Witnessing the miraculous

The experience of discipleship 1.

When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he slipped quietly away with them toward the town of Bethsaida. But the crowds found out where he was going, and they followed him. He welcomed them and taught them about the Kingdom of God, and he healed those who were sick.
Late in the afternoon the twelve disciples came to him and said, “Send the crowds away to the nearby villages and farms, so they can find food and lodging for the night. There is nothing to eat here in this remote place.”
But Jesus said, “You feed them.”
“But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Or are you expecting us to go and buy enough food for this whole crowd?” For there were about 5,000 men there.
Jesus replied, “Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty each.” So the people all sat down. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers!

Luke 9:10-17 NLT

Being a disciple of Jesus is not just about what we do or how we think, it’s about experience, about what we see. This was one of the things that convinced the first disciples that Jesus was who he said he was – one with the Father, the Creator God. For most of us, an experience of the reality of God in some way or another is also what moves us to believe in Jesus and give him our allegiance.

On this occasion he fed over five thousand people with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish, and the left overs were more than what he started with! It’s a story so well known that we read it without reflecting. But to the disciples it was mind boggling. They witnessed an impossibility, something that just couldn’t happen. An experience like this is never forgotten. An experience like this is life changing. It is the only miracle that is recorded in all four of the gospels. Each of the writers must have know that a story like this would be viewed with skepticism by later readers, but this event had over 5000 witnesses and could hardly be contested. At the time it happened it would have been the talk of the whole community.

That was what the disciples’ lives with Jesus were like. Miracles became their daily fare. Whether it was healing from illness or deliverance from demons, walking on water, unexplainable and huge catches of fish, the disciples were constantly witnessing extraordinary events. No wonder they were drawn to this man. He was hard to ignore. Who was he really? What kind of man functions that way? He seemed unrestrained by the laws of nature that governed everyone else. How could he perform such acts? When he began to reveal to them that he was the Son of God, one with the Father who had created all things, they began to understand. Jesus was “above nature,” functioning in two paradigms, both the natural and supernatural, just as he had a dual nature, God and man. Things impossible for human beings were quite possible for God.

Perhaps we too have glimpsed at times this other realm, the miraculous, the supernatural, and recognized the hand of Jesus. Perhaps we have prayed for healing and it has happened in a way that could hardly be attributed to “natural” processes (though I continually marvel at the miracle of “natural” healing). Perhaps we have prayed and seen circumstances or people change in ways that we can hardly believe were just coincidence. There is a whole literature out there, just waiting to be read, that deals with “signs and wonders” in the time since Jesus, and in our own day, if the events recorded in the New Testament are not enough for us.

Of course, we live in the “modern world,” which denies the miraculous and laughs at the supernatural, relegating Bible stories like this to the realm of imagination, fantasy, wishful thinking – myths created by people to build a foundation for a religion with no basis in reality. Modern humanity works within the naturalistic worldview, denying the supernatural. But a purely naturalistic view of the world is as much a thing of faith as a supernatural understanding of reality. The challenge is to hold to these two worldviews at the same time – the natural and the supernatural – while acknowledging that the rules governing one do not apply to the other. That is one of the tensions of the Christian life, but it does not have to lead to the abandonment of faith, as some would maintain.

Yet miracles are still not our daily fare. They are the exception rather than the rule. There are some Christians who would say that “the age of the miraculous” ended with the apostles, and that we should not expect miracles today. Even for those who see no indication of this in the Bible, and whose experience says otherwise, as much as they may try, it is impossible to formulate “laws” of the supernatural, in the way that we have come to understand the “laws of nature.” Unlike natural phenomena, miracles cannot be predicted or guaranteed, because they do not follow any rules that we understand. Miracles seem to often be random, and as much as we long for them in certain situations they do not always happen when or in the way we desire. They are the domain of God, and his ways are a mystery to us.

Nevertheless, even in the absence of miracles we can see God at work in the world, and as we look at the history of the Christianity, we see much that is extraordinary, much that points to a power higher than ourselves. We see people doing things that are are “unnatural” like giving up their lives for their friends (or even more bizarrely, for their enemies). Since the beginning of the Christian movement, believers have been involved in caring for the sick and the outcast, lifting up the poor, working for justice, standing against evil. Such actions challenged the ancient world, which was so different from that, to adopt the ways of Jesus, and as the centuries passed, Christian values transformed the Western world. Many of the things that we take for granted as being good – such as telling the truth, putting others before ourselves, caring for the sick and the poor, the equality of all humanity, being people of integrity – have their roots in the teaching of Jesus. Christian values and behaviour, modeled on the teaching and example of Jesus, have surely led more people to put their faith in Jesus than miracles ever have.

