Remember the Sabbath Day

It's hard not to feel good for Aaron and Joe Crabtree, two little boys who have been signed by Blackburn Rovers (world's greatest football team etc. etc.) Just eight and seven years old, the brothers were spotted training with a junior team in the North West of England. Despite the fact that their father is a Manchester United supporter, the boys were persuaded to sign up for Rovers. They will wear the blue and white halves and hope against hope to stay the course long enough to play for the famous old club. I hope to read about Aaron playing a creative role in midfield, and his brother knocking in the goals as Blackburn take the Premier league by storm in about 2025.

However, I can't help noticing that, since signing, they will be required to join their teammates twice a week, and that they will play other academies on Sunday mornings. Now, I know that Christian Education does not need to be on Sunday mornings, and that worship can be held at other times, but I suspect that these little boys, and thousands like them, will grow up not knowing anything about the Gospel.

When I look back at the rich benefits that I enjoyed as a child as a result of attending church and Sunday School, and when I think about how valuable the experience has been for my own children, I can't help but feel sad for Aaron and Joe. You can learn a lot through sports. Playing on a team helps to develop some of the lifeskills that every child needs to be successful in life. But what about those issues that sport cannot address? Can soccer help when Grandma is taken deathly ill? Can Little League teach a relationship with God?

As the tide of secularism rises, we can no longer assume that the children of our community possess even the most basic knowledge of the Christian faith. The Bible stories and themes that permeate literature are completely unknown. Some time ago, during a pre-marriage counselling session, I made a reference to the story of David and Goliath. The bride-to-be had no idea what I was talking about. Last year I had the privilege of leading to Christ a young person who had never heard the word 'gospel.' And when I asked some cub scouts to name the disciples I got blank stares, until one urchin said "Moses?"

Now, I know that a relationship with God is not just about head-knowledge, but it must contain some knowledge, surely? "God" is an empty concept unless it is informed by the grand narrative of salvation. Either that, or "God" is understood through the lens of folk-religion, a mosaic of meaning that may entertain, but cannot save.

I doubt that the Christian Church will be successful in moving society back to such reverence for Sunday that the day (or at least the morning) will be reserved for worship and Christian Education. However, I do think that Christian parents should take the lead in speaking out against scheduling that assumes that worship is not a high priority. I think it also means that churches will need to be creative in offering quality educational opportunities at a variety of different times. Perhaps parents will also have to resume primary responsibility for teaching their children the fundamentals of the faith. Otherwise, if we are not careful, all we shall be raising will be a generation of extraordinarily healthy pagans.

Read about Aaron and Joe in the Manchester Evening News http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1112684__football_brothers_do_the_double

On Hatred

"The Gods Will Have Blood" (Les Dieux Ont Soif) by Anatole France is a brief historical novel set during the French Revolution, in the fiteen months preceding the fall of Robespierre. The main character in the story is a sensitive, largely unsuccessful artist by the name of Evariste Gamelin. Slowly, Gamelin is drawn into the Jacobin terror machine. Appointed as a magistrate, he applies the principles of revolution, finds treason in every failure, and plays his part in sending hundreds to the guillotine.

France's story is a study in contrasts. Gamelin is, on the one hand, a faithful son, an ardent lover, and an amusing friend. On the other hand, he is cold-hearted and ruthless, using his power to settle personal scores, justifying abuse by invoking the good of La Patrie. Eventually, he arranges the murder of his brother-in-law, despite the pleas of his distraught sister. His mother does not even ask for clemency, recognizing what he has become. Brotteaux, the ci-devant aristocrat who makes marionettes and reads Lucretius like a breviary; Citizeness Rose Theverin, the superficial yet charming actress, whose ill-advised dalliances cause such grief; Father Longuemare, the former Barnabite, whose simple faith stands in marked contrast to Brotteaux's atheism; and Athenais, the child-prostitute, whose bravery overshadows them all - alternately defiant or resigned, every one of them is sacrificed on the altar of Gamelin's zeal. Over the proceedings of the tribunal, the murdered Marat, 'friend of the people,' looks down, invoking the sans-culottes to ever greater heights of patriotism, or fratricide.

