Help! Fighting at the foodbank! (2)

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. Acts 6:1-7

Last time we looked at the sorry episode of the disagreement over the “foodbank” in the Jerusalem church in those early days after Pentecost. I asked the question: How could such a petty squabble arise among people who had only just come to know Jesus as the risen Lord and who had experienced the power of the Holy Spirit?

The answer is: Because even the best Christian people aren’t yet quite perfect! – as long as we are on this earth the devil is still at work in us, and it shouldn’t surprise us when we fall foul of him.

But I had another question – I hope, a more positive one: How did the first believers in Jesus resolve the problem? There is much that we can learn, both those who are in church leadership and those who aren’t. I’ll pick out four things…

First, the apostles tackled the problem head-on.

Verse 1 describes the difficulty; and then immediately in verse 2 we find the apostles saying to the church, in effect, “Right, let’s get this sorted out!” They acted decisively.

It’s a simple point, but a vital one: problems should not be allowed to fester; they will only get worse. A disagreement in the life of the church is like a virus in the body. There must be no turning of a blind eye; no vaguely willing the problem away; it will only rear its ugly head again.

Second, they recognised the need for delegation.

What action did the apostles call for? Answer: the appointment of a group of seven people (all of them men, given the religious and social background of the day; today they would certainly include women) who would be given the job of putting things right. “Running the foodbank isn’t our job!” they said.

Some church leaders get the idea into their heads that they must be at the heart of every issue in the church’s life: the chair of every committee, a finger in every conceivable pie. And so they wear themselves out rushing from meeting to meeting and, more important, they neglect the central importance of what they are really called to focus on: “prayer and the ministry of the word”.

Practical and administrative tasks are important – of course! Thank God for those in our churches who are gifted in carrying them out. But it is by God’s word that the church thrives and grows, and nothing should be allowed to supplant that vital ministry.

Third, they didn’t compromise on spiritual quality.

The apostles told the church members to ensure that the men they chose were “full of the Spirit and of wisdom”. The one who seems to have been  their leader, Stephen, is described as “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” and “a man full of God’s grace and power” (6:8), and the next chapter of Acts will leave us in no doubt regarding his spiritual stature.

Stephen and his colleagues demonstrate that everyone who is active in serving the church – even in “only” a practical capacity – should have real spiritual depth, and should command respect. There should be no talk of “Oh, so-and-so can do that; they’re good with the figures or the hands-on jobs”.

Fourth, the apostles showed pastoral sensitivity.

One detail of the story is easy to overlook: the apostles gathered the church members as a whole and gave them the task of choosing “the seven”. No doubt they could have done the choosing themselves; after all, if anyone had their finger on the pulse of what was going on, it was them. But they recognised the wisdom of involving the whole membership in such an important decision.

This raises questions of “church government”. Should the appointed leaders make all the key decisions? Or should the church as a whole be involved, and have a voice?

It’s interesting that each of “the seven” has a Greek rather than a Hebrew name. This suggests that the people grasped where the problem lay, and made their choice accordingly – choosing Greek-speakers was a good way of assuring that part of the community that they were fully equal to the Aramaic speakers. Luke tells us that “they”, the people as a whole, “presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them”. In other words, the leaders rubber-stamped the decision of the people, not vice-versa.

In a nutshell: leaders are called to lead, yes; but it is not their calling to domineer, or to render the members of the church voiceless and passive.

Reading this story makes me think, “My, these apostles have matured a bit since they were with Jesus in his earthly life!” Then they quarrelled and squabbled, they often misunderstood him completely, and in the end they abandoned him in Gethsemane: a pretty sorry bunch.

But here – well, one has to admire and respect them.

So one can only say: Thanks be to God for wise, humble, loving, firm leadership in his church! And thanks be to God for every committed and active member, however humble their service may be. Including me…

Loving Father, thank you for the church, the body of Christ on earth. If I have leadership responsibility, help me to carry it out conscientiously. If I don’t, help me to make my contribution as called by you and led by your Spirit. Amen.

