'The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth' - Weekly Reflection 26th January 2025

Have you been one of the over seven million people watching the latest series of ‘The Traitors?’

It has certainly been a phenomenon at a time when fewer people watch live TV preferring instead to watch on livestream.

It has also sparked a discussion, not least amongst Christians, around the question of whether we should be watching the show or not.

If you want a flavour of this discussion then follow this link for one very informative and interesting comment 

https://www.premierchristianity.com/culture/should-christians-feel-guilty-about-watching-the-traitors/18814.article?dm_i=16DQ,8U2HG,NEK0AW,10RQ9J,1

Interestingly the previous series last year had a confessed Christian and in the latest series, the Rev Lisa Coupland, a Church of England Vicar from Cornwall was a contestant.  Her overriding comment was that ‘any good murder mystery always has a vicar.’

I watched it (with my wife) and found it to be compelling viewing.

However, questions remain, and they are legitimate. The whole show is predicated on lying and hiding true identity.  Therefore, is this an acceptable TV watch for Christians?

A question I am left with (and I am left with a huge number of questions) is why has this show proved to be so compelling?  The contestants are lying as they seek to win an ever-increasing amount of money from the prize pot.  The whole show has a bit of macabre feel to it, bordering occasionaly on the pagan and maybe even the occult.

I am still trying to process why I found it so entertaining and a compulsive watch.  (The compulsive’ aspect is easy, they always left you with a cliff hanger!)

What I did need to do after the final episode was to watch what was called, ‘Traitors Uncloaked.’ I have also found it helpful to listen to other interviews with the participants.  This is a Game, and people are playing a game and part of the game is to see if you can hide your identity, which involves lying.

Part of the game also includes ‘Missions’ where the players must complete task and work together to gain ‘gold’ that increases the prize pot. There are moments of real self-sacrifice, there are plot twist and turns, dilemmas to face, friendships formed.

What we also get to see at the end is the real identity of the players. We also get to see how they all come out as friends and all talk about the fun, joy and challenge the show has brought to them, even if they had not won the prize pot. 

I think it does give a good snapshot on the complexity of humans; their mixed motives, their dreams and their desires and what they will do to achieve them.  This is all done with no one getting hurt, damaged or injured.  It is played out in front of us with all the participants having knowingly volunteered to take part. 

If there is a danger it might be for those who are unable to separate fact from fiction, those for whom life becomes blurred. For those who seek to live out their fantasy often with real harm done to others.

Having said all of that, I do hear and seek to heed the word of Philippians 4.8

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

I would argue within all the various machinations of The Traitors there are moments of truth, acts of love, things that are admirable and praiseworthy. 

What we can do amongst all that’s going on is to see if we can discern those attributes.

Learning how to be skilled in discerning such attributes amid very messy and complicated lives with which are surrounded, and of which we are part, is surely something worth exploring.  

I am not trying to persuade you that it is fine to watch The Traitors. That is up to you to decide.  I am trying to open up some questions and maybe some ways to think about this show, which we need to remind ourselves again, was a compelling watch for over seven million people. We need to be aware what is happening around us and what people are engaging with in our society today. In this way The Traitors holds up a helpful mirror.  We could of course always retreat into our self-righteous silos and appear to be taking an apparent noble stand against all that appears nasty and brutish in our world.   However, I think the story of the incarnation tells us a different story!

 

 

 

'Where are headed?' - Weekly Reflection 19th January 2025

Like probably the rest of the world I have been watching the live TV reporting from Israel and Gaza and the ceasefire takes its first tentative steps. (19/01/2025)

In many ways this event eclipses anything that might be happening in the world. Although, sadly, we are only too aware that there are other wars that continue to claim lives and destroy communities.  (And the often-forgotten climate damage being done)

Currently there are over one hundred armed conflicts across the world.  This number is up from previous decades, but even then it has rarely dropped below one hundred.  There has been hardly any period in human history where there hasn’t been armed conflict. https://www.geneva-academy.ch/galleries/today-s-armed-conflicts

I am very cautious of making any simple pronouncements in the light of such human pain and tragedy.

