Change

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Time to Move On

Posted by David Ward on 02/01/2021
Posted in: Bible, church. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Some of you will know that during 2020 I’ve been working my way through a personal study of the 12 Minor Prophets whose writings appear at the end of the Old Testament. I started it during first lockdown as a way of keeping sharp and because I realised that in all my years as a follower of Jesus I haven’t really given them more than a cursory glance, even when I have been reading right through the whole Bible.

As I said in a previous post, I discovered that although these prophets spoke many years ago their messages had a surprising contemporary edge. Is I decided that I’d publish some short reflections on the Minor Prophets as a podcast called “Ancient Prophets:Modern Message”.

As the year turns I’ve completed my study of 9 of the prophets…3 to go!

The final 3, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi all delivered God’s message to the people of Israel after their return from their traumatic exile in Babylon. The world they had known had been swept away in a torrent of invasion, destruction and exile. They returned to a land and a city (Jerusalem) that bore little resemblance to the one they had left behind.

Early this morning I was reading Haggai (it’s a very short Bible book, 2 chapters, 38 verses). I was struck with how apt this prophet’s message is as we leave 2020 behind and tread fearfully and hopefully into 2021.

However things may appear, many things that we took for granted a year ago have gone. It’s also true that some very good things; a renewed sense of community after the divisiveness of the original Brexit vote in the UK, an increased awareness of systemic racism, and more of a commitment to looking after our planet have come into sharper focus and we should strive not to lose these things again.

In the church we have been freed from the comfort and limitations of our buildings…not that church buildings are bad, but they have become the focus of escape from the world and an “attractional” gospel that bears little resemblance to the church of the first Christians, a place where we put on weekly services that often lack any real engagement with the world at large (I was encouraged to see that when services went online, many churches also found ways to continue the practical ministries of feeding the hungry and caring for the poor which get us out of our buildings and into the community to share the love of God in practical ways). Those of us who lead have been reminded of our responsibility to equip our church members to live for Jesus in the places where God has placed them…family, work, government…wherever they spend the majority of their time. The work God has for the church to do is not restricted to a couple of hours in our buildings on a Sunday.

Haggai writes to the people of Israel at a time when they are struggling with two things: firstly, they have lost their sense of focus and secondly, they are spending too much time looking back instead of moving forward.

[3] Then the LORD sent this message through the prophet Haggai: [4] “Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins? [5] This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! [6] You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!

Haggai 1: 3-6 NLT

For them, the Temple represented the major way that God had chosen to interact with his people. Sadly, the first returners had become focussed on rebuilding their own homes and lives with little thought for God’s greater plans…they were neglecting the rebuilding of the Temple, the symbol of God’s presence among them. As coronavirus becomes less of a threat and restriction on our lives, let’s not get side-tracked into restarting all our church activities, or even our personal lives without paying attention to what God is, and wants to be, doing among us and through us. The people of Israel were not prospering because they were not doing things God’s way…let’s not miss out on what God wants us to be doing in this new world.

Haggai identifies the reason they are not getting on with the rebuilding that God wants.

[2] “Say this to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of God’s people there in the land: [3] ‘Does anyone remember this house-this Temple-in its former splendour? How, in comparison, does it look to you now? It must seem like nothing at all! [4] But now the LORD says: Be strong, Zerubbabel. Be strong, Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people still left in the land. And now get to work, for I am with you, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. [5] My Spirit remains among you, just as I promised when you came out of Egypt. So do not be afraid.’


Haggai 2: 2-5 NLT

It seems that they were looking back to the way things were, and consequently couldn’t believe that a new way of doing things, in a much simpler Temple might actually be what God wants. They’re losing heart because the work they’re doing seems inconsequential. Let’s not lose heart in the new things that God is wanting to do. Let’s not retreat into the safety and security of doing things the way we always have. That seems more like laziness than faith. Working, worshipping and witnessing will probably look quite different, although some things may remain the same. A minister friend of mine confided, “We weren’t prepared to do ministry like this at college”.

The issue is not about doing old things, it’s failing to recognise and take part in the new when that’s what God wants. We may well have to work hard and pray hard, listening and watching for glimpses of God’s Spirit and finding ways to do the things God says. God is still at work, and I believe he will equip his people to join in with what he’s doing.

Reading random recommendations…

Posted by David Ward on 10/12/2016
Posted in: Books/Articles, Personal thoughts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

subheader_recommended_reading

I am an avid reader of books, especially history, theology, travel and philosophy.

I still love the convenience and feel of real books, but I also own and use an e-reader (I often take advantage of cheaper prices for e-books, then pick up a print copy if I know it is a book I will read/refer to again). I also love to save interesting and useful articles I find, using the convenient “Instapaper” app and website.