Witnessing the miraculous, whether supernatural or natural, is the experience of the disciple of Jesus. The first disciples saw Jesus perform extraordinary supernatural miracles, but they also experienced the miracles of his love for the poor, the sick, the disabled, the outcast. Perhaps those of us who now follow Jesus have seen supernatural signs and wonders that point to his power and divinity too, perhaps we have only seen the Spirit of Jesus in the “natural” words and actions of contemporary Christians. Whatever the case, it is such things that cause us to marvel at the wonder of the one to whom we have entrusted our lives.

It is good that we have the record of the Bible to remind us of the miraculous works of Jesus when he walked the earth. Reading these accounts shows us what an impact Jesus made on the world in which he lived, and may help build our faith. It is good too that we have the records of thousands of years of Christian history to inspire us with the amazing works of the Spirit of Jesus since Jesus the man left our world. It is worth getting to know our Christian history, reading accounts of what people indwelt by the Spirit of Jesus have done down through the centuries.

But perhaps the thing that impacts us the most is when we experience firsthand the miraculous deeds of Jesus – either supernatural or natural – in our own day and age – both around us and within us. A good practice for all of us followers of Jesus would be to keep a journal of any extraordinary acts of Jesus that we experience in our own lives. That is what the first Christians did, and their records have survived to inspire us. We could leave the same kind of legacy for our children and our grandchildren.

Fear of the Lord

“Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear.
“What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

Luke 12:4-7 NLT

In this short discourse, Jesus speaks about fear. Fear is one of the most powerful human emotions. Where does it come from? What are we afraid of?

The context that Jesus spoke into was very different to ours. He lived in a society in which the common people experienced the oppression of both the Romans, who were foreigners, and the Pharisees, the religious authorities, who were Jews. Fear ruled their lives from both without and within. Both of these oppressors used death as a punishment for infringements of their respective laws. The Romans crucified offenders. The Pharisees stoned them. The common people obeyed the rules out of fear of punishment and death.

Jesus said simply, don’t be afraid of these authorities, because they can only kill the body. Their power over you stops there. Rather fear God, who can kill the body and the soul. Get some perspective, he says, somewhat brutally. Why fear the little people, when there is something so much bigger to fear?

But then he goes on to teach us something about God, and he uses the example of sparrows, for whom God cares with tenderness. He does not forget a single one of them, Jesus says. And human beings are of much greater value to God than the sparrows. God knows each one of us intimately, and cares for us deeply. He knows the very number of hairs on our head – in other words, he knows us better and more completely than we know ourselves.

Jesus says Fear God because he has infinite power. He also says Don’t fear God, because he has infinite love. This can be a bit confusing!

There have been times in human history when believers have focussed much more attention on the first aspect of God: his infinite power. But because we humans tend to associate power with cruelty and oppression, there is a danger that focussing too much attention on this attribute of God will lead us to the conclusion that God is cruel and oppressive, without mercy. That is what we have so often seen in humans who wield much power. We imagine God is like them. But God is not like that, as much as we might worry that he is.

Right now in human history there is perhaps too much focus on the infinite love of God, which can lead to the conclusion that God doesn’t mind what we do, that no matter how far our lives stray from the will of God, it doesn’t matter, because God loves us and will forgive us. We can end up disregarding God’s standards and laws completely, and living exactly as we see fit, in whatever way feels good to us. We imagine that God’s love is like our love, in which it can often happen that when we love someone we give them exactly what they want and make life as comfortable as we can for them, make no demands. But God is not like that, as much as we might like him to be.

In both cases we create God in our own image, rather than seeking to get back to his image created in us. When we create God in our image, we end up with a picture of God which is nothing like the God that Jesus showed us. We perceive him as either cruel and oppressive, without mercy, or weak and insipid, without backbone.

There is an expression that is used in the Bible that describes a foundational attitude of the believer: the fear of the Lord. We see it, for example, in the Psalms of the Old Testament: “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” It is a concept that is often forgotten in our day and age, when we tend to focus on God more as a person to cuddle up to than one to fear. But how can it be, since God is both to be feared and not to be feared according to Jesus?

The fear of the Lord means many things, but at its root it is about seeing God, acknowledging him, respecting, honouring, worshipping, loving him. If we fear God we will not ignore him. We will “seek his face,” to use Bible language. We will make efforts to know him, to understand his rules and regulations as well as his love and mercy. We will seek to be like him. We will seek to love him. We will build his kingdom, a place where he is known for who he is, honoured, respected and obeyed. A place where his love and mercy and peace flows like a river over us.

