Let the celebration and dancing begin!

John 8: 12 – 30

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’                                                                 

Jesus is still at the Feast of Tabernacles and uses a metaphor regarding Himself that everybody would understand. There was a ‘water pouring’ ceremony (John7: 37-39) and a ‘lighting of the lamps’ ceremony conducted at this feast. You can imagine that when the lamps are being prepared or even lit to allow the dancing and celebration of the reign of God among His people for anyone to claim to be the light of the world could only mean one thing; the coming of the reign of God among His people has been inaugurated by that person. This is exactly the personal claim of Jesus. It is another ‘I AM’ claim of Jesus. Jesus is the One who is the light that allows the celebration of the reign of God, the liberation of God’s people from all that enslaves them, the coming together of the community to walk together towards the promised home and to experience the ongoing forgiveness, reconciliation and care of an ever creating, redeeming and sustaining God. Here Jesus, in the midst of the ritual symbolism of the ancient people of God identifies Himself as the source of liberation and renewal for the whole world. In recent times we have experienced the extreme darkness of this world, globally, nationally and personally. The world is in a crises of fundamentalism, nationally we have competing identities and the striving to meet our own needs our own way and personally the securities that we once placed our trust in appear under attack through austerity measures and leaders that seem out of touch with ordinary people. But in this darkness a light shines; we could allow ourselves to be drawn towards this light of hope, reconciliation, interdependence, inclusion and the serving of others before ourselves. This light is powerful enough to light the whole world. This light is the teachings and practices of Jesus of the Nazareth sermon. If we would follow, the celebration of the recovery of our true identity could begin. We are made in the image of God and can meet our needs individually and collectively in the way we were created to do so; simply hear the words of Jesus and put them into practice. Let the celebration and dancing begin!   

Neither do I condemn you....

John 7: 53 – 8: 11

John 8: 11

And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.’

This passage and the story it contains may not have been in the original manuscripts of John’s Gospel, but it is still worth considering; why? Because if a community of disciples thought it was necessary to include it perhaps there was slippage away from what Jesus of the Nazareth sermon actually taught regarding the social actors and issues contained in this story. In this story there are questions being asked and answered through a story that is mobilising certain key personal and social identities within a wider community that is debating essential characteristics of social cohesion and justice. The teacher is Jesus and He is portrayed as a threat to the ruling religious elite who are attempting to entrap Him. It is interesting that they choose two very significant social identities namely gender and sexuality and the social constructs of law, authority and justice. What should happen to a woman (where is the man caught in the alleged adultery? The woman is sexualised as a deceptive Eve) law breaker? Jesus will have none of this stereotyping of women or indeed stereo typing of sexuality. Jesus knows these people are intent on killing the woman and they are intent on dragging Jesus into their misogynistic, murderous schemes. Ah ‘guilt and innocence?’ It is suggested by the writer that the teachings and practices of Jesus of the Nazareth sermon are clear.  If anybody has only met their needs God’s way and never their own way they can land the first blow, otherwise, what right have you to condemn to death?  It is clearly being taught that we have all met our needs our own way; on this basis we are all condemned.  The writer is appealing through Jesus to the readers of John’s gospel to reject the old misogynistic sexualised view of women and embrace a new inclusive, mutually empowering and life giving approach of inclusion and equality. The accusers walk away one by one not wanting to be claiming to be sinless; that would be blasphemy and yes you’ve guessed it; this would result in their own death penalty. Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you….’ Jesus offers a new way of life, a life which rejects meeting our needs our own self-centred way. Jesus offers us all the opportunity to hear His words and put them into practice; He offers us a new view of each other free from the old stereotypes and misogynistic views. These are very contemporary concerns for our time and place in history. They were obviously concerns of those early disciples who felt they had to include this story in the story of Jesus as it revealed his teaching and practice; the practice of inclusion, equality and restorative justice.               

Justice for all...

