The transformational encounter

We all know the story of Zacchaeus, short, rich and by his own admission a thief. Zacchaeus would have been unpopular and despised, but he wanted to see Jesus, not from a distance, not through a crowd but properly, even if it meant looking undignified by climbing up a tree and almost certainly joining the children and youth up there. 

The more amazing thing is that Jesus wanted to meet Zacchaeus. Along came Jesus, surrounded by a throng, and stopped, looked up and called Zacchaeus by name and invited himself to dinner. Imagine the Queen walking the line when she suddenly picks you out by name, even though you’ve never met her, and invited herself to dinner. That’s the reality of what happened. Zacchaeus, the unpopular, despised tax collector was honoured in the sight of the crowd. And Zacchaeus immediately received Jesus and the encounter was transformational.  In the sight and sound of everyone Zacchaeus promised extreme restitution, to pay back four times what he had stolen. 

At this point the crowd lost the plot and grumbled about Jesus dining with a sinner. Jesus drew their attention to the fact that this was what he came to do, seek and save the lost but surely it didn’t mean people like Zacchaeus?  It did.  The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart 1 Samuel 16: 7b. 

A similar thing happened at Gadarenes when Jesus delivered the demoniac from many demons so that he was free, clothed and in his right mind, surely a case of great rejoicing. Instead, the crowd were frightened and begged Jesus to leave. Admittedly their livelihood of a herd of pegs was now at the bottom of the lake, but didn’t they have any compassion for this poor man bound and out of his mind? 

One encounter with Jesus transforms the life of any individual, no matter how wretched but our response is very telling. Are we full of self-righteous indignation (the elder brother syndrome) that Jesus could wish to not just associate with but transform an individual or are we fearful of the power of God to move in miracle-working power that will truly transform lives? I believe that wonderful verse in John 13: 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another, will become evident when we truly rejoice over one sinner saved and set free. 

The Kingdom will certainly be evident amongst us when the Church has a different mindset from the world and celebrates when the broken, lost and rejected sinners are touched by an ever-loving God. The most powerful testimony of God’s transformational power is a life transformed and a Church eager to celebrate and testify to a sceptical world that God is real and here’s the evidence. 

Devastation to hope

 

One of my favourite songs is O Praise the Name of the Lord our God and I was listening to it, the line:

His body bound and drenched in tears

They laid him down in Joseph’s tomb

I was struck afresh at the terrible devastation the disciples and the women must have felt as Jesus hung on the cross and then died. His body would indeed have been drenched in tears as those close to him wept inconsolably over him. The agony and complete incomprehension of what they were witnessing, must have left them overwhelmed with grief.  

Only a week before, Jesus had been welcomed into Jerusalem with shouts and palm branches – a royal welcome to the King coming into his city. Now, those same people had turned on him and bayed for him to be crucified. Imagine the horror his friends must have felt as Jesus had an unfair trial and then their precious Messiah was flogged, mocked and forced to carry his own cross. All through the six hours that Jesus hung there, I am sure they were praying, willing him to come down off the cross and show those mockers that he is the King, the Messiah.

Instead, he died. ‘I just don’t get it,’ would have been the understatement they felt. Jesus had told them several times that this would happen, but they had either forgotten or not believed him. Certainly no one was expecting a resurrection on that first day of the week. The women went to the tomb to anoint a precious but dead body, not to see a risen Jesus. Even when he appeared to the women, the disciples were slow to believe, because it just seemed unbelievable. 

Enter the two men on the road to Emmaus, later that same resurrection day (Luke 24: 13 – 35). They were discussing all that had gone on and trying to make sense of the perplexing circumstances. My favourite part of their incomprehension is, but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. Jesus, unknown to them, had joined them and explained to them what had been prophesied and what they had just witnessed. They had put their hope in the right place, even though it didn’t look like it.