As much as anything, the fear of the Lord frees us from the fear of death, whether it is temporal or eternal. Jesus teaches us that we do not need to fear physical death, because there is an eternal life that exists beyond it. We do not need to fear eternal death, because God has given us the key to overcoming it, a simple key called faith.

The key to freedom from the fear of death, either physical or spiritual, is, quite simply, the fear of the Lord.

Love

One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

Luke 10:25-28 NLT

Love is central to the Christian message. I have previously written that love is an action, the main task of being a follower of Jesus. At least that is what Jesus’ words to the expert in religious law seem to be saying. “You must love…” Jesus says.

But I believe love is also an attitude, in the sense that it is a way of thinking that is foundational to being a Christian believer. It is a way of thinking about life and relationships which forms the bedrock of our identity as the people of God. It is fundamental to the Christian worldview.

However, the idea of love is not unique to the Christian worldview. Love is spoken and sung about continuously in the modern, western environment in which I live. There are few who would not agree that love is of central importance to the human race. But I believe there are some important differences between the human idea of love – what might be called the “natural” idea – and God’s idea of love – what might be called the “supernatural” idea, that which comes from the mind of God.

The ordinary, natural way the word “love” is used usually describes a deeply positive feeling, usually pleasurable, but sometimes painful in its intensity. The Oxford Dictionary definition of love is “an intense feeling of deep affection,” or “a great interest or pleasure in something.” The feeling can be directed toward a person or group of persons – my family, my partner, my friends, my country – or toward a thing – my car, my garden, my job. There is a particularly intense form of love which we call being “in love.” This describes a romantic experience, and usually a sexual attraction. But notice that most normal human ways of using this word are focussed on feelings, which are positively experienced, and which arise from somewhere inside ourselves.

Jesus does not seem to use the word love in that way, although deep affection between people is certainly described in many places in the Bible. It is clear that Jesus loved his friends in this human way, in that he felt deep affection for them. But the love he commands, the love of the Mosaic Law, is not a feeling at all, and the acts of love to which he challenges people are not actions motivated by a deep feeling of affection. Otherwise how could we “love” our enemies, which is one of the most confronting instructions Jesus gives to his followers?

I would say rather that the love Jesus commands of his disciples is an action motivated by an attitude. That attitude is one that places the good of another person above my own, regardless of who that person might be, even an enemy or a stranger. This kind of love is not natural, it is not human. It is “god-like” love. It is supernatural. And many would say it is an impossible ideal. Christians would say it is only possible from God living in them, this thing called the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God dwelling within us.

We humans are a mix of body, mind and spirit. It is hard to understand this mix. Attitudes belong primarily in our minds – they are how we think about things, how we see things, our understanding of ourselves and the world we see around us, our worldview. Actions are more “body” things that we do and say, and they are a visible (or audible) demonstration of our attitudes. Our spirit is harder to get a grip on, but it is somehow the very essence of who we are. The Holy Spirit is that aspect of God which interacts with our spirit, changing the way we think (our attitudes), and the way we act.

The love that Jesus spoke of describes an action, or actions, motivated by an attitude, which is shaped by our spirit, under the influence of the Great Spirit, God. God is love, the Bible says, and we are called to become like God. We were created in the image of God, so this love that Jesus challenges us to is something that we were created for, something that exists deep within every human, though the effects of our own human sinfulness are to bury that aspect of our true humanity so deeply that it is not apparent at all, at least in the Christian narrative of the world.

What love boils down to, in Jesus’ narrative, is a mindset which wants the best for others. It is essentially other person centred, rather than self centred. It is primarily about the way we think and act, rather than being about the way we feel. Feelings are often present, but they may or may not be “deep feelings of affection.” We may have negative feelings towards the person we are called to love, but we are to love them just the same. For that reason feelings cannot be the motivating force that bring about the actions. If I wait till I feel “positive feelings of affection” for a person before I act I may never do anything loving toward them at all.

Perhaps one of the main problems in all this is that the strong feeling of affection, or in the case of romantic, sexual love, the overwhelming feeling of infatuation, is what we strive after most in life. But that is primarily self centred, rather than other person centred, even though another person may be the focus of the feeling. The feeling is something in me, and the actions that arise out of those feelings may be more about me than about the other. My acts of love may be more about the pleasure that I derive from them, than about the benefit that the other derives from them. We all know that sometimes loving a person will result in our own pain rather than our own pleasure. Perhaps what we call love for another is sometimes more about love for ourself – a desire for our own best, rather than the best of another.

The love to which Jesus calls us is radically different to this, but it is the foundational attitude of the disciple – love for God, love for others. It needs to become the focus of our thoughts and prayers.

God help us to love as you have taught us and shown us.