However, on Tuesday last at our Morning Worship at St Oswald’s we were reflecting on Jesus’ baptism. I was suggesting that Jesus’ baptism was a Royal Coronation. (Not my original thinking, but derived from a podcast I listened to exploring the baptism of Jesus)  

(A transcript of the sermon is available on my Blog https://gordonnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2025/01/jesus-baptism-transcript-of-sermon-14th.html)

At the coronation of Israelite Kings there are key elements, some of which where used at the coronation of Charles 111.  They are the presence of a prophet and a priest, an anointing with the Holy Spirit and then an acknowledgment and public proclamation.

At Jesus’ baptism we see John the Baptist, the greatest of prophets declares Jesus, and John is from a line of priests, his father Zecharia was a priest.  We note the anointing of the Holy Spirit, in the bodily physical form of a dove, and then the proclamation, “this is my son in whom I am well pleased.”

At the close of Matthew’s Gospel, we read what has become known as the Great Commission. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Matt 28. 18)

How did Jesus receive this authority on both heaven and earth?  Well, simply put, it was by sacrificial, self-giving love and a refusal to bite back or seek revenge. “Forgive them Father for they do not know what they are doing.”  Jesus offered and demonstrated a very different way.

Currently we are going through seismic shifts across the world.  If you want an accessible and good overview then I can highly recommend, ‘The Rest in Politics’ podcasts with Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart.  (See for example https://open.spotify.com/episode/0gmchopW8tNxgGTvxLZZey?si=6f009ba35ba6451d)

We also have AI coming on stream at an alarming rate with some pundits saying that our lives are set to be radically altered by AI in the next three years.

Within all of this turmoil what is our part as God’s New Covenant People? Should we be joining in the discussion or keep out of it altogether.  

There are those in the Christian tradition who would claim that the Good News is that in due course, either by our physical death, or upon Jesus’ return, those who are Christians will go to heaven and thereby escape a condemned earth.

I do wonder if such Christians have ever really read very slowly the Lord’s Prayer.

‘Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.’

Nor perhaps Revelation 21 or indeed Romans 8.22-24.

 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?

If these matters are of concern to you and you wish to be better informed then can I recommend that you sign up for the first 2025 Lecture from T4CG (Together for the Common Good).

Here is how they present it…

I'm delighted to announce our first event of 2025, a public lecture with Luke Bretherton. You are warmly invited to join us online.

We find ourselves in a period of epochal change as the old era is dying and the new is yet to be born. Amidst cultural confusion, we see fragmentation, dehumanising systems, the breakdown of trust and extreme inequality. As concentrations of money and state power intensify, people feel the loss of agency. There is a growing discontent. Burning questions around how to uphold a common life and how to stay human, hang over us as we try to make sense of what is going on.

In such an unstable context, how should the churches respond? While some are drawn to shoring up tradition, others are rejecting it; some turn to evangelism, some to social action, others to experimental ministries. Some place their faith in managerial strategy, others in contemplative withdrawal, while others are deconstructing, and some are drawn to despair. In institutional form, many churches, in a state of vulnerability, are often tempted into a defensive posture.

However, we are not to be afraid. God is at work, inviting us to participate in spiritual and civic renewal. But what will that look like in such a challenging environment? We are weary and often stuck in old patterns. What can inspire us into a new, constructive imagination?

Sign up here - **Staying Human: Reimagining the Spirit of the Commons** Tickets, Wed 19 Feb 2025 at 18:30 | Eventbrite

 

 

 

'Jesus Baptism' - transcript of sermon 14th January 2025

 

Luke 15-17 & 21-22

 

I don’t know if you are aware but apparently God is called James, and he is living with Anne in South Manchester and works as a landscape gardener.

This, from a programme on Radio Four in the Illuminated series broadcast recently. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00219dj?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

This reminded me of an Assembly at my Church of England Senior School back in 1964/65. Our RE teacher, Mrs Hopkinson asked what our reaction might be if a man was to stand up in Tommy Field Market and declare that he was God incarnate. 

