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Monday, November 25, 2024
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!
Sunday, November 24, 2024
All Age Service: Preparing for Advent
Isaiah 9: 6-7 Matthew 1:20-24; 2:13-15; 2:19-23
Next week, we celebrate the First Sunday in Advent.
Can anyone tell me what Advent is?
Advent is a special time of promise, of waiting, longing, and preparing. There are – how many Sundays in Advent? Yes, there are four Sundays in Advent with four separate candles that represent messages that make us focus on Jesus.
But what did we all learn and talk about today?
Yes, the way God spoke to different people at different times about what he was doing or going to do in their lives as his people and what he was going to do for the life of the world.
So, now I want us to explore how the season of Advent mirrors the powerful way that God revealed his plans to some people through dreams in the Bible. Just as those dreams foretold what God would do, Advent reminds us and prepares us for what he has done in the coming of Jesus and what he will do when Jesus comes again.
As we have already seen, throughout Scripture, God often used dreams as a way of giving people a glimpse of his divine plan. Think of Joseph in the Old Testament, who dreamed of a future where he would rise to a position of leadership. Despite the many challenges he faced, his dream revealed God’s intention to save many people from famine and starvation.
At another time, Daniel’s interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams revealed that the human empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome would rise and fall, but that God’s kingdom would ultimately prevail.
In these dreams, God’s people saw glimpses of his unfolding plan, sometimes long before it fully came to pass. These dreams were invitations to trust in what they could not yet see and reminders that God’s timing is always perfect.
Advent is a bit like those dreams. It is a season that invites us to look backward to something God has done as well as forward to something God will still do that is greater than what we currently see. For four weeks, we light candles, read Scriptures, and prepare our hearts, not only for Christmas Day, but also for the return of Jesus one day in the future.
But today we were reminded that Jesus’ coming was foretold not only by the messages of the prophets but also by dreams.
Remember the dreams of Joseph in the New Testament? When Joseph was worried about Mary, God sent an angel in a dream to reassure him, saying that the child Mary bore was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Later, in another dream, God warned Joseph to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to protect them from Herod’s anger.
And then there was one more dream. Can you remember what that dream was all about?
Yes, God told Joseph to take Mary and Jesus to Nazareth as it was safer there than in Bethlehem. These dreams guided Joseph as God unfolded his plan to save his people from their sins.
So, when we celebrate Advent, starting next week, we are invited to experience this same excitement and anticipation. Just as God communicated through dreams to prepare His people for the future, so he communicates hope through the four messages of Advent to help us prepare our hearts for Jesus.
Each week, as we light another candle, we remember that the light of the world is drawing near. Like the dreams of old, Advent reminds us that God’s promises are not distant or abstract. They are personal and real and are meant to change us and bring us hope.
In our world, full of uncertainty and challenges, Advent reminds us that God’s promises are steady, and that his plans are in motion, and that his plans will never fail, even if we can’t yet see the whole picture.
So, as we continue through Advent, may we remember that, in many ways, we are like Joseph, Daniel, and all those who received divine dreams. We are waiting, trusting, and preparing for the fulfilment of the promises God has made.
So, let’s use this time to open our hearts, to lean into the hope that Advent brings, and to prepare ourselves to receive Jesus, who once came as a child born in Bethlehem, but who will one day come again as the King of the world.
© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2024
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Why Does God Allow Us To Fail?
Psalm 138 1 Peter 5:1-11 John 18:12-27
Why does God allow us to fail?
Thomas Cranmer has been called the most cautious, even indecisive of Reformers. His critics accuse him of years of hypocrisy during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Mary I, (not to forget the nine day reign of Lady Jane Grey) some claiming that he was opportunistic or driven by political survival rather than steadfast conviction.
Historian Jasper Ridley, in his biography Thomas Cranmer, emphasized Cranmer’s vacillation and tendency to conform to the monarch’s wishes, particularly under Henry VIII. Indeed, his total capitulation regarding his convictions concerning the Six Articles is particularly hard to understand. Ridley describes him as someone who frequently compromised his principles to maintain his position and influence. This interpretation views Cranmer as a cowardly figure, suggesting that he lacked the resolve shown by other reformers of his time, especially during moments when he recanted under pressure.
