“This world has no importance and whoever recognizes that wins his freedom. And that’s just it—I hate you because you are bound. I alone am free. Rejoice, for you finally have an emperor to teach you freedom…” So speaks the Emperor Caligula, in Albert Camus’ play of the same name.

But did Caligula represent true freedom? History records he used his power in self-indulgent extravagance, no matter how cruel or disgusting. He did whatever he pleased.

Many reckon that freedom is the ability to do whatever you want without external restraints. For the extreme capitalist it means no market controls; for the extreme socialist it means the power of the collective to impose its will on the individual without restraint; for the extreme hedonist it means the license to follow the lusts of the heart.

Let me return to reflections on Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew chapters 5 though 7. In the course of his Sermon Jesus lays out the pattern for living that he expects of his people. Significantly, he doesn’t simply set out a list of dos and don’ts. Rather he opens up the real meaning of love for God in loving our neighbor. Let me identify themes in Matthew chapter 5, verses 21 through 48.

Anger (5:21, 22): “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’

‘You shall not murder’ is Number Six of the Ten Commandments. But consider Jesus’s words: “But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment”. He is saying that our angry and hateful thoughts are just as problematic as the actual action of murder.

“…And,” he continues, “if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.

Anyone who thinks or says to another, fool or idiot, says Jesus, is subject to the fires of God’s judgment – separation from God and from all that is true and good – a separation he likens to the fires of Gehenna, the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem where the city refuse was dumped and burned. The judgement we think is reserved for the literal murderer, also hangs over everyone who is angry, bitter or contemptuous.

 “So, when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift(Matthew 5:23). DA Carson comments, ‘How easy it is to substitute ceremony for integrity, purity and love; but Jesus will have none of it.’ Before going to church, Jesus is saying, ensure your relationship with others is sorted out.

Lust. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’” Jesus continues (5:27). Society often turns a blind eye towards adultery, undercutting the lifelong commitment of marriage. However, Jesus sharpens the focus of the original commandment: “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (5:28). By labeling lust adultery, he reveals a deeper level to the 7th commandment in relation to the 10th which prohibits covetousness.

Jesus is not prohibiting sex: the sexual relationship between a man and woman in marriage is a God-given gift. Nor is he prohibiting the normal attraction that exists between men and women. His issue is with the desires of our hearts controlling our thoughts and behavior.

Oaths. “You have heard that it was said in ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord…’” Jesus says (5:33).

There are Old Testament references permitting oath-taking, even in God’s name. For example, in Deuteronomy 10:20 we read, You shall fear the Lord your God. Him you will serve, to him you will cleave, and you will swear by his name. There are also references in the New Testament: Paul swears on God’s name and calls on God to be his witness – as we read in Romans 1:9;  2 Corinthians 1:23; and 1 Thessalonians 2:5. We also find God swearing oaths – that he will not flood the world again (Genesis 9:9-11); that he will send a Redeemer (Luke 1:68, 73); and, as we read in Acts chapter 2, verses 27 to 31, God had sworn he would raise his son from the dead.

All this oath-taking points to its real purpose – the importance of telling the truth. As one commentator has noted, swearing an oath makes the truth all the more solemn and sure.

Why then does Jesus speak about swearing falsely? Jewish commentary on the Old Testament law in Jesus’s day set out to define what oaths were binding and what were not. One rabbi taught that if you swore an oath by Jerusalem, you were NOT bound by your oath. If, however, you swore an oath toward Jerusalem, you were bound by your oath.

The swearing of oaths became a game. Depending on how you played it, you could get away with lying and deception. It was against this that Jesus speaks.

By relating every oath to God, because everything is ultimately under God’s direction, he presses the point of truthfulness. Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’, and your ‘No’ be ‘No’. Who hasn’t distorted the truth – perhaps, to put others down and to push ourselves up? Or who of us has said we will do something and then reneged on the commitment?

Rights. “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth…’” (5:38) – words of the Mosaic law found in Exodus 21 and Leviticus 24.

The law is both prescriptive and restrictive. If an assailant knocked out another person’s eye, one of the assailant’s eyes is forfeit – but not the second eye. The law provided justice but at the same time it prevented the escalation of feuding and bloodshed.

