I was reading through Mk 5 today and every time I read it I am struck by the way in which Jesus conducts himself at the funeral of Jairus' daughter. She is dead, the narrative makes it crystal clear....
35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?" 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." 37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.
People had begun to mourn for her
38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.
But then in walks Jesus,
39 And when he had entered, he said to them, "Why are you making a commotion and weeping?
I'm sorry Jesus, it is natural to weep and have a bit of commotion at a FUNERAL!
The child is not dead but sleeping." 40 And they laughed at him.
Not sure if I would laugh or be outraged by this outrageous comment!
But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. 41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, "Talitha cumi," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise." 42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement.
This incident is the climax of events that begins in 4:35 with Jesus' demonstrating his authority firstly over nature, seconldy over the supernatural in the curing of the many demons and finally here over death. It is no wonder that the question that reverberates through this part is the question -WHO IS JESUS? His actions around this dead girl are mind boggling....it is certainly not good funeral etiquette! A full revelation of his identity is not until ch8, but we the reader have already glimpsed his identity from the opening verse and his baptism.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Giving up the drink .........
'Hi my name is Dave and it has been 6months since my last soft drink.'
It's true! On the 1st September 2007 I gave up drinking soft drink and I have not had one since. It started out as something to keep healthy and now I can't go back. Initially, It was a real battle and now temptations come in intermittently, especially when I'm tired and really want a Coke hit.
There is a similarity between giving up the 'drink' and sin. We as Christians have given up or to use Romans language, 'died' to sin. However, it is a constant battle to stay sober from sin. Temptation hits us when we are tired and frustrated and really want a hit of good old sin. However, it is in these times that we can recall Tit 2:6,
Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.
The word 'self-control' is about thinking sensibly, about being wise and thinking who we are in Christ before 'losing control'. It sounds easy but we all know that giving up sin is a lifelong struggle and has more allure than a can of coke (even with their powerful marketing campaigns! Yes, i am aware that it is the real thing!). Combating this allure is to remember that sin has been overcome as 1Jn 2:14 says,
I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
It's true! On the 1st September 2007 I gave up drinking soft drink and I have not had one since. It started out as something to keep healthy and now I can't go back. Initially, It was a real battle and now temptations come in intermittently, especially when I'm tired and really want a Coke hit.
There is a similarity between giving up the 'drink' and sin. We as Christians have given up or to use Romans language, 'died' to sin. However, it is a constant battle to stay sober from sin. Temptation hits us when we are tired and frustrated and really want a hit of good old sin. However, it is in these times that we can recall Tit 2:6,
Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.
The word 'self-control' is about thinking sensibly, about being wise and thinking who we are in Christ before 'losing control'. It sounds easy but we all know that giving up sin is a lifelong struggle and has more allure than a can of coke (even with their powerful marketing campaigns! Yes, i am aware that it is the real thing!). Combating this allure is to remember that sin has been overcome as 1Jn 2:14 says,
I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
I will decide ... OK! Got it! Good...
The censorship issue over games is on the cards at the moment. I was reading an article about it, see this link - http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/02/22/1203467345267.html. Apparently the gaming industry opinion on censorship is:
'The games industry has long argued that the censorship regime is unnecessarily draconian and prevents adults from making their own decisions as to the type of content they consume.'
Ah, there it is, the nugget in the middle, we are being prevented from 'making our own decisions'! I always new I was being held back by those 'draconian' bureaucrats! Get off my back would you!
This is just another example of people not wanting to be told what to do whether it is about gaming, sex, abortion or God, etc.. For who decides what is 'good' for us? Surely it is me, did you hear me, ME! The technical word for it is voluntarism. It represents peoples inner longing to be in control and if someone else invades my personal decision making process then WATCH OUT!
It is just as obvious when talking to people about Jesus being their King. Woh! Slow down there cowboy! Sure he may have died on the cross and rose again but who said anything about him being King of my life? Living with Jesus as King (he demonstrated his kingship by dying and rising again)means obeying Him and submitting to what he says is good for us, it means He is intimately involved in your decision making - in fact, decisions should be about honouring Jesus as King. I know that I want to obey God, who created us, because surely he would know what the 'good' is- not my sin stained desires.
'The games industry has long argued that the censorship regime is unnecessarily draconian and prevents adults from making their own decisions as to the type of content they consume.'
