by Barry Pollard
(Based on Luke 4:14-21; Ps 19; 1 Cor 12:12-31)
“The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple,” said the Psalmist in today’s reading.
I would like to start today’s reflection with a shout out to the Aussies! Today is Australia Day. Politics aside, it is a day that, I think, we should all celebrate here in New Zealand. After all, many of us have a great fondness for the Big Country and its inhabitants, so much so that we frequently visit and some of us have lived and worked there and even married one of their citizens!
And, unless you didn’t know it, the Aussies’ affection for us is reciprocal and can be reflected in the fact that even now the Constitution of Australia still allows space for NZ to become an additional member state, should we choose.
Now, perhaps you are unwilling to celebrate, still harbouring some resentment about the infamous underarm bowling incident of 1981. If that is the case, it may be worthwhile starting our reflection with today’s Corinthians reading. I’ll paraphrase verses 12 and 13 to highlight what I mean:
Paul wrote, and we heard: The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptised into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
My version for Australia Day:
The world is made up of many countries, but the many countries make up one whole world. So it is with our Antipodean neighbours. Some of us are Kiwis, some are Aussies, some original inhabitants, and some immigrants. But we have all been joined into one body, Australasia, and we all share the same trans-Tasman spirit.
Apostle Paul would have us see each other as brothers and sisters, interrelated and responsible for each other, unable to function effectively alone. All of us called to contribute our talents, abilities and resources for the good of each other. And what better example from the past do we have than the ANZAC experience. Think about it and focus once again on “the bonds of love” that link us all, Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia, in good times and bad.
“The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple,” said the Psalmist in today’s reading.
There endeth the first lesson!
Let’s now think about today’s Gospel reading:
When I was preparing for the Combined Service at Pepe Reserve at the end of December, I was focussed on our growth during 2025. In relation to Luke’s Gospel account in Chapter 2, of the boy Jesus speaking with the teachers in the temple, I made a statement that Jesus’s family were faithful in the ordinary; keeping to tradition, ceremony and protocol. This example, I believe, is an essential element in establishing any foundation for growth. Our lesson is to not dismiss the things of our faith as ritualistic, tethering or unimportant. Partaking of them regularly helps us to refocus and refresh. An obvious example for me would be Communion. I can’t tell you the number of times I have come to church with less than 100% willingness and attention, partaken of the bread and wine and felt an uplifting spiritual and physical change!
Why do you think that happens? Why do we benefit from what we do week after week?
One commentator on this week’s reading offered this:
“There is power in ritual; there is presence in repeated action, in habits that build up. We often talk about habits as bad things, things we need to curtail or quit. But there can be good habits too, holy habits, we might call them. Certainly, attending gathered weekly worship is one of those habits to celebrate.
“We might give some attention to the why of worship this week as we understand that Jesus attended prayers in the synagogue as a habit.
Why do we gather for worship when we can worship on our own?
When we do gather, why do we pray prayers of confession?
Why do we pray prayers of intercession?
Why do we sing?
Why is there preaching and reading of Scripture?
“All these things that we have done out of habit are good things, but they should not be unthinking things. We need to remember why we do what we do.
“One reason for reflecting on practice is so that we can tell the story when we invite others to join us. Adding some depth to the practices can help us converse with those who are unfamiliar with what we do. We are working on our testimony as we examine the meaning behind the practices of our faith.
“Let our worship develop holy habits so that we, too, can gather — as is our custom.”
Today’s Gospel follows on from the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. It gives us the first insight into the Messiah’s real ministry. We are told that Jesus headed into the synagogues and town centres. Word spread, and the early reports were positive. Everyone spoke well of him. He taught something different, something new but old at the same time. He taught ancient truths in a new language, with authority. He spoke plainly, but he told the stories; he offered a simple truth but drew it in pictures that seemed familiar to everyone.
On this occasion he went into the synagogue where he had sat as a boy in Sabbath school, reciting lines and repeating answers to old questions and maybe asking questions now and again. They had gotten the news; his reputation preceded him. He was invited to teach. Called to the front, he was handed the scroll — Isaiah, the biggest one, the heaviest one. He was told to read. So he found his place and began to read. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.”
