Written by Graham Millar, Presbyterian Minister at Ngaio Union Parish, Wellington
June 1 - 12 Good Men and...
The period between Easter and Pentecost is a happy waiting time. This is a time when some ministers wind down after the busy Lent-Easter period, and it is also a time to reflect on the afterglow of Easter.
In the Jesus story it is a waiting time. Frightened, fearful disciples, gradually gathering in closed rooms.
For Jews, it was late spring and early summer, a week of weeks, working hard between two festival holidays.
The Church in agrarian societies found this to be a time when people were very busy with their work in the fields and the Church taught about Resurrection and judgement.
As Kiwis in 2003, we experience these weeks as including Autumn, school holidays, Anzac Day, Mothers(or Home and Family) Day, Faka me, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and Asia Sunday. Many parts of Aotearoa New Zealand will still be celebrating the date on which Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed in their district. Wellington, for example, celebrates the signing of the Treaty at Poneke on April 29. Network Waitangi has some resources to assist with this.
The lectionary covers material from Acts, Psalms, I John, and Gospel selections from John and Luke.
This is the only period of the year when the first reading of the Sunday lectionary is not from Hebrew Scriptures but from the prophetic history of the new Christian Church.
As the eighth century (BCE) prophets gave the framework for interpreting Hebrew history, as found in Deuteronomy to Kings, so the teachings of Paul provide a hermeneutical lens for viewing the early Church.
These extracts in particular contain the pattern of proclamation (kerygma) which contained the good news (gospel).
They have shaped our understanding of Christianity immeasurably, and are precious stories to savour and question. They provide insight into the ideas which shape our present Church behaviour, for good or ill.
Here is a great collection of favourite Psalms! (1, 4, 22, 23, 47, 98, 133)
They are all known and loved.
Why should they come together at this season?
This is the time of moving from Easter glory to Pentecost promise. The Psalms express faith, assurance and confidence. Because they express this positive and confident attitude, people love them. They also touch the common experiences and desires of people for good relationships with each other, and for security in the love and protection of God.
And they are good poetry.
There are many strands of tradition threaded into the Christian Testament, as there are in the Hebrew composite documents. Some of these strands reflect the political groupings of the Church.
John is claimed as founder by Celtic and Coptic churches, just as Peter is claimed by Rome. Johannine writings include the Gospel and letters of John and the Book of Revelation, if we take those documents to which John's name is attached. Do they have a common theology?
I John is a letter of love, light and life, with warnings to people who do not believe and/or do not love.
The Gospels affirm life, resurrection life, ascended life, but mostly the continuing, newly empowered, enlivened and enlightened life of the disciples.
What really happened between the crucifixion and Paul's first letters? In "The Birth of Christianity", John Dominic Crossan attempts to answer this from a literary, historical and philosophical perspective.
These Gospel stories may not give the details, but they certainly give the inspiration. And it is to the in-spiring of the Holy Spirit that they lead us.
Peace be with you, and love.
The following weekly comments link the lectionary passages and give some possibilities for interpretation.
After the crucifixion the disciples were a scattered and broken group. Their fragile community had to be rebuilt, without the centring presence of Jesus. Today's readings present some of the ideals of Christian community, from a later, confident perspective.
The ideal Christian community is one where:
This is community, communalism, even communism. This is the ideal. But how realistic is it? Has it ever been achieved? Many monastic communities tried to live this way, but the attractions of money, sex and power often sabotaged their efforts. In 1980, a visitor from the Philippines, Sister Mary John Mananzan, described the New People's Army there. They were, she said from an experience of living with them, totally committed to each other and their cause, very respectful of each other, determined but joyful, and ready to give their lives to save the others at any time. The government knew them as terrorists.
In New Zealand there have been a number of attempts to set up Christian communes, or communities. Most are short-lived, but some have lasted for over fifty years.
When we have a Christian society the State may take responsibility for social equity, sharing or redistributing possessions, and encouraging unity. What is Christian responsibility in this context?
The verses from Acts are inserted into this story from a time when COMMON LIFE had become the ideal. It may be based on the teachings of Jesus as expressed in his encounter with the "rich young ruler".
The Psalm is one of ascents, pilgrims riding up to Jerusalem, singing good poetry, encouraging each other with their religious fervour. It is important for us to experience this at Festivals and on pilgrimages. We may then carry these ideals through into ordinary life.
