A Lenten Reflection

by Megan Means

(Based on Ps 51:1-12)

Psalm 51 was written after King David’s transgressions in the taking of Bathsheba and sending her husband and his soldiers to die in frontline of the battle.
So, how many notable mistakes might we have made this week and even this morning?! Anyone make a really big mistake and want to confess?
We are in the best place to do this.

I had a gut wrenching incident at the beginning of Lent. It took me low and I had to work through it. It happened on a Thursday, so I had to carry it until Monday! My principle was ok, in my opinion, but not so much the opportunity I took to deliver it. I took my time with careful consideration about why I was attempting to do this, as it was an opportunity to be heard and it was for the persons concerned to understand that things are not the way they talk about them. Also I was really aware of who I was doing this for, which was not myself.
I felt as if I was a plant that had been cut down.
My apologies followed and it all worked out, with some slight improvements. However I gave myself quite a reflective jolt that I had not anticipated; but that can happen in the life of emails!

I guess I was spitting out to myself “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me”, just like David. Psalm 51 is an individual lament in which there is a single psalmist voice speaking about a man who is crying out to God for deliverance from what he felt was a life-threatening situation.
The Psalmist records David’s confession of his sin and his pleas to God to have mercy, to ‘blot me out, to wash and cleanse me’ from “my transgressions”, “iniquity”, and “sin”. David had made a big mistake against God and against humanity. Against his family, friends, staff, and community.

The root meaning of transgression is ‘to go against, to rebel’, iniquity means ‘to bend, to twist’, and sin means ‘to miss a mark’. They are all words that really acknowledge the gravity of a situation and are well suited for us all to contemplate in this Lenten season.

And while we are on mistakes, there’s a big theological misinterpretation in this psalm. This is one of the most misinterpreted verses in the Old Testament, in my and many scholars’ opinion. David is in the depths of remorse, absolutely gutted, and he is personally declaring that his ‘missing the mark’ feels as though it is all part and parcel of his conception and birth, since he did something so wrong!
Many interpreters have understood and used these words to reflect the concept of ‘original sin’, a depraved nature that is intrinsic to every human being, which was passed down to us by the first human pair. Of course, you will have your own theological understanding and may very well hold to the ‘original sin’ doctrine (formed by Augustine of Hippo in the third century). However, a more plausible interpretation, is that within the psalm it is expressing with these words the all-encompassing quality and quantity of the guilt that accompanied David’s sense of wrongdoing.

Yet the psalm, rather than dwelling on transgression, guilt and wrongdoings, turns its focus towards a God who delights in truth, who bestows wisdom and seeks the creation of a clean heart, with a right spirit placed within. Out of the depths of total remorse, David longs to be forgiven in some way and to hear joy and gladness and be able to rejoice and be renewed.



Consequently he requests a few things of God to assist in his renewal:

David longs for inward purity with a clean heart, with pure thoughts, pure emotions, and pure motives. He wants to gain a deeper strength of character. David has felt some of his weaknesses and vulnerability and wants to be strengthened so that he might be established in the ways of righteousness. He desires to be blessed and he knows that this type joy and happiness can only be experienced from being in fellowship with God. He wants to be restored knowing the joy of God’s salvation and he finally desires to be sustained in his walk with God, with a strong desire to do things the right way.

With these requests, then, he commits himself to a life of service and, eventually, he gains an interest in the people around him. David becomes willing to move beyond his own problems towards thinking of others. Sometimes our wrongs paralyse and consume us. We don’t want to think of others, we just want to lick our own wounds and sink into ‘woe is me’. I know in my experience that it really took an effort to concentrate on the meetings with others, before Monday finally arrived.

David experienced that with forgiveness there was a restoration to usefulness again. David believed God and accepted that he was forgiven, and could then turn his mind to others’ needs.

Likewise, the season of Lent is about attending to what needs to be done and reflecting on past experiences. Some mistakes may have been committed against God, against humanity, against our family, friends and community. Lent is a time to be honest with ourselves, access what changes need to happen in our own lives, try to make our world a better place and to stretch and grow spiritually. Lent is meant to be a time out of time; a piece of life dedicated to rethinking. It’s time to ask where we were last year at this time and where we are now. Or, most of all, where we want to be? And what do we need to do to get there? Lent calls us to take the space and time we need to make the changes in life that we need. It’s about plotting our own renewal into a more placid, a more regular, a less hectic self. It’s about sinking into the kind of personal reflection that brings us to confront the self for which we seek. Lent is not a spiritual competition, a kind of ‘no pain, no gain’ exercise of the soul. Lent is the time to renew the best in us. It is a summons to live anew and be refreshed.