Into this scene Jesus now introduces a radical response: “But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person…” Does this mean Jesus’ followers shouldn’t take up arms, enter the police force or become sentencing judges and magistrates?

Commentators agree that Jesus is speaking about personal abuse towards his people. In times where we might suffer because of our faith, we should nevertheless stand up against evil for the sake of our neighbours.

Love. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” (5:43).

Behind Jesus’ words lies the deeper truth about God: how good and gracious he is to both the righteous and the unrighteous – he makes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. If God is like this, what would our world be like if God’s people prayed for all who oppose God?

Perfection. “Be perfect therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect” (5:48).

People used to say how much better the world would be if everyone got back to the basics of the Ten Commandments. But this isn’t what Jesus is saying. His diagnosis of the human dilemma isn’t a matter of obeying dos and don’ts. Rather he sees a much deeper problem: the desires of our hearts – both in understanding, and in obeying the commands.

The reality is that under certain conditions the muck at the bottom of our hearts, surfaces. We all need God’s help and, amazingly, this is something God is willing to provide.

We get a glimpse of this where Jesus continues: ‘so that you may be children of your Father in heaven…” (5:45). God wants to work within us, to pass on his moral genes. He wants us to bear the fruit of the Spirit – fruit that reveals the work of God’s Word and his Spirit in our lives.

Jesus is telling us that our broken relationship with God has consequences: judgement and the fires of Gehenna. But as we read on in Matthew and the rest of the New Testament, we learn that Jesus himself has paid the penalty of our self-absorption. Isaiah chapter 53, verse 6 says, we all like sheep have gone astray, but the Lord has laid on him (his Servant)the penalty we deserve. God’s nature is also one of mercy. From the New Testament we learn that when Jesus died, he took the penalty we deserve – for our hatred, our deceit, our lust, our insistence on our rights, our lack of love, indeed for all our weaknesses and failures.

Where is our hope for freedom – in a long list of dos and don’ts? Or is true freedom found in humbly confessing our brokenness to Christ and asking his forgiveness, having a new and heartfelt desire to honor him?

Camus’ Caligula seemed free to do anything he wanted. But was he really free? The play concludes with Caligula facing his murderers, saying: “I have chosen a wrong path, a path that leads to nothing. My freedom isn’t the right one…. Oh, how oppressive is this darkness!”

Caligula’s freedom was false. Entrapped in his own ego he reckoned freedom meant doing what he liked. He had no sense that true freedom is the liberty to do what we ought.

A prayer. Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much our own ways and the desires of our own hearts, and have broken your holy laws. We have left undone the things that we ought to have done, and we have done what we ought not to have done. Yet, good Lord, have mercy upon us; restore all those who are truly penitent, according to your promises declared to us in Jesus Christ our Lord. And grant merciful Father, for his sake, that we may live a godly and obedient life, to the glory of your holy name.  Amen.

© John G. Mason

In his Screwtape Letters CS Lewis says that there are two equal and opposite errors that people fall into regarding the dark powers. One mistake is to disbelieve in their existence; the other is to believe in them to excess.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of Lent that continues through to the day before Easter Day. Many use the season to re-start their Bible reading, reflection and prayer, for the Lord Jesus challenges us to grow in the riches of his love as the Holy Spirit opens up our relationship and our trust in him through our Bible reading and prayer – not just in Lent but throughout the year.

In Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 12, the Apostle Paul writes: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power… For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places…

Here Paul takes the realities of our troubled world to another level. He is saying that ‘our struggle’, literally ‘our wrestling’, is not so much against ‘flesh and blood’ but ‘principalities and powers’. Back in chapter 1 verse 10, he speaks of the day when all things, ‘in heaven’ and ‘on earth’ will be brought under rule of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, as we read in chapter 6, for the present there’s a war between two unequal spheres: darkness and light.