Joy

When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”
“Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”

Luke 10:17-20 NLT

Joy is an attitude that disciples of Jesus might be expected to demonstrate. After all, they knew Jesus, the Son of God, and what could give greater joy than a friendship with the Creator of the Universe. Right here in this brief interlude, we see the disciples rejoicing. What was the source of their joy? Power over the demonic.

The disciples were beginning to discover that following Jesus had benefits that they had not imagined. Not that the disciples had made their decision to follow him in order to acquire power (in contrast to some later “believers” – see Acts 8:9-24). Rather I believe each one had been drawn into his circle when they experienced the love and forgiveness of God through Jesus. But having given their allegiance to him, and having begun to imitate him in his fight against the evil powers in the world, to their amazement they discovered that they had access to the same power as Jesus, a power that was stronger than evil. The realisation of that power filled their hearts with joy.

Power is a heady thing. The desire for power has corrupted many throughout human history, becoming not a means to an end, but an end in itself. It can easily corrupt us too, even in our desire to do good. No-one is immune to temptation, the temptation either to misuse power, or simply to possess it. We can become as enamoured with “power evangelism” as we are with the gospel. We can become more excited about the miracles than the source of the miracles, Jesus. Power is intoxicating.

Power can easily become the focus of our lives, and the source of our joy. But Jesus says it is not to be our focus. Jesus says any power that we might have is a tool to be used, but not an asset to be acquired and treasured. He alerts his disciples, and us, to the tendency we all have, of rejoicing in the power at our disposal, rather than rejoicing in our salvation. Jesus says simply, don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.

It is easy to forget the miracle of our salvation. Once we have been disciples for a while, the fact that we are saved from the power of sin and death becomes so “normal” to us that we take it for granted, we stop thinking about it. It is easy then to become distracted from the greatest miracle, and to focus our attention on other things. Jesus challenges us to constantly remind ourselves, constantly refocus our attention on, the greatest thing. That our names are written in the book of salvation. That we are registered in heaven. That our names are on the list.

What is the focus of your heart? What is the source of your joy?

Undivided devotion

He said to another person, “Come, follow me.”
The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”
But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”
Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”
But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:59-62 NLT

This instruction of Jesus can sound harsh. Is Jesus saying we should neglect our families? Is Jesus advocating separation of ourselves from the world? Is he saying that when we decide to follow him we turn our back on everything and everyone in our past and never have anything more to do with them?

Is not this the same Jesus that cared for his friend’s mother-in-law? Did he not attend the funeral of Lazarus, another friend, whose family was mourning his death?

I don’t think that these comments of Jesus were primarily a teaching about family relationships. I don’t believe that Jesus, despite some of the radical things he said, was an advocate for breaking up families, though he was quite open and honest in his warning that the consequence of following him might indeed be antagonism and rejection from family and friends.

I believe that this teaching of Jesus was about being undivided in our devotion to him and his kingdom. It is a challenge to the “yes but” response that some give when Jesus calls them to follow him. “Yes I will follow you, but first let me bury my father,” could just as much mean, “when my father has died and I have no further earthly responsibilities I will give my allegiance to you.” Jesus says, lay aside your earthly responsibilities and adopt instead the priorities of the kingdom.

It is so easy to be divided. We want the benefits of following Jesus, but without the cost. We want Jesus to take care of our eternal welfare, while we live our lives according to our own desires and priorities. Once we have got our job, found our partner, raised our family, built our career, made a name for ourselves, created our own little comfortable and secure kingdom, then we will focus on Kingdom priorities.

But Jesus says he does not want that kind of follower. He wants followers who are single minded, totally devoted. He wants followers who do not look back, who are sold out for him.

That will mean different things for different people. Most of us, after all, will have families, and will bury our fathers. That is just the nature of human life. But our first priority in the midst of this normal human life, should be the Kingdom of God and its King.

We live in an age of distraction, when our senses are constantly assailed on every side. It is a continuous challenge for all of us, in the the midst of the cacophony of voices clamouring for our attention, to tune into the still small voice of God. But unless we take the time, read the Bible, meditate on the written word, and let the Holy Spirit challenge our hearts and minds, Jesus and his Kingdom will be squeezed out by everything else.

It is a simple choice which we must make daily. Which is going to have first place in my life today? Jesus and his Kingdom, or something else?

Jesus told another story to illustrate this issue of priorities. Luke recorded it a little later in his gospel.

Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’ But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
“The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.’”

Luke 14:16-24 NLT

Honoring nobodies

Then his disciples began arguing about which of them was the greatest. But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he brought a little child to his side. Then he said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me also welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.”

