals in their pre-christian spiritual journeys. Things that were shadows of the mystery of God. But now they have Christ.

God chose the Jewish tradition for Christ to be born into, and blessed it with revelations and acts of salvation. But all traditions seem capable of sincere longing for knowledge of the deity. And have mysteries that will make sense if Christ sheds light on them.

It’s important to think about, but I should restrain myself too. I’ve had friends who are so burdened by the problems and riddles of all the world, but that can go in circles that never resolve until they give up in exhaustion.

Paul reacts to the moment, he doesn’t seem to imagine we will still be reading his letters. He is passionately engaged in the spiritual health of those around him, in his orbit, his place, his time. That focus is so wise.

A commentator really cracked this chapter open for me by saying that Christianity is at heart a religion of positive action. Jesus was God reaching out to us in love, dying for us. All our rules boil down to love God, love others. Positive actions.

Paul offers the ultimate reason for Jesus being better than rules, or the veneration of anyone elses: rules don’t work. Don’ts don’t work. I can say to myself “don’t lust after anyone but your wife”, but it’s doomed to failure compared to “how can I love my wife today?” The fact is I do love Kelly, deeply. But I struggle to express it in positive action, I fall back on rules.

There are still mysteries of God. Paul admitted he sees in part, through a glass darkly. But Jesus will generally answer who I should love today. The Spirit will prompt those moments in which we should love. Keep it simple! Like Christ. People and moments.

Back in Sydney, facing the complexities that close in towards the later weeks of January, this is an excellent reminder.

1 Corinthians 13

Love will guide you right.

In the context of talking about various spiritual gifts, this chapter says love is the secret sauce that will make it work. Love is how all the church will be awesome.

You have the gift of knowledge? It’s not enough to just then work at knowledge full time. You will go astray. Guide your gift with love.

I read again the wonderfully moving and well known bit about knowledge passing away and tongues being stilled, because we know in part, seeing God in a murky reflection, or through a dark glass.

But I thought at first, beautiful as it is, does it actually make sense? Why does having full knowledge, and perfect praise, when we know God clearly, mean those things have passed away? Far from passed away, aren’t they at 100%? Or is it the striving for knowledge, the striving for holy ecstacy that has passed away?

But if that’s the case, why doesn’t being fully loved also mean that partial striving to love, imperfect love, hasn’t also passed away?

I think it’s because unlike the others, love is a shortcut to God’s mind. Knowledge, or striving for elevated spiritual experiences, unguided by love will go in all sorts of ignorant directions. Like childish notions of monsters under the bed and what not.

Love is the simplest, easiest and most direct way for our actions to be beautiful to eternity, to stand when everything else is gone. Even as we use our gifts.

When he says “love never fails” maybe he means as in like an exam as well as unfailing. You won’t fail to do God’s will if you are guided by love.

Jesus was so knowing when he said “love your neighbour as you love yourself”. To base the standard on your own self regard. I challenge anyone to read the central verses and not have part of your soul leap a bit inside you and think “Nailed it. That’s what I need most of all”.

And of course, simultaneously also coming back at you the whole time… Then that’s surely what you must be.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Luke 19

Jesus gets to Jerusalem in this chapter, which in each gospel signifies the last week of his life. His peak acknowledgement, being praised as he rides in on the donkey, and peak hatred, as Jewish and gentile processes condemn the Lord to death.

There is one last biographical moment, the joyful story of Zaccheus, as Jesus travels through Jericho, and one last parable before we arrive.

Zaccheus only turns up in Luke, and he’s introduced as short, rich, socially seen as a traitor to the Romans by being a tax collector, but incredibly keen to see Jesus.

It’s a very Lukian detail, him climbing a Sycamore tree to compensate for being short. That wry sweet slightly comic story telling I loved in Acts so much.

It signals to Jesus that Z is ripe for spiritual discovery. I used to think it was supernatural that Jesus knew to invite himself to zaccheus’ house but now I think it’s just plain old detective work, being alert for signs and opportunities for spiritual engagement, that I could do too.

Zaccheus is SO ready to repent and transform his life. His joy in over-settling his debts and giving half of his wealth away is a nice bookend to the sad rich young ruler who wasn’t ready, and made repentance seem impossible. Jesus is alert to the possible, and jumps in to Zaccheus’ life to give it a poke.

This example of wealth management segues nicely into the parable, which is explicitly preparing the disciples for the fact of Jesus’ departure and return. And how to live in the interim (ie: my life).

It’s how some nobles use wealth held on trust while a king goes away to have his kingship confirmed. It’s similar but different to the parable of the talents.

The scenario would have been familiar to Jews at this time, because their King, Herod, had to travel to Rome to be confirmed. Jesus even includes a sub-plot about a delegation also going to undermine the king’s claim, which actually happened to Herod.

And the message is similar to the wrap-up of the parable in the last chapter, of the dishonest manager. Don’t hate wealth, and don’t hoard it. Use it. It’s literal and it’s spiritual. Our spiritual connection to the heavenly treasure of blessing is richer if we are trustworthy with literal riches.

So Jesus enters Jerusalem, accepts the recognition as King, Messiah, goes and flips the tables in the temples, and the train is set in motion.

Plus he stops to weep, for what might have been, for the passing of the last moment that the physical city of Jerusalem and all it means could repent and recognise the fulfillment of God’s promises. Complex tears, the Lord torn by regret, the Creator frustrated.  What it means for the divine to include humanness.

So, back in my life, I did apply for 14 jobs. A mix of communications and carer positions. My toe in the pond, my hook in the river. 