Meanwhile, in the park, in his blue coat and yellow breeches, Robespierre walks Brount, his dog, and talks to children. One, with a hoop, bumps into Gamelin's legs. The artist-magistrate lifts the boy roughly in his arms. "Child!" he says, "You will grow up to be free and happy, and you will owe it to the infamus Gamelin. I am steeped in blood so that you may be happy. I am cruel, that you may be kind... When you are a man, you will owe to me your happiness... and if you ever hear my name mentioned, you will curse it." As the terrified child runs to cling to his mother's skirts, Gamelin says to Elodie, his lover, "I held that child in my arms; perhaps I shall have his mother sent to the guillotine." The Girondist cloud gathers over the Jacobin head. Once again, despotism is countered by despotism, and the common people live in fear.

What is the Terror, if not the institutionalization of hatred? As the tumbrils roll the faithful sing the Ah! Ca Ira, the theme song of the Revolution.

Ah! Ca ira, ca ira, ca ira

les aristocrates a la lanterne!

Ah! Ca ira, ca ira, ca ira

les aristocrates on les pendra!

Si on n'les pend pas

on les rompra.

Si on n'les rompt pas

on les brulera.

Nous n'avions plus ni nobles, ni pretres,

Ah! Ca ira, ca ira, ca ira

L'egalite partout regnera.

Ah! That'll do, that'll do, that'll do.

Aristocrats to the lamp-post!

Ah! That'll do, that'll do, that'll do.

The aristocrats - we will hang them!

If we don't hang them

we will break them.

If we don't break them

we will burn them.

We'll have no more nobles, no priests.

Ah! That'll do, that'll do, that'll do.

Equality will reign everywhere.

* * * * * * * * *

What is there to fear in California? Not the reasoned expression of opinion, but the invective of hatred. When debate becomes denunciation then the structure of mutual respect is removed, and the whole house falls. How ironic, that those who trumpet tolerance the loudest are those who demonstrate it the least. Proposition 8 was not motivated by hatred, but maybe its opponents are.

You can listen to Ca Ira at //edith-piaf.narod.ru/piaf1954.html

Friday's Child

He told us we were free to choose

But, children as we were, we thought -

'Paternal Love will only use

Force, in the last resort,

On those too bumptious to repent.'

'Friday's Child' - W.H. Auden.

Auden's poem, of this title, was written in 1958 in memory of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was martyred at Flossenburg, Germany, on April 9, 1945. It's a strange attribution, given that the poem is both a wistful recollection of the death of Christ (Good Friday's Child) and a damning indictment of the ineptitude of God.

Auden seems genuinely bemused by the theological tension between divine sovereignty and human agency. He accuses God of having given away too much.

Perhaps He frowns, perhaps He grieves,

But it seems idle to discuss

If anger or compassion leaves

The bigger bang to us.


What reverence is rightly paid

To a Divinity so odd

He lets the Adam whom He made

Perform the acts of God?

His point seems to be that, since God allows us to make our own mistakes, and does not intervene, He is not worthy of our praise. In fact, God is irrelevant. For Auden, it appears not to matter at all whether or not God is real. We have no real way of knowing:

And must put up with having learned

All proofs or disproofs that we tender

Of His existence are returned

Unopened to the sender.

Even the resurrection of Christ fails to answer the question. Auden "dare not say" whether the seal of the tomb remained unbroken. Christ on the cross, like God in heaven, remains silent. Our questions remain unanswered. A God who will not intervene when His Son is suffering "a death reserved for slaves" deserves nothing from us. This is Auden's caustic judgment:

The self-observed observing Mind

We meet when we observe at all

Is not alarming or unkind

But utterly banal.