Spiritually speaking, God’s people live in enemy occupied territory. The epic the Gospels reveal is that the true king has slipped into our world to rescue people enslaved by dark powers. In John’s Gospel chapter 18 verse 36, we read Jesus’s words to Pilate who had asked him if he was a king. Jesus responded that his kingdom is not of this world; if it was, he could have called on a powerful army to rescue him. However, knowing he was the only one who could defeat the prince of darkness, Jesus came alone into the world to accomplish his mission. He knew that only through his sacrificial death could the power of evil, sin and death itself, be conquered (so, Colossians chapter 2, verses 13 through 15). Jesus’s victory is validated by his resurrection from the dead.

However, for the present the dark powers, although mortally wounded, continue to do their worst, attempting to destroy God’s ultimate and sure plan to glorify his people.

Against this background we learn from Ephesians chapter 6, verse 10 that God’s people are caught up in a spiritual conflict as individuals, and together. It is here that all too often we are naïve. We think it is only the smooth-tongued and often deceitful influential and powerful who obstruct spiritual truth in the world. No, Paul warns. There are formidable supernatural forces at work – powers that will not respond to reason. And so we’re caught up in a conflict that involves dark powers and human choices.

Put on the whole armor of God, we read in verse 13, so that you may be able to stand your ground. There will be times when the dark forces press us morally: whispering, everybody’s doing it. Sometimes they press us intellectually: you’re too clever to believe that. Sometimes they press us psychologically: your faith is so intolerant. And there are times when we may be physically persecuted. The aim is always the same: to silence the voice of God’s people.

Stand firm, Paul says. Be alert. Don’t give in. Put on the inner protection of a godly lifestyle. Our loins need to be girded with God’s truth; we need a breastplate of righteousness; our feet need to be shod with the commitment to spread the gospel of peace, and we need the headpiece of salvation. Our lives are most at risk when our inner defenses are broken through. We need the qualities of integrity, of righteousness, of gospel readiness, and the deep assurance of God’s ultimate victory.

The dark powers will do their worst to discredit our integrity, prevent gospel outreach through lethargy and infighting, and demoralize us by discouraging us.

We need protection: the shield of faith with which we can quench the flaming darts of darkness. We can’t cope on our own. We need to trust Christ, for when we do, the darts of darkness will fall useless. ‘The victory that overcomes the world,’ John tells us, ‘is our faith’ (1 John 5:4).

The sword of the spirit. While Paul hasn’t spelled out the meaning of his metaphors up to this point, he wants us to know that God’s Word is a sword. Unlike communism or any other ‘ism’ or ideology, there is no place in Christianity for a literal holy war. God’s new society is not brought in by act of Congress still less at the end of gun. God works through his Word.

The Word of God is not a message of freedom fighters, but one that focusses on personal repentance and God’s forgiveness: the building of God’s new society and its compassion and care for a lost world. The victory of God’s Word will have eternal outcomes.

Pray. Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints… (Ephesians 6:18).

In any battle, communication is vital. In the histories of World War II there is a picture of a young soldier holding together a broken telephone line. Prayer is our field telegraph. Paul urges us to pray constantly, to persevere in prayer and to be vigilant in prayer. We are to pray in the Spirit.

Romans chapter 8, verses 26 and 27 helps us understand this. There Paul tells us that the Spirit works with us in our prayer. In the midst of suffering, we’re often at a loss to know what we should say. In those times, Paul tells us, the Spirit comes to our aid, putting our inarticulate thoughts into meaningful prayer, speaking to God on our behalf.

Despite the noise of opposing voices, God’s work continues to make inroads on the kingdom of darkness. When Jesus stood on the hills of ancient Israel with a handful of his followers, he said, ‘On this rock – the rock of faith – I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it’ (Matthew 16:18). He was speaking to a small group of humble, un-influential men.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the legitimate ruler of the world. No, much, much more: the universe. Nothing in all creation will prevent his return in all his might, majesty, dominion and power – to judge and to bring together all his people in the new heaven and the new earth.

Let’s hold on to the shield of faith, wield the word of God with greater confidence, and most of all, pray – for one another and for others – that we will stand firm, not failing to live under God’s Word, nor failing to promote his good news to those around us. You may want to pass on a copy of my recent book, The Jesus Story: Seven Signs, available through Amazon.

