On one occasion I heard a preacher ask, ‘Do you think there will be prayer in heaven?’
It is a good question that took my thoughts to the Garden scene of Genesis 3. Immediately following Adam and Eve’s fatal decision to rebel against God’s command that they must not eat the fruit of ‘the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ (Genesis 2:17), we read that they ‘heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day’ (Genesis 3:8). The text suggests that it was customary for God to speak with Adam and Eve in their state of pre-fallen glory. Created in the image of God, the high point of his creating work, relationship was an essential part of their existence. Conversation with God was one of their special privileges. It suggests that conversation will be part of our relationship with God in the age to come and, as in Genesis 3, it will be God who starts the conversation.
MARY AND MARTHA AS AN EXAMPLE
Following this line of thought, it is significant that Luke includes a conversation between Martha and Jesus immediately before the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray.
In Luke 10:38ff we read that Jesus and his followers were entertained to a meal by his friends, Martha and Mary. The two sisters we learn were quite different. Martha seems to have been the type A personality – focused, active, and a responsible hostess. Mary, however, seems to have been more outgoing and sociable, wanting to be part of the conversation with Jesus.
Suddenly Martha’s frustration with her sister bubbled over. She burst into the room where Jesus and the others were, blurting out: ‘When will you tell my sister to come and help me?’
We can imagine the tension of the moment. How would Jesus respond? His reply is fascinating. We’d expect him to suggest gently to Mary that she ought to be helping Martha. But he doesn’t. This is surprising, not just because of the culture, but because it had not been long since he had told the story of the Good Samaritan, explaining ‘neighbor love’. ‘Martha, Martha,’ he chides, ‘you’re too focused on doing. Mary has chosen the better portion’ (Luke 10:41f).
PRIORITIES
Jesus wants us to know that there are times in life when the demands of people and the command to love our neighbor pale into insignificance when compared with the prior claim to be with God. The first command is, ‘Love the Lord your God…’; ‘Love your neighbor’, is second. Important though other things may be, we must not let busy-ness, sporting engagements, and social activities become excuses that prevent us from obeying the first claim of a loving God.
As this scene comes immediately before Jesus speaks on the subject of prayer, it suggests that the first thing we need to do when we pray is put aside our busy-ness so we can listen first to God.
We do this by opening the Bible and reading it. Over the years I have found the Book of Psalms to be a great starting point for my Bible reading each day. The Psalms are ruthlessly honest as they explore the realities of following God in a confused and messed up world. The Psalms also give me the freedom to ask questions of God, and learn from him. You may know the expression, ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.’ I find that ‘a Psalm a day keeps the devil at bay.’
PRIVILEGE
In Philippians 4:4-6 Paul the Apostle says: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always! Again, I say rejoice.’
This is very high-sounding advice. On what basis can Paul give it? Only on the grounds of his understanding of the Person and Character of God based on his understanding of the Scriptures – God’s self-revelation.
The 16th century English reformers understood this. Consider this prayer of John Bradford which is grounded in his understanding of God: “Dear Father,… I pray thee, remember even for Thine own truth and mercy’s sake this promise and everlasting covenant, which in Thy good time I pray thee to write in my heart, that I may ‘know Thee to be the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent’; that I may love Thee with all my heart forever; that I may love Thy people for Thy sake; that I may be holy in Thy sight through Christ; that I may always not only strive against sin, but also overcome the same daily more and more, as Thy children do; above all things desiring ‘the sanctification of Thy name’, ‘the coming of Thy kingdom’, ‘the doing of Thy will here on earth as it is in heaven’, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer, Mediator, and Advocate. Amen.”(Bradford: Works, Vol. 1, pp.174, 175, 177, 189, 199, 200f, 204, quoted in PE Hughes Theology of the English Reformers, p.95)
How easily we put aside the special privilege we have of conversation with the Most High God.
Another day, another year! As last year we could hear the annual catch-cry, ‘I don’t know where the year has gone’. The Latin words, ‘tempus fugit’ (time flies), says it all.
Ecclesiastes 3 paints a word picture of the times and seasons of life: For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;… (Ecclesiastes 3:2-8).