* * * * * * * * * * * *


How can it be that one man, sitting at ease, can spout such invective, whilst another, awaiting his death, places His confidence in the God revealed in Jesus Christ? To one, the ways of the Divine are childish and stupid; to the other they are wonderfully profound. Bonhoeffer was painfully aware of the tension between human evil and divine restraint. Most of his adult life had been lived in the shadow of unspeakable horror. Unlike Auden, however, who bolted from Europe to the sanctuary of the United States, Bonhoeffer returned to his native Germany. Auden chose to doubt, and blamed God for doing nothing. Bonhoeffer chose to believe, and did something.

My Way?

Apparently, things are not what they used to be in the funeral business in the UK. Increasing numbers of Britons are now choosing secular funerals, so the music being played is changing. Out are the standard hymns used for generations. In are selections deemed more appropriate, either by the dearly departed, or by those gathering at the wake. A survey of 30,000 funerals last year showed hymns on the decline, except in Scotland. In England and Wales it's a different story.

X Factor winner Alexandra Burke's cover of the Leonard Cohen classic 'Hallelujah' is proving popular, although many of us have never quite worked out what it's all about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsuXbkrA_AQ

Other favorites include Bette Midler's 'Wind Beneath My Wings,' Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman's 'Time to Say Goodbye,' and, most popular of all, Frank Sinatra's 'My Way.'

Secular humanity has also shuffled off to theme songs from soap operas. Even the music from the Shipping Forecast (giving weather related information) has been used. Somewhat more unusual choices include:

AC/DC's 'Highway to Hell,' Doctor and the Medics 'Spirit in the Sky,' and, of course, 'Another One Bites the Dust' by Queen.

It's interesting to note that the survey was commissioned by Co-operative Funeralcare which, at least in my experience, tends to cater for a more blue-collar or working-class clientele. There may, therefore, be sociological or demographic reasons for this trend, in that working class Britain has been distanced from the church for longer. Nevertheless, it's clear that thousands of people are dying without hope, or at least without hope fixed on the certainties of the Gospel. And that is not funny at all.

I used to worry, when I lived in Newcastle, that I was often asked to pronounce the assurance of salvation over people who had never darkened the door of any church and who, as far as I knew, had no relationship with God. I coped with this by adding a qualifier to the committal. I used to say, "Inasmuch as ....... trusted in Christ as Savior and Lord, we now commit his body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ..."

Now, it seems, I would be saved the bother. I could tell a few entertaining stories about the deceased, express some vague hope about something or other, and then close the curtain to the crematorium while a reality star sings a godless hallelujah.

No wonder Paul says that, if Christ is not risen from the dead we are, of all men, most to be pitied. But that is not the case. Because He lives, we too will live.

Where is our urgency in conveying this hope to a generation that prefers the ersatz to the real, that would rather warble "My Way" than worship the One who is 'the Way, the Truth, and the Life"?

See the original story at http://itn.co.uk/news/8dd23696acf9823b701b27b829bec105.html

Economics and the Elderly

A sad statistic hit the news today. Apparently, one in every five seniors has been forced to skip a meal as a direct result of the current economic crisis. Some are making do with one less meal a day in order to conserve their reserves. Those who are on fixed incomes have been particularly badly hit by the recession. Some of them, who depended upon income from investments to supplement their pensions, have seen their reserves decimated.

So, Grandma and Grandpa are cutting back on necessities in order to stay afloat financially. I hope that those who caused this crisis, by their wanton speculation and relentless greed, feel proud of themselves. "What did you do today?" "I made Grandma go hungry."

At the same time the news only increases our responsibility to care for one another. Perhaps the churches will have to take up more of the slack in order to counter both the poverty and the loneliness that afflict so many elderly people. Perhaps we need to be investing more resources into senior ministry, and not just for our own people. Someone once said that a society is to be judged by how it treats its weakest members. Shame on us, if we cannot care for those who once cared for us.

Remembering Hillsborough

Today is the twentieth anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. Ninety six football supporters were crushed to death during a FA Cup semi-final game between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest held at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield.