Help! Fighting at the food bank!

 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. Acts 6:1-7

Does your church run a foodbank? If it does, I hope it is never a place of anger or tension – fighting over the baked beans, bread rolls used as missiles, mayhem among the macaroni.

I shouldn’t joke, because it really isn’t funny – when honest and hard-working people are dependent on “charity” for the basic necessities of life. The fact that such centres are needed at all is a shame on our country.

In the ancient world it was different - no “welfare state” for people to rely on. So in the new-born church, soon after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2), the Jewish custom of making sure that no-one went without was quickly adopted; and that applied especially to widows, the poorest of the poor, who otherwise would have no one to stand up for them.

But very quickly things turned nasty at their equivalent of a food bank.

What went wrong?

In the church in Jerusalem there were two people-groups: “Hebraic” Jews from the nearer locality – Judah and Galilee – who spoke a Semitic language called Aramaic (the language Jesus spoke); and Jews from further afield in the Roman empire – “Hellenists” - whose main language was Greek.

True, all these people were now united by faith in Jesus. But they were distinct groups and (here it comes) “the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution of food”. Oh dear! There was muttering and grumbling: “Our poorest people are being treated as second class! They’re not getting fair shares! It’s not right!”

A sad episode indeed. And it prompts at least two big questions.

First, how could such a thing possibly happen in the new-born church?

Remember, we are still in the immediate aftermath of the resurrection; the staggering, glorious, life-changing, world-changing news of Jesus crucified and risen is only just beginning to spread in the ancient world. And we are still in the supernatural afterglow of Pentecost – the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the believers – fulfilling the words of the prophets.

These are giddy, heady, euphoric days: God is on the move! And the people we are reading about have been right at the heart of it. You might expect them to be almost drunk on joy.

Yet… what do we find? Grumbling; discontent; anger; bad feeling; division. And so we ask: why would people who have been “raised with Christ” and filled with Holy Spirit behave in this way?

The basic answer is simplicity itself: even the finest, most Spirit-filled Christians aren’t quite perfect yet!

When we first come to Christ we bring with us a whole lot of baggage, and the process of having all our bad attitudes, bad behaviour and bad habits purged out of us takes a life-time, and more. So we really shouldn’t be surprised if flash-points like this flair up.

The Book of Acts as a whole is a record of growth and progress as the gospel took root in the Mediterranean world. But it is also a record of big problems, not just in the form of persecution from outside (that’s understandable) but also of serious difficulties from within the church. Putting it very simply: whenever God is on the move, the devil gets busy too. And there is nothing he likes more than to cause division.

It’s not just here, in chapter 6. It also rumbles through the whole book, as the first followers of Jesus wrestle with the question of how to deal with non-Jews (Gentiles) who also become followers. Do they have to observe the Jewish law? Do the men have to be circumcised? The traditional hard-liners insist “Yes!” – in order to become a follower of the Jewish Messiah these people must, in effect, become Jews. But others – above all Barnabas and his friend Paul – say No; just accept them as they are! It took a big conference (the “Council of Jerusalem”, Acts 15) to try and sort that out.

And then, of course, even Paul and Barnabas had a big bust-up and went their separate ways (Acts 15:36-41). And Peter (who really should have known better!) had a stand-up disagreement with Paul in Antioch (Galatians 2:11-14). Again, oh dear!

Church life bristles with potential and actual arguments – it happened then, so why should we be surprised if it happens to us today? What matters is to accept that as a fact of life and to resolve such tensions quickly. Next time we’ll see how the first church managed to do that.

But in the meantime it is worth asking ourselves the puzzling question, Why did the Hebraic Jews discriminate against the Greek-speakers? Surely they wouldn’t do such a thing deliberately! Or was it a case, perhaps, of subconscious bias against people “who aren’t quite like us”?