Perhaps the reason I remember it was because I assumed laughter would be the right response, not that I found it funny, but I laughed anyway – and was the only one who reacted in anyway.

Lancashire in the 20^th or the 21^st century is very different from 1^st Palestine where Messiahs popped up regularly. And very often disappeared just as quickly, some with the followers brutally put down by the occupying Roman forces.  

And therein lay something of the problem.

In reading prophecy about the Messiah, the main thought was that such a figure would establish the Israelite Kingdom and dispatch the Roman’s back to their own country. Then there would be peace and prosperity, perhaps even ushering in the Age to Come.

And out of the Judean wilderness come John. And we are told what John was wearing not because the Gospel writers were fashion critiques. But because John’s garb was that of a prophet, and not just any prophet but aligned with Elijah who, according to tradition was to be the harbinger of the Messiah’s arrival.  

2 Kings 1.8

They replied, “He had a garment of hair and had a leather belt around his waist.” The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”

The baptism of Jesus is to be found in all four Gospels, and it would be a fascinating exercise to find all the link to the Old Testament. Virtually every word and line have a reference and a link back into what we know as the Old Testament.

We haven’t got the time to take that journey this morning.

But one thought I do want to present this morning. This idea comes from a study I was listening to on a podcast recently and I thought it was very illuminating.

Let me see if I can put it in short order.

Recall King Charles 111 coronation. Several of the rituals at the coronation derive from the coronation of Israelite Kings.

Take Solomon, the son of David, anointed king during David's lifetime to secure the succession. In 1 Kings 1:39, it is described, "Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people shouted, 'Long live King Solomon!'" Solomon's coronation was marked by public acclamation and the support of key figures like Nathan the prophet and Zadok the priest.

The coronation ceremonies in the Bible often involved anointing with oil, a practice that symbolized the Holy Spirit's empowerment and God's blessing upon the king. The use of oil, as seen in the anointing of Saul, David, and Solomon, was a tangible sign of consecration and divine selection. The presence of prophets and priests during these ceremonies underscored the theocratic nature of Israel's monarchy, where the king was seen as God's representative on earth.

Note, prophet, priest, anointing, acclamation.

In the New Testament, the concept of coronation takes on a messianic dimension with the recognition of Jesus Christ as the King of Kings.

What do we note in Jesus’ baptism.

We see a prophet, John the Baptist, from a line of priest, his father, Zechariah was a priest. We see the ‘anointing’ of the Holy Spirit alighting in the form of a dove.

(The dove is rich in allusion to the creation story where the ‘Spirit of God’ hovered over the waters of chaos like a mother bird over her brood, and we have the dove that brings back signs of new life to Noah.)

There is the acclamation from heaven, ‘this is my Son in whom I am well pleased.

Psalm 2.6-7

“I have installed my king
    on Zion, my holy mountain.”

 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

He said to me, “You are my son;
    today I have become your father.

And interestingly, John is the last and the greatest of the prophets.

Jesus confirmed that John was a prophet. And not just any prophet, but the greatest of them all. He said: “What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:9-11).

Immediately after John’s ministry, Jesus appeared. This meant that Old Testament prophecy had ended. The shadows passed. The sun had come. John was the last prophet.

Therefore, if John is the last prophet then there are no more prophets to anoint any further Kings – Jesus comes as King, is anointed, Christ, Christus, the ‘anointed one.’

Finaly, the ultimate coronation of Christ is depicted in the heavenly vision of Revelation, where He is portrayed as the Lamb who is worthy to receive power and glory. Revelation 19:16 declares, "On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." This eschatological coronation signifies the fulfilment of God's redemptive plan and the establishment of Christ's eternal reign.

At the end of Matthews Gospel, Jesus gives what has become to be known as the Great Commission…

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Note...

1)   “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 

King Jesus reigns supreme no matter how much earthly rulers strut and stride and seek to rule.

2)   Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, 

We are called to witness by word and action to everyone, everywhere, all the time.

3)   baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 

We are to invite people to become the New Covenant People of God through the waters of baptism, following our Lord’s example, and signifying their being buried with Christ and rising to new life in Him.

