Tag: Jesus

Passiontide: Wanting to See Jesus

Lent 5 – 21/3/21

Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-12
Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33

Edward Vardanian, Crucifixion (2003)


How has Lent been treating you? Has it been a time of learning new things about yourself and God? At this point in Lent, I think that many people get tempted to give up on the whole thing! Others may think it doesn’t make much difference anyway and carry on as normal. Whichever way we are marking it (or not) this season is moving on – rather quickly. We began after Ash Wednesday with Jesus’ baptism as told by Mark; the next Sunday saw Jesus beginning to teach his disciples that he was to undergo great suffering, be killed and rise again in three days. The next thing we read was Jesus turning over the tables in the Temple with the reminder that he would be killed and rise again in three days. We lightened up a bit last week for Mothering Sunday.


This Sunday – the fifth Sunday of Lent begins the final push towards Easter as a ‘season within a season’: Passiontide runs these next two weeks until Easter Sunday. There is a turning in the Gospel reading this morning as Jesus narrows down the time frame with ‘the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified’. In the previous Gospel readings there has been no time specified. This threw the disciples and the Jewish authorities into confusion over when things were to happen!

There is another confusing piece in the Gospel passage too. The festival was Passover, the great Jewish feast that required Jews from far and wide to come to the Temple in Jerusalem. So where did these worshipping Greeks come from?

Somewhere along the way, we can assume, they had heard about Jesus and now had a desire, a wish to see him. Are they curious about his message, his parables? Are they hoping to see a miracle-worker? Were they sceptics? Troublemakers? Wanting to pick a fight? We don’t know what the motives were and I am glad of this mystery as this brings up some rather interesting questions for us.

Do we wish to see Jesus? Maybe see the Jesus who does stuff for us, answers our prayers, heals people and helps the lonely, the lost and the least. But the Jesus who talks about his death and how hard it is going to be? The Jesus who wants us to give up our lives with little promise of comfort or reward?

I wonder what those Greeks made of what Jesus said next? Is this the Jesus they wanted to see as he launches into talk about death? Whoever serves me must follow me? Did they follow him after this?

Then there is the voice from heaven! The crowd heard it – some said it was thunder, others said it was an angel. Again, how much do we want to see Jesus and do we want to hear from him?

There are times when I really want to see Jesus. I want nothing more than to hear his voice – whether it is the still small one or thunder from the heavens. There are times when I would rather be deaf and blind to it all. Excuse signs and wonders as thunder and blend in with the crowd.

The question today is ‘do you wish to see Jesus?’ Does this question register with us all right now? From the essayist Debie Thomas, ‘If we say yes, which Jesus do we wish to see? The teacher? The healer? The peacemaker? The troublemaker? Why are we interested? Or, if we’re not asking and seeking, then the question shifts, and we have to ask it differently: why is Jesus not on our radars? Does ‘seeing’ him feel impossible right now? Uninteresting? Irrelevant? Has he become so familiar to us that he’s faded away entirely?’

I hope that for those of us who have grown up in the faith have not lost the scandal and shock of Jesus’ death. I pray that as we continue through this Lenten journey we can all recapture something of the deep mystery of the crucifixion. With new eyes we see what happened on Good Friday.

If we want to see Jesus, we have to be willing to look at the cross. It is the cross that makes true sight possible. It is, as Jesus said, ‘when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’

Debie Thomas, ‘In the end, what this week’s Gospel reading teaches me is that I don’t have to strive and strain to see Jesus. As he told those Gentile seekers two thousand years ago, he is the one who draws and gathers all people to himself. He is the one who allows himself to be lifted up, so that what is murky or overwhelming or frightening — God in his indecipherable Otherness — comes close and becomes visible.‘

As we continue our journey through Lent, I hope you will want to see and hear Jesus in new ways. Jesus loves whether we do or not. Jesus wants to see to me, you, all of us – regardless of our desire to or not – far more urgently than we will ever want to see him. We love because he first loved us. The cross draws us towards love with a power that is compelling and completely mysterious. Jesus draws us together in love. Let us watch for the signs with seeing eyes, listening ears and hearts that burn for more of Him.

