In God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? Dr. John Lennox, emeritus Professor of Mathematics Oxford University, writes, “To the majority of those who have reflected deeply and written about the origin and nature of the universe, it has seemed that it points beyond itself to a source which is non-physical and of great intelligence and power”.

Transcendent Power. Yet in today’s world where influential voices sometimes angrily dismiss such a possibility, it is easy to overlook the transcendent power that was at work on the first Easter Day when Jesus physically rose from the dead. When we consider the evidence, it becomes clear that Jesus’s resurrection didn’t occur because of some natural mechanism. It happened because the creator God chose to intervene (Romans 6:4b).

The four Gospel writers record that on the third day following his crucifixion and burial, Jesus’s tomb was empty. Altogether, as we read in First Corinthians, one of the earliest New Testament Letters, Jesus was seen physically alive by over five hundred witnesses.

In chapter 15, verses 4b-6a and verse 8, Paul the Apostle writes: … Christ was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and …he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at one time, most of whom are still living… Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

Eyewitnesses. Paul is saying that Christianity didn’t start because a group of fanatics had invented a story about their hero, nor because a group of philosophers had come to an agreed conclusion about life. Nor was it because a group of mystics shared the same vision about God. It began with eyewitnesses – ordinary men and women who saw something very extraordinary. In fact, it began with the history of a man who had risen from the dead.

Greatest Design. Furthermore, there was a far-reaching purpose in the events of Jesus’s death and resurrection. In Luke chapter 24 – the ‘resurrection chapter’ – the dominant theme is his crucifixion: it had to happen.

In his conversation with the two on the road to Emmaus Jesus said: “Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter his glory?” (Luke 24:26). He also pointed out, ‘If you knew the Scriptures you would have known that for me the road to the crown was through the cross. That was the message of the prophets. I am the suffering servant of whom they spoke’ (for example, Isaiah 52:13-53:12).

And later, when Jesus met with his disciples, he spelled out God’s grand design. He showed them how the Scriptures pointed to the Messiah’s necessary suffering, death, and on the third day his resurrection (24:46). Jesus’s death and resurrection were an essential part of God’s greatest and completely unexpected design, a plan formed even before the universe came into existence and reaffirmed with the creation of men and women (Genesis 1:26a).

God’s great news. Luke tells us that Jesus went on to tell the disciples what now needs to happen: “Repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his (Jesus’) name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (24:47). Jesus’s death and resurrection are tightly linked to the announcement of the forgiveness of sins.

Indeed, Paul identifies this when he writes earlier in First Corinthians 15: For I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, and was raised on the third day … (15:3)

The story of Jesus’s death and resurrection is not merely that of a dead man who came back to life, nor that of a dying and rising god. Neither is it a romantic story that tells us that death is not the end. It is the record of the Messiah’s shameful death by crucifixion; he suffered the pains of God-forsakenness on our behalf because we have broken God’s holy law.

Simply to say that Christ died is insufficient. Historians agree that he died. But the New Testament explains that his death was a voluntary sacrifice with a purpose – to satisfy God’s perfect justice, once and for all, on behalf of guilty humanity. The Anglican Communion Liturgy puts it well: Christ’s death was ‘the one perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world’. Unless sin had first been defeated once and for all, Jesus’s resurrection would not point to forgiveness and new life.

To enjoy the benefits of Jesus’s death and resurrection we need to turn to him personally in a spirit of true repentance, humbly asking God to forgive us for following the devices and desires of our own hearts and so breaking his holy laws. A gospel presentation without the call for a personal, true and heartfelt repentance to God is not the gospel.

Jesus’s resurrection bears witness to God’s greatest design for men and women – a design that offers full and free forgiveness, and a life of meaning and hope, love and joy forever.

In his final Narnia story, The Last Battle, CS Lewis metaphorically opens our eyes to an ever-larger picture of God’s Greatest Design: “And as He (Aslan) spoke, He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them.