4)  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

And the people of God said, Amen and Amen.

King Jesus is waiting so that together you can walk through this world bringing hope, light, life and healing.  

https://youtu.be/_CSzEviUc_o?si=Vb1yNWB5Cuezv6iP

 

 

 

 

 

'We justs sits and looks at each other' Weekly Reflection 12th January 2025

Would you volunteer for solitary confinement?  Very few people would and those that do find themselves in solitary confinement speak of how difficult it is and that it can have a detrimental effect on metal health. And yet solitude and silence are part of what it means to follow Jesus, albiet something we engage with voluntarily!  

At St Oswald’s we have been engaging with a course ‘Practicing the Way.’   Not so much a course as an encouragement to live differently with the underlying phrase, ‘to follow Jesus, to become like Jesus and do the things that Jesus did.’ 

https://www.practicingtheway.org/

Today I read a weekly reflection from Rural Ministries and from their CEO Simon Mattholie and he was speaking the same language, referencing the same material and books.

https://www.ruralministries.org.uk/post/be-still?mc_cid=0d8f0352d1&mc_eid=475fbb1f5f

As part of the Practising the Way Course our Connect Group that meets in our home are taking a deeper dive into one of the practises, Solitude.

The real challenge for me was the suggested practise which involved laying everything to one side, no phone or books or any ‘outside’ distraction.  I am not unfamiliar with going on a ‘Retreat’ or having a ‘Quiet Day’ but have always taken a book to read or something to do, paint or something like that. This practise suggests absolutely nothing, just you, your thoughts coming before God. This was very much the practise of the Desert Fathers and Mothers who withdrew to the deserts of Egypt away from the hustle and bustle of life in the towns and villages dotted along the bank of the river Nile during the 3^rd Century.  Their reflections and writings still offer much wisdom we can draw on.

More importantly we see that ‘… Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.’ Luke 5.16.

Put simply, if Jesus had the need to withdraw, can we expect to live a fruitful life as an apprentice of Jesus without following this practise.

However, that does not mean we should take ourselves off and away from everything. If we look at Jesus’ life we see a pattern of engagement and withdraw, engagement and withdraw.

 For us in the 21^st century we have the increased pressure of our smart phones and social media and with an anxiety over FOMO – fear of missing out. You will have noticed many people walking around or even sitting together in a restaurant or with their children and they are not engaged with what’s around them but tied to the screen.  Often when I have been out running I have nearly ran into somebody because they were not aware of things happening around them, especially dog walkers with the awful extendable leads creating the perfect trip hazard!

This has also presented a challenge to me. Because as I am running or cycling I will almost always have something playing, usually a podcast, most often with some Christian or Biblical teaching.  What I am now trying to foster is having listened to one podcast to leave space and not have any more ‘input.’  The deeper challenge however is that the ‘practise of solitude and silence’ invites us to sit still, no movement, no input from external sources, quieten and still everything including our minds that have a habit of jumping around.  There are ‘techniques’ that can help with this, and one of them is to repeat a simple phrase, or a prayer like the Jesus Prayer. An ancient practise of repeating this prayer and regulating the breath - “Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

The Practise of Solitude and Silence from ‘Practising the Way’ has a suggestion that before we reach for our smart phone in the morning that we intentionally spend at least two minutes catching our breath and focussing on God without any external stimulation or input.  Two minutes is the start, by doing what we are able and how we are able and allow the practise to develop so that we can drop into this place of silence and solitude regularly and for longer periods.   As Jesus’ apprentices we learn from him how we can develop the practise of simply sitting in companionable silence before God, loving and knowing we are loved.  After all, we are human beings, not human doings!

Be still and know that I am God

Be still and know 

Be still

Be

https://youtu.be/zBngAHsAMIY?si=dTn1k0BJKC1uu_r9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

'Lost and Found' - weekly reflection 5th January 2025

Currently Emmerdale has a story line of a troubled teenage girl who has left home. Her disappearance went undetected for several hours because her dad thought she was asleep. She had arrived home in a drunken state and her dad assumed the reason she hadn’t got up was that she was sleeping off the effects.