I then wondered what would have happened if these two disciples had not urged Jesus strongly to stay with them? Suppose when Jesus continued as if he were going further, they had just wished him well, thanked him for the fellowship on the road and gone indoors. Jesus didn’t push himself on them but if they hadn’t urged him, they would never have experienced the grande finale of their day. They would have missed Jesus opening their eyes to see who he was and the reality that he was indeed risen from the dead, alive and well and breaking bread with them. All their hopes of Jesus being the Messiah, the risen Lord that had been dashed over the weekend, were restored.

Now, filled with the excitement of knowing for themselves that Jesus was indeed the Messiah and was risen from the dead, they didn’t hang around in Emmaus. They hot-footed it back the seven miles to Jerusalem, the place of disappointment but with their hearts full of expectancy and hope, to share the good news with the disciples.

Jesus never forces relationship on us whether it be when our hearts are first turned to him at salvation, or when we have been saved umpteen years, but are still burning to know him better. As we urge him to stay, he will linger and have communion with us.

We may have experienced the most awful tragedy in our life, but we always have hope with Jesus. When we urge him to remain and abide with us, to speak to us, to have fellowship with us, to explain, he never disappoints. He will always stay, comfort and give us hope. The devastation of our Good Friday can turn into the hope and new life of Easter Sunday. 

The resurrection - restoring relationship with Man

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying.

He (Jesus) asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” John 20: 13, 15 - 16

The Gospel accounts of the resurrection vary but the basic facts are consistent. Jesus appeared first to the faithful women who had gone to the tomb, not sure what they would do as they could never move the stone, but they had to be there. 

John’s Gospel is my favourite account. Jesus met Mary who only recognised him when he called her name. How precious. 

As I was pondering again the terrible account of the death by crucifixion of our Saviour, I came back to the original thought ‘Why? Why would Jesus do it?’ The answer has to be love and love of a magnitude that we have no comprehension of. 

If we consider all other ‘gods’, and many other leaders only interested in power, all they demand is slavish obedience, fearful worship. They only want people who will bow down and do their will. They may sit in fake grandeur, high and distant from their subjects surrounded by obsequious attendants and ‘ministers’ but all they engender in these people is fear. There is no relationship.  

Instead, our wonderful, magnificent God created a beautiful world with Man as the pinnacle of his creation, made in his image, with whom he desires to walk in the cool of the day. Ever since Man rebelled from God’s plan, He has been working towards restoring the original design and the only way for Man to be redeemed from his sin and rebellion was for His precious, sinless son to pay the penalty in our place. 

The reason he would do this is love. God doesn’t want slavish obedience, he wants relationship based on love, his love for us and our love and adoration in return, freely given. We have only to read the accounts in the Bible of God’s presence and we see clouds of glory, majesty that creates such awe in sinful man that they fall flat upon their faces. Anyone who has come face to face with God in any measure whether Moses, Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Peter becomes overwhelmed by their sinfulness. Yet God wants to breach that gap between sinful man and holy, holy, holy God and the price was high, extremely high. 

Love always finds a way because love grieves over separation, love wants relationship - face to face relationship and the only way was the death of the sinless, perfect, beautiful Jesus.

As we celebrate again the victory of Easter – not just the death but the glorious resurrection conquering death, sin and all its attendant woes, let us be those who walk in the victory that Jesus won for us, not wallowing in our sin, guilt and shame but letting the work of the cross, the body and blood of Jesus do the work God intended to set us free, to walk in beautiful relationship with him. He loves us and all he wants is our hearts, our love and everything follows on from that. Our salvation and freedom came at a terrible cost, but Jesus says again, ‘I love you. It was worth it.’ 

The burial - God's perfect provision

57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Matthew 27: 57 - 60

We can imagine the terrible shock that the disciples, Mary and the other women felt when they realised Jesus was going to die. He wasn’t going to miraculously come down from the cross. That shock would have probably overwhelmed every other thought such as how were they going to get Jesus’s body down from the cross and where would they take it? If that thought had occurred to anyone, they might have been even more overcome. Often crucified bodies were left on the ground unburied or deposited in a dishonoured place in a pauper’s field. That couldn’t happen to their precious Jesus, but what could they do? 