At that time, many of the football grounds had fences to keep supporters off the pitch. On that fateful occasion, too many people were allowed into one section of the ground. Thousands surged forward to get a better view, and those at the front were pushed up against the fence. The most horrendous thing of all was that there were members of the press, covering the game, on the other side of the fence. They turned around and began to take photographs as fans, young and old, lost their lives. I remember a sequence of pictures on the front cover of one of the tabloids, the following day, showing the gradual death of several young supporters. No one had the presence of mind to call for bolt cutters. Those on the outside could reach through the mesh and touch those who were dying, but could do nothing to prevent the tragedy. After that, the fences came down. It's better to have a game distrupted than to have lives lost.

On the same day, I'd been listening to a game on the radio. Blackburn Rovers (world's greatest football team, but I'm biased) beat Manchester City by four goals to nil. If I remember correctly, Simon Garner, a great character, hit a hat-trick. To go from the euphoria of victory to the horror of senseless loss in the space of a few minutes is something I won't forget. I suppose the moral is that if you treat people like cattle they will probably behave like cattle.

http://itn.co.uk/news/abd4c14e56efd49166465ce2b3eac68e.html

Blessed are...

Risen Lord

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” I Peter 1:3

The One who spoke the Beatitudes, who has given us a vision of a new Kingdom, which makes such momentous claims upon our lives, yet still declares us blessed, is none other than the conqueror of death – Jesus, the Christ.

The memory of His words was pleasant, yet painful, for the women who hurried towards the tomb that Sunday morning.[1] It was pleasant to recall His stories and His claims, the challenges He had laid before them. It was painful because their present task served only to remind them that His body lay, hidden in the grave. Like Jesus, their hope was gone. They wanted to believe His words, to accept His authority, but His death made them doubt. Was He, after all, only a man? Were His claims mere words?

Then, carrying the spices with which they had hoped to anoint His body, they arrived at the tomb, and found the stone rolled away. They could not find Jesus’ body and they did not know what to think, or to do. Then, suddenly, two men in clothes that gleamed like lightening stood beside them and asked the frightened women, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!”[2]

Jesus Christ, the author of the promised blessings and the sovereign of the Kingdom to which we are called to give our allegiance, is the Risen Lord. He was delivered over to death for our sins; He was raised to life for our justification.[3] He speaks with authority and His claim is absolute. The way of blessing is the way of Christ. For He is Lord! He is risen from the dead and He is Lord! Alleluia!


Risen Lord,
Reigning in power, seated at the right hand of the Father,
I bow before Your majesty and name You
as my Savior and my Lord.
In humility and trust I claim the promise of the Scriptures,
that if I will confess with my mouth that ‘Jesus is Lord,’
and if I will believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead,
then I shall be saved.
In that sure and certain hope I vow to live,
and die to live again,
as a citizen of Your everlasting Kingdom,
and to the glory of Your name.
Amen.



[1] Luke 24:1
[2] Luke 24:5-6
[3] Romans 4:25

Blessed are...

Spotless Lamb

“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.” Isaiah 53:7

The One who opens His mouth to bring us words of blessing is the One who stayed silent before His accusers. His authority is not the bluster and bombast of the bully, it is the gentle voice of One who lays down His life for His friends. His Kingdom is not maintained by violence or threats. Its fortress is a faithful heart; its pride is suffering. We are citizens of that Kingdom not by birth but by the conquest of Love.

They still did not understand that Christ was the Passover Lamb, sacrificed for their salvation.[1] Years before, John the Baptist had recognized Him, and predicted His fate as he called, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”[2] But the disciples did not make the connection until later. As the body of Jesus lay within the tomb, all they could think was that their dreams were ended. They could not grasp that, in His death, Christ had been “pierced for our transgressions,”[3] becoming their substitute, and ours. They could not see that He bore the sins of many “in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.”[4] In their grief, they were blind to His sacrifice, not seeing that, on the Cross, He had “given Himself for our sins.”[5]

One day, everyone will understand, for everyone will stand before the Lamb.[6] When that day dawns, how much better it will be if we have accepted, by faith, His sacrifice for our sins. How much better if, in glad and joyful obedience, we have lived as citizens of His Kingdom, blessed beyond measure in this life and the next, sharing that blessing with others. How much better it will be if we have acknowledged His Kingship, and surrendered to His redeeming love.