I John is a fascinating letter, touching on gnostic ideas, yet challenging Gnosticism. It is strong on light and darkness, yet also links the mystical with the practical. The message is that how you live is the most important, not what special knowledge you might claim.
The Gospel presents faithful Thomas, the man who can question and must see for himself.
Here then are practical challenges to live out the ideals of community.
This is ANZAC WEEKEND. Some believe the slaughter at Anzac Cove gave birth to a New Zealand nation. Certainly common suffering can build community.
These notes are written in February 2003. What Anzac messages will be relevant in April? Has the 21st century shown that the nations have learnt from the experience of 20th century wars? Is there a stronger, saner, international community?
These readings can be interpreted in ways that encourage understanding, tolerance and community. But they can also be used to justify exclusiveness: only Zionist Jews to receive the Lord's blessing in Psalm 133; only members of the Church to receive their share of goods in Acts 4; only privileged disciples to have a special relationship with Jesus in John 20; and only the beloved children to know forgiveness of sins in I John1.
Every scripture is open to abuse.
Triune God, your Divine community inspires our yearning for true intimacy. Heal the fractures in our families and in our church.
Enable us to rebuild a community where trust and respect are real.
May our faith community nurture and equip us to be agents of community, reconciliation and justice in our world, beginning at home, extending into our town, and joining hands with others around the world.
Then we may see your Kingdom come. Amen
Jesus is central to the New Testament readings.
Luke 24:36b-48 records his appearances to disciples, and his challenge to them that as they have witnessed the resurrection they must preach repentance to others.
Acts 3:12-19 shows Peter proclaiming the resurrection and calling to repentance.
I John 3:1-7 promises another appearance, when we will SEE and be like Jesus the Christ.
Psalm 4 has several elements:
Confidence in being one of the CHOSEN
Exhortation to stop sinning and turn to God
Affirmation of faith and trust that gives peace, sleep and gladness
A wonderful comment on the religion of affluence (verses 6,7) The rich pray for more blessings, but the Psalmist has more gladness than "when their grain and wine abound".
This last has an interesting connection with the Christian practices of Holy Communion. In verse 5 readers are encouraged to "offer the right sacrifices".
Are these lambs, doves and flour? Psalm 51:17 claims that the sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit.
The rituals of religion are vitally important to human society. Maori karakia giving thanks to a beached whale for offering itself as food, or to a totara tree for supplying wood for a waka, are more grace-filled and grateful than the arrogant plundering by whalers and logging companies.
The simple prayer of thanks for a drink of water and a bowl of rice by a hungry person is a greater sacrament than the most elaborate eucharist in an architectural gem where token tastes are given to "those whose grain and wine abound".
Themes of :
Chosen people with a special relationship to God
Sinning and repentance
Witnessing to real experience
are also found in the New Testament readings.
Another task, post-Easter, when rebuilding community, is to recognise our "chosen" relationship AND our need to repent. The strong community is one where people confess their sins to each other, as in Alcoholics Anonymous and other recovery groups. When people "get real" trust deepens rapidly.
The Luke post-Emmaus story shows how a group of ordinary, timid people, scared of ghosts, can see beyond themselves and understand the call to witness.
Peter, in Acts, is doing this witnessing, and challenging individuals and society to repent.
I John 3:1-7 is problematic in claiming that true followers of Jesus, that is the new Chosen Ones, do not sin! So why should they repent?
Then he defines sin as lawlessness, presumable disagreeing with those gnostics who claimed that because they had seen the light it didn't matter how immoral their lives were. But as I John does not usually refer to Jewish law, what does he mean by lawlessness? This could be seen as urging cooperation with the values of the New Community of Jesus-followers.
One of these values is to keep growing individually and collectively into the pattern of the Christ. Another is to be open with each other. Then it is easier to witness to society of the need for change.
Redeeming Christ, in your name we confess our sins and seek new life.
Some of our sins are the natural problems of addictions, whether to chemicals, gambling, work, sex, or religion. Please heal our souls of their immaturity and stunted personality development, and give us courage to seek therapeutic help.
Some of our sins are the result of fear, deprivation and abuse. Please help us to understand when we have been victims, and give us courage to accept our vulnerability but refuse to stay as victims.
Some of our sins are the result of our own pride, greed and ignorance. Please give us a clear analysis of our own actions, and a true desire to be accountable to you and the values we have learnt from you. Help us to change.