Similarly, Diarmaid MacCulloch, in his comprehensive biography Thomas Cranmer: A Life, explores Cranmer’s complicated character and acknowledges his moments of timidity, especially under Mary I when he recanted his Protestant beliefs before ultimately reaffirming them at and during his final trial and execution. However, MacCulloch’s analysis is more nuanced, examining the tensions Cranmer faced as a man of his time, caught between faith, political obligation, and survival. The criticisms generally stem from moments like Cranmer’s vacillation on key doctrinal matters or his failure to assert his beliefs against royal authority.
However, Thomas Cranmer must be understood against the background of his belief in the supremacy of the monarchy. Rightly or wrongly, Cranmer held a strong theological conviction in the divine authority of kings, which shaped his actions and decisions throughout his career. His commitment to royal supremacy was both religious and political, and it fundamentally guided his approach to reform and obedience within the Church of England. Cranmer believed that the king was divinely appointed to govern both the church and state, a belief reinforced by the political climate following Henry VIII’s break with Rome.
I realise that this is along introduction to this talk, but in the light of Cranmer’s failures, and Peter’s failure in our Gospel passage for today, I would like us to consider this question: Why does God allow his servants to fail? With all the pain and anguish that goes along with failure…why does he allow it? Has he not promised to place his Spirit within us and to cause us to walk in his statutes and to keep his commandments and to do them? (Ezekiel 36:27) Has he not repeatedly promised strength and boldness to his followers?
In our Gospel passage, we have been given front row seats to watch the failure of a man others would later call one of the Pillars of the Early Church. John’s record of Peter’s denials begin with our Lord’s willing surrender to his captors. If I am correct in assuming that the falling over backwards of the soldiers was a show of divine power, then I believe it is feasible that Jesus was once again providing his disciples with an acted parable in which he demonstrated that his arrest was completely voluntary. He could have appealed to his Father who would have immediately sent him more than twelve legions of angels. (Matthew 26:53) But without the arrest, the Scriptures would not be fulfilled, the cup given to Jesus would not have been drained, and his substitutionary death would not have happened.
So, the lesson for the disciples and, indeed for us, is that even though God is all powerful to help us in times of distress, there are times when his aid is withheld or restrained to fulfil a higher purpose…a purpose, mark you, that may very well be hidden from us at the time. Sadly, it certainly seems obvious from their different reactions that the purpose of his arrest, trial, and execution was totally lost on the disciples.
After the arrest, Jesus was first taken to a man by the name of Annas, one of the most influential and powerful Jewish leaders at the time. He had held the high priesthood from AD 6 to AD 15 when he was deposed by the Roman governor Valerius Gratus who wanted to control religious leadership in Judea to maintain stability. The Romans often replaced high priests to curb the concentration of power within any single person and to ensure loyalty among the Jewish elite. However, even after being deposed, Annas retained substantial influence over Jewish religious and political life, largely due to his role as the patriarch of a powerful family. Several of Annas’ relatives, including five of his sons and his son-in-law Caiaphas, later held the position of the high priesthood, indicating that the Romans may have viewed the family as a stabilizing force despite rotating individuals through the high priest role.
Caiaphas, who served as High Priest from about AD 18 to AD 36, was married to Annas’ daughter. As Annas’ son-in-law, Caiaphas continued the family’s influence over Jewish religious matters, with Annas likely exerting significant control behind the scenes. Like many leaders up to the present day, Annas simply could not give up control. However, this arrangement served the Romans well because Caiaphas was seen as politically cooperative and adept at maintaining order, particularly during times of high tension, like the period of Jesus’ ministry and trial. Annas’ enduring influence, even without the official title, is evident from the account we have before us, which portray him as a key figure in the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus.
It is interesting that John reintroduced Caiaphas here as the member of the Sanhedrin who had advised his peers that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people, rather than have the whole nation perish. (John 11:50) This replication once again draws our attention to the fact that although things seemed to be going horribly wrong, God was still very much in control, fulfilling what he had promised previously in the Scriptures.
Now, the Mishnah (a redaction of the earlier Oral Law in writing, completed in around AD 200) tells us that trials in capital cases must be held during the day and concluded during the day. It also implies that courts should not convene on the eve of the Sabbath or a holy day because of the need for careful deliberation that might extend into the next day. It also outlines that a verdict of guilt in a capital case cannot be reached on the same day as the trial. If the court finds the defendant guilty, it must wait until the next day to issue the death penalty. This requirement allows time for reconsideration and emphasizes the value of caution in capital cases. Acquittals, however, were permitted on the same day.
But not only did the Sanhedrin go against their own rules, they also knowingly brought in false witnesses, had Jesus beaten during the trial, and had him delivered to a pagan authority, claiming that they only had one king, namely Caesar.