John 7 : 37-52

37 On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, ³⁸and let the one who believes in me drink. ………

We often think that how someone lives and speaks tells a lot about that person. But does it? When people live under oppressive regimes or in oppressive relationships they may have to hide their true identity and values to remain personally safe.  In Jesus time people were thirsty for justice. They lived under a range of oppressive social and religious forces that meant they had to be very careful what they said and how they acted. On the one hand the empire of Rome guaranteed a peace for taxes and submission to Roman authority; on the other hand the religious fanatics insisted that their ritual laws and practices of homage be observed or the full weight of their religious intolerance would fall upon any dissenter. The craving for justice was a raging fire in the throat of ordinary people. Jesus came to satisfy that thirst. We often think that it is only the oppressed that thirst for justice but this is not so. In our story today, undercover cops and some of the religious leaders who are clearly identified with the oppression of the people find ways of preventing Jesus being arrested. They appeal for the teachings of Jesus to be heard as a form of justice because He promises liberation for them also. Jesus offers peace and reconciliation between the oppressed and the oppressor. Jesus is seen as identifying with and standing by the oppressed but at the same time He is offering reconciliation and Justice as inclusion and change for all.  In our day and time the forces of oppression and abuse, segregate and kill: physically, socially, psychologically and environmentally. As Christian disciples we must stand on the side of the oppressed and at the same time appeal to the oppressor to be reconciled and participate in mutually changing and empowering processes of justice for all.          

The transforming power of peace-making

John 7: 11-36

19 ‘Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why are you looking for an opportunity to kill me?’

If there is one revelation that we need more than any other, especially those of us who live by the words of Jesus as revealed in scripture it’s this:  Jesus came and pointed out that the law of Moses, the law of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob fulfilled by Jesus and the law by which disciples of Jesus frame their entire life, this law of life, has been hijacked by the forces that rage against God and us and turned into a law to justify murder. ‘Why are you looking for an opportunity to kill me?’ asked Jesus. This destiny of death has been the destiny of many prophets of peace. Jesus, proclaimed in the prophets as the ‘Prince of Peace’ was the target for the killers. Peace is always the target that has to be destroyed by those who may be experts in the law but are ignorant of the One who gave us the law. Jesus claimed that His words were life and His followers experienced them as such. The giving of life meant the laying down of arms and the taking up of a cross this is participating in the transforming power of peace-making.  Peace-makers are transformed into such through participation in the Kingdom of peace-making. Granting the gift of life to another rejuvenates, renews and reasserts life in the giver. This is the revelation; this is the recognition of the power of the cross of the gospel and the power of the resurrection.  The revelation of the God of Peace is in Jesus, in and through His life and voluntary death of Jesus. Jesus refuses to call to arms the tens of thousands of ‘messengers of war’ at His command and reveals Himself as an offering of peace. The end result was the renewing of life, resurrection life and life which has no end. The resurrection teaches us that the power of love and life cannot be destroyed by the powers of hate, murder and violence. The cross may be our lived experience but in the end life wins life for all. Here we must be radical, as radical as the self-offering of Jesus; the gospel of peace is offered to those so dedicated to the crucifixion of their enemies that they have become blind even to their own reasoning.  Jesus is reported to have said at His cross: ‘Father forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.’  They don’t know they are killing their only hope for peace. A centurion soldier in charge of the crucifixion recognises for the first time how peace is made.  It is the same today. Men of violence do not know that in all their striving to save their own lives they are in fact killing their only hope of life by their violence. The men of violence may be convinced that they have a divine right and are invincible but they are simply delusional; mad on the narcotics of self-destructive murder. Some say Armageddon will be the final battle of conflicting armies whose destiny is self-destructive violence; but Jesus of the Nazareth sermon; the One who offered His life for the lives of the many at the cross will be there, and He will turn that battlefield into a peace rally. The battle will not be won through yet more righteous violence but through Jesus irresistible call to eternal peace already won at the cross. The call to peace will finally be heard and all the blood shed down through the millennia will not drown any of us in a flood of hate but will be restored and renewed for its life giving purpose. We can participate in this renewal process today; simply hear the words of Jesus and put them into practice. The eternal peace-maker is with us and will never leave us; this is the law of Christ the fulfilment of the law of Moses; what will we do with it?        