Ah, there it is, the nugget in the middle, we are being prevented from 'making our own decisions'! I always new I was being held back by those 'draconian' bureaucrats! Get off my back would you!
This is just another example of people not wanting to be told what to do whether it is about gaming, sex, abortion or God, etc.. For who decides what is 'good' for us? Surely it is me, did you hear me, ME! The technical word for it is voluntarism. It represents peoples inner longing to be in control and if someone else invades my personal decision making process then WATCH OUT!
It is just as obvious when talking to people about Jesus being their King. Woh! Slow down there cowboy! Sure he may have died on the cross and rose again but who said anything about him being King of my life? Living with Jesus as King (he demonstrated his kingship by dying and rising again)means obeying Him and submitting to what he says is good for us, it means He is intimately involved in your decision making - in fact, decisions should be about honouring Jesus as King. I know that I want to obey God, who created us, because surely he would know what the 'good' is- not my sin stained desires.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Understanding the times - doubt
To grab hold of and understand a biblical understanding of 'eschatology' is an enormously worthwhile exercise for Christians. The arrival and life of Jesus was an event that has no parallel in all of earth's history. It was unique in that the divine 'incarnated' himself to become flesh but also in that Jesus rose from the dead. This resurrection is described as the firstfruits of many in 1Cor15. Romans describes us as being united to Christ in his resurrection by faith. So, this means that we can say that we are NOW with Christ in heaven BUT our experience tells us that us that we do NOT YET know that this is not the case as we live in our earthly bodies struggling with sin. This helps us to understand the times we live in! Helps us to understand why we can say with Paul that we are dead to sin and also be exhorted to not let sin reign in our mortal bodies (Rom. 6).
This is particularly helpful in thinking about the issue of 'doubt'. Doubt is a common Christian experience and while there are many books that offer help there is little theological work done in understanding it. There is a tension that arises from our justification as based in our union with Christ and our fallen human nature. The tension is eased as we discover an 'eschatological' framework for understanding sin from Romans 6 (as seen above). It is from this perspective that we see doubt as a conflict between our justification and our sanctification. Doubt is the double mindedness; it is having a foot in ‘both-camps’, one in Christ and one in Adam. Having understood this we can avoid two theological errors of not taking doubt seriously enough or taking it too seriously. Not only does it help with these pastoral questions but this perspective aids in understanding the many Scriptural references to doubt that occur in the New Testament.
It is this divided-heart that underpins all the Scriptural references to doubt. James 4: 8 shows the double-mindedness of doubt. ‘Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded’ (James 4:8). You can see the internal division of a person when the resurrected Jesus confronts them. ‘And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts’” (Luke 24:38). You can see the divided heart so torn by its options that it cannot make up its mind. “Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him (Mark 11:23).” You can see the double-mindedness of doubt in peoples’ reservations: ‘And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted’ (Matthew 28:17).
I haven't fleshed out some of the pastoral implications of this but the groundwork and framework for thinking about doubt has been laid and hopefully in the future I can post something fleshing out some more implications - but at the very least we can say that doubt is a common Christian experience.
This is particularly helpful in thinking about the issue of 'doubt'. Doubt is a common Christian experience and while there are many books that offer help there is little theological work done in understanding it. There is a tension that arises from our justification as based in our union with Christ and our fallen human nature. The tension is eased as we discover an 'eschatological' framework for understanding sin from Romans 6 (as seen above). It is from this perspective that we see doubt as a conflict between our justification and our sanctification. Doubt is the double mindedness; it is having a foot in ‘both-camps’, one in Christ and one in Adam. Having understood this we can avoid two theological errors of not taking doubt seriously enough or taking it too seriously. Not only does it help with these pastoral questions but this perspective aids in understanding the many Scriptural references to doubt that occur in the New Testament.
It is this divided-heart that underpins all the Scriptural references to doubt. James 4: 8 shows the double-mindedness of doubt. ‘Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded’ (James 4:8). You can see the internal division of a person when the resurrected Jesus confronts them. ‘And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts’” (Luke 24:38). You can see the divided heart so torn by its options that it cannot make up its mind. “Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him (Mark 11:23).” You can see the double-mindedness of doubt in peoples’ reservations: ‘And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted’ (Matthew 28:17).
I haven't fleshed out some of the pastoral implications of this but the groundwork and framework for thinking about doubt has been laid and hopefully in the future I can post something fleshing out some more implications - but at the very least we can say that doubt is a common Christian experience.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)