Luke 9:46-48

What were the disciples arguing about? Simply this, which of them was the greatest. Is this not the thing that we so often aspire to, to be “the greatest”? Do we not continually compare ourselves to others and constantly wish that people would look up to us, admire us, listen to us, applaud us? This can be in any number of areas of life, whether performance, achievement, wealth, possessions, talents, beauty, strength, influence. 

It’s interesting that the next sentence says “but Jesus knew their thoughts,” because what that tells us is that much of this desire for greatness, striving to be better than others, competitiveness, is in our thoughts as much as in our words or actions. Even if we know we will never be as good as another in some area, we still dream of, imagine, being the best. This arguing about who is best, who is greatest, is as much an internal mental argument with ourselves as it is anything else. 

It is essentially self centred, this argument. It is focussed on me, whether I am as good as, or better, than the people around me. But Jesus speaks directly into this self obsessed environment in which we live and function and directs our attention elsewhere – to a little child. Is he saying that children are intrinsically of more value than adults? I don’t think so. The reason he focusses on a child is because that child, in the particular situation that Jesus was in right then, was the one who would have been seen as “the least” of all the people who were present. Jesus says simply that the one who is least among us is the greatest. 

People sometimes strive to be “the least,” but it is really something that is impossible to achieve. Being the least is something that just happens, not something you can achieve. Striving to be the least, is a bit like striving to be the greatest – it is ultimately self centred. What Jesus calls us to is to forget ourselves and focus on others. Being great is not something we can achieve in God’s kingdom. It is something that is unwillingly thrust upon us. The strange thing is that even when we know we are the least in any situation or context, we don’t feel like the greatest, regardless of what Jesus has said. When we are the least we tend to be acutely aware that we are the least. Jesus might say that we are the greatest, but we certainly don’t feel that way.

And isn’t it the feeling that we really are striving after, the feeling of being the greatest, the number one, the most acclaimed, the most recognised, the most applauded. The very experience of being the least means that we are none of these things, we are barely noticed, if anything we are pitied.

Yet it is these ones who are pitied that are the greatest in God’s upside down kingdom. It is exactly opposite to the way we naturally think. It is not natural, it goes against our human nature. Yet this attitude, of valuing the weakest, the smallest, the least, in our society, of seeing the outcast and the nobody as being of equal value to ourselves, in fact of treating them better than we treat ourselves, that is an attitude which has transformed society over the two thousand years since Jesus spoke these words. It is the attitude that tells us that abortion and euthanasia are wrong. It is the attitude that tells us that we should care for the sick and the elderly and disabled and insane, and not just eradicate them, which would be economically much more advantageous.

There have been, of course, over the centuries, people who have said that this idea of Jesus is ridiculous. There have been those who have said that might is right, that it is power that makes us the greatest. There still are people like that. I see that I am often like that myself. When the weak get in the way, I am apt to walk over them. When they make demands on my time or my money, I would rather ignore them. Why should I give my resources to care for the least deserving? When the weak are inconvenient, there is a strong temptation to turn my back and walk away. Some regimes, and some individuals, down through the ages have just left them to die, or even worse, actively gone out to get rid of them.

But that is not the attitude or the action of the follower of Jesus. We see things in a different way. We do not strive to be the best. We do not strive for anything for ourselves. Rather we have our eyes focussed outwards, on those who in the eyes of the world are the least, and we value them in the way the “greatest” should be valued. With respect, and care and honour. 

If only we could adopt this attitude that Jesus challenged us to. How much better a world we would live in.

Kingdom first

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.

Luke 12:31-32 NLT

The context of this command is anxiety, which is an emotion that is familiar to me. Specifically it is anxiety about having enough to get by. Food, clothes, shelter. I worry about these things. In my context it is living expenses, bills, mortgage, pension. I worry that we will die penniless and have nothing to leave our children.

But I am a doctor! How can I be poor? How can I be 58 years old and still have a mortgage? How can it be that I do not have a healthy “nest egg” for retirement? Mismanagement, people would say. I have not been wise in my financial planning. I have frittered away that which God has given me. I have no-one to blame but myself.

And indeed, I blame no-one but myself. But blaming myself or anyone else is not the point. How I got here is not the point. But I am here nevertheless, and I know there are many like me. For those who like me are his followers, Jesus says, don’t worry. He tells us to set our minds on other things, not whether we will have enough to get by. He promises to take care of us. In fact over the last few years God has repeatedly reminded me that he is in control, and that I am where I am (financially as well as geographically) because that is where he wants me to be. But still I succumb to worry, and my faith fails me.

Of course I am not, we are not, really poor. Maybe we only own a fraction of our house (the rest is owned by the bank), but at least we have a roof over our heads. There are many in this world who do not. We are able to pay the bills, when I know that many struggle to do so. I am still able to work, and for that I am thankful. God gives me the health and strength I need to generate an income. So there is no need to worry, even on a human level.