Some of our sins come from the depth of our soul, from the shadow part which we ignore or deny, from the centre of our darkness. Please shine the light of your Spirit into our depths, and give us the courage to look within, to repent, to accept your changes and new control.
In true repentance we pray. Amen.
Jesus is central to the New Testament readings.
Luke 24:36b-48 records his appearances to disciples, and his challenge to them that as they have witnessed the resurrection they must preach repentance to others.
Acts 3:12-19 shows Peter proclaiming the resurrection and calling to repentance.
I John 3:1-7 promises another appearance, when we will SEE and be like Jesus the Christ.
Psalm 4 has several elements:
Confidence in being one of the CHOSEN
Exhortation to stop sinning and turn to God
Affirmation of faith and trust that gives peace, sleep and gladness
A wonderful comment on the religion of affluence (verses 6,7) The rich pray for more blessings, but the Psalmist has more gladness than "when their grain and wine abound".
This last has an interesting connection with the Christian practices of Holy Communion. In verse 5 readers are encouraged to "offer the right sacrifices".
Are these lambs, doves and flour? Psalm 51:17 claims that the sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit.
The rituals of religion are vitally important to human society. Maori karakia giving thanks to a beached whale for offering itself as food, or to a totara tree for supplying wood for a waka, are more grace-filled and grateful than the arrogant plundering by whalers and logging companies.
The simple prayer of thanks for a drink of water and a bowl of rice by a hungry person is a greater sacrament than the most elaborate eucharist in an architectural gem where token tastes are given to "those whose grain and wine abound".
Themes of :
Chosen people with a special relationship to God
Sinning and repentance
Witnessing to real experience
are also found in the New Testament readings.
Another task, post-Easter, when rebuilding community, is to recognise our "chosen" relationship AND our need to repent. The strong community is one where people confess their sins to each other, as in Alcoholics Anonymous and other recovery groups. When people "get real" trust deepens rapidly.
The Luke post-Emmaus story shows how a group of ordinary, timid people, scared of ghosts, can see beyond themselves and understand the call to witness.
Peter, in Acts, is doing this witnessing, and challenging individuals and society to repent.
I John 3:1-7 is problematic in claiming that true followers of Jesus, that is the new Chosen Ones, do not sin! So why should they repent?
Then he defines sin as lawlessness, presumable disagreeing with those gnostics who claimed that because they had seen the light it didn't matter how immoral their lives were. But as I John does not usually refer to Jewish law, what does he mean by lawlessness? This could be seen as urging cooperation with the values of the New Community of Jesus-followers.
One of these values is to keep growing individually and collectively into the pattern of the Christ. Another is to be open with each other. Then it is easier to witness to society of the need for change.
Redeeming Christ, in your name we confess our sins and seek new life.
Some of our sins are the natural problems of addictions, whether to chemicals, gambling, work, sex, or religion. Please heal our souls of their immaturity and stunted personality development, and give us courage to seek therapeutic help.
Some of our sins are the result of fear, deprivation and abuse. Please help us to understand when we have been victims, and give us courage to accept our vulnerability but refuse to stay as victims.
Some of our sins are the result of our own pride, greed and ignorance. Please give us a clear analysis of our own actions, and a true desire to be accountable to you and the values we have learnt from you. Help us to change.
Some of our sins come from the depth of our soul, from the shadow part which we ignore or deny, from the centre of our darkness. Please shine the light of your Spirit into our depths, and give us the courage to look within, to repent, to accept your changes and new control.
In true repentance we pray. Amen.
Why is Psalm 23 so popular?
It is a great piece of spiritual writing;
it is exceptionally good poetry
it enables people to identify with the writer
it . . .
"Yahweh is MY shepherd". This is such a personal statement. I am a sheep, maybe a lamb, in Yahweh's flock. Not just the nation of Israel, but ME personally. Therefore, Yahweh nurtures and feeds me, protects and guides me, advocates for me, provides me with temporal and eternal shelter and a place to belong.
Each of us has a huge need to be loved and nurtured, to be safe, to be in favour with parental and ultimate authority.
A key characteristic of Christian community is believing that Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-18) and that there is only one flock and one shepherd.
While Jews could identify with Psalm 23 and know that THEIR God(Yahweh) was the best shepherd, the Johannine Christian community knew that Jesus was the ONLY shepherd of the flock which was most truly loved by God..
