One of the amazing things about my 'job' is the privilege that I have of spending time with such a wide range of people. Almost always this includes praying with people, and today has been no different.
With one person who I spent some time with today we were praying for physical healing, with another person we were rejoicing and thanking God for the answered prayer of a much improved health situation.
When I was thinking about what I would write today I flicked my bible open at John 12. In the NIV, verses 37-50 are given the heading 'The Jews Continue in Their Unbelief' and verse 37 says this: "Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him."
I find that incredible! The ministry of Jesus as recorded in the gospels includes: raising the dead; healing cripples; giving sight to the blind; and healing people of hideous skin diseases. "Surely", I find myself saying, "this should be enough to make anyone believe?"
But the biblical evidence is that it isn't! And even for us at times it can be very easy to either doubt when we hear of God's miraculous intervention, put 'rational' explanations in place to explain it away, or not believe at all. Sometimes even as we ask God in prayer for His supernatural touch, transformation, and healing we may find ourselves filled with doubt and/or disbelief.
And yet the incredible thing that focussing in on the ministry of Jesus reveals to us (as well as the experience of the church throughout history) is that God is in the business of doing the miraculous. Now, of course, as I once heard it said, "Miracles are by nature rare." And once again a brief look at the bible and church experience would also confirm this: not everyone in the bible is healed, even by Jesus (see Mark 6:5); not even those of immense faith live forever in this lifetime (or we would still have the early church and many Christians from all eras still with us!); and today we continue to see some healed instantaneously, some gradually, and some not at all.
But the point, I think, is this: the miraculous and supernatural intervention of God that we witness in the ministry of Jesus, and the same things we see today as He continues to work through the church in the power of the Spirit, are signs of a kingdom that is both now and not yet. It is a kingdom that has been ushered in through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection; but it is also a kingdom for which we are still awaiting its full consummation.
Because the resurrection of Jesus shows us what that kingdom will look like: death defeated (and with it sickness, crying, mourning etc. - see Revelation 21:1-4). But right now we live as sign posts to that kingdom, whatever our circumstances may be, even as we wait with hopeful expectation of answered prayer and kingdom signs breaking out amongst us.
And so when it all seems too daunting; or when our faith feels like wavering; I find it useful to turn to the words of a father who was desperately pleading for the healing of his son: "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief."
And so, with those words ringing in our ears, may we never give up on praying...
At the weekend I was reading the Parable of the Lost Son in Luke 15. It really is one of the great stories of the bible in terms of demonstrating not only the forgiveness of God, but the radical nature of that forgiveness. The son whom caused the greatest of offence to his father and family is not only allowed back, but is renistated, and given the context of the placing of the family ring back on his hand I don't think it would be unfair to assume that his inheritance rights are restored to what they had been before he had taken his share, sold it all, and spent the proceeds on wild and loose living. When read in light of Deuteronomy 21:18-21 the forgiveness of the father is even more powerful, given that the actions of the son were, according to Deuteronomy, stonable offences.
But this is one of the amazing things that we must surely reflect on as we move through this Holy Week - the radical and sacrificial nature of the forgiveness which God offers to all people in and through Jesus. You see, Deuteronomy makes it clear that there is a cost for being so offensive to ones parents: death by stoning. And yet in Jesus' parable of the lost son rather than it being the rebellious child who pays the price, it is actually the loving father as he casts aside all dignity and self respect in hitching up his robes, runnning to meet his wayward son, and restoring him to the place he had willfully and intentionally neglected.
This week, as we prepare to remember and celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection, we (like the son of Luke 15) must surely spend some time reflecting on the cost of forgiveness that we see as we look at the cross, but also the willingness of God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - to take that cost upon Himself. Because the forgiveness that Jesus makes possible was no small thing easily achieved; it cost God the Son His very life.
And so as Jesus calls us to follow Him and become more like Him, I can't help but think that the question we all need to be asking (and I certainly include myself in this) is: "Am I prepared to offer a radical and costly forgiveness to those who have offended me?" Because, reflecting on His example, surely the only answer we should give to this question is a resounding, "Yes."
Given that at Southside we don't have anything official going on this week until a joint service with Ayr Baptist and New Prestwick Baptist on Friday night, I thought that it might be worth offering up a brief reflection each day throughout the course of this Holy Week.
"Why?" you are perhaps wondering. "Isn't this just any old normal sort of week?"
Well, in short, no - not exactly. True, as followers of Jesus we should be seeking to live every day of our lives in light of His life, death, and resurrection; and whilst this Sunday coming will be Easter Sunday we in fact celebrate the resurrection every Sunday (every day, in fact). Yet it still strikes me that in many churches and/or the lives of many Christ-followers that the attention which will be paid to this most pivotal week in our faith, especially when compared with the society driven hullabaloo of one of our other major festivals, Christmas, is relatively little.
And so given that if I were forced to choose which is more significant I would have to say Easter I thought a brief, daily reflection as we navigate through this week might be helpful...
So yesterday was Palm Sunday - the Sunday on which many churches will have remembered Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. And in Mark's version of events the next day was an incredibly significant one - one which I had the privilege of preaching a couple of years ago. Because on the Monday Jesus' clears the temple: He goes in there, none of the 'meek and mild' of Christmas carols, and overturns the benches of the money-changers and people selling merchandise within the temple courts. And either side of this high octane event Mark places the story of a fig tree: in the first part, a fig tree that wasn't producing fruit and which Jesus' cursed for the fact; and in the second part, just one day later, a fig tree which was now found withered from the roots.
And what I realised as I studied for preaching on this passage was the fact that this whole story of the fig tree was actually something of an enacted parable. The fig tree was Israel: and at times, and from a distance, it looked leafy and like it should be producing fruit. But then up close it was seen to fail at it's most basic of tasks: bearing fruit.
Now I realise that this whole thing could do with a lot more explaining but the gist of the challenge is this: are we like the fig tree paying something of a leafy lip service to following Jesus - we look good from a distance, but get up close and it's all bluster with no content? Or are we like the people that Jesus' is looking for: trees producing fruit in keeping with their purpose?
Because in this pivotal week leading up to His eventual crucifixion and resurrection the first thing that Jesus does is reveal something of God's priorities for His people: that we produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8). Because Jesus' calls us as we are, but doesn't leave us as we are: He changes us to become more like Him; more like the head of the body which we read elsewhere in scripture is Christ Himself.
And so as we launch into this week I ask a simple question: does my life demonstrate leafy lip service or fruit producing faith? Because, as the example of the fig tree and the over turning of the tables in the temple demonstrates, there is only one sort of life that Jesus expects of those He has set free...