“And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”

A prayer. Almighty Father, you have given your only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and to rise again for our justification: grant that we may put away the old influences of corruption and evil, and always serve you in sincerity and truth; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

© John G. Mason

Note: Material in today’s Word on Wednesday is adapted from my book, Luke – An Unexpected God, 2nd Edition, Aquila: 2019, in the Reading the Bible Today series.

Aspects of Christianity can seem far-fetched to our 21st century minds. The miraculous elements can make it feel like the story of Santa Claus or fairies at the bottom of the garden. But before we dismiss the supernatural events of the Bible as fiction, it’s worth remembering GK Chesterton’s words about truth and fiction: ‘Truth must necessarily be stranger than fiction, for fiction is the creation of the human mind and therefore congenial to it’.

I make these comments because today we turn to an extraordinary event recorded in the writings of Matthew, Mark and Luke.

In Matthew chapter 17, verse 1 we read: Six days later,… Matthew wants us to be in no doubt that, just as the previous conversation had occurred when Jesus had asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” (16:15) so did the event that he now records.

Eyewitnesses. Matthew is specific. Jesus took three of his close followers, Peter and James and John, to a high mountain. Unlike what we find in other religions, there was more than one eyewitness to times of supernatural revelation. In this case there were three eyewitnesses to this significant moment in Jesus’ life.

And what an astonishing occasion it was. Jesus was transfigured, literally, metamorphosed before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light (17:2).

The dazzling white light of the sun is Matthew’s metaphor for the brilliance and purity of the bright light that emanated from Jesus. In both Luke and Acts the reference to clothes as white as light speaks of supernatural glory.

Furthermore, two of the great prophets, Moses and Elijah – representing the law and the prophets – were present and spoke with Jesus. (17:3).

In a conversation six days earlier, Jesus had asked the disciples who people thought he was. They had first responded, ‘John the Baptist or Elijah, or one of the prophets.’ And when Jesus had pressed them for their own view, Peter had replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (16:16).

But here on the mountain it was obvious that Peter had not yet worked out what this meant for he said to Jesus: “Lord, if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (16:4). Peter had no idea what he was saying.

God’s voice. But before he could burble on with something else, a cloud enveloped them all and they heard a voice, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (17:5). God the Father was speaking! Overcome by the awesome scene before them and the words they heard, the disciples fell on their faces and were terrified (17:6).

But Jesus, seeing their fear, told them to get up and not to be afraid. Furthermore, walking down the mountain that day, he commanded Peter, James and John not to tell anyone what they had witnessed until after he had been raised from the dead (17:9).

God the Father’s words confirmed Jesus’ identity as his unique Son. That day Peter, James and John witnessed Jesus’ majestic glory – the glory that reveals the utter holiness and power of the eternal Son of God who had taken on human form.

Much later, Peter writes of the event in his Second Letter: We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ but we had been eye-witnesses of his majesty (1:16).

God’s words not only confirmed for the disciples the divine status of Jesus and his supreme power and authority, but also assured them of the authenticity of all he taught and promised.

Significantly, the scene also revealed that there are at least two persons in the Godhead. The event also unveiled the extraordinary humility of God in his willingness to serve us in our greatest need. God’s Son was willing to put aside his true glory and come amongst us as one of us.

And so we should heed God’s voice and listen to the Son. In the midst of the myriad of voices today it is so easy to get distracted and depressed because we neglect to read and meditate on God’s Word.

As we look at Jesus’ transfiguration through the lens of his death and resurrection and ascension, we begin to see its greater significance. Imagine if Jesus had just disappeared after his resurrection and ascension. The transfiguration is a preview of Jesus in his ascended and kingly glory. It also gives us a glimpse of his glory when he returns.

The transfiguration confirmed Jesus’ status as he prepared for his approaching arrest and death. It also informed and inspired the disciples in their mission and their preaching and ultimately, in their writing.

The hope of glory. And there are further implications. The day will come when all of God’s people will share in the glory of Christ! In his Letter to the Romans, Paul the Apostle writes: I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God (8:18).

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis puts it this way: ‘If we let Him – for we can prevent Him, if we choose – He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for.  Nothing less.

