Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

These thoughts were part of a series of Easter reflections prepared for, and by, members of Horley Baptist Church during April 2020. This reflection is based on John 13: 1-5

Do you remember just a few short weeks ago how we used to happily invite our friends and family to our home for a meal? If we were still allowed to do that now I guess we would have to say to our guests as they arrived, “Welcome. Come in. But first make sure you wash your hands for 20 seconds with the antibacterial handwash provided, and then we can enjoy our food and conversation together.” Yet we can’t even do that – how things have changed in just a short time.

However, I doubt if we would ever have to invite them to wash their feet first before starting the meal, and yet this was the accepted behaviour at the time of Jesus. Just to remind ourselves, people in those days wore open sandals and walked for miles along dusty roads, and their tired and dirty feet needed cleansing and refreshing before they could enjoy food and drink with their friends. In the best homes the washing would be done by a lowly servant.

In the above passage, Jesus was meeting with His disciples to have a last meal together with them, which they didn’t know at the time. But He knew that His life on earth would end the following day with His crucifixion, even though afterwards He would be returning to His Father and the glory from which He came. For Him the thought of enduring the crucifixion filled Him with dread but He still had so much to teach them that evening. His teaching centred round love, His love for the disciples, for the world and us, and the disciples’ love for each other. Not long before that they had argued about who was the greatest among them, but Jesus was about to show them that true greatness comes from love and humility as He washed their feet.

You can imagine the surprise and even shock of the disciples as they watched Jesus take a bowl of water and a towel and do the work of a mere servant, washing the feet of each one of them. Even included was His enemy Judas, who was about to go out and betray Him. Jesus, the One who was God before He was born as a human being, was kneeling and washing the dirty feet of people He had created, because He loved them and always would do into eternity. His action was not only an example of love but also a sign of the cleansing that He wanted to give to His disciples and ultimately to us as well. A cleansing that could only come from His sacrifice of death on the cross when He faced separation from His Father, torture and death to cleanse us from our sins.

A few days later He rose to life from the dead as a promise that we have new life through Him. Maybe it’s also a sign that the illness and death from Covid–19 will come to an end by the grace of God. At the present time it may be difficult to show the love we have seen in this passage, but we are doing it by phoning one another, helping the vulnerable by shopping for them, by keeping our distance and not going into anyone else’s home so that the virus has less chance of spreading. I have a feeling that after this is over there will be many other needs, as a result, that we shall have to meet with love. We shall need to surrender ourselves to the Spirit of Jesus so that He may continue to “wash the feet” of others in love through us.
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These thoughts were part of a series of Easter reflections prepared for, and by, members of Horley Baptist Church during April 2020. This reflection is based on Mark 14 v3-9.

Jesus loved to party with His friends. When he was invited to Simon the leper’s house he accepted willingly – after all Simon was a Pharisee (a stickler for the law), all sorts of people would be there too, probably the upper crust of society.

They were all enjoying a good meal when in burst Mary, a woman of ill repute, not your typical church goer. She went right up to Jesus, smashed a very expensive jar of ointment and poured it over Jesus’s head.

She washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. Some people that were there asked why this Jesus, a prophet, mixed with such a woman and what was she doing wasting this expensive oil, it could have been sold and the money used to help the poor.

This woman blessed Jesus where others had neglected Him. Simon had not greeted Jesus properly according to the local customs when He arrived, but this woman had lavished her love on Him. Jesus said her sins were forgiven because she loved much.

Our first ministry is not to the traditions and rules of men,but our allegiance is to Jesus our Lord and Saviour. Jesus is looking for a people who will totally follow Him, out of our commitment to Him comes total obedience. What Mary did was to prepare Jesus for His burial.

What is Jesus asking us to do for Him. You never know where He will lead us. Use us Lord for your glory in whatever way you choose, it may be the most unusual task.

Every blessing to you all this Easter time, not full of bunnies and chicks, but full of the new life that springs eternal through the Holy Spirit. Amen
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These thoughts were part of a series of Easter reflections prepared for, and by, members of Horley Baptist Church during April 2020. This reflection is based on Mark 11: 1 -11.