Interestingly, John interrupted his record of the trial of Jesus with two accounts of Peter’s actions. It is possible that he wanted to show that there were actually two contrasting trials taking place here. In one, Jesus’ main concern was not to preserve his life, but to give up his life as a sacrifice for us. But in the other, unlike Jesus, but like Thomas Cranmer, it seems Peter’s main concern was to preserve his life even if that meant retracting his promises and his convictions.
However, as we read through Peter’s denials, we must see them in the light of Jesus’ predictions. In Luke’s account, Jesus said to the disciples collectively and then to Peter individually, (I will emphasize the plural and singular usages of the word ‘you’ as I quote): “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you (plural, i.e. all the disciples), that he might sift you (plural) like wheat, but I have prayed for you (singular, i.e. Peter) that your (singular) faith may not fail. And when you (singular) have turned again, strengthen your (singular) brothers.”
So, here I believe that we have at least two reasons why God allows us to fail.
The first reason God may allow us to experience failure is to deepen our empathy and equip us to help others who are struggling. When we face failure ourselves, we gain firsthand understanding of the frustration, disappointment, and growth that come with it. This experience builds compassion and humility, reminding us of our own limitations and the support we needed in those moments. With this awareness, we can approach others with kindness, patience, and practical guidance, offering them the same encouragement we once needed. In this way, Peter’s failures transformed him into a source of strength that enabled him to strengthen and support the other disciples…and, no doubt, to encourage everyone who reads his story.
But another reason is that Peter’s pride and his presumptuous personality stood in the way of God’s intentions for him. Filled with bravado, Peter paraded his pious resolve above that of his fellow disciples, even going so far as to argue with and correct Jesus. Countering Jesus’ prediction that all his followers would fall away the night he was betrayed, Peter proclaimed that even though they all fall away, he would not. (Mark 14:29) So, it seems Peter needed to fall face first in the mud of his own making and grovel in it for a while so that he might be transformed into a caring and understanding leader of other mud grovellers…that he might be more like the Good Shepherd who feeds his lambs gently. As such, Peter’s lesson is a lesson in humility.
When we return to the trial, we are immediately confronted with yet another glaring contrast – this time between Jesus and his accusers. When Jesus spoke in his own defence, one of Annas’ officers hit him. Now, we must presume that Jesus was still bound as he was bound by the soldiers in verse 12 and again sent bound from Annas to Caiaphas in verse 24. In other Words, the officer hit a defenceless tied-up prisoner. So, it soon becomes obvious that it is the righteous being tried by the wicked. Whereas Jesus’s actions were all done lawfully, openly, and above board, his accusers endeavoured to do all things unlawfully, underhandedly, and secretly.
From Annas Jesus was sent to be tried by the Sanhedrin, which would include the man the Romans had installed as High Priest. The Sanhedrin was the supreme court of Israel, so it is unfortunate that they were assembled under false pretences. Remember, they had already declared Jesus their adversary and had already decided to kill him. The outcome of this kangaroo court had been determined long before that night. So, this trial was little more than a sham and a farce.
Which, of course, is no surprise here for John’s readers, but what does come as a surprise is that when we return to the scene in the courtyard, Peter is still there! Despite having been released by Jesus in the garden, in spite of having been warned that he would deny Jesus, in spite of having just done so, Peter still draws in closer to those who had been with the group who arrested Jesus…those who had been witnesses of his failed attempt to rescue Jesus. In his foolish dismissal of his first denial, Peter set himself up for the second and the third denials and ultimately the greatest failure of his life.
By pridefully pushing beyond the boundaries set for him by Jesus, Peter left himself wide open for his final humiliation and total capitulation as, in fear for his life, he denied his deepest convictions and his dearest friend. Luke’s record of this event is probably one of the most poignant passages in all of world literature. As the rooster crowed, “the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.’ And (Peter) went out and wept bitterly.”
But this event was one that no doubt contributed to making Peter the man he later became…one of the pillars of the Early Church.
Now, like Peter, Archbishop Cranmer failed. He denied his deepest convictions in an attempt to uphold his strange faith in the divine right of royalty and to save his own life. But to be fair, this was a terrifying time to be alive as many people all around were losing their heads and being burned at the stake. After a long imprisonment and many interrogations by Bloody Queen Mary’s churchmen, on the 21st of March 1556, Cranmer was brought out of prison to speak before a packed and excited crowd assembled in what is today the University Church of St Mary the Virgin at Oxford. But his speech did not follow the previously agreed text. Rather than denying the truth, he denied, and I quote, “all such bills and papers which I have written or signed with my hand since my degradation”. All his recantations, in other words.