Mary could have asked Pilate for the body, but she had no resources to deal with it. The disciples might have asked but it would take great courage to go to the Roman governor as a disciple in case he put them in prison or worse. But God had made perfect provision for his Son. He would not be buried in dishonour; everything would be taken care of.

As I pondered the logistics of dealing with the body of a crucified man, let alone the Son of God, I realised it was not a straightforward procedure. It needed planning, wealth and manpower. 

Joseph of Arimathea stepped up to take on this onerous but honoured responsibility. This was a brave act for a Pharisee, who was a secret believer, but Joseph had all the necessary credentials, was well-connected and a wealthy man. It took courage to ask for the body, but Pilate permitted him to take charge. Was he relieved that an innocent man was going to get a decent burial? 

As a wealthy man, Joseph he would have had the manpower to lift Jesus’s body down from the cross, an awkward, heavy task and remove the nails. They would then have to wrap the body in linen, carry it to Joseph’s unused and empty tomb nearby, and cover it with an enormously costly amount of spices, according to Jewish burial rites. Everything had to be done reverently and in proper order. Having placed the body in the tomb, it would again need manpower to push the massive stone in place over the door.

I’m not sure what would have happened without Joseph, but God provided for every detail for the burial of his son. The perfect sacrifice, unblemished needed everything in the burial to be unused and ceremonially clean. God had his man to provide the manpower, the linen, the spices and the tomb. All was in order. 

Romans 8: 32 says, He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Indeed, God knows our needs and he will provide for us, just as he provided for his son.

Michael Angelo's pieta (Mary holding Jesus's body) in St Peter's Cathedral, Rome 
It is the most beautiful marble sculpture. 

The mockery of the crucifixion

16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace … and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. Mark 15: 16 – 19 

The extreme cruelty and barbarity of being flogged and crucified is a well testified fact. Flogging, 39 lashes with a leather thong embedded with stone or metal chips to flay the skin to the bone is unbelievably cruel, but so too is crucifixion. None of the Gospel writers dwell on the details but it is known that it involved driving long nails into a man’s wrists and ankles onto a wooden cross, lifting the cross into a vertical position and waiting till the condemned died from asphyxiation, dehydration or exhaustion. 

In Jesus’s case it was much more than physical, it was also the humiliation and mockery that he had to endure. Crucifixion was only inflicted on the basest criminals and was considered incredibly shameful and disgraceful. 

First the whole company of the Roman soldiers mocked him. Everything was a parody and insult of Jesus’s royalty. A purple robe and a crown of thorns. The scornful, false homage ‘Hail King of the Jews’, the chant given to Caesar. Jesus was beaten with a staff signifying a royal sceptre. The soldiers fell to their knees in false reverence and spat on him instead of giving him the kiss of homage used when greeting royalty and they mocked him with their words (Psalm 22: 7). The psalmists frequently agonised over the torture of verbal abuse. 

The mockery continued all through those long six hours of crucifixion from the passers-by and even one of the thieves hanging next to him. They called on him to save himself, believing him incapable, not realising his mission was to save the world, not himself. 

And of course, the chief priests and religious leaders joined in the derision. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” Matthew 27: 42 – 43. Jesus, despite the agony, the humiliation, the shame, the insults remained focussed on his mission. 

After three hours, darkness settled over the land. The greatest crime in eternity had to be done in darkness, the devil believing he could kill the Son of God. You could not put the Prince of Light to death in anything but darkness.  About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). The agony of being separated from the love and presence of God as the sins of the world were placed on him and he took the cup of the wrath of God. What happened next in the spiritual realm is a mystery. All we do know is that when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit Matthew 27: 50. No matter what scientific or medical reason you give for the actual cause of death, the one thing that is certain is you do not give what I believe was a faith-filled victory shout, ‘it is finished’ (John 19: 30). It was so unusual, indeed unique, that the Roman centurion responsible for the crucifixion was convinced ‘Surely he was the Son of God.’ 

