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Sunday 23 February 2014

Encounters- A healing at the Bethesda pool

Nicodemus had social position and power. The unnamed Samaritan woman was able to make choices, albeit wrong ones. The official's son had an advocate. All of them were able to approach Jesus. In chapter 5 of John's gospel, we see another individual, one who is unable to come to Jesus. So Jesus goes to him.

We don't know the exact nature of the invalid man's affliction, but the narrative does tell us that he was unable to move without help. Jewish tradition ascribed miraculous powers to the waters in the pool- periodically, so the legend told, an angel would stir the waters, and the first person to enter the pool would be healed. A collection of people needing healing would therefore congregate around the area.

"Do you want to get well?" Jesus asks this man directly in verse 6. Perhaps Jesus sees in this man a resignation to illness, or depression and despair. Because if the man is relying on the legendary powers, he never will get well. He has no influence, or advocate, or ability to help himself. The situation is hopeless.

Then Jesus comes along and says "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." And he does. No profound theological discussion, just a simple command, and the man is healed. His greatest need is met. There is a postscript in verse 14, where Jesus meets the man again in the temple, and warns him to stop sinning. Healing itself is wonderful, but it is a tool to a changed life, not an end in itself.

This passage reminds us too that healing is from God alone. Healing does not come from a particular place, nor do inanimate objects like crystals hold healing powers. Sickness and death are part of living in a fallen world and they are only overcome becuase Christ has triumphed over sin and death. This is why the Bible tells us "by His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5). 

There are many people in this world living in situations from which they fear there is no release. They have no earthly hope of anything being able to change. And yet Jesus is there to meet them in whatever situation they are experiencing, bringing hope, bringing change, bringing relationship and a new life in Christ.








Thursday 13 February 2014

Appreciate the gifts, love the Giver

"You have filled my heart with greater joy
  than when their grain and new wine abound"   
                                                                               Psalm 4, verse 7


Get rich. Buy things. Have everything you can possibly dream of. Long to live in a land where you can have it all. That's what the world says.
And those that strive and give their all to do so find out what a hollow lie it is.
And even worse than this, some "churches" promote the same reasoning - God wants you to name it and claim it, dress like a princess, get rich, live rich, have it all NOW......
Go for the gifts. Hardly pay any attention to the giver.
How we grieve the heart of our Father, swapping the greatest gift for rubbish, for trinkets.

Material things claim our time, effort and money. And not so tangible things creep in as well- busyness, responsibility, projects, programs, even our ministries can take centre stage. Suddenly we are aware of losing our first love, our greatest priority- relationship with our Father, His Son, His Spirit.
Then that small, still voice says come away, be still and know that I am God. Find yourself in Me alone.
And that love, that joy, that peace which passes all understanding comes back.

Dear Heavenly Father God, we come to You in praise and honour of all that You are. Thank You for the wonderful, gracious gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross, honouring You and making a way for us to be in relationship with You again. Thank You for the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us as Christians, giving counsel and wisdom and guidance in this earthly life until we come to live in Heaven with You. Forgive us Father, for the times when we have placed earthly cares and priorities before the greater joy of loving and serving You. Thank You for the many blessings and gifts that You love to give us, but most of all, thank You for the eternal blessing of fellowship with You. May our lives draw others who do not yet know You into Your kingdom. We give You all the praise and glory that is Yours alone, and ask these things in the name of our Saviour, Jesus. Amen


Wednesday 12 February 2014

Encounters: a royal official

When Jesus leaves the woman at the well and is travelling on to Galilee, he is met by a royal official, possibly an official from Herod's court. This man's son is gravely ill, and the official has sought out Jesus on the basis of all the healings that Jesus has performed. He implores Jesus to heal the child.

In this account we see a slight shift in the reasons that Jesus is approached. Both Nicodemus and the woman at the well were searching for something for themselves. In the case of the royal official, he was seeking healing for his son, so was petitioning on behalf of someone else. Of course, being the child's father, he was desirious of healing for the child for his own reasons too- he would suffer enormous grief if the child died.

One of the worst experiences in life is to see a loved one suffer, particularly your own child. Most parents of terminally ill or disabled children would desperately desire to see their child healed and well. Jesus' healing of this child indicates that it is quite correct to intercede on the behalf of others for healing.

