Sorted! - Sunday 25th June 2017

Jesus’ judgement-related parables do not make comfortable reading for a 21st century audience. There was a time when the fear and threat of divine judgement was the staple diet of western Christianity, but in recent decades churches have tended to shy away from the theme.
What makes us feel uncomfortable is the mental image of God as a high court judge, condemning and sentencing the guilty. However, that is not the image that Jesus was trying to convey. They didn’t have that kind of judge in his day. A judge’s task was to settle disputes and resolve muddle.
One of Jesus’ parables presents a fishing net, full of all kinds of fish. The part that God’s kingdom plays is to sort out the catch, putting the good fish into baskets and getting rid of the bycatch. In another parable he talks in terms of wheat and weeds, but the message is the same. When the right time comes, God will sort it all out. The good grain will be preserved, and the weeds disposed of.
Jesus’ message is - as always - down to earth. What is kept is everything that is fitting, real and genuine. What is thrown out is anything which is tedious, painful or grievous. (This is the true meaning of the words usually translated as ‘righteous’ and ‘evil’)
Putting aside the unhelpful image of a vengeful judge, it would be better to see God as a loving and concerned parent, tidying up their child’s messy room. When the time is right, God will tidy up this world. He will put all the useful stuff in its rightful place, and will deal appropriately with all the rubbish, the dirty washing and the mouldy sandwiches.
Sorted!

Silently effective - Sunday 18th June 2017

One of my domestic pleasures is baking my own bread. I maintain a small blue pot containing a live yeast culture. All I have to do, each day, is to mix half of my yeast culture into some flour and water, add a little salt, knead it all together, and leave the dough to slowly rise until the loaf is light and fluffy and ready for baking. This is the very same method for baking bread that was used in the ancient world.
Jesus said that God’s work is like yeast, which when mixed into flour, silently leavens the dough.
Christians often make the mistake of muddling up the church and the kingdom of God, assuming that Jesus’ parable is about the growth of the church (their own church in particular). It is not. Jesus parables about God’s kingdom are not about the church as an organisation, but give us insight into how God is working in this world, day by day, community by community.
God’s kingdom is not showy or attention seeking; it does not draw attention to itself in any way. It works silently and unseen to bring life, love and forgiveness to the world.
When I carefully shape my daily bread into a loaf, I cannot see the yeast, or hear it, and it’s effect on the dough is so slow that I cannot see the change taking place. But as long as the yeast is there, doing it’s discreet work, I know my bread will rise and - come lunchtime - I will have a lovely crusty loaf.
We do not need to announce to the world what we are doing in God’s name. We simply need to mix ourselves into our communities and make a godly difference.

Buried Treasure - Sunday 11th June 2017

I’m guessing that you have at some point in your life indulged in a fantasy about discovering buried treasure, which solves all your financial worries for life. It's a common human daydream and one that goes back a very long way. People had similar fantasies in Jesus’ day, so Jesus composed two parables on the subject.
In his first treasure story, God’s kingdom is likened to treasure buried in a field. Someone discovers it, and pools all their financial resources in order to buy the field and claim the treasure. Like all Jesus’ parables, there are numerous strands to pull on.
The stuff of God is treasure, but it is not ostentatious, showy treasure. God’s treasure is buried; it's hard to notice. Most people don't ever realise it's there. If we are going to notice the things that God treasures, we will need to look very carefully, and we will need to understand what it is that we are looking for: not the things that humans treasure, but the things that God treasures.
In his second treasure parable, Jesus turns the image around. This time God’s kingdom is not like the treasure but like the treasure hunter - a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he finds one of great value, he sells everything he has in order to buy it.
God is a treasure hunter too! God has a fantasy of discovering an unmatchable treasure among the human race. But he isn’t looking for something that will ease his financial anxiety - quite the opposite: God would give up everything to obtain such a treasure.
What is it that God is looking for? Who is it that God is looking for? Perhaps it’s you.