We read too that Jesus did not die from natural causes, he gave up his spirit. He decided when he would die. What a terrible, glorious day that first Good Friday was. The disciples and the women must have been devastated, the Roman soldiers terrified and the religious leaders unmoved. Our wonderful Saviour died in the most humiliating, shameful way mocked by all except his few disciples to save the very people who had committed this tragic act. 

The trial of Jesus - self interest

59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60 But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.

Finally two came forward 61 and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent.

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

64 “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 

65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”

“He is worthy of death,” they answered. Matthew 26: 59 – 66

The trial of Jesus was dominated by self-interest, that of the chief priests, Pilate and the crowd. However, without these vested interests, Jesus would never have been crucified. 

Right from the start, the chief priests had no interest in justice, they wanted a conviction, a death penalty, their tools accusation and condemnation, the work of the devil. They hated that Jesus was leading the crowds away with his new teaching undermining their authority. There was nothing ‘just’ about this trial. From the beginning ‘they were looking for false evidence,’ knowing there was no other evidence which would convict. Various false witnesses came forward but to no avail. The greatest injustice in history was accomplished not by false witnesses but by the silence of the one condemned.

Frustrated by his silence, Jesus was charged under oath, and his own words achieved the chief priest’s aims. The Sanhedrin must have been delighted, the condemned convicted by his own words. The difficulty now was that the Jews were not permitted to execute anyone – only Romans could do that. 

We can understand why, with kangaroo courts like this, unpopular Roman citizens could easily be convicted and executed. Instead, the Jews had to take Jesus to Pilate to get their desired outcome. Pilate took quite a bit more convincing because he could easily see that Jesus had done nothing wrong but rather ‘he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him’. (Matthew 27: 18). Pilate too was amazed that Jesus remained silent to the charges believing wrongly that he had the power to condemn or release Jesus. 

So, in time honoured tradition Pilate passed the buck and asked the crowd who they would like released and who put to death. The crowd, easily led, also caved into self-interest. The chief priests and elders persuaded them, and they knew that not following their leaders would mean excommunication from the synagogue, exclusion from the social life, not the worship, of the community. 

Pilate gave them one more chance, after all his wife had warned him, “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” (Matthew 27: 19). The crowd declined the opportunity and Pilate’s last chance to do the right thing passed. Isn’t it fascinating that God gives even those convicting his innocent son to death a chance to turn back and do the right thing? No one can ever say to God, ‘I didn’t know. I had no choice.’ 

So, Pilate caved in 'When (he) saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” Matthew 27: 24.  Uproar or riot on his watch would mean a recall to Rome in disgrace, and self- interest dictated the outcome. 

A fair trial and Jesus would never have been convicted and put to death. Instead, self-interest won the day and Jesus was handed over to be flogged and crucified. 

Gethsemane - the cost

39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Luke 22: 39 - 44

There was no other way, no other way for us to be free. Jesus loves us so much and wants us to be free, to spend forever with him, so there was no other way. Only a perfect sacrifice, only a man could make the way for sinful people like you and me to be saved from our sinfulness, shame and guilt. And I hear Jesus say, ‘It was worth it.’  

The victory of Calvary was first won in Gethsemane, that place of ultimate submission to the will of God. It was a garden of prayer, somewhere Jesus and his disciples had used before but here, on that night, the full weight of yielding to the will of God, to fulfil his destiny as Saviour of the world rested on Jesus, and it was a weight almost too heavy to bear. 

