Last Sunday's Thought: Becoming a Nation of John the Baptists

When following a route using a satnav in my car recently, I thought to myself: this is a very boring road, it’s straight. We build relatively straight roads now when we can because it speeds up the traffic and in optimum circumstances cuts down accidents. 

The Romans are famous as the first to build straight roads on a widespread scale. They were able to do so because they had at their disposal a technical innovation, ‘the tool that built an empire’, the groma or surveyor’s cross. The surveyor would send out an assistant with some ranging poles; the assistant would stop after about 125 paces and hold a pole vertically with one end on the ground. The assistant was directed to move until the surveyor could see that the pole was in line with the three strings of the groma. The process was repeated until the assistant had run out of poles, leaving a straight line of poles marking the course of the road. The surveyor would then move forward to the last pole, set up the groma again and send out his assistant with ranging poles to repeat the procedure.

Now while the groma was almost certainly in use in ancient civilizations before the Romans, and was discovered by the Greeks, it was never used systematically by anyone before the Romans. Thus when the Prophet Isaiah foretells ‘the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord’, we know for certain that this could not have been a literal attempt to build a straight road because the Hebrew people did not have access to the invention of the groma at the time of the Babylonian captivity (c. 597 to 538 BC).Unusually, all four gospels quote the words of the Prophet Isaiah who foretells ‘the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord’. 

In his Bible notes, John Wesley remarks that the context ‘relates to the deliverance of the Jews out of Babylon, and smoothing their passage from thence to Judea, which lay through a great wilderness; but principally to their redemption by the Messiah, whose coming was ushered in by the cry of John the Baptist, in the wilderness’. ‘Prepare ye the way of the LORD’, Wesley comments, ‘alludes to the custom of princes who send pioneers before them to prepare the way through which they are to pass. The meaning is, God shall by his spirit so dispose men’s hearts, and by his providence so order the affairs of the world, as to make way for the accomplishment of his promise. This was eminently fulfilled, when Christ, who was, and is God, blessed for ever, came into the world in a visible manner.’

The words of the Prophet Isaiah (40: 3-5) read thus: ‘A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”’

The comparison of the two texts shows us that the revealing of the glory of the Lord in Isaiah has become more specifically the ‘salvation of God’ in the preaching of John the Baptist. All shall see it. But will all be saved? Clearly not. For the prophet Amos the day of the Lord will be one of darkness not light (Amos 5:18-20), while Isaiah continues: ‘A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.’ The implication is that the coming of God’s salvation means judgement on mankind’s inconstancy.

Luke tells us that John the Baptist preached ‘a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins’ (Luke 3:3). John preached the necessity of repentance, in order to secure the remission of sins, and that the baptism of water was an outward sign of that inward cleansing and renewal of heart, which attend, or are the effects of true repentance, as well as a profession of it. He could exhort people to repent, and assure them of forgiveness upon repentance; but he himself could not work repentance in them, nor confer remission on them. Ultimately, his task was to refer people onto Christ.

Do we need a John the Baptist figure to confront the evils in today’s society? Since John was technically an Old Testament prophet (‘For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John’: Matthew 11:13), to concentrate on his contribution, whether in the past or present, might seem perverse. Nevertheless, the focus on John is justified by some remarkable statements made about him by Jesus: of those born of women, Jesus said, ‘there is no one greater than John’ (Luke 7:28). In Jesus’ words, he was ‘more than a prophet’. He was chosen as God’s herald, a forerunner of the Messiah who would prepare for his coming (Luke 7:26).

And if we state that we do need a John the Baptist figure in today’s society, we recognize two particular features of his ministry: firstly that he was prepared to criticize the sinfulness of virtually every social group at the time; and secondly that he was a preacher of immense courage who did not tailor his message to his audience. Jesus asked rhetorically of people’s experiences of John’s ministry, ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see, a reed shaken by the wind?’ (Luke 7:24; Matthew 11:7). No, everyone would know the answer: John was unshakeable in his convictions. As we would say, he was no wilting violet.