But I do worry, and I am ashamed of that. Because in worrying I am looking at myself and my own ability, forgetting that it is my Father who is my ultimate provider, not myself. I can think I provide for myself, but it is he who has given me the ability to do that. And if that ability to work should be taken away, he will continue to provide for me somehow for as may days as he intends me to live in this world. Looking at myself can easily produce worry. But I know he is a generous Father…

Jesus challenges me to look at him, and his provision. He challenges me to remember the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. He reminds me that God cares for me, as he cares for birds and flowers. It is true that flowers fade, and that ageing is a similar experience. But he cares for them, and he will care for me. He will “give me everything I need.”

But there is a condition: seek the kingdom of God above all else, he says, and he will give you everything you need. We think that to get everything we need we must be successful – financially, professionally, socially. But God does not ask us to be successful. He simply asks us to seek first his Kingdom. Then we will see his provision.

What does that mean, to seek first the Kingdom? I have come to understand it in two ways. On the one hand it means to go looking, to search for the Kingdom. On the other hand it means to work for the Kingdom. Jesus was always talking about the Kingdom. It is like a treasure that we go searching for, and when we find it, we are happy. It is like a seed that is planted in the ground, and when it grows to its fullness, it provides shelter and sustenance for many. There are many stories, many pictures. This Kingdom is what we are to seek.

The message is simple: make the Kingdom of God your first priority, not your house, or your clothes, not even your family or your friendships. All these other things do deserve energy and planning, but none of them should be the number one priority. That should be given to the Kingdom of God, and number one in the Kingdom of God is the king himself, that is God.

This exhortation is about our primary task in life, but it is also about our primary relationship. The task is the Kingdom, to find it and to build it. Jesus says, if we seek it, we will find it, for “it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.” The relationship is with God, our Father and our friend, through the Holy Spirit. If we ask for it, the Father will give us that too: “if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” (Luke 11:13)

Everything else in life comes after these two things: Kingdom and relationship with the king. How seriously do I take this command?

Anxiety is all about where I set my mind. Is this exhortation of Jesus a solution to anxiety? As simplistic as it sounds, I believe it is. We cannot change anything by worrying. Worrying does not bring the control we believe we need to ensure our security in this world. When I feel my thoughts travelling down the path to anxiety, or onward to panic, then I need to set my mind somewhere else. On finding the Kingdom, and on knowing the King.

Anointed

One day, Jesus left the crowds to pray alone. Only his disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do people say that I am?” “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead.” Then he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah sent from God!”

Luke 9:18-20 NLT

The name of Jesus is heard often in conversation these days. The same was true for the first disciples. Everyone was talking about Jesus, and there were few who hadn’t wondered, “who is this man?” Jesus asked his disciples what people were saying, what people thought. Then he asked them what they thought. Today he asks us what we think.

Peter said that Jesus was the Messiah. But what is a “messiah?”

When I hear the word I tend to think of it as another word for Saviour – one who saves. But the footnote in my Bible says that “Messiah” is the Hebrew for “Christ,” a Greek word which means anointed one. So Peter was saying, “You are the anointed one, sent from God!” Anointed means chosen, set apart, nominated, appointed. But what was Jesus anointed for?

Luke has already answered that question earlier in his book, when he recalls something Jesus once said when he was asked to preach in the synagogue. In describing himself, Jesus had referred to a passage in the Old Testament writings of Isaiah: 

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favour has come.

Luke 4:18 NLT

By applying this Old Testament prophecy to himself, Jesus seemed to be saying that he was ushering in a new era, the “time of the Lord’s favour.” He described this era in number of ways: in particular, as a time of release for the captives, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed. Jesus was introducing a way of thinking that was different to the world’s way. At that time, much as today, it was the wealthy, the successful, the beautiful, who were seen as the favoured ones, the “blessed ones.” Jesus announced a “time of the Lord’s favour” for the poor, the imprisoned, the blind, the oppressed. For anyone who felt themselves to belong to one of these categories, this was indeed good news.

Jesus didn’t say in that first sermon how all this was to come about, what would be the process by which this new era, “the time of the Lord’s favour,” would go from vision to reality. What followed: his life, his teachings, his death and his resurrection, would provide the potential for this idea to be realised. But right there in the beginning of Luke’s gospel Jesus was providing a heading for his life, the title of his story: “Messiah.” He was summarising his anointing, providing fundamentals of his job description. This was what Peter said that he and the disciples had come to believe about Jesus. This was what Peter and the disciples had signed up for. A new era, with a new leader. Jesus the Messiah. 