Got a call back about filling a maternity gap at Fujitsu, which would be full time writing about air conditioners, printers and such. It seems a violence to all the possibilities I have with the time available to me. But don’t hate wealth, eh, use it? The thought of being able to pay for everything is very appealing. When Jesus had to pay his taxes, they caught a fish with money in it. Maybe one of those is tugging on my line.

From the carer roles I applied for, zip.

And here’s an old song I wrote in the 80’s that i’ve always thought was pretty good, about Jesus’ tears:

Luke 17

Don’t plan to be in God’s kingdom, acknowledge you are in it.

Jesus blows the disciples minds by telling them to endlessly forgive people who say they repent. Infinite patience. To do less is to be a stumbling block to them.

Jesus tells them to adjust their thinking. What he’s asking is not mind blowing, and didn’t require super faith. A mustard seed’s worth should be enough 

It’s normal. Just doing your job.

When he heals 10 lepers, and only one, the Samaritan, returns gratitude, you sense how much unacknowledged blessing there always is. God doesn’t need to convince us with miracles, we need to acknowledge where blessing comes from.

There’s no point aspiring to enter God’s kingdom, it comes to you not you to it. When you least expect it. Live in it now.

Some of Daisy’s friends are not averse to Christianity, but don’t see the urgency. They plan to do a St. Augustine, “make me holy but not yet”.  This message is for that.

But also for me, a believer, it’s a good perspective on the fray, the micromanaging of tasks and frustrations that make up our days. Not to get lost in them. And not to minimise the spiritual in them.

I’ve been a little down and stressed out of late, just the accumulation of things. Flu included. What is this saying into that?

Hmm, that’s tricky.

Don’t imbue doing “the right thing” in God’s eyes with nobility. Adjust to that simply being your job. It’s a bit of a harsh lesson.

Work on the small choices, like forgiving your fellow humans, less on the big ones like “where will I be in five years time?”

I said “as blog is my witness” I would apply for jobs last week. Didn’t, but Centrelink intervened with a new job plan. 13 applications due Wednesday, or the money spigot is turned off, such as it is.

Good thing, it will be interesting bringing kingdom thinking to that process.

I wrote a song about the ten lepers years ago now, pretty rough but catchy, eh?

Acts 26

Paul is using the emptiness of his legal charges to his own advantage.

By appealing to Caesar he requires them to find a plausible case against him. You can’t just send someone to the High Court saying “this person is accused of vague charges we don’t understand”. So Paul is before Agrippa, who is Rome’s resident Jewish expert, to trump up something substantial enough.

Paul’s interests are: protection from the murderous Jewish leaders, a free ticket to Rome, and preaching the good news about Jesus.

So Paul uses his opportunity to speak to give his testimony, a call-to-believe calculated to appeal to Agrippa.

Did he get his audience wrong though?

Festus, who just wants Paul in the out-tray, loses patience and calls him insane. The seed falls on the path, shall we say.

Agrippa is unmoved in his public statement (who knows what was in his heart). He marvels at Paul’s boldness, using his defence statement to try to make him a Christian on the spot. But he’s quite dismissive.

It’s a double fail, but Paul has no regret. I loved his quip that he would like everyone to be as he is… “except these chains”. He seems to be having a pretty good time.

And next, finally, Paul’s off to Rome. I guess.

I did a day at TRYP A.K.A. Col Snr’s house in Casula yesterday. He was busy preparing to go to Charlton, a town way beyond Burke. The man never stops. It wasn’t the time for me to sit down and tell them my opinions. But I asked him for the chance when he gets back.

I showed him a picture of Steven Stewart, at 109 (probably) Australia’s oldest indigenous man. He still spends 3 months a year on the road as a senior lore expert “it’s very hard work”. I asked Col if that was his future, and he laughed quite delightedly.

Nice calm day today, I felt I was doing what I should be. The garden arch project now requires focus because Kelly got a grant of $1000 to do it. We have to.

And Gardening Australia called and will probably be going ahead with featuring her plant library, which is exciting. But it puts about a two week deadline on finishing the arch, which was sorta supposed to be done in summer.

Rennie cheered up, an answer to prayer.

Lessons today? Connections between my life and the passage?

Both of us Pauls could objectively be described as in a bit of a pickle, he detained for a false crime, me coming to terms with the fact that the employment option may not switch on again as easily as I thought. But both of us feel like it’s in God’s hands.

He’s focused, I’m… getting there.

Acts 24

Interesting chapter. First of a few chapters of Paul’s various trials.

The Roman governor of Judea, Felix, tries him, and doesn’t find him guilty of anything, but won’t release him because of the risk to Jewish peace, not to mention the risk to Paul.

He speaks a lot to Paul, Luke comments dryly that he has some interest in the Way, and his wife is Jewish, but he’s also angling for a bribe. Paul is under semi arrest for two years… He’s allowed visitors. 

It’s a plotty chapter with not much spiritual element. But I was impressed with Paul’s focus. His core business is telling people about Jesus, and that’s what he does, right through two years of enforced meetings with Felix.

Paul lets Felix have it on the subject of righteousness, self control and judgement, which makes Felix scared, but he continues to send for him.

The super efficient disconnected pointlessness of it reminded me of the “no biggie” scene in the Coen Brothers movie “burn after Reading”.

I’m back in Sydney now, Sunday, back to the grind of unclarity, of where next, and the work of trying to stay connected to Lew and Ren, both of whom have reasons to be depressed, and are spending a lots of time in their rooms.

Praying for Lewes and Ren, and for the kids at Bourke as I continue to process it all.

I tuned into the scarred tree zoom church this evening (indigenous church operating out of our church). They had prayers written about deaths in custody, which had everyone reeling. I would hate that to happen to any of the TRYP kids. It could.

A positive, Kelly and I enjoying being back together so much. We’re so happy, and good for each other’s mental health.