Jesus’ Cleansing of the Temple

Lent 3 – 7/3/21

Exodus 20:1-17

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

John 2:13-22

Pieter Aertsen (1508-1575) ‘Jesus Cleanses the Temple’

This past week in the Lent Course ‘Come and See’ we looked at the person of Jesus in relation to the Apostles Creed ‘I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.’ As part of the discussion, Sue M asked each group member to share a little about their favourite story or parable of Jesus. No one mentioned Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple. We liked The Good Samaritan, the woman at the well, the woman who grabs the bottom of his robe, Jesus walking on water, the feeding of the 5000. Nice Jesus, doing good Jesus. Last week we looked at Jesus’ first prediction of his death, this week, table turning Jesus in the Temple. No more Jesus meek and mild here! These stories do tell us something of his character, his priority, his message and what it is to live out of the heart.

This story of Jesus cleansing the temple gives us a vivid account of how he acted out of his heart. So much so, that each Gospel writer has included this event in their respective books. Matthew, Mark and Luke have placed this event right after Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem on the donkey; in the last week of his life as palms and cloaks were being laid down on the road.

Intriguingly, John places this story right at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. John’s narrative has Jesus attending the wedding at Cana, then going to Jerusalem, right into the temple and causing havoc!

As we stand on this side of resurrection history it is easy to miss the significance of this event. The Temple was the beating heart of Judaism. It wasn’t just a church on a street corner or in the middle of a village. It was the centre of worship, music, of politics and society, of national celebration and mourning. Think of St Paul’s Cathedral as somewhat of a parallel.

The Temple was also the place where Israel’s God, YHWH, had promised to live in the midst of his people. It was the focal point of the nation, and of the national way of life. Now this unknown prophet from Galilee breaks in and turns everything upside down! What was so wrong with the Temple? Why did Jesus do what he did?

John has this event happening at the time of the Jewish Passover. John had already told us that Jesus is the new Passover Lamb – the new sacrifice. He wants us to understand that what Jesus did in the Temple at Passover is hinting at the new meaning he is giving to Passover.

The new meaning that Jesus brings: is liberation, freedom and rescue from slavery. The is what the Jews celebrate at Passover. Jesus brings liberation, freedom and rescue from sin.

It also hints at what Jesus thinks of the Temple itself – he regards it as corrupt and under God’s judgement. Interestingly, those who were selling the animals for sacrifice and the money-changers did need to be there as Jewish law required the right sacrifices be offered. But those doing the selling had corrupted the Temple by their dodgy practices.

This is what Jesus rages against as he overturns their tables and boots them out. I am sure it would have been completely shocking to those who were there, minding their stalls, selling the animals and changing money. They were getting on with life, business – supporting the wife and kids at home. But they had become corrupt – to cheat people, their own people was unthinkable.

We too can become corrupt in our hearts. We pick up things along the way – thought-patterns, judgements toward others, attitudes and prejudices that can become embedded in our hearts and minds. We can go about our everyday business and from the outside it all looks fine. We can even think we are right! But our lives on the inside can be a mess.

It wouldn’t be Lent, as far as I am concerned, without a public reading of the Ten Commandments. I hope you let them wash over you again. They are timeless in their instruction, they are a solid foundation one which to examine ourselves, our thoughts and our conduction. Get rid of any corruption that has taken hold. Sometimes we too need the tables turned over in our hearts and those things that corrupt driven out. Above all else, guard your heart, from everything you do flows from it (Proverbs 4:23).

We need – I think sometimes – to have a clean out of our hearts. Heart surgery is required to remove those things that have built up in them. We can trust Jesus to do this for us and with us. He wants to be the Temple in our lives. The place where we go to worship, take our prayers, our worries and anxieties. The place where we can be forgiven and know the great love of God for ourselves.

That is what he is saying to the Jews in his actions and his remark about the destroyed Temple rising up in three days – he was talking about himself. Jesus is the true temple, he is the Word made flesh.

