Happiness is something we long for. Yet happiness is elusive and, at best, momentary. Where then can we find the riches of a lasting experience that satisfies the depths of our soul?

Today we turn to the first of Jesus’ Beatitudes found in Matthew 5:3 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.

Blessed. Some translations use ‘happy’ instead of blessed, but happy is subjective, a poor substitute for the word blessed that Jesus uses. The blessed will generally be profoundly happy, but blessedness is not simply happiness. To be blessed means to be approved, or to find approval. When Jesus says, blessed, he is speaking of the people who have God’s approval.

This is profound. If God is at the heart of the universe, there can be no higher blessing than to be approved by him. Jesus’ words here challenge us to ask, ‘Whose blessing do I want more: the blessing or approval of people around me, or God’s?’

Now the blessing, or approval of family and friends, Facebook or Instagram followers isn’t wrong in itself. It is just that Jesus wants us to see that God’s blessing is infinite in value. If this is our desire, then his beatitudes speak to us very personally and very deeply.

In the opening segment of his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5 through 7), Jesus identifies eight blessings. They are not eight top suggestions, nor are they characteristics of eight different types of people. So searching of our character are these beatitudes, that they reveal that none of us is capable of living up to them in order to get into heaven. They are Jesus’ expectations of all who turn to him.

Poverty of spirit is not financial destitution or material poverty – none of the disciples were materially destitute. We can forget that while men like Peter or Matthew weren’t necessarily millionaires, they certainly weren’t materially impoverished. Simon Peter ran a fishing business with his brother and other partners. Matthew had sufficient funds to host a large dinner party.

But what they both realized was that they had a need only Jesus could satisfy. When confronted with Jesus’ power and purity, Simon Peter knew that a deep gulf existed between himself and Jesus. ‘Depart from me Lord’, he said, ‘for I am a sinner.’ For his part Matthew saw that there was more to life than making money. Called to follow Jesus he handed over the tax office to others, and turned to Jesus.

It is to people like this that Jesus says, Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.

The English word ‘poor’ is used to translate a number of Old Testament words. One word we find in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, refers to the materially hard up (Proverbs 19:1, 7, 22). Another word refers people who are powerless (Job 20:19, Psalm 82:3f). Other words speak of the poor as the needy (Psalm 140:12), and the socially under-privileged or oppressed (Isaiah 3:14f).

Most importantly, in the pages of the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms and Isaiah the poor turn to God for help. Knowing the reality of their spiritual need, they turn to God, whose nature is always to have mercy.

Poor is often found as a metaphor for the ‘outsider’. To be poor in spirit is to know that we are outsiders as far as God is concerned.

The eight Beatitudes or Blessings form an introduction to the Sermon on the Mount. Any doubts we might have about the poverty of our relationship with God are exposed as Jesus moves on to explain the deeper meaning of God’s commandments – to hate someone is to commit murder; to lust after someone to whom you are not married is to commit adultery.

Like a laser light, Jesus’ Sermon reveals everything about us – not just our actions, but our very thoughts and words. His Sermon removes our self-delusions and awaken within us a genuine poverty of spirit.

To be poor in spirit is to acknowledge our spiritual bankruptcy. It is exemplified by the guilty publican in the story Jesus told. The publican prayed from a corner in the Temple, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ Poverty of spirit is being honest with God about ourselves. It’s the admission of our impotence without God’s work of salvation in our lives.

The kingdom of heaven. Matthew uses the phrase kingdom of heaven in the same way that Mark and Luke speak of the kingdom of God. Jewish man that he was, Matthew was reluctant to use the word, God. It was too holy, too majestic.

Kingdom of God speaks of God’s great power and glory and his rightful and good rule over his creation. It is a majestic theme – one that inspires the very best within us, for it opens up an eternity of grand and beautiful possibilities for us.

Where is a rich and lasting blessing to be found – one that reaches the depths of our soul? It is to be found in a heartfelt experience of turning to God and knowing him. We need to come to him and acknowledge our spiritual bankruptcy, emptying ourselves of self-righteousness, moral self-esteem, and personal pride. It is only when we are empty of these things, that Jesus will fill us with new life and assure us of God’s approval.

Truly God’s blessing and his kingdom belong to the poor in spirit.