The process that David followed in Ps 51 aligns well with a Lenten season and it is also the liturgical process we follow every communion service. David sinned big, repented big, and the Bible remembers him (in 1 Samuel 13 and Acts 13) as “a man after God’s own heart”.
Our mistakes may not be as public as David’s, but we all fall short of living well, in the steadfast love and mercy of God.

David of ancient Israel petitioned for the creation of a pure heart, and the renewal of a right spirit within himself. If these words were fitting for him then, then they are just as fitting for us in this twenty-first century.

[Editor: Megan has asked that the intercessory prayer from the Lenten service at which she delivered this reflection accompany this post. The script of that prayer follows …]

Jesus Evicts ‘Business-as-usual’

by Pat Lee

(Based on John 2:13-22; 1Corinthians1:18-25)

John, in this Gospel, records the event we’ve just heard after the wedding at Cana, where Jesus turned the water into wine, and just before Passover. But Matthew, Mark and Luke record the same event as happening closer to the crucifixion, apparently the final public act of Jesus in these three Gospels, and the ‘last straw’ for the authorities in making the decision to kill Jesus.
However, the final decision to kill Jesus in John’s gospel comes after the raising of Lazarus from death, so there seems to be a difference of opinion about the timing of these events. We are not told which is right … but they do confirm that the clearing of the temple happened, and when is not important in this reflection.

I make no apology for using an extract from a reflection (written by a Michael K. Marsh), because I think he sees more in this event than most of us have thought about before.

The author writes, “What do you think of the table-turning, animal-driving, whip-carrying Jesus? What do you imagine set him off that day? And what do we do with this story?
There was a time when I heard this story as being mostly about anger. Jesus got angry. I get angry. So it’s ok to get angry if you’re angry about the right thing. Maybe, but I think there is more to this story than that. I wonder if what we see Jesus doing might not be an expression of his deepest compassion for life, for the temple, for you and  for me.
There was a time when I thought Jesus was upset about the animals and the money changers being in the temple. Maybe, but again I think there is more to this story than that. I don’t think Jesus was surprised by the animals and the money changers. He grew up as a faithful Jew going to the temple. He didn’t show up this day and say, ‘Wow! There are animals and money changers in here. I didn’t know that. This is wrong.’
The animals and the money changers had always been there. ‘Business as usual’ meant changing Roman coins to temple coins, purchasing an animal, and offering a sacrifice. I think the ‘business as usual’ is the issue. The animals and the money changers are not the problem. They are the symptom that something else is going on.

“I think that Jesus went to the temple that day for one purpose and one intention: to throw out and overturn business-as-usual.
There are times when we need the tables of our lives overturned and the animals thrown out. It’s just so easy to fall into the trap of business as usual.

“Haven’t there been times in your life that business as usual was leaving you spiritually bankrupt, or you were just keeping on keeping on but nothing was changing? Business as usual can happen in friendships, marriages, parenting, work, or church.
There are many reasons and ways in which we fall into business as usual. There’s one thing, however, that I keep coming back to. Forgetfulness. Business as usual is born of forgetfulness.
It happens every time we forget the original beauty of creation, when we forget the God-given dignity of humanity, ours and others, when we forget that we have been created in the image and likeness of God, when we forget that after creation ‘God saw everything that he had made was very good,’ when we forget the grace and possibilities bestowed upon us at our baptisms, when we forget that ‘the Word became flesh and lived among us’, and when we forget that we have all received grace upon grace.

“When we forget that we are the temple of God, the very residence of God, life can easily become a series of transactions. Relationships and intimacy are lost. Priorities get rearranged. Making a living replaces living a life, and the life we have becomes a marketplace rather than a place for meeting the holy in ourselves and one another.

“That’s what Jesus is overturning and driving out of the temple. Here’s why I say that. When the authorities ask for a sign from Jesus for what he is doing he says, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’” [End of Marsh’s excerpt.]

The authorities don’t understand. They are thinking of a stone and mortar temple, but Jesus is talking about a flesh and blood temple, the temple of human life, his life. ‘In three days’ makes us think of what happened ‘on the third day’, the resurrection, a new life, a new beginning, a rebirth.
We have the benefit of knowing from God’s word that this story is prophetic, and came true, but the disciples didn’t know that at the time this event was happening.