It is only in Luke’s account that we get the story of Jesus in the Temple as a twelve-year-old boy. Well, actually that should be ‘young man’ because although the idea of a ‘bar mitsvah’ is modern and happens when a boy is thirteen, some scholars argue that something similar did happen, albeit without a special ceremony, at the time of Jesus.

This is an extract from one article.

Yeshua grows up and the next we hear of Him is at age twelve. In modern times a “Bar Mitzvah” is celebrated when a young Jewish man becomes age thirteen. Bar Mitzvah means “son of the Commandment”. It is a time where a young child becomes a man. And as a man he is expected to now follow the Torah to its fullest. By time many Jewish boys have memorized the Torah – the first five books of the Bible. Really! Maybe in the time of Yeshua, this age was twelve, no one knows for sure. What we do know is His family takes Him to Jerusalem for the Feast of Pesach (Passover).

The story goes like this, “And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When they had finished the days, as they returned the Boy Yeshua lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it.” Luke 2:43. Yes, it was required to go to the Temple for the Feast of Pesach, again His parents are following Torah. But, what is so interesting about this account is that Yeshua is twelve years old. The time when He would be formally recognized as a “man”.

(c) Nancy Kujawa All Rights Reserved.

https://www.jesus-was-a-rabbi.com/p/jesus-had-bar-mitzvah.html

There is a lot more fascinating detail in this story, and if you are familiar with Scripture you will recall the importance of ‘twelve’ and you will remember the story of the young girl of twelve and the woman with the issues of blood who had suffered for twelve years. (Luke chapter 8)

Tom Wright in his ‘Everyone’ commentary points out the parallel with the story of the couple of the road to Emmaus. (Luke tells his Gospel often with a focus on travelling, on a journey) The story of Jesus being ‘lost’ by Mary and Joseph begins a story that concludes with the story of the couple on the road to Emmaus when a stranger comes alongside them and joins in with the conversation. This couple believe they have ‘lost’ Jesus. (A technical detail makes the link clearer. In the Temple when approached by Mary and Jospeh, Jesus receives a slight rebuke from Mary. Jesus’ responds, ‘it was necessary that that I should be about my father’s work.’ In response to the Emmaus couple Jesus responds, ‘it was necessary that all these things should take place.’ 'It was necessary' is the same word in Greek used in both cases.)   

On reading the story of Jesus in the Temple you may have pondered how this could happen. Jesus was ‘lost’ to his parents for three days.  (Note that, three days!)

The reason is given in the story. Mary, Joseph and Jesus would have journeyed to Jerusalem with a large company of family and friends. It would be very natural to assume that Jesus was somewhere in that company. But then, they begin to get concerned and make the return trip. Going back to the Temple they find Jesus.

As we journey in the company of others throughout 2025 we might become ‘casual’ about Jesus’ presence. Like the parents of the teenager in Emmerdale, and like Mary and Joseph, we assume that Jesus is with us. And in one sense we know that he is always with us. (With over 100 verses in the Scripture making this declaration)   

However, in the busyness of life we can easily ‘loose sight of Jesus.’ Mary and Joseph had to begin to see their son in a new light, strange and puzzling as it may have been, there are always new things to learn.  The couple on the road to Emmaus had to turn and give Jesus their full attention and for them it was in the blessing and the breaking of the bread that they recognized Jesus.

Consider what steps you might put in place so that you do not lose sight of Jesus. That you simply assume he is with you. Or, perhaps that you think, well it’s okay because he is somewhere in the company of faithful.

Be honest, you may be hiding from Jesus behind a shield of others and their faith and knowledge of Jesus, living off a vicarious faith. Yes, we are called into community, but we are also called to have a personal relationship with Jesus. To know and acknowledge his presence with us 24/7, even when we might prefer not to have him around!

 (With thanks to Rev Margaret Simmons and her sermon on the 31st December 2024  at St Oswald's, Rugby that gave the inspiration for this reflection)