Small and Plain - Sunday 4th June 2017

How do you imagine the Kingdom of God? You may not have a specific visual image for it, but take a moment to consider what images the idea of the Kingdom of God brings up in your mind.
Now picture a seed - not a massive seed like a coconut, nor a beautifully feathered one like a dandelion, nor a tasty one like a sunflower - just an ordinary little brown seed that you might plant in a garden.
Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is like a seed - not a grand or beautiful one - but like a mustard seed, which was the smallest seed commonly used in farming in his day. It is a deliberately anti-heroic image. The kingdom of God is like a small, plain, brown thing - but a small, plain, brown thing that grows.
It is a common error to imagine the things of God as being bright and spectacular. Ancient philosophers spoke of God as being greater than the greatest being imaginable. But remember the story of Elijah: there was a great wind, and an earthquake and a fire, but God wasn’t in any of these; then there came a gentle whisper, and Elijah heard the voice of God. Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed recalibrates our perspective on God. The kingdom of God is like a tiny seed.
Like all of Jesus’ parables, this parable can lead our imaginations down numerous intriguing paths. Here is one of them: the work of God in this world is made up of tiny opportunities - opportunities to love, to care and to forgive. The work of God is not made up of grand gestures, and ecstatic visions, but of the small and plain moments when we choose to do the godly thing. These barely noticeable incedents of godliness are like seeds; they grow and they bear fruit, and they change the world.
Consider yourself going out into God’s world equipped with a pocketful of small, plain seeds. Keep on the lookout for opportunities to plant them in the everyday needs and struggles of the world around you. This is the kingdom of God.

Size Matters - Sunday 21st May 2017

In the world of education, size matters. The larger a class, the less efficiently pupils learn. Wealthy families pay significant sums of money to put their children in schools with small classes. Political parties promise huge sums of money to reduce class sizes in state run schools. Smaller is almost always better when it comes to learning groups.
Jesus knew this. As a rabbi, he was part of an adult education system that was committed to delivering high quality, wholistic, learning. But Jesus faced a serious problem: his teaching and message was so popular that he soon had too many pupils (disciples). As a result, his educational mission risked becoming inefficient and ineffective.
Rabbinic tradition advised that no rabbi should have more disciples than he could effectively teach. Following this principle, Jesus robustly cut his class size down to just twelve. There must have been a lot of disappointed men and women that day, but Jesus wasn’t trying to build a large movement; he was trying to teach a renewed philosophy of life and faith. At key moments Jesus cut that group down even further, to just three: Peter, James and John.
Most Christian churches fail to be Christlike in this matter. Churches like to be big, and big churches are considered to be successful. But the bigger a church grows, the less efficient it becomes at delivering Jesus’ teaching. Some growing churches wisely sub-divide themselves into small groups where effective learning can take place.
As a teacher, Jesus knew that size matters - smaller is better.

Wonderful Disagreement - Sunday 14th May 2017

It's a rather obvious point to make, but a lot of things look very different when seen from different perspectives. Take a simple thing like a cork, for example. Look at it from one angle and you see a circle. Turn it round a bit and you see a rectangle. Two people looking at the same cork from different perspectives could have an intense debate about what shape this thing is. They would both be right - to an extent, and they would both be wrong - to an extent. The truth is that there is more to a humble cork than can be seen from any one viewpoint.
In life, society, church, faith, politics etc. we need differences. Things are complex; no one person's opinion or perspective is complete. Without disagreement we can never grasp the truth. However, human beings have a strong tendency to gather around those people who see things the same way that they do. This happens in churches as well.
In the traditional model of church life, one point of view dominates all others - that of the minister. When that happens, no matter how insightful and saintly the minister may be, there will be important perspectives that are missing. To make the situation worse, there is a high chance that the people who hold those important alternative perspectives will leave and seek a church that sees things their way.
We need differences of opinion, but they are not easy to manage. Moses did not work alone; he worked in partnership with his sister, Miriam, and his brother, Aaron. At some points in their story, the contributions of Miriam and Aaron were essential; at other points their judgement was less good. Stresses developed and God had to take the three of them aside to get their relationship back on track. Forgiveness was required.
We need different perspectives, preferences and priorities in our communities, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy or comfortable. Forgiveness will always be required.

Small is Beautiful - Sunday 7th May 2017

When four young students in ancient Babylon began to meet together to discuss their shared love of the food, customs and beliefs of Jerusalem (their place of birth), something started which had a positive impact on the future of both cities for generations to come.
When four young Galilean fishermen - who often talked together about their hopes for the future of their nation and their faith - decided to take a holiday to listen to the teaching of John the Baptist, something started which continues to have an impact across this planet, even today.
It is amazing what God can do with a handful of people who share a common interest and have the determination to put their ideas into action.
Human culture is frequently obsessed with size. Be it in business, politics or religion, we assume that bigger is better. God appears to see things differently. More often than not, when God does something wonderful its origins lie in efforts of a small group of people who got together around a common interest.
Churchill famously said, “Never was so much owed by so many to so few.” He was referring to the efforts of the Royal Air Force, but the same words could just as well be applied to those whose determined efforts have brought the the good news of God’s love to our corner of this world.
In big church congregations our potency for God’s kingdom is easily lost or diluted. It is when we get together in small groups that things begin to make a difference. Small is indeed beautiful in God’s eyes.