I don’t know how you choose the books you read…I find that personal recommendation by friends goes a long way.

Just recently, whilst reading posts by friends on “Facebook” I came across what were, for them, just throw-away mentions of a couple of books (may not even have been on their own Facebook pages, because although I’ve tried I can find no trace of the posts now).

Martin Neil, of wandering musician and “Voices from the Nations” fame,

mentioned that he had given away more copies of “Windows of the Soul”, by Ken Gire, than he could remember. A book good enough to give away on multiple occasions got my attention.

Then Norman Cumming, of Northumbria Community and minister of West Craven Baptist Fellowship, sang the praises of “Paradoxy”, by Ken Howard…intriguing title and a recommendation by Norman caught my attention here.

Both books read on e-reader, then hard copies obtained and awaiting a second read (I have a backlog of books waiting!). I’m also currently using another of Ken Gire’s books of daily readings…very good stuff.

Needless to say, I found both books extremely helpful and certainly life-building. Pick up a copy if you can, or wait for my forthcoming reviews on this blog.

Day four of forty…Boundaries 2

Posted by David Ward on 13/02/2016
Posted in: Bible, Lent, Personal thoughts, Relationships. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

do-not-cross

Jesus was a rabbi and teacher. Paul worked in cross-cultural mission. Both were Jewish men influenced by their context and culture.

Paul’s teaching on women in society and church has often been misunderstood, misinterpreted and deliberately misused. I believe he has been wrongly maligned. His first responsibility was to introduce Jesus to people who had no Jewish background and experience of God to help them out. He was anxious to put no cultural or contextual barriers in the way, avoiding obscuring the message of and about Jesus. Faith in Jesus was his first priority…he assumed that changes in lifestyle and cultural attitudes would follow on from the change to people’s hearts.

And Jesus?

 [38] As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. [39] She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. [40] 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!” [41] “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, [42] 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 NIV

According to sources writing about Jewish society and culture in Jesus time, women were much freer in Jewish society than we have often been led to believe. Many of the restrictions, like separation of men from women at worship seem to have been introduced later than the first century AD.

Nevertheless, for many of the early readers of the Gospels something quite shocking is going on in the story of Mary, Martha and Jesus.

I’ve heard many sermons which speak about the active life and the contemplative life as equally good ways to serve Jesus. I don’t really think the passage is about different kinds of Christian lifestyle…it’s about responding to the call of Jesus to use our God-given gifts and experiences to build God’s Kingdom…regardless of our gender.

“If we were first century visitors, we would have recognised the significance of something else in that story. It was customary for rabbis to sit on low pillows or chairs while they were teaching. Their disciples would sit on the ground or on mats around them. That’s how the phrase “sit at his feet” became an idiom for learning from a rabbi. In Acts 22: 3, Paul describes himself as someone who had learned “at the feet of Gamaliel” (NRSV). So when Mary was described as “sitting at Jesus feet”, she was being described as a disciple. Clearly, Jesus welcomed her as such.”

Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg, “Sitting at the feet of Rabbi Jesus” p 14

Early gospel readers would have understood that in this story Jesus is calling Mary to follow him, a rabbi and teacher, as a disciple. Disciples were more than just followers in the sense that we often talk about ‘discipleship’ in a watered-down way today. They were chosen by the rabbi to sit at their feet, to listen and learn, to debate and question and, ultimately, to go out and teach others what the rabbi had taught them.

“The real problem between Martha and Mary wasn’t the workload that Martha had in the kitchen. That, no doubt, was real enough, but it wasn’t the main thing that was upsetting Martha…No the real problem was that Mary was behaving as if she was a man. In that culture, as in many parts of the world to this day, houses were divided into male ‘space’ and female ‘space’ and male and female roles were strictly demarcated as well. Mary had crossed an invisible but very important boundary within the house, and another equally important boundary in the social world.

Tom Wright, “Luke for Everyone” p 130

Mary and Martha

Many would have seen Mary sitting in a place generally reserved for men instead of getting on with a woman’s domestic work, which may well have been behind Martha’s complaint, “Come on Lord, get my sister to behave like a real woman!” In effect, Jesus reply, “Mary has chosen what is better…” suggests that he thought that there could be much more to being a ‘real’ woman than preparing meals, raising children and doing housework if that is what God has equipped you and called you to be (and actually, I believe that ‘real’ men can do those things too, as part of their calling to marriage and parenthood).

As Jesus travels to Jerusalem and a confrontation with the religious leaders of the day, everywhere he goes he is leaving behind evidence of just how radical, how boundary-breaking, the call to follow him must be.