Lord Christ,
You are the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead,
the ruler of the kings of the earth.
You are the Lamb without blemish or defect.
And by Your precious blood,
I have been redeemed.
Amen.



[1] I Corinthians 5:7
[2] John 1:29
[3] Isaiah 53:5
[4] I Peter 2:24
[5] Galatians 1:4
[6] Revelation 7:9

Blessed are...

Prince and Savior

“God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.” Acts 5:31

The One who speaks to us of blessing, who ushers in God’s Kingdom then encourages and empowers us to live out its values, is also our Savior. He does not descend from heaven in order to deliver impossible directives. He comes to seek and to save the lost.[1]

Jesus did not look like a man with authority when they mocked Him and spat upon Him, placing a robe about His shoulders and a crown of thorns upon His brow. They hailed Him then, “King of the Jews”[2] but He was more than that. His Kingdom is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away; it shall never be destroyed.[3]

Jesus did not look like a man with authority as the sting of the whip fell upon His back, or as He staggered up the Via Dolorosa. He seemed utterly powerless as they nailed His hands and feet to the wooden Cross, then raised Him, like a common criminal, to die. Even as His last words came, like a shout, He seemed as nothing – broken and bleeding. Then, they took His lifeless body, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a borrowed tomb, and He was gone.

Or so they thought, for deep within that stone-cold tomb the purposes and plan of God lay, waiting to burst forth in power. The seed of the Kingdom was sacrificed for the harvest of our souls.


Jesus, Lord,
Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,
I salute the Love that gave itself for me.
I hail the Love that redeemed me from all wickedness.
I bow down before the Love that purified a people
through the fragrant offering of the perfect sacrifice.
Lead me, beyond the wonder, to the obedience of one
who has been bought at a great price, and
who shall be forever grateful to my Savior.
In Your name.
Amen.


[1] Luke 19:10
[2] Mark 15:18
[3] Daniel 7:14

Blessed are...

Judge of the Living and the Dead

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead…” II Timothy 4:1

The One who brings us the characteristics of the Kingdom is the One who will, one day, be our Judge. John tells us that God “has given Him authority to judge because He is the Son of Man.”[1] That is, Jesus is the One of whom the prophets spoke, the long-awaited One who would “reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.”[2] He is King and Judge: all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him.[3]

It didn’t seem that way to Pilate, when the Jewish troublemaker was brought before him. This Jesus of Nazareth seemed harmless enough. He was a little strange, perhaps, with some delusions of grandeur, but nothing worthy of a Cross. Pilate tried to pardon the man, but the crowds, encouraged by the scribes and Pharisees, would have none of it. They bayed for His blood. So Pilate washed his hands of the whole affair, and in doing so sealed his infamy. Pilate thought that he could judge Jesus. The Jewish courts thought that they had authority over Him. Both were mistaken. In misjudging Jesus, Pilate condemned himself. In manipulating the proceedings to achieve His death, the Pharisees lost their opportunity to welcome the Messiah. The condemned man was, and is, the judge of the living and the dead. One day, the nations shall be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, like sheep and goats.[4] He has the power to speak, for the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory belong to Him.


Lord Jesus,
Judge and King, You speak as One with authority.
You have the right to command;
Your gracious Kingdom is ordered by Your will.
When I am tempted to sit in judgment,
or to place myself upon the throne that is rightfully Yours,
remind me that the Father has placed all things under Your feet.
Then, let me fall down and worship You.
Amen.


[1] John 5:27
[2] Isaiah 9:7
[3] Matthew 28:18
[4] Matthew 25:32

Blessed are...

Word Made Flesh

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

Who is the One who challenges us to live out the characteristics of the Kingdom, who empowers us by His Spirit to be so much more than we ever could be by ourselves? He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.[1] He is the Word made flesh who made His dwelling among us.[2]

Jesus Christ has the authority to command and to bless because He is, as Wesley wrote, “God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man.” Though we cannot fully understand how it happened, we believe that it did. In the person of His Son, God came to earth and lived among us. He lived as we live, yet was without sin. He taught as noone had ever taught, and He died, the innocent for the guilty, the just for the unjust, in order that we might be redeemed. Our sins had condemned us. We were heading for the destruction we deserved; but God in His great mercy sent His Son to pay the debt we could not pay, and to reconcile us to Himself.