Peter's kerygma in Acts 4:5-12 insisted that Jesus was the ONLY means of salvation, and I John 3:23 insists that God required believers to believe ONLY in Jesus as the Christ, and also required them to love each other.
This Christian belief that only the few in the favoured flock are welcome in God's new society faces challenges in our global village. Is Jesus the Christ a unique Saviour and Shepherd? What happens to the sheep who don't belong to this fold?
It is an interesting reality that New Zealand sheep look nothing like the Hebrew ones. Those are now seen most commonly in Islamic countries.
The uniqueness of Christ is a stumbling block for many. I like the way James K Baxter wrote in "Thoughts about the Holy Spirit".
To love the people of God means to serve them. We are called the servant church. And a servant's job is to clean out lavatories, actual or metaphorical. We are servants not only of the people of God, those who already recognise the cross of Jesus as the mercy sign, but servants also of the kingdom of God, all those who have the seed of mercy in their hearts. Our task then is plain, not to seek affluence or prestige, but to take on the roughest jobs, the jobs nobody else will tackle, and to persevere in them through the power of the Holy Spirit.
This Sunday can have the theme of the Good Shepherd, or that of Home and Family (traditionally Mothers Day). As a secular festival, Mothers Day celebrates mothers as fulfilling the role of good shepherd to their family. Perhaps it is more realistic to see the roles shared between parents. Nurture, provision, protection and guidance are expected of parents. Does the concept of Yahweh or Jesus as shepherd merely project parenting roles on to a deity? Is that why these passages are so popular?
Some marriage therapists have said that the initial expectation in marriage is that the partner will provide all the unconditional love which was not received from parents. And that when that expectation is not met, the power struggle begins.
Responsible Christian communities do not spiritualise the shepherd images, but take on the real task of caring and providing for each other, and, when the resources are sufficient, reach out to people beyond the Christian community of faith in shepherdly ways.
It is difficult to find in the Christian Scriptures any indepth guidance for Christian nuclear families. The Hebrew Scriptures present a model of extended family, often polygamous, and the Christian Scriptures describe Christian community. This community is inclusive, open, equal, loving. Nuclear families today desperately need that kind of community within which to find support and wholeness.
Parent God, thank you for birthing our uniqueness into your challenging world.
Love us through our petulant childhood and grow us into responsible maturity.
Good Shepherd, you are the only one we know who can inspire us to follow where we would otherwise be afraid to go. Teach us, guide us, protect us.
Indwelling Spirit, witness in us that we are God's children by helping us to love each other unselfishly. Amen.
Grapes are a luxury to me. I ate them infrequently as a child, and now, when they are always available in supermarkets, they still function as an extra to our main diet; an occasional snack, an embellishment to a salad or cheese board.
Grapes were a staple food for Jews, a key source of sugar, and a safe drink when water supplies were contaminated (I Tim.5:23). Every homeowner hoped to have their own vine. Grapes grew best in the Mediterranean climate, hence also in California, Chile, Adelaide and Capetown. When New Zealand got into the act, our climate did even better.
It is not surprising that the grapevine became a religious symbol. Hebrew Scriptures used it of Israel, God's favourite sweet nation (Psalm 80:8-19, Isaiah 5:1-7, Jeremiah 2:21). When the grapes went sour, prophets set the nation's teeth on edge.
Therefore the writer of John's Good News has no hesitation in presenting Jesus as the authentic vine. This is a claim that Jesus and his followers are the new Israel, AND that connection with Jesus is a necessary condition for true spiritual life. Grapes and wine may be a luxury of affluence in New Zealand. For disciples of Jesus, a basic requirement is still connection to the vine.
The Greek verb "menein" is a favourite in the Johannine writings. The Gospel and letters of John account for half the uses of this word in the Christian Scriptures. Traditionally it is translated as the Anglo-Saxon word "abide", or as "remain, dwell, continue".
What does it mean to "abide in Christ" (John 15:4,5), or to "abide in God", and for God/Christ to "abide in us" (I John 4:13,15,16)?
"Abide" comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "bidan", to stay, with the prefix "a" which intensifies the meaning.
Today's readings use the words in a mystical way. How can we understand this mysterious experience and assist others to understand?