Everyone in first century Palestine would have known and seen crucifixion, the most barbaric form of execution. The weight of that on any man would have been crushing but to know that his death would mean taking the sin of the world on himself, the wrath of God falling on him. That terrible punishment, freely taken in our place, would lead to separation from his heavenly Father that was so excruciating that Jesus sweated drops like blood. Jesus begged for this cup to be taken from him but knowing it had to be done, he yielded to the Father’s will. 

Jesus knew the cost and he did it. He didn’t make excuses. He knew he was about to be betrayed, abandoned, and denied by those closest to him and still he surrendered because it was for people just like his disciples that he was doing it. Those he loved, weak and vulnerable people like you and me. The depth of love that took Jesus to the cross is almost incomprehensible. 

Our only response has to be, ‘thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all eternity, thank you.’ Again, I see him smile with such love and hear him say, ‘It was worth it.’

Moses - it's never too late

I always find the story of Moses most encouraging. Despite his mistakes, despite his age, despite his doubts and fears, God used him powerfully. God saved his life and turned an arrogant and then fearful man into his vessel, submitted to him – a humble man, more humble than anyone else (Numbers 12: 3) and through him led a whole nation out of captivity into a new land, as God had promised. 

Moses was born into a time of infanticide and survived. He not only survived but thrived in the court of Pharaoh and according to Stephen, 'was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action' (Acts 7: 22). He was also raised knowing he was a Hebrew, and he had a destiny, to rescue his people from slavery. Like many before and since, he tried to make his destiny come to fruition in his way and time – and it didn’t work. Instead, he had to flee into the desert to Midian for 40 years. 

I sometimes ponder what Moses thought about his destiny during those 40 years. I am sure he thought it was all over, settled down in his new life with Zipporah and probably put his time in Egypt down to experience. I mean he hardly needed the wisdom of the Egyptians to be a shepherd. But again, it is surprising how many of God’s leaders were shepherds. Maybe we should send today’s ministers-in-training for a module on shepherding! 

And then after 40 years, God met Moses at the burning bush and commissioned him now ‘to go to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt’ (Exodus 3: 10). By this time, at the age of 80, Moses was not keen to go back to Egypt and Pharaoh. All his pride, all his trust in his own ability had vanished and now he had to learn to trust God.  Five times he argued with God about his calling and in the end, the only concession he negotiated was for Aaron to go with him and speak on his behalf. This was his calling and not even his brother could fulfil it. The man ‘powerful in speech and action’ had disappeared and the humble man powerful in God’s word and action was beginning to take shape.

Through the obedience of performing the 10 plagues, Moses learned that the only way to become the man God wanted him to be was to trust God and do things his way 

Miracle upon miracle followed; the Israelites plundered Egypt of quantities of gold, silver and jewels (enough to build the furnishings of the tabernacle), the angel of death passed over their homes with the blood of the lamb on their doorposts, a million people with all their animals left Egypt, crossed the Red Sea and the powerful Egyptian army was annihilated. But they were free at least from the land of slavery, even if the slavery mentality was never fully delivered.   

For 40 years, Moses led these tiresome, doubting, idol-worshipping, grumbling and complaining people to the edge of the Promised Land. His destiny was fulfilled even if he never actually entered the land himself. Moses had to deal with his brother leading the people into idolatry, his brother and sister leading a rebellion, various other tragic rebellions but he also met with God in powerful, divine visitations. 

Moses’s story is one of encouragement. No matter how old we are, God has not finished with us till we take our final breath. If you are feeling God has forgotten you, your destiny is lying in tatters it is time to pick it up, dust it off and apply faith-filled prayers and see what God will do because ‘Nothing is impossible with God’ (Luke 2: 37). 

The cost of following Jesus

The Christmas story tells us of the worship, love and adoration shown to the baby Jesus by the shepherds and later the wise men, but what is our response? 

My mind immediately goes to Christina Rossetti’s carol In the bleak midwinter: 

What can I give Him, 

Poor as I am? 

If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb, 

If I were a wise man I would do my part, 

Yet what I can I give Him, 

Give my heart. 