If we see and believe the signs of what Jesus is doing, then we need to trust him to bring it to completion. Believe in him and his works. Trust him to do the work in our hearts that needs doing – even if the removal and cleaning is painful.

Lent 2: Holy Living in the Leafy Hambleden Valley

28/2/21

Genesis 17:1-7; 15-16
Mark 8:31-38

At Friday prayers in Fawley churchyard this week, we were reminded of the Lent watchwords: discipline, repentance and growth. These are some of the keys to holy living. Underpinning these three activities is practice. The season of Lent echoes the 40 days of Christ in the wilderness, preparing for this ministry.
Jesus had been practicing – directly after his baptism, Jesus is flung into the wilderness to face the temptations of Satan. Jesus rebuffs and refuses Satan’s offerings by using the teachings of scripture. In doing this, Jesus demonstrates for us what it is to live a life of discipline that has come through practice.

In this passage of Mark, we get a number of Jesus’ more quotable lines, ‘Get behind me Satan!’; ‘Take up your cross and follow me’; ‘What is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul?’. There is often great temptation to take these verses out of context and apply them to just about any situation. Much like taking Churchill quotes or lines of Shakespeare and reducing them to coffee mugs and tea towels.

Similarly, we can lose the meaning of what Jesus is saying if we lift these verses out of their context too. The context that Jesus is teaching into was his death; this is the first time that Jesus predicts his death. “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering,” Jesus tells his disciples quite plainly. He must “be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”

Standing on this side of resurrection history, we easily miss the bombshell effect these words must have had on Jesus’s disciples. Their great hope, cultivated over the three years they had followed Jesus, was that he would lead them in a military revolution and overthrow their Roman oppressors.
What then could be more disorienting, more ludicrous, than the news that their would-be champion was determined to walk straight into a death trap? To surrender without a fight to a common criminal’s death.

Peter, in a moment of confusion and shock, scolds Jesus for his dire prediction. And Jesus, in what might be the sharpest and most surprising rebuke in all of Scripture, puts Peter in his place with one swift stroke: “Get behind me Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
You can hardly blame Peter, how often are our minds on human things rather than the divine? Holy living requires higher thoughts, and this takes some practice. It is easier to think holy thoughts when all is well. Much more difficult to do when faced with death, threats to security and uncertainty.

Then Jesus turns to the crowds and captures the essence of his message in two sentences: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

Even now, centuries removed from the context in which Jesus lived and taught, what exactly is Jesus saying? That he wants us to pursue suffering and death? That a holy life is not about living at all, but about dying? About martyrdom?
What does a holy life look like in 21st century England?


Where does our discipline come from? How repentant are we? Are there any signs of growth? What does it mean to deny myself? Living, as we do, in a culture that does not imprison, torture, or kill Christians for our faith, how shall I deny myself so that the gospel might thrive, here and now? How shall I save my life by losing it for Jesus’s sake in the leafy Hambleden Valley? How shall I die?

‘If any want to become my followers’ – would imply there is a choice to be made. Jesus is speaking to a crowd, lots of people watching and listening. I would suggest that not all of them decided then and there to deny themselves and pick up their cross. There are always lots of people to stand and watch others do the heavy lifting. These are the ones who think they are saving their lives by not getting involved, or staying quiet or think that all religions, God, etc. are the same and get you there in the end, just be good or a nice person. The reality is though that lives will be lost.

‘Let them deny themselves’ – This is not the body and I am not living the life of a person who denies herself very much! I am not always good at living beyond my own convenience. What would it look like to deny ourselves those things that prevent us from living a life that follows totally after Jesus?

‘And take up their cross and follow me.’ We use it as a throw-away sometimes. ‘We all have our crosses to bear’ to explain or give meaning to the circumstances of another. We all have situations, issues, stuff going on that needs bearing up; we can’t ignore, dismiss or wish it away. Pick it up!
If we pick our crosses up to follow Jesus we are not going to have to carry it by ourselves. In Matthew 11 Jesus says, ‘Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Who can we look to for a holy life? We see an example in Abraham. All that Abraham was promised came through his righteousness and God’s faithfulness. Abraham’s great age is not to be overlooked! It took a lifetime of practice, of discipline, repentance and growth. It was certainly not an easy life, but it was worth it in the end.