Despite the joyful as well as angry commotion in the church, Cranmer continued to shout above the din, refusing the Pope’s authority and rejecting the medieval doctrine of transubstantiation. At this point he was pulled from his platform and dragged through the streets of Oxford and taken to the place where Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley had been martyred only a few months earlier, on October 16, 1555. As the flames began to engulf him, Cranmer held his right hand directly in the flame, fulfilling his promise made in the church that the hand which had written contrary to his heart…the hand that had signed the many recantations…would be punished first. He only removed it once to wipe his face.
Although Thomas Cranmer had denied his basic convictions before, he stood his ground when it mattered most and, as such, he stands as a martyr to the truth. He may have been a frail and feeble man, but he denied his denials as a witness to all.
Now, I must admit that it is men like Cranmer and Peter that encourage me most. I find great comfort in knowing that greater men than me have fallen face first in the muck and have yet been rescued and restored by the Lord to not only continue on the road of life, but to serve as examples to weak lambs like me.
So, I believe that God allows us to fail to remind us that we are fallible and fallen human beings so that we might learn to humbly and dependently rely on his strength, not ours. He uses our failures as tools in the life-long process of sanctification and of conforming us to the image of his Son so that we might be more compassionate and considerate shepherds of his sheep. But God also uses our failures to encourage others who desperately need to know that face-first-in-the-dirt experiences are not uncommon…and that they are not alone in their humiliation and that the humiliation is the crucible in which they are being purified to shine more brightly the light of Jesus.
Shall we pray?
© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2024
Saturday, November 9, 2024
"Whom Do You Seek?"
Psalm 27:1-6 Malachi 3:1-5 John 18:1-12
“Whom Do You Seek?”
I once heard a story about a young girl who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her five-year old brother who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies she needed to combat the illness.
The doctor explained the situation to her little brother and asked the boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. He hesitated for only a moment before taking a deep breath and agreeing to the procedure. As they lay side by side, his blood flowing into her veins, the little boy smiled as he saw the colour return to his sister’s pale cheeks. His smile slowly faded as he turned to the doctor and asked in a trembling voice, “Will I start to die now?”
Apparently, he had misunderstood and had thought he had to give his sister all his blood…his life for hers.
With Jesus there was no such misunderstanding. In verse 4 John clearly recorded that Jesus knew what was about to happen to him…he knew he was the one sacrifice that would cover the nakedness of the world…he was the lamb of God, who was sent into the world to die for the world and to take away the sins of the world. His life for ours.
As such, we move suddenly from the sublime heights of Jesus’ prayerful revelation of God’s love to the abyss of betrayal, violence, desertion, denial, religious hypocrisy, political manoeuvring, brutality, and the grisly execution of an innocent man. But it is out of these dark depths that the unity prayed for in the previous chapter emerges. Without chapters 18-20, chapter 17 would forever remain an unrealistic and unfulfilled ideal.
In John’s record of the arrest of Jesus, we have an echo of another event in another garden where the clash between light and darkness also resulted in judgment, just in reverse order. In one, God judged Adam…in the other, the sons of Adam judged God…a judgement soon to be reversed yet again as Jesus took upon himself the judgement that is ours. In Genesis 3, God came looking for Adam, but Adam hid because he was afraid. Here, the sons of Adam come looking for the 2nd Adam, namely Jesus, God-incarnate, but instead of hiding he revealed himself causing them to retreat and fall over from fear. Any form of deceitful behaviour, whether it be disobedience or dishonesty or deviousness, always leads to a shame-filled fear.
Also, just like our progenitors, Judas was tempted to act against God…to betray his unique relationship with Jesus by taking that which seemed pleasing to the eye and desirable to the flesh. Jesus too was tempted to side-step God’s plan…to betray the Father’s trust, if you will…but unlike Judas and our progenitors, he did not succumb to the temptation. He triumphed over it through humble submission and obedience to the will and wisdom of the Father.
And finally, like the two animals who had to die in Genesis to cover the nakedness of our forebears, so Jesus would die to cover ours.
But, as we have come to expect from John, there are multiple layers to this tightly worded section. One of these layers appears to connect Jesus’ statement of self-identification (usually translated as “I am he”, but in Greek it is simply “I AM) with the divine name, “I AM” …the divine self-identification of God signifying his eternal, self-existent nature which he revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14.