Or more recently Chris Tomlin’s beautiful modern carol Adore: 

Wise men bring their treasures,

Shepherds bow low, 

Angel voices sing of peace on earth, 

What have I to offer To heaven’s king? 

I’ll bring my life, my love, my all. 

We’ve known from childhood that there is nothing we can give to Jesus that is of greater worth than ourselves, our hearts, our lives. It’s a sobering thought that even all the treasure in the world counts for nothing compared to our lives. That is the greatest treasure because that’s why Jesus came - to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19: 10). That was his commission and that was me until Jesus pursued and won me with his love. I was lost. 

The reality though is that to give Jesus our love, our life, our heart is incredibly costly to us because it means giving up everything – my time, my emotions, my money, my possessions, my thoughts, my words, my preferences, my opinions, my choices – everything has to be laid on the altar and for sinful people like you and me that is hard – very hard. 

Jesus gave it all up for us – glory, majesty, power and he calls us to the same path – following in his footsteps or discipleship. Jesus said, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me'. Like everything of the Christian faith that is hard, it is also worth it. 

It’s fairly easy to put our hands in our pockets with our tithes and offerings, do works of service (and I am not knocking these) but a life of yieldedness to Jesus means giving up a lot more than money and time. It’s all in. 

But the result is the greatest love affair of all time. It means walking in love with Almighty God, knowing his abundant life poured into our lives as we yield and give way to him. It’s the adventure of a lifetime. Mary, Jesus’s mother walked this path; the highest privilege and the greatest pain but when we get to see her in eternity, I am sure she will say something along the lines of 'It was worth it but don’t worry about me, worship my Son, give him your all, – he is worth everything'.

Glory to God in the Highest

I have frequently written about how Mary might have felt when Jesus was born in a stable and her precious baby was placed in the only cradle available, a manger, a feeding trough for the animals. However this unusual circumstance became a sign for the first group of visitors. 

You might imagine that the religious leaders or the synagogue rulers of Bethlehem would be first to visit the baby Messiah but no. God chose shepherds as the first visitors; uneducated, straight from the fields, probably dirty and smelly working men. 

But God loves shepherds – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David and now his Son who would become the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5: 4). Jesus spoke of himself: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10: 1 I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10: 14 – 15 So it is not surprising that the shepherds were the first to hear the news and what a way they heard the announcement. 

This is surely one of the great events of history. Here we have shepherds possibly looking after the temple sheep (more symbolism) and suddenly into the darkness an angel appears with the words, ‘Fear not.’ The Bible is full of angels telling people to ‘Fear not.’ Obviously a glorified angel is a terrifying sight. These men would have been used to fighting off wild animals, rescuing silly sheep from their own predicaments, even dealing with sheep rustlers but an angel appearing – and they are terrified. 

The angel then made the royal proclamation. Today, a baby has been born, a Saviour, the Messiah. The shepherds were given the sign. This baby would be found wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. However there was more. 

A royal birth requires the royal choir of heaven to rejoice over the Son of God entering the world of men. Suddenly – I love God’s suddenlys. Suddenly heaven was torn open and the heavenly choir stepped forth. What a sight that must have been! A choir of angels singing glory to God. How amazing! You can imagine the shepherds either lying terrified face down on the earth or standing with their mouths hanging open.

When the angels had gone back into heaven, the shepherds decided to investigate. You can hardly imagine them settling down round the fire again. They ‘hurried off’ and found everything as it has been described to them. What Mary and Joseph thought of this group of uneducated, uncouth men turning up to coo over the baby we do not know but whilst the shepherds went out and evangelised the whole area with the good news of the birth of the Messiah, Mary treasured up these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2: 19). She didn’t need to tell the world that her baby was the Messiah, the shepherds did that. 

Jesus wasn’t born in a palace in splendour to come and spread beneficence to his lowly subjects. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1: 14). Literally it means the Word tabernacled amongst us – just as God had done with the Israelites in the desert ‘dwelling’ in the midst of the encampment. 