I think that one of the best examples in recent history is Billy Graham. Billy Graham died in February 2018, at the grand age of 99 and in his own home. He is a shining example of what it is to live a holy life of faithful service Jesus until the end. Carrying your cross daily and faithfully. Giving up your life, your convenience for others. We probably will not influence millions of people around the world – that’s okay. How about we influence those around us – in our homes, families, villages, our workplaces, schools, the stranger on the train or in the coffee shop.

Billy Graham lived a scandal free life – both financially and sexually. Is that not refreshing given what is being reported in the news almost daily? Money, sex, pride and power have a death grip on so many people. Mark is presenting us with Jesus’ idea of what real life looks like; a ‘real life’, a holy life that does not have space for the misuse and abuse of money, sex, pride and power. This real life includes death – death to these things and to ourselves.

Mark ends this passage by making it clear that following Jesus seems the only way to go. There is some good news: the crosses that we must bear are so much lighter than the cross that Jesus had to bear

What is the reward? From Billy Graham: “Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.”

In the presence of God who loves us deeply, gave up everything so we can be with him, who repays us with a life spent in eternity. By losing and denying – we gain much more.

Blessed are those who carry
for they shall be lifted.

Epiphany in the Hambleden Valley

My first Sunday in the new parish on the edge of the Epiphany Season.

This was my 1st sermon as Priest in Charge of the Hambleden Valley on January 24, 2021.

Revelation 19:6-10 John 2:1-11

I think it is somehow fitting that the first Gospel reading on my first Sunday in the Hambleden Valley is about wine & hospitality! I have been told, on good authority, that both flow freely in the convivial villages and pubs of the valley! I so look forward to meeting everyone in the flesh as soon as we possibly can.

It is also fitting that I begin this new season of ministry with you on the edge of the Epiphany season. I love the readings over these Sundays as they show us the different Epiphany experiences of various people – the Wise Men, Samuel, Mary, Joseph and young Jesus, grown up Jesus and John the Baptist and today – Mary and the disciples.



An Epiphany is to have ‘a moment of great or sudden revelation or realization.’ I am not sure if you have ever had an epiphany moment – but they are quite extraordinary! Those moments when something new blows through your mind – you see the world, people, a situation in a totally new way. Epiphany moments can cause a fundamental change in one’s life. They are not always dramatic affairs – they are simply a moment when you know that something has changed in your mind or in your heart. The circumstances might be dramatic – but it not a requirement.



The Epiphany stories of the people in these scripture readings tell of their revelations and realizations of God the Father and Jesus the Son. This is what, we as Christians, should be seeking for ourselves. Religion and even faith can become very dull if we are not watching and waiting for epiphany moments ourselves.

We are going to spend a few minutes unpacking the epiphanies of the wedding at Cana.

‘Epiphany of Invitation’

Mary was the first one invited to this wedding; it is amusing that Jesus and the disciples had also been invited to the wedding. Was Jesus on the B list – surely not? Maybe that is why he is resistant to changing the water into wine?!

There are times when we may have been invited to an event or gathering that we were not top of the list for maybe invited to fill a gap left by someone else. It’s happened to me. It is not the most comfortable of situations to be in. I think that many people feel this way about the invitation to come to church; they are somehow on the B list, everyone around them is a better Christian or ‘in the club’ and there is no place for new members. The Revelation reading speaks of the blessing for those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. That is one invitation we do not want to miss; we are part of that great multitude.

At my licensing service this past week, I chose Isaiah 55 as the first reading. There were many reasons for this; largely for the opening verses and the very simple invitation to come. ‘Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat!’ Everyone is welcome.

Jesus was invited to the wedding and he turned up. He accepted the invitation and something amazing happened at that wedding. When we invite Jesus into our lives, He does amazing things, beyond what we could ever ask or imagine. My hope is that we as followers of Jesus would want to extend that invitation to others. Simply and lovingly.