And if so… could we be guilty of pretty much the same thing? Just asking…

Father, thank you for the privilege of belonging to your world-side church. Help me always to cherish and value it – and to strive always to maintain its unity. Amen.

A full heart and a ready tongue

Jesus said, “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of…” Matthew 12:34

Peter and John replied… “As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard”. Acts 4:20

In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have… 1 Peter 3:15

When we have the chance of a good old natter we all like to talk about the things that are most important to us.

If my wife is on the phone to her brother, I know it’s only a matter of time before they’re banging on about Liverpool FC (yawn!). For you, it might be a favourite television programme, or your passion for gardening, or who you met while out dog-walking this morning, or a book you’re reading. I have a friend who loves to enthuse about the symphonies of Gustav Mahler (yes, really).

This is the way we are. So when Jesus says that “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” he’s just stating a fact of life, nothing very profound or original. But he says it in the context of a tense discussion with a group of Pharisees who are questioning where he gets his power from – not from God, they say, but from the devil.

He tells them that they are completely blind spiritually; they have not a scrap of understanding of the truth about himself; changing the image, they are like diseased trees that are bound to produce bad fruit, or like snakes which bite and spread poison. The implication is clear: because they are full of lies and ignorance, when they teach the people, all they have to offer is deception and falseness.

Jesus doesn’t mince his words! – a warning, perhaps, to any of us who are tasked with the responsibility of teaching others, whether in a “religious” context or any other. Our words will strike home; they might even change lives; so let’s make sure they can do only good and not harm.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with enthusing about your football team, or some hobby you have, or even about Gustav Mahler’s music (as long as we are always aware of the danger of boring the other person senseless). But Jesus’ saying has an application at a much deeper level, and it’s beautifully illustrated by the apostles Peter and John in Acts 3 and 4…

The apostles have been used by God to heal a lame beggar, and this stirs up great excitement. A crowd gathers, and Peter explains that the miracle has been done in the name of Jesus, “who you handed over to be killed” (ouch!). The Jewish religious authorities don’t like the sound of this! So they put Peter and John in prison overnight, hoping that will cool them off a bit.

But no. The next day the apostles are as bold and confident as ever, and the authorities realise that while you can always trade words and arguments with people you want to silence, it’s a different matter when there’s a man who’s been miraculously healed standing right there in front of everyone’s noses. Try arguing with that!

So what do they do? Answer: they “command them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18). And this is where Peter and John give that fresh application of Jesus’ words about the overflowing heart: “We can’t help speaking about what we have seen and heard”. As if to say: Sorry, but you’re wasting your time! You might as well command the sun to stop shining or a river to stop flowing. How can we possibly be silent after all that we’ve seen concerning Jesus!

How indeed?

Thinking along these lines can take us in two different directions, one bad, one good.

Bad: we can collapse into feelings of guilt. When did I last speak about Jesus? Why do I find it so hard? Oh dear, I must be a really useless Christian! We “beat ourselves up”.

I say that’s bad simply because we live in a world where witnessing for Christ is much less natural than it was for the first apostles. Yes, we should always be ready to speak up when the opportunity arises, but we need to be sensitive to the setting in which we happen to be – never forget 1 Peter 3:15-16…!

Good: we can take it as a challenge about our enthusiasm as Christians. Even if it genuinely isn’t appropriate to talk about our faith in a given situation, does Jesus matter enough to us to make us want to? Going to that 1 Peter passage, do we truly “revere Christ in our hearts as Lord”? For only then will we be “prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks us”.

We twenty-first century Christians haven’t had the kind of dramatic experience the first followers of Jesus had. That’s just the way it is. But we have had our lives changed by him! We have entered into eternal life; we have received the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. And those facts should still delight and excite us. Part of our daily responsibility is to keep that faith that has shaped our whole lives fresh and “new every morning”.

If, thinking about these things, we find ourselves stone cold in heart… well, perhaps there is a need for a bit of serious self-examination: for all is not well.