No excuses!

Matthew 8: 19-22; Luke 9: 51-62

Luke 9: 51-53

51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. ⁵²And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; ⁵³but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem.

Not everyone accepts the teachings and practices of the Kingdom of God inaugurated by Jesus. For those of us who have thrown our lot in with Jesus this can be a hard fact to accept; we struggle to understand why.  Jesus is quite clear on what our attitude should be in such circumstances; live in peace and respect.  The gospel is a peace-making approach to understanding life not a war making approach. Without dissent or the possibility of dissent there can be no genuine discipleship; let’s face it discipleship and especially Anabaptist discipleship is form of dissent. We have decided not to live by the ethics of contemporary culture but instead we have adopted the radical alternative way of life taught by Jesus. We have decided to take the words of Jesus seriously and put them into practice. Others and indeed the majority of our culture have decided not to do this. As a minority, this will mean that we will benefit from our culture extending to us understanding and acceptance and we are taught by Jesus to have the grace to extend the same respect and kindness to our neighbours who do not accept Jesus as Lord. This is of great importance to any hope of peace-making being successful; pluralism may not be perfect but it’s the best option in a diverse culture where interdependence can be cultivated based on mutual respect and positive regard. There is a cost to being a disciple of Jesus; the cost is taking the words of Jesus seriously and applying them to our lives. Loving our neighbours as much as we love ourselves seems to be a great place to start. No excuses!  

Scotland's Climate Action Story

Social Justice and Social Inclusion....

Matthew 18: 15-35

21 Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ ²²Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.

Have you ever wondered what would make a new community and society work?  I’m sure if we asked for suggestions we would get a plethora of responses: economic prosperity, jobs, military security, a welfare state, human rights, a written constitution, a sound currency and so on and on we would go…. Jesus of the Nazareth sermon inaugurated a new community, a Kingdom and for three years He taught through His words and practices what that new community is like. It is a diverse community made up of people from all walks of life. It has a law that is shared by all (Matthew 5-7) and it is a society that meets the holistic needs of its people in an ethical way where peacemaking, care and compassion promote social cohesion and wellbeing. There is one other characteristic and practice that all of this depends on; forgiveness. Without forgiveness, there can be no reconciliation, no new start, no new community and no life transforming Kingdom. Forgiveness is not just an individual act it’s a mechanism for social cohesion and building of a joint future based on peace and mutual respect. Forgiveness is a social construct as well as an individual one. Lack of individual forgiveness undermines social wellbeing. There are people who put themselves outside the mainstream of society; their situation requires the most serious of consideration, monitoring and where possible reconciliation and restoration must come quickly. But perhaps it is worth considering that we all exclude too readily?  An inclusive society has to explore ways to live alongside those it finds difficult and challenging or it will descend into a culture where incarceration and exclusion replaces inclusion. Incarceration and exclusion is more complex and diverse than a physical prison for law breakers; incarceration includes the incarceration and exclusion of: poverty, homelessness, joblessness, fuel poverty, addiction, misogyny, homophobia and so the list goes on and on. Here the victims are the ones incarcerated and justice is denied to those the law claims to protect.   Forgiveness and reconciliation is a process of inclusion, of hearing competing voices and seeking out restorative socially just processes; it is not a one off act. It is so powerful because it acknowledges the offence and exploitation but sets the victim free to get on with their life while the perpetrator is given the opportunity and invitation to participate in making amends through promoting the wellbeing of the victim and the wider community. The justice system of any new community will have to radically rethink how it dispenses justice if any transformation is to be realised. As for disciples of Jesus of the Nazareth sermon the approach and practice is clear; forgiveness and restorative reconciliation is the bases of the new community of social inclusion. Our community participates in the Celebrate Recovery Programme as a vehicle for exploring and implementing these challenging changes to how we can live together. You will be made welcome should you choose to explore forgiveness as the road to reconciliation and justice further. Tuesday 7pm The Fountain Lesmahagow and  The Coffee Cup, Stonehouse, 7pm Thursdays.