The rhythm of the lines gives us a sense of the passing of time and of the seasons. There will be summer and there will be winter. There will be a time to weep, and there will be a time to laugh.
PASSAGE OF TIME
Ecclesiastes tells us there’s a beauty about everything in its time. There is a beauty about summer and there is also a beauty about fall and winter. There’s a beauty about time at College, a beauty about work and a career. There’s a beauty about being single and a beauty about marriage. And there’s a beauty about Thursday night because we know that Friday is coming and with Friday that relaxing Saturday morning and a long cappuccino with family and friends. Everything is beautiful in its time.
But as the seasons come and go, Ecclesiastes asks: ‘How do we make sense of time? How do we use the time? What’s the point of it all?’
Indeed Ecclesiastes wants us to know that there is a purpose about the times and seasons of life. Nothing is wasted. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says: God has made everything suitable for its time;
And it adds: …Moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. God has hard-wired us with the knowledge that there is more to life than simply time now: He has put a sense of eternity into our minds…
Many philosophers acknowledge this. Goethe in Faust commented, “Everlasting!–for the end would be despair. No. No end! No end!” And even Friedrich Nietzsche observed, “Joy wills eternity; wills deep, deep eternity.”
Throughout history men and women have always sensed that there is more to life than our present existence. The questions that tantalize us are these – ‘What is life really all about?’ and, ‘What does the future beyond space and time hold out for us?’
ECCLESIASTES
Ecclesiastes’ answer is this: Fear God and keep his commandments… For God will bring every deed into judgment… (Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14).
What gives life meaning? Why is it that we’re not satisfied with the thought that the here and now is all there is? Ecclesiastes says it’s because God has put eternity in our hearts.
If Ecclesiastes is right about the seasons of time, the times of injustice now and the time of justice to come, what are we doing about getting our relationship with God sorted out? And, what are we doing to help others do the same?
The practical wisdom of Ecclesiastes is really quite simple. We can’t afford the luxury of enjoying all that we can in this present time without regard to a future time – a time of accounting to come.
In 2 Peter 3:10-11 we read: But the day of the Lord will come like a thief… Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God…?
‘WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE OUGHT YOU TO BE?’
Peter is asking. It’s an important question to ask at the beginning of a New Year. One day we will all stand before God without any material props on which to rely – our degrees or investment portfolios, our carefully constructed career, our pampered complexions and fit bodies. All these will be destroyed with the old order. Only one thing will stand on that day: our relationship with God.
The practical wisdom of Ecclesiastes 3 and 2 Peter 3 is quite simple. We cannot afford the luxury of idleness or laziness or apathy in spiritual or moral matters. Skepticism about the return of God’s king is dangerous because it can lead to laziness. The reality is that God has fixed a Day. Soon we shall find while traveling on, time gone.
May you know the Lord’s grace, courage, and strength this New Year as you live with the sense of eternity in your heart!
Peace is something we all long for but, tragically, is something humanity finds impossible to obtain. Following the election (USA) the question of finding ‘peace’ around the Thanksgiving table was discussed on a PBS program (11/23/16). David Brooks, one of the panel commented, “I recommend not talking about politics right away, but having several earlier rounds of conversations. So, the first subject could be, ‘things I have always resented about you. And the next subject could be ways you have wounded me from which I will never recover’. And then, by the time you get to politics, it will seem pretty good, actually”.
How can we make the world a better place? In the Letter to the Colossians we read, Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful (3:15).
In the flow of the LetterPaul the Apostle indicates that the place to begin is with our own circles of influence: our church, our family or household, our neighbors and our work colleagues. But significantly Paul anchors the peace of which he speaks, in Christ: Christ is its source and exemplar.
PEACE
It calls to mind the song of the angels the night Jesus was born: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, ‘shalom’, ‘peace’ (Luke 2:14).
The juxtaposition of the supernatural and the natural, the heavenly and the earthly, catch our attention: ‘Glory and Peace’; ‘God and us’; ‘Highest (heaven) and earth’. Glory and peace: God has come and made peace possible. God and us: God has come amongst us in person. Highest heaven and earth: God has set aside his glory and taken on the greatest rescue operation ever.