© John G. Mason

New – ‘An Anglican Understanding of the Bible’: https://anglicanconnection.com/gods-word-written-an-anglican-understanding-of-the-bible/

Coming January 2021 – Anglican Connection Online Conference
Details for the Anglican Connection January 2021 Online Conference will be released shortly.

Heraclitus the 5th century BC Greek philosopher wrote: Unless you expect the unexpected you will never find truth, for it is hard to discover and hard to attain. He was commenting on the creative thinking required to understand the nature and meaning of life. His wise words make a great deal of sense: many discoveries within science are unexpected; many of our experiences in life are unexpected.

Twelve months ago no one predicted the rise of a novel coronavirus that would impact the lives and livelihoods of millions around the world. Covid-19 has shown us that we are not in control of life and that we should expect the unexpected. Indeed, the discerning will ask, ‘Is there more to life?’

So, how should we respond? Come with me to Colossians 4:2. Paul the Apostle writes: Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time pray for us as well that God will open to us a door for the word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, so that I may reveal it clearly, as I should.

Prayer. The French philosopher, Blaise Pascal observed: God instituted prayer in order to allow his creatures the dignity of causality. God has made the universe in such a way that we can make an impact with our prayers – within certain limits of course. It’s an amazing thought. God has given himself the discretion to act within his overall plan according to our prayers.

Prayer is not just a means of keeping the lines of communication with God open. God listens to our prayers and answers them in ways that are for our good. Prayer of itself is not powerful. Prayer is only powerful because we are addressing the all-powerful God.

This is why Paul urged the Colossians to be steadfast in prayer. He knew, for example, that effective outreach begins with persevering prayer. To devote ourselves to prayer is to bring our requests to God in much the same way that the energetic widow of Jesus’ parable did. In this parable in Luke 18, the widow gave her local magistrate no rest until her cause was settled.

The first Christians were committed and enthusiastic in their prayer. Humanly speaking it is one of the reasons for their terrific success in spreading God’s good news. Perhaps Paul’s Colossian readers had become apathetic. That’s why he insists, Continue steadfastly in prayer… ‘Never give up praying’, he is saying. ‘Your prayers may not be answered immediately. But never give up.’ Indeed, the Bible tells us it is God’s great passion that people turn to him. This is a prayer we can be assured God will answer.

Notice also the emphasis on thanksgiving. True prayer can’t exist without heartfelt thanks, any more than thanksgiving can exist without prayer. They feed and fuel each other.

In this context Paul wanted the Colossians to pray, not that the doors of his prison might open, but that opportunities might open for him to declare the mystery of Christ – even while he was in prison. Yet how often do we pray that God will open up doors of gospel opportunity for us?

The way we live. But there is more. Consider verses 5 and 6: Conduct yourselves wisely towards outsiders, making the most of the time. 6Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.

Paul has two pieces of advice for the Colossians, and for us – about life-style and speech.

We are all obliged to act wisely and graciously towards people we live and work with. We are to live out the new resurrection life that Paul has been writing about in chapter 3, with wisdom and integrity.

We are also to cultivate conversations that are gracious and yet seasoned with salt. We are not to be bland, insipid, and gossipy, in our conversations, but rather we are to start doing the unexpected, pushing back against the culture, looking for, and even creating opportunities to raise questions about the meaning of life. We can do this over coffee or a meal, or online. As we do this, we need to be prepared to answer people’s questions.

With people you know you might ask: ‘How are you really doing in these troubled times?’ You might also consider ways you can bring a comment from a book such as John Lennox’s very readable, Where is God in a Coronavirus World? Remember, our aim is to explore ways to introduce the notion that there is more to life than this material world.

You might look for an opportunity to ask: ‘Do you think there’s anything beyond this life?’ ‘Friends of mine feel we only have one life and we should make the most of it. What do you think?’ If the response is that there’s no future beyond the grave, you could ask: ‘Are you sure about that?’ You could also add: ‘For me the Christian idea of resurrection has a lot going for it’.

If their response is that there’s a future beyond the grave, you might ask: ‘Can we be sure of this?’ It’s worth remembering that Jesus’ resurrection is foundational for Christianity. Every sermon recorded in the Acts of the Apostles refers to it.

Furthermore, be prepared to tell your own story of faith in no more than three minutes. Begin with a brief account of your life and then focus on two or three unexpected events that led you to faith in Christ. Because it’s your story, it’s important.

And don’t forget, it’s worth pointing enquirers to one or two introductory courses: ‘Christianity Explored’ and ‘Word One-to-One’ are very good.