Like Peter and the first disciples, we have a choice as to whether we will accept this view of Jesus, and by implication, this view of the world. When we do, when we put our faith in Jesus, it becomes the defining act of our lives. It identifies us with those early disciples, for whom this belief about Jesus directed every decision they made from that time on. It defines what we say, what we do, how we think, where we go, who we spend our lives with. It places Jesus – knowing him, understanding him, following him – at the centre of our existence. It identifies us with him, so that we adopt his worldview, his mission, his strategies, his attitudes, his words, his actions, as our own. We become “Jesus people,” the people who are nowadays known as “Christians” (and if Christ means anointed one, Christians must surely receive by their faith something of that anointing).

Jesus asks every one of today, as he asked his disciples then: Who do you say I am? Have we taken the step that Peter took that day, decided that Jesus is who he says he is, the anointed one of God? Do we proclaim Jesus as the “Christ,” have we become “Christians?” Is Jesus the focus of our faith, or something else? When people ask us who Jesus is, what do we say?

To be a disciple of Jesus is to say, “Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one, sent from God.” That will have profound implications for our lives.

Spiritual warfare

When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”
“Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.” Luke 10:17-20 NLT

The disciples have returned from their second mission trip. They are excited at the results. Despite the failures of their first trip (see Luke chapter 9), they did not give in to despondency but went out again in response to Jesus’ instructions. They obeyed him, they persevered. The result? “Even the demons obey us when we use your name!”

There are a few things that stand out in this debriefing with Jesus, a few things to learn. Most of all I am impressed by the disciples willingness to enter into the spiritual battle, given their previous failure. I think I would have been extremely reluctant. They barely knew what spiritual warfare was all about, but they had seen Jesus successfully engage with demonic powers, so they knew that deliverance was possible. Reluctantly or not, they responded to his challenge to go and do likewise.

The obstacles for us to engage in this kind of activity are different? We live in a world where it is easy to ignore the deeper, spiritual reality that lies behind what we see and feel. One of the devil’s most successful strategies down through the ages, and now more than ever, has been to convince people that he does not exist, that talk of demons and angels and a world beyond, is all superstitious nonsense. This passage reminds us that for Jesus the spiritual world was as real as the physical world, and that confrontation of Satan and his demons was to him an important aspect of bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth.

This kind of talk is foreign to the modern ear. We live in the “scientific age” – which promotes a worldview that tends to ignore, or even deny, the spiritual, because it is difficult to observe, measure or analyse. Because the whole scientific method relies on the existence of observed laws of nature, anything outside of that system, that is, anything supernatural, is deemed untrue, unreal, fantasy.

But just because something is supernatural does not mean it is untrue. It is hard to understand where this idea has come from, that natural is true and supernatural is false, that natural is real but supernatural is fantasy. Surely the two systems exist side by side, the natural and the supernatural. For Jesus the spiritual reality was as ordinary and every day as the physical reality. He spoke about Satan rebelling against God and falling for heaven the way you or I talk about the weather. It was simply an historical event for him, one that had dire consequences for the world, an event that should not be ignored. Indeed, as far as Jesus was concerned, addressing the consequences of the fall of Satan was an essential part of his mission. If we are followers of Jesus, this battle in the spiritual realms should be one of our chief concerns.

One senses from this short passage in Luke’s gospel that just as there are natural laws, there are supernatural laws. If we want to successfully engage demonic powers, certain principles must be followed. First and foremost is the need to “use the name of Jesus” when spiritual powers – demons – are engaged. Many have wondered what this means, but perhaps it can suffice to say now that an important part of confronting evil in the world is the words we use. Words are important because of what they mean. Jesus is called The Word of God. In this Word of God – Jesus the person – there is supernatural power. Does that mean that the word Jesus is magical? I don’t think so, at least not in the sense of spells and incantations. It is less mystical than that. It is simply that when we name Jesus in our efforts we are representing him, we are speaking on his behalf, we are speaking in his authority.

Perhaps this was the secret that the disciples needed to learn before they could successfully confront evil. They had failed to cast out a demon in their first mission trip. Perhaps that was because they had attempted to do so in their own name, their own authority, their own strength. That was a mistake. The demons took no notice. But when they came against them in the name and authority of Jesus, the demonic powers trembled and fled. The disciples were amazed and excited. The power of Jesus was being channelled through them.

There is much more that can be said about the “laws” or principles of spiritual warfare, but no more are mentioned here. Jesus is concerned for something much more important than the his power channelled through his disciples. He is concerned that their new found power might go to their heads, might become the focus. But for him, his power has never been the focus. His attention, his passion, is always for relationship, rather than power, friendship with individual human beings. That is why he came and that is the ultimate triumph of his life and ministry – the restoration of relationship between God and humanity, the jewel of his creation.