The authorities, who were considered to be the wise ones of the time, were confused by Jesus’s words. The reading in 1 Cor 1:18 says, “For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” And that is exactly what Jesus did when the authorities asked him for a sign.
The disciples didn’t understand either, at first. It wasn’t until after the resurrection that they remembered what he had told them would happen, when he had said the words, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then they believed the Scripture, and the words that Jesus had spoken.

Do you believe the words that Jesus spoke?

 Last week we looked at the story of the transfiguration. God spoke from the cloud saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.”
We need to believe the Scriptures ourselves, and listen to what Jesus is saying to us.

He Came Down

by Joan Fanshawe

(Based on Mark 9:2-9; Gen 17:1-7, 15-16)

In the 21st Century, when we like to think there’s a scientific explanation for everything, it’s hard to even imagine the fantastical experience recounted in today’s Gospel reading, let alone incorporate it into our faith experience. For the followers of Jesus, familiar as they would have been with their Jewish history, this also was not at all a commonplace experience, but extremely significant, relating to mountain top experiences recorded in their Scriptures about both Elijah and Moses.
Like Peter, I would have been terrified and wouldn’t have known what to say. In his amazement at the scene before him Peter babbles about building a shelter for each one. Most commentators come down hard on that, which seems a bit harsh, but in Mark’s gospel there are several instances where the disciples are mentioned as ‘not getting it’. Rather like us too, and we have the benefit of hindsight.   For myself, 2000 years later, I hardly know what to say now about this extraordinary mountain top scenario, where in the midst of a swirling cloud the words ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’ are spoken. The same words heard at the time Jesus was baptised by John are heard again.

When we met for our Lent reflection last Wednesday, we read this Gospel passage, sat with it, heard it again, then, using a process called Lectio Divina ….. each one of us in turn spoke a word or a phrase that had stood out for us in the reading.
The words that came up included “He did not know what to say”, “This is my son, the Beloved”, “only Jesus”, “up a high mountain”, and “listen to him”. After we had heard the verses read again, we gave thanks for God’s presence with us made known through Jesus who ‘came back down’.

This story, like so many stories in the gospels, is easier to describe than to explain and I’m not going to analyse it – but after reading several commentaries I’m happy to share these thoughts which are prompted by the final verse:
“As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.”

I found David Lose, a senior Lutheran pastor in America, was also wrestling with this Transfiguration passage along with how to explain the Creed to his young confirmation class. What David thinks is so significant about this little verse, and so easy to overlook, is simply that it reports that after all of what occurred on the mountaintop … Jesus came back down. Down to where the rest of the disciples are, down to where we are, down to the challenges of life ‘here below’, down to the problems and discomforts and discouragements that are part and parcel of our life in this world.

Down … to his crucifixion.

Jesus orders them not to tell anyone “until after the Son of Man has risen from the dead”. Resurrection, of course, is a hopeful note. However, it does not just imply, but pretty much necessitates, death!

Jesus came down. Only Jesus. The beloved son – listen to him.

David Lose continues: “This is also the heart of the Christian faith. God in Christ came down to be with us and for us, to take on our human life, that we might not simply exist, but flourish, not simply have life, but have it abundantly.
“That we might understand that the God who created and still sustains the vast cosmos, not only knows that we exist, but cares. Cares about our ups and downs, cares about our hopes and disappointments, cares about our dreams and despair, cares about all the things we care about, promising to be with us, to walk alongside us, to never, ever let us go, and in time to redeem us and bring us into the company of saints.”

“This is my Son the Beloved – listen to him” – this message is for us today as well.

Jesus came back down that mountain to continue telling and demonstrating his message of God’s care for all people, and like Abraham, another extraordinary story … we can have faith that even in the long view, in all the ups and downs of life, God is with us.

Let us pray:
Jesus said, ‘You ought always to pray and not to faint.’
So we do not pray for easy lives;
we pray to be stronger women and men.
And we do not pray for tasks equal to our powers,
but for power equal to our tasks.
Then, the doing of our work will be no miracle –
we will be the miracle.
Then every day, whatever that day brings,
may we wonder at ourselves, and the richness of life
which has come to us by the grace of God.

Amen.