Never having attended a Jewish service, I don’t know how much was expected to be read, but Jesus read only two verses, rolled up the scroll, handed it to the attendant and sat down. He wasn’t finished. Rabbis taught sitting down. They stood to read out of respect for the Word, but then sat to explain and expound and apply. The people would have been anticipating the teaching when Jesus sat down. But all they got was an eleven-word sermon: “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”
The Messiah’s real ministry had just been laid out for them: priorities, core values, the mission statement. Simple and laid out for all.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
and that the time of the Lord’s favour has come.”
Jesus was “the Lord’s favour”!
But what has it got to do with us?
By seeking after Jesus we have signed up for something bigger than many of us know. We have heard his Good News; we claim to be his followers. You, like me, may be afraid you’re not up to it, but the Good News involves us. It is about us loving as he loved, loving enough to make a difference in the world, not just in us but in the world. It is about us getting closer to Jesus, closer to being like Him.
So how do we get closer to being like Jesus? How do we get closer to loving as he does? We make it a habit. “He went as usual to the synagogue,” Luke tells us, as was his custom. It is just what he did. To quote an earlier phrase, it was a “holy habit”. And this is my point; maybe we can overcome our fears and reservations about following Jesus if what we do just becomes a holy habit. We don’t have to constantly stop and evaluate, to ask, “Is this, or that, for me?” We should follow. We should just do – as is our custom.
My commentator said earlier, “We might give some attention to the why of worship.” And this is vital. If our understanding of Scripture is clear, our understanding of how we are applying it in our lives is clear.
I mentioned Communion before. To provide more context, Chapter 2 of Acts describes how the believers formed a community (a holy Christian community, a church). Luke’s description in verse 42 says, “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.”
There was no prescription as to how this had to be done. Instead, it was left to the believers to sort out. There was no right way or wrong way. If you read on you will find that some believers went house to house sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), meaning that daily they repeatedly partook of the bread and wine.
Keri and I have been blessed to have travelled to many towns and cities. On our trips we try to attend Sunday worship if we can. Not many of the churches we have attended have been Anglican but wherever we have been we have worshipped with like-minded Christians, broken the bread according to their traditions and experienced the same restorative joy and peace that we experience here. We have never come away from a service thinking, “They didn’t do that right”!Their tradition, their custom, is as valid as ours. And the fact that it is carried out in a similar fashion, on a regular basis, is one of those elements that is foundational to their faith. It is one of those elements that allows them, like us, to grow in other areas of faith.
Parents, consider how your babies grew. Well before they were able to make conscious decisions, they adapted their behaviour to suit their environment. As the spoon of nourishment approached the infant in the high chair, the subtle signals of catchy rhymes, smiling faces, and encouraging gestures triggered the opening of the mouth to receive the offering. Well, usually!
Those regularly experienced behaviours around feeding lead to good nourishment and growth! And those regularly experienced behaviours around faith lead to God’s good nourishment and our growth.
“The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple,” said the Psalmist in today’s reading.
This verse stood out to me when I first approached the readings for today. For the record, I admit that in most things I am simple. Despite that, I have come to understand that the decrees of the Lord are trustworthy. Because I am simple, I see the decrees as all the things that Scripture shows and teaches us. Some might see them as truths.
A few months ago I spoke on the greatest commandments, which I hope you remember as “to love God with all our heart, mind and soul; and to love our neighbours as we love ourselves”. If everything we did conformed to these decrees our world would be a very different place, don’t you think?
God’s decrees are trustworthy. We can believe that they have been designed for our good, not for our harm. We can believe that they transform us. They will help us to grow.
If we acknowledge and trust in what God is saying to us, in Scripture and through prayer, we are showing how we are growing in wisdom. If God’s plans for us are good, and we follow them, our lives will be good. The Lord is trustworthy, and following all that he offers makes even us simple folk a little wiser!
Father of all,
Your Son brought good news to the despairing,
freedom to the oppressed
and joy to the sad.
Fill us with your Spirit,
that we may grow more like him
and glorify your name.
This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
stfrancischurchtairuanz 