The human example...

The text this week, Philippians 2: 5-11, is an intriguing journey into the mind of Christ. God and man. The culmination of his obedience. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran theologian who was executed by the Nazis toward the end of World War 2 made this observation in his writings which I believe touches the very point that Paul is making here in the text.


The church is the church only when it exists for others...The church must share in the secular problems of ordinary human life, not dominating, but helping and serving...It must not underestimate the importance of human example which has its origin in the humanity of Jesus.

God...Paul...and Mick Dundee

In the movie, 'Crocodile Dundee', as the reporter is interviewing Mick Dundee about his experience when grabbed by a crocodile they have this exchange:

Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: Of course it took me a week to crawl this far. I thought I was a goner. I said to meself, "Mick old son, find yourself a nice comfortable spot and lay down and die".
Sue Charlton: Weren't you afraid?
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: Of dying? Nah. I read The Bible once. You know God and Jesus and all them apostles? They were all fishermen, just like me. Yeah, straight to heaven for Mick Dundee. Yep, me and God, we'd be mates.

"Yep, me and God, we'd be mates."

In 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 would take these words of Mick Dundee a step further and say:

"Yep, me and God, we are mates."

...and not only 'mates', but the very embodiment of God's righteousness.  That is to say, God's right relationship with his creation finds full expression in you and in your life.  Heavy duty stuff to say the least. 

Which leads to another interesting dialogue possibility...

Imagine some of your friends discussing what is the difference between God and you, or Jesus and you. Paul would hope that the answer to that question is that there is no difference. Our lives, words, attitudes, actions and very being are the active physical presence of God's divine grace and the living presence of Jesus in the world.  Very often the only Christ that most people will experience will be you and the only time they see God or experience his presence in their lives will be in you.

A desert strewn with corpses...

Now that's not the sort of phrase one would associate with faith, grace and salvation, and yet Paul uses just this sort of imagery as he addresses the Christians in the church at Corinth. In 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 he presents us with very vivid imagery based on the Exodus story to remind us that we can not take the gifts of grace and salvation for granted. As he warns in verse 12:

If you think you are standing firm you had better be careful that you do not fall.

Good thing to keep in mind, don't you think?

You are not what you appear to be!

In 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2, Paul makes some bold statements about Christians and the church. He speaks of how we "reflect the glory of the Lord' and how the Spirit "transforms us into his likeness in an even greater degree of glory'. Neat statements. But isn't this the congregation that has brought Paul to tears with its rebellion, immorality, false teaching, and misuse and abuse of the spiritual gifts? Isn't this the church that is divided and filled with squabbling and in-fighting and self-righteous judging of others? So what gives?

When Paul claims that the church is being transformed, he is basing his statement and belief not in the individual's or the church community's ability to change itself, but in God's power at work in them through the Holy Spirit.  It's a great picture and an even better reminder.

You may not be the perfect Christian reflecting the glory of God. Your church may not be the perfect community of love and compassion, but God has not abandoned us. His Spirit is working within you and me...and most certainly within the struggling church.

Love is...

1 Corinthians 13 is our text this week. A popular choice for weddings. You will find portions of it on greeting cards and inspirational posters. It was the basis for a series of cute "Love is..." cards and knick-knacks years ago that showed a boy and girl standing shyly either side of some saying like "Love is...bringing them breakfast in bed." or some such.  The truth about what Paul is saying here is tougher. This love is not much about emotion and cute. It's about patient endurance in the face of stupidity and meanness. It's about forgiveness and compassion in the face of hurt and harm. The love he speaks about comes from a decision of the will to love...not a heartfelt gush of warm emotion. Remember Paul's model for love at all times is Jesus. A love that sacrificed itself even for its very enemies. A love that called both hypocrites and followers to account. A love that sought only to do the will of God and not the pleasure of the people around. This love is hard and tough, but essential. To state simply what Paul is saying here...Anything undertaken without love is worthless, pointless and useless. 

Got that?  Then keep it in mind.

All that we need is a bit of a mess!??!!

Reading and reflecting on 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 this past week has been particularly personal as it speaks with a greater clarity into my current pastoral work here in the Illawarra and Southcoast region of New South Wales. In a parish that has seen significant decline over the years in terms of people and finances, there has grown almost an acceptance that we are on the way out. You could almost say there is a sense of resignation. Accepting the inevitable.  The reasoning behind this...the majority of the active membership are old. (and by old I mean that at 60 years of age I am one of the younger members here) Since the society at large considers them of little value, they have begun to see themselves in the same light. The words of Paul speak directly to this.  At the beginning of his letter to the Corinthians he reminds us that we are not lacking any spiritual blessing (that is needed) (1 Corinthians 1:7). Here in chapter 12 he reminds us that the gifts are apportioned in such way that the community is built up.  Another way of reminding us that we still have all that we need. My reading lead me to the writing of Mary Hinkle Shore on the Working Preacher website. She posed a couple of questions and another thought that is stirring me.  Here they are:

How do people know we are "Church"? 

A big question to ask, especially if you are a church like we are here in the Illawarra. Our foundational work of welcoming the early European migrants of Lutheran background to this area is long since finished. Which leads to the next question:

What is God doing in this place?  (and I would add "now"!)

Another big question and a struggle to identify what God is doing when it seems no matter which direction you look the view is one of decline and growing irrelevancy.  Still God is doing something here. Why else would he have given spiritual gifts to the people who are part of this faith community?  So it is one that needs to be wrestled with.

One final thought....to help keep the focus:

Whatever God's Spirit is doing, it will probably not be characterized by tidiness. When you are looking for the Spirit's gifts, look for a bit of a mess.

Enemies, foreigners and border crossings...

Acts 8:14-17 is an interesting and unusual passage. Unusual because it seems to be such a short reading that has been lifted completely out of its context. On the other hand, it's brevity forces the reader to focus on what the text is saying or not saying which makes it interesting...or at least I found it interesting.

For me, the obvious question is why didn't the Samaritans receive the Holy Spirit with baptism. We are told that they received the word of God and been baptized in the name of Jesus. Why was it that the Spirit was withheld?  This is made the more intriguing when you remember that when Peter went to Cornelius' house, there God poured out the Spirit before anyone was baptized.  So what gives?

Well, I agree with Gerhard Krodel who wrote:
"The anomaly of a separation of Baptism from the gift of the Holy Spirit occurred (verse 16) so that the representatives of the apostles would experience the breakdown of the barrier between believing Jews and believing Samaritans."

Put simply, the reason God made it necessary for the apostle's to go to Samaria and check out the stories of the Samaritan baptisms and be personally involved in the Samaritans reception of the Holy Spirit was so that they (the apostles) would get the message that God could and would work outside the boundaries and limits that we human beings would like to impose on one another and on God. Those who had been enemies were now not just friends, but family, brothers and sisters in Christ. That would have shaken things up a bit.

I also like the idea that the apostles had to cross the border, leaving behind the comforts of Judea and Jerusalem, to enter Samaria and face all their preconceived ideas regarding God, cleanliness, religion and society.  Not a comfortable journey, I am sure.

Both of these points raise some legitimate questions for us today. What limits do we place on God? On his good news?  What boundaries do we need to cross to reach others with the grace and love of God? Is God once again demonstrating that he will work as he wills and not according to our expectations of him?