Imagine yourself as a bystander hearing a terrific ruckus coming down the road -loud shouting and singing! It’s a growing mob of people milling excitedly around this Jesus of Nazareth riding a donkey. Now you can make out what they’re shouting: ‘Hosanna to the son of David! Blessings to the one who comes in the name of the Lord!‘

Someone next to you says, ‘That’s what Zechariah prophesied! He is riding in as king!‘ Sometimes else: ‘The Romans are as good as finished!‘

Do you break away from the spectators and join the wild procession? If you do, you are in for a devastating disappointment! In just a few days, you and this crowd will watch your ‘king’ die a horrible death on a Roman cross. Maybe you should have kept your distance. It was ridiculous in the first place!

Then, a few weeks later, you and many others hear that he is alive again, that somehow, he burst out of his tomb! Another moment of decision, another amazing invitation: now, will I join the celebration? He just may be who he said he was: King of the universe! Even in the face of Covid -19? Yes! Oh, yes!!
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[This Reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 05/Apr/2020]

Below is an excerpt from an online post that spoke to me this week …

“If My people will
1) HUMBLE THEMSELVES AND PRAY,
2) SEEK MY FACE AND
3) TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS”
God promises to heal the land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

‘That tells me we can be out of sync with God in three ways, we may seek and pray but if we don’t TURN, we still haven’t got the message. My growing view and I’m not enjoying it, is that REPENTANCE, turning, is a key issue here in our present situation. We’re praying all right, but turning? The church has the key to this, not the unbeliever.
What if we are in a desperate state before Him, made worse by the fact that we think “we are all right, it’s the others”; what if we cannot see ourselves naked like the King who was in His altogether? What if we are stone deaf to the Holy Spirit? Yes, we are positionally ‘in Christ’, yes, we are the beloved of God. BUT, what if we are immature in the WAYS of God and we have some growing to do – fast.

What if it’s back to basics? What if every Christian asked the Lord to show them where they needed to repent, to turn away from what He didn’t like in their lives – their wicked ways, and sincerely asked how to get into alignment with HIM? Regular confession: keeping short accounts with Him. What if the cumulative effect of unconfessed sin is like one vast landfill site stinking to heaven? Graphic but that’s the picture I got…unconfessed sin, is sin that is unforgiven. He’s not obsessed with it, but it needs acknowledgement and cleansing – it’s the only way we grow beloved. Finding out where we don’t fit with Him, where we are out of sync…could shake us out of our complacency.’

— Beryl Moore, Bible Teacher and Visionary, Sovereign Ministries.

Why did the post speak to me? I think it was the words “My people…” that stood out. This verse is directed at those already in Christ, but I wonder if we sometimes interpret it as “If the world will humble itself and pray, and turn from its wicked ways”. I shared the above with some prayer friends, and below is how one of them responded. He has given me permission to share his response here:

“Lesley, I was thinking about that very passage yesterday, and how it’s hard not to see this situation as punishment/correction. Of course, my main focus was on businessmen, politicians, and basically everyone who doesn’t think like me. So it’s a huge wake up call to read this and remember, it starts with me – I need to humble myself before God again, and ask him to show me where I need to take a log out of my own eye. So, in such a rationalistic age, perhaps even a miraculous end to the virus would soon be explained away. But a changed Christian community might cause more pause for thought. And seeing as we are all scattered servants now, if we allow God to change and remould us in the light of what’s happening, we can let our lights shine to a better way of being.”

So what is my response, your response? I like to think of it like gardening. When I regularly weed my garden, it thrives and the beauty of the good things in it, shine through. But when I leave the weeds to take hold, they choke everything around them, and the garden looks uncared-for, messy, struggling. Can we all ask God each day to show us what needs digging out, so that our lives, our witness, our relationships, our church, our service are a wonderful array of colour and beauty that transforms the world around us?
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[Modified transcript of a midweek message published by Horley Baptist Church on YouTube^[1], April 2020]

Amidst all the change and unknowns, is it possible for us to have hope for the future?

Hi guys, I’m coming to you from my dog walk. I put the kids in front of ‘Frozen II’ and I’ve taken this opportunity to get out and have my one exercise a day and get a bit of fresh air.