Don Cupitt has written three books which document the way that the word "life" has become a focus for articulating ultimate meaning in everyday speech. This accords with J.B.Phillips paraphrase of I John 4: 15,16:
Everyone who acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God finds that God lives in them, and they live in God. So have we come to know and trust the love God has for us. God is love, and the one whose life is lived in love does, in fact, live in God, and God does, in fact, live in them.
Panentheism, "God is in all things and beyond all things", would support these readings. We are in God, in love, and love, God, is in us.
J.B.Phillips paraphrase of John 15:4 is even more contemporary:
You ,must go on growing in me and I will grow in you. For just as the branch cannot bear any fruit unless it shares in the life of the vine, so you can produce nothing unless you go on growing in me.
The "life in God" theme is picked up also in Psalm 22:29 (NRSV). Although even the dead in Sheol will bow to Yahweh, the Psalmist will live for this God who acts.
Acts 8:26-40 is the classic story of the court treasurer of Ethiopia, a Jewish proselyte, who meets up with Philip in the Gaza Strip. He takes the risk of allowing this potential suicide bomber to climb into his bus. The risk pays off. Philip explains the life-giving story of Jesus, starting from Isaiah 53. The Ethiopian, a man of action, jumps into a pond for baptism. In baptism he is in the water, and, when he drinks, the water is in him.
To abide in Christ, to abide in love, to be in Christ and Christ in us, is Good News, not only of life-changing encounters with the Divine, but of an on-going experience which sustains our growth.
Jesus Christ, you are like a grapevine and we are like the branches. Please prune us gently, and do not throw us on the compost heap. We want to share the love that rises from you, and to bear the fruit that will nourish others.
We also want to accept the mystery of abiding in you.
Help us to live in your energy of love, to practice the values and virtues of peace and justice, to develop inner and outer strength and vulnerability, and to be your people in your world.
As we try to love others, help us to love those close to us first, and to allow them to be who they need to be.
As we try to love others who are further from us, give us grace to receive as well as give, to challenge as well as accept, and to speak your name in faith. Amen.
There is an ongoing tension between the exclusive and inclusive in Christian communities. In language, ritual, celebration, membership, creed and ethics, we keep wanting to say, "Yes, all are welcome here," and also, "There is a special place for those who believe this way, are ordained to these roles, or live like us."
Tension and paradox provide the creative space for the new to happen.
Psalm 98 celebrates this wonderfully, and many hymns have been written using the words of this Psalm (e.g. WOV 196). The Psalmist exhorts the people to sing a new song to Yahweh, who has shown his victory to every nation, and yet loves Israel. ALL the earth has seen this; ALL the earth should praise Yahweh; ALL the earth will be judged with righteousness and equity. This great vision of inclusiveness, celebration and justice is far beyond the narrow exclusiveness of the present state of Israel, the cultural hegemony of the USA, or the practice of the majority of Christian Churches. The" victory of our God" which is seen by "all the ends of the earth" (Verse3), can be interpreted as the final religious war, or as the victory of love and justice (Hymn 17 in Faith Forever Singing).
The discourse of Jesus in John 15:9-17 shapes obedience as a revolutionary, rather than a domesticated, response which leads to joy, love and sacrifice. Be prepared to die for others if you keep on the path of Jesus. But also become equal partners with Jesus, not servants but friends. With what sort of God can we become equal partners? With One who loves, gives, and empowers. The cost of discipleship is the loss of "worldly" privilege. The benefit is friendship with the Redeemer. And yet there is still verse 16: "You did not choose me but I chose you." This is the experience of those who are most passionate for the new. The more they initiate, the more they feel called forward towards the new which is already coming.
The other Johannine reading, I John 5:1-6, also stresses love and commandment. And it picks up the Psalm 98 theme of victory. "This is the victory that conquers the world, our faith." The mention of birth (verses 1 and 4) again brings the female image of God in to challenge gender exclusiveness. The new Christian community is like a bunch of children with a common parent. Therefore they need to love each other, and have a good reason to do so. What is your experience of being a sibling? What is it really like to love your brothers and sisters? How do siblings really behave - when pre-schoolers, when adolescents, when adult? Very often it is fighting at home and supporting each other when faced with an external threat. That's in the strong families. What parallels do you see with your church "family"?