(Prayer written by Julia Esquivel)

The Joys of Lent

by Barry Pollard

(Based on Mark 1:9-15; Ps 25:1-9; 1 Pet 3:18-22)

On Lent, one source explained that, “Lent is typically observed with solemnity and preparation for commemorating Jesus’s death and resurrection at Easter. From Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday, it has been customary to fast or abstain from something. Much like how we prepare for significant events in our personal lives, such as weddings or birthdays, Lent calls for us to ready our minds and hearts to remember the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.”

If you have come from a background like mine, you might have already started some sort of Lenten fast. It was traditionally a time, growing up in the Catholic Church, when we ‘gave up’ something for Lent. I think my Mum’s perennial was biscuits and cakes. As kids we seemed always to be in a Lenten fast, as these were always in strict and limited supply!

From a child’s perspective, Lent fasting was a bit like ‘Offer it up for the Holy Souls’. It always sounded like an important and lofty thing to do. But we really had no grasp of what any of it was all about. And now, I have to admit to confusion as I read the explanations and machinations to make Lent into a ‘thing’.

I get it that Easter is coming but I have difficulty with prolonged periods of sombreness and people walking around with set faces. As Christians we know the joy of a risen Christ. Resurrection Sunday is a most joyous occasion. Scripture and our reflective Good Friday service bring home starkly the harsh reality of the crucifixion of Jesus, making that resurrection joy even more joyous! So much joy! So much joy!

“Lent calls for us to ready our minds and hearts to remember the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.”
I am sure that we are ready.

So, based on our Lenten readings, I have chosen to make the focus ‘the takeaways’ that might bring us, and others, foretastes of that Easter joy throughout Lent. I would like to steer us away from maudlin behaviour and sad faces. Lent can be just as meaningful with a positive outlook!

Let’s begin . . .

Today’s Gospel is a three-parter for me. I consider Mark’s style focussed and concise. Seven verses cover the baptism of Jesus, a forty day wilderness experience and a trip to Galilee to announce the start of his public ministry. Short as it is, it contains some very important waypoints for us.

Part One:
At the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit splits the heavens to descend like a dove and hover above Him. And then Father God speaks directly to Jesus to tell Him he is a dearly loved Son who brings his Father great joy!
Comparing this brief account to that from Matthew’s Gospel, missing are the conversations between John the Baptist and Jesus, the scene-setting narrative. Mark gives us the bare facts.

Not many of us can remember our own baptisms but most of us have witnessed those of children, siblings and extended church family. I’d like to think that at our baptisms, God announced to the heavenly realms the same message: that each of us is acknowledged as one of God’s children, and that each of us is dearly loved, and we each bring joy to the Father. What a great start to our faith walk. What reassurance that surely must be.

Of course, I am not trying to mislead you that you are on par with Jesus, up there with him, but we know that we are given right standing with God through him. I do think that God is thrilled to have us join his Kingdom and endeavour to live Christ-like lives. Thrilled to the point of adoption!

And be reminded: Jesus, who knew no sin, stood in the Jordan River to show that he, like us, is called to repent and turn to God, to “carry out all that God requires”, according to Matthew’s version.

Part Two:
Following his baptism, according to Mark, Jesus was compelled by the Holy Spirit to go into the wilderness. Here he was tempted by Satan and in danger from wild animals. But holy angels took care of him. Are you wondering what he was tempted with? Are you wondering what animals threatened him? Do you ever wonder if the angels were those little fat baby ones favoured by the artists of old, or the three metre tall giants who lift crashed trucks off righteous mechanics?

See, short and direct as Mark is, he actually packs a lot in by leaving a lot out! It gets you thinking, trying to figure out the gaps. So Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days. And this event brought about Lent. The forty day period was considered preparation for the public ministry of Jesus – the real hard work.

“Lent calls for us to ready our minds and hearts to remember the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.” Recall if you will Matthew’s account of the wilderness period. Do you remember that in the desert wilderness, Jesus was confronting things that tested his mind and heart? But he wasn’t alone. He had the company of angels who cared for him and he had Scripture to use as a defence against Satan’s attacks.

Our minds and hearts can be readied in similar fashion – keeping holy company and absorbing the Word. Not a maudlin occupation or outcome, but surely a joyous one.

Part Three:
“The time promised by God has come at last!” Jesus announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”

We have read about good news in various forms in the Old Testament but Isaiah’s prophesies are where we start to get a clearer understanding of what the good news is. So when Jesus makes the announcements recorded in Mark, he is indeed talking about himself! He will be bringing the Kingdom of God. It is about to be publicly released, and he has told those listening what they must do to be involved – repent of their sins and believe in Him.

