I’ve been recently thinking about the pasage from John 10:10 ‘The thief comes only to steal and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.’ What does fullness of life look like when the pressures of job, family, friends etc weigh you down? I do believe Jesus does give you something amazing but we tend to think so much about ‘eternal life when we die.’ Jesus talks about life to the full now I don’t think Jesus intends just to wait and give it to us all at the end of time. In a culture where abundance means material posessions how can we talk about the abundance Jesus offers? When I read the gospels abundance of life came to the sick, crippled, lame, the poor, the dispossed and its really exciting to see God’s abundance of life coming to those people on the margins of society. I also wonder what that looks like for the healthy, the rich, the comfortable I wonder if they have to give some things up to experience God’s abundance? Do they have to set things aside to have life? Jesus talks about laying things down for the sheep, and Jesus says I’m the way – perhaps we need to lay stuff down in order to see God’s abundance. I wonder who the theif is in the parable – perhaps its the god of consumerism where by getting more things actually makes us loose ourselves and who we were meant to be. Is it easier to tell this to people who’ve reached rock bottom, who don’t have much anyway, is it easier for them to hear you can have a better life in Jesus but those who are ‘comfortable’ might not see their need for him? Perhaps our view of abundance needs to change? When I saw that God’s abundance was for everyone that this was a great message for the poor I realised that it wasn’t all about me and I was freed from myself I found the capacity to love others, and be concerned for them. When I recognised that God could be found in the ‘world around’ in nature, in film, music, art, then I realised God’s abundance. I was more expectant trying to find God talking to me in a lyric of a song, or a beauty picture, or a kind word from a friend. I found creation pointing to its creator and my life was abundant. What’s best of all though is God creeping up on you un-awares that’s abundant living. May he be gracious in helping me listen to his voice more, here him calling my name, and not get bogged down by the other voices clammering for attention.
The cry and demand of ‘easy religion’
Jude Simpson articulates some of my frustrations about trying to find ‘answers’ to things that are going on in the church and in Christian life generally. Also the tustle with others wanting an ‘easy faith’ to follow. How far should we be trying to make faith easier, more accessible, and when does confrontation come in? When other demands are crowding in on folks should we be making faith harder or easier? I do think there’s something obscure about the gospel that doesn’t fit in neat packages, nice bitesized truths. Rather its a mystery, something beyond words, something to tustle with, to think about, to wrestle with. Anway here’s her poem-enjoy!
Jude Simpson’s poems
Not cut out for religion
I ask you, what’s the answer, and you just ask me questions,
and I’m like, “hello, I thought you were God?”
Can’t I just download you, pay-as-I-go to decode you -
a quick fix listen on my i-pod?
I ask you, what’s the answer, and you say, “where does the wind blow?”
Well, if Dylan couldn’t find it, then I won’t get too far.
What’s with all this mystery? How can you say, “follow me”
when I don’t even know where you are?
Your religion needs a makeover, you’ve got to de-clutter.
Make it softer, gooier and spreadable like butter.
I need a faith I can talk about and not sound like a nutter.
You ought to be easy to follow.
Like, a hop-on-and-off open-top bus ride,
a manual with A to Z tabs down the side,
I want a sat-nav path to heaven, not a Lonely Planet guide.
I wish you were easy to follow.
I want a Roman road map to instant glory
a happy-ending-ever-after chick lit story
and you just tell me another foggy allegory
featuring corn and sheep and wine and clay pots.
What are you like? Do you want followers or not?
Far be it from me to tell you what’s what,
but if you did make it easier I’m sure you’d get a lot
more believers, Jesus.
Give me bite-sized thoughts in a faith shape sorter,
No more spilt blood or living water,
just a pint-sized god who’s a straight talker.
Make it easy to follow.
I want fruit-flavoured shots of the Holy Spirit,
bite-sized, trite truths in Boyband lyrics
“love” and “above” – yeah, that should fill it.
Make it easy to follow.
I want facts on a plate – don’t want to have to question any,
artificial roses every 14th of February.
I want simple faith – blind if necessary.
Why aren’t you easy to follow?
You say, “you are not my servant, now you are my friend”.
You say, “I will be with you until the bitter end”.
And I’m like, “why bitter? – I wanted happiness on prescription.
Isn’t that the whole point of getting religion?
And besides, friendship’s harder – can’t I just buy the subscription?”
Can’t you be easy to follow?
Give me a clear-cut structure, not a friendship’s fragilities,
favourable rights with few responsibilities.
I could follow that plan – yeah – religiously.
That would be easy to follow.
I want three steps to beauty from a teenage advice mag;
Ben and Jerry’s Triple chocolate straight of the ice bag;
ethically traded but with a Primark price-tag -
I could say Amen to those.