The characteristics of the Kingdom, seen in the Beatitudes, were brought to us by none other than the Author of the universe: “the radiance of God’s glory, the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.”[3] His words are more than pleasing, pious platitudes, more than quaint phrases to be converted into cross-stitch, ignored behind glass. They are the words of the One who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.[4] We may ignore these words, if we so choose, but we cannot do so forever.


Living Lord,
Your words still astonish me,
for You teach, not like the scribes, but as one with authority.
May I recognize, in You,
the Mind that made all things,
the Word that spoke them into being, and
the Love that came to earth, in Bethlehem.
Then, may I respond, eagerly, gladly to Your call.
For Your love’s sake.
Amen.


[1] Colossians 1:15
[2] John 1:14
[3] Hebrews 1:3
[4] Revelation 22:13

Blessed are...

Crucified Savior

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10

In the person of Jesus of Nazareth, God’s Kingdom broke into our world. A new authority was established, whose King and Head would suffer and die upon a Cross. By His coming, and especially by His resurrection, Jesus gave us a foretaste of the Last Days, when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.[1] During His life, this gentle Savior, who went about doing good, was opposed by those who saw His authority as a threat to their own. From the massacre of the innocents in Bethlehem, to the jealous rantings of the High Priests, from the fearful and insecure to the arrogant and proud, men opposed Jesus because He represented the Kingdom of heaven, a Kingdom without end.

There were only two possible responses to the claims of Jesus – you could follow Him, or you could attempt to silence Him. When the kingdoms of this world and the Kingdom of heaven met and vied for the hearts of men, the result was a Cross. On Calvary, cruel men believed that they had triumphed. The self-styled King of the Jews was dead. Surely, His Kingdom would die with Him? They dealt with the incarnation of the Son of God by ridiculing Him, and by rejecting Him, and by raising Him on a Cross of wood. And they thought it was all over. But it was not.

Today, wherever Christians gather, His Kingdom is proclaimed. Like a seed, buried deep in the earth that Kingdom grows, despite the best efforts of those who would like to stamp it out for ever. And, one day, the King will come again.


Crucified Savior,
Though Your crown may be made of thorns,
I will praise You.
Though Your robe may be a borrowed cloak,
I will bow down.
Though the symbol of Your Kingdom may be the instrument of Your death,
I will live in hope.
For I believe that You are not done with us yet.
Amen.



[1] Philippians 2:10

Blessed are...

Suffering With Christ

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10

In the second version of the eighth Beatitude, Jesus says “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”[1] If we owe our allegiance to Jesus we should not be surprised when our obedience to the values of the Kingdom leads to persecution.

The apostle John recalls, in his Gospel, how Jesus predicted the trouble that His disciples would face. “If the world hates you,” says Jesus, “keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as one of its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world… If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”[2]

Our values are not the values of the world. Instead of boasting how wonderful we are, we are to acknowledge our poverty of spirit. Instead of gloating over others, we are to mourn our lack of real community, the death of deep relationships. Whilst others are eager to push their advantages, we are to put a high value on mercy. We refuse to equate meekness with weakness, instead we are to look for honesty and simplicity. We do not seek to dishonor anyone, but we would rather do that than dishonor God. At the same time, we treasure peace, especially a peace that is just. It is because we hold to these Kingdom values that we should not be surprised when opposition comes. Darkness is always threatened by the light. The threats we receive may be real. We may feel their sting. But those who oppose us for the sake of the Gospel will never, ever extinguish the flame of the passionate and enduring love of God,[3] made known to us in Jesus Christ.