Loving Lord God, in your Son Jesus you have done wonderful and life-changing things. Thank you for the momentous day when I first put my trust in him. Please help me, by your Holy Spirit, to keep that trust fresh and new, so that I am always ready to share it when the opportunity is given. Amen.

The nobody who's a somebody

An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.” To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him’… John 3:22-28

How’s this for a lovely story?

A pastor had been faithfully ministering in his church for many years, and had seen much numerical growth. But that was changing, partly because a new young pastor had come to a neighbouring church and was beginning to attract large numbers.

One Sunday the congregation numbered just a handful. The pastor said, sadly, “Where is everyone?” After an embarrassed pause somebody replied that they were probably at that other church. Whereupon the pastor smiled and said, “Well, perhaps we ought to join them then”; he gathered up his books and led his loyal little flock down the road.

That must have been hard. But it was done with grace, dignity and humility.

The world we live in is ferociously competitive. We all want to be top dog, to be the most successful person in our particular field. When it comes to sport, of course, that’s fair enough: the whole point is to win, and if one person wins, then everyone else, obviously, must lose.

But in other areas it’s a very different matter. A famous novelist is reported to have said “Every time a friend succeeds, something in me dies”. Perhaps he said it with a smile on his face, not meaning it too seriously. I hope so. But I can’t help wondering.

This kind of competitive spirit creeps like poison into the church. When I was a very new minister, still feeling my way, an even newer one arrived. At the first ministers’ fellowship he attended he informed us - bold as brass - that “We are praying to become the biggest church in this town”. Not, note, the most loving church, or the most Christ-centred church, or the most Spirit-filled church… I have to confess that I sat there thinking, “Oh, you silly, silly man…” (Within a year he had gone.)

According to John’s Gospel there was a short period when John the Baptist and Jesus were both active in preaching and baptising. To us, as we look back knowing what we do, what happened was inevitable: the disciples of John gravitated to Jesus (though Acts 19:1-7 puts an interesting light on that!). But some remained loyal to their teacher – and, it seems, got upset and jealous on his behalf: “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan – the one you testified about – look, he is baptising, and everyone is going to him”. How dare they!

And how does John respond?

First, he states, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven… I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him…” (verses 27-28).

In other words, God has a purpose for each one of us, and our job is to find out what it is and simply get on and do it – and not worry about anyone else, even if their God-appointed role seems to eclipse ours.

Jesus himself echoed much the same thought to Simon Peter in that wonderful conversation he had with him after his resurrection. Peter is assured by Jesus that his betrayal before the crucifixion is forgiven, but we read then that he looked at “the disciple Jesus loved”, and asked “What about him?” To which Jesus replied, in effect, “Never you mind! That’s none of your business. You follow me!” (John 21:15-24.)

Second, John compares the coming of Jesus, and the breaking in of the kingdom of God, to a wedding, with all the joy that implies. Jesus, of course, is the bridegroom and, says John, “My role is that of ‘best man’”.

In weddings in most societies the best man is very important: much responsibility falls to him. But one thing he absolutely mustn’t do is steal the limelight from the bridegroom – just as the bridesmaids, however beautiful, mustn’t steal the limelight from the bride.

(I conducted a wedding once where one of the bride’s sisters drew a lot of attention to herself by acting like a prima donna: everything she said and did seemed to scream out “Look at me! I’m here!” It was embarrassing, and eventually another member of the family took her aside and told her very firmly “This isn’t about you!” Fortunately it did the trick…)

My job, said John, is to point people to Jesus (John 1:33). So if my disciples are drifting from me to him, great! long may it continue! And he summed it up with that famous little saying: “He must increase: I must decrease” (John 3:30). Can we say that? Truly, from our hearts?

The poet T S Eliot wrote: “Most of the trouble in the world is caused by people wanting to be important”. Another witty writer offers the warning: “You may get to the top of the ladder, and then find that it has not been leaning against the right wall”. I like that!