Jesus didn’t come to hob nob with the rich, the famous, the religious. He came and dwelt with ordinary people – shepherds and fishermen, tax collectors and sinners. And he will come and dwell with each one of us – if we will only ask him. Then we will be those ‘on whom his favour rests’ and we will know his peace – ‘the peace that passes all understanding’.

The cost of Christmas

 The birth of Jesus was a shocking event.

Mary, a beautiful virgin betrothed to Joseph, was found to be pregnant before they married. This would have been a major scandal in small town Nazareth. It is hard to realise today just how shameful and disgraceful it was in that culture to be an unmarried mother. 

However the criticism would not just have been reserved for Mary but also for her parents. People would have thought her parents had not brought her up correctly nor had they watched over her. I expect Mum and Dad were hugely disappointed in their daughter. They would have hoped she knew better. Her parents would have greeted with great suspicion the story that she was still a virgin and that this baby was conceived by the Holy Ghost. It was certainly not something to share with the neighbours. That would have added ridicule to condemnation. 

Joseph was also no doubt sceptical about tales of an immaculate conception. In fact he was mindful to divorce Mary quietly to avoid further public humiliation for her until the intervention of the angel. Having confirmed that this baby was indeed conceived by God, Joseph being righteous, married her. This would not have stopped the wagging tongues though. It would just have pulled Joseph into the public disgrace as everyone would have assumed the baby was his. 

Four people would now have been criticised and suffered public humiliation even though no one had done anything wrong. In fact they had been selected for the highest honour of all - being parents and grandparents to the Son of God. Who would believe that? 

I wonder if as Mary and Joseph discussed the upcoming birth they deliberated if they would have to go to Bethlehem. After all that is where the Scriptures said the Messiah would be born. It doesn’t appear so because it took the intervention of an ungodly Roman Emperor to get them to the right place at the right time. They left for the weeklong journey to Bethlehem when Mary was almost full term, not recommended in any culture, let alone one with modest health care facilities. 

I am sure Mary and Joseph were optimistic that God would provide somewhere suitable for the baby to be born. If nothing else, they must have both had extended family in Bethlehem. Perhaps there was no room anywhere because news of the pregnancy outside marriage had gone before them? We can only imagine the disappointment turning to despair when all they were offered was a stable. 

So Mary gave birth to her precious first born, the Son of God, in a stable with the animals. Under any circumstances that is shocking. 

I think it is all too easy to romanticise and sanitise the Christmas story as we lustily sing our favourite Christmas carols. However it is good to remember how much it cost the key players to fulfil their destiny so that God could become Man and live amongst us. 

Today there are many, many Christians suffering for their faith all over the world. For many becoming a Christian can mean being ostracised by their family or even society, losing jobs or access to good education. Just like Mary all those years ago, too many Christians today are treated shockingly. Let’s remember and pray for them as we celebrate again the wonderful Christmas story.

Worth fighting for?

 

As Covid starts to spread through our societies again with yet another variant, I don’t know about you, but I feel disappointed that we are still not through this virus. We seem to get through one phase, optimistic for the future, and then we are knocked back by the latest development. This virus has certainly changed everything in our generation. 

There is hardly a corner of the planet that has not been impacted by it, and every time we think normality is returning, something challenges that. There is a new variant, the vaccines are not proving as effective, we must wear masks, socially distance, in fact everything we hoped we might never have to do again. 

It always reminds me of my parent’s generation who had to fight through the Second World War in the prime of their lives. It must have seemed to them that this War would never end. Instead of getting married and creating a home, starting families and developing their careers, they had to lay aside every personal preference to fight literally for their lives and their nation. For six years, their lives were completely turned upside down and society was never the same again. Whenever I feel like having a little pity party, I remember my parents’ generation having to wave their loved ones off to fight, see their children separated by evacuation, run to the shelter, eat a very limited diet, bath in a puddle and in every way have their personal preferences laid aside. 

