All Things Seen & Unseen

The hope-filled words above come from Isaiah 40.1 with the immediate context being Isaiah 40.1-11 and the larger backdrop, the first 39 chapters of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter one speaks of the spiritual degradation into which Judah (the Southern Kingdom of the former Kingdom United under Saul, David and Solomon) has fallen (e.g., Isa 1.2-9).  It is now a rebellious people (Isa 1.2), contaminated by gross iniquity (Isa 1.10-31) ripe for judgement which was about to break upon it in the Babylonian Captivity (Isa 39.6). It was first attacked in 606BC, then again in 597 and finally 586BC saw its final demise (see here ).

The 31st October is the day that some celebrate as Reformation Day! What is Reformation Day? It's the day that Protestants celebrate Martin Luther's (1483-1546) sending 95 Theses complaining about the selling of 'indulgences' in his parish to the  Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeberg.   Some believe that he nailed the Theses (in Latin) to the door of the church at Wittenberg , October the 31st, at 2 pm 1517 . This action signalled the beginning of a mighty 'protest' across nations against the Papal church's teachings on indulgences and the spiritual supremacy of the Pope as the (Western) Church's leader. What were Indulgences? The Roman clergy were authorised to absolve the guilt of contrite sinners (based on Jn 20.23). But according to Romanist theology, absolution did not mean that the threat of punishment was removed. Therefore, indulgences would be bought as penances for the punishments of sins committed. In Luther's time Johan...

The Character of the Messiah (Christ) In the second part of Matthew 22.34-46 Jesus asks them a question. It's an important question because it relates directly to the matters raised in the first question-and-answer section found in an earlier post which indirectly brings up the issue of what can be done about our failure to keep the Law. Jesus takes his turn to ask them a question in line with the rules of formal debate of that time between disputants. He asks questions about the Messiah (Christ).  Is the Messiah just a man or more than a man? This issue is the one on which Jesus is concerned to concentrate with them. Whose son is He? Jesus asks.  To which they reply, 'the son of David'. Jesus draws their attention to Psalm 110.1 in which David says: The Lord (Jehovah) said to my Lord (the Messiah), 'Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.' Jesus presses his point, 'If David calls the Messiah 'Lord' how can the ...

The Scripture reading set down in the Common Lectionary for last Sunday (26th October) was from Matthew 22.34-46. 1 The Content of the Law The Pharisees yet again try to 'tempt' or test (Lit. Version) Jesus with a question: which is the greatest commandment in the law? Jesus says, 'The first and greatest commandment is: 'Thou [singular, 'you'] shalt love the Lord with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind'. And a second is like it, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself'. The law contained (reportedly) 613 laws and ordinances and I suspect that Jesus' answer (from Deut 6.5 and Lev 19.8) and the authoritative way in which he gave it stunned them into silence. The Purpose of the Law But given that the law's content is summed up in these two commandments, what is the character/purpose of the law? First, no one is able to keep the law. In respect of the great and first commandment, all are guilty ...

'That's just your opinion! Where's your proof!'  How often are we confronted with this retort with regard to our confession of the Christian Trinitarian Faith! And of course, such retorts imply that the proofs ought to be logical, or empirical ones.  This position ignores the fact that most of what we know, we know on the basis of authority! Someone or some group (parents, family, friends, the media, 'science', etc.) has told us what we now believe and know. The scene alluded to in this post title comes from the aftermath of Jesus' teaching ministry in Samaria (see John 4.42). At first, the Samaritans had believed the testimony of the woman who had met Jesus at Jacob's Well.  But at the end of Jesus' time with them, they now have heard for themselves and say, 'we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world' (Jn 4.42, kjv). Whatever divinity belief a person, group or community holds, implicitly each knows and t...

Of all the sections in the fourth gospel account (FGA) Jesus' discourse with the Samaritan woman (Jn 4.7-26) fascinates me the most. I t's loaded with material that could keep any teacher at work in any interested group for a good while. The discourse has 3 stages: first, water (vv7-15); then, her ' husband ' (16-19); finally the worship place (20-26). The gospel's question is, Who is Jesus ? The writer focuses on her answers to this question as in each section her understanding becomes greater.

Like just about everything to do with the Scriptures, debate occurs about what the 'signs' in the fourth gospel account (FGA) 1 are and even how many there might be.  I've decided that it's better to adopt a seven-sign approach (see next paragraph) and understand them as beginning with the water into wine, then the nobleman's servant, the paralytic man at Bethesda, the feeding of the 5000, Jesus walking on water, the man born blind healed, and the raising of Lazarus. And why be restricted to seven you might be asking? Seven (7) is a highly significant number in the scriptures  as in Genesis 1, the Pentateuch, the prophets, the Book of the Revelation here , and in the FGA, here .  Let's look at the beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee.

The fourth gospel account (FGA), traditionally known as 'the gospel according to John', is like the other gospel accounts with interrelated purposes 1 and intentions.  The most obvious purpose in the FGA is the evangelistic aim stated in John 20.30f. The context of these words is the occasion in which the risen Lord confronts Thomas, one of the 12 disciples, with his unbelief about His resurrection. 

In my last post about the charity collector, I mentioned something of importance that I would like now to talk about further. Using My Story With Apologies I enter the realm of personal experience hesitantly, knowing that it is open misunderstanding. (At least one good friend of mine doubts whether I actually know the Lord even now simply because my experience is different from that of others!)

I was speaking with one of the mall charity collectors at our local shopping centre who frequently buttonhole shoppers with pleas to sign up for contributions to all manner of causes.  We got onto the topic of belief in Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Who did she think He was? After the collector told me that she wasn't a Christian, she also told me that all religions were the same because they all have a belief in one supreme god.

The title of this post takes its cue from a book written by Tom Smail (1928-2012) on the first person in the Trinity, God the Father, a study, which I heartily recommend. Smail had a Church of Scotland background but later entered the Anglican ordained ministry; he was evangelical, and charismatic (but with reservations later in his career ) in churchmanship. He was a learned theologian and a godly man who wrote with care about church teachings-practices which he believed were becoming lopsided in emphasis.

'Then the preacher said the most provocative words that church congregations need to hear and act on today. The most significant piece of 'furniture' or fitting in this building are :   the doors through which you will all leave at the end of this service and go out into the world.' I ended with the above words in my last post. I'm a bit crabby at the moment. Yes, I know, good Christians are not supposed to get irritable , fractious , fretful , cross , petulant , pettish , crabbed , crotchety , cantankerous , disagreeable , miserable , morose , peppery ,  edgy , impatient , querulous ; etc but I am.  I think my crabbiness has to do with the fact that the visible, institutional church doesn't get it! But then I have to remember that for many years I didn't get it either until a rude, Dutchman woke me up out of my dogmatic slumber.  So I have nothing to boast about. None of us does. The church is in such a parlous condition in Australia that none...

A church minister recently related this experience. He said, he heard another church minister ask his congregation, 'What is the most important piece of furniture in the church building?' You might think, the questioner went on, that it's the church's lectern because it's the place where the holy Scriptures are read.  But you'd be wrong. You might think, he continued, that it's the pulpit where the Word of God is preached or the Lord's table from where the 'spiritual body' and 'spiritual blood' of our Saviour are dispensed. But, you'd be wrong. By now, the whole congregation is wondering where is all this going? What could be more significant than any of these items that have been mentioned?