The brevity of Mark’s telling gives opportunity to really dwell upon what was said and its implications. And here I think is one of the key points to trying to live a Christ-like life.

How long can you stay in a local club without paying your subscription? Not long I bet. To belong you have commitments and obligations. Most of the time, they are not onerous. They are just part and parcel of what you do. Fulfil the rules and you get to enjoy the experience. Well I reckon this is what Jesus was saying: If you want to be part of the Kingdom of God you need to get right-minded and believe in the cause – Jesus!

Because God knows our character, these pronouncements, getting right-minded and believing in the cause, are applicable for all time. Because we are human we will always face sin; therefore we will always need to be repenting. Because we face the pressures of the world constantly, our beliefs can waver. We will always need to be rebuilding our belief. Both require self-examination and re-alignment. But as long as we do it, we’re Kingdom members.

Theologians have summed up Mark’s Gospel as announcing Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God, whose death and resurrection paid the penalty for our sins and achieved victory over Satan, sin and death. And today’s Gospel attests to most of that. Jesus is our saviour and redeemer. Praise God!

The reading from Peter’s letter adds to the argument: Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring us safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. Peter explains that the water of baptism is a symbol of the cleansing going on within us when we repent. By standing in the water of the Jordan, a very public place, the baptised were proclaiming their allegiance to God. It is effective, Peter says, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We get baptised once in the mainstream churches. (I did read about one group called the Manaeans who practise repeated immersions for purification.) Baptism for us, then, usually takes place in our infancy and so to a large extent the impact and significance is lost on us. I think there is a good case for holding back until we reach a stage of real engagement and understanding. Weren’t we so impressed with Lyndsay’s grandson Will standing up at the age of sixteen to be baptised. But, because we have only one baptism, our on-going prayers of confession and absolution in our services take on a heavier meaning. In a public place, we are proclaiming our allegiance to God again. These prayers need to be given our full attention so that they are genuine acts of repentance, our getting right again with God.

I see the Psalm reading today as a perfect place to conclude. We have been reflecting on adopting a different approach to Lent. I have been encouraging you to look past just readying ”our minds and hearts to remember the life, death and resurrection of Jesus”, towards a conscious attention to the joy that this brings. The Psalm is a joyful prayer of acknowledgment of a wonderful, supportive and loving God.

It makes a great personal prayer:

Lord, I give my life to you.
I trust in you, God, and will never be disgraced.
Show me the right path, Lord; point out the road for me to follow.
Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are my saviour.
I put my hope in you always.
I know your compassion and unfailing love.
You do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth, you are merciful.
Remember me always in the light of your unfailing love, Lord.

Amen

What a wonderful reassurance then, that I am a child of the Most High. Because, you know, in my humanness (my weakness) I still have issues and incidents that come to mind readily throughout a day causing doubt and dissonance – the stuff the Evil One thrives on! Is anyone here any different?

Can you see that repentance is such a powerful protection against this?

I read in my devotional this morning, based on Hosea 14, that:

Our repentance enables God to move into our lives with might and power.
The first thing that happens is that our waywardness is healed. The compulsive desire we have to go astray and do our own thing is checked and brought under His control. The second effect is that our lives become spiritually refreshed. ‘I will be like the dew to Israel’ God promises. Our roots go down further into the soil of God’s love, giving us a deeper foundation and greater stability. The third result is that our lives gain an attractiveness that was not there before. People sense we love them for their own sake, not for what they can do for us. The fourth consequence of repentance is that our new way of living encourages people to want to ‘dwell in our shade’. They like to be near us for they become aware that in our company they are being ministered to – not manipulated.

I started my reflection with a few thoughts about Lent and what it usually brings to mind. At last Wednesday’s service to mark Lent’s beginning, the excerpts chosen impressed me. Of all points, this stood out for me:
Commentator, Dan Clendenin wrote:
“I love Lent. It’s an entirely positive exercise, and believers are the ultimate optimists. Lent reminds me that I don’t need to be stuck in old ways of thinking and acting. Change and renewal are possible. I can wipe the mud off my glasses. Hit the reset button. I don’t need to wait for old age to magically impart a new perspective on what matters most and why.”

And, acknowledging the start of Lent, he went on, “So, as I kneel at the altar on Ash Wednesday, I’m grateful for the priest to rub the ashes on. Rub them on hard.”

Like Dan, let’s enthusiastically hit our reset buttons and focus on what matters most and why!