Prayers. Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing that you have made, and you forgive the sins of all who are penitent: create and make in us new and contrite hearts, so that we, lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain from you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty God, give us grace so that we may cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light now in the time of this mortal life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came amongst us in great humility: so that on the last day, when he comes again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

© John G. Mason

Loud voices today insist there is no God, leaving us adrift on the ocean of life without an agreed moral compass. Persuasive voices appeal to our basic, albeit unthinking instincts, while the profounder, wiser voices that speak to the depths of our souls are drowned out.

Into this world of confusion and noise, anger and division, Jesus’s timeless words to all his followers in his Sermon on the Mount stand out: “You are the salt of the earth” and “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13, 14).

Jesus’ metaphor of salt is double-edged: his followers are to bring out the flavor of what it means to be men and women – to be human. We are also to act as a preservative, slowing down the decay of society. Both a tall order!

Jesus has in mind the impact of the counter-cultural lifestyle he has just identified in his eight beatitudes – the ‘blessed’ who would experience the incomparable joys of God’s kingdom (Matthew 5:3-12). They are the people who understand their spiritual poverty before God, who mourn their failure to honor God and who grieve for a world that turns its back on God. They are ones who, instead of engaging in the power play and deceptions of the world, walk the tougher path of humility and service, truth and peace.

Indeed, it is because Jesus knows that humanity without God will always spiral away from truth and goodness, he calls on his followers to be the salt of the earth. He expects all of us, who have turned to him in repentance and faith, to live in a way that exemplifies the beauty, goodness and joy of Godly living, and so slow down the rot of self-interest and greed, of injustice and the unchecked power-play of the powerful and the social elite. Today’s world either ignores or simply rejects the reality that none of us is good – that we’re all flawed.

As Jesus is all too aware, the world needs good and godly examples pointing to him and his kingdom. But this will only happen when his followers don’t become insipid. That’s why he warns against salt losing its saltiness: “…if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet” (Matthew 5:13b).

NaCl is a stable chemical compound. However, in the ancient world, salt was obtained more from salt marshes and contained many impurities. The actual salt could be leeched out, leaving a substance that tasted salty but in fact was worthless. ‘Watch out,’ Jesus warns, ‘that you don’t become insipid, wishy-washy fools’.

How do people view you? Do you claim to be a believer, but your life remains unchanged? Is your lifestyle directed by the culture or by the Bible? Are you just as greedy, unforgiving, and selfish as everyone around you? ‘If you call yourself a follower of mine,’ Jesus says, let your life be transformed by my words, for “You are the salt of the earth”.

In his Letter to the Colossians Paul the Apostle writes: Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time… Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answereveryone (4:5-6).

Salt here is a metaphor for sparkling conversations that trigger questions about life. Have you considered ways you could use news items and opinion columns to ask questions and spark conversations about the goodness of God and his good news? Do you look for opportunities to pass on a copy of my recent book, The Jesus Story: Seven Signs to others for whom you are praying?

“You are the light of the world…” Jesus continues (Matthew 5:14). Negatively, he is saying that there is a darkness about our human existence – something we easily forget because we live in an age that has turned away from God’s compass bearings.

Up until the 1960s and 70s morality in the West was grounded in the Judaeo-Christian ethic. But now all has changed.

Over 700 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah wrote of the birth of God’s King. In chapter 9 he speaks of the people walking in darkness and seeing a great light: On those living in a land where the shadow of death falls, a light has dawned. A child will be born. He will be called “Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”

Indeed, in John chapter 8 we read Jesus’s astonishing words: “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life”. God, the source of all true light, has come into our world in person. Jesus, the light who reveals God, calls us out from the darkness of our own ego into his light.

But how will our world today come to know him? “You are the light of the world,” Jesus says. “A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house…” (Matthew 5:14f).

‘Everything you are, everything you do,’ Jesus says, ‘must reflect all I have taught you.’ He expects us to reflect the light of God in our lives to the world. Yet do we? Do we endeavor to live out what he teaches in his Sermon on the Mount? Or do we hide the light of our faith?

“Let your light shine before others,” Jesus says, “so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven…” (Matthew 5:16).