In terms of the kingdom of God, the only way to be something is to make yourself nothing. That, and nothing less, is the way of Jesus (Philippians 2:7).

Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear…

Lord Jesus Christ, please deliver me from any kind of competitive or jealous spirit, so that all the glory goes to you. If I am called to do great things, may I do them without pride, and if I am called to do little things, may I do them without resentment. Amen. 

Be perfect!

Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honour your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbour as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Matthew 19:16-22

In this story Jesus tells “the rich young ruler” that the way to “get eternal life” is by “keeping the commandments”. Is that a contradiction of the teaching of Paul that all that is needed is simply to trust in God’s kindness and mercy?

It might seem that way. But the answer is No; and last time I tried to explain why.

But I had a second question in mind which I didn’t have space for, so we’re back to the same story today…

The young man claims that he has kept the commandments, but then goes on to ask “What do I still lack?” He sounds really keen, doesn’t he! (I don’t think there’s any reason to doubt his sincerity.) And Jesus responds: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor…”.

The question is: Why does Jesus suddenly bring in “perfection”? Is he implying that his followers fall into separate categories: “ordinary” followers on the one hand; and “perfect” followers on the other? First-class and second-class followers?

Down through the history of the church this verse has sometimes been taken that way: there are ordinary Christians who carry on living lives which, outwardly at least, are not particularly different from anyone else’s; and then there are special Christians such as nuns and monks and “clergy” who aim for something better and higher.

Is this the kind of thing Jesus is hinting at?

Again, No. If we go back to the Sermon on the Mount, we find that “perfection” is asked of all of Jesus’ followers: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

What does the word “perfect” in fact mean? We tend to assume that it is much the same as “sinless”. But that can’t be right, because the New Testament makes clear that even the most devoted followers of Jesus still need to repent of sins (for example,1 John 1:8-10).

No: the word literally means “complete”, “mature”; it applies to something that has reached the end it was designed for. So a “perfect” Christian is someone who, through obedience, suffering, and deep, childlike faith, has reached a level of maturity which truly reflects the holiness of Jesus and the fulness of the Spirit. And when Jesus tells the man to get rid of all his worldly goods, give everything to the poor and “come and follow me” he is saying, in effect “This will lead to you growing up spiritually in ways you would never have imagined!”

This, I think, is what Jesus must mean – but even here we need to be careful: let’s not forget that Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13:3, makes it clear that there can be such a thing as loveless sacrifice, sacrifice which is completely barren and sterile.

There’s something else that it’s easy to skim over. This story appears in each of the “synoptic” Gospels (ie, Mark and Luke as well as Matthew), but with significant differences (some of which are hard to harmonise!). And Mark adds one little detail which I find quite touching.

After the young man insists that he has faithfully kept the commandments, Mark tells us that “Jesus looked at him and loved him” (Mark 10:21).

Well of course! we might say. So what? Doesn’t Jesus love everyone? Certainly! But by mentioning it in this particular way Mark seems to be hinting at something deeper: that Jesus warmed to this young man in a special way.

Yes, he was naïve; yes, he was perhaps rather arrogant and over-sure of himself; yes, he was self-centred, even greedy. But Jesus recognised also his childlike sincerity and – this is the point – saw great potential in him. He saw not simply what he was; he saw also what, by God’s grace, he could be. Matthew tells us that he “went away sad”; and I suspect he wasn’t the only one who was sad…

Most of us, I imagine, aren’t extremely rich, like the young man. Probably Jesus doesn’t make the same requirement of us (though let’s be careful: why shouldn’t someone with relatively little wealth be called to sacrifice it all?).

But if, by making that demand, Jesus touched a sore spot – the Achilles’ heel - in his life, perhaps it’s not a bad idea for us to ask ourselves: “What’s my Achilles’ heel? At what particular point do I fall short of the ‘perfection’ to which Jesus calls me? What weakness prevents me from being ‘the best that I can be’?”