Above all, continue steadfastly in prayer – perhaps for five people you know – that the Lord will provide unexpected opportunities for you to introduce them to the Lord Jesus Christ, whose love and compassion are far greater than we ever dreamed.

© John G. Mason

New – ‘An Anglican Understanding of the Bible’: https://anglicanconnection.com/gods-word-written-an-anglican-understanding-of-the-bible/

Coming January 2021 – Anglican Connection Online Conference
Details for the Anglican Connection January 2021 Online Conference will be released shortly.

Most of us don’t find it hard to imagine a better world, but the question is, ‘How do we get there?’ History is littered with the theories and experiences of political and economic ideas. But history shows that whatever the system, there is still fraud, injustice, poverty, pillaging, exploitation, sexual harassment, violence and war. The systems may change, the faces will come and go, but the scene remains the same. How can we point the world to a better way?

The heart of the Christian message includes the idea of a new universe that has come into existence and which will continue forever. Jesus’ death has secured this. His resurrection assures us of it. In Colossians 1:13, we read: God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves…’.

And in Colossians 3:1ff we read: If you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts where Christ is, set your minds on heavenly things… Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature,…   Paul is saying, ‘Let the light of this resurrection state fall on everything that you say and do.’

New Lifestyle. When we truly turn to Jesus Christ our relationship with God changes and, Paul tells us, our relationships with one another are also to change. We won’t achieve this perfectly, because we all still live in the present world. We will disappoint one another; we won’t always be as patient as we should. We won’t always love one another or forgive one another, but we must work at it. When we make these qualities our goal the world will see, and wonder. For when we take on the new lifestyle as God’s people, we will become a signpost in the wider community, pointing others to the realm of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Colossians 3:18 through 4:1, Paul identifies new ways of living within our closest relationships – marriage and family life, and in the workplace. He speaks of wives submitting to their husbands and husbands loving their wives; of children obeying their parents and parents not provoking their children; and slaves obeying their masters and masters treating their slaves justly and fairly. There is a counter-cultural asymmetry about the principles Paul identifies.

Now, we need to understand that Paul is not speaking about a hierarchy in relationships. All men and women, from every race and nation, as well as the unborn, are equal before God. We are all created in God’s image. Paul makes this clear in 3:10: Here there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all.

In the section we are looking at today, Paul is setting out how God’s people, as equals, are to function in their relationships. A good starting point for understanding his words is the Godhead.

God – Three in One. The Apostle John in his Gospel reveals that God exists in Trinity: one God in three persons. God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are equally divine but are eternally distinct persons. There is no hierarchy within the Godhead yet there is an order in which they function. So, the Son of God freely chose to do the Father’s will in taking on human form and serving us by dying the death we deserve (Philippians 2:5-11).

Partners in a marriage – a man and a woman – share an equal status yet are distinct persons. In this partnership there is an intimate relationship of equals, with distinct responsibilities.

Women who have turned to Christ are called upon to recognize and honor their husband’s God-given responsibility to provide leadership in godly love. Paul is certainly not saying that wives are to submit to abuse or be forced to live contrary to the Lord.

Furthermore, Paul does not say to husbands, ‘You rule’. Rather, he says, husbands are to love their wives, honoring and respecting them for who they are under God. One responsibility husbands often overlook is ensuring that the Bible is read in the home.

Relationships between parents and children are also important (as we see in 3:20). Children are to recognise the God-given authority of their parents. Paul is saying that this will only happen when parents do not tease and exasperate their children or give way to their every whim. Rather, parents need to treat their children with love and care and commitment, respecting their individuality, but curbing their attempts to reject authority.

Paul also sets out principles for the workplace. In today’s world responsibility in relationships between employers and employees are an essential part of our living under God (3:22-4:1). For God’s people the balance of selfless and responsible attitudes and actions should be self-evident. Employees are to act responsibly, respectfully and honestly toward their employers. Employers are to be totally fair to their employees, not exploiting or abusing them.

It is this sense of responsibility and accountability to people around us that is one of the gifts of God’s people to the world. We may feel politically powerless, but we must never think we have nothing to contribute to the world. The restraint, the accountability that we show in our relationships, our households, and in our workplaces, demonstrate that we have a Lord to whom we are accountable – and the world will notice the difference.

