Change, Christ, Challenge – Matthew 13:53-58

I’m not going to bother with an introduction (barring this sentence) today, it’s late and I want to get this down while I can still see straightish.

 

53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there.54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”

58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

 ( Matthew 13:53-58 NIV)

 

I find this passage challenging today. It’s the passage from the Biblestudy I was due to do on the tenth, but I don’t know if I would have really gotten it last week.

Previously when reading it I would think about the practical nature of things, it’s hard to accept somebody as different from the person you knew when they were growing up. However, Jesus didn’t leave home as a boy – He left as a man of around 30. This community knew Jesus well, he was a local tradesman in a pretty small town, he couldn’t have gotten by!

This passage has less to do with a radical transformation of Jesus in the time He was away (although He had changed, moving from a time of waiting into his ministry as the Son of God). Rather this passage is much, much simpler to understand than I had made it.

The passage is simple – The people didn’t understand exactly who Jesus was – they had an understanding, he was just another bloke, nothing special, just another guy like you or me – they didn’t realise he was the Messiah, the Chosen One. Just like the fire-truck in transformers, Jesus is more than meets the eye.

Jesus taught and clearly rumours had circulated after he arrived, because the people ask about Jesus’ change. However, when confronted with the fullness of Jesus’ identity, more than a wise man, more than a healer, more than a man they deny it. They explain it away, like a lot of people do today. “He’s just another man!” “His own flesh and blood are here with us, and they’re nothing special!” “Maybe Jesus had something worth listening too, but all this God stuff is a bit much, don’t you think?”

Then there is nothing more to follow. Jesus’ ministry takes a pause, there are no miracles, maybe the people didn’t bring Him any lame folk, maybe the blind didn’t cry out to Jesus. Perhaps they didn’t follow him out into the countryside without a packed lunch. We don’t know for sure, but my guess is that the people didn’t give Jesus any room to manoeuvre.

There is a lot of that in my own life. There’s a lot of that in the churches we are apart of. Some people pray “Lord make a difference here” but refuse to make changes. Some folks sing “Lord have your way with us” literally do what you want with us, and at the end of the service they leave the building and walk by homeless people without a second glance – I know I have, I know I do.

The point is this – If we really want to see miracles, if we really want to see a friend, a family, a city, a nation… the world changed then it has to start with us. It has to start with making sacrifices – taking the hard road when asked. Denying yourself, and taking up a cross and walking.

Maybe that means sitting down (again!) after a long service and chatting to some poor bloke who can’t afford to eat without begging. Maybe it means changing your prayer life. Maybe it means actually doing something when you know should, even though you don’t want to.

I think it means all of those things for me. I know when I cry out to God “Where are you?” or “Where were you?” The answer is always the same.

“Waiting for you to give Me a chance to help you.”

Genesis 46 – Still trusting in God.

It’s been less than two months since I last blogged, I must be getting back into the swing of things eh?

Brief summary of the last two months of my life – poor attendance at my one day a week class, great attendance at church, painting rooms, reading books and probably passing my course (provisional mark is a pass, but that has to be confirmed by a physical submission). How exciting!

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2046&version=NIV

It’s (most likely) been a long time since God asked Jacob to do something major – I wonder how much God and Jacob spoke since their wrestling match. The story is coming up to the grand reuniting! Jacob planning to go and visit is much loved, and much longed for son, Joseph, Egypt’s boy wonder. He must have been nervous, because before he actually leave the land of Canaan God has to prompt him. Something similar happens to modern day followers of God.

Genesis 45 – At long last, all things are revealed.

It has been a long time since I have blogged.
I think that must be my most frequent opening, since it is almost always a long time since I have last blogged.

Quite a lot has happened since my last blog. Last you all heard via wordpress is I was employed part time, studying part time and I suppose I  was living part time, even though I didn’t express it, as I wasn’t aware of it.

I applied for the position of youth worker in a local church. I was really excited about the whole process really. The application went relatively smoothly, the interview went well, and I was invited to do a short teaching at the youth club as a follow up. That also went well! However, after missing several phone calls I received an email apologising two fold, firstly for the method of communication, and secondly that I was not the man for the job!
I have to admit, I was, and deep down still am upset about that, I thought I’d be good at the job, and to be fair, I believe I am correct in that thinking. They felt, and I honour and agree with that feeling that God was not calling me to their church, partly due to inexperience working with their kind of kids, and they felt I would struggle to drive forward their vision for the youth work in their parish.
Oh well! I believe God has something better for me in store, although from here I don’t know what that is. I do know that I’m glad to be staying at Central for the foreseeable future, and continuing to live with my community – my extended family.

How does this relate to Genesis 45? How have I managed to relate my story to that of Joseph and his brothers?

Exploring a call…

First off, I’d like to make my standard opening mentioning how long it has been since my last blog… 3 weeks is actually a lot better than it has been, so I guess I have that going for me now.

I guess today’s (perhaps tonight’s is more applicable) blog is entirely (hyperbole) inspired by a friend who messaged me after my last facebook post to tell me I was

“a brilliant witness here on Facebook, I wish I had half your courage! “

I have to admit hearing that felt pretty good. Since the person who made it has no exposure to my life apart from facebook these days I have to say it is a nice compliment.

It got me thinking. Maybe I’m a great witness on Facebook, maybe I’m even an ok witness in the real world as well.
Perhaps, these two worlds don’t need to be held at arms reach. Perhaps the world (like, all 30 odd people who will eventually stumble across this) is ready for some real honest to God (literally) honesty.

I am by nature of being a human, a sinner – which simply means I’M NOT PERFECT. There, I said it once, don’t make me say it again, I don’t know if my ego can handle such self-centered humility. (Isn’t it interesting how in Christian circles admitting that you aren’t perfect nearly defeats the purpose – “I’m such a good Christian I know I’m not a good Christian” – how meta is that!?)

Identity and Worship – and a few thoughts on the “Charismatic” movement.

It’s been a long time since I last blogged.

That seems to be a very common opening for my blogs! I wish it wasn’t, yet at the same time I struggle with motivating myself to write. I have half formed thoughts, and think ooh that would be a great subject to blog on. That way I can bounce my thoughts off the screen of my laptop until I have something vaguely coherent, and perhaps almost conclusive, then I can publish it and people will read it.

That for me, is what my blog is supposed (I think) to be about, a place for me when I can bounce my ideas around outside of my head. I’m a very internalised processor, which means when I think about things I tend not to do much discussing until I have a pretty good grasp on the idea/plan. It is only infrequently I’ll speak up about a plan or an idea and say everything that I could about it, it tends to be I open on the topic, talk/explain what I think and then let people draw their on conclusions from what is right for me. That’s why I used to (and still do) enjoy blogging! I get to talk for just as long as I want to, go back and rephrase things I’m not comfortable with until it’s neater.

At the moment I’ve reached a phase in life where I’m struggling with my identity. That’s not to say I’ve forgotten my name (Andrew James Goudie) but rather that I seem to be losing something that I’ve had through my whole childhood. I feel like I’ve lost an instinctive grasp on who and what I am.

I woke up at about 2 this morning, after falling asleep well before 9, and couldn’t get back to sleep, so picked up the book I’ve just started reading. It’s about discipleship and identity (so far). The part of the book talks about how we have to set Jesus at the focus of our lives, and make a stand for Him. However, making that stand is wrapped up in who you are! The writer talks about growing Jesus inside of yourself, cultivating a lifestyle that looks like Jesus.