Suffering Lord,
They hated You first. They hated You without reason.
They persecuted You. They threatened You.
And in the end they killed You.
But death could not hold You.
All the darkness in the world could not overcome Your light.
Strengthen me, suffering Lord, that I may suffer with You.
For Your love’s sake.
Amen.

[1] Matthew 5:11
[2] John 15:18-20
[3] John 1:5

Blessed are...

Rejoice and Be Glad

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10

This is the only Beatitude that is repeated. Jesus continues, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”[1]

In this, longer, version, Jesus moves from the third person to the second. It is as if He is underlining the point that suffering is normal for those who follow Him. Then, He weaves into the fabric of Christian experience the expectation of joy. “Rejoice and be glad,” He says. Jesus does not mean that we should take some kind of perverse pleasure out of suffering. We are not called to be masochists. What He means is that, in spite of our suffering, we are to have the deep joy of the assurance of salvation, which no amount of persecution can ever remove.[2] To know Christ as Savior is to have an eternal joy that not even the lions in the Roman Coliseum can rip from our hearts. Perhaps there is a lesser joy here, also, the ‘gladness’ of knowing that we are living with integrity? Perversely, persecution proves that we are doing something right. Martin Luther once said that suffering is one of the marks of the true Church, just like the preaching of the Word and the right administration of the sacraments. When we are opposed by those whose values are not our own, we are vindicated. It means that we are standing with the prophets, and that we are “counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the name of Jesus.”[3]



Father,
I rejoice in Your mercy and Your love.
You have taken pity upon me, and called me to be Your own.
By grace You gave me the gifts of repentance and of faith,
and so enabled me to become a citizen of the Kingdom of heaven.
Now, Lord, strengthen me to live as I believe.
For the sake of Your Son, my Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.



[1] Matthew 5:11-12
[2] James 1:2
[3] Acts 5:41

Blessed are...

Persecution and Compromise

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10

In certain parts of the world, persecution is a current reality for the Christian community. Church buildings are routinely destroyed, businesses are ruined, families are torn apart. Persecution, even martyrdom, is far from unusual. The right of assembly may be refused, so Christians must gather secretly or face imprisonment. The ‘indoctrination’ of the young may be prohibited, so teaching your own children the stories of Jesus may lead to fines being imposed. Some Christian parents have even had their children taken away, to be raised in another religion, or none. Around the world, Christians are routinely tortured or beaten. Why not here?

It would be nice to think that Christians in the West fare better than others because we have had such an influence upon society that everyone shares our values. To a degree this is true. Historically, Christian principles have been very influential in shaping Western culture. Unfortunately, though, the reason for our relative freedom from oppression may have a different cause. Perhaps we do not face persecution because Western Christians are pretty much like everyone else. We do not wear our convictions for all to see. We keep quiet about what we believe. We fear giving offense. More importantly, we have swallowed, hook-line-and-sinker, many of the secular assumptions that inform Western culture. We have become indistinguishable from the godless.

Is it any wonder that we do not draw the ire of the world when we refuse to take any moral stands that question society. When the Church stands for nothing it will fall for anything. Should there not be a price to pay for following Jesus Christ?



Lord Jesus,
Forgive my all-too-easy compromises,
the treaties that I have signed upon the road to Babylon.
Forgive my half-hearted commitment to Your cause.
Send Your fire upon Your Church, until we burn, for all to see,
with the intensity of Your holiness, and Your love.
For Your name’s sake.
Amen.

Blessed are...

When Values Collide

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10

When Paul and Barnabas came to Lystra, in Asia Minor,[1] at first they were greeted as manifestations of the Greek divinities Hermes and Zeus. But before long the crowd had been won over by those who opposed the Christian way. Barnabas managed to escape, but Paul was stoned, dragged outside the city, and left for dead. The next day, having recovered, he left for Derbe, but it was not long before Paul and Barnabas were back in Lystra. There, Paul encouraged the new believers. “We must go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God,” he said.[2]

The world is fond of patronizing the Church with praise. Christians are often applauded when they stand for the poverty-stricken, the diseased, or the oppressed. But it does not usually take long for the applause to turn to criticism. Let the Church stand for integrity, honesty, or biblical morality and the accusations soon begin to fly. Christians are not applauded when their loyalty to Christ leads them to question sharp practices in the workplace, or when big business ignores ethics. We are thanked when we provide aid for those in need; we are accused when we criticize the selfishness of the system that creates the need. The problem is that Christianity operates on a different value system. Persecution for righteousness’ sake arises when two different value systems collide. It’s a matter of loyalty. Ultimately, we owe our allegiance not to any prince or prelate, but to Christ, and that will always be a threat to someone.