A prayer. Father in heaven, whose Son Jesus Christ was wonderfully transfigured before chosen witnesses upon the holy mountain, and spoke of his suffering in Jerusalem: give us strength so to hear his voice and follow him, that in the world to come we may see him as he is; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

© John G. Mason

At a time of economic challenges and inflation, how easy it is to be consumed with anxiety about money and possessions. As his Sermon on the Mount moves on, Jesus exhorts us to view life and the material world from a bigger perspective.

In Matthew chapter 6, verse 19 he says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Jesus is not saying material things of themselves are evil. God created all good things for us to enjoy. Nor is he saying we should all sell up everything we have. His disciples didn’t. Rather, he was setting out a principle: things don’t last. They may rot, rust or be stolen. Jesus wants us to hold lightly to the things of the world. They aren’t permanent. John D. Rockefeller, industrialist and philanthropist, was perhaps the world’s first billionaire. When he died in 1937, a journalist asked his accountant, ‘How much did he leave?’ ‘Everything,’ was the reply.

Yet Jesus knows how much money and possessions can tug at our heart strings and dominate our thoughts. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,” he says (Matthew 6:21). Once again he tackles heart health.

“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…” he advises (6:20). He wants us to learn that money and possessions are not just to serve our needs, but as a resource also to serve others. Putting God’s values and agenda at the top of our personal priorities, we won’t want to amass wealth, hoard money or acquire more real estate. Rather, we should look to ways we can put resources God gives us to use in his service.

Over the years it has been the generosity of Christians that has funded global, gospel-focused, disciple-making mission, together with medical centres and hospitals, places for God’s people to gather for worship and teaching, encouragement and compassion; as well as schools and universities.

In warning us of the way money and possessions can tug at our heart strings, Jesus goes on to urge us not to be anxious about food and clothing. In chapter 6, verse 25 we read: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.”

Jesus’s words have a contemporary ring, for no matter who we are, most of us will have been anxious about material issues – perhaps stress about the mortgage or the rent, medical bills or a tax bill, or even where the next meal may come from. Some may be anxious about their retirement fund. Psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers all speak of the physical and psychological consequences of stress from worry over material things.

“Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” Jesus asks. “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (6:25b-26)

When we first encounter these words we may be tempted to respond, ‘Jesus, you can’t be serious!’ But consider the logic of his words. He is saying that to be preoccupied with the basics of human life – food and clothing – is to undervaluehuman worth. “Are we not of more of more value than the birds? To be anxious about material things is to be blind to what makes our existence so special and precious – our capacity for relationship with our creator.

Jesus continues, “And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith?” (6:27-31)

None of us can add to our length of life. In fact, the irony is that worry about our lifespan can shorten it. And in the same way we cannot add to our lifespan by worrying, so we cannot guarantee success in all our affairs. There are too many variables outside our control.

Furthermore, God does not work a fresh miracle each day to provide for the birds of the air or the flowers of the field. Rather he provides for them in ways that are consistent with the nature he has given to each: birds have beaks to forage for food and a digestive system to make use of it; flowers have a biochemical structure to benefit from the sunlight, the soil and the rain. ‘If God has taken so much trouble to provide for these elements of creation, that are so transitory, how much more trouble will he take with you?’ Jesus is saying. ‘After all, you are the pinnacle of God’s creation, destined to live forever.’

Jesus reminds us here that God continues to sustain the necessary environment for us to find the materials for food and clothing. Anxiety about our material needs puts blinders on our eyes and ignores God’s goodness and grace.

It is tempting to think that this is pie in the sky talk. But it isn’t. God sustains environments so that our needs can be met: he provides the soil for the seed, the sun and the rain for growth, and the human skill to harvest the food we need. It’s one reason it’s good to give thanks before a meal.

What then about the starving millions? All the indicators are that there are sufficient food resources in the world to provide for every mouth. Tragically human sinfulness, corrupt regimes, selfishness and the distribution of resources, prevent proper food distribution.

“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” Jesus exhorts (6:33). What is more important: money and possessions, or God? If our answer is ‘God’, can we say we trust him to supply our needs? ‘Seek first God’s kind and generous rule, his goodness and mercy. We have everything to gain when we do.