In the Old Testament we’re told about a time when the nation of Israel had been defeated, pretty much due to their own disobedience. They were defeated by the great Babylonian Empire and their city was destroyed. They were taken off to Babylon where they were going to live their lives. Their identity had been stolen; they were no longer Jewish in the same sense that they recognized from the past and they’re going to be living out a different life in a strange and foreign land. Some people were really hopeful and said “Don’t worry, this is that it going to be a couple of weeks. God will sort this all out” but the reality was very different. In fact, a whole generation was spent in exile in this strange land and they must have felt completely bereft. They must have been mourning their previous way of life, they must have struggled with their identity about who they were. Maybe they’re asking “God, why has this happened?”

^01:18 Perhaps you’re asking similar sorts of questions at this time of the corona virus, of the COVID-19 pandemic, and maybe you have the same question: “God, why has this happened?” Maybe you’re struggling with some of the questions about “What is the future going to look like?”, “What is our society going to look like?”, “What’s my family going to look like?”, “What is church going to look like?” So many questions about what the future may hold and perhaps for you the future seems pretty bleak and nothing is going to be the same. Is there any hope for the future?

^02:02 For the nation of Israel in that time of change, that time of exile, God gave them these words through the prophet Isaiah: he said “forget the former things, do not dwell on the past, see I am doing a new thing now. It springs up, do you not perceive it? I’m making a way in wilderness and streams in the wastelands”.

^02:36 You see, I believe wholeheartedly that God is here in the midst of this whole situation; despite the darkness, despite the difficulties, despite the challenges and the changes, despite our fears and anxiety. God is with us and the reality is that God is doing something new. Are you able to sense it? Are you able to perceive it? I believe that where there was desert God is bringing life, where there was wasteland and destruction God is building something new. I believe that there is hope for the future and, yes, we may be fearful now, we may be anxious but God is saying “Forget about how things once were; the more you cling on to the past the more anxious you are going to be about the future”.

^03:37 Instead, trust in a God who is going to do something new, something wonderful. I believe that God can make good of any situation, however awful and terrible it might be, and this is an awful and terrible situation, but I believe that God will do something new and something different and something wonderful. God will bring life where there once was death.
So I hope that cheers you up a bit, I hope maybe that relieves some of your fear and anxiety. I hope that maybe that gives you a little bit of excitement about what God might be doing in this new season.

[1] YouTube link: Is There Hope for the Future?
Bible references: Isaiah ch43 v 17-18

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[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 29/Mar/2020]

They say that a week is a long time in politics. The way things are moving with the coronavirus, even a day seems to be a long time. Life is going on, but as Dr Spock said to Captain Kirk, ‘not as we know it’. If there was ever a time to pray for our leaders, now would be it.

There is no shortage of news about the virus. At a time like this, with the fear about the virus so widespread, people are less likely to critically think about the information they get and are more likely to take things at face value. The problem is that there is no filter for some of the information coming through and weird and wacky ways to deal with the virus abound. Some of them are humorous and good for a laugh, others are misleading and could be harmful if followed. Some of the people giving the erroneous advice are actually well meaning, some are reckless, others are mischievous.

I have sometimes wondered why the apostles were very upset about false teachers in the church. They likened them to wolves in sheep’s clothing and were very harsh in some of their pronouncements about them. The current climate makes it easier for me to understand. These people were peddling what could be seen as ‘fake news’ to people who desperately needed to hear the truth. This is not the time for fake news. People need to have clear guidance. They need to trust what is being said about this virus and the guidance on what to do to avoid or mitigate its effects. The government websites are helpful, as is information from reputable sources such as the BBC.

Having said all this, it is also important to remember that though you may not be aware of His presence, God is with us. He has promised never to leave us, nor forsake us. We are confused about things that are happening – let us ask him for wisdom. We are unsettled about how things have changed – let us ask for his peace. I believe that ‘this too will come to pass’, but while we are going through it, let’s ask God what he would have us learn, let’s find out what he would have us say and do, to bring comfort, hope and relief to others.

If it seems a bit dark and gloomy, well, then it is time to let our lights shine. Just in case you think that’s a tall order, this bit from the UCB Word for today might help remind you of who is actually doing the heavy lifting.

“God is either the object of your trust or just a part-time helper you call on when you can’t handle things on your own. It’s reminiscent of the elephant and the mouse that walked over a bridge. When they got to the other side, the mouse said, ‘Man, we really shook that bridge!’ When you begin to see God as playing the major role and you the minor one, you’ll begin to find the peace which has eluded you for so long.”

Have a blessed week.
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