Mustardseed Talks 2019

Oppressive forces that enter our lives, in such a way that we cannot escape them - even when we are on our own - are a very serious matter. There may be a number of ways this could occur. But the more crucial matter is to find liberation. When the possessed man encounters Jesus, everything changed for the man. That which had not previously been possible - not even thinkable - suddenly became not only possible but desirable. What is it about the presence of Jesus that brings liberation? How do judging and condemning forces recognise they are beaten by the open, forgiving grace that Jesus embodies? The authority of Jesus’ presence is irresistible. Alternate claims of absolute authority all fall away in the face of his unrelenting love.

If you had authority to command the wind and waves, and make them obey, what would you do with that power? Apart from the more obvious utility for picnics and camping trips, what does one do with authority like that? This story (from Mark 4:35-41) appears to be highlighting Jesus’ authority over more than simply the wind and waves. The story that follows immediately after this (in chapter 5 of Mark’s gospel) is about Jesus’ authority over a legion of demons who had taken possession of a man. The wind and waves are emblematic of uncontrollable elements in our world. Yet, here is one who can speak to these uncontrollable elements, and have them respond to his commands. It begs the question, which the disciples ask one another, ‘Who then is this?’

Seeds are remarkable things. To all intents and purposes, seeds appear to be dead bits of grain. They lie dormant. They can be stored for long periods of time. They do not appear to change or develop. Then, in the right conditions, something miraculous happens. New life begins to grow. That which was otherwise dead, offers a whole new lease of life. The architecture of an entire plant is encoded within this tiny little package. The farmer knows enough to put these dynamic packages into the soil and bring water to them. But that is just the beginning of the mystery of a whole new cycle of life. The gospel holds a similar mystery. For those in whom this good news takes root, new life begins to grow… just as miraculously!

In the playbook of life, when things are getting out of hand, the default go-to move to regain control or order is violence - or the threat thereof.  We reach for it in families (anyone remember the wooden spoon on the backside?). Corporal punishment was used in school classrooms in my lifetime (before being outlawed). Society relies on it for law and order (NSW police carry loaded guns on their hips). In many places around the world it continues to be used as an instrument of so-called justice (capital punishment). The impulse to contain violence by way of violence is as old as humanity itself. But it is not a solution - it is merely a management strategy. One that, over time, reveals the inherent weakness of its apparent strength.  There is an alternative. It sounds nice… perhaps even easy. The reality is this alternative costs us everything. And it is completely worth everything!

If you were making up a theology from scratch, you would never opt to include a notion as allusive and difficult to explicate as the Trinity. It is an idea that has forced itself upon faithful believers simply because no viable alternative conclusions satisfy the available data. This gives rise to the somewhat reluctant realisation that we are seeking to describe something far beyond our everyday experience of life. We simply have neither the words, nor even the concepts, to do justice to the divine realities presented to us. Every now and then, in moments of relational clarity, we might glimpse something of the depth of interconnectivity that bonds the three distinct persons of the Trinity. But for the most part, this aspect of our God remains mysterious to us. Never-the-less, it is worth exploring - or at the very least acknowledging it is so.

Hope is one of those things that keeps people going. It is like the wind beneath our wings in a way. Humans are highly social - but our interactions with one another can be helpful and they can be equally destructive. Hope is one of the dynamics that keeps us oriented in the helpful direction.  Should we lose hope, it is not straightforward to recover it again. It seems to be beyond us to generate for ourselves. Hope is something we place in something (or someone) beyond ourselves.  Ezekiel’s vision of the valley full of dry bones - that somewhat grotesquely reconstitute as living people in response to the prophetic words of God - is essentially a message of hope beyond any reasonable reason to hope. When the Holy Spirit comes upon the disciples at Pentecost, they are imbued with this same quality of hope beyond hope. 

Jesus directs his followers to love one another as he has loved them. This is not a matter of feeling warm toward others or having pleasant thoughts. It is about being ready to put one’s self out for the sake of others.    At first blush this might seem less than favourable as a disposition. We might instinctually ask, ‘What’s in it for me?’ Jesus says as we do so his joy will be in us. That is, we will bring joy to Jesus as he sees us loving one another. Also, the joy Jesus knows as he fulfils his Father’s will, is the same joy we will experience as we fulfil Jesus’ directive in this way. The more astonishing thing is that Jesus goes on to call his followers not slaves or servants, but friends! Rather than exulting himself over those who would follow him, he invites us into the most intimate of relationship.

In our day, believers tend to talk about their faith or their relationship with God using theological terms in philosophical tones.  By contrast, Jesus made use of earthy metaphors. He spoke about real life dynamics that were well known by people in his culture. Jesus used these ideas to illustrate spiritual truths. Rather than abstract, complex and elaborate, the ideas Jesus shared were straightforward to relate to and suggested real world responses in discipleship.  His words about the vine and the branches is just one such example. 

Stations of the Cross on Good Friday offers us the opportunity to reflect on the final moments of Jesus’ journey to Golgotha and the cross. Resurrection Sunday is an important celebration of the Messiah’s victory over the grave and the defeat of the ever present fear of death. Holy Saturday, the day between these two momentous events, is an equally important phase in which the disciples are in the process of transition. Our tradition has not put a great deal of emphasis on Holy Saturday. Indeed, Many in the Protestant world are in quite a rush to get from the crucifixion straight on to resurrection, without much more than a meaningful head nod toward the fact that Jesus died. Yet these kinds of transitions are so important if we are to be transformed in our discipleship. This morning that will be our focus. ‘He has Risen’ is our cry on this Sunday morning. Yet we will pause and consider how we got here!