I want box-up beliefs wrapped in tissue-paper
presented by Fearne Cotton, and voiced by Tom Baker,
with a hands-free contract to contact the Maker
available from Tesco’s.
I want Quicktime cut-price broadband access.
Simple principles, easily practiced.
Directly transactional prayers – the fact is,
my time is precious, so why should I work?
Why should treasure always require a search?
I want a message that’s acceptable without having to plead it,
that’ll make people instantly realise they need it.
Yeah, thanks for the Bible – but have you tried to read it?
You need to be easy to follow.
I want all the answers set out in a paperback
of less than fifty pages, in the buy-now-read-it-later rack
I’ll skim it on the train down to visit Auntie Kate and back -
nice and easy to follow.
Everyone will warm to its convenient slimness.
It’ll be easily digestible and provoke a certain tingliness,
and every answer will be one sentence long, universally applicable, and in English.
That would be easy to follow.
You see, I think you need to focus and refine your vision,
if you want to market the brand they call “Christian”.
I say, “give me clarity”, you say, “will you marry me?”
With all due respect, Jesus, I don’t think you were cut out for religion.
Friends, conversation and journeying
Just seen this on Asbo Jesus and it struck a cord for me.
This week I’ve spent some time with friends and its been great! I went to Bristol for the college community day and was able to see folks who have been part of my life and my days at college. In some respects it felt as though I’d not left but on the other had it feels like everything has changed in my life and things haven’t in Bristol. It was good to have some space and think about ministry, church, and life. It was great to have conversation about what’s going on in other people’s lives, to see people I know well and who know me, and to reflect about what’s going on. It was also an opportunity to feel connected to a community which is much bigger than my locality.
Then yesterday it struck me again how we relate to one another that people are important, that God is interested in relationships and he made us to be in relationships. Having time to be with people, to talk and have the freedom to share things or not to is the gift of friendships. I find it interesting to talk to people who have ideas and thoughts that are different to mine they challenge me to go deeper to ask more questions to find out the values that people hold and how that shapes who they are. I hope I don’t stop wanting to talk to people who don’t think the same as me, ok so to a certain extent we are all different but sometimes we go with the party line sometimes its useful to share with like-minded people but most of the time I find it refreshing when someone has a different perspective and challenges my world-view. Most of the time I don’t know where I’m going, and I guess I’m rather post-modern about it I don’t worry too much about the journey end but I’m more concerned with the journey itself. I’m thankful for those that I journey with and who also journey with me. I wonder if we concentrated more on relationships in church where that might take us?
Prayer as a movement
I watched this youtube clip about the vision of 24-7 prayer and it challenged/challenges me in my own prayer life. It got me thinking about my prayer life both as personal devotion and the prayers I say in public in ’meetings, Sunday services, and meal tables.’ So often we pray the same thing, we pray as though we want things to stay the same, we pray as though we just need to get some words out. I confess I pray ‘God bless my plans’ prayers. Prayer is kingdom focused praying that God’s kingdom would break into our status quo. ’It shakes our mediocracy’ - I’m afraid my prayers don’t sound like that. Then this sentence from the clip got to me ‘they pray like it all depends on God, and they live as though it all depends on them.’ What a great statement to invoke prayer and action. The most fervent prayers I’ve prayed has been those times I really didn’t know what to do or say, those situations when you’re afraid , when you need reassurance, or you need words to say. I wonder what it would be like to pray those kinds of prayers, what would happen, what would others think,would they be able to say ‘amen?’
The prophetic
I haven’t blogged for a while – I’ve been ordained, inducted in Worcester Park and now getting into ministry. I’ve been recently thinking about mission, community, vision and the call to the prophetic in ministry. I then came across a poem that Simon has written about being a square peg in a round hole. I found it to be refreshing, challenging, and speak into where I’m at, so thank you Simon. It has also reminded me of a book that is sitting on my bookshelf that I really want to read: The prophetic imagination by Walter Bruggemann. A book I’ve wanted to read for sometime but I haven’t quite got around to. I’m particularly intersted in the idea that the prophet speaks from the margins into the centres of power calling for change to happen. Where’s the voice of the prophetic in our communities of faith? Where’s the voice of those on the margins? Is the role of a minister to ‘institutionalised’ too much in the centre to be able to bring the voice of the prophetic?
Jesus the ultimate prophet he brought the people of God in line with God’s values. To speak truth to power. To bring out the voice of the marginalised, the disposessed, the poor, those on the fringe looking in. So Simon’s poem reminds me that as a disciple of this marginalised prophet I’m forever on a journey, never feeling settled because the son of man had no where to lay his head.