I never imagined that at the end of 2021, we would still be battling with virus issues. I hope it won’t take six long years before we overcome this virus or rather it dies its own natural death. But if it is, how will my faith come out of this? 

The nations may be irrevocably changed but our God is unchanging. This last week or so the phrase And He shall reign for ever and ever has been resonating in my spirit. Leaders, kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers, even dictators come and go but our God reigns and he will never be overthrown. He is King of kings and Lord of lords, and he loves us, and has all our best interests at heart – the rich, famous, infamous, poor, extremely poor, displaced, refugee, alien, he desires all should know him. 

 I am challenged today to stop worrying about my discomfort and inconvenience, my change of plans and instead start aligning myself with what God is saying in this day. Are my prayers, service and finances bringing about His plans and purposes? Like a small child crying for the moon because they realise they may not get what they want, can I stop crying for my way of life that may never return but instead realise that God’s plans for my life, your life, the planet is worth fighting for. God is calling his Church to fight to come out of this viral war stronger, more focused on him, better equipped in every way, changed irrevocably for Him.

Making the most of the moment

I have just listened again to the UK Blessing, the wonderful song given to the nation at the height of our first lockdown over a year ago. Surely this song, written by Kari Jobe and others, came from the throne of God to remind us all that in the midst of the pandemic, God is for us and is blessing us.  Many nations blessed their people with this song. 

I realise that every country faced their pandemic differently but I hope these British centred words will apply even to your situation. 

I am still surprised when someone who is a CEO of a large organisation recounts how they had to work from home in 2020 and try and home school their children at the same time. I know people like me had to do this but surely CEOs and other were important people were exempt? Pandemics and lockdowns are great levellers. 

One of the things we learned from that first lockdown was that there were no exceptions for the rich and famous. Everyone from the Queen to the humblest worker had to stay home. We were in this together and as Christians we had to adapt and adapt fast to how to do our lives and Church in a new way. We had to learn quickly that the message of the Gospel was still the same, still relevant, and the hope it brings needed like never before. Whether we met in a church building or online, God was still with us. We all had to learn where our hope was truly based – on Jesus Christ and his promises and not on our own efforts.  

In the UK, we are coming out of the worst of this pandemic and with the vaccine programme in full swing, we are all hopeful that we will not be going back that way again but have we learned the lessons that God was teaching us from the past year? 

Did we make the most of the pandemic and discover that God really is our provider?  Maybe you lost your work, your business or even your home. Has God been faithful?  There is much talk of mental health and how this has been affected. As Christians have we found that God is our strength, our strong tower, our encouragement?   Has our prayer life fundamentally shifted and our relationship with God closer than ever? As we have been unable to meet our family and friends, have we learned to value relationships more than we did before? Maybe you lost a loved one and were unable to be with them at the end, has God been your comfort?

I do hope the answer to these and many other similar questions is ‘Yes’ because as we go forward, it is not going back to the old ways but into a new season, a new era even. None of us knows what that looks like but the lessons learned during the last year are essential for this new day. God is faithful and we are going to have to trust him as never before. 

I have no idea how it’s all going to look a year from now but I believe God wants to do something new and extraordinary, something we haven’t seen before and it will require us to be turned inside out so our worlds can be turned upside down with the presence of Jesus. 

The key now is how to live in this moment well, how to make the most of this time so we can advance and not hanker for the old. If God pours out His Spirit in revolutionary ways are we willing receptors or closed wells? All I can do is keeping pressing in, keeping prioritising my relationship with Jesus and be ready. It will be hard, because unlike lockdowns, the distractions are now great. Already I can feel so many ‘old’ things demanding priority in my life. It’s not that they’re wrong, they just need to take their rightful place.

The question is - have I made the most of the last year so I am ready and willing for the new season ahead? Only you can answer that.