The Servant Songs of Isaiah depict a servant so utterly committed to faithfulness to God that no matter what he faces he will not turn back from his faithfulness.
 As we arrive at chapter 50 of Isaiah, it is very clear that the Servant faces significant opposition. in fact, like most of the prophets, the Servant is reviled in the most aggressive and violent of ways. If we are to be true to our calling as God’s people, we do well to learn how to face opposition. Not to react to it. Not to retaliate to it. But to face it squarely and to respond in a way that does not compromise our faithfulness to God. This is among the most challenging aspects of our discipleship. It runs counter to the culture around us and even counter to our instinctual responses. We do well to learn from Isaiah.

Moses’ reception of the Law was a key moment in the formation of the people of Israel. A disparate group of tribes and hangers-on emerged from Egypt into a land they did not know. The challenges that could pull them apart were many. The things that held them together were few. In this context, the people make a promise together to be a people governed by the laws that were being handed down to them. Not only would these principles shape the way they conducted themselves with each other, they would come to be a key identity marker for the people. All human authorities in Israel stand under this Law. Neither king, priest nor prophet may disregard it. Yet, while the law protects the people from destroying themselves, it does not have the power to save. That will be the task of Messiah!

St Peter wants his readers to be aware that their sins have been forgiven. The believer has been brought close to God... made alive in spirit! Those who were once locked up within the prison of their self-interest have been set free by the grace-shaped love of God. Just as the ark saved Noah and his family from the flooding waters, the baptism of the believer offers the safety of assurance amidst the flooding tempest of accusation and half-baked motives. Left to either a peer-assessment or a self-assessment, we would be lost. But having given ourselves to Christ, and marking that with the act of baptism, we can be confident that we are accepted by God. We have no need to hide or pretend. We can confess, be honest and draw near! Our confidence is in Christ. The one who was condemned and crucified. Yet, he is also risen. All authorities are now subjected to Him! Christ’s way is the eternal way.

Elijah is certainly an enigmatic character in the history of Israel. Coming (as he does) after the period of institutionalisation of temple worship and the monarchy, he is a most unconventional presence in the stories he inhabits. The story of Elijah’s death and the passing of his prophetic mantle to Elisha (his successor), is designed to ensure no one is left in any doubt about how important Elijah’s ministry has been. The prophetic voice must be heard and understood as integral to the wellbeing of the people of Israel. When Jesus is transfigured, he is seen with two crucial figures from Israel’s history - Moses (representing the Law) and Elijah (representing the Prophets). These two elements of law and prophetic spirit continue to be in dialogue with each other… and sometimes in tension. We do well to listen for what the Spirit might be saying to us as we discern what it means to be the people of God today.

The ups and downs of life can be wearing at times. Not only the continual changes in circumstances that life often brings, but also the combined overall mood of the culture around us that can lift us or pull us down. Isaiah spoke to the people of Israel at a time when they had been wearied by their years in exile. The people were struggling to believe life could get better again for them. The prophet reminds the people that from where they take their bearings, radically alters one’s sense of what is going on. Look to the powerful people (and their regimes) and you will get a particular impression. Look past those people, to One who can extinguish their temporal power in the blink of an eye, and you will get a very different, and invigorating, impression. Isaiah recommends the latter!

If we hear teaching with authority, there are a number of ways in which that authority might function. The sense of authority in the teaching might be by virtue of the identity or position of the teacher. It might be the critical mass of the group who’s attention the teacher commands. It may be the teacher’s qualifications, experience and expertise in a given field. Jesus’ teaching with authority addressed the heart of his audience. He managed to activate an innate sense of what is true and what is in accordance with love. Then he called for a response. He called people to follow him as he lived his teaching in front of them.

Despite the sense that history keeps repeating, the story of humanity is going somewhere. There has been a steady development of the ways in which societies have structured themselves and cared for the most vulnerable. There have been key moments in this process. Jesus’ entry into history is one of these key moments. Jesus wants people to know of God’s grace shaped love for all. He lives it and embodies this love among them. Jesus calls disciples to join him in the task of living and sharing this love. The story of human history has been changed irrevocably as a consequence. Thanks be to God.

The process of being found by, and consequently finding Jesus, is one that changes the way we perceive everything. We are brought up in an environment that tacitly indicates it is our responsibility to placate the divine powers. The reality is that the real threat is from within our own human survival instincts that will ultimately pit one against an other. Jesus challenges this instinct and calls us to die to it. In its place we are instructed to give ourselves. A new approach that equips us to be for one another. This is where divinity and humanity come together.

When we encounter paradox, it should alert us that our categories may be too small for the data we are observing. Paradox is that moment when the way we have understood a thing (up to now) contradicts the way we have understood another thing (up to now). This suggests there may be a way of understanding one or other (or both) things that we have not yet come to realise. We may be hindered in perceiving in this new way due to the imprecision of our capacity for observation... or sometimes our unwillingness to see clearly(?!). John’s prologue is full of paradox!

Not many of us would consider ourselves to be slaves. Yet, for how many of us is it the reality that we are driven? The dynamic of God’s kingdom is that we are no longer slaves. We are no longer driven. We have been adopted as children. Called. Invited! As children, we also inherit good things from our Heavenly Father. Not material stuff... eternally important stuff. The stuff that brings life to us and to the world.

When St Paul writes of a mystery that has been made known through the scriptures that leads to an obedience of faith to the glory of Jesus Christ, he is not simply stringing together a bunch of ideas because they sound interesting. Paul is referring to the central awareness that the revelation of good news (news that has always been good) can only be engaged by faith. It has always been accessible by faith. But nothing and no one in all of history has displayed it quite so clearly as Jesus. The glory it reveals is a uniquely Jesus shaped glory. Not the glory of monarchs, millionaires or movie stars. This is the glory of a love stronger than death!