XV_?

XV

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Who do you say I am? Matt 16:15

Are you direct in talking to others? These words of Jesus show that he was prepared to give a direct challenge. Talking with Jesus must have been quite a scary experience; he had an ability to cut through reasoning that did not stand up to his penetrating insight. Do you remember the attempts made by the Samaritan woman to divert the conversation away from personal issues?

It was no accident that the incident related in Matt 16 took place near Caesarea Philippi. This place had been the centre of Baal worship in earlier years; the Greeks later made it a centre of worship of Pan. In Jesus’ day there was a temple, built on a hillside by Philip, to honour Caesar as a god. Against that backdrop, is it not amazing that Jesus, the wandering rabbi, raises the question ‘Who do you say I am’? It was as if the whole area, if it had a voice, might say ‘This is where you find god – in the fertility rites of Canaanites, or by the sensual worship of the Greeks or in the dominating force of Rome, declaring that Caesar is Lord. All three had a common aim – to draw God’s people away from the worship and service of the one true God. There is a total distinction between the worship of God and that offered to Baal, Pan and Caesar.

Who do you say that I am? The question has deep significance in 2008. The direct challenge put to Peter and the other disciples is, in turn, directed at us. As in Jesus’ day, there is no shortage of opinions about Jesus – a great teacher, a prophet and so on. BUT, you are faced with a question to which what ‘they say’ as an answer is irrelevant. Imagine that you are in the bodily presence of Jesus right now (and you would probably be overcome in prostration) asking YOU the question that you cannot brush aside. It is one of the most significant questions to be faced in life.

I can imagine that some of you will reply that you believe in Jesus; good, but Jesus reminded his hearers that demons believe and tremble. This question goes deeper, I suggest that if this devotional achieves what it should, then the whole context has to be read and pondered. The revelation to Peter that Jesus of Nazareth is Messiah means that from this point on, Peter is no longer a free agent but, as the following verses tell us, he is to follow in the path of suffering and death. There is no other way.

This revelation of Jesus to Peter in not ‘by man’ (cf John 1:13) and is directly from God (and we might add by the Spirit, the one sent to reveal Christ to us). If, as you read these words, you feel that their full significance is diminished in any way, seek a fresh revelation of the Holy Spirit who has been sent to show us who Jesus is.

XV_Comfort

XV

Comfort
‘May your unfailing love by my comfort’ Psalm 119 v 76

I was at the annual Delirious? Christmas concert the other day, an awesome night, interspersed with weird costumes, revamped Christmas carols and passionate worship. I had heard the band’s new album was called ‘kingdom of comfort’, this immediately made me think about the verse from 2 Corinthians 1:2 ‘praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion, and the God of all comfort...’.
Well, although this is a truly awesome verse and one that shows the great grace and love of our Father God, this was not what the album title was referring to.

We heard of how the band had travelled to places like Cambodia and India, how they had met children in rubbish tips and seen people living so far below the poverty line they were utterly shocked and broken by the experience. Encouraging us to think about all we had in the west, in England, all our abundance – especially at this time of year, the title track of the album was played, with these lyrics ringing out....

‘see me falling down...there will come a day when all this will fall away....see me falling down..save me from this kingdom of comfort where I am king...from my unhealthy lust of material things...save me...’

I find that at this time of year we sit in church or in meetings and talk about how materialistic society has got. I shake my head and say ‘but it’s all about Jesus’ and bemoan the increasing PC culture that seems to shake every aspect of Christ out of Christmas. We now have ‘happy holidays’, ‘seasons greetings’ and that coca cola advert where all their lorries are driving through the snow bringing us our coca cola as the trademarks of Christmas.
Yet for all my head shaking and theological grumbles – I know that I’m just as much to blame. I still find myself wanting, expecting, needing ‘things’ this Christmas. I find myself in this mindset that having that i-pod, or that computer, or that thing for my car or that new album, or just...a...little...more...money....will somehow make things a bit easier........a bit more comfortable.

When God came to this earth as a baby, there was nothing comfortable about His arrival. Born to a virgin in a society that would condemn a birth out of wedlock, arriving in a cold and windswept stable, being a marked ‘man’ before his birth. There has been a great inaccuracy in our Christmas cards nostalgic rendering of this event.
I think the bottom line is this -> this Christmas we have a choice. As a friend has often said, if we take Christ out of Christmas we only has MAS = Minus A Saviour.

I think we all need to decided whether this year we will be participants of ‘the kingdom of comfort’ where our needs are met in ‘things’ and where we’re ok and comfortable with our lot....or whether we are going to choose to be sons and daughters of the ‘God of all comfort’, finding our joy in Him and being part of the Kingdom of Comforters, bringing Jesus, bringing light, to others this Christmas and beyond.
God Bless and Merry Christmas