Then there's the concept of the "world" (I John 5: 4,5). It has been used to talk about the secular vs the sacred, or the sinful vs the holy. It is hard in our global village, and our secular society in Aotearoa New Zealand, to see such strong polarisation. Most of us live in all the worlds that there are in our area, and most churches are penetrated by the values and systems of the larger society. In fact, if the "world" is seen as evil, we need to look closely at our own shadow.
Peter and Paul were confronted with the world outside Judaism. When Gentiles wanted to be part of the Church, what were they to do? What did God want them to do? In Acts 10:44-48 the good Jewish believers were astounded that the Gentiles also received the Holy Spirit and manifested some of the familiar ecstatic gifts. Peter's wonderfully pragmatic theology again responds with, "If it works, believe it".
When we are tempted to be exclusive in our attitudes it is good to reflect on the fact that our ancestors were not only Gentiles but also barbarians. None of the races in the Bible represent us. We are way beyond the pale, or even the imagination, of the Biblical writers. Yet the love of God which we have come to know through Jesus the Christ has enveloped us. As Chris Skinner so beautifully writes and sings:
"God of our Island Home,
Your love is like the sea,
Surrounding us completely,
Surrounding us completely,
Completely,
Surrounding us completely."
A fitting Psalm for Aoteroa.
God of Aoteroa, we praise you for the jewel in the ocean which we call home.
God of the Universe, we ask to learn a new song to express our awe.
God of love, as your children we beg forgiveness for our failures to love each other in our church family, and our greater failure to love the strangers and enemies in our land.
Write your new songs in our hearts. Fill us with the joy of Jesus our friend.
For your love's sake. Amen.
Sermons are not easy to remember, and not always easy to hear. As a young man I heard a sermon on the ascension of Christ that made enough impact for me to remember it. Forty years or so later I can remember that the three points were:
This was a Farewell with a Difference
A Farewell with a Blessing
A Farewell with a Commission.
The difference was that Jesus left in order that the Christ might always be present.
The blessing dripped down from the upraised hands of Jesus like the oil poured on Aaron's head, or the honey dripping from the cask in the speaker's childhood grocery shop. I could visualise the numinous in this experience.
The commission was to go into all the world with the Good News.
Even then I strongly queried the realistic interpretation of the ascension, but felt something of the spiritual power of the story. Now I question the political leverage that has been used to make male church hierarchies more powerful by insinuating their continuity with the hierarchical interpretation of the Trinity. In a three-tier universe the Ascension is a necessary myth to justify the divinity of Christ. In an infinite universe there are great difficulties with literal interpretations.
How then can we teach this story?
What is its value for today's Christians?
The accounts of the Ascension are found in Luke 24 and in Acts 1. There is also a mention in one of the later endings of Mark's gospel. As the Christian Church developed a totally different mythology of Heaven to that which they inherited from Judaism, the Ascension became an essential event to support this new cosmology. No longer was the top tier of the universe inhabited only by God, Elijah, Moses and angels, it had become the place where those who graduated from purgatory found a home.
John Dominic Crossan, in his books on Jesus, also adds another dimension to these stories. In Luke 24:33 it is stated that "the eleven and their companions" were "gathered together". The Ascension was therefore witnessed by a wider group of followers, almost inevitably including women. In Acts 1:2,11 it is clearly stated that it was the apostles, "Men of Galilee", only, who witnessed the Ascension, thus reinforcing their special status as leaders ordained by the risen Lord. Exclusive male apostolic leadership is an early Christian development, and has to be validated by the words or miraculous experiences of Jesus. The gospel of Luke is therefore amended slightly in volume two.
In most churches the designated leader ascends steps to make them higher than the congregation. Some of these steps ascend steeply. This ascension is an important element of the ritual of worship. What does it signify? Who climbs the steps? Who doesn't? Who kneels at the foot of these steps?
The readings from Ephesians1:15-23, and the Psalms (47 or 93), both emphasise the God in the top tier of the universe, enthroned, with the earth under his control. Ephesians adds the theological framework for believing that Jesus is at the right hand of God. This is Good News for people who feel weak, disempowered, excluded, and in need of a strong alliance with ultimate power.
Perhaps this has often been the experience of Jews, and a good reason for the popularity of the King image in Psalms. It is also the experience of many groups of Christians under persecution or ridicule for their faith. It is particularly meaningful in periods when monarchies are the norm.
How would twenty-first century, secular, post-christian kiwis understand this to be relevant for them? Would we use the image of the US Presidency, the British Monarchy, or the local Mayor? In the new society which Jesus promulgated is there in fact a pecking order or is there true anarchy, the absence of power structures?