While Jesus could have mustered forces to smash the might of Rome, he didn’t. Nor did he call his followers to arms. Rather, he served others. He is the king who came to serve. In fact, he so gave himself for others that his feet and hands were bloodied as they were nailed to a cross.
Jesus Christ knew that our deepest problem is our self-absorption – we are trapped in self-love. Unlike God who exists in three Persons and is ‘other-person centered’, our interest is primarily self, not others. Consequently, our relationships are broken, starting with our relationship with God.
Jesus knew that only through his sacrificial death could our relationship with God be restored. Furthermore, the cross of Jesus opens the way to heal our broken human relationships and bring us peace. No wonder the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, ‘shalom’, ‘peace’.
The response of the shepherds that night sets a challenge for us. They didn’t discuss the probability of miracles or whether they were dreaming. Rather they said, ‘Let’s go and see the baby for ourselves.’
We can’t physically go and see that baby but nor could most of Jesus’ contemporaries. But we do have the record of eyewitnesses. We need to discover this truth for ourselves and encourage others to do the same.
LET’S ALL MAKE THIS OUR AIM FOR 2017
Over this Christmas Season, I am reading Dr. Paul Barnett’s excellent book, Messiah: Jesus – the evidence of history. Paul Barnett is an internationally respected teacher and preacher, Bible commentator, and ancient historian. The Anglican Connection Council is inviting Bishop Barnett to address the subject ‘Is Jesus the Only Way?’ (Solus Christus) at the Anglican Connection conference to be held in Dallas from June 13-15 next year (2017).
If we want the peace those angels spoke about, the peace we long for, we need to recognize the source – God. We can’t have peace on earth let alone peace with God, without God. God is the only one who can restore peace. The good news is that in Christ he has made it possible.
‘What is Christmas all about?’ asks Charlie Brown, in Charles Schultz’s Charlie Brown’s Christmas.
When Charlie Brown’s Christmas was first released (December 1965), the overwhelming positive response took the television network executives by surprise. It was watched by forty-five percent of the television viewing audience that night. And every year since 1965 it has continued to draw millions.
Tired of the commercialism of Christmas, Charlie Brown wants to know its real meaning. We see Snoopy’s answer when he enters a Christmas lighting and decoration competition. For Sally, Charlie Brown’s young sister, it’s all about getting.
When once again Charlie Brown asks his question, Linus responds by taking center-stage and reading from Luke 2:8-14:
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”(KJV).
In an interview, Jeannie Schultz commented that her husband pushed back against the idea that there is no place for a Bible text in a cartoon. Schultz insisted that the Bible is not just for church – it is for everyone.
GIVING AND GETTING
Charles M. Schultz understood that Christmas is the twinning ofGiving and Getting. God gave. We get, or receive.
Indeed, during this season of Advent season we have noted that back in the 8th century BC, Isaiah foretold that a young woman would conceive and give birth to a son who would be named, Immanuel – God with us (Isaiah 7:14).
But that was not all. In Isaiah 9:1 we read that into the darkness of Israel’s experience, a light would dawn in the north, in the region of Galilee: Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who are in distress.
Galilee was the region that had been subject to the Assyrian invasion. As Isaiah 9 unfolds we read there would be joy (9:3); the signs of war would cease (9:4-5); and the shadow of death would disappear. For, as Isaiah 9:6 says, To us a child is born, to us a son is given…
The sign of God’s victory would begin with something weak and insignificant – the birth of a baby. Yet, the government will be on his shoulders. His name was to be called, wonderful counsellor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (9:6).
Through the lens of the New Testament we see these words being fulfilled – not completely, but the first installment. Matthew 1:21-23 records the words of the angel to Joseph: “(Mary) will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”.
So often we simply do not appreciate the full weight of this event. We may believe the baby born in Bethlehem to be the Son of God, but too often we let the intense meaning of this birth pass us by.
How often do we pause and reflect on the reality that divinity walked the streets of Jerusalem? That infinite Wisdom and Power humbly took on human nature? That God poured his heavenly resources into rescuing us, even though it meant the violence and the horror of a crucifixion?
It is for our sake that Christ condescended to such monumental humiliation. The lowly birth in Bethlehem points to Christ’s voluntary decision to set aside his glory for our sake. He came and he gave, to enrich us.