So he says simply, don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven. That’s the important thing, and that is the thing to get excited about. God is ultimately a relationship orientated God. Tasks are important, the mission is vital, building the kingdom on earth is a worthy cause to give your life to. But the purpose of it all is relationship with God, which is what heaven is all about. That is the greatest reason for rejoicing that there is.

Obstacles

Luke 8:4-15 records a parable Jesus told about a farmer scattering seed. Like all of Jesus’ parables it is well known:

“A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

Jesus goes on to explain to the disciples what he meant by his parable. It seems straightforward, but it raises many questions for me.

“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.”

There are two ways of looking at this parable. Firstly, it could be seen as an observational study of different responses to God’s word. The seed is the message of Jesus, the gospel, and the gospel is the same for everyone. Objectively speaking, it is good news: God has reached out to humanity to make a relationship with him possible, to bless us, and to show us a better way to live.

How can such a message fall on deaf ears? How can such a message lose interest with the passing of time? How can such a message lose its relevance? But this is exactly what seems to happen for some who hear it. This parable acknowledges this reality, and offers reasons. It is not a story about people who have not heard the gospel and therefore can’t respond, which is the challenge of missions. It is a story about people who have heard the gospel and respond in different ways, and presents other challenges. It is describing the reality of two groups of people: those in whom the message takes root so they produce fruit, and those in whom the message does not take root and no fruit is forthcoming.

The difficult question for me has always been, why is this so? The parable speaks about obstacles that prevent fruitfulness. But why do such obstacles effect some but not others? Jesus says that the fruit bearers are “honest, good hearted people.” So what are the others? Are they somehow intrinsically different to the good hearted people, so that they are more affected by the pressures of the world? Are they weaker (but aren’t we all weak)? Are they more sinful (but aren’t we all sinful)? Or is it just that they are not chosen?

Why does the good news of Jesus grow into something beautiful in some, but not in others? What do we do with this parable? Is it just a depressing observation, or is it Jesus’ intention to teach us something more? I believe that it is the latter, and this second way of looking at the parable is the most helpful for me. So what does this reading of the parable teach us?

The second way of looking at this parable is to see it as a warning of what can go wrong, what factors can change the life transforming message of Jesus into an irrelevant idea. It contains challenges both for those who are charged with the planting and cultivation of the seed, and for individual believers who are keen to stay strong in the faith (the “honest, good hearted people”), to avoid falling away. This second way of looking at the parable is the most helpful for me.

So what are the obstacles to maturity? What are the things that prevent the message of Jesus from taking hold in a person’s life, becoming a life transforming force, and “producing a harvest?” What challenges does the knowledge of these obstacles present?

Sin, the world and the devil

Jesus lists three hazards: the devil, temptation (leading presumably to sin), and “the cares and riches and pleasures of this life.” Each of these justifies an essay of its own, and it is worth reflecting and meditating on how they affect us individually and personally. However, I do not intend to write an essay on each. Just some short reflections.

I am reminded as I read this parable of the Anglican baptism liturgy, in which a person being baptized is challenged with the following words:

I sign you with the sign of the cross [the priest makes the sign of the cross on the person’s forehead] to show that you are to be true to Christ crucified and that you are not to be ashamed to confess your faith in him. Fight bravely under his banner against sin, the world, and the devil, and continue Christ’s faithful soldier and servant to your life’s end.

I love this acknowledgement that when we choose to follow Jesus we enter into a spiritual battle against forces that can overwhelm us: sin, the world and the devil. We forget the spiritual battle at our own peril. We need to be aware of the enemies of our faith, guard against them, stand against them, fight against them, lest they drag us away from the wonder and joy of knowing God our father.

I am reminded too of the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples,

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come, your will be done as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory for ever.”

It’s all there – sin, temptation, evil (the devil). We are even to pray for our daily bread, for when our needs are met it is easier to avoid being overwhelmed by the cares of this world, which can easily lead to the god of materialism and wealth (riches), with its companion of the god of pleasure. That is not to say that riches and pleasure are wrong, but when they become our focus, and make us forget Jesus, they destroy our faith and any fruit that might come from it.

These then are the obstacles of our faith, according to this particular parable: the devil, temptation to sin, and the cares and riches and pleasures of this world. These are the forces that will either prevent us receiving the message, or alternatively choke out the message of Jesus after it has taken root in our lives. The challenge is to be on the lookout for them, to fight against them, to pray against them. We need to recognize that this is a spiritual war we have entered, that evil has a name – the devil – and that it is personal. As we fight these battles and by God’s grace triumph against them, we will grow to maturity and our lives will bear the good fruit we long to see.