When our lives are truly being transformed by the Spirit of God, people will see it and, under God, be drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ.

© John G. Mason

New – ‘An Anglican Understanding of the Bible’: https://anglicanconnection.com/gods-word-written-an-anglican-understanding-of-the-bible/

Coming January 2021 – Anglican Connection Online Conference
Details for the Anglican Connection January 2021 Online Conference will be released shortly.

Two thousand years ago the angels sang at Jesus’ birth, “and on earth, peace …”  But the world hasn’t got any better. Indeed, while peace is something we all long for, it is one thing the world does not have. So, where is the fulfilment of the angelic promise?

Before we charge the angels with false advertising, we need to read the full text of their song: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, among those whom he favors” (Luke 2:14). The angels were making a promise to a specific group – the people of God.

Over these last weeks we have been trekking through the Letter of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians. Today we come to his words in chapter 3:15: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.

Broken relationships. Too often we ignore our deepest human problem – we are all self-focussed. Our relationships with God and with one another are broken. Jesus made it clear that the solution to the human condition, would require his death, for he would die the death we all deserve. It would be Jesus’ divine, costly work alone that could heal our relationship with God. What is more, once our relationship with God was restored, there would also be healing of the broken relationships across social and cultural, racial and national divides amongst his people. No wonder the angels sang: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, ‘shalom’, ‘peace’.

Indeed, in Colossians 3:11 we read: … there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free, but Christ is all and in all. And in the following section, Paul goes on to write of the inner attitudes that we are to adopt as we relate to others. This includes ‘letting the peace of Christ rule our hearts’.

Referee. The context helps us to understand Paul’s meaning here when he speaks of peace. He is speaking about the inner peace that the Lord Jesus gives to his people, and also the attitude of peace that should now rule our minds and wills as we relate to others. In the flow of Paul’s writing about forgiving one another and loving one another, the peace of Christ is to be the referee. So when bitterness and love battle within us the peace of Christ is to win the day.

Now this doesn’t come easily, especially when we’ve been hurt by others. When we are dealing with injury and conflict, it’s hard to forgive and so make peace. Nevertheless, Paul is saying that God’s people are to be at the forefront of finding solutions to resolve tension and conflict. As Jesus himself said, we are to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9).

Bible. Furthermore, we need to know Christ, so that we will have his wisdom to bring into our conversations. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, Paul writes; Teach and admonish one another in all wisdom (Colossians 3:16).

Keeping the peace doesn’t mean simply sweeping our differences under the carpet, let alone putting on an artificial smile. In the 1992 Australian film, ‘Strictly Ballroom’, Scott, the central character refuses to dance the traditional ballroom steps. His mother is furious. ‘Put on a happy face’, she was told. But hiding our feelings isn’t the way to true peace. We need to find a way to express our feelings.

Furthermore, we are not at liberty to give one another a piece of our mind! Rather, we must bring our minds under the direction of the Lord’s mind, and the only way we can do this, is by coming to the Bible together.

And notice, we are to do this with all wisdom. Our coming to the Bible together is not to be an uninformed pooling of ignorance. We must work together at finding what the Bible means, rather than reading into it what we want it to mean. It’s a ministry all of us are to aim at. There is no place amongst God’s people for strong-willed, aggressive individuals insisting on their way. That creates division.

Song. And Paul continues: … with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. We often overlook Paul’s point here, that as we praise God, we are also instructing and exhorting one another. It’s one of the reasons our songs when we meet should be strong on Bible, and not insipid and repetitive. Even in our world of Covid restrictions, we can still reflect on the words. Singing Bible-based songs is an important way to build relationships.

And, there is something else. Gratitude to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, Paul writes, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17).

Nothing brings about tension and division more than a discontented spirit. And a discontented spirit is an ungrateful spirit. To be thankful is to accept our situation in the loving providence of God. A thankful heart trusts God in every situation, and thankful people are always happy people.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts …, for it is to this that you were called… We begin to see that the promise of the angels’ song at Jesus’ birth was not fake news. Jesus has not only opened up the path to peace in our relationship with God, but also with one another as God’s people. Furthermore, we are now to let this peace of Christ within us become the referee or umpire in our relationships with others.

Blessed are the peacemakers,” Jesus says, “for they will be called the children of God”.