Now, by using this divine name here (as he did at other times as recorded in the Gospel of John), Jesus implicitly claimed this divine identity, an identity that ought to evoke awe and reverence, but here it appeared to physically impact those present. Indeed, like in Psalm 27, the enemies of Jesus quite literally stumbled and fell at the mention of his name as they began to advance against him.
It seems that it was only when Jesus allowed them to come and take him, that they could do so, but only on his terms. His willingness to be arrested was contingent upon the soldiers allowing his followers to go free. Now, you must remember, that all the followers of those claiming to be Messiahs in the past had been mercilessly slaughtered by the Romans together with their leader. So, Jesus allows his arrest to take place, but only on the condition that his followers are allowed to go free.
Now, interestingly, in 2 Chronicles 5:14, we are told that when the glory of the Lord came down on the Temple, “the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.” (ESV) Also, in Isaiah 6:1-5, Ezekiel 1:28, and Daniel 10:9, the three prophets were overcome when they experienced visions of God’s overwhelming glory, the latter two quite literally falling to the ground. All of these accounts illustrate human reaction to encountering the divine presence—a mixture of awe, reverence, and, as in the case of the priests, Ezekiel and Daniel, physical collapse.
But, since John described Jesus in John 1:14 as the Word who became flesh so that he might “tabernacle” (usually translated as “dwell”) among us, we may also hear an echo of 1 Samuel 5:3-4 where the Philistine idol, Dagon, fell and broke before the Ark of the Covenant. This scene may parallel the soldiers’ reaction to Jesus, suggesting that just as Dagon could not stand before God’s presence, so too no human power can stand before Jesus, who embodies God’s presence in a similar yet greater manner than the Tabernacle or the Ark of the Covenant once did.
Now, these Old Testament parallels may highlight the fact that Jesus’ declaration of “I AM” in verse 6 was not just a reply to their answer to his question, “Whom do you seek?”, but rather a powerful assertion of His divine identity…an assertion possibly meant to encourage his disciples. But as the soldiers’ reaction—falling back in awe or fear—mirrors the reactions of those who encountered God directly in the Old Testament Scriptures, as well as the toppling of the idol Dagon, Jesus’ assertion and their reaction underscores his authority and links him to the God of Israel, who revealed Himself as “I AM” thereby commanding reverence from all creation. In other words, even as he stood, seemingly defenceless before his armed enemies, Jesus, as God incarnate, was in complete control.
However, Jesus’ declaration and the possible parallels with Old Testament events, appear to have been lost on the disciples. To be fair, we must remember that, after a heavy delicious roasted lamb dinner and a few cups of wine, they were more than likely very sleepy. Plus, it was probably somewhere between midnight and 3 AM when this arrest took place.
Also, unlike Jesus who was awake and who appeared to be prepared for this turn of events, they were rudely roused from their slumber by the noise of the approaching armed soldiers. Nevertheless, Peter’s rash and reckless response to the arrest, Jesus’ reaction to that response in the form of a rebuke and an explanation of what was really happening here, as well as the healing of the wounded Malchus, all served to expose the chasm that often separates limited human comprehension from the infinitely wise and omniscient divine will.
But before we judge Peter too harshly here, perhaps we need to ask ourselves how many times we haven’t displayed a kneejerk reaction to negative events instead of displaying a calm assurance that God is in sovereign control of all things? How many “ears” haven’t we “cut off” in our self-righteous response to other’s whom Jesus seeks to heal? How many times have we not shied away from the purifying experience of drinking the cup the Father gives to us? We blunder and bluster through life thinking that we are right in wielding our proverbial swords, when it would be better for us to rather humbly allow our Lord to reveal to us his divine perspective.
In this sense, Jesus’ question, “Whom do you seek?”, addresses us all. When it comes to our views about God humans tend to swing between two extremes. Either we believe in a God who is totally flexible or in a God who is totally rigid…a God who flips and flops whichever way we wish or a graceless God who is without compassion or mercy.
But Scripture reveals to us a God who humbles himself and takes on human form so that he might shed his blood for us…he was willing and determined to drink the cup given to him by the Father…he was willing and determined to give his life for ours.
So, we need to ask ourselves the question. When the Lord whom we seek suddenly steps forward and reveals himself to us in all his glory, will we be able to endure his coming…will we be able to stand before him? Or will we too need to feel his refiner’s fire so that we might be purified like gold and silver?
Shall we pray?
© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2024
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