When we reflect on the sinfulness of recent generations in our society, and the fact that the sustained abuse of children by Cyril Smith and Jimmy Savile was not denounced sufficiently loudly and strongly at the time, we are bound to conclude that in our society we have lacked a prophetic figure of the rectitude and forcefulness of John the Baptist, who was prepared to rebuke even Herod Antipas. ‘In a day when people reject any notion of truth apart from what’s expedient or “seems right”, who will hold up the standard of God’s unchanging truth if not those who have inherited the prophetic mantle of John the Baptist?’ we are asked. 

Abuse takes place where people have power and control and can exploit their position. Regrettably, it can occur in the church too, just as in the rest of society. We are all called as God’s people to have the courage to stand up to abuse if we encounter it in our private lives, at our place of work, or in the institution of the church. To remain silent, as people remained silent in the past, is to refuse to confess Jesus Christ as our Lord or to acknowledge our duty towards God. It is only when we ourselves become a nation of John the Baptists that we will no longer need a modern John the Baptist figure.

Thought for Advent Sunday: on being signs of Jesus' coming

         Today is close to our Church’s birthday (100 years + 92 hours since the Bishop of Peterborough inaugurated it at 3pm on 28 November 1912); it is also the opening day of a new lectionary year, year C of our readings, associated with Luke’s gospel; and also the beginning of the season of Advent – for all these reasons it is important to begin with a linking prayer for this week and the three weeks which follow. The prayer is a particularly short one, one word in Aramaic: maranatha. It appears twice in the NT, firstly at 1 Corinthians 16:22 and secondly at Revelation 22:20. If the word is divided as maran atha, it seems to be a credal declaration, ‘our Lord has come’ or ‘The Lord has come’. If however, it is spelt marana tha, it is a prayer for the return of Christ, for his Second Coming: ‘Come, Lord Jesus’, or as at Revelation 22:20, ‘Amen, Come Lord Jesus’.

         We are told that at the Second Coming of Jesus there will be a sudden, personal, visible, bodily return of Christ; we should eagerly long for it; but we do not know when Christ will return. But the writer also asks ‘do Christians in fact eagerly long for Christ’s return? The more Christians are caught up in enjoying the good things of this life, the more they neglect genuine Christian fellowship and their personal relationship with Christ, the less they will long for his return. On the other hand, many Christians who are experiencing suffering or persecution, or who are more elderly and infirm, and those whose daily walk with Christ is vital and deep, will have a more intense longing for his return. To some extent, then, the degree to which we actually long for Christ’s return is a measure of the spiritual condition of our own lives at the moment’ (Grudem, Systematic Theology, chapter 54, p. 1093).

         Thus to ‘be ready’ for Christ’s return (Matt. 24:44) means that we must both be faithfully obeying him in the present, actively engaged in whatever work he has called us to undertake. But we also need to remember, from this morning’s gospel, Luke’s message – which is found elsewhere in his gospel – that ‘the kingdom of God is near’ (Luke 21:31). Behold, the Kingdom of God is at hand, or near us (Luke 10:9,11). ‘Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst” – or within you (Luke 17:20-21). Luke’s special emphasis on the nearness of the kingdom of God does not mean that there will be no Second Coming as already described but it attests to the evangelist’s belief that our duty as Christians is to work for the kingdom of God here and now and not just to wait on later events. Even so, we still have to ‘be alert at all times, praying that [we] may have the strength to escape all the… things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.’ (Luke 21:36).

         If we read the gospels carefully, we find that Jesus is calling us to participate actively in changing the world. He is calling us to become part of the struggle for peace and justice and righteousness in the world. He is calling us to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to house the homeless, the lift up the downtrodden, to bind up the broken-hearted, to raise the dead in spirit to new life in Christ. Jesus is calling us not so much to look for signs of his coming but rather to be signs of his coming. Or, in the image from this morning’s gospel, He is calling us to be sprouts on the fig tree of new life (Luke 21: 29-31).

         Parents with young children who have taken them on long car journeys will remember – perhaps indelibly in some instances – the question that inevitably is asked from the back seat shortly after the car has been loaded up, when we have finally started our journey but we are nowhere near our final destination. ‘Daddy / Mummy, are we nearly there yet?’ Now, if we are truly being the light of Christ in a dark, lonely and unequal world, we can joyfully and honestly answer the little voice or voices coming from the backseat: ‘No, not yet, but we are on the road and God is coming to meet us soon.’ Amen, Come Lord Jesus!