Some who read or hear these words will have young children. What will you teach them about the place of money and possessions as they grow up? What will your example be to them? Will you give them everything they ask for? Will you teach them more about making money or about Jesus Christ – what it means to know him, to love and honor him? Jesus wants us to know him and enjoy him.

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 to one another and to you; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.  Amen.

© John G. Mason

Human relationships on the personal and international level must rate as the greatest challenge for the world’s future. The invasion of Ukraine four years ago last month, the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023 together with the heightened divisions marked by hatred and anger in many countries, all reveal an unspoken issue that confronts us: humanity is flawed.

The Russian author, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn once commented, If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?

In this season of Lent, which focuses on the themes of repentance and God’s forgiveness, spiritual renewal and growth through Bible reading and prayer, it is easy to fall into a pattern of works rather than growth in true faith – growing personally in the riches of God’s love for us and our daily walk with him.

Such is our flawed nature that we can deceive ourselves. We may read the Bible and pray, attend church, and give to the poor and to mission, but our hearts can remain unchanged in our relationship with the Lord, as well as with one another.

Consider Jesus’s warning against hypocrisy in his Sermon on the Mount: “Beware of practising your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1).

Knowing better than we, how deceitful our hearts can be (Jeremiah 17:9), Jesus warns us against using our faith to win the praise of others and make a name for ourselves.

In a world where religion is publicly decried, we may not win popularity in the wider community. However, it can be a different story within the life of the church. Preachers and church leaders, musicians and generous givers can generate praise if they work at it. And social media can easily be used to promote it.

It is against this that Jesus warns. Professing Christians who long for the accolades of others will miss out on the true reward that comes from the living God. All they have is an empty faith, with no lasting value.

Consider, for example, what Jesus says about giving and prayer.

Giving. In chapter 6, verse 2 we read: “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others.”

Trumpets may be a metaphor: we shouldn’t sound our own trumpet or boast about our giving to the needy. But trumpets could also have a literal meaning. In Jesus’ day the Temple trumpets were sometimes blown, calling on people to make a special donation when there was a pressing need. Anyone watching would see who responded.

Giving to support the ministry of God’s Word and providing assistance for those in need is biblical. Here Jesus is saying that to give so others know what we’re doing, whether in church or at a charity function, is hypocritical.

Hypocritical religion is not from the heart. It’s motivated by self-interest. Hypocrites, Jesus is saying, give gifts and support causes so that they may be honored by those around them. “I tell you they have their reward,” he observes.

“But when you give alms,” he says, “do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your father who sees in secret will reward you.”

To prevent pride or conceit about our giving, Jesus uses a vivid metaphor: the right hand should not know what the left hand is doing. No one, apart from God, will know about this private giving. He will see our real motives.

To be rewarded by God is the richest blessing. Approval by others is transient. Approval from God is eternal.

Prayer is another area where we can be tempted to look for human recognition. Look at verse 5: “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward…”

Prayers in the synagogues were typically led by a synagogue member. To be invited to lead the prayers was a mark of distinction. But again, Jesus knows how easy it is for anyone leading prayers to draw attention to themselves – perhaps through the literary quality of their prayer or their tone of voice.

Significantly, Jesus focuses on private prayer. He isn’t critizing public prayer. But, better than anyone, he knows that when we pray in the privacy of our room we reveal who we truly are. In praying privately, alone with God, we can be nothing but genuine and honest. And uncluttered, heartfelt, honest prayer is what God hears.

How important it is that we not only pray day by day but also heed Jesus’s warning: “Beware of practising your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” God delights in our honest and heartfelt, loving and loyal relationship with him.

The Ash Wednesday Prayer prayed throughout Lent and at other times: 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.

A Prayer for Peace. God of the nations, whose kingdom rules over all, have mercy on our broken and troubled world, especially people in war zones. Shed abroad your peace in the hearts of all men and women and banish from them the spirit that makes for war. We ask this so that all races and people may learn to live as members of one people and in obedience to your laws; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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