‘Live your life in the light of my words,’ he says, ‘and others will be drawn to my light and love’. It’s an awesome thought. We’re all involved. When we’re tempted to despair at the moral decline around us, we need to ask ourselves, ‘How do my family and friends, my colleagues see me? Just like everyone else, or as someone who knows the hope and the joy of God’s gospel?’

Jesus calls us to two tasks – to be salt and light. As salt we are to play our part as Godly examples of what it means to be men and women and so slow down society’s decay. As light we are to awaken people to God’s truth, with its hope and joy. Beware therefore of sin or compromise that reduces your Godly influence as salt. Beware of hiding the light of your faith through laziness or fear.

How are we to do this in a world that thinks it has all the answers? Ask questions. Ask if there is any real and long-lasting hope in the noise of today. And look for ways to show how good God is – especially for all who turn to Jesus in repentance and faith.

Pray for God’s grace that the light in your life will shine for everyone to see – in your kindness and care for others; in the way you cope with the challenges of life. Jesus will use our good works and our words to draw people to his light so that on the last day they too will glorify God. “You are the salt of the earth,… You are the light of the world.”

Prayers: God, our refuge and strength, the author of all godliness, hear the prayers of your people: and so grant us that whatever we ask for in faith we may surely obtain; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Teach us, gracious Lord, to begin our works with reverence, to go on in obedience, and finish them with love; and then to wait patiently in hope, and with cheerful countenance to look up to you, whose promises are faithful and rewards infinite; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

© John G. Mason

Great leaders are often remembered for their speeches as well as their accomplishments – George Washington for his Inaugural address as President, Abraham Lincoln for his iconic Gettysburg Address, Winston Churchill for his 1940 speech, “We shall fight on the beaches”, and Martin Luther King for his Washington Speech, “I have a dream”.

Today we turn to the introduction of Jesus’s memorable Sermon on the Mount which begins with his Beatitudes. We find the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of St Matthew, chapter 5, verses 1 through 12.

Back in chapter 1, Matthew introduces Jesus as God’s long-promised king, a descendent of the greatest of the Old Testament kings, David (1:1). Foreigners, known as Magi, came from the East and worshipped him as king (2:1-6). At his baptism Jesus is called God’s ‘Son’, a title reserved for the kings of Israel (3:14-17; Psalm 2). By the close of Matthew chapter 4 we read that people came to hear Jesus from the reaches of the vast empire that David and Solomon had ruled in the golden age of Israel’s history some one thousand years before (4:23-25).

But there is something unexpected about the opening chapters of Matthew’s Gospel: not one word from Jesus himself is recorded. It seems deliberate. Matthew wants us to know that when we do hear from Jesus, we are not simply hearing from a great ‘nice guy’, but from the great king. The Sermon on the Mount, we could say, is the King’s Speech!

Matthew chapter 5 opens on the scene of a huge crowd gathered on a hillside. Jesus used the natural amphitheater to address two groups of people present – followers and a larger crowd of onlookers. And despite the diversity of his vast audience, Jesus’s words are electrifying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God,” he begins.

Known as Beatitudes each line in the introduction to the Sermon begins, Blessed are … The word blessed is sometimes translated happy, but that identifies just one aspect of the meaning. To be blessed is to receive God’s approval and, as this is God’s universe, God’s blessing is the greatest honor anyone can receive.

From the outset Jesus’s words challenge us. Do we want the blessing that comes from our successes in this world? Or do we want, above everything else in life, God’s blessing?

The first beatitude reveals that the truly blessed are the poor in spirit. Jesus isn’t speaking here of the materially poor or the psychologically impoverished. He’s referring to the spiritually destitute.

Poverty in spirit is exemplified by the tax collector in Jesus’s story in Luke chapter 18, verses 9 through 14. Over against the pride of the Pharisee, a tax collector humbly and honestly prayed from a corner in the Temple: “God, Be merciful to me, a sinner”. Poverty of spirit is the admission of our failure to love and honor God first in our lives.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted”, Jesus continues. These people grieve for personal failure before God. They also mourn because, even dimly aware of God’s purity, they see how the world without him lives in darkness. They weep because of the erosion of truth, because of the greed, cynicism, and lack of compassion evident everywhere.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (5:5). Meekness isn’t a reference to the weak or insipid. It is a strong word, referring to the deep, selfless resolve to serve the best interests of others. Meekness is not insisting on your rights. It’s thinking of others before self – and hence not being on the front foot with criticism. No one of us is perfect. Jesus himself is the supreme example of true meekness.