The Revd Barry Hill's Thoughts: Baptism on the Feast of Christ the King

What does it mean to declare Christ as King?  In seeking to answer the question which Pilate and the Lord Jesus discuss in chapter eighteen of John's Gospel, we must take into account what it meant to be a king at that time and in that place.

Having taken the time to consider the nature of kingship in the ancient near east, we are then faced with the question - how does that relate to the Kingship ascribed to Christ?

Without many of the identifiers which young people last Sunday came up with (robes, golden crown, servants in a particular sense, worldly wealth and the like), what does it mean for Jesus to be King?  How do see His Kingship worked out?  What are the marks of this office?  How do we live them out in our lives?

As Emma and Kirsty were baptised, last Sunday we were reminded that this goes back to the decision at the heart of baptism.  To declare Jesus as King means to surrender power and authority to Him.  To seek His will and to enjoy all that it means to be a citizen of His Kingdom (He protects His citizens, He keeps them safe; His people can rely on Him to be just and fair; He provides for them and their needs and does the best for them).

How will we continually enthrone Jesus as King in our lives this week and how might we ensure we don't take for granted the great privilege which it is to be a citizen of the Kingdom of God...

Remembrance Sunday's Thought: Drones are the threat, but Christ is our reconciliation

http://www.paxchristi.net/international/eng/showsymbols.php?wat=showsym1

For all the talk about peacemaking in Afghanistan, we remain at war there, with a slower rate of attrition of our troops, but a perceptible loss all the same. As at 30 October 2012, a total of 437 British forces personnel or MOD civilians have died while serving in Afghanistan since the start of operations in October 2001. The figure of 400 deaths was passed in March this year, so the pace of the death toll can be judged from this: 37 or so in about 9 months.

         Since the civilian population in this country scarcely notices that we are at war because most people are unaffected by it – unless, critically, you have a family member serving in the armed forces – it is important to recall the dangers of the present situation of an impending withdrawal for forces by 2014 without any clear signs of peace in Afghanistan. There are dangers for our armed forces; for the troubled country of Afghanistan; and for peace in that region and also the world at large.

         Yet even when the troops have come home from Afghanistan, and assuming the best possible outcome (that the country holds together and does not implode) there remains the undeclared war run by the United States in Pakistan’s tribal region. This is not a war fought by conventional means but by a new weapon: unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or ‘drones’ in common parlance. This war receives a fair degree of support in the United States because it appears to be a war without victims among the armed forces: al-Qaida and AQ-affiliated groups are targeted, as are members of the Taliban. The weapons are supposed to be extremely accurate. Only those who have been signed off by the President of the USA and his legal advisers as ‘high value targets’ are killed in these ‘targeted killings’. Though the weapons are expensive, this form of warfare is sustainable in terms of costs, unlike the conventional force intervention in Afghanistan.

         Yet in reality, matters are far more complex than the proponents of drone warfare suggest. To begin with, no serious account is taken by the US military of the innocent victims of war. The number of civilians killed and injured by such weapons is certainly much higher than the US military has been prepared to concede. For these reasons, and because no opportunity for surrender is offered to the individual who is targeted remotely from bases in Afghanistan or in the USA, the use of drones almost certainly infringe the normal laws of warfare. Moreover, the sovereignty of the nation state, in this case Pakistan, is infringed each time a UAV is dispatched against a target: this is an infringement of international law. The UN special rapporteurs on counter-terrorism and human rights, Ben Emmerson and Christof Heyns, announced at the end of October that work will begin early next year by an investigation unit within the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council at Geneva to inquire into individual drone attacks, and other forms of targeted killing conducted in counter-terrorism operations, in which it is alleged that civilian casualties have been inflicted, and to seek explanations from the States using this technology and the States on whose territory it is used. Some of the attacks, the UN rapporteur declared, may constitute war crimes.