Sovereign Lord,
You have such a claim upon my life.
I cannot find peace until I rest in Your will.
May I strive, always, to reflect Your righteousness,
no matter what the consequences may be.
By grace alone, and in the name of Jesus.
Amen.






[1] Acts 14:8-20
[2] Acts 14:22

Blessed are...

Persecution We Deserve

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10

The persecution that leads to blessing cannot be divorced from the Gospel. It is not blessed to be persecuted; the blessing only comes when we are persecuted for righteousness. In the same way, it is not true that we are blessed when we are persecuted because we are Christians; the blessing only comes when we are persecuted for having pursued righteousness, as Christians.

We may be opposed for any of a number of reasons. We may be persecuted because we are obnoxious, or because we are incompetent. We may face opposition because we are unnecessarily offensive, or because we are ill-mannered or rude. Just because we are Christians does not mean that every contrary voice we hear comes because of our commitment to Christ. It could be that our behavior has led to our suffering. Indeed, it may be suffering that we deserve.[1]

Unacceptable behavior, by Christians, is no reason to rejoice. It may just be a reason to repent. Whenever our behavior does not exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit, when we do not display purity of heart, contrition for sin, or true humility, then we cannot claim to be blessed when the world finds that behavior objectionable. When our life is not in line with our confession of Jesus Christ as Lord, then any opposition we face simply demonstrates our immaturity, not our blessedness. People will always find plenty of reasons to reject the Gospel. We don’t need to add another. That is why we need to model our lives after Christ’s, and to treat others with gentleness, compassion, and love. By doing this we may not avoid persecution,[2] but we will avoid being persecuted for the wrong reasons.



Lord God,
I confess that often my life has not reflected the values of Your Kingdom.
I have been as thoughtless as my godless neighbors,
and sometimes more rude.
Forgive me.
Teach me the winsome loveliness of Christ.
For His name’s sake.
Amen.


[1] I Peter 2:20
[2] I Peter 4:12

Blessed are...

Persecution and Righteousness

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10

Just as some commentators have tried to remove religion from the seventh Beatitude, shortening it to “Blessed are the peacemakers,” so the eighth Beatitude has suffered a similar fate. “Blessed are those who are persecuted,” we are told, as though the simple fact of suffering persecution guarantees blessedness. Clearly, this is not the case. There are people around the world for whom the curse of persecution is no reason to celebrate. By removing the remainder of the text, especially by ignoring verses eleven and twelve, secular commentators attempt to elevate the state of persecution per se. No matter what we believe, apparently, if we are being persecuted we are worthy of being counted blessed.

Of course it’s nonsense. There is a world of difference between the commonsense conviction that those who suffer unjustifiable opposition deserve our sympathy, and the theological proposition that true Christianity invites opposition. We are counted blessed, not when we endure any kind of persecution, for whatever reason, but when our suffering is the result of our commitment to Christ.

Jesus says that the opposition we face should be because of our righteousness, our decision to live according to God’s moral law. When right living comes up against the laissez faire, easy-going opinions that pass as standards in our world, no wonder conflict ensues. Christians are blessed when we face persecution for standing up for what is right. There are many other kinds of persecution, including some that we bring upon ourselves; but there is no other kind of persecution that could ever be described as blessed.



Almighty God,
You are righteous and holy, and I am not.
By grace You have called me to Yourself.
Through faith my heart responds.
Now, You count me righteous,
simply because of the self-offering of Your Son.
Like Him, may I endure suffering with joy.
For His name’s sake.
Amen.