The meek learn to look at life from God’s viewpoint and are content. Their egos are not so inflated they think that they must always have more. In Christ they see themselves as possessing everything (2 Cor 6:10; cp 1 Cor 3:21-23). Furthermore, a billion years into eternity (if we can speak of eternity in terms of time), God’s people in the new heaven and the new earth will still be rejoicing that this beatitude is literally true. They will be grateful that by grace they learned to be meek during their initial threescore years and ten.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness” (5:6). Hunger and thirst are vivid images of desire. Righteousness suggests justice and truth. To hunger for righteousness is to long that our lives reflect the mind and will of God in his perfection. There’s an inner longing for heaven where God’s righteousness and justice will prevail.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (5:7). Mercy embraces forgiveness for the guilty and also compassion for the suffering and needy. The promise isn’t mercy from others but significantly from God himself.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (5:8). Throughout the Bible the heart is the center of our being – of who we are. Purity in heart is indispensable for our relationship with God, or to use Jesus’ words, for seeing God.

Purity of heart isn’t outward conformity to rules. Rather, our heart, our thoughts and attitudes need to be pure. What do you think about when your mind slips into neutral? Jesus asks. What dominates your private thoughts? Do you let your mind linger on sights that have tempted you? Is the real inner you expressed in your outward words and actions?

Psalm 24 asks, Who shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord? They who have clean hands and a pure heart,… and in The Letter to the Hebrews we read, Make every effort… to be holy;  without holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

The pure in heart are blessed in that they will see God. While this will be especially true in the new heaven and the new earth, it’s also true now. Our perception of God and his ways, even our fellowship with him, depends on the purity of our heart – which is a gift from God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers” Jesus says (5:9). He isn’t speaking about those who yearn for peace, but all who work at making peace. Jesus is the greatest peacemaker – for through his cross, he has opened the door to peace between us and God by removing the stain of sin that separates us. His death also points to the way of peace between men and women.

Jesus isn’t only speaking about gospel peacemaking. He also saying that his followers are to be peacemakers, seeking solutions to ease tensions, to reduce conflict, and to ensure that people understand one another. This isn’t easy, especially when we personally have been hurt by others. It’s very easy to forget that ‘a soft answer turns away wrath’, and that we shouldn’t allow ‘the sun to go down on our anger’ (Ephesians 4:26). To be a peacemaker means that we don’t bear grudges or nurse our anger.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (5:10-12). Jesus here restricts the blessing to all who suffer persecution because of righteousness — people who are committed in their loyalty to Jesus. Persecution can take the form of physical hardship, torture, imprisonment, death. But there are more subtle forms:

mocking and personal rejection. This beatitude is potentially the most searching, for if we never experience some kind of rejection for our faith in a fallen world, are we truly a follower of Jesus?

Who then are the truly blessed? Jesus expects our lives to change radically. Instead of self-sufficiency in our relationship with God, we need to understand our spiritual poverty. Instead of dismissing unbelievers, mourn for a world that ignores God. Instead of playing for power to achieve kingdom ends in a fallen world, walk the tougher path of humility and service. Hunger for truth and righteousness. Show mercy, pursue purity, and work for peace. Reckon on the reality that life won’t always be easy for God’s people. But, Jesus says, stay with me.  It will be worth every bit of it.

Prayers. Lord, you have taught us that whatever we do without love is worth nothing. Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love, the true bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whoever lives is counted dead before you: grant this, for the sake of your only Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Almighty God, we thank you for the gift of your holy word. May it be a lantern to our feet, a light to our paths, and strength to our lives. Take us and use us to love and serve all people in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

© John G. Mason

In this first month of the new calendar year, we’re looking at Ecclesiastes, one of the wisdom books of the Bible.