         All these issues are serious enough; but what makes the development of targeted killing by drones so dangerous is the prospect of other states following the lead of the USA and Britain and using drones to kill nationals of other states without a declaration of war, and the unregulated proliferation of this type of weapon that will follow. To quote the words of the Drone Campaign Network Petition: ‘Although there is some public information about US drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, there is almost no public information about drone strikes carried out by the UK in Afghanistan. There are serious ethical, moral and legal questions about the growing use of armed drones which need to be properly debated. However, it is impossible to have such a debate while information is being kept secret.’ Such is the lack of public awareness of the issue, the last time I consulted the petition, only 1,325 of the 8,675 signatories needed had signed up to the demand for a public debate on the matter and an end to government secrecy.

         ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’ No doubt those who support this new form of warfare by means of targeted killing would assert that they are the ones who truly want peace, but that they are realistic about the chances of achieving this without having permanent surveillance over lawless areas and the targeting of individuals according to perceived patterns of behaviour that look suspicious from aerial surveillance, rather than relying on intelligence about specific al-Qaida activists.

Christian peace movements such as Pax Christi International form part of the Drone Campaign Network. The icon for Pax Christi International, painted in the monastery of St John in the Desert, near Jerusalem, was dedicated to the movement on 1 July 1999 in the holy city of Jerusalem. At present it is displayed at the International Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium. The icon depicts Christ as the source of reconciliation, the source of liberation and peace. It is an icon symbolising in itself the living connection between Eastern and Western traditions in expressing the peace of Christ. Brother Roger of Taizé has penned a marvellous prayer to accompany the icon:

O Risen Christ,

You breathe your Holy Spirit on us

and you tell us: ‘Peace be yours’.

Opening ourselves to your peace –

letting it penetrate the harsh and

rocky ground of our hearts –

means preparing ourselves to be

bearers of reconciliation

wherever you may place us.

But you know that at times

we are at a loss.

So come and lead us

to wait in silence,

to let a ray of hope shine forth

in our world. Amen

Last Sunday's Thought: Love Rules, or Living the Great Commandment

http://bahaiforums.com/pictures/2248-golden-rule-poster-golden-rule-quoted-different-religions.html

The poster from members of the Baha’i community reproduced above reminds us that, while in detail there may be many differences between the world’s main religions, in the central ethic for how human beings conduct their lives there is a surprising degree of similarity. The ‘Golden Rule’ is the rule of love for one’s neighbour (as Jesus expresses it) or at the very least the avoidance of any harm or damage to that person. 

As a Jew who knew his Torah better than others, Jesus was able to convince trained theologians whom he met as to which were the central tenets of their faith. Jesus’ selection of just two rules from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 as the so-called ‘Great Commandment’ is reported in three of the gospels (Mark 12:28-34; Matthew 22:34-40; and Luke 10:25-28) with slight differences. Instead of remembering lots of separate rules to govern our conduct, Jesus proposes loving others as ourselves as the guiding principle (Romans 13:9) which sums up the whole of the law or Torah (Galatians 5:14). That love should be in charge overall is more important than a detailed list of rules concerning how we should love others and live our lives.

         

By making our neighbour rather than ourselves the central preoccupation, Jesus effectively transplants his own (‘Kingdom’) values upon our egocentric and self-preoccupied lives. We are challenged to do better than we ourselves can easily imagine for ourselves, as suggested by the contrasts in the table below. We may fall short, but if we attempt to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and love our neighbour as ourselves then we have the certainty of at least are making a significant step towards bringing about Jesus’ Kingdom values in our selfish and materialistic world. 

 

Living the Kingdom way of Life

Self-Image Agenda	The Kingdom calls us to
1. Love Yourself	Love God and others (Matthew 22:37)
2. Build your self-esteem	Build up others (Hebrews 10:24-25)
3. You are good	None are righteous (Romans 3:23)
4. Believe in yourself	Distrust your heart (Jeremiah 17:9)
5. Put yourself first	Put others first (Philippians 2:1-4)
6. Think highly of yourself	Be humble (Romans 12:3)
7. You are of great value	We are sinners (Romans 3:10-11)
8. Do what you want to do	Walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16)
9. Find yourself	Deny yourself (Matthew 16:24-26)
10. Have self-confidence	Put confidence in God (Philippians 4:13)

http://thinkpoint.wordpress.com/2011/07/13/love-your-neighbor-and-yourself/