The Epiphany of Expectation

The second example of Epiphany is the realization of the expectation that God will act. Mary is expecting Jesus to do something about the lack of wine at the wedding in Cana.

Imagine being at a wedding that runs out of wine. Imagine if you are the one hosting the wedding that has run out of wine! How embarrassing! What will everyone think?! In Jesus’ time hospitality was everything; to run out of a wine was a huge social faux pas.

The exchange between Mary and Jesus is somewhat amusing: Mary is concerned for the lack of wine and Jesus is saying ‘Oh Mother – mind your business!’ Mary is having none of this; and she involves the servants to do ‘whatever he tells you to’. It seemingly doesn’t take Jesus much convincing to ‘do something’.

This is good news! We do not have to negotiate or beg or plead with Jesus to act on our behalf. We may have to persist, there are often many other factors at play that we do not know about or see. Again, Isaiah 55, ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’



The position of Interim Priest-in-Charge of the Hambleden Valley Group was the 21st application I made for job over 18 months of looking. I had some really challenging moments of wondering if Jesus was going to do something. Many times of prayer became weepy, sniffly, pleading sessions. My levels of expectation fluctuated widely – of myself, of the church and its structures and of God.



At the end of it, I am so glad that His ways are not my ways. I know that Jesus will do something, even if I need to be reminded repeatedly.



The disciples are the ones who have the biggest ‘Epiphany of Expectation’ at the wedding of Cana. They are new friends of Jesus, he has just gathered them, so it is early days. What were their expectations of Jesus? They had left their families, homes and livelihoods to follow this man. We could assume that expectations were running high.

What are your expectations of Jesus like in your current situation? High – middling – low? What are your expectations of the Church? I would really like to know – if you’d care to share that with me at some point. Sometimes expectations need to be realistically adjusted. Low ones to be raised to avoid despondency. Overly high expectations need to be lowered to avoid continual disappointment.



The Epiphany of Covering

The wedding of Cana is incredibly rich in meaning and symbolism and we could be here all day digging around. Yes, Jesus starts his ministry here on the third day (reference to the resurrection). He takes what is common, weddings and water, and make them extraordinary. Mary’s high expectations and belief in her son and what she knows about him. The disciples who go from unbelief to belief and then circle back repeatedly as they follow Jesus.

At the heart of what Jesus is doing at the wedding of Cana is protecting the bride & groom and their families from shame. Hospitality is at the heart Middle Eastern culture and always has been. To run out of a wine at a wedding would be beyond humiliation, it would bring disgrace on a family. There were few things worse than failing to provide for one’s guests.

Jesus, by providing wine for them, he fulfils the need they have in that very moment. Jesus protected them from shame and disgrace in front of their community. He does the very same for us, Jesus covers our shame, our sins. He covers us in his love. Jesus also covers us in the very moment we need him too. He can change your life, He can change your day and He can also change that very moment you find yourself in.

Many people are struggling right now in lockdown, maybe even more this time around. People are losing jobs and relationships; some are unable to feed their children and themselves. Many medical staff feel they cannot provide the care that they desperately want to for the sick and the dying in front of them. My suspicions are that high levels of shame and embarrassment abound for many people.

Jesus covers that shame and embarrassment, when we let him. Whatever situation you are facing that you find shameful or embarrassing, please know that you are covered in the love of God. Please seek help if you need it – there are people in the churches that can help you. I want to help you if I can.



The ending of the Epiphany season does not mean that epiphanies stop happening. We need to watch and wait for them. The Epiphany of Invitation when we realize that Jesus is waiting for us to accept his invitation to join him. The Epiphany of Expectation reminds us that Jesus is at work even when there seems to be a delay, or He is somehow slow to act. Expectations may need to be adjusted. The Epiphany of Covering shows us the love and protection of Jesus. We are loved beyond what we can comprehend. He covers us in love and protects us from shame and embarrassment. We are in this together even though we have to keep apart.

Bless you my friends. I look forward to sharing this new season with you and look with expectation for what epiphanies are in store for us.