Our current understandings of the abuse of power at so many levels are a recent privilege. Perhaps then the ascension is an inner journey, not an outer one. Perhaps it is a movement to the centre, not a vertical one. Perhaps it is to give all people responsibility to live in freedom and selfless love, not just to elevate a few to positions of dominance.
The March 10 issue of The Listener has a fascinating feature where some people give their imaginative interpretation of a post US world.
In personal and in political arenas, we need to grasp again the inner meaning and outer application of the Farewell of Jesus and the presence of the Christ.
This is also Asia Sunday, Queens Birthday weekend, Week of prayer for Christian Unity, and can be a celebration of the Ascension. How are you going to fit all these in? Find a key focus, and stick with it!
In this week before Pentecost we again have passages which emphasize the selection of some to be leaders in the community of faith. The fragile community of the early Church needed clear leaders when the presence of Jesus was no longer there to inspire. The prayer of Jesus for his disciples, and the strong statements in I John concerning the eternal status of believers were great encouragement.
Acts 1:15-26 has an even stronger emphasis on the need for the magical 12 disciples. It is a number which we know from Moses, the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 pillars on the altar. Tane climbed 12 heavens, there were 12 seats in the hall on Mount Olympus, Heracles had 12 stories and 12 pillars. And in our modern mythology we have 12 jurors, 12 hours, 12 inches. Obviously the number comes from 2 hands plus 10 digits. Do we still consider numbers as full of power and magic? Our society is enslaved by numbers, seen in the sport and financial scores in the TV news, and in the political question, "Have you got the numbers?"
The regular casualties of our number fascination are the gamblers. How ironic that a lottery was the religious ritual by which the twelfth apostle was called off the bench. I prefer the story of the deacons in Acts 6.
Again there is the contradiction between the teaching of equality which Jesus gave, and the emphasis on a few leaders which comes through in the early church. In today's church life there are countless seminars on leadership and the way "problems" of the church will all be solved if we have the right leaders. Leaders need followers, but do followers have to have leaders? Why can't the Judges formula (Judges 21:25) still apply?
Walter Wink's books on the Powers have a great analysis of the origins and nature of the Domination System which most people accept as the ruling world order and mythology. He claims that the liberating message of Jesus is a context-specific remedy for the evils of the Domination System. Through the gospel we can participate in resistance to the Powers which are the local manifestation of the Domination System.
The prayer of Jesus in John 17:6-19 identifies the "world" as the present Powers from which the disciples have been released. They are not of this world, Jesus is not of this world. We have often interpreted this to mean that Jesus is of heaven, out of this world, but the disciples are still earthbound. The term " world" does not mean "earth". It means the systems and structures and institutions that control the people in oppressive ways. It means the ideologies and idolatries which capture the minds and souls of people and enslave or domesticate them. It means the economic, political and social systems and structures which give some privilege and others poverty. Jesus prays that his disciples will be protected from this.
One Friday night in 1965 I met a member of the exclusive Brethren group in the street in Richmond. I could not help saying how wonderful it was to enter a hotel in Salvation Army uniform and witness to Christ in this way. His reply was that we must keep ourselves unspotted from the world. I am glad of Walter Wink's analysis. It makes more sense to me. The world of domination is alive and well in all aspects of human society, not least in its religions.
If you want a simpler topic, Psalm 1 is priceless. The opening psalm of each of the five books is usually a wisdom statement. This, the most familiar with its beautiful imagery of trees and water, can easily be homileticised. But please don't forget the sharp separation of the goodies and baddies. Are you confident as to which side you fit, and where the Pharisees might be?
Lord Jesus Christ, we bow before you as a serf before the lord of the manor, or a peasant before the king, because we always have this feeling of wanting to worship. Is that what you want from us?
Jesus our brother, we admire your passive resistance, your strong compassion, your impatient discipling, your other-worldly holiness. Can we stand with you?
Here we are in our strength and our weakness. There are many things we can do to change the power structures in our world. But we often fail or feel helpless. Please forgive us, turn us around and send us back to try again.
As our own energy gets low, we ask you to fill us again with your grace, your love, your Spirit. And help us to build into a community of faithful ones who will share our hurts and hopes, growth and pain, dreams and work.
Thank you for being our friend, our guide, our God-man. Amen.