The wisdom books stand apart from the main narrative of the Bible, asking questions about our experiences of life. Jobasks how do we make sense of suffering, especially the suffering of the seemingly innocent. The Song of Songs explores God’s gift of the joys of love and sex. Proverbs provides a framework for street-smart and successful godly living. Ecclesiastes asks, ‘What’s the purpose of life?’

Having touched on Ecclesiastes chapters 1 and 3 we turn to the concluding chapters of Ecclesiastes where we can identify two themes: ‘What’s the Point?’ and ‘What’s the Answer?’

What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun? is a question that bubbles through Ecclesiastes. We work hard, put in long hours, and give up things we’d prefer to be doing. What’s the value of it all?’

The phrase, under the sun is used twenty-seven times in Ecclesiastes. It’s asking what is life all about if God doesn’t reveal himself? The writer isn’t asking this as an atheist: he believes God exists. He’s asking, ‘What do we make of life if we don’t have a special word from God?’

And there’s another layer to life’s conundrum: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all (9:11). Life doesn’t always reward the swift or the strong, the wise or the brilliant. So much is a matter of timing or chance. If you’re the wrong age when the position of CEO arises, no matter how successful, how smart or wise you are, you’ll be passed over. ‘What’s the gain?’

In chapter 11 the Teacher exhorts us to try to be positive about life. If time and chance rule, there’s nothing we can do. So, if farmers watch the wind, they’ll never sow seed. Take a chance, give it a go!

Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun, he continues in verses 7ff. Even those who live many years should rejoice in them all;…

It’s good to see the sun, especially after long, wintry days. Enjoy life if you can. But as verse 8 chillingly observes: … Remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity. Everything is meaningless. ‘When you’re dead, you’re dead’.

So, rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the inclination of your heart … (11:9). Enjoy your youth while you can. You’ve got energy and an ability to learn quickly, so run, swim, learn, pump iron. Enjoy being young and strong, but be assured there’s a sobering conclusion: But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

Chapter 12, verses 1 through 8 are a poem: Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come, and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;  before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return with the rain;…

A picture of old age emerges. Today’s world is afraid of aging. Indeed, there’s a vast industry devoted to anti-aging.

Ecclesiastes tells us life can be fun: enjoy it while you can, but it won’t last. If you try to hold on to it, you’ll find it’s like sand: it slips through the fingers and is gone. What’s the point?

Is there an answer? In chapter 12, verses 9ff we read: Besides being wise, the Teacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs. The Teacher sought to find pleasing words, and he wrote words of truth plainly.  The sayings of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings that are given by one shepherd….

Ecclesiastes is composed of the collected sayings given by one shepherd – an Old Testament way of referring to God. It speaks of its sayings as goads, pointed sticks, prodding us to consider the meaning of life. It also likens the words of the wise to firmly embedded nails, something to anchor us in life.

And in verse13 we read: The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone.

This is the first time Ecclesiastes says that God has spoken. It’s the first time the Teacher has said that we don’t just live under the sun; we have a word from God. For our good he has given us commandments to live out. We’re not living in the dark.

The Book of Proverbs says the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Ecclesiastes gives us the flipside: to ignore God and his Word is ultimate foolishness. Honoring and serving God gives us meaning.

Ecclesiastes concludes, not just with reference to God the creator who has revealed his good purposes for us in his commandments, but also as the judge. God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil (12:14). We live in a moral universe – the key that makes sense of our lives. For when we think about it, living in a moral universe means we are caught up in a much bigger story about the meaning and purpose of life.

The New Testament gives us a clearer picture. In Second Corinthians, chapter 5 we read: all of us must appear before the judgment seat of God to receive his just judgment for things done in the body whether good or bad (5:10).

Do you believe these things will come to pass? Prophesies that spoke of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, his life, death and resurrection, all came true. In the same way, the words of Ecclesiastes and of Jesus himself about the coming judgement, will also come true. Such judgement makes sense of our existence.

Are you and your family and friends prepared?

My recent book, The Jesus Story: Seven Signs is written as a refresher for God’s people and as a book to pass on to others. Unless you have already done so, you may want to purchase a copy or two. Focusing on the seven signs of John’s Gospel it introduces Jesus as God who has come amongst us in person; throughout it addresses questions many people have. It’s available through Amazon.