On Judgement Day, how many of us will feel sad – not because we have lost our salvation, but because we failed to respond to the call of Jesus to something which seemed too hard. But something which would have brought us, oh, such fulfilment, such usefulness, such joy…

Lord God, please help me to reach my full potential in Christ, however hard the sacrifice might seem. Amen.

How to enter eternal life

Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honour your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbour as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Matthew 19:16-22

It’s a sobering thought (perhaps good for keeping one humble) when you realise that you have been reading the Bible for most of your life, but there are passages which you still puzzle over.

For me, the story of Jesus’ encounter with “the rich young ruler” is such a passage. I hope I’m not the only fairly mature Christian who wonders if they’ve really got to the bottom of it. It throws up a number of questions; I’ll pick out just two.

First, why is it that when the young man asks Jesus what “good thing” he must “do” to get “eternal life”, Jesus replies, “Keep the commandments”?

Wouldn’t we expect him to have replied, “Do? What do you mean, do? There’s nothing you can do! Entering eternal life isn’t a matter of anything you do – it’s purely a matter of trusting in the grace and mercy of God; eternal life is something you simply receive as a gift”?

By telling him to “keep the commandments” isn’t Jesus in effect teaching salvation by works rather than by faith? And doesn’t that contradict the teaching of the early church: as Paul puts it in Ephesians 2:8-9: “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works…” Or in Romans 3:20: “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law…”.

I’m sure there is in fact no contradiction between Jesus and the first apostles, but it could certainly look that way. So how can we explain it?

The key is to see the story of the rich young ruler, on the one hand, and the teaching of Paul, on the other, in their very different historical settings. So bear with me, please…

The scholars reckon that Paul wrote Romans some time in the late 50s – that’s some twenty-plus years on from the crucifixion. So there was a significant interval of time between Jesus talking to that man (somewhere around 30) and Paul sitting down to write his letters (50ish). A lot has happened in that interval! In fact the whole world has changed, as God’s ancient plan, foretold by the prophets, has reached is climax in Christ.

Jesus, of course, was himself a Jew (as were all his first followers), but at that point in his earthly ministry he was concerned to make clear that he was not simply “a Jew” but in fact the long-promised “king of the Jews” – the Messiah. And he showed little interest in those who were born outside the Jewish nation – the slightly unsettling story of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28, especially verse 24, makes that very clear!

So…? This means that at that point in history there was no such thing as what  the church came to know as “the doctrine of justification by faith”; no such thing, in fact, as the “church” at all; no such people as “Christians”, for the very word “Christian” hadn’t yet been coined (as Acts 11:26 tells us).

Certainly, it was by faith in God and loyalty to him that a Jew proved themselves a child of the chosen race – the race into which they were born. But how did a Jew demonstrate that faith and loyalty? How else than by keeping the commandments?

So when Jesus told the man to do just that, he was, in effect, telling him to demonstrate that he was worthy to be numbered among the people into which he had, by God’s grace, been born.

Do I hear a howl of protest at that word “worthy”? - “But the whole gospel of God’s grace rests on the fact that we are not worthy, and can never make ourselves so!”

That’s certainly true. But wait a minute! Listen again, please, to Paul, the great advocate of “justification by grace through faith”. Here he is in Ephesians 4:1: “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received”. And in Philippians 1:27: “Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ”. And in Colossians 1:10: “… so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord”.

Somebody once summed up the essence of Christian living as “Become what you are”. And if that sounds a little crazy, let’s expand it: “You are already made worthy by God’s grace given to you in Christ, received by faith: now prove it, then, by becoming worthy in the way you live!”

And is that really any different from what Jesus said to the rich young ruler? - “Given that you are already an heir of eternal life through God’s grace in causing you to be born into his chosen people, well now, prove it by living according to his holy will – by keeping the commandments”.

Getting a bit dizzy? My apologies! If you find this all rather theoretical or not really “scratching where you itch”, of course just ignore everything I have said. But if, like me, you have found this story puzzling, I hope my reflections may be helpful.