Because of God’s gift to us, we will want to respond with repentance and deep thanks. We will also want to emulate, no matter how feebly, the unspeakable generosity of his gift. Because God gave, we will want to live God’s way and to share with others the gift of joy and hope. Not condescendingly or aggressively, but graciously and generously.
Indeed, you may want to watch Charlie Brown’s Christmas with family or friends. You may also want to give a special Christmas gift for the work of the gospel through your church or a gospel network such as the Anglican Connection. (Please email me for more information.)
‘Familiarity breeds contempt’. There are celebrations like Christmas that initially fill us with awe. But as time goes on we become indifferent and sometimes even cynical about them.
Whenever familiarity produces contempt we are potentially in danger. We begin to accept things unthinkingly and our responses become automatic, disconnected. For example, amidst the familiar trappings of the lights and music of Christmas we can easily be blind and deaf to the explosive significance of the humility of God. We are so familiar with the birth of Jesus that we forget that it fulfilled God’s ancient promise that a young woman would bear a son whose name would be ‘Immanuel’ – God with us (Isaiah 7:14).
How would we respond if we celebrated Christmas only once every ten years?
It’s important we think about this, for Christmas celebrates the birth of a man who stands unique in history. We see it in the records of the integrity of his character, his compassion for the needy, the profundity yet simplicity of his teaching, and in the extraordinary powers he wielded.
Hegel, the German philosopher, commented, “One of the lessons of history is that we don’t learn from history”. Secular progressivism’s outright denial of the reality of the uniqueness of Christianity’s founder is one of the tragedies of our age. Jesus Christ is not just great: he is goodness incarnate. His voice is the voice we desperately need to hear and heed.
Yet such is our nature that we need to re-learn the truth about Jesus, generation to generation. It is easy to forget the lessons of the past. So we’re tempted to ask, ‘Is God really in control?’ ‘Does he really care?’ ‘Has he left us alone to fend for ourselves?’ ‘Is there any hope for the future?’
SIGNS
Back in the day of Isaiah the prophet, it would seem that these kinds of questions were in the mind of King Ahaz when he was confronted by the Assyrian threat on his northern border. It was in this situation that the prophet Isaiah spoke: ‘Keep calm Ahaz. God will give you a sign – any sign, all you have to do is ask’ (Isaiah 7: 10).
But Ahaz was not interested in any sign. Even though God had given him this special offer to demonstrate that history was in God’s control, Ahaz refused. 2 Kings 15 reveals that Ahaz chose to do it his way: he paid tribute to the Assyrian king in the hope the danger would go away. Ahaz turned his back on the familiar – the lessons of Israel’s past. Prayer and listening to God’s Word was not part of his response.
We can be like Ahaz. We ignore the enormous influence for good that Christianity has had on the western world and we look for human solutions and not God’s solutions. A study of God’s Word and prayer are not the way we respond to life’s challenges. We have allowed a liberal, secular progressivism to drive our thinking, even in our churches.
SECULAR PROGRESSIVISM
Yet what does this have to offer? In its apparent humanitarianism, secular progressivism appears to resemble Christianity in that it encourages tolerance, love, understanding and the relief of poverty and injustice. But at its center, it is myopic and cruel, because it teaches that this life is the only life. It ignores the lessons of history that reveal that God not only exists but that he has acted in great humility to serve our greatest need.
Secular progressivism fosters the current preoccupation with security which can infect us. The first Christians did not expect security! For them the incarnation and the events of the life, death, and resurrection were real. Their security, their life, were rooted in God and his Word. The daily insecurities of the decaying Roman Empire with its organized persecutions did not affect their basic confidence. They looked for the day when Christ would return. Indeed, they heeded Jesus’ words: “Stay awake at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36).
Familiarity with the Christmas story can breed an indifference to the miracle of the incarnation. Are you praying that the Spirit of God will keep your faith fresh, confident in God’s promises? Are you praying that God’s Spirit will awaken hearts that have grown cold towards him because familiarity has bred contempt? Recent research shows that one-third of those who have not been in church for six months would accept an invitation to go to church. Christmas is a great time to invite them.