A prayer. Lord Christ, eternal Word and Light of the Father’s glory: send your light and your truth so that we may both know and proclaim your word of life, to the glory of God the Father; for you now live and reign, God for all eternity. Amen.

© John G. Mason

Another year has passed, and now another has begun. With the rapid and seemingly endless passing of the years and seasons, and with our experiences of life, how do we make sense of it all?

Back in the 1960s The Byrds and Pete Seeger with the song Turn, Turn, Turn brought the world’s attention to the words of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3.

The chapter begins by focusing on the bookends of life: A time to be born, a time to die… It moves on to creative and destructive events: A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal. And verse 4 highlights our emotions of sorrow and joy: A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. Verses 5 and 6 speak of building and possessions, and verse 7 touches on the wisdom of speaking up and remaining silent. Verse 8 speaks of personal and wider relationships, of love and hate, peace and war.

We sense with the rhythm of the poetry, the movement of time as the years and seasons come and go. We are made aware that there is a time for everything: just as it’s not always summer, so it’s not always a time to speak.

But being aware that there is a right time for everything, we feel the challenge: what do we reckon is the meaning and purpose of life? At the end of an enjoyable summer do we begin to see that it’s time for autumn with its colors and even winter with its cold and snow? The seasons are not just random. But what’s the purpose of it all?

Threading through the Book of Ecclesiastes is the question: what are you looking for in life? What are you working for? What do people gain, or profit, from all the toil at which they toil under the sun?

In chapter 3 the Teacher is asking: Does the movement of time and the variety of experiences mean that life is beautiful or meaningless? Is life meaningful or a burden? He tells us it’s both! Verse 9 repeats the theme: What gain have the workers from their toil? And verses 10 into 11 press the point: I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. He has made everything suitable for its time.

There’s a beauty about everything in its time – the passing of the seasons, our childhood and teenage years. There’s also a beauty about study and developing our skills; there’s a beauty about being single and a beauty about marriage; there’s a beauty about Thursday afternoon because we know Friday’s coming and a lazy Saturday morning and coffee.

But there is another, deeper layer to our experience of time: Moreover, God has put a sense of eternity into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. God has given us an inner awareness that there is more to life. Philosophers have acknowledged this. Goethe in Faust said: “Everlasting! the end would be despair. No – no end! No end!” And Friedrich Nietzsche who said that God is dead, wrote, “All joy wills eternity – wills deep, deep eternity.”

We all sense there is more to life. It’s another facet of the tantalizing questions: ‘What is life really all about?’ and, ‘What does the future beyond space and time hold out for us?’

So, what is Ecclesiastes’ answer? If you can enjoy life, enjoy it. This is a gift from God. But notice God has a purpose in things. Verse 14 says: I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before him…

It is here that we find a chilling note. Much in life doesn’t seem just: Moreover I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well (3:16).

In the places where power and authority should be used for right purposes there is corruption, wickedness and injustice. In some countries corruption is endemic. But one noticeable feature of countries that have been influenced by the Judaeo-Christian ethic, has been the built-in checks and balances, systems of regulation and accountability.

Even so, corruption still exists. The Australian group, Midnight Oil bluntly sang: The fat cats still push the thin cats around. That’s the way the world is.

So is God doing anything? I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter, and for every work (3:17). There is injustice now, but one day there will be a day of reckoning.

If the teacher is right about this, if he’s right in what he says about time, the seasons of life, the times of injustice now and the time of justice to come, what is the state of our own relationship with God?

When Jesus of Nazareth was put to death by crucifixion, two criminals were crucified with him. One cursed Jesus. The other turned to him and said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”. Jesus responded, “Today, you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42-43).

There are two ways we can stand before God– either without Jesus or with him at our side as our defense attorney. The practical wisdom of Ecclesiastes 3 is simple. We cannot afford the luxury of simply enjoying all that we can in this present time without regard to a future time. The Teacher speaks of a time of justice to come. The day will come when all of us will find time gone.

A prayer. Lord Christ, eternal Word and Light of the Father’s glory: send your light and your truth so that we may both know and proclaim your word of life, to the glory of God the Father; for you now live and reign, God for all eternity. Amen.

© John G. Mason