And if, of course, you can explain the story better than me, I would love to hear from you. Always eager to learn, me!

I said I had two questions to think about regarding Jesus and the rich young ruler. Well, I shall have to leave the second – what does Jesus mean by being “perfect”? - until next time…

Heavenly Father, thank you that you call us to enter eternal life by faith in Jesus, and on the basis of what he did on the cross. Help me now to live a life worthy of that calling. Amen.

Taking yourself in hand

Taking yourself in hand

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27

I have to admit that running has never been my thing. Whacking a ball about a squash court or a shuttlecock around a badminton court – no problem (at least in younger days!). But running, no thanks: too much like hard work.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t admire the sheer elegant beauty of running, or appreciate the massive commitment and training required to be good at it. And it doesn’t surprise me that the New Testament uses it as a metaphor for the Christian life. Perhaps the best known example is Hebrews 12, where the writer encourages his readers to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us”.

And here too is Paul in 1 Corinthians 9. His focus isn’t so much on the race itself as on the dedication needed to succeed. And, boy, it’s some dedication! “I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave”, where “strike a blow to my body” could be translated “beat myself” or even “give myself a black eye”. Whatever, he’s talking about severe self-discipline. There’s certainly a bit of boxing thrown in there as well!

How literally does Paul mean this? Did he really beat and flog himself? We don’t know, but I’m pretty sure his regime would have at least involved fasting - he knew his body could get sluggish and out of condition, and he knew that that would make him spiritually lazy.

Obviously there’s a challenge there for every Christian, especially for those of us who live in the prosperous western world, where many of us take for granted plenty of food - far more than we really need - and expect comforts and relaxations of all sorts.

The challenge, in essence is: How serious am I about my faith? Do I really mean business with God? Or do I, in fact, in spite of all my fine words, just coast along? An athlete who goes easy on training for just a day or two will be in danger of getting out of condition: so, as Jesus said in another context, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear”…

But, hang on a minute! - aren’t we supposed to enjoy our relationship with God? Didn’t Jesus say that he came to give us life, and “life to the very full” (John 10:10)? And isn’t Paul here making it sound rather like a clenched-teeth, strained-muscles, sweaty-browed ordeal?

It may seem like that. But don’t we find in life in general that if we love someone, nothing is too much trouble? Or if something is really important to us, we’ll put up with anything to succeed with it? And in the same way, if we see Jesus as truly our Saviour, Lord and Friend, as the one who has saved us from our sins and transformed our lives, is anything too hard for us? True love is the greatest thing in the world. But it is costly too.

This little passage in 1 Corinthians 9 ends on a slightly puzzling note. Paul tells us that his need to beat his body into submission – to “make it my slave” – is partly motivated by a fear lest “after I have preached to others, I myself may be disqualified for the prize”.

What does that mean! Was Paul seriously afraid that, in the end, he might lose his salvation? Surely not! If ever a man was convinced that his ultimate destiny was to be “with Christ”, it was Paul. After all, it was he who wrote those quite wonderful words in Philippians 1:21: “to me, to live is Christ, to die is gain”.

When he talks about a “prize” that he may be “disqualified” from, he can only mean that at the final judgment he may be made painfully aware of his relative failure to be everything God had called him and equipped him to be. (Isn’t this also what he was getting at in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15?) He may have been a great servant of God, but he wasn’t perfect.

However that may be, that slightly hesitant note in 9:27 reminds us of a truth we need to take seriously: there is a big difference between confidence (a good thing!) and complacency (not a good thing!).

Do you and I know that difference too?

This little passage is so packed with punchy stuff that perhaps I can finish no better than by repeating it, this time in the Message translation of the Bible…

You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally. I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No lazy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.

Christian, take Paul’s advice: Run in such a way as to get the prize. Yes!

Dear Father, please help me to run the race of this wonderful Christian life with determination, discipline and full commitment, and in such a way that I may “get the prize”! Amen.