© John G. Mason

New – ‘An Anglican Understanding of the Bible’: https://anglicanconnection.com/gods-word-written-an-anglican-understanding-of-the-bible/

Coming January 2021 – Anglican Connection Online Conference
Details for the Anglican Connection January 2021 Online Conference will be released shortly.

Bitterness and anger are the playbook of life around us today – from the bedroom to the corridors of power, from social media to the unrestrained looting in the streets. How should we respond?
Back in 1979 the historian and social critic, Christopher Lasch, published The Culture of Narcissism: There he wrote, ‘Our society has made lasting friendships, love affairs and marriages, increasingly difficult to achieve. Social life has become more and more warlike and personal relationships have taken on the character of combat…’
Even though Lasch was writing some 40 years ago, his thesis is still relevant. Driven by changing and conflicting world-views, society today has become more and more divided. For centuries, the Judaeo-Christian world-view formed the social bond in the Western world. But these days the popular view is to throw God out. And because we are now adrift on the ocean of life without an agreed moral compass, persuasive voices appeal to our basic, albeit unthinking instincts. Profounder, wiser voices of experience that speak to the depths of our souls are drowned out.
Indeed, in a recent book, Dr Greg Sheriden, a respected Australian commentator and author, writes: ‘The primary challenge today is not intellectual but cultural…’
For the last five hundred years or so, Christian theologians and church leaders have seen the need to address the intellectual questions people were asking – questions of the existence of God, authenticity, suffering, and science and Christianity. But if Sheridan is right and the challenge now is cultural, we need to ask, How do other people see us? Is there any difference in my life and my character from people around me?
In the flow of his Letter to the Colossians, Paul the Apostle indicates in chapter 3 the changes of character God expects of his people. Last week we touched on examples of inner transformation. Today we touch on transformed relationships.
In verse 12 Paul writes:  As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.
Changed attitudes. Paul tells us that if we are to experience and enjoy good relationships ourselves, we need to change our attitudes towards others. We need to put off the anti-social vices of indifference and thoughtlessness in our relationships with one another. Paul puts his finger on 3 attitudes that can cause conflict.
Instead of compassion and kindness, it is easy to distance ourselves from the pain and the suffering of others – especially in this world of Covid-19. Instead of humility and meekness, how easy it is for us to be so focussed on our own interests and achievements that we, even unconsciously, look down on others who are not as ‘together’. And how easy it is to be impatient with those around us because we’re not prepared to put up with their faults or failures. Indifference, pride and impatience can lie at the root of violence and hostility in any human society.
Forgiveness. Paul continues: Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you.
Let me ask, have you forgiven in your heart and before God that person who so badly hurt you? Have you let bitterness take root in your attitude towards them? If we know God’s forgiveness because we have turned to the Lord Jesus in repentance, how can we not forgive those who have offended us?
Clara Barton was the founder of the American Red Cross. The story is told that a friend once reminded her of a particularly cruel thing someone had done to her. Clara Barton didn’t seem to remember it. ‘But you must,’ her friend insisted. ‘No’, replied Clara Barton. ‘I distinctly remember forgetting it.’ Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you, Paul exhorts us.
Love. And put on love which binds you all together, he continues. Paul knew how easy it is for God’s people, indeed for everyone, to be divided. He understood the corrosive effect of wounded feelings. But he also knew of the one quality that can heal, and enable God’s people to grow into maturity: Love.
He is not speaking of a sentimental, insipid love, but of a love that is grounded in truth and is committed to serving the best interests of others.
This is where we who are God’s people are to be so different from the wider society. For the New Testament is insistent that God’s people be the one community where the ethics of love and mercy in serving the best interests of others, prevail. As God’s people, we are to pray for our enemies. God expects us to live out the grace of compassion and care for others – especially for one another as God’s people.
How are we to respond to the vindictiveness and division around us? The starting point is to pray that we might live out the life changes that the Lord has brought to bear on us as his people.
Tertullian, the 2nd century church leader commented of the way the wider society saw the communities of God’s people: ‘It is our care for the helpless, our practice of loving kindness that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents’, he said. “Only look,” they say, “look how they love one another”.’
A prayer. Eternal God and Father, by whose power we are created and by whose love we are redeemed: guide and strengthen us by your Spirit, so that we may give ourselves to your service, and live this day in love for one another and to you; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.  Amen.

© John G. Mason

New – ‘An Anglican Understanding of the Bible’: https://anglicanconnection.com/gods-word-written-an-anglican-understanding-of-the-bible/