In verse 48 of chapter 4, we read " Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, Jesus told him, "you will never believe". The man sought out Jesus because he was desperate and because he had heard that this man healed. Similarly today there are those who seek the gifts rather than the giver - healing, prosperity, blessings, rather than relationship.

A deep truth that we can perhaps gain from this account is Jesus' attitude to this kind of seeking. He may well give the desired gift. Yet perhaps He is even more pleased with those who seek Him, beyond what He can give or withhold.

This may perhaps help us to understand a little of the complexity of responses to prayer. Some Christians pray earnestly for healing for loved ones, which does not come in this life. Some seem to be called to bear the pain of disability or illness or to grieve the effects of the same in the life of a loved one. We can choose to become embittered by this, or it can draw us more closely in relationship with God.  Our dependency upon His sufficiency increases. Our values become more closely aligned with His.

But for those whose prayers are answered in the way that they expect, like the royal official, they have every reason to rejoice and believe in the One who has blessed them. When trouble struck, the royal official could not trust in his position or wealth or connections. He could only place his trust in an itinerant carpenter who called Himself the Son of God, and his trust was firmly given to the right person.
 .....................

 Recently I was touched deeply by an account on the subject of healing written by Nathan Fischner, a man with spina bifida. It can be accessed through the blog of Josh Broward - Humble Future- at the following link 
http://humblefuture.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/why-doesnt-god-heal-everyone-who-asks.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+HumbleFuture+%28Humble+Future%29

Josh's blog is one which continually challenges, informs and inspires on a variety of Christian issues.

Wednesday 5 February 2014

Encounters - the woman at the well


I came to You
and You were waiting
My hands empty
save for a cup
dirty on the inside
dry cracked pottery
discarded vessel
of another’s use

and You took my cup
You, who knew
no sin or falsity
Your white shining purity
unstained by this world
but You took my cup
and held it
as if in a caress

And I, like a cup
cracked and broken
and tossed away
was washed clean
and tears flowed again
until my heart was filled
with the joy of Your gift-
amazing love,
Water of life.


..................................................................


You couldn’t get a more strong contrast between people than that of Nicodemus in John chapter 3, and the unnamed woman at the well in John chapter 4. Nicodemus was a man of good repute and influence, an educated, respectable public official. In his capacity he was expected to have a wife, so was probably married. He approached Jesus secretly, at night, mindful of his position and reputation.
And so we come to an outcast woman, who perhaps personifies so many women. Life had worn her down to the bone, until she felt hopeless and helpless and completely alone. She approached Jesus in the glare of the sun, for she had no reputation to protect. Shunned by the people of her village, a social outcast, she was living with a man not her husband, having been through a number of relationships. She had no power to speak of, no influence on anyone.
But just maybe Nicodemus and the woman had one thing in common- they both knew of the promised Messiah and were anticipating his arrival, just as Simeon and Anna in the temple had been (Luke 2).
Nicodemus approached Jesus to gain truth and understanding. The woman at the well came to Jesus only in order to fill her water jar. As a Samaritan, she expected to be ignored by Him. Jesus, true to form, rejected the social confines of the day and not only spoke to her but elected to drink from her cup.
Jesus, as he always did, met her in the area of her greatest need. Whether it was healing, or physical provision, or forgiveness or instruction, Jesus looked straight into the life of each person he connected with and saw where the empty spaces were. He challenged everyone to not only think about themselves, but to connect with Him, and through Him, His heavenly Father. Few ever met Jesus and went away unchanged.

Jesus was like nobody this woman had encountered before. He treated her respectfully, as a person, as a woman. In a world where so many women are abused and mistreated, Jesus stands as the most perfect example of manhood, the faithful protector, comforter and provider who will never let you down.

I believe that there was always something so compelling about Jesus, that those who encountered Him, if they chose to believe that He was who He claimed to be, would have known great joy. The woman at the end of this chapter, racing away to tell her village about the Messiah, seems unrecognisable from the lonely outcast at the beginning. She is transformed.

And this is the gospel message, again and again. Lives turned around. New hope. Loving relationship. Release. Joy. Living water.

May God bless you, particularly if, like me, some of that unknown lady’s story is your story too.